Her parents wanted her to be a teacher or a doctor when she grew up, but Wu Yanshu was passionate about the performing arts. She has been obsessed with Audrey · Hepburn since junior high school, not only imitating her dress, but also learning her walking posture.
With a dream of acting, Wu Yanshu, who graduated from high school, signed up for the entrance examination of the Shanxi Repertory Theatre without telling her parents. With her bright eyes and elegant appearance, Wu Yanshu, who is in her early twenties, successfully entered the Shanxi Repertory Theatre.
She was eager to learn acting skills and worked tirelessly. The hard work paid off, and only a year later, Wu Yanshu got the opportunity to participate in the movie "Flowing Water Song". Her performance in the film won unanimous praise and successfully stepped into the entertainment industry.
In the years that followed, Wu Yanshu worked in the Shanxi Repertory Theatre, focusing on drama performances. One of her most famous works is the drama "Liu Hulan", which is still regarded as a classic today.
Although many directors want to invite her to shoot movies and TV series, due to various regulations and restrictions of the repertory troupe, Wu Yanshu has never been able to show her strength in the film and television industry. During this period, Wu Yanshu also experienced the first relationship in her life.
She fell in love with a colleague in the repertory troupe, and the two often appeared together. However, although this young love was vigorous, it did not last long because of its youth and frivolity.
After the breakup, Wu Yanshu fell into a long period of sadness, but it was this experience that allowed her to gradually develop a strong and independent character. Although Wu Yanshu did not get many opportunities in the film and television industry at this stage, her performance experience on the drama stage laid a solid foundation for her to return to the screen in the future.
Her dedication and love for the performing arts, as well as her tenacity in the face of adversity, planted the seeds of hope for her future acting career. While Wu Yanshu's acting career is gradually stabilizing, her personal life has also ushered in a turnaround.
She met Zhang Yifei, a national first-class composer who was 9 years older than herself. This talented musician composed a number of popular works, such as "I Love a Beautiful Heart", "Building a High Irrigation Station by the River", "How Glorious the Coal Workers" and "Shanxi in Spring", which were quite popular at the time.
The encounter with Zhang Yifei made Wu Yanshu truly realize what it means to be careful in a man. Zhang Yifei is not only talented, but also knows how to love a woman. In life, he let Wu Yanshu everywhere, and soothed the pain of her previous lovelorn with gentleness and thoughtfulness.
After getting along for a while, the two soon fell in love and then entered the palace of marriage. Soon after marriage, Wu Yanshu ushered in another important role in her life - the birth of her daughter Zhang Heer.
The arrival of this little life has added infinite joy to this artistic family. Under the influence of her parents, Zhang Haer inherited their love for art. When she grew up, she chose to become a screenwriter, continuing her family's artistic tradition.
Despite forming her own small family, Wu Yanshu still insists on working at the Shanxi Repertory Theatre. She devotes most of her energy to drama performances, constantly honing her acting skills on stage.
At the same time, she also strives to balance work and family life, finding a balance between career and family. During this period, Wu Yanshu, although she did not get many opportunities in the film and television industry, her performance on the drama stage was still excellent.
She incorporates the skills she learned in the theater into every role, even the marginal roles can be vividly interpreted. This family full of artistic atmosphere has become a warm harbor in Wu Yanshu's life journey.
The support of her husband, the company of her daughter, and the common pursuit of art constitute the most harmonious and moving movement in Wu Yanshu's life symphony. However, life is always full of unknowns, and this peaceful and happy day does not last forever, and greater challenges await this strong woman.
In 2003, 65-year-old Wu Yanshu ushered in a major turning point in her life. Her beloved husband Zhang Yifei's health is deteriorating and requires long-term hospitalization. In the face of this sudden change, Wu Yanshu resolutely retired from the Shanxi Repertory Theatre and devoted herself to taking care of her husband.
Life after retirement is not easy. For many years, Wu Yanshu has been receiving a basic salary, plus the huge expenses of raising her daughter and her husband for medical treatment, and the family has little savings left.
In order to save money, she rode her bicycle to visit her husband in the hospital every time, rain or shine. When buying groceries, she also had to be careful and bargain for half a day just to save a few dollars.
The hardships of life are especially evident when transporting her husband to and from the hospital. Sometimes, when she slowly walked downstairs with her frail husband in her arms to prepare to go home, the taxi she had just hailed drove away impatiently because of the long wait.
This happens all the time, and every time I pick up my husband home, I have to wait a long time for a taxi that is willing to stop. At these moments, the helplessness and sadness in Wu Yanshu's heart could only be swallowed silently.
Daughter Zhang Heer was not around, the couple supported each other, and I don't know how many sad tears were shed behind them. However, this is only the beginning of the nightmare. In 2007, after a long struggle, Wu Yanshu's beloved husband still left her.
Having lost her loved ones, she fell into despair for a while, as if her life had lost its direction. Whenever her daughter asked her to eat, although she would pick up the bowl, her eyes looked into the distance, and that kind of lost soul made her daughter's heart like a knife.
Zhang Heer saw it in her eyes, hurt in her heart, and constantly comforted her mother: "When Dad was here, you didn't owe him, and now that he is gone, you have to continue to live." However, fate does not seem to intend to give Wu Yanshu a chance to breathe.
Just when Wu Yanshu was slowly coming out of the pain of bereavement, in 2010, another bad news came - her parents passed away one after another. In just three years, Wu Yanshu lost the three most important people in her life: her husband and parents.
