Bai Hong, formerly known as Bai Lizhu, was born on the fifth day of the first month of the Year of the Monkey (February 24, 1920), a Manchu, a native of Jiangsu, and grew up in Beijing.In early 1931, Li Jinhui's Shanghai Mingyue Song and Dance Troupe came to Beijing to recruit students. The then 12-year-old Bai Lizhu, who could sing and dance well and looked fair and lovely, was admitted on the spot by the examiner Lai Kam Kwong, and then went to Shanghai with the troupe together with Yan Hua and Ying Yin to start her acting career.
After entering the Bright Moon Society, Bai Hong learned music theory from Lai Kam Kwong, voice from composer Zhang Hao, and dance from Russian teacher Masov. At the same time, president Lai Jinhui tried to give her as many performance opportunities as possible. She acted in songs and dances such as "Three Butterflies", "Moonlight Night", "Poor Chou-heung", "Grape Fairy", "Little Painter" and "Special Express", and gradually showed her talent.
Bai Hong recorded her first song, "Evening Fragrance", in 1932 on the Budai label. Her first solo album was "Mother's Cradle Song/Little Baby", released around February 1933, published by Victory Records, still using her real name, Bai Li Zhu. She began to use the stage name Bai Hong around mid to late 1933. In just a year or two, she sang songs such as "Memories," "Wish You Good Night," "The Beginning of a Kiss," and "Whispers in the Middle of the Night.
Bai Hong was already the focus of advertisements for performances in The Declaration in 1933, when the Mingyue Society was reorganized into the Crescent Moon Opera Society. During the years of war and turmoil, the society was disbanded and rebuilt many times, and its members gradually became accustomed to it. During the period of disbandment, Bai Hong and other members who had not left Shanghai were arranged by Lai Kam Fai to broadcast on radio stations and advertise products, which solved the problem of living expenses and at the same time honed their singing skills. After a long period of disbandment, Bai Hong joined Lili Li in the Nanyang Higher Education Center, where she studied for nearly a year.
Early in 1935, Lai reorganized the Mingyue Opera Society, which was a very large organization, with many of the old members returning. Bai Hong had already risen to become a pillar of the society, starring in traditional Mingyue Opera Society programs such as "Peanut Rice" and "Wild Rose" as well as a new opera adapted by Lai Kam-kwong called "Prince Peach Blossom", in which she sang a number of songs such as "Carnival Song", "Everlasting Fruit", "Sending the Lang", "Wine Words", "Prison Chanting Songs" and so on.
In April 1935, Bai Hong took part in the 15th anniversary performance of the founding of the Mingyue Society at the Jincheng Grand Theater. In 1934, Shanghai's "Big Evening News" organized the "Radio Singers' Contest", which was the first singers' contest in the Chinese pop music scene, and was a great event in Shanghai's "entertainment circle" at that time. This was the first singing contest in the Chinese pop music industry, and it was a great event in Shanghai's "entertainment circle" at that time. At that time, it became popular for radio stations to invite singers to sing, and "broadcast singers" came into being. Cui Wanqiu, the deputy editor of Shanghai's "Big Evening News", initiated and organized the "Three Major Broadcast Singers' Campaign". In order to do a good job of this competition, "Evening News" from May 2, opened a "today's exciting broadcasting program" column, every day, each broadcasting group of a singer in which a radio station broadcasting time, broadcasting and singing which song, so that listeners have a choice to listen to. The official campaign began on May 26th and ended on June 14th. The singers will go on the air every day as usual, and listeners will vote for their favorite singer every day, with the number of votes determining the ranking at the end of the day.
When the contest began, Bai Hong and Zhou Xuan took the lead. Over the eighteen days of the contest, the two were in a race against each other, and the results were released on June 14 on page 5 of the Big Evening News. Bai Hong finally won the crown with an absolute advantage of 9,103 votes, earning her the first "Queen of Song" title in the history of Chinese pop music. Zhou Xuan, who was not well known at the time, came in second with 8,876 votes. Third place went to Wang Manjie, with 8,854 votes. The three singers attracted a lot of attention at the time. For example, Singing Star Pictorial, which was launched in August 1935, featured the headshots of Bai Hong, Zhou Xuan, and Wang Manjie on the covers of its first, second, and third issues. The result of this competition established Bai Hong's unshakeable first-line status in the singing world.
