The Chinese Mirror

Xiao Ying (1890? - ?)

  Xiao Ying 萧英 was born July 28, 1890 (some sources say 1889) in Hengshan County, Hunan.  He entered movies relatively late, beginning in 1926 with the Mingxing studio, making his debut that same year in《A Young Worker》and《The Unknown Hero》in supporting roles.  He appeared in numerous films for Mingxing over the next several years, often cast as fathers of one of the leads, especially in rural settings.  But in 1933 he was one of the leads in the classic《Spring Silkworms》, as the farming family's patriarch.  After Mingxing was shut down by the eruption of war in 1937, Xiao Ying worked for several Shanghai "Orphan Island" studios, making his last film in 1939. 

Chen Qiufeng (? - ?)

     Native of Yixing, Jiangsu.  After secondary school, Chen joined the New Drama Group as an actor, and traveled with the company performing in various places around East China.  In 1924, he moved to Shanghai and joined the New Dramatic Troupe headed by Gu Wuwei (顾无为), usually playing earnest and likable young men, and was well-received by audiences.  In 1925, he assisted Gu Wuwei in starting the Da Zhongguo (Great China) Film Company, for which he assumed concurrent roles as director and actor.  In 1920s film roles he was noted for portraying famous characters from classical Chinese literature, such as the Buddhist monk Xuanzang in the "Journey to the West" series.  All his film directing efforts were in 1927-28, but his acting career extended into the mid-30s.  Chen then returned to the stage, and in the 1940s served as artistic director of Shanghai's Hua Yue Dramatic Troupe.

Filmography (as actor unless otherwise noted): 

1925:
Who's His Mother?
1926:
Hell and Heaven
Elopement
Midnight Lovers
Frustrated Hero
Meng Jiangnü
1927:
Story of Han Xiangzi
Rebuild the Republic
Three Kingdoms:  Diao Chan Saves the Nation
Journey to the West:  Uproar in Heaven  (also director)
1928:
Monkey King Conquers the Black Wind  (also director)
Journey to the West:  the Bottomless Pit  (co-director)
Journey to the West:  the Yellow Monster  (co-director)
Journey to the West:  the Kingdom of the Black Rooster  (director)
The Goddess Jin Jing [aka An Evil Woman Bars the Way]  (co-director)
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
New Shaolin Temple:  Fang Shiyu [Fang Sai-Yuk] Accepts a Challenge  (writer)
1931:
Blue Skies After the Rain
1934:
Renzhu [aka Lonely Orchid]
1936:
By the Huangpu River

Zhang Zhizhi (1901-1970)

     Zhang Zhizhi (章志直), born in Changzhou, Jiangsu in 1901, came to motion pictures from a stage  background.  After several years of acting experience, he entered motion pictures in 1926 with the Tianyi studio, and had his first leading role in 1926's "Movie Actress."  His film career ranged from 1926-1965, and although a leading man early on, he soon became typecast as a heavy.  Unlike fellow movie bad guys Wang Xianzhai and Sun Min, whose characters were usually more subtle in their evildoing, Zhang, a large man with a menacing mien, was typically cast as a thug, a strongarm mob enforcer, etc., as well as such negative Chinese stereotypes as tyrannical landlords, warlords, etc.     

    Many of his more than 180 movie roles were in the best films of China's classic era, including:  "Movie Actress" (1926); "The Flirting Scholar" (1927); "Southern Heroine" (1930) (as Qian Siying's foe); "Goddess" (1934) (as the petty gangster who gains control over Ruan Lingyu); "The Big Road" (1934) (as the traitorous landlord); "Go to Nature" (1936); "Song of a Loving Mother" (1937); "Sunrise" (1938), "Mulan Joins the Army" (1939), "The Fisherman's Daughter" (1943); "Spring Dream in Paradise" (1947); "Homecoming Diary" (1947); "Long Live the Missus" (1947), and "Stage Sisters" (1965).

    For someone who was so familiar a screen presence for so many years, little is written about Zhang Zhizhi.  He died October 29, 1970, during the Cultural Revolution era, as did so many others from the Shanghai film community.  His last movie role was in Xie Jin's "Stage Sisters" (1965), ironically also the last film for 1940s-50s star Shangguan Yunzhu, who was driven to suicide during that cruel and chaotic decade, but it is not recorded whether Zhang was also a victim of the Cultural Revolution or if his death just coincided with it.

Wen Yimin 文逸民 (1890 - 1978)

    Wen Yimin was of Manchu ethnicity, born in Beijing.  He joined the Youlian Film Company in Shanghai in 1925, and became the studio's top director in 1927 when he directed "Heroic Son and Daughter," in which he also co-starred with his  future wife, Fan Xuepeng.  The movie had four sequels, and was one of the major successes of the early swordsman genre that became a mania in China at the end of the 1920s.  In 1934, he and Fan moved to the Tianyi studio, where he directed her in such successes as "Shattered Dream in the Dance Hall" and "Mother."  The couple later split up, and in 1939 he moved to Yihua and in 1943 to Zhonghua, two of Shanghai's wartime studios.  At both of these he continued to both act and direct.  In 1947 he left the Chinese mainland and worked for several studios in Hong Kong.  Wen directed his last film in 1959, but continued acting work in Hong Kong and Taiwan into the early 1970s.  Wen Yimin died in Hong Kong on December 22, 1978.  In a career that spanned five decades, he amassed over 100 credits as a director and actor.

Wang Jiting (? - ?)

