Cen Fan

Biography

Cen Fan, born on January 11, 1926 in Shanghai under his original name Cen Li Fan, died on January 23, 2008 from stomach cancer. He was one of China's prominent actors and directors, mentored by Hong Kong directors Zhu Shilin and Wu Zuguang. He was of Guangxi ancestry and had a family connection to Cen Yingyu. He attended Nanjing Central University's economics department in 1945. He began his artistic career performing plays in Shanghai in 1946, then moved to Hong Kong to work in film as an actor and assistant director. In 1951, he returned to Beijing to participate in the cultural construction of the People's Republic of China, working as an assistant director with Wu Zuguang on several Peking opera films. He directed his first film in 1956, "群英会·借东风". His 1962 film "红楼梦" is among his most notable works, alongside "阿Q正传" based on a novel by Lu Xun and "祥林嫂".