Xu Lai
Xu Lai
Xu Lai (1909-1973), born in Shanghai, formerly known as Xu Xiaomei, also known as Xu Jiefeng, was poor when he was a child. At the age of 13, he worked in a British egg factory in Zhabei, Shanghai. Later, her family got better and she went to school. In school, her grades are average, but she likes singing and dancing. When she was 18 years old, she was admitted to the Chinese singing and dancing college sponsored by Li Jinhui. After graduation, he joined Mingyue song and dance troupe and traveled to Pingjin, ninghan and other big cities. He once performed in Nanyang area with the troupe. His beauty and cleverness still attracted many audiences. In 1933, Xu Lai starred in the film "can Chun" in the star film company, which became popular.
Before the Anti Japanese War, Xu Lai married general Tang Shengming, a member of the Military Commission of the national government. In 1940, she and her female assistant, Zhang Suzhen, were secretly sent to Nanjing to break into the undercover of Wang's puppet government and collect intelligence. She lived in Nanjing and Shanghai with her husband Tang Shengming.
Life of the characters
Xu Lai, an early Chinese movie star, was born in Shanghai in 1909. His original name was Xiaomei, also known as Jiefeng. He was born into a well-off family, but he was once poor. He once worked as a female worker in an egg factory. In 1927, he was admitted to the Chinese song and dance school sponsored by Li Jinhui. After graduation, he joined Mingyue song and dance troupe and married Li Jinhui. He once led the Qingfeng song and dance team to perform in Guangdong and Hong Kong. He toured Thailand, Singapore and Java in 1928. Later, he toured in China.
Xu Lai is very beautiful and has the nickname of "Oriental standard beauty". Zhou Jianyun, one of the directors of the star film company, took a fancy to her and hired her to be a "Star" in 1933. In 1933, she starred in the silent film "can Chun", so the film became famous.
In 1933, she starred in Taishan Hongmao, in 1934, she starred in the Anti Japanese film Huashan Yanshi directed by Cheng Bugao, and in the same year, she also starred in such films as going to the northwest and flowers on the willow wall. These films all sold well.
In 1935, Ruan Lingyu's suicide greatly stimulated Xu Lai. After she starred in "boatman girl", she died. After that, introduced by Du Yuesheng, he met Tang Shengming and divorced Li. Since then, she and her husband Tang Shengming have lived in Shanghai. In 1949, Xu Lai's family moved to Hong Kong, and Tang Shengming went to Changsha to participate in the power uprising. In the autumn of 1950, he became the deputy commander of the 21st corps of the people's Liberation Army and took part in commanding the campaign of going south to liberate Guangdong and Guangxi. In 1956, Tang Shengming went to Beijing as a counsellor of the State Council. Xu Lai also returned to Beijing to settle down. She died in 1973 at the age of 64.
Singing and dancing career
Xu Lai, whose ancestral home is Shaoxing, Zhejiang, was born in 1909 in an ordinary merchant family in Shanghai. His father runs a measuring tool shop (weighing shop) in the old town of Nanshi. Xu Lai's nickname is Xiaomei. After school, his name is Xu Jiefeng. When I was in primary school, I loved singing and dancing. When he was 18 years old, Xu Lai applied for the Chinese song and dance school founded by Li Jinhui to study art. His stage name was Xu Lai, which was taken from the famous phrase "breeze Xu Lai". The following year, Xu Lai joined the Chinese song and dance troupe and toured around Nanyang. His performances included singing, dancing, song and dance performances and children's song and dance dramas. He went to Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Bandung, etc. his performances lasted for 10 months and achieved great success.
At the end of 1929, the song and dance troupe returned to Shanghai, and Li Jinhui, the host, reorganized the Mingyue song and dance troupe. In 1930, Xu came to Tianjin, Beiping, Dalian, Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin and other places to perform with the delegation, which was also warmly welcomed by the domestic audience.
In September 1931, "Mingyue" changed its name to Lianhua song and dance troupe. It was affiliated to Lianhua film company and made some short films of song and dance. At that time, with the rise of audio movies, several major actors appeared on the screen, including Wang Renmei, Li Lili, Xue Lingxian, Hu Jia, and Xu Lai.
In the old Shanghai "good friends" film magazine, group photos of eight stars Hu Die (middle back row), Chen Yanyan (middle front row), Xu Lai (first right back row), Ruan Lingyu (second right back row), Wang Renmei (right front row), Yuan Meiyun (left front row), Li Minghui (second left back row) and ye Qiuxin (first left back row) were published nationwide, so the title of "eight stars" spread like wildfire.
About Xu Lai's singing and dancing career in this period, Wang Renmei once recalled: "Xu Lai grew up to be beautiful and beautiful. What's more rare is his kind heart and gentle personality. I remember that although she sang in a low voice, she danced gracefully. She seems to have played the role of rain and dew in a song and dance drama. She has bright pearls hanging on her body, which is a little bit like a fairy... "
Progressive filmmaker
"Can Chun" is Xu Lai's first work. She plays a romantic young lady from a rich family. As soon as she enters the University, she becomes a school flower, surrounded by men who covet her beauty and wealth. After experiencing setbacks in life, she finally decides to sacrifice for love. This role played Xu Lai's beautiful beauty and good temperament very well, and the audience soon remembered this new film star. There is a scene of "Xu Lai taking a bath" in the film, which attracts a sensational topic.
