Lu Yukun (1921-2004) entered the theater world in the 1930s, and then entered the film industry, has been engaged in film and drama work for decades, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he acted more on stage than filmed.
Lü Yukun, whose original name was Lü Pei'an, was born in 1921 in Beiping to a pear garden family. Father Lü Yueqiao was once a generation of red ling, who could sing Hua Dan and QingYi, and was good at old and small, and was a rare all-rounder in the pear garden.
Lü Yukun's father died when he was 3 years old, and since then, he has been raised by his eldest brother Lu Huijun. The eldest brother sang Qingyi, and the second sister Lu Huichun sang Wusheng. The eldest sister, Lü Meiyu, and the second brother, Lü Meiqiu, are both celebrities in the Shanghai Peking Opera circle in the past.
A salon photo taken by Lu Yukun when she was young
From an early age, under the influence of her brother and sister, Lü Yukun learned to hang her voice, sing lyrics, and practice martial arts, and practiced a foundation of basic skills in Peking Opera. His mother also died when he was 13 years old, and at the age of 14, he left home alone to fight for himself in society.
He went to Shanghai to study at the Shanghai Theater Training Institute sponsored by Chen Dabei for a year, and in 1935 he participated in the performances of plays such as "Xi Shi", "Chocolate Girl" (French drama), "Poor Non-Sin" (Russian drama) and "Madame Butterfly", and made a name for himself on the stage.
On New Year's Day 1943, huaying eleven brothers were worshipped, and the front row was from left: Gu Yelu, Xu Li, Yanhua, Huang He, Lü Yukun, and the back row was from left: Xu Xinyuan, Gao Zhanfei, Jiang Ming, Dai Yanwan, Xu Liang, and Comfort
In 1936, Lu Yukun participated in the "Butterfly Song and Dance Troupe" to perform in Anqing, Wuhu and other places, and in 1937, he performed plays such as "Sunrise", "Put Down Your Whip" and "Defending Lugou Bridge" in Wuhan.
In 1938, Lü Yukun successively joined the Democracy Troupe in Changsha, the Modern Drama Society in Chongqing, the Shanghai Filmmakers Traveling Theater Troupe in Kunming, and the Nanxing Song and Dance Troupe in Guiyang. He gradually enriched his stage experience in the practice of touring performances and became the leading figure in the drama industry at that time.
Golden Riva in her youth
In 1939, Lü Yukun and his wife Jin Liwa returned to Shanghai to enter the film industry, and his debut film was "Yang Naiwu and the Little Cabbage" filmed by Guohua Company, and in the same year he played a common role in "Wen Suchen" (1939) directed by Zhu Shilin (1899-1967) and starring Liu Qiong (1913-2002) and Wang Xichun (1919-2006).
The film is based on the long-form novel "Wild Sorcerer's Exposure", which narrates the story of the Ming Dynasty Jiangnan Buyi Wen Suchen to eliminate violence and eliminate adultery, and protect the country and the people. After the release of the film, Lu Yukun was appreciated by the company's boss Liu Zhonghao (1910-1990) and director Zhang Ishikawa (1891-1953), invited him to join the Guohua Company, and signed a three-year contract to become a basic actor.
Poster for the premiere of "Deep Nights" on the "Declaration" on July 9, 1941
In 1939, Lü Yukun played a regular role in Dong Xiaowan (1939), starring Zhou Xuan (1920-1957), and in the same year he filmed "Two Episodes of Wen Suchen" (1939) at the United Company.
In 1941, he participated in Guohua's "Red Apricot Out of the Wall" (1941), starring Zhou Manhua (1922-2013) and Baiyun (1918-1982), and Lu Yukun co-starred with zhou Manhua as a man and a woman.
Stills from the movie "Princess Mei" (1941), Lu Yukun (right) and Zhou Xuan
Then, Lü Yukun and Zhou Xuan co-starred in "Mei Fei" (1941), in which he played Tang Minghuang and Zhou Xuan played Mei Fei, which was his first real starring role in Guohua Company.
This is a love tragedy, Lu Yukun acted solemnly and with extraordinary temperament; Zhou Xuan's figure was feminine and graceful, and his demeanor and words were similar to those of Peking Opera Qingyi.
In the filming of "Princess Mei", Lu Yukun and Zhou Xuan were more in tune with each other, and Zhou Xuan was a year older than him, and the appearance of the two was somewhat similar, so they began to be called Brother and Sister.
Stills from the movie "Dream Of Guanshan" (1941), from left: Yuan Shaomei, Zhou Xuan, Lü Yukun
Subsequently, Lü Yukun and Zhou Xuan also co-starred in many films such as "Deep Night" (1941), "Dream Break Guan Shan" (1941), "Mo Negative Youth" (1947), "Flowers Out of the Warbler" (1947) and many other films.
