Art Imitates Life Imitates Art: "New Women" and the Tragic Suicide of Ruan Lingyu

The death of Chinese silent film actress Ruan Lingyu – known for her strong social conscience and work with leftist film directors – on Mar 8, 1935, is an all too tragic example not only of art imitating life, but life imitating art as well.

Today, Ruan is best remembered for her role as the lead character in the 1935 film New Women. In the film, Ruan portrays an author trying to make it in Shanghai who suffers ruthless exploitation in a male-dominated industry, resulting in the author eventually taking her own life.

Art imitates life in regards to who the protagonist is based on which was Ai Xia, a Chinese actress and author who committed suicide after facing character assassination by the Shanghai press. As for life imitating art, that’s where Ruan’s story comes in.

The role itself was taxing on the actress during and after filming, with Chinese film critics and tabloids coming after the movie and its lead, the former citing Ruan’s “negative” portrayal of Ai Xia, the latter for the simple fact that the film took aim at their toxic nature.

All this, along with troubles with an ex-lover who had sued Ruan for adultery, culminated on the night of Mar 8, when Ruan took her own life by overdosing on sleeping pills.

Ruan’s fame shot to new heights after her untimely death, and a suicide note largely believed to be forged was exhibited at a cinema that played the movie. The funeral procession for Ruan allegedly stretched 5km, with many coming out in droves to protest the unjust treatment she received.

To find out more about Ruan, New Women, and the changing yet troublesome landscape for women in Republican era China, don’t miss a special screening of the film at Beijing Postcards happening this Saturday (Mar 11), with a 30 minute talk beforehand on the subject matter.

Beijing Postcards Historical Movie Night: New Women is happening Saturday (tomorrow), Mar 11 from 6.30-8.30pm. Entry is RMB 110 per person. Scan the QR code in the poster to register.

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Images courtesy of Beijing Postcards