Jiang Wen
Template:Short description Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox person Jiang Wen (born 5 January 1963) is a Chinese actor and filmmaker. As a director, he is sometimes grouped with the "Sixth Generation" that emerged in the 1990s.<ref>Xu, Gary G. (2007). Sinascape: Contemporary Chinese Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield, p. 47. Template:ISBN. Google Book Search. Retrieved 2008-09-10</ref> His representative works include In the Heat of the Sun (1994), Devils on the Doorstep (2000), The Sun Also Rises (2007), and Let the Bullets Fly (2010). Jiang is also well known internationally as an actor, having starred with Gong Li in Zhang Yimou's debut film Red Sorghum (1986), and more recently as Baze Malbus in the Star Wars film Rogue One (2016). He is the older brother of fellow actor Jiang Wu.
Early life, family and education
Template:More citations needed section Jiang was born in Tangshan to a family of military personnel. He relocated to Beijing at the age of ten. In 1973, he attended Beijing No. 72 Middle School, where he studied alongside Ying Da.<ref name="pineapple">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1980, he entered China's foremost acting school, the Central Academy of Drama, graduating in 1984.
Career
Acting
After graduation from acting school, Jiang was assigned to China Youth Art Institute as an actor.<ref name="pineapple"/> That same year, he started acting both on the stage (with the China Youth Theater) and in films.
Jiang's debut role was in the film The Last Empress, portraying Puyi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He then starred in Hibiscus Town directed by Xie Jin; his role as an intellectual revolutionary earned him the Best Actor Award at the Hundred Flowers Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jiang once again paired with Hibiscus Town co-star in the film Chun Tao directed by Ling Zifeng.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jiang was cast in Zhang Yimou's debut film Red Sorghum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also performed in the France-Chinese film Tears of the Bridal Sedan and his first commercial film The Trial.
Jiang performed in many television series, becoming especially known for his role in the 1992 television series A Native of Beijing in New York (based on the novel Beijinger in New York. It made him one of the most popular Chinese actors of his generation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hebei hae also starred in Black Snow (1990),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Li Lianying: The Imperial Eunuch (1991),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Emperor's Shadow (1996),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and The Soong Sisters (1997). Apart from Red Sorghum, Jiang also collaborated with Zhang Yimou for the 1997 film Keep Cool.
Jiang starred in several films in the early 2000s; namely The Missing Gun, Green Tea, My Father and I, Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Jasmine Women and Letter from an Unknown Woman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Jiang continued acted in television series, such as Da Qing Fengyun (2006), in which he played Hong Taiji.Template:Citation needed He also played notable historical figures, Mao Renfeng in the propaganda film The Founding of a Republic;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Cao Cao in the historical war film The Lost Bladesman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Jiang co-starred in the Star Wars anthology film Rogue One, released in December 2016. In the film, he portrays Baze Malbus, a native of the moon of Jedha who is drawn into the war against the Galactic Empire.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Jiang is set to return to the small screen in the historical drama Cao Cao.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Writing and directing
Jiang wrote and directed his first film in 1994, In the Heat of the Sun, adapted from a novel by Wang Shuo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A tale set in the Cultural Revolution, it won for its young lead actor Xia Yu the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival and garnered six Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.
In 2000, Jiang co-wrote and directed the black comedy film Devils on the Doorstep. The film premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and clinched the Grand Prix<ref name="festival-cannes.com">Template:Cite web</ref> but was subsequently banned in its home country;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> said to undermine the country because it "seriously distorts Chinese history". Jiang himself was banned from making films for seven years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2001 he was a member of the jury at the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival.<ref name= "Moscow2001">Template:Cite web</ref>
Jiang returned with his fourth feature The Sun Also Rises in 2007; a fantasy realism film which contains a polyptych of interconnected stories in different time-zones; the film received positive reviews from critics but bombed at the box office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He then collaborated with 10 other directors on the romance anthology film New York, I Love You.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Jiang's fifth feature, a Western-styled action comedy Let the Bullets Fly set a box office record by becoming the fastest Chinese-language film to break RMB100m mark ($15.15m) in Chinese cinemas; and received critical acclaim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2013 he was named as a member of the jury at the 70th Venice International Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2014, Jiang directed the action comedy film Gone with the Bullets, which screened at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018, Jiang directed the Republican-era spy comedy Hidden Man.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film was China's submission to the 91st Academy Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These two films together with Let the Bullets Fly form his gangster Beiyang trilogy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Elley">Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
Family
Jiang Wen's father is Jiang Hongqi, a veteran of the Korean War. Described as taciturn and bookish, he played a minor role in his son's 2011 film, Let the Bullets Fly. Jiang's mother Gao Yang — "a cheerful, extroverted woman" — worked as a piano teacher. Jiang Wen is the eldest son in the family; in addition to his younger brother, Jiang Wu, he has a younger sister, Jiang Huan.
