 And a good benshi was a star demanding star payment.By the same token, the viability of the benshi system facilitated a gradual transition to sound—allowing the studios to spread out the capital costs of conversion and their directors and technical crews time to become familiar with the new technology.The Mandarin-language "Gēnǚ hóng mǔdān" (, "Singsong Girl Red Peony"), starring Butterfly Wu, premiered as China's first feature talkie in 1930.