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(These
excerpts are loosely translated from various articles, magazines and the "Xishuo
Li Lihua" biography.)
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Nickname
Born premature at
seven months in 1924, Li Lihua was a sickly baby and often cried weakly
"miao..ow….miao…ow"; hence
her mother nicknamed her
"xiaomi" meaning little
kitten.
Young Brother
Li Lihua's father
died when she was four, her mother lived past 90. She has two brothers and three sisters and is number 5. Her younger brother, Li Huisheng, refused to
dye his hair, which caused Li Lihua undue grief. How could her little brother have a whole head of gray while hers
is shining black? :o)
Film Debut
Before her film
debut, the producer devised a big
promotional campaign. A newspaper
article appeared daily announcing that Miss Li Lihua would award anyone who
helped her find her diamond ring lost at a local circus show. After several days of such publicity, a
final announcement mentioned that Li Lihua had found her ring and was grateful
to everyone for helping. The producer
then released her first movie, drawing a large curious crowd. Everyone wanted to know who this Li Lihua
person was. "San Xiao"
(Three Smiles, Shanghai 1940) because a box office success and Li Lihua became
an overnight star.
First Husband
Li Lihua's first
marriage to Zhang Xu Pu (alias
"xiao shandong") ended up in divorce in the late 1940's. Zhang, whose family owned businesses in
Qing Dao (Green Island), was very much in love with his wife but was possessive
and jealous of her popularity with her fans.
In one incident over an ardent fan's letter he struck her and this
started a rift in their already tempestuous relationship. Not long after that they separated, leaving
their infant daughter Bao Bao in Li Lihua's care.
Suitors
Li Lihua was never
lack of suitors. Zhou You Hai, in hot
pursuit of Li Lihua, became a competitor to Zhang Xu Pu. Li Lihua, wary of Zhou's family wealth and
power, hesitated to accept him. One
day at a restaurant, both came face to face and Zhou in his frustration, aimed
a plate at her table and struck Li's second older sister, Li Qinghua, on the
forehead leaving a permanent scar.
This, of course, terminated any uncertain feelings Li Lihua had for the
rich brat. So Zhang emerged the
winner.
Insult to Barbers
Li's 1947 satire,
"Jia Feng Xu Huan" (The Pretenders), tells of a widow posing as a
rich woman seeking a wealthy husband.
One poor barber, pretending as an affluent businessman, responded to the
ad. They met and so started a string of
comedy of errors. This movie incensed
the barbers who sought to ban its screening, claiming the film insulted the
integrity of their profession. Because
of this unexpected publicity, the movie became another hot box office item.
Evergreen Tree
Li Lihua was known
as "evergreen tree" for her lasting youthful beauty and her longevity
in the movie industry. Her career
spanned over 30 years.
Yien Chuen (husband No. 2)
Yien Chuen, nephew
of Yan Hua and famous singer/actress Zhou Xuan, and who later became husband
No. 2, also courted Li during the early Zhang-Zhou period, but failed to win
her over then. Yien, seven years older
than Li, was also a godson to Li's mother.
He was a great actor and director, and worked together with Li in a vast
number of films.
Wu Zhongyi
Wu Zhongyi, who
later became husband No. 3, was also enamored with Li during the Zhang-Zhou
period. He pulled some strings and
visited the movie set day and night to watch her filming for hours. At one stage, Li Lihua, tired of being
stared at, remarked irritably:
"Where do you find anybody watching filming the way he does?" A lover of opera, Wu was also present at
several of her opera stage performances.
Husband No. 1 was extremely upset with Wu's continued presence, and this
became part of the Li-Zhang breakup.
Wu, however reluctant, had to return to Shanghai due to urgent
business. It was forty years later
when he and Li Lihua met again.
Lin Dai and Yien Chuen
In the early days,
Li Lihua, Yien Chuen and young Lin Dai were colleagues at Chang Cheng (Great
Wall ) Film Studio where Lin Dai, frustrated and depressed, tried to kill
herself. Li Lihua and coach Du Dao
Qin rushed to Jiu Long (Kowloon) hospital to visit her.
