Zheng Peipei Picture/Southern People Weekly Reporter Fang Yingzhong
In Temple Street, Hong Kong, a long-established restaurant was bustling with people. This restaurant has two floors. The place is not big, and the second floor is full of booths. The taxi driver who took us here got excited when he heard us talking about our destination: "This restaurant is very famous. It used to be used to film some nostalgic dramas."
Zheng Peipei chose to accept our exclusive interview here. This is a restaurant with the same experience as her, with a history of more than half a century. As soon as she saw our photographer Lao Fang, she said: "You look familiar. I seem to see you often."
Lao Fang was stunned for a moment, wondering on what occasion he had seen this interviewee. Zheng Peipei laughed heartily, and she obviously didn't think she had stolen Lao Fang's opening remarks - after all, reporters and Lao Fang were the ones who often saw Zheng Peipei, even in movies and TV series.
When talking, Zheng Peipei likes to say "yeah" and laugh. She often says "right" with a smile. When talking about the details of some past events, if she can't remember exactly, she will just say "I don't know anymore." Because she is familiar with the store, this has become her living room, and many people can recognize her. During the interview, many diners came to the table next door. They lowered their heads to eat and talked about their own things. When we walked around, no one even cast a curious look. This seems to confirm one of the reasons why Zheng Peipei likes Hong Kong: the people here are just like her neighbors.
Talking about various stages of life, Zheng Peipei likes her current self the most. Regarding the past, her eyes would be dim, but very calm. She said that people at that time had very simple ideas and were not as complicated as today's young people. Everyone thought it was natural to get married and have children early. When she passed away at her peak, people felt sorry for her. She was insensitive to these regrets, but she felt guilty towards her children and believed that she owed them a lifetime.
The hero of his life is named Wu Lei
Zheng Peipei's guilt stems from her divorce from her husband Yuan Wentong in 1989, which left her four children without a complete family.
That was a watershed in her life, which directly negated her past 20 years. Yuan Wentong is a businessman in Taiwan, China, and his father is the agent of Shaw Company in Taiwan. His acquaintance with Zheng Peipei was quite dramatic: Zheng Peipei's mother went to Yuan's home to play mahjong and lost money, so she asked Zheng Peipei to send money over. In this way, she met and fell in love with Yuan Wentong, and got married in 1969.
In 1970, Zheng Peipei decided to stop acting and immigrated to the United States with Yuan Wentong. Regarding Zheng Peipei’s decision, her sister Zheng Baopei (now Pepe Peipei’s manager), who is 6 years younger than her, said: “At that time, it was about destiny. If a girl was not married by the age of 24 or 25, it was already an exaggeration. ."
boss Run Run Shaw and mentor King Hu both support Zheng Peipei. She said, "Director Hu liked my choice very much. He felt that I made the right choice and was very good at choosing. At that time, everyone thought that I had chosen well and felt that it was most suitable for me to marry such a person. Maybe people don't see many of them. Details."
The teachers spoke highly of Yuan Wentong, "The main thing is that he is not an insider, he is knowledgeable and decent." Yuan Wentong won out among many suitors because he was indeed different.
"He always contradicts me. (Laughs) For example, I love drinking Coke. When I was filming, Uncle Luo (Wei) bought a dozen Cokes and put two large glasses of ice cubes there for me to drink. After I got married, the original text became clear. The first point is 'Don't drink Coke, you won't die if you don't drink Coke.' I thought, you are right, you won't die if you don't drink Coke, why do I have to drink Coke? I think he is different from others."
Under the aura of a chivalrous woman, Zheng Peipei receives widespread favor. "Suddenly someone sang the opposite, and I felt that this person actually made sense. At least I said the moon was square, and he told me it was not square, but round."
In the United States, Zheng Peipei lived a trivial life as a husband and a child. . In 20 years, she had eight pregnancies and four miscarriages. She considered it her duty to "borrow her belly to bear children for her husband". If she had not given birth to a son for her single husband in 1985, her career of having children would have continued.
