任劍輝

简介

Ren Jianhui (Yam Kim Fai) was born on February 4, 1913 in Guangzhou, with the original name Ren Lichu and also known as Ren Wanyi. She was a Hong Kong Cantonese opera performer specializing in the "female civil and martial lead" (女文武生) role, and was known as the "Lover of Theatre Fans" (戲迷情人). She studied Cantonese opera under her aunt Xiao Jiaotian (小叫天), a female martial artist in Cantonese opera. She graduated from Guangzhou's 39th Primary School, which has since closed. She joined the Jinghua Yanying Ban (鏡花艷影班) early in her career, performing on the rooftop amusement park of the Zhen Guang Department Store in Guangzhou. At age fourteen, she trained under Huang Lüxia (黃侶俠), known as the "female Ma Shi Tsang" (女馬師曾). In 1935, she led the "Jinghua Yanying" (鏡花艷影), the only long-running all-female troupe in Guangdong, Macau, and Hong Kong, achieving great success at the Qingping Theatre (清平戲院). She was nicknamed the "female Gui Mingyang" (女桂名揚). When performers Chen Pimei and Chen Piya joined the troupe, it was renamed "Meihua Yanying" (梅花艷影) in their honour. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in 1941, she joined the "Peace Troupe" (平安劇團) with co-stars Tan Lanqing and Shanghai Mei to form the "Three Kings Troupe" (三王劇團). During the Japanese occupation, she co-founded the "New Voice Troupe" (新聲劇團) in Macau with Chen Yannong, Liang Cibo, and Ouyang Jian, staging works including "Dream of the Red Chamber" (紅樓夢) and "Red Chamber at the Seaside" (海角紅樓). After the war, the troupe moved to Hong Kong. She later participated in the "Golden Phoenix Screen Troupe" (金鳳屏劇團) with Chen Jintang and Fang Yanfen, performing famous works such as "Fourteen Years in the Fire Palace of Brahma" (火網梵宮十四年). In 1956, she co-founded the "Sien Fung Ming Troupe" (仙鳳鳴劇團) with renowned Cantonese opera actress Bak Sheut Sin, and later founded the "Chu Fung Ming Troupe" (雛鳳鳴劇團) in 1963. The two collaborated closely and were collectively known as "Yam Pak" (任白). She passed away on November 29, 1989.