Chen Bo'er | |||||||||||
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Born | Chen Shunhua July 15, 1907 | ||||||||||
Died | November 10, 1951 | (aged 44)||||||||||
Occupation | Actress
Party Secretary (Northeast Film Studio) Art Department Director (Northeast Film Studio and Central Film Bureau) | ||||||||||
Spouse | Ren Posheng (married 1929–1946) Yuan Muzhi (married 1947) | ||||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 陳波兒 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 陈波儿 | ||||||||||
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Chen Bo'er (Chinese: 陳波兒; pinyin: Chén Bō'ér; 1907–1951) was a prolific and revolutionary left-wing Chinese actress and filmmaker in the 1930s and 40s before her premature death in 1951. She began her activism work in Shanghai, writing essays for magazines and newspapers, where she expounded her beliefs about feminism, women's rights, and national salvation.[1] It was also in Shanghai that Chen became a notable celebrity, starring in films and theatre productions and advocating for leftwing pro-communist revolution. In Yan'an, then de facto capital of Communist where she established a film studio backed by the Communist government, she produced anti-Japanese theatre and drama performances, and assisted in screenwriting, directing, and producing. She was the first female director endorsed by the Communist government. She later moved to Changchun to work as Party secretary of the Northeast Film Studio, where she was a pioneer of Chinese animation. In Beijing, Chen was made art department director of the Central Film Bureau. She advocated for the establishment of the People's Republic of China's first national film school, the Beijing Film Academy.[2] Chen Bo'er was an ardent feminist, whose work paved the way for women filmmakers and revolutionaries in China.