Chen Yanyan (; 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) The Republic of China (ROC), between 1912 and 1949, was a sovereign state recognised as the official designation of China when it was based on Mainland China, prior to the Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan, relocat ...

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Life

Chen was born as Chen Jianyan in

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

, 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 The United Photoplay Service Company () was one of the three dominant production companies based in Shanghai, China during the 1930s, the other two being the Mingxing Film Company and the Tianyi Film Company, the forerunner of the Hong Kong-based ...

was recording in Beijing. She returned each day after attending the Sacred Heart Girls School and struck up a conversation with

Cai Chusheng Cai Chusheng (January 12, 1906 – July 15, 1968) was a Cinema of China, Chinese film director of the pre-Communist era, and was the first Chinese director to win an international film award at the Moscow International Film Festival. Best known ...

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. However the film was successful 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 Florence Lim (21 January 1905 – 16 February 1979), better known as Lim Cho-cho, was a Chinese Canadian actress in the cinema of the Republic of China and British Hong Kong from 1925 to 1954. She was the second wife of filmmaker Lai Man-Wai a ...

, 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.Chen Yanyan: The Swallow Next Door
, ChineseMirror, Retrieve 6 November 2016 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. Chen had a very good Mandarin accent which was useful as sound appeared in Chinese movies in the 1930s. In 1932 she starred in her first film "Nanguo zhi Chun" 南国之春 (Springtime in the South). 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. Li Lili and Chen Yanyan in 1934's 'The Big Road'

Li Lili and Chen Yanyan in 1934's 'The Big Road'

The 1934 film "The Great Road" is thought to have brought her star status when she played Dingxiang (Orchid). Hers is the last face to appear onscreen. This film also made a star of

Li Lili Li Lili (; 2 June 1915 – 7 August 2005) was a Chinese film actress and singer. Her films '' Playthings'', '' The Great Road'' and ''Storm on the Border'' were blockbusters of the 1930s and 1940s.Elaine DuanTop 10 legendary Chinese women in th ...

and these two together with

Ruan Lingyu Ruan Lingyu (born Ruan Fenggen; April 26, 1910 – March 8, 1935), also known by her English name Lily Yuen, was a Chinese silent film actress. One of the most prominent Chinese film stars of the 1930s, her exceptional acting ability and suicid ...

and

Wang Renmei Wang Renmei (; December 1914 – 2 April 1987) was a famous Chinese actress and singer nicknamed the "Wildcat of Shanghai". She was mainly active during the 1930s, and her most notable film was the 1934 '' Song of the Fishermen'' (available onl ...

were the female stars of the Lianhua film company.Chinese Film Classics: Chen Yanyan: https://chinesefilmclassics.org/chen-yanyan-%e9%99%b3%e7%87%95%e7%87%95/ 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 The Xinhua or New China Film Company (), was one of the film studios to capitalize on the popularity of the leftist film movement in 1930s Shanghai, that had begun with the Mingxing and Lianhua studios. It is not related to the modern-day Xinhua Ne ...

where she again became a bankable star in their films. 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 Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

with her second husband Wang Hao 王豪. The company made two films and the company ended at the same time as the marriage. Chen produced two films herself, "Love Fiesta", in 1957 and in 1961 "Shark of the Pacific".Chen Yan-Yan
HKMDB, Retrieved 7 November 2016 She won a best supporting actress award in 1961 at the Asian Film Festival for her appearance in the 1961 film "Misfortune". In 1963 she joined the Hong Kong based

Shaw Brothers Studio Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

and she gained more award nominations for her acting. Chen retired from films in 1972, but she still appeared on TV. In 1991 she appeared as herself in " Center Stage" which was a film about the short life of her fellow actress

. Chen died in 1999.

Filmography

Liangyou 096 cover Chen Yanyan 陈燕燕 and Wang Renmei 王人美

Film

TV series

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Yanyan 1916 births 1999 deaths Actors from Ningbo Chinese film actresses 20th-century Hong Kong actresses Hong Kong film actresses Hong Kong television actresses Actresses from Zhejiang Chinese television actresses 20th-century Chinese actresses Chinese silent film actresses Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong