In the ranks of classic period dramas, one name is often seen: Liang Xiaosheng.
"In the World", which will hit the screen in 2022, and "Educated Youth" before that, are all produced by Liang Xiaosheng.
includes "Father, Father, Son," which was announced to be filmed not long ago. It is also adapted from Liang Xiaosheng's novel of the same name and is produced by the team of "In the World".
After "The World", this kind of "little people in a big era" story has become a standard feature of period dramas.
In fact, as early as 1992, Liang Xiaosheng's novel "Rings of the Year" was adapted into a TV series of the same name. After being broadcast, it caused a strong response and resonated with the educated youth group.
Some prisons also organized inmates to watch the show in groups. During this period, Liang Xiaosheng also received many letters from inmates. They were all moved by the show and their souls were baptized. As soon as the melody of
's "There is no Great Northern Wilderness in the Sky" sounded, it immediately brought back people's memories.
After more than 30 years, Liang Xiaosheng has become the "big hit harvester" of period dramas, and many viewers will never forget this drama.
Today we will take stock of how the actors in the play who have moved us are doing now.
01. Zhang Shihui (played as Wang Xiaosong)
Wang Xiaosong in "Rings of the Year" is a warm man who has a reserved personality but knows how to take care of others.
However, it was also because of his too weak character that he hesitated in the face of his own love, which ultimately led to regrets with his childhood sweetheart Hao Mei.
The actor Zhang Shihui, who plays Wang Xiaosong, was already well-known to the audience in the early 1980s for his role as Xu Rongshu in the movie "The Forgotten Corner of Love".
At the height of his popularity, he, Tang Guoqiang and Guo Kaimin were known as the most popular in the entertainment industry in the 1980s The "top" actor is now a first-class actor.
In 1982, when Zhang Shihui was at the height of his popularity, he married his first love girlfriend Lu Yaxin, a proper young marriage.
Zhang Shihui, who had a successful career and a beautiful woman in his arms, was about to go all out for his career when he suddenly fell into silence.
Due to the restriction of his military status, Zhang Shihui could not ask for leave from the army on the grounds of filming, so he missed many opportunities to become famous.
Even though his acting career was affected, Wang Shihui still did not give up his love for acting. Until the popularity of "Annual Rings", Wang Shihui received many invitations from the crew.
After 2000, Zhang Shihui starred in many film and television dramas with revolutionary historical themes, such as "The Long March", "Da Division", "National Memory", "Changsha Defense", etc., creating a series of classic military images.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Shihui’s son Zhang Junyi inherited his father’s legacy and is also active in the film and television industry, playing supporting roles in major film and television dramas and performing well.
In last year's "County Party Committee Courtyard", the father and son also staged a "father and son going into battle".
Zhang Junyi plays the role of Hao Dongfeng, the director of the Letters and Calls Bureau, while Zhang Shihui plays his father. The two have many wonderful rivalry scenes in the play, and it is very enjoyable to play father and son on the same stage.
02, Sun Yue (playing the Queen Mother/Wang Xiaosong’s sister)
Sun Yue’s guest appearance is definitely a surprise Easter egg for the audience.
"Rings of the Year" was filmed in 1992. At that time, Sun Yue had not yet waited for the song "Wish You Peace" that made her famous overnight.
Although there are not many roles, Sun Yue plays two different characters very well, and the details of the performance are very realistic.
It was also in this year that Sun Yue won the first grand prize in his life - the bronze medal in the popular category of the Youth Singing Competition while making a guest appearance in "Rings of the Year".
originally thought that his stardom would be great from now on, but he didn't expect that even if he won the award, no one would come to ask for a singing appointment.
It wasn’t until 1994 that Sun Yue used the money sponsored by his mother to shoot the music video for “Wish You Peace”. Unexpectedly, it became a huge hit, and the song was played from TV stations to streets.
After that, Sun Yue was once on par with Mao Amin, Na Ying, Han Hong and others who were in the spotlight at that time, and was even called the "Four Mainland Queens" by the media at the time.After
became famous, Sun Yue struck while the iron was hot and released three albums, "Good Mood", "Partner" and "Happiness Express", and quickly formed his own unique music style.
In 2005, Sun Yue married businessman Wu Feizhou and retired from the music scene to devote himself to his family.
Until 2022, Sun Yue, who had been retired for more than ten years, announced his comeback and began to participate in music variety shows, once again appearing in the public eye.
Today's Sun Yue has lost the glitz of her youth, showing more of the elegance and intellectual temperament that time has brought to her.
03, Niu Chenhong (played as Teacher Zhao)
Teacher Zhao was the childhood teacher of Wang Xiaosong, Liu Zhenxing and others, and was also an idealist of that era.
He was kind-hearted and took good care of the children. When he was poor, he took the children to dig wild vegetables and go to the station to beg. However, he was taken away because he said something wrong and never appeared again.
, an innocent and kind-hearted character who suddenly "disappeared", also reflects the fate of some people in that era.
Actor Niu Chenhong, who plays Teacher Zhao, graduated from Shanghai Theater Academy. He worked at Emei Film Studio in the 1980s and participated in many well-known film and television works.
A more classic one is in the movie "Jiao Yulu", where he played the role of Xiao Sun and followed Jiao Yulu to build a protective forest.