Li: "I
brought her out of the hospital and she stayed at my house for several days.
I've not mentioned this
to outsiders before…..when Lin Dai and Yien Chuen started
dating each other, they
were using the house in my backyard……."
The Love Triangle
Yien Chuen dropped
in on a meeting at Li Lihua's house one day, hoping to secure the
actor-director role of Lihua Company's first movie, "The Great Wall of
China", but the director's job went to Tu Guang-chi (ex-husband of actress
Owyang Shafei). Everybody ignored Yien's
presence, so he left early.
Days later Tu met
both Lin Dai and Yien together and said, "Oh hi, old Yien, haven't seen
you for a while. Why did you leave Li
Lihua's house early that day?"
Without a word, Lin Dai gave Yien Chuen a hard slap.
When Lihua Company
planned its second film, "The Beauty and the Dumb", Yien Chuen again
came around hoping to get the actor's part, but Li Lihua, to spare him another
facial slap, gave Huang Ho the role again.
What they said
Interviews of Lin
Dai, Yien Chuen and Li Lihua following the June 1, 1956 Li and Yien's wedding
plan news:
Li "Yien
Chuen is straightforward and frank.
I've known him a long time and I
understand him well; he will be an ideal
partner. I have no doubt that we
we will be together for the rest of our
lives.
"Oh, his and Lin Dai's affair? I don't bother with what's in the
past. I don't wish to
interfere in other people's affairs.
"My feeling? It's a wonderful feeling;
I'm very happy! ……I think we
will always
be happy.
Nothing bad will ever happen to us."
Yien: "This is the beginning of my happiness and good
fortune."
Lin: "When
is it? (referring to the wedding date).
Yien Chuen was always fond of Li Lihua.
He thinks she's a good
wife; now that he can marry his ideal 'good wife', of course
he's happy.
Yuen Chuen and I were friends, are friends
now and will always be friends."
Yul Bryner
In 1956 Li Lihua,
contracted by Cecile de Mille, visited Hollywood to film "Hai Dao"
(Sea Pirate) with Yul Bryner. Filming
of this movie was later shelved but she and Yul were introduced and he was
immediately struck by her beauty. They
attended the premier of "The King and I" together.
When Li first lived
in California while waiting to shoot "China Doll" with Victor Mature,
Yul Bryner was very attentive. Every
day he bought and left groceries at her doorstep. When Yul found out that Li's daughter Bao Bao was studying in
New York, he traveled to her school and brought her candies. Both mom and daughter were touched by his
thoughtfulness, but grateful Li continued to treat him like a good friend and
refused to go a step further. Besides,
she was engaged to Yien Chuen, while Yul, though estranged with his wife, was
still married. Li did not wish to be
the third party. Despite her
reservation, rumor of their romance spread like wildfire all over Hong Kong.
"Oh, you mean
that baldy? He was very nice to me and
we are good friends. No, I was not
romantically involved with him. Oh,
you reporters are so weird! baldy Yul,
baldy Yien….really, it's none of your business!"
"May I have a kiss?"
During the filming
of the last scene of "China Doll", Victor Mature moved forward to
kiss Li Lihua on the lips, but she turned her head away and muttered,
"You've been eating onions!"
Humiliated, Victor stomped off to his dressing room. Li, too, returned to her room. Director Frank Borzage went after her to
get an explanation. Li (via an
interpreter) pointed out that there was no mention of kissing on camera in the
contract. Borzage went to console
Victor and later they both returned to finish filming the movie.
When news of this
episode reached Hong Kong, Yien Chuen (Li's fiance) said it was just a
Hollywood promotional campaign and that there was indeed no kissing in the
movie contract.
Thirty years later,
when Li was approached about the incident, she claimed that it was not true
that she told Victor off. "In
fact," she said, "Victor was very helpful and respectful and I am
very grateful to him. He came to the
set to be with me even when there was no shooting on his part. A few years later when a friend of his
visited Hong Kong, he sent his regards to me."
