My Family History

                                                                      Grace Chang 葛兰  1931 -

Grace Chang is better known as Ge Lan to fans of her Chinese language movies. This year, 2013, is her 80th Year. If you go to the Guestbook page (see the top of this page) you will find details of the arrangements for a celebration of her birthday in Hong Kong during August. Although Grace's movies and music recordings took place in Hong Kong, she qualifies for this Shanghai section of the website because her formative years took place there until she was 15.

She was born, Yufang Zhang, on June 13, 1933 in Nanjing, China, the 12th of 14 children of a wealthy family. Her father was a university professor. Growing up in Shanghai, she was trained in classical Beijing opera before moving with her family to Hong Kong in 1948. Her first feature debut was Seven Sisters in 1953. Two years later, she joined MP & GI Film Studio. Grace Chang enjoyed wide popularity as a star in musical comedies and melodramas, proving herself to be an exceptional and versatile singer. In 1961, she got married to Gao Fuquan in London, and then she retired from the acting scene in 1964. Her last major film was The Story of Three Loves in 1964. Some of the 30 or so films she appeared in are classics and are still well-loved. 

Grace went to Thailand in 1956 and starred in two films, as part of a Hong Kong/Thai joint venture. Such ventures between Asian Countries were common during the 1950s. Both films were silent as were most films made in Thailand then. They were directed by Neramitr Chang, and the leading man each time was Surasit Satayawongsa. Grace sang 3 songs altogether and learned the lyrics phonetically in English.

“My Life Can't Be Without You” (ชีวิตฉันขาดเธอไม่ได้) used the tune of  "เสียงระฆังจากอารามวัด" (The Bells of the Monastery) which she sings in the film “Golden Dragon”. When Grace sang it onscreen, this recording was played for the cinema audiences. She sang Love From Faraway Places, and Never Love Another Like You in the other film, “Jade Swan”.  Both are excellent recordings.  These songs are included on the 2010 anthology … 曼波女郎回来 [Mambo Girl back] which comes in a beautiful package – PAL 1018 1003 – Fidelity Sound Archives. All 22 songs were re-mastered at Ancient Sound Restore, Singapore by Lee Leng Kok. Thank you to all concerned there, and to http://www.thaifilm.com/forum for some background information.

                                                                                     Grace's Films

·  Ti xiao yin yuan xia ji (1964) [Actress .... Shen Fengxi and He Lina (Two roles)]
... aka "A Story of Three Loves Part 2" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Ti xiao yin yuan shang ji (1964) [Actress .... Shen Fengxi and He Lina (Two roles)]
... aka "A Story of Three Loves Part 1" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Bao lian deng (1964) [Actress .... Goddess of Mountain Hua]
... aka "The Magic Lamp" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Jiao wo ru he bu xiang ta (1963) [Actress .... Li Meixin]
... aka "Because of Her" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Xing xing yue liang tai yang xia (1961) [Actress .... Ma Qiuming]
... aka "Sun, Moon and Star Part 2" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Xing xing yue liang tai yang (1961) [Actress .... Ma Qiuming]
... aka "Sun, Moon and Star" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Ye mei gui zhi lian (1960) [Actress .... Deng Sijia]
... aka "The Wild, Wild Rose" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Bian zi gu niang (1960) [Actress]
... aka "Miss Pony-Tail" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Xin xin xiang yin (1960) [Actress]
... aka "The Loving Couple" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Qing shen si hai (1960) [Actress .... Yu Liying]
... aka "Forever Yours" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Liu yue xin niang (1960) [Actress .... Wang Danlin] [Soundtrack] (performer: "Liu yue xin niang", "Hai shang liang xiao", "Mi li shi jie")
... aka "The June Bride" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Qian mian nu lang (1959) [Actress .... Gu Lingxu/Hua Yanhong]
... aka "The Girl with a Thousand Faces" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show: Episode #4.4" (1959) TV Episode [Actress .... Herself]

·  Zi mei hua (1959) [Actress .... Li Mingming]
... aka "My Darling Sister" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Xiang che mei ren (1959) [Actress .... Jiaying Li]
... aka "Our Dream Car" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Kong zhong xiao jie (1959) [Actress .... Lin Keping] [Soundtrack] (performer: "Wo yao fei shang qing tian", "Tai wan xiao diao", "Miao yuan zhong sheng", "Wo ai ka li su")
... aka "Air Hostess" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Qing chun er nu (1959) [Actress .... Li Qingping]
... aka "Spring Song" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Xie sa qing hua (1959) [Actress .... Du Meina]
... aka "Crimes of Passion" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Jin feng huang (1958) [Actress]
... aka "Golden Phoenix" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Shan hu (1958) [Actress]
... aka "Torrents of Desire" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Wu tou an (1957) [Actress .... Lu Weiwei]
... aka "Murder in the Night" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Ai yu zui (1957) [Actress]
... aka "Love and Crime" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Jiu se cai qi (1957) [Actress]
... aka "Booze, Boobs and Bucks" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Man bo nu lang (1957) [Actress .... Li Kailing]
... aka "Mambo Girl" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Jin lu yi (1956) [Actress .... Yilan]
... aka "The Story of a Fur Coat" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Guan shan xing (1956) [Actress]
... aka "Over the Rolling Hills" - Hong Kong (English title)
... aka "Terminal Bound" - Hong Kong (English title) (festival title)

·  Chang xiang (1956) [Actress]
... aka "The Long Lane" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Tang bo hu yu qiu xiang (1956) [Actress .... Qiuxiang]
... aka "The Ingenious Seduction" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Jing hun ji (1956) [Actress]
... aka "Surprise" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Xue li hong (1956) [Actress]
... aka "Blood in Snow" - Hong Kong (English title) (literal title)
... aka "Red Bloom in the Snow" - Hong Kong (English title) (imdb display title)

·  Soldier of Fortune (1955) [Actress .... Prostitute] (uncredited)

·  Zai chun hua (1954) [Actress .... Hsiao Shu-wen]
... aka "It Blossoms Again" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Bi xue huang hua (1954) [Actress]
... aka "Blood-Stained Flowers" - Hong Kong (English title) (literal title)
... aka "The 72 Martyrs of Canton" - Hong Kong (English title) (imdb display title)

·  Qi zi mei (1953) [Actress .... Fan Chunjuan]
... aka "Seven Sisters" - Hong Kong (English title)

·  Juan shi hua (1953) [Actress .... Sun Chao-yun] (as Ko Lan) [singing voice] (as Ko Lan)
... aka "Diamond Girl" - Hong Kong (English title)