Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" allowed Zhang Ziyi to kick open the international door, and won a series of awards such as the American Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress with the role of "Jade Jiaolong".
If Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which grossed more than $214 million worldwide, is an epic group drama, then "Memoirs of a Geisha" made her the only Asian to serve as the heroine of Hollywood's A-series big productions, and the only Asian to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.
After the fame and fortune, at the peak of her career, she encountered the Waterloo of her life (beach gate, fraudulent donation door, splash ink door), in exchange for other stars have long disappeared, but Zhang Ziyi turned around with "A Generation of Grandmasters" and became second only to Gong Li and Maggie Cheung.
Zhang Ziyi can have today's achievements, inseparable from a "fierce" word.
So, how hard is she to herself?
One
Zhang Ziyi was born in 1979 near Guang'anmen, Guangyi Street, Xuanwu District, Beijing.
Because her family moved away in the early 90s, few people know the exact location.
According to neighbors, Zhang Ziyi, who was a child, studied at Guangyi Street Primary School, and her family lived in a simple building called "GuangyiLi" across the road from the primary school.
Zhang Ziyi's father worked in the Telecommunications Bureau, and after leaving the old house on Guangyi Street, the family moved to the dormitory building of the Erlong Road Telecommunications Bureau behind the Palace of National Culture.
It is reported that Zhang Ziyi's mother is called Li Zhuosheng, who was originally a teacher in a kindergarten.
Zhang Ziyi also has a younger brother named Zhang Zinan.
Before moving, a family of four was crammed into a 28-square-meter house, and four families shared a kitchen and toilet.
Such family conditions are really common for old Beijing citizens.
In Zhang Ziyi's childhood, the biggest lack was not material, because in the era when everyone was poor, material scarcity was the norm.
What she lacks is the love of her parents, the laughter and laughter of her peers.
It is not that her parents do not love her, but that her parents have chosen a lonely path of growth for her.
At the age of 11, Zhang Ziyi, who had been studying dance at the Children's Palace in Xuanwu District, was admitted to the Beijing Dance Academy Affiliated High School.
She herself did not like to dance, but obediently obeyed her family's arrangements.
The dance school has a barracks-like routine and can only go home once every 2 weeks.
During her time at school, Zhang Ziyi learned to wash clothes and change sheets and bedding.
Compared with the independence of life, hard training is the experience of her life.
In the cold winter months, when her peers were asleep, she began her morning run at 5 o'clock.
There is a strict assessment in the school, and if you fail to pass, you will be sent to the original school.
Zhang Ziyi was afraid of not being qualified, because her parents had high hopes for her.
However, she is not a dancer at all, and gifted children will soon be able to easily lower their waists, cross-forks, and split forks, but no matter how hard they try, they are always at the middle level of the class.
Seeing that she was about to be eliminated, Zhang Ziyi had to go to the classroom at night to secretly practice, she was afraid of being discovered by the teacher, and never turned on the light.
She was the only one dancing solo in the dark classroom.
Sometimes, jumping and jumping tears flow down.
After all, she was just a child.
Zhang Ziyi recalled: "Many children of the same age, parents pick up and drop off school every day, clothes and bedding are all laid out, all things do not have to be done by themselves, and there are parents who help with homework at night, and I basically have not had such a day."
During the 6 years of studying in dance school, Zhang Ziyi was full of pain, loss, helplessness and dazedness at a young age.
Of course, it is precisely because of these growth experiences that I have created a character that will never accept defeat in the future, never accept others, and never give up until I reach my goal.
Two
In 1998, Zhang Ziyi, who had several encounters with Zhang Yimou, starred in his new film "My Father and Mother".
Because she wanted to play a rural girl in the 1970s, Zhang Ziyi went to Live in Donggou Village in Bashang, Hebei Province for a whole month to experience rural life before the movie started.
In the hot summer, she gets up early and goes dark with the villagers to work in the fields.
During this period, Zhang Ziyi lost more than a dozen pounds in order to learn to carry water, raw stove, roll noodles, weave cloth, collect shoe soles, feed pigs and other life skills that meet the role.
For Zhang Ziyi, this bit of bitterness is really nothing.
The film was well received after its release, and audiences were also shocked by the characters she portrayed.
With "My Father and Mother", Zhang Ziyi became the youngest Hundred Flowers Award film queen to date, and also appeared on the stage of the Berlin International Film Festival with Zhang Yimou.
From that moment on, a rising star in the film world began to shine.
