Zhao Dan

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhao.

Zhao Dan
Chinese name	趙丹 (Traditional)
Chinese name	赵丹 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Zhào Dān (Mandarin)
Birth name	Zhao Feng'ao
Born	June 27, 1915(1915-06-27) Nantong, Jiangsu, China
Died	October 10, 1980(1980-10-10) (aged 65) Beijing, China
Years active	1930s-1960s

Zhao Dan (simplified Chinese: 赵丹; traditional Chinese: 趙丹; pinyin: Zhào Dān) (June 27, 1915 - October 10, 1980) was a Chinese actor popular in the golden age of Chinese Cinema.

Biography

Zhao first became famous working in the Mingxing Film Company in the 1930s including playing opposite Zhou Xuan in Street Angel (1937). After the war, Zhao began a creative relationship with director Zheng Junli, with films such as the 1948 anti-Kuomintang drama-comedy, Crows and Sparrows.

Zhao remained on the mainland following the Communist victory in 1949 and continued to make films throughout the 1950s and 1960s notably in biographical films playing historical figures of Nie Er, Lin Zexu (both films were directed by Zheng) and Li Shizhen.

He joined Communist Party of China in 1957. During Cultural Revolution, he was persecuted and imprisoned for 5 years. He died of pancreatic cancer in Beijing in 1980.

He was married to Ye Luqian in 1936. When he was arrested by Sheng Shicai in Xinjiang in 1939, it was rumored he had been dead. Thus Ye was married to playwright Du Xuan. After the war, he was released and returned to Shanghai. He later was married to Huang Zongying.

Selected filmography

As actor

Year	English Title	Chinese Title	Director	Role
1933	Twenty-Four Hours in Shanghai	上海二十四小时	Shen Xiling
1937	Street Angel	马路天使	Yuan Muzhi	Xiao Chen
1937	Crossroads	十字街头	Shen Xiling	Zhao
1949	Crows and Sparrows	烏鴉与麻雀	Zheng Junli	Little Broadcast
1949	Three Women	丽人行	Chen Liting	Zhang Yuliang
1950	The Life of Wu Xun	武训传	Sun Yu	Wu Xun
1951	The Married Couple	我们夫妇之间	Zheng Junli
1956	Li Shizen	李时珍	Shen Fu	Li Shizhen
1958	Lin Zexu	林则徐	Zheng Junli	Lin Zexu
1959	Nie Er	聂耳	Zheng Junli	Nie Er

As director

Year	English Title	Chinese Title	Notes
1947	The Dress Returns to Glory	衣锦荣归
1953	Bless the Children	为孩子们祝福
1964	An Evergreen Tree	青山恋	Also known as Precious Green Mountains

External links

• Zhao Dan at the Internet Movie Database
• A Man of Many Faces
• Zhao Dan at the Chinese Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Zhao, Dan
Alternative names
Short description	Chinese actor
Date of birth	June 27, 1915
Place of birth	Nantong, Jiangsu, China
Date of death	October 10, 1980
Place of death	Beijing, China