Ruan Lingyu (1910-1935): A silent Diva, a Model for Modern Girl and New Woman

Ruan Lingyu is considered one of the leading figures of diva in Chinese cinema of the 1930s. Since she was sixteen until her death1 at the age of twenty-four, she starred in almost thirty movies, becoming very popular for Chinese audience who renamed her as the “Queen of melodrama”2. As a movie icon of Chinese silent cinema Ruan Lingyu has been beloved not only by Chinese audience but also by that one in Hong Kong, where she is still considered one of the most important silent diva. In this essay we will take in analysis some Ruan Lingyu’s main roles to underline her acting style presenting different female models in Chinese movie production in early ‘30s. In the first part we will map her career, pinpointing among her roles the most significant, with a nod to the different film genres in which she took part and a reflection on the different female models she proposed; in the second part we will trace her style and way of performing, taking into account her divistic role in Chinese productions during 1930s.