Zhang Ziyi once said that "My Father and Mother" is the most significant and influential film in her acting career:
"I didn't prepare anything, I didn't have any plans, and I rushed into the world of movies. I had no choice, no way back, I could only be very aggressive and rush forward like a heifer. This is the first work in my life, it records all my youngest, most youthful, and most beautiful things. I don't think anything is more important than taking your first step. ”
Three
Zhang Ziyi finished filming "My Father and Mother" and continued to return to the Central Academy of Drama to study sophomore year.
One day, when she learned that Ang Lee was selecting actors for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", she also asked an assistant director to send photos.
Unfortunately, the photo was thrown away before it reached Ang Lee.
Soon after, Zhang Yimou called Ang Lee to recommend Zhang Ziyi: "You want to find a young girl, you can interview her." ”
In this way, Zhang Ziyi came to the crew of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
To this day, she is still grateful to Zhang Yimou for that priceless phone call.
In fact, in Li An's eyes, Zhang Ziyi is not the best candidate for "YuJiaolong", and he simply can't look at it.
In order to get closer to the character, Zhang Ziyi began a two-month long martial arts training.
She sweated profusely every day and practiced her sword like crazy.
Wu Xing in the crew often laughed at her: "You see, that Zhang Ziyi is still practicing, like a big shrimp rice." ”
This kind of cynicism did make her very sad, but sadness did not solve the problem.
As a newcomer, she has no say.
On the set, Zhang Ziyi did not have much communication with Zhou Runfa and Yang Ziqiong.
They are all big stars, and they have to shoot them first on the set, and Zhang Ziyi can only wait.
After the end of work, Ang Lee will give Yang Ziqiong, Zhou Runfa, Zheng Peipei and others an encouraging hug, except for Zhang Ziyi.
She knew that Ang Lee was not happy with herself, but she still longed for Ang Lee to hug herself, so she waited for ten minutes more than ten minutes after work every day.
However, by the time the last shot was shot, Ang Lee didn't hug her either.
This kind of mental "torture" is nothing, and what makes her suffer is the martial arts scene during filming.
Yang Ziqiong, who played Yu Xiulian at the time, accidentally hit Zhang Ziyi's thumb during the fight, and her nails were thrown away, and the blood flowed.
The pain of the ten fingers and the heart can be imagined, but Zhang Ziyi couldn't help but cry. She stuck her fingers into the snow to relieve the pain, the blood dried up, and continued shooting.
But this time Yang Ziqiong hit the same position again, without the nail "protective layer" Zhang Ziyi cried like a child in pain.
She shouted to go to the hospital, but no one on set ignored her.
Finally, she endured the pain and continued.
During the bamboo forest fight scene, she was hung on The Via, kicked down by Zhou Runfa from the height of five or six floors, and the whole person was like an upside-down onion, and when her face was about to reach the ground, the staff pulled the wire.
Many actresses when hanging Weiya, when they see that they are going to land, will instinctively protect their heads first, only Zhang Ziyi directly hits his face.
At that time, this scene coincided with Zhang Ziyi's mother to visit the class.
When she saw her daughter fighting like this, she was so distressed that she shed tears.
Zhang Ziyi comforted her mother and said, "Mom, this is very funny, like a roller coaster." ”
Years later, Zhang Ziyi said: "Many people ask me, why do you fight so hard? I don't want to disappoint anyone who gives me a chance, I'm not Ang Lee's first choice, and I'm going to prove that I'm the right person. ”
Zhang Ziyi gave all the energy to the character.
At the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" banquet, Li An gave Zhang Ziyi a long-lost hug.
After the release of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Zhang Ziyi knocked on the international door.
Four
In 2001, at the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards, the spectacular "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won eight awards such as Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress.
As the guests of honor, Mei Yanfang and Zhou Runfa began to ridicule Zhang Ziyi on the stage.
Mei Yanfang: "What do you think of mainland actresses?" ”
Zhou Runfa: "Obey and listen to the teachings, and be willing to do anything." ”
Mei Yanfang: "For example?" ”
Zhou Runfa: "Pick up the tip." ”
Mei Yanfang was speechless for a moment and quickly announced the nomination list.
At that time, the camera also cut to Qin Hailu, one of the few mainland actresses on the scene, and she smirked with a smirk, which should not have been understood.
Zhou Runfa's "pick-up" in his mouth is a naked mockery of Zhang Ziyi.
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" made Zhang Ziyi famous in the international film industry, and director Brett Ratner invited her to star in "Rush Hour 2", and the male protagonist of this movie is Jackie Chan.
On February 9, 2001, Zhang Ziyi ushered in her 22nd birthday, and Jackie Chan led all the crew to send her blessings and also sent a heart-shaped diamond necklace.