Daughters
Li's first
daughter, Yien Ren -sheng, nicknamed Bao
Bao, married an Italian and they have a daughter. Li's second daughter, Yien Mei-sheng, born of Yien Chuen,
graduated from college in hotel management.
She was originally named Yien Deh Lan by Grandfather Yien Wen Hua, but
Yien Chuen changed it to "Mei Sheng" simply because she was born in America. Her American husband is an engineer and they have two daughters. The daughters of both Ren-sheng and Mei-sheng
brought bundles of joy to grandpa Yien Chuen and the still ravishing
grandmother Li Lihua.
Shaw and Cathay Film Studios
Dating back to the
early 1940's, Chinese film companies have competed fiercely with each other,
beginning with the well-known separate Zhou Xuan's and Li Lihua's movies,
"San Xiao" (Three Smiles).
The companies fought fast and hard to get their films out on screen
first. At that time the two "San
Xiao" both won out as box office success.
Battles between
Shaw and Cathay in the late 1960's were not so fortunate. A classic example: In 1963, when Cathay started filming
"Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Ing Tai", Shaw too began shooting its own
"Liang Shan Bo…" With more superior technique and manpower,
Shaw completed first, rushed it to the theatres. The Shaw version made tons of money and Ling Bo, the actress,
became a household name. Cathay,
unable to keep up, lost shamefully. In
revenge, Cathay shot ahead with its black and white "The Lotus Lamp",
finishing ahead of Shaw's planned color production of the same title. Ha, Cathay's version with a wonderful
cast of You Min, Ge Lan and Lin Cui,
won the second round. Third
round, Shaw began its black and white "Between Tears and Laughter" to
push ahead of Cathay's color production of the same film. Shaw's film received a best actress award
for Li Lihua, making Shaw the winner of the third round.
A fan's word of
advice: Competition between film companies
is good for audience, but only when competition is based on products of
excellence.
Yien Chuen's Illness
During the hot
summer of 1980 in Long Island, New York, Yien Chuen's health suddenly
deteriorated. He shuffled into the
kitchen one day, gazed long and deep at Li Lihua and said: "Xiaomi, I feel you ought to marry
someone else who will love you more, and who can take care of you
better." Eyes brimming with tears,
Li said, "What's got into you?".
On August 18 that same year, Yien died of a heart attack. He was 63 years old.
First Together
"Qiu"
(Autumn) was Li Lihua and Yien Chuen's first movie together. Yien Chuen played one of the brothers while
Li played the maid who fell in love with the oldest brother. "Qiu" was adapted from famous
author Ba Jin's trilogy, "Jia", "Chun", "Qiu".
Everlasting Love
Wu Zhongyi first
fell in love with Li Lihua around 1940's, but fate kept them apart and they
went their separate ways.
Years later, Wu's
understanding wife, seeing his hidden unhappiness, said to him: "At this age, you should find a way to
fulfill your innermost desires; or else you will have a life time of
regret." With permission granted,
Wu left Shanghai for Hong Kong. His
first mission was to look for Li Lihua, the love cord that he has never been
able to cut off completely for 40 years.
With help from film
producer, Tung Yueh Juien, Wu came into Li Lihua's life again. After the deaths of her beloved mother and
Yien Chuen, Li Lihua was at the lowest point of her life when Wu appeared at
the doorstep of her New York apartment.
The meeting was like a scene from another life time. He began his courtship. She hesitated, thinking of his
long-suffering wife and wondering how the kind old lady could risk losing
everything in her twilight years. With
advice from friends and relatives, Li finally relented to become Wu's constant
companion. Much later, Wu became
husband No. 3.
Jackie Chan
In 1962, the eight
year old Jackie Chan was selected from his opera training school to play Li
Lihua's son in one of her movies. He
must have been a "good" son because he was selected again two more
times to play opposite the famous Li Lihua.
