Film fans got so frantic about Nancy Chan that whenever she appeared she would be mobbed by hundreds of people. She could hardly escape from the seige and sometimes she had to be escorted by the police.
One summer's day, the Zhangyuan Swimming Pool, which had been taken over by Zhang Shankun [the famous Shanghai movie producer], was opened officially. In order to make the ceremony more significant and to attract more clients, Mr. Zhang invited Nancy Chan to cut the ribbon.
Almost 100 baskets of flowers were displayed around the pool; tri-coloured ribbons were strung over the water, fluttering in the breezing. The platform was filled with people eager for Nancy Chan's appearance. The tension built up.
At 11 o'clock sharp, the smiling Nancy Chan appeared. Her red-flowered swimming costume and white leather shoes enhanced her youthful, healthy body. The crowd cheered and applauded.
In the boisterous atmosphere, Nancy Chan ascended the platform. Raising the silver scissors she cut the ribbon. As the six pieces of ribbon flew out in all directions, the whole audience rose with frantic applause.
When she was about to descend from the platform, wave upon wave of frenzied fans pushed towards her, a momentum that could not be resisted. Nancy Chan was weeping, unsure of how to escape. Although she was protected by three rows of people, the huge crowd was almost uncontrollable. Seeing this, Mr. Zhang asked the Swimming Pool staff to bring her to safety. But the situation was deteriorating. The crowd surrounded her tightly, shouting to her to jump from the platform.
Unable to get close to Yunshang, Mr. Zhang tried to reason with the crowd and explain why she could not jump. Nobody listened. Numerous fans charged the platform, insisting that she should jump. It was impossible. Both sides came to a halt. Nancy Chan was almost fainting. Mr. Zhang got an idea. He asked his staff to put a ladder out of the window of the Enquiry Office to make a way for Nancy Chan to escape. But the ladder was thrown aside by the crowds.
There seemed to be no way out. He ordered his bodyguards to fight a way through. When at last they managed to escape, Nancy Chan was on the point of collapse. She and Mr. Zhang jumped into the car and made off quickly.
In the car they both gave a long sigh of relief. "I was terribly worried about your safety", Zhang said, "the fans have lost all their rationality". He gently mopped her brow. "But, looking at it in another way, it shows how important you are in their minds. There is no doubt that you are the number one star in Shanghai".
The incident taught her to be more careful about her own safety. She had to accept the advice of the police and use a car that could give electric shocks when anyone touched it. Such cars were made especially for Heads of State. But it was necessary, in order to avoid over-turning by excited film fans. Of course, the car itself caused no injury.
Nevertheless, Nancy Chan Yunshang understood the over-enthusiastic action of her fans. "Without the fans, there would be no actors or actresses", she would say. "They please me, no matter what they do. But I do have to adopt some measures to avoid danger".
From then on, she refused to attend any ribbon-cutting ceremonies....
Chinese Have Their Own Oomph Girl
By ADELINE GRAY
AP Feature Service
SHANGHAI — Sweet-faced dynamic Nancy Chen, the oomph girl of Chinese motion pictures, is making China forget 4,000 years of history in which all her heroines were passive, subdued maidens.
Miss Chen, idol of all Cathay, reflects the changing times in her country. She is an advocate of women's freedom, equality of the sexes, and Westernization. She receives hundreds of fan letters a day and causes near-riots wherever she goes. And China loves it.
Nancy is the Western version of Miss Chen's real name, "Yunshang", which means "cloud-like gown". Off the set, she usually wears American-style clothing, and is accompanied by an English woman companion.
Family Ties in America
Nancy stands a little over five feet in her tennis shoes, weighs 110 pounds, and is unmarried. The delicate effect of her oval face, dark eyes and friendly smile is deceiving, for she is a bundle of spirits and vivacity.
Her private life, for a Chinese actress, has been far from sensational. She was born in Canton, daughter of a business family. Her grandfather was a merchant in the United States. During her last year in high school, she was discovered by a struggling film producer. Their first picture was a hit, and since then neither has had to worry about where the next bowl of rice was coming from.
Or rather, in Nancy's case, where the hors d'oeuvres were coming from. She serves foreign food to guests visiting her modern apartment in Shanghai's French concession, and entertains them with a piano selection or a dance.
As her appearances on the street are signals for mass demonstrations, Nancy exercises at home by playing badminton on the roof of her apartment. She drives her own automobile, a blue roadster, and swims well.
Butterfly Wu 'Resting'
Nancy has outstripped all other Chinese picture actresses in popularity in the past two years. Butterfly Wu, the dimpled darling of a few years ago, consort of generals and politicians, lives in semi-retirement in Hongkong, after contributing her own small share to China's enjoyment and to its history.
A living phrase, "Dancing with Butterfly" is dedicated to the night that the "Young Marshal" Chang Hsueh-liang was dancing with Butterfly in a Peiping hotel while the Japanese army was staging the Manchurian "incident" which cost Chang his country.
Nancy Chen makes about six pictures a year. Her salary is a secret, but it probably wouldn't buy a month's supply of lipstick for a Hollywood star.
Her roles are a film novelty in China. Butterfly Wu and former film and stage favorites always portrayed, in gloomy films, the good but victimized girl, the weak and passive tool of fate. Nancy portrays only the warrior girl, the girl on horseback.
"Maiden in Armor", which made her an overnight sensation, was the story of a girl who donned male attire and as an army commander helped to rid her country of ancient barbarians. Many of her other pictures show her as a general leading troops to victory, or as a court maiden who, to save her country, marries a barbarian chieftain.
