Zhao Dan, a famous performance artist in China, once said that he only admired two Chinese actors in his life, one was Jin Shan and the other was Wei Heling.
Zhao Dan's old photo
Wei Heling is a star that has been shining a gentle light on the centennial scrolls of Chinese cinema, and Premier Zhou Enlai once commented on him: "It's really strange, old Wei plays what it looks like, as long as he changes his clothes, you believe that he is that character." The prime minister's words are the most correct evaluation of Wei Heling.
Today is the 114th anniversary of Mr. Wei Heling's birth.
Old photo of Wei Heling
<h1 style="text-align: center;" > hard childhood</h1>
On January 14, 1907, Wei Heling was born into a peasant family on the side of the big driveway of Chijiantan in Tianjin. At the time of birth, because Wei Heling's second uncle's family did not have boys, his biological father passed him on to the second uncle.
The Wei family has been farming for generations, and Grandpa Wei Heling realized that literacy and hyphenation can get rid of poverty, so Grandpa set up a township school in the village so that the children in the village can go to school and have culture.
From a young age, Wei Heling followed his second uncle to collect firewood and go to the ground, catch fish and touch crabs, and was taught literacy by his grandfather. When he was six years old, he was taken to a church primary school in Tianjin by his father, who was making a living outside the city, and went to his father's shop to do some chores in his spare time.
Wei Heling's family is near the famous "Persuasion Field", and after school, he will sneak into the "Persuasion Field" to watch the drama team act, and he will be confused every day. The "persuasion field" is his ideal sea, into which he aspires to merge.
At the age of eight, his biological father died, and Wei Heling was taken to Beijing by his fourth uncle to be raised in Beijing and studied at the primary school attached to Beijing Normal University until he graduated from middle school. He studied very hard, and he also knew that the life of the fourth uncle was difficult, and he went home from school to help the family pick up cinder. At a young age, he developed a hard-working, contented character.
After graduating from middle school, Wei Heling gave up his plan to continue his studies and wanted to live on his own. He worked as a pharmacist under his uncle, a farmer in his hometown in Tianjin, a cargo man, a knife worker who cut pickles, and a porter on the dock, and tasted the hardships of the life at the bottom of the old society. Perhaps it was because there was a hidden love for art in his consciousness, and no matter what he did, he could not be at ease.
<h1 style="text-align: center;" > I'm an actor</h1>
One day in June 1928, Wei Heling inadvertently saw an advertisement for the Shandong Provincial Experimental Theater posted on the telephone pole on the dock, in addition to free room and board, students also had four ocean allowances per month, and more importantly, they could become a drama actor after completing their studies.
Therefore, Wei Heling threw down everything in his hand and resolutely went on the road. Originally handsome, physically strong, with a thick voice, he can also pull erhu and sing Peking Opera, he successfully passed the exam and embarked on the road of acting.
Wei Heling studied hard and had a unique endowment, and soon emerged in the academy and got the opportunity to perform on stage. His internship works in the theater include "Suzhou Night Talk", "Jiangcun Xiaojing", "Night of the Tiger" and so on.
In June 1930, the Shandong Experimental Theater was forced to close down by the warlords, and the successor president Wang Bosheng established the "Haiming Opera Society", and Wei Heling then went to Beiping to perform dramas such as "Drunk" and "Journey to the Northeast".
Wei Heling and his wife
In April 1932, after being introduced by a friend, Wei Heling joined the Shanghai Jimei Drama Society and performed in Hangzhou. In May, he joined the Mayflower Drama Society of the Chinese Left-Wing Dramatists Alliance in Hangzhou, participating in the performance of anti-Japanese progressive dramas such as "Chaos God" and "Comrades-in-Arms". In June, he was in charge of the "Grape Drama Society" in Huzhou to guide the local people to rehearse plays.
In 1933, the left-wing drama federation led by Tian Han established the Spring and Autumn Drama Society in Shanghai, gathered Shanghai dramatists, and re-rehearsed "The Death of Famous Excellence", Tian Han issued an invitation, hoping that Wei Heling would play the protagonist Liu Zhensheng. The sensation of the premiere made Wei Heling "overnight famous" in Shanghai, and also attracted the attention of the film industry.
"Defend Our Land" Liu Shan
The famous director Shi Dongshan had a discerning vision, and immediately hired Wei Heling as an actor of Yihua Film Company and invited him to play the male protagonist Zhang Ronggen in the movie "The Beginning of Man". Since then, Wei Heling has started his screen career.
In 1934, through the invitation and promotion of Tian Han and the famous director Bu Wancang, Wei Heling successively participated in films such as "Triumph", "The Tempest", "Peach Blossom Robbery" and became a front-line actor of the company.
