Bai Chen (; 22 May 1922 – 5 November 2002), born Tian Zuheng (

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

: 田祖恒), was a Chinese film director, screenwriter, and actor.

Life and career

Born in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

, the son of a

Hanlin Academy The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an. It has also been translated as "College of Literature" and "Academy of the Forest of Pen ...

member, Bai became orphan of both parents when he was 11. He started his career on stage while being in high school, and during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served as an actor for the troupes. After working as an actor in Shanghai, in 1946, he moved to Hong Kong, where he served as assistant director of

Zhu Shilin Zhu Shilin () (27 July 1899 – 5 January 1967), also romanised as Chu Shek Lin, was a Chinese film director and screenwriter, born in Taicang, Jiangsu, China. Zhu began his career in the thriving film industry of Shanghai, directing actresses ...

and started appearing in small roles in films. Bai made his directorial debut in 1949, specializing in opera films. Because of his political positions, he was expelled from Hong Kong in 1952, and returned to Shanghai, where was put under contract at

Shanghai Film Studio The Shanghai Film Studio (), one of the three biggest film studios in China, is the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs. History Shangh ...

. In 1955, he had a major hit with the war-drama ''Storm on the Southern Island''. In 1956, he formed the "Society of Five Flowers" together with colleagues

Xie Jin Xie Jin (; 21 November 1923 – 18 October 2008) was a Chinese film director. He rose to prominence in 1957, directing the film '' Woman Basketball Player No. 5'', and is considered one of the Third Generation directors of China. Most recently h ...

, Xu Changlin and Yang Hua, with the aim of collaborating and supporting each other's project. Following the launch of the

Anti-Rightist Campaign The Anti-Rightist Campaign () in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from 1957 to roughly 1959, was a political campaign to purge alleged " Rightists" within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country as a whole. The campaign w ...

, Bai was marked as a

Rightist Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property, r ...

and sent to

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

to work as a farm labourer. After collaborating with the Anhui Provincial Drama Troupe, in 1979 he was able to return to Shangai and reprise his career, making his official comeback with ''Ten Days'', released in 1980. His 1983 film ''Under the Bridge'' was entered into the 41st Venice International Film Festival, and was the first chapter in his critically acclaimed "Women's Trilogy", also consisting of ''Spring in the Autumn'' (1985), and ''Wind Coming Down the Mountains'' (1990). These final three films won several accolades, and contributed to launch the careers of actresses and Song Jia. He died on 5 November 2002, at the age of 80.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Bai 1922 births 2002 deaths People from Suzhou Chinese film directors Chinese male screenwriters Chinese male film actors