The successive blows nearly crushed her, and she fell into deep grief again. Faced with such a heavy blow, Wu Yanshu's heart was tormented. Her once happy family is now left with her and her daughter.
This period is undoubtedly the darkest moment in Wu Yanshu's life, and she needs great courage and strength to move forward. Faced with her mother's deep grief, her daughter Zhang Ha'er decided to take action.
In 2011, she brought her mother to live in Beijing and encouraged her to rededicate herself to her favorite acting career. This decision will not only allow Wu Yanshu to regain her zest for life, but also help her distract herself from the haze of losing her loved ones.
However, Wu Yanshu has always been an independent person. In order not to burden her daughter, she insisted on moving out and living alone. Eventually, after discussing with her daughter, Wu Yanshu chose to rent a house and started her new life in Beijing.
The road back to showbiz has not been smooth. At first, Wu Yanshu didn't receive many roles, and most of them were supporting roles. However, she is never picky, as long as there is an invitation from the director, she will gladly accept it, even if it is only two or three shots, she will devote herself to it.
Wu Yanshu gave full play to the performance skills she had accumulated in the theater for many years, and vividly interpreted every seemingly marginal role. Her seriousness and strength won the admiration of the crew, "Such an old man is full of real skills!" The hard work paid off, and Wu Yanshu's persistence finally paid off.
In 2018, she played the male protagonist's grandmother in the TV series "People Are Not Frivolous Teenagers", which won unanimous praise. This role seems to have opened a new door to her career, and then she starred in many film and television works, such as "Red Sun Pavilion in the Warm City", "Little Mountains and Rivers", "The Taste of Sichuan Pepper", "Whistleblower" and so on.
In 2019, Wu Yanshu ushered in the peak of her career, and participated in many works within a year. In 2020, her role as the "grandmother of the Jiang family" in the hit drama "Golden Years" made her even more famous, and she was in the limelight for a while.
The audience was amazed by her acting skills and attracted by her unique temperament. In the movie "Beijing Meets Seattle", many viewers sighed after watching it: "Why is there a girly feeling in this grandmother?" This experience of returning to the screen not only allowed Wu Yanshu to rediscover the direction of her life, but also allowed her to reach new heights in her acting career.
She proved with her actions that as long as she maintains her love and persistence, life can shine at any stage. Today, the 84-year-old Wu Yanshu is still active in the film and television industry, and her recent performance in the TV series "Home of the Heart" has once again caused heated discussions.
Many viewers were amazed by her elegant temperament and girlish demeanor, and said: "It's the first time I think wrinkles are so beautiful." In the face of such praise, Wu Yanshu always responded humbly: "When I was young, my parents spoiled me, my husband spoiled me after I got married, and now I have a daughter who spoils me. These words not only express gratitude to the family, but also reveal the longing for the deceased relatives.
Wu Yanshu's vitality and learning spirit are admirable. In this online age, she did not rest on her laurels because of her age, but actively embraced new things. She learned to use a smartphone, became familiar with internet language, and even tried her hand at basketball.
In daily life, she also learned to buy vegetables online on her mobile phone, showing a completely inconsistent mental outlook for an octogenarian. Wu Yanshu's learning attitude and lifestyle fully embody the spirit of "living to old age and learning to be old".
She not only continues to improve in her professional field, but also maintains a strong curiosity and desire to learn in life. Even when faced with new things and technologies, she is able to accept and learn with an open mind.
In recent works such as "Home of the Heart", Wu Yanshu once again showed her unique charm. Her performance is not only skillful and natural, but also has a kind of calmness and elegance after the vicissitudes of life.
This kind of temperament is difficult for young actors to achieve. Wu Yanshu uses her actions to interpret what is "80-year-old, 20-year-old mentality", and her story has inspired countless people, proving that as long as you maintain a positive attitude, life can shine at any stage.
Looking back on Wu Yanshu's life experience, we see a female image that has gone through vicissitudes but is still elegant and calm. Her story illustrates what it means to be a woman who has been in pain for half a life, but graceful for a lifetime.
As said at the beginning of the article: "If you have a temperament hidden in your heart, the years will never defeat the beauty." Wu Yanshu used her life to interpret the profound meaning of this sentence. Even in the face of life's heavy blows and the loss of the people closest to her, Wu Yanshu still maintains a positive and optimistic attitude.
Instead of being crushed by her grief, she chose to get back on her feet and continue chasing her dreams. This kind of perseverance is the reason why she can still be active in the entertainment industry at the age of 84.
Wu Yanshu's life in her later years can be described as "eighty years old, twenty years old". She still maintains her passion for life and work, constantly learning new things, and staying physically and mentally active.
Her story reminds us that age is not an excuse to limit ourselves, as long as we maintain a positive attitude, life can be full of spring. In Wu Yanshu, we see how true elegance triumphs over time.
Her elegance is not only reflected in her appearance, but also in her inner calmness and wisdom. As she said, "Elegance is not beauty, beauty can be a gift from God, but elegance is a product of art."
This sentence speaks to her philosophy of life and is the secret of her ability to shine at every stage of life. Wu Yanshu's story tells us that the resilience and beauty of life will not disappear because of age.
On the contrary, as long as we maintain our love of life and the attitude of learning, we can find our own wonderful at every stage of life. Her life experience undoubtedly shows us the infinite possibilities of life.