Nowadays, Niu Chenhong has retired from the entertainment industry. Like Mr. Zhao in the play, he has turned to the education industry and has taught in many art schools at home and abroad. He has already gained fame all over the world.
04, Wang Libo (played as Hao Mei)
Hao Mei has a beautiful appearance, coupled with profound knowledge, she is a "goddess" level character in the play.
But such a character experienced many ups and downs in that special era because of his background.
Especially after her ex-boyfriend Wang Xiaosong went to college, Hao Mei, who stayed alone in Beidahuang, was raped and became pregnant on her way back from supporting Xinjiang, and was on the verge of collapse several times.
Later, her daughter passed away due to illness, which made her have suicidal thoughts. In the end, she gradually got better with the support of her friends.
Wang Libo is an actor from the Harbin Repertory Theater. After many layers of selection, she got the role of Hao Mei and put a lot of effort into the role.
Because Hao Mei became mute after a suicide attempt, Wang Libo often didn't say a word on the set to get close to the character's psychological state.
After portraying Hao Mei, Wang Libo also participated in some film and television works, but she never made a name for herself in the highly competitive film and television industry.
By chance, Wang Libo met Zhai Naishe, an actor who became popular in "Midnight Song", and they started a family.
However, in the few years after their marriage, the two gradually became estranged due to less time together and more separation, and they finally divorced in 2009.
Today, Wang Libo has already quit the entertainment industry and is living in seclusion in Shanghai to enjoy her old age.
05, Zhao Shuzhen (playing the role of the elderly Queen Mother)
Zhao Shuzhen, who plays the role of the elderly Queen Mother, is a veteran actor in the film and television industry.
When "The Rings of the Year" was filmed in 1992, she was already a key actor of the Harbin Repertory Theater and starred in many classic dramas, such as "Sentinels Under the Neon Lights" and "Song of Youth".
Zhao Shuzhen, who has since entered the film and television industry, has portrayed many roles of mother or grandmother in film and television works, and even "broken into" the Hollywood circle.
In 2019, the movie "Don't Tell Her" about the cultural conflict between China and the United States was released in the United States, in which Zhao Shuzhen played the role of a grandmother suffering from cancer.
With this role, Zhao Shuzhen was nominated for many American film awards and won the American Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In recent years, Zhao Shuzhen's more famous role is Mrs. Wang in "Do You Know Should Be Green, Fat, Red and Slim"? Although she doesn't have many roles, she is outstanding enough and has been dubbed a "negotiation expert" by netizens.
In this year's "Long Time Love" starring Yang Zi and Fan Chengcheng, Zhao Shuzhen played the role of grandmother, and her amiable image made many viewers feel cordial and warm.
06. Wang Zhigang (played as Tsui Hark)
Tsui Hark is a legendary figure. After the reform and opening up, he traveled all over the country. I practiced selling stalls, speculated in stocks, and even opened a karaoke bar.
, this adventurous character, is the most representative figure in that era of agitated reform.
Interestingly, the actor Wang Zhigang who plays Tsui Hark has the same experience as Tsui Hark.
After graduating from the Shanghai Theater Academy, Wang Zhigang was assigned to the Jiangxi Repertory Theater.
Due to his junior qualifications, Wang Zhigang was not taken seriously in the group, so he chose to go into business out of passion.
"Rings of the Year" is his first work back in the film and television industry. Because he has similar experiences with the character, Wang Zhigang plays Tsui Hark Lai with ease. Many of his performances come from his life experiences.
After this, Wang Zhigang also received many film offers and starred in film and television works such as "Women Are No Longer Silent", "The Silent Truth" and "Sweeping Out the Crime".
Today, Wang Zhigang is still active in the film and television industry, but rarely appears in private. He can be called an actor who truly focuses on his acting career.
07, Wang Yang (played as young Liu Zhenxing)
In 1992, when "Annual Rings" was selecting actors in Harbin, Wang Yang was lucky enough to be selected to play the role of young Liu Zhenxing.
At that time, he was still a student at a key middle school in Harbin, and he was far from the mature image of Liu Zhenxing's big brother in the play.
This appearance also made Wang Yang fall in love with performing arts. In 1995, he was admitted to the Performance Department of Shanghai Theater Academy and became classmates with Lu Yi, Bao Lei, and Luo Haiqiong.
During the graduation season, classmates Lu Yi, Bao Lei and others had already entered the film and television industry and started to make some achievements, but Wang Yang chose to continue his studies.
He applied for the graduate school of drama and was successfully admitted. He then successfully obtained a doctorate in directing from the Central Academy of Drama. He also studied in the UK to study Shakespeare's plays.
After returning from his studies, Wang Yang returned to the place where his dream began, serving as an acting teacher at Shang Drama. In addition to teaching at
, Wang Yang also participated in directing some stage plays, such as "The Peach Blossom Fan" and "Xun Huisheng".
Compared with his classmates, Wang Yang chose a seemingly long road, but he walked it steadily and enjoyed it.
According to today's standards, the production of "Annual Rings" is not considered exquisite.
Each episode only costs more than 30,000 yuan, the actors' salary is only a few hundred yuan, and the layout of some scenes also seems a bit simple and rough.
But the value of "Annual Rings" is authenticity. Whether it is the atmosphere of the times or the description of the relationship between people, it is close to reality and resonates with the audience. (Written by Pipi Xia)
