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Ai Xia

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Ai Xia (Chinese: 艾霞; 29 November 1912 – 15 February 1934) was a Chinese left-wing silent film actress and screenwriter.

Early life and career

Ai Xia was born Yinan Yan in 1912 to a large middle class family. She attended university.[1] After graduating, she fell in love with her cousin and had a child. Her family disapproved of the relationship, resulting in her lover leaving.[2] In 1928, she was in an arranged marriage but, as a personal protest, left home to pursue film in Shanghai.[3][4]

Ai Xia started her career as a stage actor with the South China Theater Society (Nanguo jushe), founded by Tian Han, before joining the Leftists Dramatists League (Zuoyi juzuojia lianmeng). She was introduced to Star Motion Pictures Company in 1932.[5] She wrote a book Xiandai yi Nüxing (A Woman of Today) in 1933. The book was adapted as a film in the same year. Despite the intrigue around the story, the film was not well received by critics because of its focus on revolution.[4] Ai Xia was one of only two female screenwriters during the "Left-Wing" movement in Chinese film.[6]

She stared in a total of eight films in her lifetime.

Death

Ai committed suicide in 1934 by consuming raw opium.[2] Being the first actress in the Republic of China to do so, her death is considered iconic in Chinese film.[7][4][1]

Legacy

The film New Women is based on her life. It stars actress Ruan Lingyu who also committed suicide shortly after the film's release in 1935. It is speculated that director Cai Chusheng may have been romantically involved with Ai and thus, made the film for personal reasons.[8][6]

Filmography

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ma, Yuxin (2010). Women Journalists and Feminism in China, 1898-1937. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press. p. 289. ISBN 978-1-60497-660-1.
  2. ^ a b Kuoshu, Harry (2002). Celluloid China: Cinematic Encounters with Culture and Society (1st ed.). Southern Illinois University Press: Carbondale. pp. 127–128. ISBN 9780809324552. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  3. ^ "艾霞 Xia Ai". Douban. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Colet, Cristina (2015). "Three Chinese female screenwriters: Ai Xia, Zhang Ailing, and Peng Xiaolian". Women Screenwriters: An International Guide. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-31238-9.
  5. ^ Wang, Yiman (2011). Wang, Lingzhen (ed.). Chinese Women's Cinema: Transnational Contexts. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-231-52744-6.
  6. ^ a b Pang, Laikwan (2002). Building a New China in Cinema: The Chinese Left-wing Cinema Movement, 1932-1937. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 121, 123. ISBN 9780742509450.
  7. ^ "现代一女性". Douban. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  8. ^ Farquhar, Mary; Zhang, Yingjin (2010). Chinese Film Stars. London; New York: Routledge,. pp. 36–37. ISBN 9780415573900. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)

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