Business war dramas are common, but good business war dramas are rare.
In 2008, "The Way of Heaven", starring Wang Zhiwen and Zuo Xiaoqing , was adapted from the best-selling book "The Distant Savior" and was hailed as a business war drama. How awesome is
? The heroine Zuo Xiaoqing once revealed that one of her friends was influenced by this drama and embarked on the road to wealth.
When the show was first broadcast and re-broadcast, it frequently set off a viewing frenzy. However, the popularity only lasted for 3 months before it was completely banned because the plot was suspected of leaking secrets.
It was not until 2018 that it reappeared in the audience's field of vision after a series of modifications and deletions.
Today, more than 90,000 viewers have given it a high score of 9.2 on its rating page. It can be seen that "The Way of Heaven" has not been forgotten, but has become more and more popular.
"The Way of Heaven" has become popular across the dimensions of time, largely because it faces reality and exposes many invisible rules in Chinese culture with extremely cruel truths.
Ding Yuanying was rich but did not save his elderly father , Rui Xiaodan was righteous but indirectly caused the tragedy of many people, and the poor but hateful villagers in Wangmiao Village. There are intriguing natural laws behind these stories.
Because the play analyzes human nature too deeply and carefully, some people joked that it was banned because it leaked secrets. Of course, these are just jokes.
Those real-life stories in "The Way of Heaven" that we often see but don't often think about can be endowed with so much philosophical thinking, which is inseparable from the actors' shaping and interpretation of the characters.
The acting careers of the actors who participated in the show were more or less affected by the success and ban of the show.
16 years have passed in the blink of an eye. Let us take a look at the current living conditions and career development of the impressive actors in the play.
1. Ding Yuanying (played by Wang Zhiwen)
Ding Yuanying is a god-like existence in "The Way of Heaven".
He has a master's degree in economics from the University of Berlin. He has no family background, but relied on his personal ability to establish a private equity fund in Germany, earning 200 million in just eleven months.
People who know him comment on him as a business wizard and a logic genius.
However, this way of making money by borrowing the power of outsiders to enrich the country's people made Ding Yuanying very uncomfortable.
After discovering his conscience, he quit the private equity company in Germany and moved to a somewhat dilapidated ancient city, where he wanted to pursue a quiet life of eating and not working.
However, with the intrusion of Rui Xiaodan and the appearance of a group of music enthusiasts in Wangmiao Village, Ding Yuanying's originally peaceful life has undergone tremendous changes.
In his interactions with this group of "uninvited guests", he not only showed his strong personality charm, but also used people and events in the play in a new way to analyze many natural laws and human weaknesses with the audience.
When Wang Zhiwen played Ding Yuanying, he was already a well-known and capable actor in his 40s, and his character creation focused more on spiritual resemblance rather than physical resemblance.
Therefore, when we watch "The Way of Heaven", we will always have the illusion that Wang Zhiwen is Ding Yuanying himself.
In addition, Wang Zhiwen also embraced beauties in real life. When "The Way of Heaven" was released, he got married to his beloved wife, who was 8 years apart.
Therefore, when acting with Zuo Xiaoqing, who is 11 years older, the audience not only did not find it awkward, but felt that there was an inexplicable sense of compatibility between them.
After "The Way of Heaven", Wang Zhiwen's family life and career development have been very smooth.
The birth and growth of his son brought a new experience to his life. His not-so-popular but step-by-step acting career also gave him more space in life.
Compared with other actors who are obsessed with fame and fortune, Wang Zhiwen can be called a sober and good man who takes care of his family and career.
2. Rui Xiaodan (played by Zuo Xiaoqing)
There are actually two god-like beings in "Tiandao", one is Ding Yuanying, and the other is Rui Xiaodan.
If the former has gone through hardships to see through the world before reaching the realm of God, and even pretends to be profound, then the latter is born with divine consciousness, but he doesn't know it. His realm is definitely beyond the reach of others.
Therefore, when facing death, she will be so calm and calm.
Even Ding Yuanying, whom she fell in love with, couldn't help but sigh: When you are alive, you are alive, when you are dead, you are dead. It comes with ease. Girl, it's not simple.
It is said that the crew originally selected Zuo Xiaoqing to play this character because her eyes were clear and she did not look like a person with distracting thoughts. This characteristic of
not only fits the image of Rui Xiaodan, who is refined and ignorant, but also forms a sharp contrast with Wang Zhiwen, whose eyes are playful.
Although he joined the group because of his personal temperament, Zuo Xiaoqing did not rest on his laurels, but worked hard.
She never used a stand-in during the filming. All the martial arts scenes were performed by herself. For this reason, she studied grappling for a month.
After "The Way of Heaven", Zuo Xiaoqing's career continues.
However, as she grew older, her appearance gradually lost its advantage. Although inappropriate medical aesthetics made her look eternally youthful, her slightly stiff facial condition still affected her performance.
