Xia Ai

Actor

Tianjin, China

November 29, 1912

Biography

Xia Ai (Chinese: 艾霞; 29 November 1912 – 15 February 1934) was a Chinese left-wing silent film actress and screenwriter. She was born as Yan Yinan to a large middle-class family. She started her career as a stage actor with the South China Theater Society, before joining the Leftists Dramatists League. She wrote a book called Xiandai yi Nüxing (A Woman of Today) in 1933. The book was adapted as a film in the same year. Despite the intrigue around the story, the film was not well received by critics because of its focus on revolution. Xia Ai was one of only two female screenwriters during the "Left-Wing" movement in Chinese film. She starred in a total of eight films in her lifetime. She committed suicide in 1934, the first Chinese actor to have done so. Her suicide inspired Cai Chusheng's classic film New Women starring Ruan Lingyu, who also killed herself soon after the release of the film. (Source: Wikipedia)