At noon on August 7, 2005, Cui Yongyuan, who was taking a lunch break, was awakened by a text message, he opened his mobile phone, and it was sent by actor Pan Jie: "My grandmother died suddenly, I am so sad." ”
The grandmother in Pan Jie's mouth, Cui Yongyuan naturally knows, this person is the famous actress Li Lili in the 30s of the last century, the golden age of Chinese cinema. He once played with Ruan Lingyu and once dominated the major screens of the old Shanghai where song and dance were prevalent.
Not only that, but also captured countless fans, how many people did not hesitate to spend a lot of money, just to see Fang Rong, even Chen Geng, in order to see him was captured by Chiang Kai-shek.
Lily Li
It can be seen that Li Lili's high status in the film and television industry is rare. According to media reports, the memorial service held at that time can be called the funeral of the "palace-level" movie star of Chinese films. The people who came to participate in the condolences were also big coffee, such as Feng Gong, Cai Ming, Cui Yongyuan and others, who were already well-known figures at that time.
But even so, Li Lili's name seems to be little known in this era of stars. However, if his father Qian Zhuangfei is mentioned, many people will still be a little surprised.
On June 2, 1915, Li Lili was born in Beijing, her father Qian Zhuangfei, a soldier on the hidden front of the CCP, and Li Kenong and Hu Di were known as the "Three Jies of Longtan".
Zhou Enlai once commented on Qian Zhuangfei: "Without Qian Zhuangfei, those of us comrades working in Shanghai would probably not be alive long ago." ”
For her mother, who is also an underground member of the Ccp, she was not happy to be born in such a family, because she did not have a happy childhood since she was a child, and her parents traveled south and north, and there was no fixed place to live.
She often watched her peers frolicking around, but she could only stand downstairs, for her father to take the wind, a little wind and grass, she desperately ran upstairs to report the letter, because she knew that the matter was very serious.
If there is anything that makes Li Lili happy, it should be that Qian Zhuangfei ran a film company, although it was done by her parents to hide her identity, but it brought Li Lili a lot of happiness, because she can often "act" and play many different roles in the play.
Over time, Li Lili actually fell in love with the film and television drama industry.
Li Lili in her teenage years
In 1927, the "April 12 Incident" broke out, and the underground party organization in Shanghai was severely damaged, and Qian Zhuangfei had to be transferred from Beijing to Shanghai to take up the lurking work in Shanghai.
That night, Qian Zhuangfei consulted with his wife and sent his daughter to the orphanage, and after Li Lili learned about it, she naturally did not agree, and cried and made trouble.
The next day, Qian Zhuangfei saw an advertisement on the side of the road, and it was this humble advertisement that changed the trajectory of Li Lili's life.
Advertisement content: The China Song and Dance Troupe is preparing to perform in Nanyang and needs to recruit new students.
The person in charge is Li Jinhui, as a pioneer of China's emerging song and dance, the song and dance school he runs has long been famous.
Qian Zhuangfei saw that his daughter liked song and dance drama, so he signed her up.
When I first saw Li Lili, Li Jinhui looked up and down, and then she was even more full of joy, and she didn't even have an exam interview and directly passed.
At this time, Li Lili was watching Wang Renmei dancing, and even her father Qian Zhuangfei did not notice when he left.
Because of love, Li Lili's learning speed is fast, it may also be due to talent, many difficult dance moves, she easily learned. Singing is also a must, the child's voice is loud, the voice is pure, and it has come to the fore at a young age, and Li Jinhui is overjoyed and seems to see the future of the Chinese song and dance troupe.
Readers who see here should have questions, why is Qian Zhuangfei's daughter not called Qian Lili, but Li Lili?
In fact, Li Lili's original name was Qian Zhenzhen, because she was performing in Singapore at that time, when Singapore stipulated that a family could not have two surnames, so Qian Zhenzhen changed her name and called Li Mingli.
Lai Kam-hui
Later back in Shanghai, may not like this name, in a trip to Nanjing performance, Li Mingli in the list is directly signed "Li Lili", since then the name has not changed, plus the people who pay attention to her are people in the film and television industry, so few people know that she is Qian Zhuangfei's daughter.
