Although never a big star, Tang Tianxiu 汤天绣 was a familiar face on Chinese movie screens for a 
decade. She was born Tang Tianxiu 汤天秀 (slightly different in Chinese) in Suzhou, JIangsu and raised in Hankou (now Wuhan). She was a child bride, betrothed at an early age. So while most movie actresses in the classic era began their careers in their late teens, she did not enter films until her mid-20s when, in response to an advertisement by the Da Zhonghua (Greater China) film company seeking children to play roles in the film《Mother's Happiness》, she took her daughter for an audition. But the filmmakers were most impressed with the mother, and signed her to a contract. After appearing in that 1926 film, she had major supporting roles in three films over the next two years. In 1928 and 1929 she made 16 films for Da Zhonghua, most of them of the martial arts/swordsman genre, and in 12 of which she acted the lead. She joined the new Lianhua studio in 1930, and appeared in 16 more films, including major supporting roles in such classics as "Dawn in the Metropolis," "Little Toys," "Song of the Fishermen," and "New Women." At some point she succeeded in extricating herself from her arranged first marriage, and after making her last film in 1935, she remarried to a wealthy man, and retired from the screen. [above right, Tang in a Lianhua studio publicity photo. Click on image to enlarge.]
Filmography (all as actress):
1926:
Mother's Happiness
Cycles of Debt
1927:
Pitiful Qiuxiang
Sex Trap
1928:
Patriotic Souls
Shadows in the Old Palace
Fabulous Swordsman
That's Me
Ma Zhenhua
Secret History of the Qing Court
The Miner and the Boss' Sister
1929:
The Head Lost at Midnight
How Lu Sanniang Flew Through the Air
Kisses Once
Four Heroes of the Wang Family, II
White Rat
The Savior
Detective Number 55
Miscarriage of Justice
1930:
Flirtaceous Swordsman
Man and Beast
Because I am Your Younger Brother
1931:
Lust
Hengniang
Two Stars of the Milky Way
The Souls of Freedom
Three Heroes Named Wang
1932:
Hell at Sea
Loving Blood of the Volcano
1933:
Dawn Over the Metropolis
The Road
Little Toys
1934:
A Beautiful Night
New Women
Song of the Fishermen
Goodbye! Shanghai
1935:
Settle Down by the Hanjiang River