  Although he had a lengthy movie career, with more than 60 acting credits in his resume (and more than a dozen directing), surprisingly little is recorded in the Chinese movie literature regarding Wang Jiting (王吉亭).  Indeed, a careful search of the usual reliable references did not even turn up a portrait of him, or at least none which identified him.  Even the China Cinema Encylopaedia (Shanghai, 1995) states only that he was a native of Jiading, Jiangxi, and made his first screen appearance with the Mingxing studio in 1925.  Perhaps it was due to his never having been a lead actor, and most of his directing credits were as an assistant or co-director.  However, it is certain that in the late 1920s  and early 30s he held significant supporting roles in some of the most successful films of those years, including such classics as "Burning of the Red Lotus Temple," "Songstress Red Peony" and "Street Angels."

Filmography (all as actor, unless noted):  

1925:

Young Master Feng

The Good Brothers

A Blind Orphan Girl

Pitiful Girl

The New Person's Family

1926:

Lovelorn Actress

The Rich Man's Daughter

Her Pain

Lonely Orchid (pts.1,2)

Three Shanghai Women

Roses Bloom Everywhere in April

Nameless Hero

1927:

Xuan Zang Disputes the Doctrine

Fallen Plum Blossom (pts.1-3)

Ma Yongzhen of Shandong

Sacrifice for Parents

Real and Fake Daughters

1928:

White Cloud Pagoda (pts.1,2)

Luoyang Bridge

A Revengeful Man

Heroine in Black

Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (pts.1-3)  [also Asst.Director]

Woman Detective

The Swordswoman Rescues the Lady

1929: 

Blood of the Lovers

Papa Loves Mama

Confessing her Sins

Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (pts.4-8) [also Asst.Director]

Little Hero Liu Jin

New Journey to the West (pt.1)

Tears and Flowers (pts.1-2)

1930:

Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (pts.9-16) [also Asst.Director] 

New Journey to the West (pts.2-3) 

Three Fathers

A Brave Man Saves a Beauty [Co-Director]

1931:

Songstress Red Peony

Lone Duck at Sunset

A Shanghai Girl

Joining the Army for His Wife [Co-Director]

1932:

Such Heaven

Love and Life [Co-Director]

1933:

Cries of Women

Little Sister's Tragedy [Co-Director]

1934:

A Brief Life

1935:

The Boatman's Daughter

Jadeit Horse

1936:

Flowers of Spring

Red Crabapple

Diamonds

New and Old Shanghai

1937:

Street Angels

Four Daughters

New Year's Money

1938:

A Cheated Girl 

Fei Baiqing (? - ?)

 

Fei Baiqing (费柏青).  Actor.  Began his movie career in 1924 with the Lianhe studio as a supporting actor, and in 1926 also joined the Shanghai Film Actors' Association as a talent evaluator.  Moved to the Xinren studio in 1927, and in 1934 to the Lianhua studio, for which he appeared in several major films.

Filmography

1924:
All Things Come to Light
Five Minutes
1925:
Out of Hell
1926:
Catching the Treasure
1927:
A Young Comfortable Lady
Water Heroes
1928:
She Wants to be a Free Woman
Lovelorn Elder Brother
The Good Man Zhang Chong
Blind Love
1929:
The Burning of Sword Village
1930:
The Muted Lover
1932:
Heroic White Snake
1934:
Perfumed Snowy Sea
1935:
Four Sisters
New Women
1936:
Bloodshed on Wolf Mountain
Go to Nature
Mother Love
Girl in an Isolated City
1937:
Lianhua Symphony

Cao Dahua (1915-2007)

    Cao Dahua 曹达华 (Cantonese:  Cho Tat-wah).  Actor and Producer.  Born September 15, 1915 in Taishan, Guangdong, raised in Hong Kong and educated there at St.Peter's Academy.  Began in film at age 15 with the Yue Ming (Bright Moon) studio in Shanghai, first appearing onscreen in several episodes of the silent series "Guandong Daxia"  关东大侠 (A Warrior of the Northeast).  Returned to Hong Kong in 1935, and joined his family's agricultural business, while continuing part-time acting, appearing in several movies in the late 1930s.  During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, he was fully engaged in business, but became a fulltime filmmaker, establishing with relatives a movie studio and theater, specializing in Cantonese dialect swordsman and kungfu films.  Cao became closely identified with a recurring role in the popular Wong Fei-Hung series of films in the 1950s and 60s, as the loyal apprentice of the titular martial arts legend.  Joined the Shaw Brothers studio in 1979, while also appearing often in television movies and miniseries.  Retired after 1990, but returned for one more appearance in 1996, the 318th acting role of his career.  Died in London, UK, January 13, 2007, age 91.

Bao Guirong (? - ?)

Bao Guirong (包桂荣) was one of the earliest Chinese silent film actors.  Originally a stage actor, he made his first screen appearance in the 1919 comedy short "The Gambler," and made more than a dozen films over the next few years, before returning to a concentration on the stage.

Brief Bio: Qin Haha (? - ?)

    As his stage name would imply, Qin Haha 秦哈哈 was one of the early stars of Chinese comedy shorts. His origins and birth name are unrecorded, and while he was later billed as Qin Tong 秦桐 for non-comedy roles, it is unknown if this was his real name or an alternate artistic handle.  His movie career began in 1921 and extended into the early sound era, and while most of his non-comedy roles were important supporting parts, he did have the lead in at least two films late in his career, in 1933 and 1934.

  

Brief Bio: Wang Guilin

    Wang Guilin 王桂林 was a veteran stage actor when he made his screen debut in 1920, in a supporting role in "Gold in the Wasteland" for the Commercial Press Motion Division, after which he moved over to the New Asia studio to play one of the heavies in the classic action mystery, "Women Skeletons."  After returning to the stage for several years, Wang resumed movie work in 1927, appearing in several martial arts fantasies during the peak of that genre's popularity.  He alternated stage and screen work into the sound era, making his last films in 1939.