Huang Yuet-chu (born November 16, 1939), known professionally by her stage name Ivy Ling Po, is a retired actress and Chinese opera singer from Hong Kong. She gained widespread fame during the 1960s for her roles in several popular Huangmei opera films; most notably The Love Eterne (1963).
Ling Po initially acted in Amoy Hokkien's films under the stage name Xiaojuan (Chinese: 小娟; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sió-koan), then in Cantonese films under Shen Yan (Chinese: 沈雁; Jyutping: Sam2 Ngaan6), before joining the Shaw Brothers Studio to act in Mandarin films as (Ivy) Ling Po (Chinese: 凌波; pinyin: Líng Bō).
Contents
Early life
Huang Yu-Chun was born on November 16, 1939, in Shantou, Guangdong. As a child, she was sold to a family in Xiamen. She was given the name Jun Haitang (Chinese: 君海棠; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kun Hái-tông) and worked as a domestic maid. After reaching preadolescence, her adoptive mother forced her to enter the movie industry in Hong Kong. Ling Po claimed she did not have a childhood and was often scolded and physically punished by her adoptive mother. Before Ling Po turned 18 years, her adoptive mother sold her to Chinese-Filipino businessman Shi Weixiong, with whom Ling Po had a son, Shi Yonghui.
In 1957, Shi Weixiong funded the establishment of the Huasha Film Company, which specialized in producing Mandarin-language films. Wu Baoxi and Ling Po—who starred in most of Huasha's productions under the name 'Xiao Juan'—served as producers. During the filming of The Love Eterne, Ling Po—unwilling to meet her adoptive mother's request to attend Weixiong's dinner—moved into the Shaw dormitory with the protection and support of director Li Hanxiang, who freed her from the control of her adoptive parents.
Career
1950s–1960s
Ling Po resided in Xiamen before moving to Hong Kong. Her first screen appearance was in the Ha-Yuen movie Love of Young People (1951) at the age of twelve, under the name of Xiao Juan. In addition to appearing in more than 50 Hokkien movies, she was dubbed for other movie companies, particularly Huangmei operas for Shaw Brothers.
While Ling Po was dubbing the Shaw Brothers' opera Dream of the Red Chamber, she caught the attention of Li Han-hsiang, who cast her as Liang Shanbo in The Love Eterne (Liang Shanbo yu Zhu Yingtai, also known as Liang Zhu or The Butterfly Lovers) in 1962 with Betty Loh Ti. The judges at the second Golden Horse Awards were so impressed by her performance that they created a special award for her, citing her Outstanding Performance. In 1963, a publicity appearance brought traffic in Taipei to a halt, as thousands of women came to see Ivy Ling Po.
In 1964, Ling Po received the coveted title of Asian Movie Queen, when she won the Best Actress award at the 11th Asian Film Festival for her performance in Lady General Hua Mulan. The following year, she would win the Most Versatile Talent award at the 12th Asian Film Festival, for her role as a young prince in The Grand Substitution and a scholar in The Mermaid.
She became the leading figure in the Huangmei opera genre and was usually cast in male roles. Every year, without fail, Ling Po would make lists of the top ten stars in Hong Kong, based on polls conducted by magazines and newspapers.
To avoid being typecast, she auditioned for various roles in both wuxia and contemporary genres. For playing the ill-fated wife of Kwan Shan in Too Late for Love, one of her contemporary outings, she won the Golden Horse Best Actress award.
1970s–1980s
In 1975, Ling Po won the Golden Horse Best Supporting Actress award for her role as a neglected empress in Li Han-hsiang's The Empress Dowager, despite limited screen time in the sprawling epic. After her contract with Shaw Brothers Studio ended in 1975, she went on to appear in other films and television series with her husband. She won another Golden Horse for Best Actress, for My Father, My Husband, My Son, in which she aged from a teenager to an old woman. Her last screen appearance was in the movie Golden Swallow (1987), playing an evil witch. She then retired after the movie and emigrated with her husband, Chin Han, and her three sons to Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1989.
2000s
Ivy Ling Po's career revived in 2002 when she was cast with another veteran Shaw actress, Hu Chin, in a stage production of Butterfly Lovers. Two original cast members, Li Kun, and Jen Chieh, reprised their respective roles. She toured extensively with this production, bringing it to Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States. Ivy Po restaged the production two years later in Taiwan.
Ling Po has performed in concerts in Taiwan, the United States, and Malaysia. Her two concerts at Genting Malaysia in 2005 included Hu Chin, Chin Hsiang Lin, and Yueh Hua.
In 2006, Ling Po performed at the Hong Kong Coliseum as part of a large group of singers for the Everlasting Golden Hits concert. She sang her signature songs from The Love Eterne, duetting with Liza Wang, who sang the part of Zhu Yingtai. She also performed her version of "Jiao Dao" from The Crimson Palm.
In April 2004, Ling Po was among the first Hong Kong celebrities who opened the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, adding her handprints and signature. In January 2006, Ling Po was awarded the WIFTI-HK Professional Achievement Award, with the re-release and screening of the remastered film The 14 Amazons at the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre. In October 2006, Ivy Ling Po, Hu Chin, and Xie Lei performed at Star City in Sydney, Australia. Ling Po also performed at the Frances Yip S.U.C.C.E.S.S. concert, held at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver on 30 October 2006.
