Xia Meng (16 February 1933 – 30 October 2016), a.k.a. Hsia Moon and Miranda Yang, born Yang Meng, was an actress and film producer from Hong Kong. She appeared in Hong Kong films in the 1950s and 1960s, and was involved in the region's left-wing film scene. In the 1980s, Xia Meng worked as a film producer and was involved in the Hong King New Wave.
Early life and education Xia Meng was born Yang Meng on 16 February 1933 in Shanghai.
She was first exposed to drama at McTyeire School, an elite girls' school established by Methodist missionaries in Shanghai. In 1947, she moved with her family to Hong Kong, where she attended Maryknoll Convent School. In 1949, In conjunction with an event at her school, She was chosen to play the leading role in McTyeire School's English-language production of Saint Joan.
Xia Meng's younger sister, Yang Jie, played on the China women's national basketball team from 1954 to 1957. ["女篮5号"生活原型怀念谢晋杨洁老人结电影缘]
Film career In 1950, Yang Meng (birthname) and her friends visited a film set of the Great Wall Movie Enterprises Ltd. This was where she was first spotted by the crews, as well as studio manager Yuan Yang'an. Through the help of Yuan's daughter, Mao Mei (an actress and ballerina), Yang accepted his invitation and joined the studio at the age of 17. Inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the new actress decided to rename herself Xia Meng (literally "summer dream").
The Great Wall Crown Princess
She was given her first role as the title character in Li Pingqian's A Night-Time Wife (1951). The comedy was a hit and rocketed Hsia Moon to stardom.香港电影史话, Volume 4，余慕雲 Many other roles followed, including a tragic demimondaine of Cao Yu's Sunrise and the virtuous widow of A Widow's Tears, both in 1956. She portrayed the scapegoat of the feudal moral value in the critically acclaimed film The Eternal Love (1960), the deprived bourgeoisie in HKFA Archival Gem's Romance of The Boudoir (1960), and played a man masquerading as a woman in The Bride Hunter (1960).
Xia was one of the few Hong Kong movie stars whose films were released in the People's Republic of China before the Cultural Revolution. Xinhua News has compared her to Audrey Hepburn.
Cultural Revolution In the summer of 1967, Xia visited Guangzhou and witnessed the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. Hong Kong cinema was soon influenced by the Chinese Communist Party, and Great Wall's movies no longer had the same cachet as before. Xia, who was pregnant at the time, excused herself from involvement in the political movement. She resigned from the studio in September 1967, shortly after appearing in Oh, the Spring Is Here (1967), and quietly left for Canada before the film was released.
Return as film producer After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Xia was invited by Liao Chengzhi, then vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC), to attend the 4th National Congress of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC) held in Beijing from 30 October—16 November 1979. This is considered to be her first public appearance after her final screen performance in 1967. Under the encouragement of Liao, she decided returned to the movie industry as a producer after an absence of ten years.
In 1980, Xia formed Bluebird Movie Enterprises Ltd, and produced the debut film Boat People (Ann Hui, 1982), a movie and landmark feature for Hong Kong New Wave, which won several awards including the best picture and best director in the second Hong Kong Film Award. After producing Young Heroes (Mou Dunfei, 1983) and Homecoming (Yim Ho, 1984), Xia sold her film company to Jiang Zuyi. She had no involvement in film production after that.
Other Awards Xia's performance in Peerless Beauty (1953) and A Widow's Tears (1956) won her the Greatest Individual Achievement Award given by the Cultural Ministry of the People's Republic of China. In 1995, Xia was honored the Chinese Film Stars Special Award, in conjunction with 90 anniversary of Chinese Cinema.
Political activities She was also involved in political activities, being selected as a committee member of the Chinese National Cultural Alliance and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Legacy For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Xia has a star with a hand print and autograph by the name of Miranda Yang on the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, Hong Kong.
In August 2005, Xia was one of 128 movie stars recognized by China in a commemorative stamp collection marking 100 years of Chinese language cinema.
Print pictorials and interviews Law Kar, Hsia Moon: episodes of a summer dream (Hong Kong 1995); Zhu Shunci et al., An age of idealism: Great Wall & Feng Huang days, (Hong Kong Film Archive 2001); Liu Shu, The Peerless Xia Meng, China Film Press, Beijing, 2007;
Filmography YearEnglish titleOriginal titleRoleNotes1951A Night-Time Wife禁婚記Ying Xiazhi1952Father Marries Again一家春Modern Red Chamber Dream新紅樓夢Nonya娘惹Yang Yongfen1953A Torn Lily孽海花Jiao GuiyingMarriage Affair門Kung Mei FengDay Dream白日夢The Peerless Beauty絕代佳人Ru JiThe Gold-Plated Man花花世界Mrs Wei1954Merry-Go-Round歡喜冤家Zhang QingpingTales of the City都會交響曲NancyJoyce and Deli姊妹曲Lu Deli1955Never Leave Me不要離開我Mu Sangqing1956Sunrise日出Chen BailuThe Three Loves三戀Bai YiwenThe Wedding Night新婚第一夜Lin FangA Widow's Tears新寡Fang Mei1957Forever Waiting望夫山下Liu WanlinEscape Into Trap逆旅風雲Xiao JiaohongWhither Spring?春歸何處Zhang Ming1958Those Bewitching Eyes眼兒媚Yan Er-MeiThe Way of Husband and Wife搶新郎Zhang CaifengThe Green Swan Club綠天鵝夜總會Qiu Lin Husband Hunters夫妻經Zhang Jingfen1959Sweet as Honey甜甜蜜蜜Ting Hui-LanFeast of a Rich Family豪門夜宴Guest at banquetAn Unfulfilled Wish稱心如意Wanfen1960Bride Hunter王老虎搶親Zhou WenbinYue opera film, cross-gender actingA Mermaid's Love碧波仙侶Musical filmRomance in the Boudoir香閨春情SuxuanRendezvous佳人有約The Eternal Love同命鴛鴦Madam Liu1961Ah, It's Spring!滿園春色 1962The Princess Falls in Love三看御妹劉金定Liu JindingYue opera filmLet's Get Married我們要結婚Liu Ying1963Between Vengeance and Love雪地情仇YinzhuDong Xiaowan董小宛Dong Xiaowan1964My Darling Princess金枝玉葉PrincessYue opera filmGarden of Repose故園春夢Wan Zhaohua1965A Heroic Romance烽火姻緣She SaihuaYue opera film1967The Fair Ladies白領麗人Jiang Yuhua1968Oh, the Spring's Here!迎春花1982Boat People投奔怒海Producer1983Young Heroes自古英雄出少年Producer1984Homecoming似水流年Producer
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