Basic information
本 名赵丹
外文名Feng’ao Zhao
出生地江苏省扬州市
出生日期1915年6月27日
逝世日期1980年10月10日
毕业院校上海美术专科学校
政治面貌中共党员
Character experience
In 1916, when Zhao Dan was two years old, he moved with his parents to Nantong. His father opened a cinema in Nantong and was influenced by his family in his youth, with a passion for art. In middle school, I once organized a “Little Drama Society” with my friends Gu Ke, Qian Qianli, Zhu Jinming, and performed some progressive plays.
In 1931, he was admitted to the art college founded by Liu Haisu, where he studied landscape painting under Huang Binhong and Pan Tianshou. During this time, he participated in the American Drama Troupe, Xindi Drama Society, and Tuosheng Drama Society, and actively participated in the activities of the “Leftist Drama Federation”. Later, he changed his name to “Zhao Dan” and went deep into factories, cities, and schools to perform anti Japanese and salvation plays.
In 1932, she was spotted by the celebrity film company Li Pingqian and officially entered the entertainment industry by playing a playboy in the silent film “Pipa Spring Lament”.
In 1933, he joined the Chinese Leftist Dramatists Alliance; In the same year, he co starred with Gu Lanjun in the drama film “24 Hours in Shanghai”; Next, he starred in the drama film “Two on One” directed by Zhang Shichuan; In addition, she also co starred with Ai Xia and Gao Qianping in the drama film “Daughter of the Times”.
In 1934, she acted in the drama film Three sisters directed by Li Pingqian; In the same year, he co starred with Xu Lai and Gong Jiannong in the drama film “To the Northwest”; Subsequently, the drama film “Daughter’s Classic” starring him was released; In addition, he co starred with Gao Qianping, Mei Xi, and others in the anti Japanese war film “Homesickness”.
In 1935, he co starred with Xu Lai and Wang Xianzhai in the romantic film “Falling Flowers Season”; In the same year, the drama film “Passionate Loyalty” starring him was released; In addition, he also starred in the drama film “Big Family” directed by Zhang Shichuan.
In 1936, he co starred with Tan Ying and Wang Xianzhai in the drama film “Xiaolingzi”; In the same year, she co starred with Lai Ming Fai and Ying Yin in the romantic film “Qingming Festival”; In addition, she also co starred with Hu Die in the romantic movie “Feminism”. In 1937, he co starred with Bai Yang in the drama film “Crossroads”, playing the role of the dull and brainless unemployed college student Lao Zhao; In the same year, he co starred with Zhou Xuan in the drama film “Street Angel“, playing the role of Chen Shaoping, the drummer of a clever and humorous band.
In 1939, she starred in the drama film “Chinese Children” directed by Shen Xiling; In June, he went to Xinjiang with Xu Tao, Wang Weiyi and others to further develop theatrical work, but was later imprisoned by the reactionary warlord Sheng Shicai for 5 years.
In the spring of 1945, Zhao Dan returned to the stage after returning to Chongqing and directed Mao Dun’s play “Before and After Qingming Festival”.
In 1947, the drama film “Returning in Glory” directed by him was released; In the same year, he co starred with Qin Yi in the drama film “Distant Love”; In November, the comedy film “Happy Rhapsody” co starring with Gu Ke and Huang Zongying was released.
In 1948, he co starred with Wang Renmei in the drama film “Unstoppable Spring”.
In 1949, he co starred with Wu Yin and Shangguan Yunzhu in the drama film “The Crow and the Sparrow”, playing the role of the self proclaimed smart “little radio” boss Xiao. He won the first prize for Outstanding Individual Film from the Chinese Ministry of Culture for this film; In the same year, she co starred with Huang Zongying in the drama film “Beauty Walk”.
In 1950, he co starred with Huang Zongying in the drama film “The Legend of Wu Xun”.
In 1951, he starred in the drama film “Between Us as Husband and Wife” directed by Zheng Junli. In 1953, directed the drama film “Blessings for Children” starring Huang Zongying and Wang Longji.
