Ruan Lingyu

Lore & Background

Ruan was born to a working class family in Shanghai; her father died when she was young, and her mother worked as a housemaid. In 1926, to help make ends meet, she signed up for the Mingxing Film Company and made her first film at age 16. After moving to Lianhua Studio in 1930, her first major hit was Spring Dream of an Old Capital, in which she played a prostitute. She became Lianhua's major film star, and in 1933 was voted second runner-up in a poll for China's 'movie queen'. Her most acclaimed film, The Goddess (1934), is often hailed as the pinnacle of Chinese silent cinema; she sympathetically portrayed a prostitute bringing up a child. Her penultimate film, New Women (1934), was based on the life of actress Ai Xia, who killed herself in 1934.

Reader's Guide

Ruan Ling-yu's significance lies in her status as one of the most prominent Chinese film stars of the 1930s and her enduring legacy as an icon of Chinese cinema. Her exceptional acting ability, particularly in films such as The Goddess and New Women, showcased her range in portraying complex, suffering women. Her suicide at age 24, following intense tabloid coverage of her personal life and lawsuits, sparked widespread public mourning and commentary, including an essay by intellectual Lu Xun denouncing the tabloids. The authenticity of her suicide notes has been disputed, with some believed to have been forged by her companion Tang Jishan. Her funeral procession was reportedly 3 miles long, with three women committing suicide during the event, and The New York Times called it 'the most spectacular funeral of the century.' Her life and death continue to be studied as a reflection of the pressures faced by early Chinese film stars and the power of media scrutiny.

Did You Know?

• Ruan's first film, A Married Couple in Name Only, was directed by Bu Wancang.
• Her film Love and Duty (1931), long believed lost, was discovered in Uruguay in 1994.
• The New York Times called her funeral 'the most spectacular funeral of the century.'
• Two sets of suicide notes exist; the earlier set is believed to have been forged by Tang Jishan.