In 1935, Ruan Lingyu, who was only 25 years old, left a sentence of "human words are terrible", and then took 30 sleeping pills, and decisively left this world and became a veritable "sleeping beauty". Her departure was a great loss for the development of the film and television industry during the Republic of China, and it also brought endless sadness to her dear friends.
At this time, there are many star beauties in Shanghai, such as butterflies, Zhou Xuan, etc., who are either bumpy in life or red-faced. It was also after Ruan Ling Yuxiang died that another stunning beauty was deeply touched and withdrew from the film industry. However, her wonderful life did not stop.
She was the first star in Shanghai to hire a female secretary, but she became famous overnight with the scene of "beauty out of the bath", and she was criticized for her frequently questioned acting skills. Who knew that she achieved a gorgeous turn after bidding farewell to the film industry and had an unexpected new identity.
Her name is Xu Lai, formerly known as Xu Jiefeng. At the age of 20, she married her husband, who was 18 years older than herself, and was given the name "Xu Lai" by him. Since then, this name has been with her for the rest of her life.
His name is Lai Jinhui, and he is the founder of mainland pop music. In 1920, he founded the Chinese Song and Dance School, and actresses Wang Renmei and Li Lili were students. He also has a well-known student, and that is Nie Er.
When Xu Lai was admitted to Li Jinhui's school, he was still an 18-year-old young girl, the same age as Li Jinhui's daughter. Who would have thought that in two years they would be married?
She not only has good looks, but also talent, so after the release of her first movie "Residual Spring", she was lucky to become famous overnight. This is a movie with a very cliché plot, in which the heroine is out of the wall because her rich businessman's husband is not at home all year round, and the purdah is unbearably lonely. However, Xu Lailinglong's figure and coquettish face give the character vitality. In particular, she boldly shot a shot of a beauty out of the bath, and the sense of atmosphere of warm fragrance nephrite immediately caused a huge sensation, and instantly became a hot big star in Shanghai.
Since then, Xu Lai has shot many works while the iron is hot, but they have not set off too many waves, one of the reasons is the often questioned acting skills.
The so-called tree is a big move, and beautiful women are also easily burdened by fame. At that time, many actresses commented on Xu Lai's lack of acting emotions and reprimanded the characters she created for lacking soul. Although Xu Lai was already famous at this time, because there were too many letters from fans, he also hired a female secretary. However, she still cares about the evaluation of professionals.
After shooting several movies in succession, Xu Lai's acting skills still did not improve significantly, and she had the intention to retreat. However, in the face of everyone's endless verbal criticism, she is still looking forward to a masterpiece that takes off the "vase" label. Luckily, she waited.
In 1935, a young director named Shen Xiling was just starting out, and no one would have thought that after that, he would have an outstanding work in the history of Chinese cinema, which was "Road Angel". Therefore, when he was looking for actors with a "Boat Family Girl", Xu Lai just took the play with the mentality of giving it a try.
"Boat Family Girl" tells the tragic life of A Ling, a poor West Lake boat girl, who became a prostitute because she was persecuted and played by evil children, and thus tasted the warmth of life. Xu Lai has not experienced the helplessness of the bottom of society, and it is not smooth in pinching the role, fortunately, Shen Xiling is a director who is good at guiding actors, he knows how to mobilize Xu Lai's emotions, and even every action and eye look of Xu Lai in the movie is adjusted by Shen Xiling.
This time, she finally fought a beautiful turnaround battle with "Boat Girl".
A "Boat Family Girl" successfully won Xu Lai a full house, but her marriage came to an end.
Xu Lai and Li Jinhui's relationship problems have problems, and we have to start with the avant-garde "Residual Spring". In Shanghai in the thirties, even Li Jinhui, who was in the art circle, still could not accept his wife to shoot such bold works. In addition, Xu Lai always maneuvered between various entertainments after becoming famous, which caused Li Jinhui's dissatisfaction.
Just when Xu Lai's fame grew, Li Jinhui's song and dance troupe was facing the crisis of bankruptcy. At that time, Xu Lai was the second female star in the film and television industry to buy a car. In order to save the song and dance troupe, Li Jinhui sold his wife's car, and the two became estranged.
In 1935, Xu Lai, who had just received great praise for the role of "A Ling", and because fanatical fans wanted to hold a laurel ceremony for her who was named "Standard Table Man", a new round of pen and ink was once again ushered in. At that time, it was an eventful autumn, and the country was already worried about internal and external troubles, and this grand ceremony was undoubtedly a laborious and costly move.
Faced with his wife's "businesswoman does not know the hatred of the country" and the accumulation of contradictions over the years, Li Jinhui and Xu Lai's six-year marriage came to an end.
After ending his first marriage, Xu Lai immediately met the true son of his life, which was a marriage led by Du Yuesheng, and the other party was Tang Shengming, a general of the national army who was a brother and brother to Dai Li.
