Chen Bo'er

Chen Bo'er (; 1907–1951) was a prolific and revolutionary left-wing Chinese actress and filmmaker in the 1930s and 40s before her premature death in 1951. She began her activism work in Shanghai, writing essays for magazines and newspapers, where she expounded her beliefs about feminism, women's rights, and national salvation. It was also in Shanghai that Chen became a notable celebrity, starring in films and theatre productions and advocating for leftwing pro-communist revolution. In Yan'an, the then de facto capital of Communist China where she established a film studio backed by the Communist government, she produced anti-Japanese theatre and drama performances, and assisted in screenwriting, directing, and producing. She was the first female director endorsed by the Communist government. She later moved to Changchun to work as Party secretary of the Northeast Film Studio, where she was a pioneer of Chinese animation. In Beijing, Chen was made art department director of the Central Film Bureau. She advocated for the establishment of the People's Republic of China's first national film school, the Beijing Film Academy. Chen Bo'er was an ardent feminist, whose work paved the way for women filmmakers and revolutionaries in China.

Early life

Chen Shunhua , was born in the small town of Anbu, Chaozhou County, Guangdong Province. Though Chen's grave marks her birth year as 1910, her biographer Wang Yongfang uses the year 1907 based on Chen's personal archives. seems to almost anticipate the work of feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey by decades. This gaze would be something that Chen, as a filmmaker, would strive to fight against. She would go on in her own films, and those to which she contributed, to show strong female heroines, and be a key figure in Chinese feminist film development. Chen ends this essay with a provocative revolutionary conclusion: "Women's pursuit of freedom and equality requires the efforts of all walks of life. If film cannot shoulder the responsibility of guidance but is mistaken as an ideal haven and leads people to escape from reality, we would rather have no film!" The film – as many of those in which Chen starred and on which she worked– is as equally entertaining as it is a realist, anti-government film, subtly hiding its revolutionary aspects to avoid Nationalist government's censorship.

Theatre Chen also acted in several street theatre productions in the 1930s. The left took up public theatre as a way to increase resistance among urban populations, including student voices and movements, especially in Shanghai and Nanjing as these were considered modern cultural cities. As an attractive young woman and rising celebrity, Chen's performances garnered a great amount of media attention – especially in Put Down Your Whip in 1937.

Scriptwriting and directing Here, Chen was an incredibly successful female director and screenwriter. Much of Chen's work in Yan'an was in leadership positions, as well as scriptwriting. In 1945, Chen wrote and directed Comrade, You've Taken the Wrong Road. Chen was the scriptwriter for Light Spreads Everywhere, filmed in 1948; earlier, she had written Labour Hero of the Border Area (Communist occupied zone), but this was never filmed.

Chen's directorial debut was Working Hero in the Communist Base (1946), though she was unable to complete the film because of the Civil War.

With this influence of the Communist government's endorsement, Chen was able to make notable strides in feminist and socialist activism through her art-making practices. Directing and producing films and stage performances in Yan'an, Chen arranged her artistic endeavours such that ninety percent of the actors with whom she worked came from working-class backgrounds. This was one of her ways of making sure to center both the lower classes (or peasantry) and women in her feminist artistic practices. – which would later move again and become the Changchun Film Studio in spring 1949

Reception and fame During her life, Chen was known as a benevolent educator, supporter, and role model for young women and leftist youth, and was very kind.

Because of her major cultural impact, it is striking to note that Chen Bo'er's life story has been largely erased from history. There is little literature about her specifically and her life is given little to no importance in film studies, both in China and elsewhere. Zheng Wang argues that this is "emblematic of the erasure of the socialist feminist cultural front." Other scholars point to the emphasis on the cooperative and communal nature of the projects on which she worked. In general, however, scholars who have written on Chen Bo'er agree that film history of the period in which Chen worked focuses on men; other female filmmakers alongside Chen Bo'er, such as Tang Cheng, Lin Wenxiao, and Duan Xiaoxuan, have garnered significantly less recognition in recent years.