Shi Yongfen (; 27 June 1921 – 27 August 1999), known professionally as Bai Guang (; also credited as Pai Kwong, Bai Kwong and Bai Kwang), was a Chinese actress and singer. By the 1940s, she became one of the Seven Great Singing Stars.

Early life

Shi Yongfen was born in 1921 in Zhuozhou,

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

. Her father was a

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

under general Shang Zhen. In her early years, she was a student of the Beiping Salon Theatrical Troupe (), and once performed

Cao Yu Cao Yu (, September 24, 1910 – December 13, 1996) was a Chinese playwright, often regarded as one of China's most important playwrights of the 20th century. His best-known works are ''Thunderstorm'' (1933), ''Sunrise'' (1936) and ''Peking Man' ...

's play ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

''. In 1937, she studied at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

's music department until World War II in 1942. After drama school, she wanted to be a movie star. As she proclaimed, she wanted to be like the beams of light coming off the

movie projector A movie projector (or film projector) is an optics, opto-mechanics, mechanical device for displaying Film, motion picture film by projecting it onto a movie screen, screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illuminat ...

s onto the big screen; hence her stage name.

Career

Her

mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; later influences came from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkien pop ...

songs were often used in many of her movies as soundtracks. In an age and culture where light, higher voices were usually favored, she had a slightly deep and hoarse voice, which helped her become a big star in Shanghai.Baidu.
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." ''Bai Guang.'' Retrieved on 2007-04-28. People called her the "Queen of the Low Voice" (). Bai's big screen career started in 1943.Music Sogua.

." ''Bai Guang.'' Retrieved on 2007-04-28. She was known for playing seductive roles due to her flirtatious image on screen and has also played villains at times. She lent a more dramatic tone or sexy attitude to her songs. Some of her hits were "Autumn Evening" (), "Without You" (), "The Pretender" (), "Revisiting Old Dreams" (), and "Waiting For You" (). After the war, Bai Guang moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and joined Great Wall Pictures. In 1949, ''A Forgotten Woman'' () was shown in Hong Kong. Even the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Alexander Grantham Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham, GCMG ( zh, c=葛量洪; 15 March 1899 – 4 October 1978) was a British colonial administrator who governed Hong Kong and Fiji. Early life, colonial administration career Grantham was born on ...

, went as a fan. By 1950, Bai, tired of the low-quality films, retired as an actress in China. After marrying an American GI in 1951, she moved to Japan and successfully opened a nightclub in Tokyo's

Ginza Ginza ( ; ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, Tokyo, Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo ...

district in 1953. The union did not last, and she returned to Hong Kong, recording some music through 1959 when she officially retired. In 1969, she resettled in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia, where she married a man 20 years her junior named Yan Lianglong (), who was also one of her fans. She performed to wide acclaim in 1979 in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

, Taiwan. Her last public appearance was in 1995 on Hong Kong's TV top 10 Chinese singing awards.

Death

Bai Guang died from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

on 27 August 1999, at the age of 78, in her house at Kuala Lumpur's Damansara Heights suburb. She was buried at the Nirvana Memorial Park, Semenyih.

Filmography

* Love Peas of Southland () (1943) * The Fire of Love () (1945) * Sinister House #13 () (1947) * Spy Ring 626 () (1948) * Blood Stained Begonia () (1949) * A Forgotten Woman () (1949) * Songs in the Rainy Nights () (1950) * A Strange Woman () (1950) * Hours Passed the Wedding () (1950) * Smiling Rose () (1951) * Tears of Songstress () (1953) * Fresh Peony () (1956)

References

External links

*
Bai Guang songs online
* * *
Actress at China's Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Guang 1921 births 1999 deaths Actresses from Beijing Singers from Beijing Chinese film actresses 20th-century Chinese actresses Deaths from colorectal cancer in Malaysia 20th-century Chinese women singers Chinese Civil War refugees Chinese emigrants to Malaysia Pathé Records (China) artists