Xu Lai (actress)

Xu Lai
Native name	徐来
Born	Xu Xiaomei 1909 Shanghai
Died	4 April 1973 (aged 64) Beijing
Occupation	Actress, secret agent
Notable work	Remnants of Spring The Boatman's Daughter
Spouse(s)	Li Jinhui (m. 1930; div. 1935) Tang Shengming (m. 1936–73)
Children	Li Xiaofeng (died 1935)

Xu Lai (Chinese: 徐来; Wade–Giles: Hsü Lai; 1909 – 4 April 1973) was a Chinese film actress, socialite, and World War II secret agent. Known as the "Standard Beauty", she was active in the film industry for only three years, and quit acting after the suicide of the great star Ruan Lingyu in 1935. Her first husband was Li Jinhui, the "Father of Chinese pop music".

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Xu and her second husband, Lieutenant General Tang Shengming, ostensibly served under the Japanese-controlled Nanking puppet regime, but secretly worked as agents for the Republic of China resistance based in Chungking.

With the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, Xu and Tang defected to the People's Republic of China, but were severely persecuted during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76). Xu Lai died in prison in 1973; her husband survived and lived until 1987.

Xu Lai was born 1909 to a poor family in Shanghai. Her original name was Xu Xiaomei (徐小妹) and she was also called Xu Jiefeng (徐洁凤). Due to poverty, she began working at a British-owned egg factory in Zhabei at the age of 13, but was later able to attend school after her family fortunes improved.

In 1927, Xu attended the China Song and Dance School run by Li Jinhui, who is now considered the "Father of Chinese pop music". She also joined Li's Bright Moon Song and Dance Troupe and toured many cities in China and Southeast Asia. She married Li, who was 18 years her senior, in 1930, and gave birth to a daughter named Xiaofeng.

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