Chen Liting | |
|---|---|
| 陈鲤庭 | |
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| Born | 20 October 1910 Shanghai, China |
| Died | 27 August 2013(2013-08-27) (aged 102) Shanghai, China |
| Other names | Chen Sibai (陈思白) |
| Alma mater | Daxia University |
| Occupation(s) | Playwright, director, screenwriter, film theorist |
| Notable work | Put Down Your Whip Qu Yuan Far Away Love Women Side by Side |
| Spouse | Mao Yinfen |
| Children | Chen Maoni |
Chen Liting (Chinese:陈鲤庭;pinyin:Chén Lǐtíng; 20 October 1910 – 27 August 2013) was a Chineseplaywright, drama and film director,screenwriter, and film theorist. He was one of the most prominent film directors and screenwriters in pre-Communist China, together withShi Dongshan,Cai Chusheng, andZheng Junli.[1] His most famous film wasWomen Side by Side (1949).
Chen was abandoned as an infant, and then lost both foster parents during early childhood. Before becoming a film director, Chen worked mainly in drama. His patriotic playPut Down Your Whip was highly influential and performed countless times during theJapanese invasion of China. During the war he also made a famous staging of the playQu Yuan, and wrote one of the first Chinese books on film theory.
After the early 1950s, Chen's attempts at filmmaking were repeatedly thwarted by the PRC government for political reasons. He worked as general manager of Tianma Film Studio before being imprisoned during theCultural Revolution. After his rehabilitation at the end of the period, he spent three years on the historical filmDa Feng Ge, but retired after that film was also cancelled due to politics.
Born inShanghai on 20 October 1910,[2] Chen Liting was abandoned as an infant and adopted by foster parents.[3] However, he lost his adoptive father at the age of four, and three years later his adoptive mother also died.[3] Chen was brought up by his uncle, the brother of his adoptive father. He attended a boarding school inJiangyin at the age of 12, and in 1924 enteredChengzhong Middle School in Shanghai.[3]
As a high school student at Chengzhong, Chen was influenced by the post-May Fourth surge of modern drama.[3] In 1928, he enteredDaxia University (a predecessor ofEast China Normal University) in Shanghai,[3] where he translated, directed, and acted inThe Rising of the Moon, a play by the Irish dramatistLady Gregory. It was the first Chinese production of the play.[1]
After university, Chen worked as a primary school teacher in ruralNanhui County outside of Shanghai. In late 1931, he wrote the patriotic playPut Down Your Whip (also translated asLay Down Your Whip), inspired byMeiniang, an earlier play byTian Han.[4] It became extremely influential and was staged countless times throughout China during theSecond Sino-Japanese War.[1][4] The play was staged both by amateur performers as well as famous actors. The actressWang Ying even performed an English version of the play in the White House forPresident Roosevelt andhis wife.[5] The futureMadame Mao, then known as Li Yunhe, was also among its many performers.[5] The play has been described in Chinese media as a "spiritual atomic bomb" against Japanese invaders.[6][7] It also inspired famous paintings by artistsXu Beihong andSitu Qiao.[8]
Chen returned to Shanghai in 1932, where he wrote film reviews and translated Soviet books on filmmaking into Chinese. After theJapanese invaded China in 1937, Chen joined the resistance movement, serving as the leader of the fourth brigade of the Shanghai Salvation Drama Troupe, which performed numerous patriotic street plays includingPut Down Your Whip. The troupe fled Shanghai before it fell to the Japanese, traveling and performing for the next three years under harsh conditions through central and southwest China.[1]
In 1941, Chen arrived inChongqing, China's wartime capital, where he joined the China Film Studio and the Central Cinematography Studio run by theNationalist government. However, he mainly worked in theatre, directing plays written byWu Zuguang,Xia Yan, andChen Baichen. His most impressive wartime contribution was the staging ofQu Yuan, a famous 1942 play byGuo Moruo.[1] In 1942, he also publishedRules of Cinema, which is considered the first comprehensive Chinese book on film theory.[6][9]
After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Chen returned to Shanghai. He joined the China Film No. 2 Studio that was newly established by the Nationalist government. He wrote and directed the filmFar Away Love, whose premiere in Shanghai's Huanghou Theatre on 18 January 1947 was considered a landmark event in postwar Chinese cinema.[1] The film starred prominent actors and actresses such asZhao Dan,Qin Yi, andWu Yin, and the Ministry of Defence put uniformed soldiers under Chen's command for the filming. It was the first in a series of controversial epics on the social turmoil caused by the war. In late 1947, he made another filmRhapsody of Happiness, written by Chen Baichen.[1]
After moving to theKunlun Film Company, a new private studio, Chen directedWomen Side by Side (also translated asThree Women orFemale Fighters) in early 1949. Chen and the famous playwrightTian Han cowrote the screenplay.[1] The film is his most famous and it is considered his masterpiece.[9]
After the founding the People's Republic of China in 1949, Chen directed two more films:Inescapable (1950) andWork Is Beautiful (1951). But he worked mostly in administrative positions, serving as a member of theNational People's Congress, and general manager of Tianma Film Studio from 1957 until 1966.[10]
In the 1950s Chen was appointed director for the upcoming filmLi Shizhen. However, due to his insistence that the director, rather than government administrators, have artistic control, he was dismissed and the film was directed by his friendShen Fu.[11][12]
In the early 1960s, Chen spent three years preparing to make a film about the life ofLu Xun, starringZhao Dan,Yu Lan, andSun Daolin,[13] but the film was cancelled by the Shanghai'sCommunist Party ChiefKe Qingshi for political reasons.[11]
Like many other intellectuals, Chen was imprisoned during theCultural Revolution (1966–76). After being rehabilitated at the end of the period, Chen returned to work for theShanghai Film Studio, where he was responsible for artistic quality.[10] He andChen Baichen worked together for three years to make the historical filmDa Feng Ge, based on theHan dynasty palace intrigues ofEmpress Lü after the death ofEmperor Gaozu.[12] However, the film was again cancelled by high-ranking politicians, as it was reminiscent of the political struggles after the death of ChairmanMao Zedong. Chen Baichen had a heart attack on hearing news of the cancellation, while Chen Liting, then almost 70 years old, retired from filmmaking.[11]
In 2008, Chen Liting's biography by Xia Yu (夏瑜), titledFar Away Love after his film, was published by China Film Publishing House (ISBN 9787106029890).[12] He was awarded a prize by Chinese PresidentHu Jintao for making "exceptional contributions to the art of drama".[11]
On the morning of 27 August 2013, Chen Liting died atHuadong Hospital in Shanghai at the age of 102.[6][13]
Chen Liting married Mao Yinfen (毛吟芬) during theGreat Leap Forward. After nearly 40 years of marriage, she died on 18 September 1998.[14] The couple had one child, a daughter named Chen Maoni (陈毛妮),[11] who emigrated to the United States.[3]
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