Shi Hui (1915 â€" December 1957), born Shi Yutao (Chinese: 石æ¯"涛),
was a Chinese actor and film director who gained prominence throughout
the 1940s through 1950s. Despite his fame, Shi became a victim of the
Anti-Rightist Movement in the mid-1950s and committed suicide soon
thereafter.Shi's career as an actor began relatively late. His first
film was not until 1940's The Chaotic World (dir. Wu Renzhi), and he
would not gain broad recognition until after the war, with a series of
classic films including Phony Phoenixes (dir. Huang Zuolin) and Long
Live the Missus! (dir. Sang Hu). He also played the lead in Ai le
zhongnian (The Joys and Sorrows of Middle Age), which is often ranked
as one of the greatest Chinese films of all time.After the Communist
takeover, Shi became increasingly involved with the making of films
behind the camera, directing himself in the classic This Life of Mine.
Shi continued to direct throughout the early years of the 1950s, even
gaining international attention with 1954's Letter with Feather, which
won a prize at the Edinburgh Film Festival. The next year, he filmed a
stage performance of a Chinese Opera in The Heavenly Match, which
became a popular hit with audiences in Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter,
however, Shi ran afoul with Communist authorities and was denounced
during the Anti-Rightist Movement as a reactionary, leading eventually
to his suicide by drowning in December 1957.
was a Chinese actor and film director who gained prominence throughout
the 1940s through 1950s. Despite his fame, Shi became a victim of the
Anti-Rightist Movement in the mid-1950s and committed suicide soon
thereafter.Shi's career as an actor began relatively late. His first
film was not until 1940's The Chaotic World (dir. Wu Renzhi), and he
would not gain broad recognition until after the war, with a series of
classic films including Phony Phoenixes (dir. Huang Zuolin) and Long
Live the Missus! (dir. Sang Hu). He also played the lead in Ai le
zhongnian (The Joys and Sorrows of Middle Age), which is often ranked
as one of the greatest Chinese films of all time.After the Communist
takeover, Shi became increasingly involved with the making of films
behind the camera, directing himself in the classic This Life of Mine.
Shi continued to direct throughout the early years of the 1950s, even
gaining international attention with 1954's Letter with Feather, which
won a prize at the Edinburgh Film Festival. The next year, he filmed a
stage performance of a Chinese Opera in The Heavenly Match, which
became a popular hit with audiences in Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter,
however, Shi ran afoul with Communist authorities and was denounced
during the Anti-Rightist Movement as a reactionary, leading eventually
to his suicide by drowning in December 1957.
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