On May 4 of the same year, at Jackie Chan's 47th birthday party, Zhang Ziyi not only took the initiative to kiss, but also sat on Jackie Chan's lap to feed the, and reached out to catch the seeds he spat out.
And this picture was also just photographed by the reporter at the time, so there was a scene of Zhou Runfa mocking Zhang Ziyi.
Some netizens think that Zhou Runfa's move is very inappropriate, after all, the two have just cooperated in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
Even if the cooperation is not pleasant, there is no need to expose it in public.
Not to mention that he is a big man in the film industry, and Zhang Ziyi is only a newcomer who has just debuted for two years.
Zhang Ziyi's "pick-up" is certainly suspected of being in power, but Zhou Runfa does not need to be counted as a mainland actress.
At that time, there were many female stars in the mainland who were innocent and relied on their own efforts, but hong Kong actresses frequently made small threes for rich businessmen...
This incident did not have much impact on Zhang Ziyi, and then she continued to open the road of "desperate sanlang" style acting.
Five
In August 2001, the movie "Hero" was launched in Dunhuang, Gansu Province.
Due to the slow progress of filming, the crew was divided into two groups, A and B.
Group A mainly shoots literary dramas, and Group B mainly shoots martial arts dramas, and the shooting locations are far from the city, and the daily round-trip distance reaches 500 kilometers.
In late November, the crew departed from Dunhuang Banshi Hengdian.
This is the second time that Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Yimou have cooperated, she uses all her strength to shoot every scene, and she doesn't care if she is injured or not.
When an accident occurred while hanging Weia, she was thrown heavily to the ground, tearing the ligaments in her inner thighs and comatose on the spot.
After waking up, she did not ask to be taken to the hospital, but continued to shoot after simple treatment.
"Ten Faces Ambush" is the last film that Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Yimou cooperated in, and the shooting period was not easy.
She plays a blind girl who dances to the sound of drums and completes difficult moves.
The scene looks beautiful, but in fact her left foot is hanging on Weah all the time.
After the shot was shot, the ligament was permanently strained.
There is also a scene with the group performance, in order to achieve better results during filming, Zhang Ziyi exerted too much force, was hit by the rebound bamboo stick in the brain, and instantly comatose.
Later, Zhang Ziyi described: "I feel that the world is still, as if I have fallen into a lake, and my brain is blank." ”
The assistant director also said: "I have never seen anyone who can shed six tears at once. ”
In Zhang Ziyi's view, eating some pain is not nothing, the skin and flesh wounds grit their teeth and survive, what makes her most unbearable is mental torture.
In 2004, the world-renowned "International Chapter" took over the filming of "Memoirs of a Geisha", and Gong Li and Yang Ziqiong matched her.
Because it is a big-budget hollywood film, it is necessary to communicate in English throughout the whole process, but English is Zhang Ziyi's shortcoming, so she is not less ridiculed by the people around her.
The proud Zhang Ziyi was willing to accept this kind of white eyes, and she learned everything from scratch and memorized words like a primary school student.
In the end, she became fluent in English and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for Memoirs of a Geisha, the first of its kind among Asian actors.
Six
After the fame and fortune, Zhang Ziyi gradually lost himself.
Entertainment media rushed to cover her love life, from the rich man Huo Qishan, to the rich Jewish businessman ViVi, especially the beach interaction with ViVi, which made her infamous and almost lost all her business resources.
The storm at the "Beach Gate" has not subsided, and then the "splash of ink" incident occurred.
In December 2009, a large number of reporters went to an apartment in Beijing to wait for photos of Maggie Cheung's engagement, but they waited for more exciting news than this.
A group of men dressed in black poured ink on Zhang Ziyi's giant poster, and then these people scolded Zhang Ziyi in the apartment hall for robbing other people's husbands, xiaosan and other remarks.
It is rumored that the reason why the man in black splashed ink was because Zhang Ziyi was introduced to the rich merchant by the person, and as a result, the money and jewelry obtained from the rich merchant did not fulfill the promise to distribute it to the middleman, so this scene occurred.
Two months later, an article titled "Questioning the Use of Zhang Ziyi's "5.12" Donation Raised raised by Zhang Ziyi pushed Zhang Ziyi to the cusp of the storm.
It turned out that during the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Zhang Ziyi promised to donate 1 million yuan, but due to operational errors, only 840,000 yuan was finally implemented, and everyone suspected that she was fraudulently donating.
Subsequently, Zhang Ziyi made up another 160,000.
At that time, CCTV also criticized by name, saying that Zhang Ziyi was a mentality of "profiting from it" in the "fraudulent donation gate".
In those days, Zhang Ziyi tasted the heat and cold of the world, no one paid attention to the 840,000 she donated, and everyone stared at the 160,000 she lost.
