Chan Lai Kuen (13 October 1935 – 19 January 2021) was a Chaozhou-opera and Chaozhou-dialect film actress. A native of Chao'an in Guangdong, she grew up in her maternal grandfather's home with her mother and her elder brother Chan Wing-ming; after their mother's death she joined the Ching Ming Shun Chiu opera troupe in the countryside with her brother, the two becoming the troupe's leading performers and occasionally staging puppet shows. In the late 1940s the siblings moved with the troupe to Hong Kong, which by then was run by local managers though it kept its old name. She joined the Dongshan Chaozhou Operatic Art Association in 1959 and in 1960 appeared in its first production, Pearl Liu Thrice Tries Yu Zhi Lan, both on stage and on screen. After the association became a long-term partner of Dongshan Film Company she appeared in many of its releases, including Di Shui Ji (1962), Ming Zhu Bao Jian (1962), Tian Qi Lang (1962), Qiong Hua Lei (1962), Bai Yan Hong (1963) and Wen Wu Xiang Qiu (1963), and she also played a child role in Lan Ji Zi Ku Jie (1961). Notable parts included the swordswoman Half-Sky Phoenix in one segment of Cai Feng Cheng Xiang (1962), deftly acting as her brother's matchmaker, and the shrew Xu Shi in Jie Qin Pei (1963). Over her career she appeared in nearly twenty Chaozhou-dialect films and toured Thailand with them. After the genre declined she kept working for local opera troupes, mainly during the Hungry Ghost Festival and occasionally in religious rites. Her health failing, she left the stage in 1967 and died in Hong Kong on 19 January 2021.
Chan Lai Kuen was a leading actress of the Dongshan Chaozhou Operatic Art Association, appearing in nearly twenty Chaozhou-dialect films and creating two contrasting parts—a swordswoman and a shrew; her career also traces how Chaozhou opera performers adapted as the genre declined.
Achievements
- 1959 · Joined the Dongshan Chaozhou Operatic Art Association as an actress.
- 1960 · Appeared in the association's first production, Pearl Liu Thrice Tries Yu Zhi Lan, on stage and in its film version.
- 1962 · Played the swordswoman Half-Sky Phoenix in one segment of Cai Feng Cheng Xiang.