Not to mention, since changing her name, Li Lili has soared into the sky, and in the heyday of the "Bright Moon Society", she was called the "Four Heavenly Kings" together with Wang Renmei, Xue Lingxian and Hu Di.
In 1931, Li Lili's song and dance troupe was transferred to the Lianhua Film Company, sitting in the audience seat, and some people took a look at Li Lili at a glance, predicting that she was definitely a material that could be made on the screen.
Sure enough, a few years later, Li Lili was invited by Sun Yu to play the protagonist in "Volcano Love Blood", which was also her first feature film at Lianhua Pictures, although she had also starred in many short song and dance dramas before, but they were not as meaningful as this drama.
"Volcano Love Blood" starring Li Lili
The reason why Li Lili was selected is because the heroine in it wants to dance hula, but other female stars will not, but Li Lili will not only dance, but also sing very well.
Unsatisfactory is that this drama did not make Li Lili a hit, although the audience did not buy it, but this screen image deeply touched Sun Yu, he believes that Li Lili will shine on the screen sooner or later, because her body is full of youth and frankness, which is lacking in the times at that time.
Why?
Everyone can see from the roles played by some actresses in the Republic of China, such as Ruan Lingyu, the audience said that Li Lili is the opposite of Ruan Lingyu, because the roles played by Ruan Lingyu are oppressed women, who are squeezed to the edge of life and have to rebel.
But Li Lili is different, from the later stage of the film with Sun Yu is enough to prove that compared with Ruan Lingyu's sadness and resentment, Li Lili's drama is healthy and optimistic, full of vitality and positive.
Coupled with Li Lili's cute round face, always full of smiles, making people extremely happy!
In 1933, Li Lili starred in "Gadgets" directed by Sun Yu, starring with Ruan Lingyu, playing on the same stage, although the role played was Ruan Lingyu's daughter, but Li Lili was not afraid of the stage, and the dialogue with Ruan Lingyu was very smooth, and the character was portrayed very delicately and vividly.
After the release of this movie, it received praise from the industry and attracted countless fans, and Pearl, played by Li Lili, was bold and meticulous, often taking poor children to do gymnastics and play games together. And "Gadgets" has also become a classic in the history of Chinese cinema, and Li Lili has been well known to the Chinese people since then.
Especially during the filming process, Ruan Lingyu praised several times, gave a thumbs up, and constantly pointed out in terms of acting, Li Lili was very grateful, in return, she actually taught Ruan Lingyu to say Chinese (at that time, many Cantonese people did not say Chinese).
Ruan Lingyu was also very optimistic about this fledgling little girl, because she knew that the opportunity was reserved for everyone who was prepared.
Ruan Lingyu
The reason why Li Lili is prepared is because she is very hardworking, in addition to the character personality on the screen, Li Lili can be described as proficient in real life, sprinting, basketball, swimming, tennis, dancing, horseback riding, at that time there were not many female stars who would do this.
Especially in sprinting, Li Lili won the second place in the 50-meter sprint event at the Shanghai Municipal Secondary School Joint Games.
Because he likes sports, he even threatened to find an athlete to be a husband, but he did not get his wish.
In 1934, Sun Yu decided to make a film with sports as the theme, which showed the world the ideal of "sports to save the country".
Especially after the September 18 Incident, most Chinese believed that in order to defeat the Japanese invaders, they must exercise a strong physique to resist foreign aggression.
Directed by Sun Yu
Sun Yu shouted: "Sports are too important for the rise and fall of a nation, and if the shame of the 'sick man of East Asia' is to be washed away, everyone must realize the importance of sports!" A strong body may not necessarily save the country, but the people who save the country must be physically strong! ”
Therefore, just when Sun Yu decided to find the right person, the first thing that came to mind was Li Lili, as if this movie was tailored for this lively and cute lily with a healthy posture.
50m sprint runner-up Li Lili took a photo
Sure enough, after the release of "Sports Queen", it caused a national sports boom, and Lin Ying, played by Li Lili in the play, because of a sentence from the physical education teacher, no longer smeared grease and powder, and began to have a new understanding of sports.
