Hou Yao

Hou Yao
Born	1903 Panyu, Guangdong, Qing Empire
Died	February 15, 1942(1942-02-15) (aged 38–39) Japanese-occupied Singapore
Alma mater	Southeast University
Spouses	Pu Shunqing Wan Hoi-ling (尹海靈)
Chinese name
Chinese	侯曜
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hóu Yào

Hou Yao (1903–1942) was a pioneering Chinese film director, screenwriter, and film theorist. He wrote and directed many films including The Discarded Wife (1924), Romance of the Western Chamber (1927), the first Chinese film shown in Western countries, and Mulan Joins the Army (1928). He wrote Techniques of Writing Shadowplay Scripts, the first theory book on Chinese filmmaking. He founded the Culture Film Company, which was merged into a predecessor of the Shaw Brothers Studio. He has been called the Chinese Henrik Ibsen for his advocacy for gender equality, which he shared with his wife Pu Shunqing.

After the Empire of Japan invaded China in 1937, Hou Yao wrote and directed a series of patriotic films against Japanese aggression. In 1942, he was murdered by the Japanese during the Sook Ching massacre in Singapore.