Xie Jin Chinese 謝晉 pinyin Xiè Jìn 21 November 1923 18 October 2008 was a Chinese film director He rose to prominence in 1957 directing the film Woman Basketball Player No 5 and is considered one of the Third Generation directors of China Most recently he was known for the direction of The Opium War Xie was a popular director amongst the older generations of Chinese with six of his films being voted Best Picture in the Hundred Flowers Awards He was the only Chinese director to date to be a member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as the Directors Guild of America