Shi Hui (1915 – December 1957), born Shi Yutao (), was a Chinese actor and film director who gained prominence throughout the 1940s through 1950s. Despite his fame, Shi became a victim of the

Anti-Rightist Movement 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 was ...

in the mid-1950s and committed suicide soon thereafter.

Career

Shi's career as an actor began relatively late. His first film was not until 1940's ''The Chaotic World'' (dir.

Wu Renzhi Wu may refer to: States and regions on modern China's territory *Wu (state) (; och, *, italic=yes, links=no), a kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period 771–476 BCE ** Suzhou or Wu (), its eponymous capital ** Wu County (), a former county i ...

), and he would not gain broad recognition until after the war, with a series of classic films including ''Phony Phoenixes'' (dir. Huang Zuolin) and ''

Long Live the Missus! ''Long Live the Missus!'' ( zh, t=太太萬歲, s=太太万岁, first=t; pinyin: Tàitai Wànsuì) is a 1947 Chinese comedy film known as one of the best comedies of the civil war era. The film was directed by Sang Hu ( 桑弧) with a screenplay wr ...

'' (dir.

Sang Hu Sang or SANG may refer to: Organizations *Saudi Arabian National Guard, Saudi Arabian military force Places *Sang, Kerman, a village in Kerman Province, Iran *Sang, Northern Region, a town in Mion District, Northern Region, Ghana *Sang, Seka, a ...

).Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei (1998). "Shi Hui" in ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Film''. Taylor & Francis, p. 304. . He also played the lead in ''

Ai le zhongnian ''Miserable at Middle Age'' () is a 1949 Chinese film directed by Sang Hu (). The screenplay was written by Eileen Chang, and the film was produced by the Wenhua Film Company. It has appeared in several polls of the top Chinese films of all time, ...

(The Joys and Sorrows of Middle Age),'' which is often ranked as one of the greatest Chinese films of all time. After the Communist takeover, Shi became increasingly involved with the making of films behind the camera, directing himself in the classic ''

This Life of Mine ''This Life of Mine'' is a novella by Lao She.Zhen Zhang ''Chinese Cinema and Society at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century'' 0822390000 2007 "A decade after he published This Life of Mine, Lao She wrote a play, Chaguan (Teahouse), which al ...

''. Shi continued to direct throughout the early years of the 1950s, even gaining international attention with 1954's ''

Letter with Feather ''Leather with Feather'' () (also known as ''Urgent Letter'') is a 1954 Chinese film directed by Shi Hui (actor), Shi Hui and written by the playwright and filmmaker, Zhang Junxiang. A war film that was targeted at Children's film, children, ''Let ...

'', which won a prize at the

Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

. The next year, he filmed a stage performance of a Chinese Opera in '' The Heavenly Match'', which became a popular hit with audiences in Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter, however, Shi ran afoul with Communist authorities and was denounced during the

as a reactionary, leading eventually to his suicide by drowningFacts on File - history Database
/ref> in December 1957.

Filmography

As director

As actor

References

External links

*
Shi Hui
at the Chinese Movie Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Shi, Hui 1915 births 1957 deaths Yaohua High School alumni Tianjin Nankai High School alumni Male actors from Tianjin Chinese male stage actors Film directors from Tianjin Suicides in the People's Republic of China 20th-century Chinese male actors Chinese male film actors Chinese film directors Victims of the Anti-Rightist Campaign Suicides by drowning in China 1957 suicides