These films not only made him popular all over the country, but also made Zhou Xuan a real singer, and the reputation of "Golden Voice" is still in the world today, and "Dream of Breaking Guanshan" is a masterpiece in the history of Chinese cinema.
On March 24, 1942, the premiere poster of "Dream Breaks off the Mountain" was published in the "Declaration"
And "Dream Of Guanshan Mountain" is zhou Xuan's last film for Guohua Film Company, and after filming this film, he broke off his contract with Guohua Company.
Since 1942 was in the period of hostility and hypocrisy, Zhou Xuan announced his retirement and temporarily withdrew from the show business circle.
At this time, Guohua began to arrange for Lü Yukun to star in films such as "Nai Ho Tian" (1941), "The Golden Powder Family" (1941) and "Ghost Love" (1941).
Images of Lü Yukun in the film Long Hate Heaven (1942).
In addition, he starred in more than a dozen films such as "Rainy Night Gunshots" (1941) and "Long Hate Days" (1942) on Venus and Cathay Pacific. These films were well received by the audience.
In particular, "The Golden Powder Family" (based on Zhang Hexhui's novel of the same name), directed by Zhang Ishikawa and starring Zhou Manhua and him, has been affirmed by both inside and outside the film circle.
Cover of the brochure of the movie "Xiao Feng And Cruel Moon" (1943), Lv Yukun and Zhou Manhua
The gentlemanly boy played by Lu Yukun in the film is very outstanding. He has emphasized the reverse angle from the early stage of the film, and it is considered that he is more comfortable playing the reverse angle than the front character.
Some people commented that he played the villain "with three points of old-fashioned talent, seven points of foreign field evil less temperament." At this time, he has become popular in the film world.
Cover of the brochure of the movie "Snow Plum Wind Willow" (1944), Lv Yukun and Li Lihua
Lu Yukun is not handsome, but his face is very easy to be on the camera, and the picture image taken is very good. His popularity in the film industry does not depend on his face, but more importantly, he is willing to learn and study.
At that time, someone said: "Painstaking research is a factor in his success." At that time, he did not get the bad habits of ordinary stars, he did not like to dress himself up on weekdays, his hair was very messy, he never used "Vaseline", he dressed very casually, he was not exquisite, and some people said that it was easy to find a few holes in his clothes.
Lu Yukun's image in the film Bitter Love (1947).
The place where he lives is not spacious and eats frugally. These may be the habits left over from his previous life of poverty. But he has a bold personality and a strong personality, which has left a deep impression on people.
But what really made Lü Yukun famous in the country was the "Begonias" (1943) directed by Ma Xuweibang (1905-1961), in which Lu Yukun played the Peking opera name Dan Begonia, and Li Lihua (1924-2017) first played the warlord's aunt Luo Xiangqi, and then played "Qiu" and "Luo"'s illegitimate daughter Mei Bao.
Stills from the movie Begonia (1943), Lu Yukun
The film depicts the tragic experience of Peking Opera Mingdan being persecuted by warlords and maiming and dying. This film made him extremely popular and became famous at home and abroad.
It should be known that Lu Yukun only began his career as a film actor after becoming an "isolated island" in Shanghai, and his beautiful, thin and weak external image is in line with the handsome appearance characteristics of the famous Begonia, and the handsomeness itself is mixed with a hint of femininity.
It is this kind of temperament that is also rigid and soft, Begonia can not only play the famous prostitute Su San of the Ming Dynasty on the stage, but also be generous to the red pink confidant "Luo Cheng Calling Guan".
Lü Yukun's image in the film Begonia (1943).
At that time, the movie "Begonias" was delayed because the selection of the male protagonist "Begonias", and Li Lihua was the first actor to be determined, and the director Ma Xuweibang was still slowly preparing there, many of which were entrusted to the director to find a director to express their desire to play the male lead, until the beginning of filming was announced in early 1943.
The media at the time reported that the film's "Begonias, which took more than two million yuan and worked together to mobilize more than 1,000 people, was simultaneously released on December 21, 1943 in the three theaters of Daguang, Nanjing, and Shanghai", and "from the first round to the second and third rounds of theaters, it did not end until February 28".
Stills from the movie Begonia (1943), Lu Yukun and Li Lihua
The movie "Begonias" has achieved good box office results, and can be described as the most popular and highest-grossing movie in Ma Xuweibang's life.
The famous Peking Opera character "Begonia", played by Lu Yukun, has a neat face, light steps, and the image of walking alternately from heel to toe, and it is like a poignant and open begonia flower, which is angry in the history of China's films.