Close to his family, Jiang has a deep bond with his parents: whenever he is on site for shooting or acting, he arranges for them to come to his workplace so that he can spend time with them. Each movie he makes, he saves the best seats for them and asks for their opinions. Even on artistic composition, he sometimes resorts to them for advice. It was his parents' endorsement on the original novel of A Native of Beijing in New York that propelled Jiang into his performance. Later, during the filming of his first feature film, In the Heat of the Sun, Jiang again considered their evaluation of Xia Yu, before settling on him as the leading actor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Relationships
Jiang met his first partner, Liu Xiaoqing during the production of his debut film Hibiscus Town. As he was 23 and she was 31, their relationship was controversial in the entertainment industry at that time, although it was reported that the crew was very supportive of their relationship. Liu Xiaoqing never confirmed the relationship, but only claimed that the media pressure was so suffocating that she once considered going abroad. Years later at one ceremony, Director Xie Jin finally verified this rumor, revealing that they had actually lived together for three years. Liu and Jiang separated amicably in 1994.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1995, Jiang began a relationship with Sandrine Chenivesse, a Doctor of Anthropology at the University of Paris, researching philosophy and Taoism in China, at an artistic event. They married in Paris in 1997 and had a daughter together, but the marriage remained discreet until their appearance on the red carpet of the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, Chenivesse announced their divorce, citing long-distance separation as the cause.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2001, during the filming of Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Jiang was introduced to cast member Zhou Yun, by fellow actress Zhao Wei. Later, Jiang recommended Zhou to the cast of The Music Box, but each left the crew after a creative difference between Jiang and the director Chen Yifei. Jiang and Zhou married in 2005 and have two sons together.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
Film
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Last Empress | Puyi | |
| Hibiscus Town | Qiu Shutian | ||
| Tears of the Bridal Sedan | |||
| 1987 | Red Sorghum | My grandpapa | |
| 1989 | Chun Tao | Wen Chiang | |
| 1990 | Black Snow | Li Huiquan | |
| 1991 | Li Lianying: The Imperial Eunuch | Li Lianying | |
| 1993 | Template:Sortname | Chinese policeman | |
| 1994 | In the Heat of the Sun | Ma Xiaojun (adult) | |
| 1996 | Template:Sortname | Ying Zheng | |
| 1997 | Keep Cool | Bookseller | |
| Template:Sortname | Charlie Soong | ||
| 2000 | Devils on the Doorstep | Ma Dasan | |
| 2002 | Template:Sortname | Ma Shan | |
| 2003 | Green Tea | Chen Mingliang | |
| My Father and I | Policeman | ||
| Warriors of Heaven and Earth | Lieutenant Li | ||
| 2004 | Jasmine Women | Mr. Meng | |
| Letter from an Unknown Woman | Writer / Mr. Xu | ||
| 2007 | Template:Sortname | Tang Yunlin | |
| 2009 | Template:Sortname | Mao Renfeng | |
| 2010 | Let the Bullets Fly | Zhang Mazi | |
| 2011 | Template:Sortname | Cao Cao | |
| 2014 | Gone with the Bullets | Ma Zouri | |
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Baze Malbus | |
| 2018 | Hidden Man | Lan Qingfeng | |
| 2021 | The Curse of Turandot | Khan | Cameo appearance |
| 2025 | You are the Best | Lang Guoren |
Filmmaking credits
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | In the Heat of the Sun | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:No |
| 2000 | Devils on the Doorstep | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:Yes |
| 2007 | Template:Sortname | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:Yes |
| 2010 | Let the Bullets Fly | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:No |
| 2014 | Gone with the Bullets | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:Partial |
| 2018 | Hidden Man | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:Partial |
| 2025 | You are the Best | Template:Yes | Template:Yes | Template:No |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | New York, I Love You | Template:Yes | Template:No | Template:No |
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Beijinger in New York | Wang Qiming | |
| 1997 | A Sentimental Story | Producer | |
| 2005 | Lotus Lantern | Chenxiang | |
| 2006 | Da Qing Fengyun | Hong Taiji |
Accolades
<ref name="one">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="two">Template:Cite web</ref>
References
Sources
- Silbergeld, Jerome (2008), Body in Question: Image and Illusion in Two Chinese Films by Director Jiang Wen (Princeton: Princeton University Press)
External links
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- 1963 births
- Male actors from Hebei
- Chinese expatriates in France
- Film directors from Hebei
- Living people
- People from Tangshan
- Central Academy of Drama alumni
- Screenwriters from Hebei
- Chinese male film actors
- Chinese male television actors
- Chinese film directors
- 21st-century Chinese male actors
- 20th-century Chinese male actors
- Members of the 8th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
- Members of the 9th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
- Members of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference