Lu Hsiao-fen () is a Taiwanese actress known for her roles in the woman's revenge subgenre within Taiwanese social-realist cinema (also called Taiwan Black Movies or Taiwan Pulp). In the later years of her career, she was critically acclaimed as an actress in adaptations of Taiwan nativist novels, most prominently A Flower in the Raining Night (Chinese: çÂÂæµ·çÂÂæÂ¥åÂÂ, 1983).
Lu Hsiao-Fen was born in 1956 and her given name was Chang Shu-Fen (Chinese: å¼µæ·Âè¬). She was born and lived in Jiufen until she graduated from elementary school. After graduating from vocational school, she attended singing school and performed as a singer on television and at night clubs. She also participated in a singing contest held by Chinese Television System (Chinese: è¯è¦Â) and Hai Shan Record (Chinese: æµ·å±±å±çÂÂ) and won first place. In 1980, Lu Hsiao-Fen was cast by Wang Chu-Chin to star in On the Society File of Shanghai (Chinese: ä¸Â海社æÂÂæªÂæ¡Â, 1981), which gave her overnight stardom.
Lu Hsiao-Fen's debut in film was On the Society File of Shanghai (Chinese: ä¸Â海社æÂÂæªÂæ¡Â, 1981), directed by Wang Chu-Chin. The film was an adaptation from the Chinese Scar Literature (Chinese: å·çÂÂæÂÂå¸). In the film, Lu Hsiao-Fen portrays a rape victim of a high-ranking official and his son. In an interrogation scene, Lu Hsiao-Fen briefly opens her shirt, revealing her breasts for about five frames on the screen. Another shocking scene in the film is when Lu Hsiao-Fen cuts across her chest with a knife. The film became sensational because of these visually stimulating scenes. After the success of On the Society File of Shanghai, Lu Hsiao-Fen became a signed actress of the Yung Sheng Film Company, starring in over 10 films with them.
Lu Hsiao-FenâÂÂs performance in On the Society File of Shanghai also led to the production of similar films, such as Woman Revenger (1981), Queen Bee (1981), and The Lady Avenger (1981). These films became a popular subgenre of TaiwanâÂÂs Social-Realist Films and were called WomanâÂÂs Revenge Films (Chinese: 女æ§復ä»ÂçÂÂ) and later Taiwan Black Movies. The most famous female stars of the Woman's Revenge Films were Lu Hsiao-Fen, Lu Yi-Chan (Chinese: é¸ä¸Âå¬Â), Lu Yi-Feng (Chinese: é¸åÂÂé³³), and Yang Hui-Shan (Chinese: æ¥Âæ å§Â), and they were called âÂÂThree Lu and One Yangâ (ä¸Âé¸ä¸Âæ¥Â).
In 1983, Lu Hsiao-Fen starred in A Flower in the Raining Night (Chinese: çÂÂæµ·çÂÂæÂ¥åÂÂ, 1983), an adaptation from the short story of Taiwanese Nativist writer Hwang Chun-Ming (Chinese: é»ÂæÂ¥æÂÂ). In the film, Lu Hsiao-Fen portrays a prostitute, Pai-Mei (ç½ç«), who decides to change her destiny and celebrate life by returning to the farming life in the rural area and gives birth to a son. Lu Hsiao-Fen won Best Actress Award of the Golden Horse Award with her performance in A Flower in the Raining Night and transitioned from a sexy film star to a critically acclaimed actress. After the film, Lu Hsiao-Fen starred in many adaptations from Taiwanese Nativist literature, such as Oxcart Filled with Dowry (Chinese: å«Âå¦Âä¸ÂçÂÂè»Â, 1984), The First Stitch (Chinese: å¨室ç·, 1984), and The Scalper (Chinese: æ¯ÂçÂÂä¸Âæ¢Â,1986).
In 1988, Lu Hsiao-Fen starred in Osmanthus Alley (Chinese: æ¡Âè±巷, 1988), directed by Chen Kun-Hou (Chinese: é³å¤åÂÂ). The film is adapted from the novel of the same title by àHsiao Li-Hung (Chinese: èÂÂéºÂç´ ), an important Taiwanese female writer in the 1970s. In 1989, she starred in Richard Chen Yao-Chi (Chinese: é³èÂÂå»)âÂÂs Spring Swallow (Chinese: æÂÂæÂ¥æ äºÂ, 1989). She won at the Best Actress Award in the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in her performances in both films.
In the 1990s, Lu Hsiao-Fen studied performance in the U.S. and gradually faded out from the silver screen. She still appeared in some Taiwanese-language TV dramas, such as Jin zhi yu ye (éÂÂæÂÂçÂÂèÂÂ, 2021). In 2003 and 2007, she published two books about practicing Yoga, Lu Hsiao-FenâÂÂs Zen of Life (é¸å°ÂèÂÂ活禪, 2003) and Zen of Aroma and Happiness (è³é¦Âæ¨Â活禪, 2007).
In 2023, Lu Hsiao-Fen returned to film acting after 20 years as the lead in Day Off (, 2023), directed by Fu Tien-Yu (Chinese: å 天ä½Â).
In 2005, Lu Hsiao-Fen married Chen Jun-Yuan (Chinese: é³ä¿ÂæºÂ), a former Taipei City council member. She is a devoted Buddhist and a practitioner of yoga and aromatherapy.
Lu Hsiao-Fen in Hong Kong Movie Database