Bai Hong recorded a large number of songs in the 1930s on labels such as Bai Dai, Shengli, Gao Ting, Li Ge and Da Zhong Hua, and sang countless unrecorded songs while broadcasting on the radio. During the campaign, she sang mostly songs written by Lai Kam Fai, and can be considered as the first singing queen of China created by Lai-style period tunes. In 1934, on the recommendation of Lai Kam Fai, Bai Hong appeared in Yihua's film "The Human Fairy", which was her first time on the screen, and sang the movie's theme song "The Human Fairy" and the interlude "Silver Bleakness", which was popular for a while. In the same year, Bai Hong had her first leading role in the Shanghai Film Company's talkie "Bodybuilding". Later in 1936, she starred in But Du Yu's The National Color of Heaven. In these early films, Bai Hong appeared as a dancer and singer
Beginning in April 1936, Bai Hong began a spring tour of public performances with the Mingyue Society, where she was highly praised for her singing and acting skills. After returning to Shanghai, in July, Bai Hong toured the South Seas with the Greater China Song and Dance Troupe led by Lai Kam Kwong and Yan Hua as a stage manager for a full year until she returned to Shanghai in July of the following year, where she was well received by the local overseas Chinese audience. During the tour, Bai Hong was in love, and she and Lai Kam Kwong transformed from a teacher-student relationship into a married couple. Unfortunately, due to various problems such as poor management, the troupe suffered from internal conflicts and differences, and was eventually disbanded on the spot in Batavia.
Shortly after their return to China, all cultural and artistic performances were suspended due to the August 13th War, which led to financial constraints and a precarious life. At this time, the new drama had already laid the foundation for business in Shanghai, and Bai Hong joined the "Green Bird Theatre Troupe" organized by Yu Ling and others. She played the role of Four Phoenix in Green Bird's first play, Thunderstorm. Afterwards, Bai Hong was recognized by Ouyang Yuqian, and temporarily replaced the sick Yin Qing as Grandma Gu in Sunrise, which was rehearsed only for half a day and then performed the next day.
Because of the success of this role, Bai Hong was invited to take part in the filming of Xinhua's movie "Sunrise", and then became one of the basic actors of Xinhua, and made dozens of movies from 1938 to 1940, such as "The Fan of the Young Grandmother", "The World of Silver and Gold", "Wu Zetian", "The Three Musketeers", "The Heaven of Hate", "Wang Xifeng's Ruckus at Ningguo Mansion", "The Rain of Xiaoxiang", and "The Diao Liu's". Diao Liu's" was Xinhua's last movie, and also the one that Bai Hong thought she had performed most diligently. Since Xinhua Film Company already had the "Four Famous Dancers" (Chen Yanyan, Hu Die, Yuan Meiyun, and Chen Yunshang), Bai Hong mostly played supporting roles during this period. Fortunately, she had the opportunity to use her singing skills to add color to the films. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Bai Hong's singing skills matured, and she became one of the "Big Three" singers under Bai Dai Records, along with Zhou Xuan and Gong Qiuxia.
On September 19, 1939, the opera Song of Shanghai, composed by Zhang Hao and written by Cai Bingbai, premiered in the French Concession at the Jiao Fei Garden Theatre on Jiao Fei De Road, with Bai Hong and Gong Qiuxia in the leading roles of A and B. The performance lasted nine days and 18 performances. The performance ****18 performances in 9 days and was very well received. The interludes "Brother, You Love Me" and "Forget Me" were recorded by Bai Hong and became famous songs in the opera. "Song of Shanghai" was re-released twice in the 1940s, and in early 1941, Bai Hong starred in the four-act opera "Song of the Earth", which was composed by Qian Renkang and written by Cai Bingbai, and she sang songs such as "The Fishing Girl", "Woodcutter's Song", and "My Grievance". The opera depicts the story of resistance to violence in the rural areas of Jiangnan and is a metaphor for the war.
