Her name is derived from the Mongolian word for sunflower (ᠨᠠᡵᠠᠨ ᡨᠰᡝᡨᠰᡝᡤнаран цэцэгnaran tsetseg – "sun", Mongolian: naran; "flower", Mongolian: tsetseg, Chinese: 花, pinyin: huā).[2] It is sometimes romanised as Na Renhua[3][4] or Na Ren-Hua.[5]
Naren Hua began her film career in 1976 in Zhan Di Huang Hua.[7]
In 1986 she played Xiao Xiao in Xie Fei's A Girl from Hunan, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival,[8] and was one of the first mainland Chinese films to be commercially screened in the United States.[9] The film is based on a 1929 short-story, Xiao Xiao (or Hsiao Hsiao), by author Shen Congwen.[10]A Girl from Hunan tells the story of a willful young girl (initially played by Lin Qing and played as an adult by Naren Hua) who, at the start of the film, is about to enter into an arranged marriage with a two-year-old child, Chun Guan. Xiao Xiao, the girl in question, is only twelve. She lets herself be seduced by a farmhand and soon finds herself pregnant. Knowing that the traditional village still executes women for adultery, Xiao Xiao is desperate to abort the baby but fails to accomplish her goal.
In 2002 she had the leading role in Heavenly Grassland. The film tells about a young Han Chinese boy, Tiger, who is adopted by a family living in the steppes of Inner Mongolia.[14] The boy's father asks a man named Shergan to look after his child while in prison. Shergan keeps his word and brings the boy to Mongolia, where he shares his yurt with his ex-wife Baruma, played by Naren Hua.[15] The boy is at first shocked and repelled by the way of life of the people there, but in time learns to love his new homeland. The movie won Best Photography Award at the Golden Rooster Awards.[16] Her performance was particularly praised[15] and won Nare Hua several accolades, including the Shanghai Film Critics Awards for Best Actress.
In 2010 she had the leading role in Mother, also known as My Mongolian Mother (Chinese: E ji). The film, based on a true story, tells about two Chinese children transplanted in Mongolia, where they are adopted by Qiqigema Erji (Naren Hua) against the wishes of her husband, and raised as nomads. Twenty years later one of the children knows about his biological parents and leaves for Shanghai. The other child also finally meets his biological parents, and is then faced with a choice.[17] Naren Hua won the Best Actress Award at the 28th Golden Rooster Awards for her performance in this movie.[18]
^"大陆明星著名演员娜仁花" [Mainland star, famous actress Naren Hua]. 中国蒙古学信息网 (China Mongolian Studies Information Network). Inner Mongolia University Library, Mongolian Studies Division. April 2005. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
^"Best Actor and Actress". Beijing Review. 28 October 2011. This year's Golden Rooster prizes for best actress and actor were awarded respectively to Na Renhua and Sun Chun
^"14th Huabiao awards held in Beijing". China.org.cn. 29 August 2011. Na Renhua, for her leading role in "Mother," and Xu Fan, who stars in "Aftershock," shared the Best Actress Award
^"Na Ren-Hua". Hong Kong Movie DataBase. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
