Lu Hsiao-fen (Chinese: 陸小芬) is a Taiwanese actress known for her roles in the woman's revenge subgenre within Taiwanese social-realist cinema (also called Taiwan Black Movies or Taiwan Pulp).[1][2] In the later years of her career, she was critically acclaimed as an actress in adaptations of Taiwan nativist novels, most prominently A Flower in the Raining Night (Chinese: 看海的日子, 1983).
Lu Hsiao-Fen was born in 1956 and her given name was Chang Shu-Fen (Chinese: 張淑芬).[3] She was born and lived in Jiufen until she graduated from elementary school.[4] After graduating from vocational school, she attended singing school and performed as a singer on television and at night clubs.[3] She also participated in a singing contest held by Chinese Television System (Chinese: 華視) and Hai Shan Record (Chinese: 海山唱片) and won first place.[4] In 1980, Lu Hsiao-Fen was cast by Wang Chu-Chin to star in On the Society File of Shanghai (Chinese: 上海社會檔案, 1981), which gave her overnight stardom.[citation needed]
Lu Hsiao-Fen's debut in film was On the Society File of Shanghai (Chinese: 上海社會檔案, 1981), directed by Wang Chu-Chin. The film was an adaptation from the Chinese Scar Literature (Chinese: 傷痕文學). In the film, Lu Hsiao-Fen portrays a rape victim of a high-ranking official and his son. In an interrogation scene, Lu Hsiao-Fen briefly opens her shirt, revealing her breasts for about five frames on the screen.[5][needs context] Another shocking scene in the film is when Lu Hsiao-Fen cuts across her chest with a knife. The film became sensational because of these visually stimulating scenes.[5] After the success of On the Society File of Shanghai, Lu Hsiao-Fen became a signed actress of the Yung Sheng Film Company, starring in over 10 films with them.[6]
Lu Hsiao-Fen’s performance in On the Society File of Shanghai also led to the production of similar films, such as Woman Revenger (1981), Queen Bee (1981), and The Lady Avenger (1981).[7] These films became a popular subgenre of Taiwan’s Social-Realist Films and were called Woman’s Revenge Films (Chinese: 女性復仇片)[8] and later Taiwan Black Movies.[9] The most famous female stars of the Woman's Revenge Films were Lu Hsiao-Fen, Lu Yi-Chan (Chinese: 陸一嬋), Lu Yi-Feng (Chinese: 陸儀鳳), and Yang Hui-Shan (Chinese: 楊惠姍), and they were called “Three Lu and One Yang” (三陸一楊).[8]
In 1983, Lu Hsiao-Fen starred in A Flower in the Raining Night (Chinese: 看海的日子, 1983), an adaptation from the short story of Taiwanese Nativist writer Hwang Chun-Ming (Chinese: 黃春明). In the film, Lu Hsiao-Fen portrays a prostitute, Pai-Mei (白玫), who decides to change her destiny and celebrate life by returning to the farming life in the rural area and gives birth to a son. Lu Hsiao-Fen won Best Actress Award of the Golden Horse Award with her performance in A Flower in the Raining Night and transitioned from a sexy film star to a critically acclaimed actress.[10] After the film, Lu Hsiao-Fen starred in many adaptations from Taiwanese Nativist literature, such as Oxcart Filled with Dowry (Chinese: 嫁妝一牛車, 1984), The First Stitch (Chinese: 在室男, 1984), and The Scalper (Chinese: 母牛一條,1986).
In 1988, Lu Hsiao-Fen starred in Osmanthus Alley (Chinese: 桂花巷, 1988), directed by Chen Kun-Hou (Chinese: 陳坤厚). The film is adapted from the novel of the same title by Hsiao Li-Hung (Chinese: 蕭麗紅), an important Taiwanese female writer in the 1970s. In 1989, she starred in Richard Chen Yao-Chi (Chinese: 陳耀圻)’s Spring Swallow (Chinese: 晚春情事, 1989). She won at the Best Actress Award in the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in her performances in both films.
In the 1990s, Lu Hsiao-Fen studied performance in the U.S. and gradually faded out from the silver screen. She still appeared in some Taiwanese-language TV dramas, such as Jin zhi yu ye (金枝玉葉, 2021). In 2003 and 2007, she published two books about practicing Yoga, Lu Hsiao-Fen’s Zen of Life (陸小芬生活禪, 2003) and Zen of Aroma and Happiness (芳香樂活禪, 2007).
In 2023, Lu Hsiao-Fen returned to film acting after 20 years as the lead in Day Off (Chinese: 本日公休, 2023), directed by Fu Tien-Yu (Chinese: 傅天余).[11][12]
In 2005, Lu Hsiao-Fen married Chen Jun-Yuan (Chinese: 陳俊源), a former Taipei City council member.[13] She is a devoted Buddhist and a practitioner of yoga and aromatherapy.[14]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 20th Golden Horse Awards | Best Leading Actress | A Flower in the Raining Night | Won | [15] |
| 1993 | 30th Golden Horse Awards | 18 | Nominated | [16] | |
| 2023 | 60th Golden Horse Awards | Day Off | Nominated | [17] |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 33th Asia-Pacific Film Festival | Best Actress | Osmanthus Alley | Won | [18] |
| 1988 | 34th Asia-Pacific Film Festival | Spring Swallow | Won |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 18th Osaka Asian Film Festival | Yakushi Pearl Award for Best Performance | Day Off | Won | [19][20] |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 25th Taipei Film Festival | Best Actress | Day Off | Won | [16] |
Lu Hsiao-Fen in Hong Kong Movie Database
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