Tang Shengming is young and promising, which is definitely a good match for Xu Lai. At this time, Xu Lai had bid farewell to his career as an actor and concentrated on being Mrs. Tang. Unexpectedly, her life did not settle down, but ushered in new challenges.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek approached Tang Shengming to teach him the opportunity to break into the Wang puppet regime in order to try to cover the military system and limit the development of the New Fourth Army. This is a difficult task, which means that his wife Xu Lai also has to venture with him. However, Tang Shengming still accepted the undercover job without hesitation and took his wife to Nanjing.
In order to fake the drama and avoid Wang Jingwei's suspicions, Tang Shengming's brother, Tang Shengzhi, who was then the president of the military Senate of the Kuomintang government, even publicly published news in the newspaper about breaking with the "traitor" brother. Since then, the arguments about insulting Xu Lai and Tang Shengming for "greedy for life and fear of death" and "treason for the country" have been heard endlessly.
Although Wang Jingwei warmly welcomed Tang Shengming's arrival, Tang Shengzhi is a well-known anti-Japanese faction after all, and Wang Jingwei will not really let down his guard against Tang Shengming and his wife. Therefore, Tang Shengming's work is like stepping on a tightrope, and Xu Lai's task is not easy.
After arriving in Nanjing, Xu Lai became a hedonistic Mrs. Kuo, who only did two things every day: eat and drink by herself, and accompany her husband to eat, drink and have fun. The couple wandered between parties, drinking, dancing, playing cards, and having fun, just like a stinky party.
The amorous Tang Shengming is regarded as a playboy-like figure, while Xu Lai is also ridiculed as a courtesan who covets vanity. Only they know each other, their conscience has not been extinguished, and what they have done has never been worthy of the Motherland.
At first, Tang Shengming just admired Xu Lai's beauty. However, when they really got married, he found that Xu Lai was willing to accompany him to bear the infamy, and even became his "comrade-in-arms" in danger, which made Tang Shengming happy, and the burden of humiliation was more and more worthwhile.
Soon, the character they created for themselves was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and also strengthened Wang Jingwei's trust in the couple. Then, the husband and wife each used their own skills to break into different enemy camps. Xu Lai even relied on his popularity in Shanghai to quickly integrate into the circle of the official wife, and formed a mahjong partner with Wang Jingwei's wife Chen Bijun, Chen Gongbo's mistress Mo Guokang, and Zhou Fohai's wife Yang Shuhui.
Perhaps, even Tang Shengming would not have thought that his wife had inadvertently probed information for herself.
Zhang Ailing's "Color Ring" tells the story of a few spirited students, in order to eradicate the traitors, let the beautiful female classmates disguise themselves as rich wives, and listen to intelligence by playing mahjong, so as to seduce the big traitors.
Although Xu Lai did not betray Hue, it is a fact that he inquired about intelligence through playing mahjong.
One day in 1941, Yang Shuhui had nothing to do and called several Kuo wives to play mahjong. Xu Lai, as always, is another big winner. This beauty not only can act, but also a victorious female general in the altar.
On this day, Yang Shuhui's hand was extremely bad, and after playing a few rounds, she almost lost the money on the card table, and her mood became restless. At this moment, Xu Lai played a card, and Yang Shuhui, who was quick-eyed, immediately pushed down the mahjong in her hand, and shouted with a smile: "Paste!" That's it! ”
The corner of Xu Lai's mouth raised an imperceptible smile, she saw that everyone was busy shuffling the cards, and asked casually: "Have you heard about the kidnapping case of the China Hotel?" ”
Xu Lai deliberately released water to Yang Shuhui, the purpose was to set words, but he almost brought himself the scourge of killing.
In December of that year, six Kuomintang anti-Japanese generals secretly connected at the China Hotel in Shanghai, but were arrested by Wang pseudo-agents. The next day, six people who could not bear the torture of "No. 76" had to publish a statement of their surrender in Wang's pseudo-China Daily. Chiang Kai-shek, who learned of this, was furious, and Dai Li next to him was even more livid. Dai Li guessed that eighty percent of this matter was leaked by someone, so he quickly ordered people to investigate thoroughly. Needless to say, this difficult task also fell on the shoulders of Xu Lai and his wife.
Several women at the card table did not care about politics, and did not pay attention to Xu Lai's question, only Yang Shuhui, who had just played cards, lost her guard, and showed off her eyebrows: "I know what you said." ”
Soon, Xu Lai learned from Yang Shuhui that one of the six had defected. She did not show impatience, but patiently accompanied them to finish playing mahjong, and then quickly told her husband the news, and Tang Shengming's choice also laid the groundwork for his life. Tang Shengming successfully told the news to the anti-Japanese organizations in Shanghai, allowing the New Fourth Army to quickly withdraw and avoid greater losses.
This was Xu Lai's personal risk, and she was almost suspected because of it. However, this time's small test also gave Xu Lai the courage to take on heavier tasks.
