Bai Yang (actress)
Bai Yang (; 4 March 1920 – 18 September 1996) was a Chinese film and drama actress mainly active from the 1930s to the 1950s, during which she was one of the country's most popular movie stars. She was considered the foremost of China's "Four Great Actresses," ahead of Qin Yi, Shu Xiuwen, and Zhang Ruifang. Her most famous films include Crossroads (1937), The Spring River Flows East (1947), Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon (1947), and New Year's Sacrifice (1955). Early life On 4 March 1920, Bai was born as Yang Chengfang to an affluent family in Beijing, China. Bai was the youngest of four children. Her older sister was Yang Mo, a novelist. Bai's parents both died when she was 11. Bai acted in a supporting role in Hou Yao's silent film Sad Song from an Old Palace (Gugong Xinyuan), made by the Lianhua Film Company. She became a drama actress for a few years, acting in plays by Tian Han and Hong Shen, as well as foreign plays by Oscar Wilde and Eugene O'Neill. Early career and Sino-Japanese War In 1936, Bai Yang joined the Mingxing Film Company in Shanghai. She was given the lead role