Abstract: Before and after May Forth Movement, an increasing number of educational films were produced in China, such as Education of the Blind Children and Driving off the Mosquitoes which were produced by the Commercial Press. After that, due to the need of ideology propaganda and the national economic and cultural development, the Nanjing National Government included educational films in its commercial system so as to mobilize the public, imagine the modern nation, and shape the new citizen. Meanwhile, educational films expanded the coverage of education by penetrating education elements in the entertaining films. Moreover, the nonprofit encouragement by the government led to an unprecedented interaction and a discourse system between the intelligentsia and the lower classes, hence the modern common sense. National imagination had a deep influence on the direction of ideology of the educational films.

Key words: educational films, mobilize the public, discourse system, common sense