Chen Liting

Born in Shanghai on 20 October 1910, Chen Liting was abandoned as an infant and adopted by foster parents. However, he lost his adoptive father at the age of four, and three years later his adoptive mother also died. Chen was brought up by his uncle, the brother of his adoptive father. He attended a boarding school in Jiangyin at the age of 12, and in 1924 entered Chengzhong Middle School in Shanghai. As a high school student at Chengzhong, Chen was influenced by the post-May Fourth surge of modern drama. In 1928, he entered Daxia University (a predecessor of East China Normal University) in Shanghai, where he translated, directed, and acted in The Rising of the Moon, a play by the Irish dramatist Lady Gregory. It was the first Chinese production of the play. ==Put Down Your Whip==

'' by Xu Beihong, depicting Wang Ying's performance of the play. After university, Chen worked as a primary school teacher in rural Nanhui County outside of Shanghai. In late 1931, he wrote the patriotic play Put Down Your Whip (also translated as Lay Down Your Whip), inspired by Meiniang, an earlier play by Tian Han. It became extremely influential and was staged countless times throughout China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The future Madame Mao, then known as Li Yunhe, was also among its many performers. It also inspired famous paintings by artists Xu Beihong and Situ Qiao. ==Second Sino-Japanese War==

Chen returned to Shanghai in 1932, where he wrote film reviews and translated Soviet books on filmmaking into Chinese. After the Japanese invaded China in 1937, Chen joined the resistance movement, serving as the leader of the fourth brigade of the Shanghai Salvation Drama Troupe, which performed numerous patriotic street plays including Put Down Your Whip. The troupe fled Shanghai before it fell to the Japanese, traveling and performing for the next three years under harsh conditions through central and southwest China. ==Between WWII and 1949==

'' After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Chen returned to Shanghai. He joined the China Film No. 2 Studio that was newly established by the Nationalist government. He wrote and directed the film Far Away Love, whose premiere in Shanghai's Huanghou Theatre on 18 January 1947 was considered a landmark event in postwar Chinese cinema. The film starred prominent actors and actresses such as Zhao Dan, Qin Yi, and Wu Yin, and the Ministry of Defence put uniformed soldiers under Chen's command for the filming. It was the first in a series of controversial epics on the social turmoil caused by the war. In late 1947, he made another film Rhapsody of Happiness, written by Chen Baichen. After moving to the Kunlun Film Company, a new private studio, Chen directed Women Side by Side (also translated as Three Women or Female Fighters) in early 1949. Chen and the famous playwright Tian Han cowrote the screenplay. The film is his most famous and it is considered his masterpiece. ==People's Republic of China==

After the founding the People's Republic of China in 1949, Chen directed two more films: Inescapable (1950) and Work Is Beautiful (1951). But he worked mostly in administrative positions, serving as a member of the National People's Congress, and general manager of Tianma Film Studio from 1957 until 1966. In the 1950s Chen was appointed director for the upcoming film Li Shizhen. However, due to his insistence that the director, rather than government administrators, have artistic control, he was dismissed and the film was directed by his friend Shen Fu. In the early 1960s, Chen spent three years preparing to make a film about the life of Lu Xun, starring Zhao Dan, Yu Lan, and Sun Daolin, but the film was cancelled by the Shanghai's Communist Party Chief Ke Qingshi for political reasons. Like many other intellectuals, Chen was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76). After being rehabilitated at the end of the period, Chen returned to work for the Shanghai Film Studio, where he was responsible for artistic quality. He and Chen Baichen worked together for three years to make the historical film Da Feng Ge, based on the Han dynasty palace intrigues of Empress Lü after the death of Emperor Gaozu. However, the film was again cancelled by high-ranking politicians, as it was reminiscent of the political struggles after the death of Chairman Mao Zedong. Chen Baichen had a heart attack on hearing news of the cancellation, while Chen Liting, then almost 70 years old, retired from filmmaking. In 2008, Chen Liting's biography by Xia Yu (), titled Far Away Love after his film, was published by China Film Publishing House (). He was awarded a prize by Chinese President Hu Jintao for making "exceptional contributions to the art of drama". On the morning of 27 August 2013, Chen Liting died at Huadong Hospital in Shanghai at the age of 102. ==Family==

Chen Liting married Mao Yinfen () during the Great Leap Forward. After nearly 40 years of marriage, she died on 18 September 1998. The couple had one child, a daughter named Chen Maoni (), who emigrated to the United States. ==References==