Ruan Lingyu

Ruan Lingyu
Ruan in 1935
Background information
Chinese name 阮玲玉
Born Ruan Fenggen (阮鳳根)
(1910-04-26)April 26, 1910
Shanghai, China
Died March 8, 1935(1935-03-08) (aged 24)
Shanghai, China
Other names Lily Yuen
Ruan Yuying
Years active 1927–1935

Ruan Lingyu (April 26, 1910 – March 8, 1935), born Ruan Fenggen, also known by her English name Lily Yuen, was a Chinese silent film actress. One of the most prominent Chinese film stars of the 1930s, her exceptional acting ability and suicide at the age of 24 led her to become an icon of Chinese cinema.

Early life

Ruan was born to a working class family in Shanghai. Her father died when she was young, and her mother brought her up working as a housemaid.

Career

20-year-old Ruan Lingyu in Love and Duty

In 1926, to help make ends meet, Ruan signed up for the prominent Mingxing Film Company. She made her first film at the age of 16. The film, A Married Couple in Name Only (掛名的夫妻/挂名的夫妻), was directed by Bu Wancang.[1] Two years later, she was signed by Da Zhonghua Baihe Company (大中華百合公司/大中华百合公司), where she shot six films.[2] Her first big break came in Spring Dream of an Old Capital (故都春夢 or Reminiscences of Beijing, 1930) which was a massive hit in China. It was Ruan's first major work after signing with the newly formed Lianhua Studio in 1930. In it, she played a prostitute by the name of Yanyan.

Thereafter, Ruan became Lianhua's major film star. Her most memorable works came after 1931, starting with the melodrama Love and Duty (directed by Bu Wancang). Ruan had by then gained popularity owing to a string of lead roles, and in 1933 she was voted second runner-up in a poll held by Star Daily (明星日報) for China's "movie queen". (Hu Die emerged the winner and Chen Yumei was first runner-up).[3] Beginning with Three Modern Women (1932), Ruan started collaborating with a group of leftist Chinese directors.

In Little Toys (1933), a film by Sun Yu, Ruan played a long-suffering toy-maker. Her next film, The Goddess (1934; dir: Wu Yonggang), is often hailed as the pinnacle of Chinese silent cinema; Ruan sympathetically portrayed a prostitute bringing up a child. Later that year, Ruan made her penultimate film, New Women (directed by Cai Chusheng), in which she played an educated woman forced to death by an unfeeling society. The film was based on the life of actress Ai Xia, who killed herself in 1934.[4] Her final film, National Customs, was released shortly after her death.

One of Ruan's earliest films, Love and Duty (1931), directed by Bu Wancang, was discovered in Uruguay in 1994.[5]

Personal life

Ruan Lingyu on the cover of The Young Companion pictorial, December 1934

At the age of 16, Ruan became acquainted with Zhang Damin (张达民/張達民), whose family her mother worked for. Zhang was later driven out of his wealthy family due to his spendthrift ways and became a chronic gambler, supported by Ruan's salary. Unable to tolerate Zhang's gambling, Ruan split with him in 1933.[6] She then began living with Tang Jishan, a tea tycoon. In 1935, Zhang filed a lawsuit asking for reparations from Ruan. The tabloids seized on this opportunity to probe into Ruan's private life and put her under intense pressure.[7]

Following the completion of New Women, Ruan's life began to unravel. The film opened in Shanghai in 1935. Cai Chusheng was under massive pressure from tabloid reporters, who were extremely hostile, owing to the scathing depiction of the Shanghai tabloids in the movie. Cai was forced to make extensive cuts to the film. Even after that, Ruan's private life was mercilessly seized upon by the tabloids and her lawsuit with her first husband, Zhang Damin, became a source of vindictive coverage.

Death

Faced with her various public issues and intense private problems, Ruan poisoned herself with an overdose of barbiturates in Shanghai on March 8, 1935, at the age of 24. Her suicide note apparently contained a line which says "gossip is a fearful thing" (人言可畏), although recent researchers have doubted the note's authenticity (it appeared to be forged by Tang Jishan).[7] Even China's preeminent intellectual Lu Xun was appalled at the details surrounding Ruan's death and wrote an essay entitled "Gossip is a Fearful Thing", denouncing the tabloids.[8]

Recent researchers believe her deteriorating relationship with Tang Jishan may have contributed to Ruan's suicide. He is believed to have physically abused her on the night of her suicide.[7] Her funeral procession was reportedly 3 miles (4.8 km) long, with three women committing suicide during the event. The New York Times called it "the most spectacular funeral of the century".[9]

Ruan Lingyu's funeral procession was reportedly attended by more than 100,000 people.

