Silver screen star mourned and remembered for film legacy

Xie Fang, one of the first big movie stars of New China, passed away at 89 in a Beijing hospital on Thursday, sparking widespread mourning.

Born in Wuhan in Central China's Hubei province in 1935, Xie exhibited artistic talent at a young age and joined a local artistic troupe as an actress in 1951.

In 1959, after developing her onstage skills, Xie distinguished herself from other actresses in a nationwide casting to portray Lin Daojing, a young woman who transforms from a timid student to a resolute revolutionist in Song of Youth, a film adapted from writer Yang Mo's best-selling novel of the same name. The film became a massive success, with Lin's iconic attire — a blue qipao and white scarf — setting a trend among female audiences.

During an early interview with China Central Television, Xie recalled attending two rounds of auditions for the role. The filming took almost six months, and 400 scenes — two-thirds of the scenes — featured her character. Director Cui Wei required that the role blend artistic temperament with revolutionary fervor.

With the blockbuster paving her way to the silver screen, Xie joined the Beijing Film Studio in 1963, acting in over 50 movies and TV series spanning more than half a century. Her most notable works include Early Spring (1963), Two Stage Sisters (1964) and The Second Handshake (1980).

As a diligent artist who remained active on screen into her elderly years, Xie's biggest-budget works in her later career include The Chinese Widow, a World War II-themed film directed by Oscar-winning Danish director Bille August.

In 2015 and 2016, Xie received two lifetime achievement awards — the 15th Film Performance Art Academy Award and the 33rd Hundred Flowers Award, which honored her outstanding contributions to China's film industry.

Li Haiping, Xie's daughter-in-law, said that Xie passed away from a heart attack and multiple organ failure. Li also mentioned that Xie was serene when she passed, reported Beijing Daily.

Pan Yilin, a veteran TV anchor and filmmaker, told China Daily that he has known Xie for 28 years. He first visited her home in 1996 for the talk show Liujin Suiyue (Gone the Golden Years), which debuted on CCTV-6 that year and focused on reviewing classic movies.

"She was seated in front of a piano and her hair was deep black. She sometimes played the piano at home to relax," Pan recalled, adding that his most memorable impression was the deep love between Xie and her late husband Zhang Mu, who passed away at 92 in 2022.

In 2018, Pan brought his cameramen to visit Xie to film his documentary Yan Yuan (Once Upon a Time), which highlighted the artistic journeys and cinematic impact of the top 22 movie stars, including Xie, since the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The list of stars was made by four major studios following a suggestion from then-Premier Zhou Enlai in the early 1960s.

"While cinematographers were adjusting equipment, Xie suddenly repeated 'twenty-two' multiple times. Intrigued, I inquired about the meaning behind the figure and she replied, 'It has been 22 years since our first encounter.' I was taken aback and moved, realizing that her recollection was accurate," shared Pan, adding his respect for Xie's good memory.

Many netizens expressed their condolences on Sina Weibo, with posts related to the obituary garnering over 65 million views on the social media platform as of Thursday afternoon.

Yuan Yun'er, a Beijing-based critic, said that Xie's passing signifies the end of an era, noting that Xie's classical works have left a lasting impact on generations of Chinese audiences.