Bai Hong switched to Zhou Jianyun's newly established Golden Star Film Company at the end of 1940 in order to find more opportunities for starring roles in movies. Since then, she has played leading roles in such films as Figs, Spring and Autumn on the Lonely Island, Jade Shattered and Pearl Rounded, and The End of the World. At that time, Shanghai was flooded with costume films, and Bai Hong starred in fashion films that reflected the dark reality of the isolated island to a certain extent, which undoubtedly brought a refreshing feeling to the audience. In addition, Bai Hong sang songs in every movie, and the movie interludes sung by her, such as the interludes of "Spring and Autumn on the Lonely Island", "Let's meet again in Sasa", "Dance of Spring" and "Ballad of Acacia", the interlude "Buried Jade" of "Figs", and the interlude "Mirror Flower and Water and Moon" of "The End of the Earth and the End of the World", were extremely popular along with the popularity of the movies. Figs" is recognized as one of its representative films, in which Bai Hong sings a number of lyrics, for which she spends two months on the radio in the force from the hard to figure out the "Shen Xue" tune, the beads of the throat turning, no absurdity. Wu Village's "Shasha Farewell" is her most popular movie song. According to Hattori Ryoichi, a famous composer who served as a commissioner for the Japanese Kwantung Army's reporting department, the most popular song in Shanghai between 1943 and 1945, besides Zhou Xuan's When Will You Come Again, Li Xianglan's Sugar Selling Song, and The Fragrance of the Night, was Bai Hong's Shasha Will You Meet Me Again.
Bai Hong was also the voice of China's first full-length sound cartoon (animated movie), Princess Iron Fan, released in 1941.
Bai Hong's songs such as "The Descent of Spring", "Lang is the Wind of Spring", "Suzhou Nocturne", "Moonlight on the River", "Floating on the Sea of People", "Pointing the Fragrance of Autumn", "Flower, You're Lovely", "Shepherding the Sheep", "Three Years", "South of the Sky and North of the Earth", and "Half Past Midnight" were also widely sung in the early 1940s. Lang Lang is the Wind of Spring" was a popular song throughout the 1940s. Bai Hong's mellow and sweet voice echoed throughout the streets and alleys until it traveled across the ocean to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. During the war years, Bai Hong's acting career went through a lot of ups and downs. After the end of the island period, the Japanese took control of the entertainment business in Shanghai, and Gold Star was incorporated into the League of Nations. Bai Hong took a break from the screen, initially turning down a few films before joining Hua Ying with Zhou Xuan, and in the winter of 1942, she co-starred with Qiao Qi in the three-act opera "The Neon Song" at the Meihua Theatre, in which she sang the Schubert Serenade in English and sang in an American voice. The opera was a poor seller, and Bai Hong collapsed on stage during one of the performances due to exhaustion.
Bai Hong's comeback film, Mermaid's Pass, was released in 1943, and Bai Hong claimed to have loved her role as the female lead, which was different from the naive girls she had played during the Venus period, and was a mixed bag of good and bad roles, and the interlude, I Want You, composed by Chen Gexin, was a hit. In 1944, Bai Hong appeared in major roles in Huaying's <
In July 1944, Bai Hong cut the ribbon for a charity exhibition of ancient and modern goldsmiths, paintings, calligraphy and antiques jointly organized by eighteen groups.
On October 11 and 12, 1944, a Sino-Japanese concert was held at the Shanghai Daguang Grand Theater, with Bai Hong, Yao Li, Gong Qiuxia, Watanabe Hamako, Hattori Tomoko and composer Hattori Ryoichi, etc.
On December 30, 1944, in order to raise funds for the welfare of the people in the same, a number of stars were held at the Daguang Grand Theater, where Bai Hong sang "Sea Haiyan", "I Want You" and so on.
On January 12 and 13, 1945, Bai Hong held two "Bai Hong Singing Conference" in Shanghai Lanxin Theater and sang "Ave Maria", "The Widow of the Wind", "The Fragrant Widow of the Night", "Searching for Dreams", "The Wind of Spring", "Sea Haiyan", "Free Shot", "Carmen", "The Rose", "The Dream of Love", "The Bright Lights", and "Song and Dance", among more than a dozen Hai Nai Yang songs. This is the first time a Chinese local pop star has organized a concert. This was the first time that a local Chinese pop star held a solo concert, and it was a great event in the Chinese pop music scene. After Bai Hong, Zhou Xuan, Gong Qiuxia, Bai Guang and other big singers of the time held solo concerts, which became an instant craze and brought a touch of brightness to the last dark years on the eve of the victory in the war.
