[The following is a translation from the September 4, 1938 issue of the Li Bao 力报 newspaper, apparently reprinted from a publication entitled "银灯逸话" (Chats by the Silver Lamp). The author is identified only as "Yong Kang" 永康 , possibly a pseudonym. Notes in brackets, like this one, are the translator's notes, added when it was thought clarification might be useful.]
In 1907, in a comfortable home on the west bank of a lake in Zhejiang, a daughter was born to a respected and noble family. But the baby girl was not just anybody: she was the future Ding Ziming.
Perhaps some of you are unfamiliar with the name. There may even be those who question our raising again the name of a movie star who retired so early from the screen. I consider this a specious argument, because if people in our present era cannot discuss the topic, then what is the purpose of historical science? In preparing my "Chats by the Silver Lamp," encompassing a time span ranging rom Pan Gu [creator of the universe in Chinese mythology] to the present, nothing exhausted my energies so much as this one part did, not even people in the highest positions, much less Ding Ziming, an artist of the silver screen whose career spanned only the years 1925-1931.
Ding Ziming's family was an exceptional one. The family tomb included distinguished military leaders and a grandfather who had been a high official under the Qing [Manchu] dynasty. The family could be considered post-feudal, as their inheritance from the grandfather was a substantial one, so much so that her father was able to fritter his life away at leisurely pastimes, which in turn led to the family property and fortunes declining by the day, although they were still in comfortable circumstances.
Ding Ziming was an only child, and from her earliest years had a very clear understanding of human affairs, and of a mother's role in the household. She always helped out, and a deep affection grew over the years between mother and daughter. The parents were naturally reluctant to marry off such a daughter to just anyone, and since Ziming was the only child, after her marriage her mother would be very lonely, and find the loss of her child especially difficult to bear. In the end, it was decided to depart from the tradition of marrying the daughter into her husband's family, but rather bring a son-in-law into hers. In the end Wan Laitian 万籁天 was chosen as the son-in-law, he and Ding Ziming became man and wife, and from that day forward, his name became Dingwan Laitian 丁万籁天 .
Wan Laitian was a devotee of the arts, and had been quoted as saying the person he most admired and wanted to emulate was the great artist Liu Haisu 刘海粟. [A much more extensive article is here, in Chinese] Wan had met Ding Ziming during the making of her first film, "Bukan Huishou" 不堪回首(Unbearable Memories) with Wang Xiangchang and Xu Hu's Shenzhou studio, but she wasn't able to maximize her talent until she moved over to Mingxing, where she became a star. Her prestige and popularity grew steadily, to the point that by 1928, when "Xianü Jiu Furen" 侠女救夫人 (Swordswoman Rescues a Lady) premiered, the three characters for Ding Ziming's name in the credits were positioned almost above those for Hu Die.
To be totally candid about it, we don't know for certain that Ding Ziming's acting ability was all that high. Although we know she worked hard at doing every scene, we have no way of knowing whether her ability was particularly special, nor are we certain as to what were the standards of good or bad back then. But we can be certain of one thing, the simplicity and honesty of Ding Ziming's personal life. In searching through China's nearly 20 years of movie history, one cannot find a lifestyle as simple as Ziming's: she neither smoked nor drank, she didn't even dance. There are no records of her ever attending a social event of any sort, making even such non-social later stars as Chen Yanyan social butterflies by comparison. On this point, I would advise our dear sisters in the movie community that they could learn some things from Ding Ziming's private life: one, practice moderation; two, foster a purity of reason and character; and three, take care of one's health. What I am saying is that a girl with a simple private life will at the very least have less risk of sinking into decadence than the girl who is a romantic by nature.
There once was a studio mogul who, after shooting had been completed on a scene, attempted to humiliate Ding Ziming. One can picture this beautiful young woman, her eyes cold as ice (although she was by that time married to Wan Laitian, her sense of moral outrage was still almost virginal), and this tycoon among tycoons berated her, saying, "Miss Ding, could it be you've forgotten your obligations? Without me, you would not be in this studio. Without this studio, where would you be today? But you just seem to be putting in time for a paycheck." Ding just stood her ground, staring at the mogul, who after delivering this fierce attack, began to wither under her steady gaze and at last beat his retreat. She turned and left without saying a word. Naturally, she could no longer work for that company, and soon decided to quit the screen altogether.
And what is the situation now? Well, Ding Ziming is still doing quite well, because she practices moderation in living and spending, while not subjecting herself to any hardships. She is no longer in Shanghai, having departed some time ago for an interior province.