In 1956, co starred with Bai Yang in the drama film “For Peace”; In the same year, the biographical film “Li Shizhen” starring him was released.
In 1957, he co starred with Cui Wei and Wang Danfeng in the drama film “Sea Soul”, playing the patriotic and righteous sailor Chen Chunguan in the film; In the same year, he joined the CPC.
In 1958, the biographical film “Lin Zexu” starring him was released, in which he played the role of the upright, resolute, optimistic, and energetic imperial envoy Lin Zexu; In the same year, he served as a screenwriter for the drama film “The Third Experiment”. In 1959, he starred in the biographical film “Nie Er” directed by Zheng Junli.
In 1960, he co starred with Qi Heng and Zhang Fa in the drama film “The Number of Wind Blowing People Today”. In 1964, he wrote and directed the drama film “Qing Shan Lian”.
In 1965, he co starred with Yu Lan and Zhang Ping in the drama film “Eternal Life in the Flames”, playing the role of Xu Yunfeng, a leader of the underground party in Chongqing. This was his last film filmed before his death.
In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, he was brutally persecuted by the “Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter revolutionary group” and imprisoned for five years.
In 1977, Zhao Dan’s task force announced the restoration of his organizational life as a member of the Communist Party of China.
In 1977, the New Year’s Eve party was held at the Cultural Square. Zhao Dan made a comeback and made his first appearance reciting the prose poem “The Lights of Zhongnanhai” in memory of Zhou Enlai.
On October 10, 1980, Zhao Dan passed away in Beijing due to cancer at the age of 65.
In 1995, Zhao Dan won the Best Actor award at the China Film Century Awards.
In 2005, Zhao Dan won the Chinese Film Centennial Hundred Outstanding Actor Award.
Zhao Dan(赵丹 Zhào Dān) was a performing artist with outstanding achievements. In the several decades of his movie career, he appeared in 35 films, portraying a series of brilliant images. Crossroads(十字街头 shízì jiētóu) and Street Angel(马路天使 mǎlù tiānshǐ), in which he plays the leading roles in 1936 and 1937, were two excellent pieces showing his early talent. His own experiences and temperament were similar to those of Old Zhao, the unemployed college graduate he played in Crossroads, and he vividly portrayed Old Zhao, an innocent, honest, enthusiastic and in a way, foolish intellectual.
In Street Angel, Zhao Dan plays the role of a poverty-stricken young trumpeter, realistically depicting the trumpeter’s kindheartedness, willingness to help others, honesty, and inclination to consider himself clever. The leading role he plays in Crows and Sparrows, a film of the 1940s, marked the maturity of his performing art. Proprietor Xiao, whom he portrays, is a typical urban petty bourgeois in a semi-feudal, semi-colonial society. He is fatuous but fancies himself clever, weak but pretends to be valiant, shortsighted but burning with an ambition to make a fortune. He is occupied with nothing and takes pleasure in listening to hearsay and then spreads what he has heard. He experiences humiliations and oppression to the fullest extent but becomes indifferent and finds excuses to console himself. Zhao Dan plays the role of Proprietor Xiao in a lifelike way. Zhao Dan shone with the brilliance of his artistic vigor in the 1950s and the 1960s. His portrayals of historical people in Li Shizhen, Lin Zexu, and Nie Er reached the highest level of Chinese performing art at that time.
In these films, he portrays three different kinds of people. Li Shizhen(李时珍 Lǐ Shízhēn) is a man of great depth. Pure, graceful, and unsophisticated, he is tinged with a local flavor. Lin Zexu(林则徐 Lín Zéxú) is lofty, exquisite and manly. Nie Er(聂耳 Niè Er) has passionate feelings, a strong period feel and a romantic air. All the images Zhao Dan created had a clear-cut individual character, rich color, a profound implication, and strong national feature. They were welcomed by Chinese audiences, and most of them have become everlasting artistic images of Chinese cinema.
Filmography
Zhao died on October 10, 1980, at the age of 65.