Films

Zhang Damin, who tried to tell his story regarding Ruan's suicide (and make money off of it), agreed in 1935 to star as himself in a film titled Tears of Love (情淚). The film was aborted following angry backlash. Zhang did not give up, however. In 1937, a Hong Kong film titled Who's to Blame? (誰之過) directed by Shum Kat-sing (沈吉誠) appeared, starring Zhang as himself and Tam Yuk Lan (譚玉蘭) as Ruan. (It's unclear if it's the same film.) In 1938, Zhang starred in yet another Hong Kong film, titled Wife of a Friend (朋友之妻), which was written and directed by Mak Tai-fung (麥大豐). This film did not invoke Ruan's name, but the reference cannot be more obvious: according to a handbill, the film told about an immoral womanizer who abandons his own wife to seduce his friend's, with the friend's wife committing suicide in the end. Neither film seems extant, and Zhang died from an illness later in 1938 in Hong Kong, apparently broke and penniless.

In 1991, Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan made a movie about her life, Center Stage, starring Maggie Cheung as Ruan. Cheung won the Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear for Best Actress.[10] Zhang Damin and Tang Jishan are portrayed by Lawrence Ng and Chin Han respectively.

TV series

In 1985, Cecilia Wong (黃杏秀) played Ruan in a 20-episode TV series aired on Asia Television, titled Ruan Lingyu.

In 2005, Jacklyn Wu Chien-lien played Ruan in a 30-episode Chinese TV series, also titled Ruan Lingyu.[11]

Kong Lingjie (孔令洁) played Ruan Lingyu in the 1996 Chinese TV series Movie Queen Hu Die (影后胡蝶).

Filmography

Year English title Original title Role Notes
1927A Married Couple in Name Only掛名的夫妻Shi MiaowenLost
The Tablet of Blood and Tears血淚碑Liang SibaoLost
Yang Kwei Fee of Peking北京楊貴妃Yang XiaoyueLost
The Heart of Women婦人心Lost
1928The Luoyang Bridge蔡狀元建造洛陽橋Wang YongxuLost
The White Cloud Pagoda白雲塔Pu LüjiLost
1929The Pearl Crown珍珠冠Lost
Warnings for the Lovers情欲寶鑑Lost
Lonely Swan After the Calamity劫後孤鴻Lost
Attacking Nine-Dragon Mountain大破九龍山Lost
Burning Nine-Dragon Mountain火燒九龍山Lost
The Flower of the Silver Screen銀幕之花Lost
1930Dream of the Ancient Capital故都春夢Lost
Suicide Contract自殺合同Lost
Wild Flowers by the Road野草閒花LilianLost?
1931Love and Duty戀愛與義務
  • Yang Naifan
  • Huang Guanying
A Spray of Plum Blossoms一剪梅Hu Zhilu (Julia)
The Peach Girl桃花泣血記Miss Lim
Yu Tang Chun玉堂春Lost
1932Another Dream of the Ancient Capital續故都春夢Lost
1933Three Modern Women三个摩登女性Zhou ShuzhenLost
Night in the City城市之夜DaughterLost
Little Toys小玩意Sister Ye
1934Life人生Lost
Coming Home歸來Survived reels are unedited
Goodbye, Shanghai再會吧，上海Partially survived, missing 3 reels
A Sea of Fragrant Snow香雪海Lost
The Goddess神女Prostitute
New Women新女性Wei Ming
1935National Customs國風Zhang Lan

Bibliography

  • Richard J. Meyer (2005). Ruan Ling-Yu: The Goddess of Shanghai. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-209-395-7.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "阮玲玉纪念馆生平简介-名人纪念馆-网上名人纪念馆-网络名人纪念堂-网上名人馆-地球城纪念网". Jinian.dqccc.com. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-13. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
  3. ↑ "胡蝶阮玲玉谁才是真正的电影皇后(图)_文化读书频道_新浪网". Web.archive.org. 26 July 2011. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  4. ↑ Wang, Lingzhen (2011). Chinese Women's Cinema: Transnational Contexts. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-15675-2. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ "APT5 - Shanghai Goddess: Ruan Lingyu". Web.archive.org. 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  6. ↑ 老照片：旗袍丽质阮玲玉 与角色一样不幸（图集）. CRI Online (in Chinese). 15 November 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 1935年：阮玲玉之死. 搜狐 (in Chinese). Sohu.com Inc. 22 June 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Yu, Wentao (2006-04-07), "Tragic Goddess", China Daily, retrieved 2009-11-14
  9. ↑ Cousins, Mark (2004-11-21), "The Asian aesthetic", Prospect (104), retrieved 2014-05-31
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  11. ↑ 吴中华 (29 November 2005). 电视剧版《阮玲玉》面世 吴倩莲表演荡气回肠. XINHUANET.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  • Ruan Lingyu on IMDb
  • Ruan Lingyu at the Chinese Movie Database
  • Ruan Lingyu, Queen in Silent Film Period
  • The Beauty Of Shanghai - Ruan Ling Yu: The Chinese Greta Garbo ( Biography, ISBN 978-1548772383)
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