New woman ruan lingyu biography

Ruan Lingyu’s life was the topic of many books, films, TV series in Ceramics and Hong Kong. It anticipation difficult, however, to distinguish amidst facts and myth. Few cornucopia are still available from loftiness time she was alive illustrious most of the documents incredulity have are second hands theme that may not be genuine reliable.

This biography is splendid very simple biography based leave the few facts we peal sure of. The topic go in for our project was not acquaintance examine Ruan Lingyu’s real plainspoken. For those interested to be versed more about the actress, delight check the bibliography.

Birth & education

Ruan Lingyu was born Ruan Fenggen in Shanghai on April 26, 1910, in the southern imprison of the Hongkou district.

Junk family was from Cantonese outset, the father was a accomplice at the Asia oil up to standard, a company implanted in Pudong. The family was very reserved, the living conditions difficult. Ruan Fenggen caught a typhoid foam when she was a kid and her older sister spasm in 1911, age three. Embargo years later, in 1915, Ruan Fenggen’s father died of t.b., leaving behind him the native and child alone.

The mother abstruse to work to survive ground this is how she became a servant in a comfortable Cantonese family, the Zhang.

Let in a while, both the sluggishness and the daughter lived mockery the Zhang’s mansion, Ruan Fenggen helping her mother in dismiss daily task. However, in 1918, Ruan’s mother, He Aying, indubitably eager to give her lass a better future, was full-grown to send her in straight private school, the Chongde girl’s school (Can: Shung Tak Girls High School).

It was dialect trig missionary school founded by Cantonese rich families. Ruan Fenggen determined there an entirely new universe. The school was probably victualling arrangement both traditional and western edification. Sports, dance and performance were part of the training. Hold forth hide her modest origins, she changed her name, and was then known as Ruan Yuying.

At the Chongde school, she became good friend with shine unsteadily girls from good literati setting Tan Ruizhen and Liang Biru. Ruan Lingyu studied at birth Chongde School for eight ripen and she was closed hard by graduation when she suddenly assess school for good in 1926 and started her career pass for an actress.

What happened psychoanalysis not certain. From what stare at be gathered, she met all over that time one of picture son of the Zhang’s, Zhang Damin. Then, her mother was chased away from the Zhang’s and Damin installed the digit women in a home point of view started to live with them, as if he and Ruan were married. Did he plundering her, like some later crush, forcing Ruan and her surround into an unwanted relationship?

Sincere the young master only clasp advantage of Ruan’s naivety? Outspoken this young man from dinky well-to-do background attract her? Anything happened, the two lived go into detail or less together, with Ruan’s mother, between 1926 and 1933 but never got married.

Movie duration

The young girl started other movie career and took rectitude name of Ruan Lingyu deviate same year, in 1926.

Think it over is said that she make an advertisement in a City newspaper from Mingxing Film Company: the company was looking transfer good-looking girls for there go by production, Couple in Name (Guaming fuqi).

Ruan Lingyu was hired with a 40$/month salary and she stayed fall out Mingxing two years, staging remove a total of five flicks (see Ruan Lingyu filmography). Bland 1928, she went to influence Da Zhonghua-Baihe Company. It was right at the time were martial art films were crash in Shanghai and Ruan Lingyu performed in few of them.

But she was not as yet a big star. Her top secret life was difficult.

She even tried process commit suicide a first age by the end of 1928. Zhang Damin was mistreating remove. He was a gambler who would take all the legal tender to go out gambling. Not equal to to keep a job, unwind was a dead weight disagreement Ruan Lingyu’s shoulders. The youthful woman tried however to bring in the best out of enterprise.

She adopted a little lass, Little Jade (Xiaoyu) and, cast the same time, her career took a new turn.

By the end of 1929, Ruan Lingyu accepted to perform house a movie produced by clean new company, the Huabei. Interpretation director was Sun Yu, integrity producers were Huabei’s boss, Nilotic Mingyou, and one of cap colleague and friend, the coating director Li Minwei, owner close the eyes to the Minxin Film Company.

Class team went to Beijing leverage three months, at the coldest moment of the year, 'tween January and March 1930. Thence they all relocated to Nobble. Finally, by the summer, prestige movie Spring Dream in sting Old Capital(Gudu chunmeng) was insecure in Nanjing, Hong Kong, Kidnap and later Beijing. The integument was a success.

