Bai Hong | |||||||||||
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| Born | Bai Lizhu (白麗珠) 24 February 1920 Beijing, China | ||||||||||
| Died | 28 May 1992 (age 72) | ||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 白虹 | ||||||||||
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| Musical career | |||||||||||
| Genres | Shidaiqu, Mandopop | ||||||||||
| Instrument(s) | Singing | ||||||||||
Bai Hong (白虹, 24 February 1920 – 28 May 1992) was a Chinese actress and singer born Bai Lizhu (白麗珠) in Beijing. By the 1940s, she became one of the Seven Great Singing Stars.[1]
At age 11, Bai was admitted to the Bright Moonlight Song and Dance Troupe and entered Shanghai's entertainment industry. She used the stage name (白虹), meaning "White Rainbow". She was called one of the "Beiping Three Whites" (北平三白) with Bai Guang and Bai Yang.[1]
Her music career began at the young age of 11. She acted in her first film, Renjian Xianzi《人間仙子》, at 14. In the 1930s, she was a popstar icon singing songs like 長生果. By 1934 a singing competition was sponsored in Shanghai, where she won by more than 200 votes taking the crown. She was known for having a mastery of the language and a clarity in expressing lyrics, which helped her gain many fans.[1] In 1936 she toured Southeast Asia with the Bright Moonlight Song and Dance Troupe. A year later, she then joined the Green Bird Theatre Troupe (青鳥劇團).
In the 1930s, she was recognized as one of the three great mandopop singers with Zhou Xuan and Gong Qiuxia.[1]
Her career peaked in the 1940s, when her music style changed more to uptempo jazz. Some of the songs that propelled her to stardom included "Intoxicating Lipstick" (醉人的口紅), "Love and Gold" (愛情與黃金), "Flowers Don't Bloom Without Rain" (雨不灑花花不紅) and "He's Like the Spring Wind" (郎是春日風).[1]
In the 1930s and 1940s, she recorded more than 150 songs and had many hits. Only Zhou Xuan made more recordings than her during that time. She performed in over 30 films and had many stage performances. She was also the first pop singer from mainland China to give a solo concert, which took place on the 12 and 13 January 1945. The three songs 乘風破浪, 可憐的爸爸媽媽, and 醉人的口紅 were her personal preferences.
She was married to the composer Li Jinguang (黎錦光), and they later divorced in 1950. She stayed in China after 1949 and continued performing in theater. During the Cultural Revolution, because Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four did not want people to know anything about Bai's song and film history in Shanghai the 1930s and 1940s, many other people of the same generation as Bai were imprisoned. Bai, a singer and actress in the 1930s and 1940s, was also imprisoned and subjected to persecution and abuse. She officially retired in 1979.
In 1992, she died at the age of 72.[1]
