Sun Daolin () (December 18, 1921 – December 28, 2007) was a Chinese actor and film director.
Biography Sun Daolin was born in Beijing on November 18, 1921. He was born Sun Yiliang 孙以亮 into a family of four children. His father Sun Wenyao (孫文耀) was trained as railroad engineer in Brussels, Belgium. His mother Fan Nianhua (范念华) and father both are originally from Jiashan County, Zhejiang. He along with all his siblings learned to speak English since grade school. He attended Yenching University, but his studies in philosophy were interrupted by the Second Sino-Japanese War. During the war he was active in patriotic activities including stage acting and he was jailed briefly by the Japanese Puppet Regime. After the war, he completed his studies and received a degree in philosophy in 1947."Sun Daolin," Yingjin Zhang Zhiwei Xiao, Encyclopedia of Chinese Film (London; New York: Routledge, 1998), p. 324
His career had spanned much of the PRC history. One of his earliest roles was in director Zheng Junli’s Crows and Sparrows, a polemic on the corruption of the Nationalist Government just prior to their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. After 1949, Sun continued to act, notably as the eldest brother in an adaptation of Ba Jin’s novel, Family.
Sun Daolin was an actor in the 1950-70's in China. Some four decades ago, to many Chinese, he was an idol and Mr. Right for all unmarried women at his time.
In the 1980s, Sun began to focus increasing energy on directing. In 1983, he wrote, directed and starred in the well-received Thunderstorm, based on the eponymous play by Cao Yu. His second try behind the camera was 1992’s The Stepmother. After his semi-retirement he was active in poetry, Hamlet, Schubert songs. He was at several international film festivals and as late as the 1990s.
Sun died in Shanghai on December 28, 2007 at the age of 86. At his service 1,000s of fans paid the last respect. He is survived by his wife Wang Wenjuan, a Yue opera actress and a daughter Sun Qingyuan (孫慶原), one grand child. Wang was best known for her performance in "The Dream of the Red Chamber".Sun Daolin Died, Sina.com.
Selected filmography
As actor YearEnglish TitleChinese TitleRoleNotes1949Crows and Sparrows乌鸦与麻雀Hua Haozhi1950Min zhu qing nian jin xing qu民主青年进行曲1955Reconnaissance Across the Yangtze渡江侦察记LiBased on Xiong Zhaoren1955Nan dao feng yun南岛风云Han Chengguang1957Family家Chueh-hsin 1957City Without Night不夜城1958The Eternal Wave永不消失的电波1961A Revolutionary Family革命家庭1963Early Spring in February早春二月1977SpringCelebrate the collapse of the Gang of Four1979Li Siguang李四光1982The Go Masters一盘没有下完的棋partly filmed in Japan1983Thunderstorm雷雨
As director YearEnglish TitleChinese TitleNotes1983Thunderstorm雷雨1986The Provisional President非常大总统1992The Stepmother继母
Notes
References Li, Na and Qian Na. Biography of Sun Daolin (In Chinese) (Shanghai People's Press, 2009 )
External links
Sun Daolin at the BFI Film and TV database Sun Daolin at the Chinese Movie Database Sun Daolin dies - revered Chinese actor, director San Francisco Chronicle January 5, 2008