Such an encounter is probably unbearable for anyone.
Just when the stars of the entertainment industry are avoiding Zhang Ziyi, the kung fu emperor Jet Li stands up for her.
Jet Li said that if Zhang Ziyi fraudulently donated 160 million he would believe it, but 160,000 is simply nonsense, because people have donated 840,000, and the remaining 160,000 she only needs to go out to pick up an activity to earn, it is impossible to self-destruct her future for this money.
Although someone spoke for her, the "fraudulent donation" incident still seriously damaged Zhang Ziyi's image, coupled with CCTV's naming and criticism, her acting career plummeted and completely fell to the bottom.
From Zhang Ziyi, who did not accept defeat, she began to cultivate obscurity and calm down to polish her acting skills, and she pinned all her hopes on Wong Kar-wai's "A Generation of Grandmasters".
Seven
On December 12, 2009, "A Generation of Grandmasters" was launched in Guangdong Kaiping Chikan Film and Television City.
Wong Kar-wai, who strives for excellence, has been shooting for three years.
In the past three years, Zhang Ziyi has spent a long time practicing Bagua palm.
In order to strive for authenticity, director Wong Kar-wai invited four teachers to teach Zhang Ziyi Bagua Palm.
In addition, she practices her wrist movements every day, especially in order to get out of the mud and flowing footwork, she has practiced countless times on the beach.
In order to achieve professional standards, Zhang Ziyi suffered a lot in practicing flexibility, and although she had dance skills, she still screamed bitterly, and the old injuries left by filming in the early years recurred, and she was sweating profusely in pain.
With this fierce strength, Zhang Ziyi made rapid progress.
Even Jet Li's master Wu Bin gave a high evaluation: "She is not only talented, but also very hardworking, playing the characteristics of bagua palm." ”
The "Gong Er" played by Zhang Ziyi is not only capable of literature and martial arts, but also very good at singing, but also proficient in medical skills and is best at acupuncture.
In order to get close to the role from the inside out, Zhang Ziyi practiced Bagua palm with different teachers during the day and learned to sing opera and acupuncture at night.
At first, acupuncture made her very afraid and did not dare to prick on others.
Later, she tried to get her hands on herself, and her pierced arm was full of needle holes.
Although Zhang Ziyi could endure these sufferings, the "Triple Gate" incident became more and more intense at that time, and she was overwhelmed, and even collapsed during filming.
Wong Kar-wai understands Zhang Ziyi's situation very well, constantly enlightens her, and even allows her to take a vacation at the cost of huge production fees, and promises Zhang Ziyi: "Whenever you want to return to the set, I am waiting for you." ”
It is precisely because of Wong Kar-wai's encouragement and support that Zhang Ziyi has survived the most difficult three years of her life.
After the release of "A Generation of Grandmasters", Zhang Ziyihao won 12 post-film trophies such as Golden Rooster, Hundred Flowers, Golden Statue, Golden Horse, and Asia-Pacific Film Festival, becoming the most film star in the Chinese film industry with one film.
After three years of hard work, she finally fought a beautiful turnaround battle and returned her career to the peak.
Since then, no one has attacked her with the previous gossip.
Eight
In 2013, Zhang Ziyi no longer pursued the fame and profits of high society.
At the celebration banquet of "Generation Grandmaster", she lined up 12 trophies in a row, arrogant and convincing, and for the first time disclosed her love affair with Wang Feng: "Winter is very good, it is a harvest season, not only harvest happiness, but also harvest trophies."
In February 2015, at Zhang Ziyi's birthday party, Wang Feng proposed on one knee in the presence of many relatives and friends.
In the face of external doubts and incomprehension, Zhang Ziyi became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, and the family was happy and harmonious.
In the days that followed, she focused on her family, and although she would also participate in shows and make movies, it was much less than before.
Zhang Ziyi has suffered too much along the way, looking at the entire showbiz circle, there are only a few female stars who are more desperate than her and fierce than her.
Most of the films she starred in won international awards and won heavyweight films.
She was also awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et de France by the French Ministry of Culture and was featured on the cover of Time magazine four times.
In terms of achievements alone, although she has not won the film queen of the three major European film festivals like her predecessors Maggie Cheung and Gong Li, she has served as a judge at Cannes three times and is a lifetime judge of the Oscars.
Zhang Ziyi once said: "I am a lucky actor, but you can't say that I just got to where I am by luck." ”
Zhang Ziyi is lucky enough, hard enough, and most importantly, fierce enough.
Fierce to herself, fierce to the top, since her debut, she has never hidden this fierceness.
There is sharpness, lust, and ambition in this fierceness.