After holding the "Bai Hong Singing Conference" and "Bai Hong's Song" concerts one after another, Bai Hong sang "The Fragrance of the Night" and "I Want You" in the New Year's Film and Drama Program of the Jincheng Grand Theatre from March 19th to 21st, 1945; on June 13th, she sang with Zhou Xuan, Bai Hong, and Zhou Xuan. On June 13, Bai Hong, together with Zhou Xuan, Bai Guang and Yang Liu, held a midsummer concert to entertain her fans, in which she sang "Fragrance of the Night", "Sea Haiyan", and "Lang is the Wind of Spring", while the orchestra played "Love Dreams Round Dance", which consisted of "Love Songs", "Mirror Flower, Water and Moon", etc.; and she attended the Changshou Concert in the Lanxin Theatre on June 30, where she sang "Dream Seeking Songs", "I Want You", and "The Descent of Spring".
In the past, when songstresses sang on stage at nightclubs and other venues, guests could choose to sit and listen or dance at their leisure, and the singers were just for show, with a lower status. In contrast, a singing convention meant that the audience bought tickets specifically for the purpose of enjoying the singing, and the singer became the main subject. The solo concert trend led by Bai Hong undoubtedly played a role in raising the status and respect of singers. After the mid-1940s, the number of films produced by Huafang decreased. After the victory in the war, the Shanghai movie industry was reorganized and restructured. In December 1944, Bai Hong sang on stage in Suzhou, causing a sensation that led to the "abandonment of the movie" by Shanghai's female movie stars, and in 1945, Bai Hong was signed by the Yilaixiang Music Club for 400,000 yuan, and then by the Palace of Immortal Music and Dance for a huge sum of 1.5 million yuan.
Bai Hong's main focus after the war was still singing, and she continued to develop new styles of period music, being one of the most recorded singers of the period. Chen Gexin's "Walking in the Middle of the Night" and "Mimi"; Lai Kam Kwong's "Poor Mom and Dad," "Love of Flowers," "Rain Doesn't Sprinkle Flowers," "My Heart Beats," and "Ballad of the Same Heart"; Yan Folding West's "Listen to Me," and "Annoying Night Rain"; Yao Min's "Rosy Blossoms," "I'm Going Home," "Spinning Cotton," and "Love and Gold"; Lee Hau-Xiang's "Ride the Wind and Break the Waves," "Boat on the Taihu Lake," "The Lost Weekend", "Wind and Moon on the Island"; Liu Ruzeng's "Drunken Lipstick", "Lady of the Boat Family"; Yan Zifan's "Crazy Band" and so on, are all the popular songs of Baihong in this period. From the early 1930s to the founding of China, Bai Hong recorded a total of 150 to 60 songs, second only to Zhou Xuan.
When looking for an actress for the 1947 movie "Skyrocket", Lai Kam Kwong actively recommended his wife for the lead role, and although it didn't work out, she sang the song "Come Back" behind the scenes. After that, she sang for the films "The Thin Life of Qing" and "Riding the Wind and the Waves", etc. In 1948, she appeared in two films, "The Remnant of the Red Mansion" and "The Case of the Foggy Nights" in the Datong and Huaguang Film Company, playing the second and the leading roles, respectively. The two songs "Waves" and "Don't Go So Fast" sung by Bai Hong in "Foggy Nights and Bloodshed" were very popular.
She also continued her theater performances after the war. She co-starred with Yin Xiu-cen in "A Good Match", and in 1947, she played the lead role in the play "Tian Zi No. 1", directed by Yang Xiaozhong, which was based on a spy drama in the Great Lower Mainland of China during the war, and was performed for the benefit of the Shanghai Students' Self-Help Association at the Lanxin Theatre.
Bai Hong sang in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore in the late 1940s, and in 1947, she was invited to join the Star Theater Troupe, which traveled to the South Seas with Ouyang Feiying and Chen Baidi.
Bai Hong's last album of new songs, "Long Long Moon/The Stabbed Hand," was released in 1950 by the company Bai Dai, which had already left Shanghai. Long Long Moon" was an interlude in the movie "Nightingale Song", in which Bai Hong played the female number two Bai Mulan, and it was the last movie in which she acted.