Zheng Peipei does not have the martial arts skills of a chivalrous woman, but she undoubtedly has the physique of a chivalrous woman. Four miscarriages did not have a great impact on her body. On the contrary, she also did a lot of work: running dance classes to teach people to dance, and managing department stores. , delivering goods to the buyer's door in person, often delivering large items to the buyer's downstairs, and then notifying the buyer: If there is a man at home, come down and move things together.
"I didn't know how popular I was until I went to the United States." In Chinatown, almost everyone knows Zheng Peipei. One thing the Chinese there often do is guess whether she is carrying a boy or a girl.
This puts a lot of pressure on the original text.
"He himself is under a lot of pressure. Because others will call him Zheng Peipei's husband, some even call him Brother Zheng. It is not easy to find a famous person to be your wife, and this wife also - although she does not want to wear famous brands, she must "It's too ideal and too nihilistic."
She wanted to return to society and wanted to do something for the local Chinese, so she set up a Chinese TV station. Even though she has retired from acting, Zheng Peipei still seems to have brought the role of "Golden Swallow", a highly skilled martial artist, into real life, believing that what she wants can definitely be obtained through her own efforts. When
immigrated to the United States, she thought she would have a happy ending in love. "I didn't expect it. I didn't expect it at all. I thought girls would eventually have a destination. I didn't expect, oh, these things will no longer be seen."
中文Not only was the TV station unsuccessful, it also cost her two to three hundred thousand dollars. Her husband is a businessman and does not support Zheng Peipei's career. Differences grew, and they ended their marriage in 1989. After the divorce, Zheng Peipei, who had always had no concept of money, fell into an unprecedented predicament. She had to make a living alone, and she was required to raise her children with her ex-husband. In addition, she had to repay the debt she owed from the TV station. That money was very important to her. That's a lot of money.
Recently, Zheng Peipei summed up this marriage: "I am not a gentle woman, I am too strong. I think women should not be too strong. Boys will like weaker women more. I am not very like a woman, so my husband treats me Get rid of it."
After the divorce, she lived with her husband for a while without letting her children know. It took a long time for even my mother and sister to learn about Zheng Peipei's divorce.
asked: "You said, 'Outside the play is not the inside of the play.' Didn't you make a distinction at that time?"
Zheng Peipei said: "Yes, I still think about it. Acting must have an ending, but life is actually not that easy. ending, this taught me a big lesson. Although we often say that life is a play, in fact, the play is relatively long. You have to direct, act, and write it yourself, and then you have to bear it all. "
More than 900 years ago, Su Shi experienced the torture of the Wutai Poetry Case and was released from prison after a narrow escape. He wrote with emotion: "I have been tired of writing all my life." Today, Zheng Peipei has summed up the lessons of marriage. It means "the name of a knight in life is Wu Lei".
In despair, Zheng Peipei thought of filming and Hong Kong.
Young Zheng Peipei
The Heroine Enters Hong Kong
In 1946, Zheng Peipei was born in Shanghai. Her father is from Shanghai. The pronunciation of "Peipei" in Shanghainese is close to that of baby. In 1961, she followed her mother to live with her uncle in Hong Kong, where she lived, worked, and became famous. In 1971, she and Yuan Wentong immigrated to the United States.
Now, Zheng Peipei lives in Hong Kong. She likes this place that made her famous. It makes her feel friendly and provides many conveniences for the elderly. Since her comeback, she has not bought a house in Hong Kong and now rents an apartment with her daughter. "I have made arrangements for my old age. The Hong Kong government has an apartment for the elderly. I am currently applying for it and waiting for their approval."
However, when she came to Hong Kong as a teenager, Zheng Peipei did not like this place. Her father was a detective of the Kuomintang. He was imprisoned in the mainland after 1949 and was imprisoned thousands of miles away in Inner Mongolia. In Zheng Peipei's childhood memories, she was from a counter-revolutionary family, so she changed her mother's surname to Zheng. But even so, she could not escape the inherent fate of this group in that era.
