Wang Danfeng

Lore & Background

She appeared in two dozen films in the 1940s, often playing abused or persecuted women. One of her most celebrated roles was the young nurse in A Nurse's Diary; the scene of her humming 'The Little Swallow' to put a baby to sleep is widely remembered. The film was soon denounced, and Wang, Sun, and lead actor Feng Zhe were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. She was sent to perform hard labor in the countryside and prevented from acting for 15 years, but survived largely unscathed partly because the film was not labeled a 'giant poisonous weed'. She retired in 1980 after portraying a Japanese scientist in her last film, The Jade-Colored Butterfly. She attended the second inauguration of U.S. In the late 1980s, they moved to Hong Kong and opened the vegetarian restaurant Gong De Lin. After turning 80, they sold the business and returned to Shanghai.

Reader's Guide

Wang Danfeng's career spanned more than four decades and over 60 films, marking her as a significant figure in Chinese cinema. Her work includes iconic roles such as the nurse in A Nurse's Diary and Li Xiangjun in The Peach Blossom Fan. The latter led to her persecution during the Cultural Revolution, during which she was sent to hard labor and prevented from acting for 15 years. Her survival and later return to film, though brief, underscore her resilience. Her legacy is also tied to her long marriage and her later years running a vegetarian restaurant in Hong Kong.

Did You Know?

• She was sent to perform hard labor in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution and was prevented from acting for 15 years.
• She and her husband opened the vegetarian restaurant Gong De Lin in Hong Kong in the late 1980s.