Interview: Veteran Taiwanese Actress Retired for Nearly 40 Years and Says She Will Never Return

Chen Chiu-yen remembers the doors of a department store being opened, only for crowds to rush inside to see her. Staff quickly shut the doors again. That was the level of fame she reached after becoming one of Taiwan’s leading Taiwanese-language film stars at 19.

Her popularity grew further when she moved from cinema to television. Her starring role in China Television’s “The Seven Swords of Xiluo” became a nationwide sensation. She traveled through the streets in a jeep and appeared at department-store ribbon-cutting ceremonies, where large crowds gathered before opening time. She also recalled being invited to sing for gangsters, some of whom left without paying, a memory she now describes with amusement.

In 1978, Chen acted in “The Original Rainy Night Flower” with her father, Tien Ching, and actress Hsiao Hsueh. Across those productions, audiences watched her play their daughter from age 9 to 32. By then, Chen had married China Television director Li Ying and was pregnant, reducing her workload. Director Wan Jen nevertheless insisted that she take the role of a mother in “Ah Fei.” Chen accepted and joined filming when her daughter was only a month old.

“

If there were a Chen Chiu-yen film festival today, I would choose ‘Ah Fei’ as the opening film.

The performance brought Chen the Best Supporting Actress award at the 21st Golden Horse Awards. She considers “Ah Fei” one of her defining works and said, “If there were a Chen Chiu-yen film festival today, I would choose ‘Ah Fei’ as the opening film.”

As she grew older, Chen began asking whether acting was all she could do. She felt actors often lacked control because they had to follow a director’s instructions. Seeking to leave work of her own behind, she moved into production and described the demanding experience of producing “The Coldest Night” and “Love in the Sea” with evident satisfaction. “Behind the scenes, I can scold people. In front of the camera, people scold me,” she said. Chen has now spent nearly four decades away from the screen and says she wants to give her time back to herself, traveling and relaxing with Li Ying.

“

Behind the scenes, I can scold people. In front of the camera, people scold me.