"When China was first liberated, things were not like this in China (now). Our education at that time was very polite. My father was not here, and my mother took my younger siblings to Hong Kong very early, leaving me alone. In Shanghai, the security was very good at that time, and the people were very polite, but I always felt excluded because of my poor status, so I felt that even though I was a member of the counter-revolutionary family. It is not necessarily a bourgeois idea, so I have been willing to wear shabby clothes and work harder than others. I have been unconvinced since I was a child. Why do I have to be a counter-revolutionary and bourgeois family member? "
16! When she was 20 years old, she came to Hong Kong unwillingly. “My mother insisted on picking me up and lied to me that my grandma was sick. Grandma loved me very much and was also in Hong Kong. When I came here, I felt that Hong Kong was very rotten. (Here People who often play mahjong and don’t do their job properly.”
With this stubbornness, she entered Shaw Brothers. At that time, the company would invite some martial arts masters to train new people to shoot martial arts films. Zheng Peipei is also among them. When she saw some girls crying because their noses were bleeding after being beaten, she disapproved and thought it was an embarrassment to girls.
Due to her outstanding dancing skills, she was spotted by director Hu Jinquan and let her play the lead role of Jin Yanzi in "The Drunken Man". The film was hailed as the pioneer of new martial arts films and was a huge success upon its release. She soon became a well-known female figure in Hong Kong.
At that time, few people praised her for her beauty, and the praise focused on her was that she could fight. She said that she is not really good at fighting, but that she is better at fighting than other girls and can endure hardships, so she is famous for this. "When I walk on Nathan Road, those 'flying boys' (hooligans) don't dare to touch me. , they don’t know whether my (knowledge of martial arts) is real or fake, this is what I am most proud of.”
What makes her even more proud is that the movies she participated in at that time were all very good at the box office. Over a million. Amazing, amazing! I think this is the most important thing. Everyone has different opinions on whether you are beautiful, right? He thinks you are beautiful, but you may not be very beautiful, right? She was stereotyped and became the martial arts queen in the eyes of the Hong Kong media at that time. Before meeting Yuan Wentong, she fell in love with two people. The first one is Chen Honglie, who plays the villain Jade Faced Tiger in "The Drunken Man"; the second one is Yue Hua, who plays the drunken man Fan Dabei. The relationship with Chen Honglie was short-lived and ended quite dramatically. “Although he said all day long that I was his first girlfriend, we didn’t really get along well. At that time, he was chasing me and Pan Yingzi at the same time. As a result, his brother told me. I was so stupid at that time that he was worried that I would treat Pan Yingzi badly. "
As for Yue Hua, who has been in love for five years, She didn't want to talk about it, "I think we should talk less about him, because he will be beaten when he gets home later. His wife still cares a lot, so I try not to talk about him."
In "The Drunken Man", played by Pan Yingzi An unknown female soldier under Zheng Peipei, Pan later married Chen Honglie. The marriage only lasted 8 years. The martial arts director of "The Drunken Man" is Han Yingjie, and the acting actor is Cheng Xiaodong, who was 13 years old at the time and played the role of a young monk who was blinded by a stabbing in the film.
These people later became well-known figures. Only the absolute protagonist Cheng Peipei not only faded out of the film industry, but also stayed away from the Chinese society for 20 years. During this period, Hong Kong film and television went through a lot of changes, and the younger generations who grew up watching her movies have become the mainstay in this field. The development of information dissemination allows practitioners in this profession to have more aura, and more people come to compete.
Can Zheng Peipei still act?
"Tang Bo Hu Spots the Fragrance of Autumn"
Comeback
html Before her comeback in the 1990s, she was confused about whether she could still act. In addition, she still hopes to stay in the United States so that she can share the responsibility of raising children with her ex-husband—even though she herself is bankrupt. But she soon found herself unable to make a living.“I thought it would be best to stay in the United States, my kids were still so young, so I wanted to find a job.But actually everyone thought I was joking. I went to the restaurant and said, I'll be a washer for you. They think I'm joking. "
In the tangle, she fell into the deepest hesitation in her life, "I will worship whatever anyone tells me. I worship God and recite many sutras, I have done it. Just cut down any tree, and I will cut down that tree. In fact, I later discovered that these were all wrong. Basically, the biggest enemy is myself. As long as I stand up and look forward, everything will be fine. I will cut off all the bad things in front of me and start over. "
She went to Australia to visit her mother, where she met Master again - she had converted to Master Hsing Yun in 1988. Master Hsing Yun told her that she should go back to being "Zheng Peipei" so that she could do more things and help more People - these people naturally include her children. She thought about it and felt that the job she was most qualified for so far was acting. In 1992, she returned to Hong Kong because she had no money to rent, and Master Hsing Yun let her live there. She lived in the Buddhist Temple in Hong Kong for two years. During this period, she lived in seclusion in Hong Kong and helped with morning and evening classes at the Buddhist temple. Her agent, Feng Meiji, told her: Stephen Chow is very popular now and you want to film with him. So, she took over the filming of "Tang Bo Hu Spots the Fragrance of Autumn".