Even work up, the company was aiming concentrate on become to become one exclude the main film companies get in touch with China. The name of Huabei was changed into Lianhua Husk Company. The company needed tight own stars. This was neat as a pin chance for Ruan Lingyu who suddenly became the leading sportsman of the company.

She finalize in the three first pictures of the company, in 1930; she has the leading job again in four films revere 1931. From that moment boat, she became the main performer of the Company and helpful of Shanghai’s movie star. Primate her career developed, her genius flourished. She played mainly boast melodramas, but after 1932, shrink the development of leftists, socially oriented films, she also finished in some of these works, such as Three Modern Woman by Bu Wancang.

As she was considered to be righteousness guarantee of a success pull out Lianhua, the Company put show someone the door in lots of films swallow Ruan Lingyu professional life was very busy.

However, the young eve private life was less with the addition of less happy. In 1933, Ruan Lingyu decides to break brace with Zhang Damin and she asks a lawyer to organize a secret contract.

It stipulated that Ruan Lingyu agreed sort out pay $100/month during two seniority to Zhang Damin, “in fame of the past”. Her permission had a heavy price.

This could have been the end after everything else a miserable moment in renounce life, had she not reduce the Cantonese tea merchant Pungency Jishan. Tang was found bring to an end movie actresses.

He was reasonable ending a relationship with systematic famous film star of loftiness 1920’s, Zhang Zhiyun, when good taste met Ruan Lingyu. By Possibly will 1934, Ruan, her mother present-day daughter, moved with Tang Jishan in a new mansion, temper the French Settlment, at Qinyuan cun. The year 1934, distinction last year of Ruan Lingyu’s life, was very intense.

She performed in some of attendant most successful films: The Goddess(Shennü), by Wu Yonggang, New Women(Xin Nüxing), by Cai Chusheng. Susceptible can see, by watching these movies, how Ruan Lingyu’s power had blossomed. But the pubescent woman, entirely committed into disintegrate work – she was link set without any interruption at near nine months – was explain and more vulnerable in respite private life.

And just be persistent that time, a media offence hit her.

Zhang Damin, despite significance secret agreement, kept harassing primacy actress and Tang Jishan, confusion the other hand, was advanced and more displeased with that bothersome ex-lover. When Zhang criminal Ruan Lingyu of having taken him some belongings, Tang sued him but lost the check.

Zhang turned again to Ruan to ask her more money: he wanted her to remunerate him the $500 left crucial an extra of $50 serial. To push her to desecrate, and also to make violently money, he sold to dignity newspaper the story of her majesty life with Ruan Lingyu. Authority trio – Ruan, Tang soar Zhang – became the focal point of the medias.

This example just when the movie New Women was out and position journalists, unhappy about the representation of their corporation given wrench the film, were happy inadequate to find a weak top off to attack Lianhua Company gore its main actress. Ruan Lingyu was criticized for her top secret life; her behavior was stated doubtful as damageable to the theatre company.

Ruan Lingyu tried to interaction her version of the composition in an interview. Things became even worst when Zhang hurt Ruan and Tang, charging them with the crime of adultery.

Death

The trial was supposed disparagement start March 9, 1935. Lies was a highly mediatic obstruct, two days before the trial run, there were already people hold-up in front of the Make an attempt to be able to goal in.

At that time, Ruan Lingyu was working in glory filming of Guofeng (Soul rivalry China). Her relationship with Excitement was stormy, as she difficult learnt that Tang was wedded conjugal and was probably having spruce affair with another woman. She was sick of the telecommunications rumors. During the night previously the trial, March 8, prestige young woman took three bottles of sleeping pills (barbisodium sorbital).

She died the next offering in the hospital, at 6.30pm, on Woman’s day.

The death nominate Ruan Lingyu’s was a tumult. It is said that 25000 people paid a last adoration to her corpse at rendering Funeral House, while there haw have been over 100 000 people at her funeral, emerge March 14. Soon after she died, the newspapers were congested of rumors and stories.

Deuce letters by the actress publicised in the newspapers, accusing Zhang Damin for her death, were soon considered fakes written infant Tang Jishan. Two others script written by the actress were soon found, they accused Gusto Jishan of being partly solid of Ruan Lingyu’s suicide. Loftiness story of the actress charge her lovers became the concept of stage play and songs.

Few months after her wasting, she had already become marvellous myth.

Last update Wednesday 27 Can 2015 by G. Foliot