Ai Xia (; 29 November 1912 – 15 February 1934) was a Chinese left-wing

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

actress and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. She committed suicide in 1934, the first Chinese actor to have done so. Her suicide inspired

Cai Chusheng Cai Chusheng (January 12, 1906 – July 15, 1968) was a 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 for his progres ...

's classic film ''

New Women ''New Women'' () is a 1935 Chinese silent drama film produced by the United Photoplay Service. It is sometimes translated as ''New Woman''. The film starred Ruan Lingyu (in her penultimate film) and was directed by Cai Chusheng. This film beca ...

'' starring

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 ...

, who also killed herself soon after the release of the film.

Life and career

Ai Xia was born Yan Yinan () on November 29, 1912 in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

to a large middle-class family. She attended university. After graduating, she fell in love with her cousin and had a child. Her family disapproved of the relationship, resulting in her lover leaving. In 1928, she was in an arranged marriage but, as a personal protest, left home for

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

to pursue a career in film. Ai Xia started her career as a stage actor with the South China Theater Society (''Nanguo jushe''), founded by

Tian Han Tian Han ( zh, 田汉; 12 March 1898 – 10 December 1968), formerly romanized as T'ien Han, was a Chinese drama activist, playwright, a leader of revolutionary music and films, as well as a translator and poet. He emerged at the time of the ...

, before joining the Leftists Dramatists League (''Zuoyi juzuojia lianmeng''). She was introduced to Mingxing (Star) Film Company in 1932. She wrote a book ''Xiandai yi Nüxing'' (''A Woman of Today'') in 1933. The book was adapted as a film in the same year. Despite the intrigue around the story, the film was not well received by critics because of its focus on revolution. Ai Xia was one of only two female screenwriters during the "Left-Wing" movement in

Chinese film The cinema of China is the filmmaking and film industry of mainland China, one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese languages, Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan. China is the hom ...

. She starred in a total of eight films in her lifetime.

Death and legacy

Ai committed suicide in 1934 by consuming raw

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

. Being the first actress in the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

to do so, her death is considered iconic in Chinese film. The film ''

'' is based on her life. It stars actress

who also committed suicide shortly after the film's release in 1935. It is speculated that director

may have been romantically involved with Ai and thus, made the film for personal reasons.

Filmography

*''

Adventures in a Battlefield An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sp ...

'' (1922) *'' Jiu hen xin chou'' (1922) *'' Chuncan (Spring Silkworms)'' (1933) *'' Good Harvest'' (1933) *'' Sons and Daughters of the Times'' (1933) *''

A Woman of Today ''A Woman of Today'' () is a 1954 West German drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Luise Ullrich, Curd Jürgens and Carsta Löck.Berghahn p. 177 It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich with location footage at the Brenner Pas ...

'' (1933) *'' Two Verses One'' (1933) *'' Cosmetics of Market'' (1933)

Bibliography

*''

'' (现代一女性, 1933)

References

External links

*
Ai Xia
at the Chinese Movie Database
A Woman of Today
in the

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...