After watching it, the audience also realized the importance of sports, as the pioneering work of sports genre themes, "Sports Queen" is a success. Li Lili also became popular, the streets and alleys, no one does not know Li Lili's name, she almost became a real sports star, and even became the embodiment of the sportsmanship of this era.
The image of Li Lili's "sports queen" for a time was in stark contrast with the delicate and sickly female figures in many movies, and everyone knew that this film was in line with the times, conformed to the situation of Japan's invasion of China, and had similarities with "Wolf Warrior", so the height reached by the two at that time was unprecedented.
Stills from "The Queen of Sports"
After that, Li Lili starred in a number of movies, without exception, all of which were positive and optimistic female figures, and everyone called her "Sweet Sister" at that time.
Perhaps the audience has been exposed to the image of a poor woman, and for this sudden "sweet sister", how many people want to see fangrong.
As a popular actress, Li Lili's suitor really went from China to Paris, France, and even General Chen Geng wanted to see the true face of Rushan, but she finally chose Luo Jingyu.
Chen Geng's daughter said this matter in an interview.
After Gu Shunzhang's rebellion, Qian Zhuangfei, in a time of crisis, deciphered the code and rescued most of the CCP leaders in Shanghai, Chen Geng was one of them, after which Chen Geng was sent to the Eyu-Anhui Soviet District, where he was wounded in the leg during the battle again.
He had no choice but to return to Shanghai for medical treatment, and it was reasonable to say that he should return to the Soviet District after recuperating in Shanghai, but Chen Geng did not do this, he learned that there was a Dawn Song and Dance Troupe in Shanghai at that time, and Li Lili was inside. At this time, Li Lili has long been popular all over the country, and many people have queued up for hours to watch her play.
In an interview, Chen Geng's daughter said that her father violated discipline and ran to see a play
The same is true of Chen Geng, in order to see Fang Rong, so he violated discipline and ran to see the play after recovering from a leg injury. At that time, there was also a purpose, that is, to see Li Lili's current situation, and when the time came, he could tell Qian Zhuangfei that his daughter was okay.
However, in the process of watching the play, he was recognized by the agents sent by Chiang Kai-shek, and when Chen Geng found out, he was caught by two people just after walking out of the door. When Chiang Kai-shek learned of this, he persuaded him to surrender, but Chen Geng did not agree, and since this was the case, Chiang Kai-shek could only turn a blind eye to this former savior and let Chen Geng escape.
General Chen Geng
It can be seen that Li Lili's influence at that time was still huge, not only that, but even Guo Moruo became her witness.
In 1937, when the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out, Li Lili resolutely left the Lianhua Company and went to Wuhan to join the China Film Studio, hoping to star in some films that encouraged the anti-Japanese resistance.
On the train to Hankou, Li Lili came to rush, without luggage, and was sleepy at night, but there was no blanket, and her body was cold and shivering. After the guy next to him saw it, he quietly put his futon on Li Lili and took care of her along the way.
For this meticulous care, Li Lili felt good.
Coincidentally, this handsome and elegant boy happened to be the technical backbone of the Chinese film studio, and the two met and fell in love with each other, and soon entered the palace of marriage.
On the day of the wedding, Guo Moruo personally served as their witness and wrote a couplet:
Talented and beautiful people like to get married, and the white head and the old man are always happy; the horizontal batch is forever knotted with one heart.
Soon after the marriage, Li Lili starred in the anti-war film "Blood and Loyal Soul" to encourage the military and the people to resist the enemy.
If there is a father, there must be a daughter, Qian Zhuangfei has struggled for the revolutionary cause all his life, and his daughter Li Lili also loves her motherland deeply.
Cover photo of "Plugged in the Wind"
In 1940, Li Lili starred in the movie "Plugged in the Wind", in order to make the film look more real, she and the film crew of more than 30 people from Chongqing to Saibei, a journey of thousands of miles, when Li Lili arrived in Yan'an, was warmly received by the Yan'an military and civilians.
Here, she performed anti-Japanese plays for the military and the people many times, inspiring the military and the people, and Mao Zedong and Zhu De also went to watch it after learning about it. Don't look at it, don't know, a look to know that this popular actress is actually Qian Zhuangfei's daughter, when the performance is over, Mao Zedong personally stepped forward, tightly held Li Lili's hand, a lot of feelings.
