Vintage Chinese Movie Poster with China's Famous Zhou Xuan

Advertising Art with Chinese Marilyn Monroe Zhou Xuan 1920-1957

One of the most beloved figures of the Chinese Silver Screen as well as radio and stage is the legendary Zhou Xuan, pictured here on the cover of "New Cinema Forum" magazine.

In todays world she would undoubtedly be known as a "superstar", and amazingly, in the world she grew up in, she was probably the closest thing to that status known at the time.

Overcoming extremely impoverished and adverse beginnings, her story rivaled fiction, and she rose to become not only China’s top pop vocalist, but a movie actress with more than 20 acclaimed movies to add to her success.

Althought her career was one of legendary status, her personal life was beset by tragedy of unprecedented proportions, and she fell victim to two bad marriages, failed relationships and a mental breakdown which slowed her entertainment career to a grinding halt.

She lived from 1920 to 1957, (although her birth year cannot be pinned down due to her being adopted), and allegedly snuffed out her own life at the tender age of 37, earning her the tragic comparison of "The Chinese Marilyn Monroe", who allegedly committed suicide at the age of 36. Controversy shrouds the death of both great ladies to this day.

Even to this day, her memory is preserved by an almost cultlike following, with a miniseries on Taiwanese TV, her songs still being featured in nostalgia movies, and plans for a feature movie on her life in the works.

No doubt remains, though, that when she passed through this world, she left it a better place, and she will always and forever be remembered.