Wonder if Li Lihua remembers this "son" who has become the
popular martial arts star of present day? Wonder too if Jackie will invite Li
Lihua to make a cameo appearance in one of his upcoming movies... sort of like
a full circle.....
Mickey Mouse
Li Lihua used to
learn painting from well-known teachers but due to her busy schedule, has never
been able to continue her interest.
Because of her grandchildren she picked up her brush again and draws a
grand mickey mouse. In the last few
years, she is once again able to pursue her early interest in Chinese
calligraphy and painting.
Lin Dai's Untimely Death
Yien Chuen, upset
over Lin Dai's suicide, blamed Lin Dai's husband, Long Woo for her death. Li Lihua, herself being a colleague and a
competitor of Lin Dai, regretted the sudden and shortend life of such a
talented and vivacious person. Much aware of Yien Chuen's feelings, she however
sympathized with Lin Dai's bereaved husband and felt compassionate for Lin
Dai's little infant son for losing his mother at such a tender age.
Entertainment Contract
In the early
1960's, Li Lihua was an important star at Shaw Brothers. One day, Shaw had some Hollywood visitors
and Raymond had to arrange a dinner reception for the guests. Li Lihua was on the list to welcome the
visitors. At that time, extremely busy
and tired, she was annoyed at having to make an appearance, so still in her
movie costume and with her movie contract in hand, she went to look for Run Run
Shaw.
"Sixth uncle
(Shaw was No. 6 in his family), I don't think my contract stipulates that I
have to eat dinner with visitors, does it?"
"Okay,
okay. Raymond must have made a
mistake. You don't have to go,"
was Shaw's response.
So they scrambled
to find someone else to take her place.
A new young starlet from Taiwan was chosen. This young actress, also named Li, also brought her contract to
see Run Run Shaw. Dr. Shaw said to
her, "Oh, okay, you don't have to eat dinner with our visitors. You also don't have to come in to work
tomorrow." Poor Ms. Li got the
sack and returned to Taiwan to get married.
This of course was
all Li Lilhua's fault! As some wise
guy might say, "One may have the
same last name but indeed there is a great difference." :o)
Most Beautiful
Star of the 20th Century
The Singapore
Entertainment & Television Eight magazine (Issue 460, July 31-August 7,
1999), featured Li Lihua as one of the Most Beautiful Stars of the 20th
CENTURY. The weekly magazine described her as a "Bewitching Belle: she was
a diva before the title was trendy. Li LiHua, the classic Chinese femme fatale,
exuded a regal air which she lent to to her portrayals of bold women like
Empress Wu...."
Other selected
beautiful stars were Gong Li, Lin Ching Hsia, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, to
name a few.
Little Bao Bao
Yien Chuen was very
fond of his stepdaughter, Bao Bao and wanted her to adopt his last name Yien.
In New York awaiting the birth of his child with Li, he decided to improve the
western-educated Bao Bao with her knowledge of the Chinese language.
Unfortunately Bao Bao had difficulty writing her last name "Yien" in
Chinese. Impatient Yien Chuen lost his cool, "You little nuthead, how
could you not know how to write your own name?" Li Lihua protested on
behalf of her daughter, "It's all your fault! There are so many last names
and you had to have such a complicated one!"
This is true. The word Li has only 7 strokes,
while Yien has 19 strokes. Why didn't Yien Chuen change his name to Li, life
would be much simpler.
A Lesson from
Xiaomi
Famous director Li
Hanxiang in his memoirs mentioned that young starlets of today need to learn
some work ethics from Li Lihua. She comes to the film set early, gets made up
and waits patiently for her turn to film. She does not leave the set until the
director says so. Even in hot summer days, she leaves her heavy costume on, not
wanting to trouble the crew to have to re-attend to her. Asked if she minded being
too hot, she says, "A calm mind keeps the body cool." At the end of a
long waiting day and if it happens that there is no part for her to play that
day, she just smiles and says, "Oh, it is quite all right. Another day,
then." No temper, no attitude. Cool saint!
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