Text | Kind beauty
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In the 1960s and 1970s, hong Kong was full of stories between Jin Yong and actress Xia Meng.
Some people say that the reason why Jin Yong succumbed to the Yangtze River Film Company was to learn "Tang Bohu Dian Qiu Xiang" and hoped to get close to Xia Meng in this way.
There are also legends that Jin Yong's ice-clear jade, intelligent and beautiful fairy sister Wang Yuyan is based on Xia Meng.
After Xia Meng married her husband Lin Baocheng, Jin Yong, who was bitterly in love with Xia Meng, wrote Lin Pingzhi, who was also surnamed Lin, "Cut off his children and grandchildren".
Moreover, not only Jin Yong, but even Cen Fan, the director of "A Q Zheng biography", was also worshipped under Xia Meng's pomegranate skirt.
So, is the past between Xia Meng and Jin Yong and Cen Fan true?
What kind of legendary life does the real "dream beauty" Xia Meng have?
01
The ancients Zanxi Shi had the beauty of sinking fish and falling geese, but Jin Yong said:
"No one has ever seen the beauty of Xi Shi, and only if he looks like Xia Meng, can he really live up to his name."
It can be seen that Jin Yong is obsessed with Xia Meng's beauty.
Xi Shimei is beautiful, but her fate is uncertain.
But Xia Meng not only has an amazing appearance, but also has an enviable perfect life.
In 1933, Xia Meng was born in bustling Shanghai.
Her original name was Yang Mengmeng, and her ancestral home was Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Later, she felt that "Mao Mao" was too soft to read, so she changed her name to Yang Mao.
Xia Meng's family was wealthy, and his family had textile factories and banking businesses in Shanghai. Her family loved literature and art, so when she was very young, she was trained to study Peking Opera and opera.
In middle school, she was also admitted to the Chinese and Western Girls' High School and became an alumnus with the famous "Three Sisters of the Song Family".
It can be said that Xia Meng's childhood was spent under the rich artistic atmosphere and the love of her family, carefree and materially sufficient.
In 1947, Xia Meng and her family moved to Hong Kong.
Here, they live in a detached villa, and Xia Meng and her sister are admitted to the Mary Nord School, which is known for its strictness, to continue their studies.
At this time, Xia Meng has grown into a beautiful girl, she is more than 170cm tall, walking in the crowd is always the most dazzling and popular one.
She also entered the drama club, often participated in stage plays organized by the school, and was the school's leading figure.
But even if life is rich and everything goes smoothly, Xia Meng also has her own troubles——
Xia Meng, who grew up in a honeypot, had almost no desire, and she didn't even know what she was going to do and what she could do in the future.
And soon, Heaven gave her guidance.
02
In 1950, Xia Meng met Mao Mei, who was in the same school.
At that time, Mao Mei's father, Yuan Yang'an, had just established the Great Wall Film Company, and the film industry in Hong Kong was in full swing.
Her daughter Mao Mei was very interested in making movies, so she said to her father:
"My classmates and I want to go to the set to visit, can you see it?"
Yuan Yang'an readily agreed.
At that time, many Actors in Hong Kong either returned to the mainland with patriotic enthusiasm or jumped to other companies, resulting in the great wall film company actors not picking up.
And when her daughter Mao Mei entered the set with her classmate Xia Meng, Yuan Yang'an felt that her eyes lit up——
This young girl is really a good seedling to be an actress!
So Yuan Yang'an made a filming invitation to Xia Meng.
Xia Meng herself loves art, and after receiving an invitation from Yuan Yang'an, she was eager to make movies.
But Xia Meng's parents did not want their daughter to be an actor.
For families like them, singing and making movies can decorate their lives, but if they really do these as careers, they are a bit off the table.
And I heard that actors often go in and out of the liquor store, and sometimes shoot unhealthy content, so I am very opposed.
However, Yuan Yang'an personally ran to Xia Meng's home to assure her parents that the Great Wall Film Company was absolutely correct in its position and loved the motherland, and that Xia Meng would not go in and out of the liquor store, and that the shooting content would be healthy and upward.
Xia Meng's parents were relieved and agreed to let Xia Meng try it.
There was no problem on the parents' side, but Xia Meng was worried again.
Although she has acted in stage plays, it is the first time she has shot a movie in front of a camera.
And she will play a married young woman in the upcoming first film "Forbidden Marriage", which is full of challenges for Xia Meng, who lacks emotional experience and is only 17 years old.
But after discussing the script with Yuan Yang'an, Xia Meng decided to experience life.
She went to the house of a newly married relative, observed their lifestyle, asked them a lot of details, laughed at the people's questions, and finally "kicked her out" of the house.
Xia Meng, who returned home, continued to study the script and ran to the home of the experienced seniors to ask for advice.
After practicing and studying repeatedly, Xia Meng finally stood in front of the camera.
And Xia Meng's efforts were not in vain.
After the broadcast of "Forbidden Marriage", Xia Meng became a hit, and many people were attracted by this beautiful and outstanding girl.
Yuan Yang'an was very happy, so he arranged a lot of shooting for Xia Meng while it was hot, including "Nyonya" and "Evil Sea Flower".
Xia Meng also gradually became famous, and became the "Three Princesses of the Great Wall" with Chen Sisi and Shi Hui.
In addition to shooting regular film works, Xia Meng also starred in many costume operas. For example, "Absolute Beauty", "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" and so on.
In the Hong Kong environment at that time, many people left their hometowns, but they still missed their hometowns. They love Peking opera and Yue opera, and hope to hear the local sounds here.