Nowadays, she rarely appears as a heroine, and most of her roles are supporting roles.
Some time ago, she also played the enthusiastic and selfless Doctor Shen in the hit drama "South to North", and almost became Jin Chen's stepmother in the drama.
Two years ago, Zuo Xiaoqing also ended her 11-year marriage and became a single mother.
Although his career is not as prosperous as before and his marriage life is not happy, this does not seem to affect Zuo Xiaoqing's status.
You can still see her sharing her life on social platforms. She works with peace of mind when she is busy, and raises flowers and writes calligraphy in her free time. She lives a happy life.
3. A friend of Ding Yuanying
As the saying goes, things flock together and people flock together.
Ding Yuanying does not have many friends in "The Way of Heaven". To be precise, there is only one, which is Han Chufeng, a classmate he met while studying in Berlin.
After graduation, Han Chufeng returned to China to work. He was originally just a senior executive of the Zhengtian Group, but during the internal strife in the group, he successfully became the heir through Ding Yuanying's plan.
Unlike Ding Yuanying's birth, Han Chufeng is a person who lives in the world. He is at the top of the pyramid in the secular world.
But compared to another senior executive in the play, Lin Yunfeng of Le Sheng Company, he is flexible and flexible, can listen to suggestions, and is more able to do some practical things based on the present. Zeng Hongsheng, the actor who plays Han Chufeng played by
, is an actor with a very obvious personal style. Due to his relatively calm appearance, most of the characters he portrays are decent and intelligent characters.
In addition to "Tiandao", he played Song Huizong in the 1996 version of "Water Margin", Ye Ting in the TV series "Ode to Yan'an", and Zheng Wei, the deputy director of the hospital in "The Obstetrician".
In the past two years, he has also appeared in many period dramas, such as the revolutionary historical drama "Glory and Dream" and "The Sea in Dreams" starring Xiao Zhan and Li Qin.
But because his role is small, he himself does not like to hype, and there are not many viewers who notice him.
hopes that he can portray more impressive characters like Han Chufeng in his future acting career.
4. Rui Xiaodan’s two best friends
Rui Xiaodan and Ding Yuanying are both models of good friends.
She has two good best friends in the play, one is Ouyang Xue who can improve her economy, and the other is Xiao Yawen who can broaden her horizons.
When the three of them appear together, I am willing to call them the strongest sister group in domestic dramas.
Unfortunately, whether it is Shi Yao who plays Ouyang Xue or Pan Xiaolong who plays Xiao Yawen, apart from "The Way of Heaven", there are few other masterpieces.
Moreover, after finishing this drama, they all gradually faded out of the entertainment industry, which is really a pity.
However, personal opinions are different. They can live their own lives peacefully, which may be a good choice.
5. The three elders of metrical poetry
In "The Way of Heaven", Ding Yuanying single-handedly founded the "Metrical Poetry" audio company.
But he did not participate as the principal. Instead, he involved Ouyang Xue as an investor and handed over the company's production and management affairs to three other people.
They are the three veterans of Metrics Audio Company, General Manager Ye Xiaoming, Feng Shijie who took the initiative to step aside, and Liu Bing, who proclaimed himself the director.
Ye Xiaoming is played by Zhang Hongyu, who is still active in the entertainment industry today.
However, the works he participated in and the characters he created are not comparable to the previous "Tiandao". He can be regarded as an eighteenth-tier actor.
Feng Shijie is played by Zhang Wei, who is also one of the directors of "The Way of Heaven".
His previous job on the crew was mainly responsible for guiding actors in filming. In addition to doing his job well, he also liked to play tricks on the set. The brigade commander in "Bright Sword" and Feng Shijie in the drama are the best examples.
Nowadays, he has completely given up the job of acting director. He appears more as an actor and occasionally participates in some dubbing work.
Zhao Huinan, who plays Liu Bing, has been in the entertainment industry for so many years and still has not become famous, but he has not given up his identity as an actor.
Two years ago, he also appeared in the hit drama "Dear Child", but his role was too small and did not leave many memories for the audience.
hopes that he, who did not have a happy ending in "The Way of Heaven", can have a beautiful life of his own outside the show.
The above is the current situation of the main characters in "The Way of Heaven". To be honest, except for Wang Zhiwen and Zuo Xiaoqing, who are somewhat famous themselves, the other actors have not reached the peak of their acting careers with this drama.
It can be seen that when the crew was casting, what they valued was not the reputation of the actors, but whether they fit the character's temperament.
This also shows that the best way for a good actor to be remembered by the audience is to star in good works and create impressive characters.
hopes that everyone will remember the wonderful performance of these actors in "The Way of Heaven", and also hopes that they can continue their efforts and bring more and better works to the audience. (Written by Ye Shi)