Xu Lai had a lot of cooperation with left-wing filmmakers. He successively shot such progressive films as Hua Shan Yan Shi, Lu Liu Qiang Hua, go to the northwest, daughter Jing and falling flower season. Either they were oppressed women at the bottom, or they were revolutionary youths pursuing national liberation. On the screen, Xu Lai and his like-minded friends left unsophisticated images for modern China.
Ruan Lingyu's suicide shocked Xu Lai a lot. After she starred in "boatman girl", she decided to stop filming. "Boatman's girl" was edited and directed by Shen Xiling, and Shen Xiling's later "street with Chinese characters" became a famous work in film history. "Boatman girl" won high praise after it was released. The film describes the tragedy of a girl who shakes a boat by the West Lake. On one hand, it is the beautiful Xizi lake, and on the other hand, it is the ugly society in which the rich and young bullies the common people. Xu Lai, as the heroine, integrates the inner experience in her performance, which is realistic and appreciated by the audience.
Standard beauty
Xu Lai is beautiful and graceful. Her facial features and figure are in line with the "standard" of Oriental women. Therefore, the media gave her the title of "standard beauty". In view of this, the boss of star film company specially invited her to join "Star" filming, and listed her as the second "pillar" (at that time, the main "pillar" of "Star" was Hu Die), so as to enhance her strength and compete with other companies in business. From 1932 to 1935, Xu Lai made eight films in "Star". "Can Chun" is Xu Lai's first film. The film is about Jin Meili (Xu LAI), a smart and beautiful university "school flower", who lives among four men chasing her. After the film was released, Xu Lai's beauty attracted a large number of audiences, and the attendance rate was very high, so Xu Lai became popular. The second film is Taishan Hongmao, which tells a story about the ups and downs of official life. The third film, a history of Huashan, is directed by Cheng Bugao to publicize the Anti Japanese war. The film describes the different life paths of several college students in Beijing in the 1920s. Xu Lai does not play much in the film, so he lacks the opportunity to play his acting skills. "To the northwest" is also directed by Cheng Bugao. The film tells the story of young engineer Gu Ce (Gong Jianong) who responds to the call of "developing the northwest" and goes to work in the Northwest Water Conservancy Bureau. But when he goes to the northwest, what he sees is not "development" and "construction", but the scene of dry wells, dry canals, and people's destitution Xu Lai plays the younger sister of young farmer Bai Fushou (Zhao Dan). The film reveals that the so-called "development" and "construction" of the ruling class are just lies, which has certain practical significance. The fifth film "flowers on the willow wall" is about a maoniang, a village wife, who leads her daughter-in-law, her two daughters and her neighbor to Shanghai to find food. "Jiantoudian" introduced them to five families to help them. After a bitter life, they returned to the countryside. Xu Lai plays Sanbao, a maoniang's daughter.
"Daughter's classic" is a "collection film". The script is cleverly conceived and runs through eight stories with a very simple clue (alumni gathering), which truly reflects all kinds of women's lives in the society at that time. "Star" editor, director, acting all out, a strong lineup. Xu Lai plays a socialite in the film. The seventh film starring Xu Lai is falling flower season. The film is directed by Wu Cun and co starred by Xu Lai, Gong Jianong and Zhao Dan. It describes a small group of volunteers retreating to a mountain village. Two soldiers (Gong Jianong and Zhao Dan) fall in love with a Xuan (Xu LAI) at the same time. Later, the three are separated in the war. Ah Xuan fell into the city and was killed by falling from a building. Two soldiers went to ah Xuan's tomb together and went back to the front line. "Boatman girl" is Xu Lai's last film shot at "Star" and her masterpiece. The film tells the story of a prostitute driven by good people, which is deduced by director Shen Xiling according to what she saw and heard by the Bank of Xizi lake. The film expresses the author's sympathy for the poor people and hatred for the dark forces with its tight structure, implicit picture, slow rhythm and heavy tone.
Xu Lai plays the role of ah Ling in the film. Her performance has a certain inner experience, and her expression and action are more real. Her acting skill has surpassed the previous performance level, and has been praised by the public and the audience. Her reputation has also soared. She is as famous as Hu Die, the "pillar" of the "Star". At that time, Shanghai dielai photo studio combined Hu Die's "die" with Xu Lai's "Lai", and her business was booming. On March 8, 1935, Ruan Lingyu, a famous movie star, committed suicide by taking poison. While mourning, Xu Lai deeply felt that "an artist with a top position ended up like this, and she was not happy to be a movie again!" So I finished "boatman girl"
Chinese PinYin : Xu Lai
Xu Lai
