Remembering China’s Silver-Screen ‘Butterfly’

With the euphonious stage name “Butterfly Wu,” or “Hu Die” in
Mandarin, the actress born Hu Ruihua starred in numerous films during
the golden age of the film industry in Shanghai, once touted as the “Hollywood of the East.”

Born
in 1908, Hu traveled and lived in different cities all over China with
her family while growing up, allowing her to learn Mandarin, Cantonese,
and Shanghainese.
When the country’s first film actor training school opened, she was
among the first students to enroll. After graduation, Hu debuted in the
film “Amid the Battle of Musketry” at the age of 17 as a supporting
actress. Three years later, she signed with the Mingxing Film Company,
then one of the country’s most influential studios, and was offered a
salary a hundred times greater than the average monthly wage in
Shanghai, and she soon became one of the most sought-after actresses of
the 1930s.