Awards
Special Award: Outstanding Performance (2nd Golden Horse Awards) – Love Eterne (1963)
Best Actress (11th Asian Film Festival, 1964) – Lady General Hua Mulan (1964)
Most Versatile Talent (12th Asian Film Festival, 1965) – The Mermaid (1965)
Best Actress (6th Golden Horse Awards, 30 October 68) – Too Late for Love (1966)
Best Actress (20th Asian Film Festival, 15 June 74) – Father, Husband, Son
Best Supporting Actress (Asian Film Festival) – Empress Dowager (1975)
WIFTI-HK Professional Achievement Award (2006) presented during RR of 14 Amazons in HK.
Filmography
Titles & dates of release courtesy of Hong Kong Film Archive
RR = remastered and released on DVD
R = released without being remastered probably in the wrong aspect ratio
Amoy (Hokkien) films
Love of Young People – 1951
Judge Bao Judges Yueying – 20 November 1955
The Phoenix's Flirtation With Twin Dragons (Meng Lijun, The Sequel) – 25 November 1955
Meng Jiangnu's Wail Shattered The Great Wall – 6 July 1955
Meng Lijun (A Reborn Love) – 26 August 1955
The Cowherd and the Weaving Girl – 8 September 1955
The Story of Third Madam Li – 12 May 1955
Liang Shanbo & Zhu Yingtai – 3 August 1955
Xuemei Teaches Her Son – 15 September 1955
Chen Shimei Denies His Wife – 20 September 1955
Love's Obligation – 13 April 1955
Flower Terrace – 15 November 1956
The Death of Daiyu (Back To Heaven) – 18 May 1956
The Phoenix Returns Home – 6 June 1956
Tiger Wang Snatches His Bride – 11 May 1956
Lady Red-Broom – 11 February 1956
Dream of the Red Chamber – 22 November 1956
An'an Searches For His Mother – 20 December 1956
Lianli Gives Birth To Han Qi – 22 May 1956
Cantonese films
Seven Daughters of Tsoi – 21 February 1962
The Grandest of All Families – 13 February 1962
The Little Happy Star – 9 February 1962
Renegade (The Criminals) – 19 April 1963
Cantonese Opera: Fu Gwai Wing Wah Tai Yat Ka (with Yam Kim Fai) – date of release unknown
Shaw Brothers Studio
Dream of the Red Chamber – 2 August 1962 (RR – 2004)
Return of the Phoenix – 24 July 1963 (RR – 2007)
The Adulteress (Xiao Bai Cai) – 8 August 1963 (RR – 2006)
The Lotus Lamp – 8 July 1965 (RR – 2004)
The Pearl Phoenix – 4 February 1967 (RR – 2003)
Hung Niang – 1962 (not released; see last paragraph in biography)
The Love Eterne – 3 April 1963 (RR – 2003)
A Maid From Heaven (Seven Fairies) – 11 December 1963 (RR – 2004)
Lady General Hua Mu-lan – 18 June 1964 (RR – 2004)
The Crimson Palm – 28 October 1964 (RR-2007)
The Female Prince – 10 December 1964 (RR – 2006)
Inside The Forbidden City – 16 October 1965 (RR – 2003)
The Grand Substitution – 15 April 1965 (RR – 2003)
The Mermaid – 29 January 1965 (RR – 2005)
The West Chamber – 10 October 1965 (RR – 2004)
Dawn Will Come – 2 March 1966
The Perfumed Arrow – 23 November 1966
The Mirror and the Lichee – 9 November 1967 (RR – 2006)
Post-Shaw Brothers
Dream of the Red Chamber – 18 May 1978 (R on LD & VCD in 1993; OUT OF PRINT)
The Imperious Princess (Jin Hsi Yu Ye) – 25 July 1980 (R on LD & VCD in 1990; OUT OF PRINT)
Imperial Matchmaker – 1982 (R on VCD in Malaysia by Zestbase)
Butterfly Lovers 40 – 2002 [Stage] (RR – 2003)
The Lute (Pi Pa Ji) – TV movie release date unknown (RR on DVD in Taiwan without English subs)
Notes:
The Dream of the Red Chamber and The Imperious Princess have been remastered by Warner Bros and screened on Celestial Channel. Both remastered prints are in the correct aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with English subtitles.
Imperial Matchmaker marked the only pairing on film of two famed male impersonators: Ivy Ling Po and Yang Lihua.
The Imperious Princess marked the final Huangmei dubbing of Ivy Ling Po & Tsin Ting together on film. Tsin Ting is billed as Kwok Tsin Ting in the credits.
The Chinese Amazons (Women Soldiers) – 11 February 1975 (R on Tai Seng VHS in USA; OUT OF PRINT)
The Prominent Eunuch Chen Ho – 18 October 1977 (R on LD & VCD; OUT OF PRINT)
A Rescue From Hades (Mulian Saves His Mother) – release date unknown
15 Female Warriors of the Sa Family – 1981
Long Nuu Xin Fan (Dragon Girl Descends From Heaven) – 1982
Personal life
Ling Po is married to Chin Han. Her children include film director Kenneth Bi.