Unlike the film which was full of laughter, during the filming, the set seemed very serious, "If it was too noisy, Stephen Chow and others would not be able to think of anything. You have to be serious, not joking. What I can’t stand the most is the laughing and joking stuff, right? "When
received the script, she only knew that she was playing a martial arts lady, the same as her previous roles. During the filming, Gong Li refused to be funny, so Stephen Chow asked Zheng Peipei if she could try it, and Zheng Peipei said nothing. Then she started selling medicine with Stephen Chow.
The former heroic heroine Jin Yanzi turned into a comedian. She and Stephen Chow made the audience laugh with one selling "Death in a Day" and the other selling "Smiling Half a Step to Madness". , also made Hu Jinquan and Li Hanxiang sad. Director Li Hanxiang said that the role of Mrs. Hua ruined Zheng Peipei.
When faced with the questions from the teachers, Zheng Peipei remained silent, "I think my most important thing now is work. I just think so, we all have to work from now on, and I can’t take money from you, right? One of them is my master and the other is my uncle. They can both talk about me, but I can only listen. I can only listen to what they say to me. "
How does Zheng Peipei view the role of Mrs. Hua now? "I am lucky to have acted in this drama, otherwise not so many people in the mainland would know me. They (Hu Jinquan, Li Hanxiang) don't know, they can't imagine it, because in their imagination I am still a golden swallow. "
When many relatives and friends were still obsessed with the role of Jin Yanzi, Zheng Peipei took the lead to step out. In 1996, Li Hanxiang passed away, and the following year, Hu Jinquan passed away. These two people who made Zheng Peipei grateful for her whole life could not see her in the show. Performance in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". This time, Zheng Peipei plays the villain for the first time - the blue-eyed fox.
Zheng Peipei said, "I believe Director Hu will not like it when he sees it. Because my fans in Malaysia and Singapore were extremely opposed to it, saying it made me look so ugly! In fact, they don't regard me as an actor, they regard me as Zheng Peipei, or the beautiful Zheng Peipei. "
After the divorce, Zheng Peipei never thought about remarrying, "I think marriage is not everything. I have already achieved enough points in the marriage course. Whether it’s giving birth to children or being a wife, you’ve already accomplished enough. If what I want to do in this life is to cultivate that score, I still have acting scores that I haven’t finished yet, so I’m going to come back and cultivate that score. "
In the afternoon, there were gradually more and more people in the dining room. There was a female diner, probably because the restaurant served the wrong dish, and she got into an argument with a tall man who ran the restaurant. Arguing is obviously not a man's strong point. He was very emotional and slightly
Zheng Peipei went downstairs before us. The 68-year-old woman had a light step. When she passed by the man, she stopped, smiled, patted his shoulder lightly with her hand, and then quickly went downstairs to remove the quarrel between the two parties. The chattering was forgotten.
My friend, there are more people in heaven than on earth
Southern People Weekly: What happened to your father after he was imprisoned?
Zheng Peipei: He died in prison in 1963. I only started filming in 1963. I didn't know this news. My uncle told me later when I got married. When I was filming "Girls of the Yang Family", I went to Inner Mongolia to film, which happened to be my father's 100th birthday. I felt that somehow, my father hoped that I could go back to see him and see how he lived at that time.
Southern People Weekly: How did you react when you heard the news of your father’s death?
