Wang Renmei: The Wildcat of ShanghaiWang Renmei was on a fast track to become one of China’s leading film stars in the 1930s. Her early films were received with magnificent praise by audiences and critics alike, though she later lamented that she became famous too early and never had a chance to properly study acting. The film Song of the Fishermen in which she sang and played a major role was the first Chinese motion picture to win an International Award in Moscow in 1935. Wang’s personal struggles reflected the turbulent period from the end of the Qing dynasty to the rise of Deng Xiaoping. This study explores her artistic achievements amid the prevalent anti-feminist and feudal society in China prior to the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949—attitudes which contributed to the downturn of Wang’s promising career and forced her to accept various bit parts among the more than twenty films in which she appeared. In addition, personal problems as well as the Anti-Rightist Movement and the Cultural Revolution led to her hospitalization for mental illness. Wang’s life is emblematic of the experiences of many left-wing and Communist Party members from the Shanghai film community who were viewed with suspicion and enmity by the Yan’an clique headed by Mao and later the Gang of Four. Wang’s performances in World War II for the Nationalist troops as well as her work with the US forces in China had a dire effect on her career after 1949. Yet today, her films are being discovered again. |
Contents
Land of Fish and Rice | 1 |
The Bright Moon Troupe | 9 |
Overnight Stardom | 19 |
Song of the Fishermen and the Creation of Wildcat | 33 |
Exodus from Shanghai | 51 |
Chaos in China | 81 |
Wang Renmei in the End | 95 |
Interview with Qin Yi July 4 2009 | 101 |
Interview with Dr Wang Yong March 26 2010 | 113 |
Interview with Yuhua Dong June 12 2011 | 125 |
Filmography of Wang Renmei 19141987 | 135 |
Sources for Wang Renmeis Films | 141 |
Bibliography | 143 |
About the Author | 155 |
Common terms and phrases
actors actress audience became Beijing Film Studio Boundless Spring Bright Moon Troupe brother Cai Chusheng career Cast Chairman Mao Changsha Chen chengming yu buxing Chinese Cinema Cinematography Communist Party Cultural Revolution Daughters of Wind Deng Xiaoping director Encyclopedia of Chinese famous father Film Company Fishermen Guomindang Hong Kong Hunan husband Ibid Japanese Jiang Jin Yan Jinhui join later Li Jinhui Lianhua Studios Little Cat Mao Zedong Mao's Meimei School Memoir Metropolis Meyer movie Nie Er performance Photo pirates Qiling Qin Yi Renyi Republic of China role sang scene Shi Dongshan Silent Film Festival singer singing and dancing singsong girl sister Soaring Aspirations Song story student Sun Yu Tian Tian Han University Press Wang Renmei Wang Renmei plays Wang's wife Wild Rose Wildcat Wu Yonggang Xiao Feng Yan'an Ye Qianyu young Yuan Zhang Shankun