Li Wei (1919~2005), formerly known as Li Zhiyuan, was a Chinese film, television and drama actor. His ancestral home is Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. Born on October 25, 1919 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province. In 1938, he entered the Central Film Studio as an actor, starring in "Sons and Daughters of China".
After that, he performed stage plays "Long Sky", "Peacock Bile", "The Flower of Tang Di", "The Rejuvenation of the Earth", "The Return of the Wind and Snow Night" and so on. In 1945, he went to Shanghai, and in addition to acting in dramas, he also played major roles in films such as "Spring in a Small Town" and "Sisters And Sisters Stand Up".
In 1953, he became an actor in the Shanghai Film Studio, and his film "My Life" won the Individual Award of the Ministry of Culture. In the 1980s, "Xu Mao and His Daughters" and "River Without Navigation" won the Golden Rooster Commendation Award.
Later, for his performance in "The Field is the Green Yarn Tent Again", he won the China Film Performing Arts Society Award. In 1987, he participated in the filming of the film "Ju Dou" and the TV series "ShenHeyuan". The latter earned him the Honorable Mention for Performing at the Television Flying Awards. In 1993, the China Academy of Film Performing Arts awarded him a special honorary award.
Li Wei, who loved sports since childhood, and when he grew up, he favored Peking Opera, often passed the overpass on the way to school, witnessed the harsh life of the artists at that time, and laid a deep imprint on his young soul. After the July 7 Incident in 1937, he left Beiping to study in Sichuan, and on the way he met the film director Sun Yu and invited him to chongqing to work in film, so he entered the Central Film Studio as an actor, which changed his fate.
In 1938, he joined the Central Film Studio as an actor, and his first film starring in was "Sons and Daughters of China" directed by Shen Xiling. In 1940, together with Bai Yang, Jin Yan, Wang Renmei, Wei Heling, etc., he filmed the film "Long Sky And Ten Thousand Miles" written and directed by Sun Yu.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he served as an actor in the audience performance company in Shanghai, and in addition to performing dramas, he also played a major role in the films "Six Memories of Floating Life", "Spring in a Small Town", "Sisters and Sisters Standing Up" and other films shot by Shanghai Experimental Film Factory and Wenhua Film Company.
In 1952, he joined the Shanghai United Film Studio. In 1953, he became an actor at the Shanghai Film Studio. He has played a leading role or important role in more than 20 films such as "My Life", "Soldier Station No. 51", "Flying Daohua", "Stage Sisters", "River Without Navigation", "Xu Mao and His Daughters", "Wheel Quartet" and so on.
For participating in the filming of the film "My Life", he won the second prize of the Ministry of Culture's 1949-1955 Outstanding Film Award in 1957. In 1989, the first China Film Performance Society awarded the Honorary Award. In the 1980s, "Xu Mao and His Daughters" and "River Without Navigation" won the Golden Rooster Commendation Award.
Later, for his performance in "The Field is the Green Yarn Tent Again", he won the China Film Performing Arts Society Award. In 1987, he participated in the filming of the film "Ju Dou" and the TV series "ShenHeyuan". The latter earned him the Honorable Mention for Performing at the Television Flying Awards. In 1987, when he was more than a year old, he played An incompetent and sadistic dye shop owner Yang Jinshan in the film "Ju Dou"
This character has no language and physical actions, all by the eyes and inner feelings of the character's vicious, perverted psychology, performance is chilling, his superb acting skills, rich artistic heritage, not only played the characters in the play, but also showed the older generation of film artists the spirit of diligence and dedication.
In 1993, the China Academy of Film Performing Arts awarded him a special honorary award. In 1997, Li Wei, who was more than 80 years old, as the actor of the film "Spring in a Small Town", "Distant Visitor", traveled thousands of miles, in a wheelchair, from Shanghai to Beijing to participate in the "Fei Mu Film Seminar" held by the China Film Archive.
On the morning of August 21, 2005, because he felt some discomfort, Li Wei went to the hospital for medical treatment accompanied by his family. Around 9 o'clock, his family also called home to say that Li Wei's situation was relatively stable at that time, but by 10 o'clock the old man died, and the whole process was quite sudden.
After Li Wei's death, everything in the funeral was simple, and the body was cremated after a simple memorial service. The greatest wealth left to his family after Li Wei's death is the precious stills he shot from the film. At about 10:00 a.m. on August 21, 2005, the film old man died of illness at the age of 86.
Filmography: 1939 "Children of China", 1947 "Six Memories of Floating Life", 1948 "Spring in a Small Town" as Zhang Zhichen, 1948 "Pingbu Qingyun", 1948 "Chicken Singing Early to See the Sky", 1950 "My Life" as Hai Fu, 1950 "Symphony of Life" as He Ning
1951 "Sisters and Sisters Stand Up" as Shang Youlin, 1951 "Just Love", 1951 "Cai Feng Double Fly" as Zhou Caigen, 1951 "Husband and Wife March" as Li Zhiqing, 1954 "Cut off the Claw" as Xu Jin, 1955 "South Island Storm" as Lin Dong
1956 "The Storm of the Little White Flag" as Li Liangyu, 1956 "Mother" as Shen Zhiwu, 1957 "Nurse's Diary" as Shen Haoru, 1958 "Fire Song", 1958 "The Unsung Hero", 1958 "Who is the Abandoned Person" as Yu Shude, 1961 "Soldier Station 51" as Ma Fugen
1963 "Flying Knife Hua" as Hua Shaojie, 1965 "Stage Sisters" as Manager Tang, 1975 "Heat Wave", 1977 "The Great Knife" as Jia Baoxuan, 1979 "From Slave to General" as Chief Su (upper and lower sets), 1980 "Blue Files" as Zhao Kang
1981 "Xu Mao and His Daughters" as Xu Mao (produced by Beijing Film Studio), 1981 "A Q Zheng Biography", 1983 "Drifting Adventure" as the helmsman, 1983 "River Without Navigation" as Pan Laowu, 1986 "Moon Moon" as Yue Yue Daddy, 1986 "Ruthless Lover" as Langza
In 1986, "The Field is the Green Yarn Tent" as Wang Changsheng, in 1986 "The First Woman in the Mountain Forest" as Old Ni, in 1987 "The Tribulation of the Young Master", in 1987 "Ju Dou" as Yang Jinshan, in 1990 "The Shadow of Fo Guang Xia", in 1990 "Contemporary Little Hero" as Jin Tiefu, in 1992 "Liu Shaoqi's Forty-Four Days" as Deng Desheng