That night, it was decided to let the back kitchen kill the chicken, fry a few meat dishes, cook a pot of rice, and invite Li Lili to eat with him. In such a harsh environment in Yan'an, this was already a high-standard hospitality for Li Lili, and even the commander did not have such treatment. The reason for this is naturally related to Qian Zhuangfei, which is also the first time that Li Lili has touched her father's light.
She also realized for the first time the importance of her father, if it were not for her father, Chairman Mao and Zhu De would never have been able to feast on her, and the idea of complaining about her father when she was a child began to disappear at this moment, and she began to worship her father.
My father died young, and now my mother and brother have no financial resources and rely on the help of the party organization. In order to make the family's life better, Li Lili has quite high requirements for herself, in addition to learning relevant knowledge, her spare time is also arranged very compactly, but her life is very regular. For example, in addition to learning to sing and dance, she also goes to a movie every Thursday and goes for a walk with friends in the countryside on Sundays.
At that time, all the expenses of her mother and brother in the family were borne by him alone, and she herself rose from the original monthly salary of 30 yuan to 500 yuan, which was already relatively rich in the social environment at that time.
Li Lili and Ruan Lingyu
Since "Plugged in the Wind", Li Lili has starred in "Blood Splash Cherry Blossoms" and "Magnificent Mountains and Rivers".
However, as the war continued to expand, Lily Li and most other women faced the situation of not having a film to shoot, so in 1946, she decided to go to Washington, D.C., to study acting, and then to New York to learn language and vocal music, and also to observe and study in Hollywood.
During the period, there were also Americans looking for her to shoot a play, but Qian Lili read the script and found that when filming China, it was a Han chinese wearing Qing Dynasty costumes, holding a cigarette bag and twisting her body to make a strange image, Li Lili refused to star on the spot, the news spread to China, many media praised her continuously, and the audience was from worship to admiration, which was the perseverance revealed in Chinese bones and the recognition of the nation.
In 1947, Li Lili returned to China, and she popularized the knowledge she learned, which promoted the development of the film and television industry.
In 1949, after the founding of New China, Li Lili became an actress at the Beijing Film Studio and began to fade from the screen after starring in "Wisdom to Huashan".
In 1955, Li Lili began to study in the Beijing Film Academy's special training class, and chose to stay on to teach after graduation.
Li Lili cheongsam dress
Her love for film art education far exceeds people's imagination, and she wants to train generations of young actors and filmmakers for China. Even in the special years, after the death of her husband, she resolutely insisted on her wishes.
In her later years, Li Lili, still concerned about Chinese films, of course, also showed dissatisfaction with the status quo of the film, in Cui Yongyuan interviewed her, she said: "Today's movies have no ideas, either showing their navels, or fighting all the time, after watching it, there is not much ideological inspiration, completely for the sake of business is not feasible!" ”
China cannot ignore Li Lili's contributions, and in 1991 awarded Li Lili the "Special Honor Award of the Society" to affirm her historical contribution to Chinese film performance.
In order to preserve the lives of early filmmakers and the social scenes at that time, Li Lili specially wrote a book to restore the most real life of that era, and her images of some characters have also been preserved, which is helpful for modern people to understand the history of their time.
At 5:20 on August 7, 2005, Li Lili died of a sudden myocardial infarction at the age of 90.
Li Lili in her later years
Her death represents the end of the silent film era and marks the departure of an era of Chinese cinema, with media news once writing: "After Li Lili's death, the door to China's glorious 1930s was completely closed!" ”
Later, when the memorial service was held, the media also claimed that this was a funeral ceremony of the "palace level" of Chinese films, especially the large number of people attending, the big coffee gathered, Cui Yongyuan specially wrote a memorial, And Feng Gong and Cai Ming came to mourn.
Feng Gong
Cui Yongyuan
On November 25 and 26, 2015, the "100th Anniversary of the Birth of Chinese Performing Artist Li Lili" commemorative activity co-organized by Beijing Film Academy, China Filmmakers Association, China Film Museum, China Film Archive and other organizations was held at Beijing Film Academy.
This is the best remembrance of Li Lili, maybe she doesn't care if we cry or not, she cares about whether we can make better works.