1. Originally from Shanghai
Zheng Peipei, a generation of chivalrous women in the Hong Kong film industry, is famous for playing the roles of chivalrous women and fighting women, although she herself has no foundation in martial arts, she has become a model of martial arts actresses with her superb acting skills.
Zheng Peipei was originally from Shanghai, but on the eve of liberation, her family declined for some reason. At the age of six, she was forcibly separated from her mother, younger brother and sister, and her mother took her younger siblings to Hong Kong to join relatives and friends, leaving her alone in Shanghai. It was not until the age of 16 that Cheng was able to travel from Shanghai to Hong Kong to reunite with her family.
2. I joined the Shaw Brothers training class with the original intention of looking for the company of my fellow villagers and communicating with my hometown to alleviate the homesickness of being far away from my homeland.
Back in the 60s, few people in Hong Kong spoke Shanghainese or Mandarin. Subsequently, the Southern Experimental Theatre Company, a subsidiary of Shaw Brothers, opened Cantonese and Mandarin classes. With a desire to find an environment where Mandarin could be spoken, Cheng signed up to be one of them.
3. A martial arts actress with no martial arts skills
Zheng Peipei's title of "martial arts actress" is completely shaped by the outside world, she herself has no foundation in martial arts, and she gradually emerged through the careful guidance of martial arts instructors and personal unremitting efforts.
When preparing for a new film, Hu Jinquan, director of Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers Company, urgently needed an actress who could play and had a tough temperament. Because Zheng Peipei has a dance background and her image fits the "chivalrous" setting, she was lucky to be selected to play the "Golden Swallow" in "The Drunken Man".
"The Drunken Man" is not only hailed as the pioneering work of Hong Kong's "new martial arts" films, but Zheng Peipei's "Golden Swallow" has become an iconic female character in this genre, and she is also the first model of a woman dressed as a man in Chinese film history.
Maybe it's because the role of "Golden Swallow" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, or as Michelle Yeoh said, the road to a martial arts actress is extremely difficult, so it's better to dress up easily and likable. In short, from the mid-to-late 60s to the early 70s of the 20th century, Zheng Peipei firmly sat on the position of the first sister in the Hong Kong film industry with her wonderful performances in many films as chivalrous girls and beating women. At that time, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and others were still newcomers in the martial arts.
4. Jackie Chan was extremely impressed by Zheng Peipei.
In the book "I Am Jackie Chan", he praised: "Zheng Peipei, this intelligent and dedicated actress, every time she arrives on the set, she always does not forget to bring all kinds of desserts and soups to share with the director and martial arts colleagues. ”
Jackie Chan and Zheng Peipei's first collaboration can be traced back to the movie "Iron Baby". At that time, Jackie Chan was still an unknown small character in martial arts, and he was subjected to Zheng Peipei's "key care" in the film, and was played as frequent beatings as a sandbag, and this scene also became an unforgettable memory in the early days of their cooperation.
5, Zheng Peipei's pregnancy almost made Bruce Lee famous two years later
Originally, the movie "Big Brother Tangshan" was planned to be starring Zheng Peipei, but because she was pregnant, Bruce Lee took over the filming. The film eventually became Bruce Lee's work of fame.
Imagine, if Zheng Peipei is not pregnant, Bruce Lee may not be able to participate in "Big Brother Tangshan", and the road to fame may be postponed. Similarly, if Bruce Lee had not died young, Jackie Chan's path to success could have faced more challenges. Fate, it's really interesting.
6, Zheng Peipei and Yishu: The transformation from girlfriends to rivals
Zheng Peipei won the reputation of "Martial Arts Actress" for playing the heroine Jin Yanzi in "The Drunken Man". It was this drama that prompted her to fall in love with the leading actor Yue Hua. At first, Zheng Peipei had an ambiguous relationship with Chen Honglie, but then found out that Chen Honglie and Pan Yingzi had an unclear relationship, so she broke up with Chen Honglie. After that, Yue Hua accompanied him, and the two gradually fell in love, and experienced five years of separation and union together.
Yue Hua and Zheng Peipei are both Shanghainese, and they are both recognized as "good people". In a cooperation with actor Luo Lie, Luo Lie, as the male lead, accounted for the majority of the investment. Near the end of filming, Luo Lie noticed that the producer's funds were tight, so he asked to pay the final payment in advance, otherwise the show would be boycotted. Seeing this, Yue Hua stepped forward, coordinated with many parties, and even paid Luo Lie's salary out of his own pocket to ensure the smooth completion of the film.
However, the fate between good people and good people seems to be difficult to last. The love between Yue Hua and Zheng Peipei was finally accidentally intervened by Yishu. Originally, Zheng Peipei often took her out for a break and dinner in order to comfort Yishu, who was frustrated in love, but unexpectedly, Yishu gradually developed feelings for Zheng Peipei's boyfriend Yue Hua.
7. The fork in life has the guidance of Master Nebula
After Yishu successfully married Yue Hua, Zheng Peipei left the scene gloomily, chose a wealthy Taiwan businessman as his partner (the atmosphere in Taiwan was indeed complicated at that time), and went to United States to settle down.
However, Zheng Peipei's married life was not satisfactory. Despite the good conditions of her husband's family, she did not receive the respect and treatment she deserved. According to Zheng Peipei, in addition to being busy with filming and publicity, she also needs to help her husband take care of the store business every day, and her life is quite difficult.
What's more, her husband, as the only child in the family, has always hoped that she could give birth to a boy, so Zheng Peipei went through eight pregnancies, four miscarriages, and finally had only three daughters, until she was forty years old and had a son. She longed to succeed in her career, but her husband thwarted her. In the end, Zheng Peipei resolutely decided to divorce and chose to leave the house.
During those confused and helpless days, she even had the idea of becoming a monk. Luckily, she met Master Nebula, who encouraged her to return to Hong Kong and continue her acting career.
8, regaining the brilliance of Gong Li's refusal, Zheng Peipei returned to the stage of the film and television industry
As soon as Zheng Peipei returned to Hong Kong, she met Stephen Chow unexpectedly, the actor of "Mrs. Hua" in the future "Tang Bohu Dots Autumn Fragrance", and Stephen Chow formed an indissoluble bond.
At first, Stephen Chow chose Zheng Peipei because he took a fancy to her martial arts skills to meet the martial arts scenes required by "Mrs. Hua" in the film. However, Gong Li, who originally played Qiu Xiang, refused some of the overly exaggerated rival scenes because it was difficult to adapt to Stephen Chow's nonsensical performance style. These scenes, which originally belonged to Qiu Xiang, were unexpectedly transferred to Zheng Peipei, making the role of "Mrs. Hua" shine in the film, which was beyond everyone's expectations.
9. Stepping into the mainland market with the corner of "blue-eyed fox".
Subsequently, she participated in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and played the role of "Blue-eyed Fox". To this end, she went through five months of closed training, during which she was injured several times, but she shaped this iconic image.
As time passed, the market opened its arms to Zheng Peipei again. She then took over a number of TV dramas in the mainland market, including "The Legend of Sword and Fairy", "Yangmen Female General" and "Young Bao Qingtian" and other masterpieces.
10. Although she has no martial arts skills, she still insists on completing all martial arts movements in person.
During the filming of "Yangmen Female General", Zheng Peipei, who was 65 years old at the time, showed extraordinary professionalism, and she was the only one in the entire crew who refused to use a stand-in and insisted on going into battle with real horses.