Yan Yuexian


Yan Yuexian, also romanised as Yang Yoo-yea, was a Chinese actress in the silent film industry in Shanghai in the mid 1920s and early 1930s and was the daughter of composer and actor Yan Gongshang 严工上. Her father made 103 films in addition to his writing and composing. Under her father's influence, she found she enjoyed music and painting. She made her first movie in 1926 as a "child actor" of about 15-years-old, having joined the drama association earlier in 1925.
In her career Yan Yuexian participated in almost 50 films. However, her last big role was her 1941 film Spring Breeze Back to Dreams. An article about her career, Yan Yuezhen: For the sake of the unrequited marriage of the Republic of China implied that a drug-use problem ended her career, as audiences turned away from her. However, later in life, her fans assisted her. In 1982, when she was 71 years old, her situation was hard; she was living alone in Shanghai with no income, relying on her sisters' help from overseas. A fan of her last film, 49 years earlier, helped secure her a good job as a librarian at the Shanghai Literature and History Research Institute.

Filmography

Yan Yuexian participated in nearly 50 films. A selection follows with examples from across her career:

Shenzhou Film Company 神州影片公司