In order to shoot these works, Xia Meng also went to the Shanghai Theater Academy for further study, just to interpret these works more perfectly.
With xia meng's efforts, she gradually became famous and had a large number of fan fans.
However, although Xia Meng has become a big star, her monthly salary is only 200 yuan, which is the level of an ordinary teacher.
But Xia Meng doesn't care about these, she is bored to shoot, using this as a way to experience life, and it is also a kind of return for all fans.
03
In 1957, Xia Meng filmed a costume film called "Absolute Beauty", in which she played Ru Ji in the story of "Wei Wei Saves Zhao".
After shooting this movie, Xia Meng did not stop to enter the next job.
But she never expected that this "Absolute Beauty" would bring her what kind of glory she would bring in a few years.
In 1956, the Central Committee put forward the leadership art work policy of "a hundred flowers blooming" and commended the existing outstanding literary and artistic works.
Among them is the movie "Absolute Beauty" starring Xia Meng.
As the first film award held in New China, Xia Meng was received by the leaders at the Purple Light Pavilion, which was an unprecedented treatment that made Xia Meng and her whole family feel very honored.
She was also known as "Hepburn of the East" for her artistic achievements.
In addition to honor, Xia Meng also gained love during the filming process.
In 1953, while filming "Sister Song", Xia Meng met businessman Lin Baocheng.
Lin Baocheng fell in love with Xia Meng at first sight, and then launched a fierce pursuit.
Although Lin Baocheng is a businessman, he graduated from St. John's University and loves art. He has a steady personality and has something to say, and Xia Meng also likes him.
In 1955, Xia Meng, at the peak of her career, registered her marriage with Lin Baocheng when she was only 22 years old.
In fact, Xia Meng's side has always been full of suitors, the most famous two are the great talent Jin Yong and the director Cen Fan.
It is said that when Jin Yong first saw Hou Xia Meng, he was shocked.
"Smoke xia light cage, really not an earthly person" is a sentence described by Jin Yong as the immortal sister Wang Yuyan.
And the only one who can match such a dust description is probably Xia Meng.
Some people also say that in order to see Xia Meng often, Jin Yong resigned from the original newspaper office and joined the Great Wall Film Company as a screenwriter.
You know, the salary at The Great Wall Film Company is only 280 yuan a month, and it is difficult to support the family.
It is difficult to say whether it was for Xia Meng to enter the film company, but Jin Yong did insist on it at that time.
During this period, he also tailored many scripts for Xia Meng, including "Wang Tiger Robs Relatives" and "Absolute Beauty", which brought great glory to Xia Meng.
But Xia Meng was not interested in Jin Yong.
In the end, Jin Yong's "well-known crush" still ended in failure, and he was ridiculed by Ni Kuang.
In addition to Jin Yong, Cen Fan, the director who filmed "The True Biography of A Q", also pursued Xia Meng.
At that time, he often invited Xia Meng to drink coffee, and sent Xia Meng home many times.
However, as Cen Fan returned to the mainland, the two people thousands of miles apart also reduced the exchange of letters, and finally the two gradually broke off contact.
04
Later, Xia Meng met Lin Baocheng, and from then on, the flower had a master.
But after getting married, Xia Meng is still active in the film industry.
Xia Meng, whose temperament, appearance and acting skills were outstanding, was a well-deserved red star at that time.
She has shot nearly 30 films, including costume films and fashion films, and made great contributions to the film industry of Chinese at that time.
Unfortunately, in the late 1960s, the domestic cultural field was turbulent, and Xia Meng also chose to settle in Canada with her husband.
A year later, Xia Meng returned to China again.
But after returning, Xia Meng did not return to the film world, and she chose to set up a garment factory, turning from an actress to an entrepreneur.
Although she is not familiar with the specific business, Xia Meng is good at using people, and her garment factory is very prosperous.
And her relationship with her husband is also very harmonious.
Her husband loved her and tolerated her, and all the food, clothing, shelter and transportation were arranged for her, and even the children did not need her to pick up, and Xia Dream was very happy.
If there is any regret, it is that there have always been fans who have written to her, hoping that Xia Meng can return to the film world.
However, Xia Meng felt that her face was no longer there, and she did not want to be left on the screen like this.
However, Xia Meng chose another way to give back to Chinese film career.
In 1979, Xia Meng was invited to become a representative of the Wen Dynasty and established the "Blue Bird Film Production Company".
The company does not shoot many films, but there are classics, such as "From ancient heroes to teenagers" that praises little heroes, and "Like Water Flowing Years", which conveys the feelings of the homeland of thought.
Xia Meng also boldly used new people, and when filming "Run to the Angry Sea", it was Xia Mengli who chose Xu Anhua and Andy Lau by consensus.
So until now, Andy Lau still has a grateful heart for Xia Meng, calling Xia Meng a "nobleman".
05
In 2016, Xia Meng died in Hong Kong at the age of 83.
Xia Meng's life can be described as complete——
She was born in a troubled world but had no worries about food and clothing, had a good education, and even her acting career was very smooth.
At the peak of her career, she chose to get married and later founded her own textile factory, and her husband was obedient to her all her life, taking care of all food, clothing, housing and transportation.
What is even more valuable is that Xia Meng has good character, and is peaceful and delicate on and off the screen, which is fascinating.
She has been ice clean and clean all her life, and has never made a "bad scandal".
Although people always associate her with Jin Yong, throughout her life, the master Jin Yong is nothing more than a smoke cloud and has never really entered her eyes.
Her wisdom and bones are now also an example for us to learn.
Such an actress is a well-deserved idol model!