Images of Lu Yukun's interview with the TV series "Memory of Light and Shadow" in his later years
In a later interview, Mr. Lu talked about the grandeur of the film's screening: Whenever the film was screened, the iron door at the cinema door was always closed, because the seats in the cinema were already full.
Lu Yukun also said that if the movie "Begonias" was played by Zhang Guorong (1956-2003), it would definitely be better than him.
Lü Yukun, who had seen "Farewell to the Overlord" (1993), thought that this role was none other than Zhang Guorong, but there was a scene in "Begonias" that was later highly restored in "Farewell to the Overlord", which may be a tribute.
When 23-year-old Lu Yukun came out of the theater in a rickshaw at that time, she was always surrounded by a large group of crazy wives and ladies asking for autographs, shouting "Lu Yukun, I love you", the scene is like today's star chasers.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Jiang Boying founded the "GreatEr China Film Company" in Hong Kong in 1946, and Lu Yukun was invited to Hong Kong to shoot films. From 1947 to 1948, he starred in Greater China, such as "New Heavenly Night", "Bitter Love" (1947), "Four Beautiful Pictures" (1947), "Mo Negative Youth", "Midnight Dream", "Skynet Restoration" (1947), "Wind and Snow Night Return" (1948) and other films.
Images of Lü Yukun and Zhou Xuan in the film Mo Negative Youth (1947).
In 1947, when Lu Yukun was 26 years old, he starred in "The Return of the Wind and Snow Night" written and directed by Wu Zuguang (1917-2003) at the Great China Film Company in Hong Kong. This time, Lü Yukun played Wei Liansheng, a Danjiao of Peking Opera, and Sun Jinglu (1923-1989) played the bureaucratic aunt Yuchun.
In the love process between Wei Liansheng and Yuchun, it is Yuchun who initiates the active offensive, and Wei Liansheng is the passive recipient, but the love between them is not based on the relationship between the flesh and money, but on the basis of the exchange of ideas. But after the matter was discovered, Yuchun was sent to people and Wei Liansheng was exiled to another place.
Stills from the movie "Returning to the People in the Night of The Wind and Snow" (1948), standing on the left is Sun Jinglu, and the second left is Lu Yukun
Through the interpretation of the tragic and joyful love songs, the film sublimates the theme of human awakening, calls for the awakening of self-consciousness, indicts the evil forces' trampling on human dignity, and criticizes the numb and servile state of life.
After the launch of the love tragedy film "Returning from the Snowy Night", it was even more popular throughout the country and became famous at home and abroad.
In 1948, he returned to Shanghai at the invitation of Datong Company to star in "Man Sea Demon" (1948) with Lin Moyu (1924-2020).
Advertisement for the film "Returning from a Snowy Night" (1948).
Subsequently, he returned to Hong Kong and filmed films such as "Iron-Blooded Boy", "A Thousand Fishes and One Shot", "Chen Cha's Rational Fight against the Black Overlord" and "Xiaolou Night and Night Vicissitudes and Rain" in GreatEr China, Changhua, Wuzhou and other companies. In 1948 alone, he made as many as 14 films, becoming the most films lu Yukun had ever made since the film.
However, Hong Kong production bosses only focus on business vision, except for "The Return of the Snowy Night", there are not many good scripts, and Greater China is gradually declining. In 1949, Lü Yukun resolutely left Greater China and returned to Shanghai, and successively starred in "The Thirteenth Female Thief", "Whimsical Heavenly Opening" (1949) and "Two Hundred and Five Biographies/ Liyuan Heroic Martyrs" (1949) in Qihua and Datong Company respectively.
Stills from the movie "Chunjiang Hate" (1944), Lü Yukun and Wang Danfeng
Written by Tian Han (1898-1968) and directed by Zheng Xiaoqiu (1910-1989), "Two Hundred and Five Short Biographies" depicts the story of critics Yuan Shaolou and Liu Yanyun who went to various places to act and call for resistance against Japan.
After Yuan Shaolou was released, the head of the drama class sent him back to Beiping, where it was difficult to reform old dramas, and he returned to Shanghai with Liu Yanyun to perform the reformed new dramas "Yue Feichuan", "Wen Tiantian", "Shi Kefa", etc. Because Yuan Shaolou never cared about his rank and was good at fighting unevenly, people gave him the nickname of "two hundred and five".
Lu Yukun's image in the film Two Hundred and Five Biographies (1949).