In 1936, Wei Heling was invited by the Shanghai Star Film Company to co-star with Zhao Dan, Zhou Xuan, Zhao Huishen and others in the classic film "Road Angel" directed by Yuan Muzhi. In the film, he played the second male "newspaper dealer Lao Wang".
"Road Angel" Lao Wang
In 1937, Wei Heling played the role of "Wang Yun" in the Xinhua Film Company's film "Sable Cicada". As soon as the film was released, it aroused strong repercussions in society, and was introduced by New York newspapers at that time. Xinhua Film Company hired Wei Heling with a heavy amount of money, but because he had already joined the anti-Japanese drama team at that time, he refused.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wei Heling went to various places with the anti-Japanese drama team to carry out the anti-Japanese salvation movement, and participated in dramas such as "The Moon Rises", "The Gentleman on Liang", "Drunk", "Who is a Friend", "The Country Is Supreme", "Long Live the Nation", "Plugged in the Wind and Clouds", as well as "Defending Our Land", "Sons and Daughters of China", "Long Sky", "Baptism of Fire" and other anti-Japanese films.
"Maya Dai" Boi Khan
In the following years, he participated in drama performances such as "Wedding March", "Chongqing Twenty-Four Hours", "Heaven and Earth", "Thunderstorm" and other drama performances in the China Drama Art Society and China Electric Theater Troupe.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wei Heling filmed films such as "The Tale of the Holy City", "Green Plum Bamboo Horse", and "Lang Cai Female Appearance" in the "Beiping Zhongdian Third Factory". After that, he was employed by various film companies and made several films.
"Blood Monument" forest has mountains
In 1949, Wei Heling starred with Zhao Dan, Huang Zongying and others in the movie "The Crow and the Sparrow", playing the timid and fearful newspaper proofreader Kong Youwen. The film won the China Outstanding Film Award from the Central Ministry of Culture, and Wei Heling also won the individual first-class gold medal for the film.
After 1953, Wei Heling successively participated in films such as "Huai Shang Ren Ren", "Song Jingshi", "Home", "Blessing", "Evergreen Tree" and other films, of which the film "Blessing" won the Special Award of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the Silver Hat Award of the Mexico International Film Festival.
Stills from "The Crow and the Sparrow"
In 1959, Wei Heling played the role of "Guan Hanqing" in tian Hanqing's famous drama "Guan Hanqing", which was his last drama. In 1965, he starred in the film "The Counter", which was his last film.
During the special period, Wei Heling once disappeared from the screen. In the last years of his life, he had only one wish, and that was to return to the screen. He went everywhere to ask for people, as long as he could act, he could play any role.
"Guan Hanqing" Guan Hanqing
At that time, Yu Lan, the director of the North Film Studio, was preparing to shoot "Teacher on Horseback" and intended to invite Wei Heling out of the mountain, but Wei Heling's wife and children were opposed. Wei Heling was already an old man in his 70s at the time, and he had high blood pressure, and the film was filmed in the western plateau, and Wei Heling went to shoot a scene, which was not only life-threatening, but also added trouble to the crew. In this way, Wei Heling's hope of returning to the film world was shattered.
<h1 style="text-align: center;" > the end of life</h1>
After 1966, Wei Heling never returned to the screen. However, in the eyes of her daughter Wei Fu, the father's real curtain came in 1975.
"Blessings" He Lao Liu
That year, a young photographer named Xie Rongsheng (former vice chairman of the Shanghai Photographers Association) invited Wei Heling, a great actor who became famous in the 1930s, to be his photography model. Xie Rongsheng was a little afraid, he wanted to participate in the photo contest, the proposition was "New Life", he thought that only Wei Heling could do it. Wei Heling, who had never accepted any interviews, gladly agreed.
In this way, in the summer of 1975, in a small photo studio that no one knows, an old actor left the last "movie" of his life there, the protagonist is called Wei Heling, he played himself for the first time, acting so realistically, there is nostalgia in his eyes, there is longing, and he tells the mental journey of an old actor with a simple and subtle performance.
"Home" tall old lady
On October 2, 1979, Wei Heling died in Shanghai Longhua Hospital at the age of 72. At the time of his death, with the help of his daughter, he wrote four words - I am an actor.
On December 28, 1995, in order to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of world cinema and the 90th anniversary of Chinese cinema, the Ministry of Culture and the Film Bureau held the "Chinese Film Century Star" award ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, which was presented by then Premier Zhu Rongji and Wei Heling was awarded the title of "Century Star".
In November 2005, the China Film Performing Arts Society awarded Wei Heling the title of "100 Outstanding Actors in Chinese Film in the Past 100 Years".
Throughout Wei Heling's life, as his inscription reads: "Because of the ordinary, so simple; because of integrity, so real, an ordinary person interpreted the story of a group of ordinary people, ordinary people like him." ”