28 Facts About Shu Xiuwen

Shu Xiuwen, romanized as Shu Hsiu-wen, was a Chinese film and stage actress, as well as the first voice actress in China.

Shu Xiuwen grew up in poverty but made a name for herself in the drama and film industry of Shanghai before the Second Sino-Japanese War, and then in the wartime capital Chongqing.

Shu Xiuwen starred in numerous films and stage plays, including her most acclaimed film The Spring River Flows East, and was recognized as one of China's top four actresses.

Shu Xiuwen is known for her versatility and her performances greatly influenced later generations of Chinese actors.

Shu Xiuwen was born in Anqing, Anhui Province, in 1915.

Shu Xiuwen's grandfather was a prominent Confucian scholar, but her family had become impoverished.

When Shu Xiuwen was in high school herself, her father lost his job and she was forced to drop out to help her mother with the family's housework.

Shu Xiuwen's father tried to sell her to repay his debts, but she escaped and worked as an escort and dancing girl at a club on East Chang'an Street.

Shu Xiuwen found work teaching Mandarin at the Tianyi Film Company and served as a voice actress in Tianyi's Sing-Song Girl Red Peony, China's first sound film, thus becoming China's first voice actress.

Shu Xiuwen was introduced to Chen Yumei, the star actress of Tianyi, who gave Shu a minor role in the film A Girl Named Yunlan.

Shu Xiuwen's acting experience enabled her to find work with the Jimei Song and Dance Troupe.

When Tian Han formed the new Spring and Autumn Troupe, Shu Xiuwen soon joined it and became its main actress.

Shu Xiuwen performed many stage plays such as Death of a Star, Seven Women in the Storm, and Killing of an Infant.

Shu Xiuwen starred in Tian Han's National Survival and Yang Hansheng's Raging Waves of the China Sea.

Shu Xiuwen joined the mass exodus of refugees for the wartime capital Chongqing, where she worked for the government-run China Film Studio.

Shu Xiuwen starred in several films such as Defend Our Land, A Good Husband, and Frontier Storm.

From 1941 to 1946, Shu Xiuwen devoted herself to performing anti-Japanese and patriotic stage plays such as Thunderstorm and Sunrise by the famous playwright Cao Yu.

Shu Xiuwen's acting skills established her reputation as one of China's "Four Great Actresses" of the time, together with Bai Yang, Qin Yi, and Zhang Ruifang.

Shu Xiuwen returned to Shanghai after the war ended in 1945.

Shu Xiuwen starred in several acclaimed films, including Killer, Weakness, Your Name Is Woman, and the most celebrated film of her career The Spring River Flows East.

In 1948 and 1949, during the Chinese Civil War, Shu Xiuwen went to Hong Kong and starred in Flowers Fall in Spring City, Way of Love, and Wild Fire, Spring Wind.

Shu Xiuwen was transferred to Beijing in 1957 and became deputy art director of the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

Shu Xiuwen was elected to the 1st Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the 2nd and 3rd National People's Congress, the executive committee of the All-China Women's Federation, and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

Shu Xiuwen served as managing director of the China Theatre Association and the China Film Association.

Shu Xiuwen did not survive the persecution and died on 17 March 1969 at age 54 from heart failure.

Shu Xiuwen is remembered as one of the greatest actresses of her era, best known for her versatility.

Shu Xiuwen was able to portray a wide range of roles both in film and on stage, including a rural woman forced to kill her newborn child because of abject poverty, a naive but kind girl, and a polished but cruel social butterfly.

In 2005, Shu Xiuwen was voted as one of the 100 best actors of the 100 years of Chinese cinema.