Later, Liu Yanyun got married, and he was stimulated to drink too much and poured his throat and could not come to the stage. The theater owner wanted Liu Yanyun to perform "The Big Split Coffin", she was unwilling to act, Yuan Shaolou offered to reform the original play, and took the initiative to play the "two hundred and five" in the act, and the result was welcomed.
They had always refused to perform a play praising the traitors, and once, when this kind of drama was about to be staged, Yuan Shaolou shouted loudly from the stage to prevent the play from being staged, so he was shot and killed by the Japanese puppet officials.
In this film, the heroine is Shanghai Peking Opera famous Dan Chen Zhengwei and drama famous actor Zhu Lin (1923-2015), Lu Yukun played Yuan Shaolou, he was originally a son of the Liyuan family, playing this role is very dramatic, he learned the basic skills of Peking Opera learned from his brother and sister, combined with his acting skills, all try their best to use in the film, the joys and sorrows of Yuan Shaolou are vivid.
This film was screened on July 19, 1949, at the first National Conference on The Literary Congress, and was warmly welcomed and praised by the delegates.
Image of Lü Yukun (right) in the film Two Hundred and Five Short Biographies (1949).
Later, in order to facilitate the summary of Lü Yukun's contributions in the film industry, three films with the theme of Peking Opera actors starring him - "Begonias", "Returning to the People in the Snowy Night" and "Two Hundred and Five Small Biographies" were used as his representative works.
Although Lü Yukun did not really sing on stage, through the film, the audience saw the solid Peking Opera foundation and artistic literacy possessed by his Peking Opera family.
After liberation, Lü Yukun participated in the filming of "Looking Through autumn water" (1949). In 1950, he organized the "Mass Theater Troupe" to serve as the head of the troupe, led a group of people from Shanghai to Changzhou Nantong, Changshu, Hankou, Changsha and other places, and performed "Ideological Problems", "Roar, China", "A Q Zheng Biography", "Gold and Silver World", "Begonias", "Sunrise", "Thunderstorm", "Nightclub", "Fang Pearl", "Two Hundred and Five Biographies" and other dramas, all of which received good results and were praised by people from all walks of life.
In particular, "Fang Pearl" has not faded into continuous performances, and the scene is full, breaking the highest record for drama sales in Changsha.
Two artists meet at the "Wen Dynasty": Yaming (left) and Lü Yukun
In order to seek its own progress and dedicate itself to the revolutionary cause, in 1951, under the leadership of the regiment leader Lü Yukun, all the members of the troupe gloriously joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Changsha, and Lü Yukun served as the deputy head of the Cultural and Labor Troupe of the Political Department of the Hunan Military Region.
In 1952, the army was reorganized, and he resumed the "mass theater troupe" and performed in Nanjing and other places. Later, at the invitation of the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee, he served as the deputy director of the Jiangxi Provincial Repertory Theatre.
The movie "Love, what's your last name?" (1980) Stills
After liberation, Lu Yukun rarely appeared on the screen, has been engaged in stage work, and occasionally on the screen, and has filmed films such as "Love, What Is Your Last Name" (1980), "Pipa Soul" (1982) and "Golden Autumn" (1983).
Lu Yukun from 1939 to 1949 from the film for 10 years, according to incomplete statistics, a total of more than 50 films, he is a well-known and contributing actor in the film and drama circles.
Stills from the movie Golden Autumn (1983).
It can be said that if Lu Yukun did not stay in Jiangxi, but continued his film career, perhaps... But there is no possibility in life, and the life of each of us is intimately related to the times, and no one can oppose the times.
In his later years, Lü Yukun wanted to write a memoir, and Yuan Chi, who had been with him since the popular theater troupe, compiled the "Biography of Lü Yukun" for him. Unfortunately, Lü Yukun died of illness in Bangkok, Thailand in 2004, and the biography of Lü Yukun was published in 2012, which became his unfulfilled last wish before his death.
Title: Biography of Lü Yukun Author: Yuan Chi Chen Fusheng Publisher: Jiangxi People's Publishing House Published: 2012-10
China's first female film star to commit suicide: Mao Jianpei swallowed opium at the age of 23
The first Golden Horse Film Emperor paid for Yalei out of his own pocket and returned to Shanghai with his wife to settle down in his later years
"Mo Negative Youth" Zhou Xuan's remuneration in Hong Kong is calculated with dozens of gold bars to "complete" Wu Zuguang's marriage
Four golden horse actresses, the first film was banned in China, from the film forty years to shoot more than two hundred films
He held the red Lin Dai in one hand, lived together for 4 years at the age of 17, and married Li Lihua within 2 months of the breakup
Hollywood went to Shanghai to record her dance, feeling frustrated and resentful, and the patriotic costume film star turned to business