Chen Yanyan

Chen Yanyan (Chinese: 陳燕燕; Wade–Giles: Ch'en Yen-yen; 12 January 1916 – 7 May 1999), born Chen Jianyan, was a Chinese actress and film producer in the cinema of Republic of China (1912–1949), British Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Chen Yanyan
陳燕燕
Chen Yanyan in 1950s.
Born	Chen Jianyan (陳煎燕) 12 January 1916 Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
Died	7 May 1999 (aged 83) Hong Kong
Other names	Chen Yen-yen
Known for	Chinese film actress
Spouse(s)	Huang Shaofen Wang Hao
Children	one

Life

Chen was born as Chen Jianyan in Ningbo, China in 1916. Chen was obsessed with films as a young girl. When she was 14 she visited the set of "Spring Dream in the Old Capital (故都春梦)" which the Lianhua Film Company was recording in Beijing. She returned each day after attending the Sacred Heart Girls School and struck up a conversation with Cai Chusheng who was to shortly direct his own films. She was given a chance to appear in the film as a screen test by the director Sun Yu. Her appearance was not included in the film as she had been cast as a prostitute and she looked too young for that to be acceptable.[1] However the film was successful[2] she was offered a job but it was only with great difficulty that she persuaded her father. The film company sent around one of their actresses, Lim Cho Cho, who was known for her integrity. Her father was persuaded but he insisted that she never discussed her work at home and that she would not use the family's name.[1]

Chen left for Shanghai with her mother as a chaperone and within three years she was an acknowledged star known as "The Swallow" with a particular appeal to college students.[1] Chen had a very good Mandarin accent which was useful as sound appeared in Chinese movies in the 1930s.[3]

In 1932 she starred in her first film "Nanguo zhi Chun" 南国之春 (Springtime in the South).[1] She also co-starred in the film Three Modern Women which told of three archetypal women competing for the love of the hero. The story was well received and in particular its left-wing approach.[4]

Li Lili and Chen Yanyan in "The Big Road"

The 1934 film "The Big Road" is thought to have brought her star status when she played Dingxiang. This film also made a star of Li Lili and these two together with Ruan Lingyu and Wang Renmei were the female stars of the Lianhua film company.[1]

In 1937 the war began in Shanghai and she soon married Huang Shaofen who was a cinematographer she had known for some years. They had a daughter, Wong Tin-lai (王天丽), but ended in divorce. She stayed in Shanghai and worked for the Xinhua Film Company where she again became a bankable star in their films.[1]

Chen Yanyan in 1942's 'Wedding Night' with Liu Qiong

In 1949 she moved and she co-founded her own company Haiyan Film Studio in Hong Kong with her second husband Wang Hao 王豪. The company made two films and the company ended at the same time as the marriage.[1]

Chen produced two films herself, "Love Fiesta", in 1957 and in 1961 "Shark of the Pacific".[5] She won a best supporting actress award in 1961 at the Asian Film Festival for her appearance in the 1961 film "Misfortune".[3] In 1963 she joined the Hong Kong based Shaw Brothers Studio and she gained more award nominations for her acting.[1]

Chen retired from films in 1972, but she still appeared on TV.[3] In 1991 she appeared as herself in "Center Stage" which was a film about the short life of her fellow actress Ruan Lingyu.[5]

Chen died in 1999.

Filmography

Cover of The Young Companion (October 1934) featuring Chen Yanyan (standing) and Wang Renmei.

Film

Year	English title	Original title	Role	Notes
1930	Dream of the Ancient Capital	故都春夢		Lost
	Suicide Contract	自殺合同		Lost
1931	Love and Duty	戀愛與義務	Ping'er
	A Spray of Plum Blossoms	一剪梅	A Qiao (Lucetta)
	Two Stars	銀漢雙星
1932	Story of the South	南國之春	Li Xiaohong
	Conscienceless	人道		Lost
	Answering the Nation's Call	共赴國難		Lost?
	Another Dream of the Ancient Capital	續故都春夢		Lost
	Struggling	奮鬥
1933	Three Modern Women	三個摩登女性	Chen Ruoying	Lost
	New Year's Eve	除夕		Lost
	The Light of Maternal Instinct	母性之光	Shao Mei
1934	Pear Flowers in Rainstorm	暴雨梨花		Lost
	The Iron Bird	鐵鳥		Lost
	The Kindred Feelings	骨肉之恩		Lost
	The Big Road	大路	Ding Xiang
1935	The Evil Beauty	蛇蠍美人		Lost
	Song of China	天倫
	A Fallen Goose by the Cold River	寒江落雁
1936	A Heroic Girl	孤城烈女	Chen Yiyi
1937	Lianhua Symphony	聯華交響曲		Segment 2: "Nightmare in Spring Chamber" (春閨斷夢)
	Spring Comes Everywhere	春到人間
	Song of a Kind Mother	慈母曲
	The Free World	自由天地
	New and Old Times	新舊時代
	Vistas of Art	藝海風光		Part 2: "Drama Troupe" (話劇團)
1938	A Beggar Girl	乞丐千金
	Thunderstorm	雷雨
	Four Concubines	四潘金蓮
1939	A Legendary Pipa	琵琶記
	Regrets of Life and Death	生死恨
	The White Snake	白蛇傳
1940	Legend of Sui Dynasty	隋宮春色
	The Flower Girl	花魁女
	Du Shiniang	杜十娘
	A Ghost	女鬼
1941	Bloody Tears Behind the Iron Window	鐵窗紅淚
	Family	家
1942	Wedding Night	洞房花燭夜
	Standard Lady	標準夫人
	Madame Butterfly	蝴蝶夫人
	Compassion	博愛
	Youth Passes in Vain	芳華虛度
1943	Tide of Passion	情潮
	Distant Longing	兩地相思
1947	Wedding Candles	龍鳳花燭
	Unending Love	不了情	Yu Jiayin
1948	Destruction	天魔劫
	Elusive	神出鬼沒
1949	A Lingering Dream	巫山夢迴
1953	Love Song	戀歌	Ge Ping	also producer
	The Magic World of Filmdom	銀海千秋
1954	The Beautiful Ghost of the Sea	海角芳魂	He Yichun	also producer
1956	The Long Lane	長巷
1957	Teenagers Folly	錦繡前程	Zhang Jiazhen
	Love Fiesta	春色無邊	Does not appear	producer
1960	Nobody's Child	苦兒流浪記
	The Iron Hoof of Oppression	鐵蹄下
	Reunion	音容劫
1961	Shark of the Pacific	大平洋之鯊	Does not appear	co-producer
1962	14000 Witnesses	一萬四千個證人	Does not appear	co-producer
1963	The Love Eterne	梁山伯與祝英台	Zhu Yingtai's mother
	Bitter Sweet	為誰辛苦為誰忙
	The Lady and the Thief	女人與小偷
	Three Sinners	閰惜姣
1964	Between Tears and Smiles	新啼笑姻緣
	Lady General Hua Mu-lan	花木蘭	Hua Mu-lan's mother
	The Crimson Palm	血手印
1965	The Butterfly Chalice	蝴蝶盃
	Son of Good Earth	大地兒女	Tian Degui's wife
	The Grand Substitution	萬古流芳	Cheng Ying's wife
	The Lotus Lamp	寶蓮燈
	The West Chamber	西廂記	Cui Yingying's mother
1966	The Blue and the Black	藍與黑	Mrs. Ji	Two-part film
	The Joy of Spring	歡樂青春
1967	Auntie Lan	蘭姨	Jiang Wenlan's mother
	The Goddess of Mercy	觀世音
	Too Late for Love	烽火萬里情
	Four Sisters	黛綠年華
	Sing High, Sing Low	星月爭輝
	One-Armed Swordsman	獨臂刀
	My Dream Boat	船
1968	Spring Blossoms	春暖花開
1969	Dead End	死角	Zhang Chun's mother
	The Three Smiles	三笑
1970	Heads for Sale	女俠賣人頭
	Sons and Daughters	千萬人家
	Valley of the Fangs	餓狼谷
1971	It Takes a Man to Be Henpecked	怕老婆是大丈夫
1972	The Young Avenger	小毒龍
	Trilogy of Swordsmanship	群英會		Segment 2: "The Tigress" (胭脂虎)
	The Merry Wife	娃娃夫人
	Fists of Vengeance	鐵拳燕子飛
	The 14 Amazons	十四女英豪	Geng Jinhua
	Flower in the Rain	雨中花	Yuan Ping's mother
1973	The Young Tiger	小老虎
1974	The Thunder Kick	一網打盡
1978	Mantis Combat	螳螂醉虎無影腳
1982	Dark Trap	黑圈套
1984	The Warmth of an Old House	頤園飄香
1986	This Love of Mine	我的愛

TV series

Year	English title	Original title	Role	Notes
1982	Journey	旅途
1984	Stars of Last Night	昨夜星辰
	Light Fog	輕霧

References

1. Chen Yanyan: The Swallow Next Door Archived 2016-12-07 at the Wayback Machine, ChineseMirror, Retrieve 6 November 2016
2. Laikwan Pang (1 May 2002). Building a New China in Cinema: The Chinese Left-Wing Cinema Movement, 1932-1937. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7425-7222-5.
3. Zhiwei Xiao; Yingjin Zhang (1 June 2002). Encyclopedia of Chinese Film. Routledge. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-134-74554-8.
4. Pang, Laikwan (2002). Building a New China in Cinema: The Chinese Left-wing Cinema Movement, 1932-1937. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 44. ISBN 9780742509467.
5. Chen Yan-Yan, HKMDB, Retrieved 7 November 2016