After that, Xu Lai coaxed these official wives around through various communication methods, and from time to time he heard the news she wanted from a few undefended women. But on the other side, Tang Shengming encountered a problem again.
In 1942, at an important meeting held by Wang Jingwei, it was announced that he would cooperate with the Japanese commander-in-chief in China to carry out a sweep of "killing, burning, and robbing everything" against the Japanese army and the New Fourth Army by encircling it with heavy weapons. Tang Shengming, who learned the news, was worried that if Wang Jingwei's plan succeeded, at least 300,000 Chinese soldiers would be bloodstained on the battlefield.
Since the Nanjing intelligence station at that time had been paralyzed by Wang Jingwei's attack, how to send the intelligence to the Shanghai station of the military command became an urgent problem. Tang Shengming, who could not get out, thought about it, so he had to entrust his wife to get involved in danger again. After Xu Lai learned the cause of the matter, he showed his unshirkable determination.
Xu Lai originally wanted to travel in disguise, but he was afraid that the behavior of "three hundred taels without silver here" would arouse suspicion, so he simply boarded the train generously. It can also be regarded as the help of heaven, she actually met Jiang Kanghu, the president of the Wang Puppet Government Examination Institute, on the train, and Xu Lai moved wisely, and simply let Jiang Kanghu be her "witness". So, the two chatted all the way and chatted happily, and Jiang Kanhu didn't know that he had successfully covered for Xu Lai.
After arriving in Shanghai, Xu Lai successfully sent intelligence with his own wit, and the anti-Japanese troops were reduced to pieces and quietly retreated, resulting in the stillbirth of the Japanese army's plan. And those important information were continuously transmitted by Tang Shengming and Xu Yuan.
It can be said that the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression could not be separated from the bloody struggle of the soldiers, the unity of the countrymen, and even more inseparable from the humiliation and burden of these unsung heroes!
Due to their long-term dependence on the Wang puppet government, Xu Lai and Tang Shengming had to bear the stigma of being poked in the spine all day long. But Xu Lai has no time to take care of too much, and her task is to complete her various missions through "wife socialization".
The founder of Wang's pseudo-"No. 76 Demon Cave" was the great traitor Li Shiqun, and the "China Hotel Kidnapping Case" was his "masterpiece". So, the couple acted separately, Xu Lai was responsible for persuading Yang Shuhui, and Tang Shengming was responsible for plotting against Zhou Fohai. In the end, they teamed up to borrow the hands of the gendarmerie to get rid of Li Shiqun, the black sheep.
Although immersed in the life of sound dogs and horses every day, Xu Lai did not lose himself.
In 1943, the Japanese side asked Wang Jingwei to find an outstanding actress to interpret the legendary life of the famous Japanese female spy Nanzou Yunzi. Wang Jingwei's first thought was Xu Lai, and then asked Zhang Ailing's ex-husband Hu Lancheng to invite.
Xu Lai's attitude is very resolute, she can play a crazy traitor, but she must not do this kind of cultural propaganda to expand her influence. Because movies can endure for a long time, she does not want to be a "traitor" for the rest of her life. Even when faced with death threats, she must find a way to refuse.
After that, Hu Lancheng visited Xu Lai five times, but Xu Lai resigned because of poor health. Later, she could only give up continuing her life of night and night song, and chose to live in seclusion, and finally dragged down the dream of the Japanese army.
The couple endured humiliation until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, and they finally removed the label of "traitors". At that moment, Xu Lai's eyes were moist, she and her husband hugged tightly, and the grievances that had been accumulated in her heart for a long time gushed out.
Tang Shengming had a lot of contact with the New Fourth Army before this and was deeply moved by their faith. During this period, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the corruption of the Nationalist army, so he joined forces with his brother Tang Shengzhi to participate in the Hunan Uprising. Therefore, before liberation, Tang Shengming did not take his wife Xu Lai to Taiwan, but resolutely stayed in the mainland.
Although Tang Shengming's previous status was relatively embarrassing, he did not encounter obstacles because of this, until the arrival of the national catastrophe, he and Xu Lai were also involved in this raging wave.
In the cold night of November 1967, Xu Lai and Tang Shengming were arrested. Tang Shengming could never have imagined that this would be his farewell to his wife. In the cold prison, Xu Lai had mixed feelings in her heart, she didn't have time to say goodbye to her children, and she didn't know how long this ordeal would end.
One day in 1973, 64-year-old Xu Lai had only one breath left. She lay on the floor of the prison, thinking of her husband and children, and the initial panic was gone, only a long period of loneliness.
Her life is wonderful, and she can't survive it after all.
She couldn't wait for her grievances to be cleared, so she could only say goodbye.
Farewell, beloved.
Farewell, beloved land.
May the world not forget her.
She, it's Xu Lai.
In the dust, yearning for the sun and the moon.
Snow and frost, fresh breeze.