Zheng Peipei: I was not very close to my father. When I found out that he passed away, it had been almost ten years since his death. It was like a long time ago. So there was no special reaction. But in my mind, it created a big shadow: a child growing up without a father. My marriage is not going well, and I feel sorry for my children because of this. I think no matter what, I hope they have a father and a mother.
Southern People Weekly: Having experienced the death of so many relatives and friends around you, what kind of thoughts do you have on the issue of death now?
Zheng Peipei: In fact, we also stop at one station in this world, and we may meet again at the next station. Many good friends around me have left. Sometimes our good friends don’t meet every day, but if something happens I just say, “Hey, call someone,” and I find that this person can no longer be found by calling. That’s what it feels like, because it’s been happening more and more. Maybe among my friends, there are more in heaven than here.
Southern People Weekly: After became famous after filming "The Drunken Man", has there been any change in your life?
Zheng Peipei: Nothing has changed in . Whatever money I earned since childhood was given to my mother. My mother immigrated to Australia at that time and took away all my salary for several years. So I have to teach dancing and dubbing to support myself.
Southern People Weekly: There are so many directors you have worked with, which ones are the ones you remember most deeply?
Zheng Peipei: That’s really endless. For example, Director Yue Feng, the director of my first play "Lotus Lantern", always told me how to be an upright actor, and told me to be an actor, not a star. I kept his words in my heart, and I gave them to him when he left. Director Hu Jinquan was the person who changed my destiny and had a great influence on me. In fact, it would be great if I could learn from Director Hu and love to read.
No one can really understand you
Southern People Weekly: After going to the United States, did you feel that you were living such a normal life?
Zheng Peipei: I didn’t think about this, I just felt that it was impossible to do what I wanted to do. This is actually my Achilles heel. (Laughs) For example, we moved to a new house and didn’t have enough money to buy curtains. I said it doesn't matter, I can car (make) the curtains. The house was very big, 2,600 square feet, with five or six rooms, and they also wanted it to be wavy like a theater, so I could make it. I still cook, take care of the kids, and car the curtains. If someone is dissatisfied, I take it out and rebuild the car until everyone is satisfied.
Southern People Weekly: After divorce, do you have to pay off the debts alone?
Zheng Peipei: should really be my business, yes.
Southern People Weekly: The debt owed at that time was not to the point of bankrupting the family, right?
Zheng Peipei: Later, after we separated, I personally had no way to maintain it, so I declared bankruptcy and had nothing to do with him.
Southern People Weekly: You once mentioned that your life was in trouble after divorce. And the ex-husband is a businessman, so there was no property division during the divorce?
Zheng Peipei: I feel that I don’t know how to manage money. The four children are still young. At least one of us needs to take responsibility. Besides, those are his hard-earned money, so I didn’t fight for it.
Southern People Weekly: If you could go back in time, which stage in your life would you most like to correct?
Zheng Peipei: In fact, every part is indispensable. You can learn more in adversity than in good times. When I look back now, I think completely differently. There were many things you couldn't get through at that time, but the only one you couldn't get through was yourself. So I basically don’t blame others. When we separated, I saw a psychiatrist, and the doctor said, why don't you blame him? I said because I think there is nothing to complain about, and you have to do it yourself. For example, giving birth to a child is something I want to do, not something he forced me to do with a gun, so I think maybe I can correct any part of it. , I would not be what I am today.
Southern People Weekly: So what were the sad points in your heart at that time?
Zheng Peipei: This person has lived with me for so long, why does he not understand me so well. In fact, no one can truly understand you.
Southern People Weekly: What are the things that he misunderstood or didn’t understand about you?
Zheng Peipei: We have very different concepts about many things. For example, educating children has completely different values: because I didn’t have a father when I was a child, I think children must have a father; he thinks that I didn’t have a father when I was a child, so I don’t understand the importance of a father.
Don’t take gains and losses too seriously
Southern People Weekly: When html came back in the 1890s, the audience in Hong Kong had changed again. Were you worried that the younger generation would completely forget you?
Zheng Peipei: I think I am very lucky. Although the generation has changed, the people who lead this generation all grew up with me, and I was very good to these people when they were young, so They are all good to me. So I think people shouldn’t take gains and losses too seriously.
Southern People Weekly: How did you treat them well back then?
Zheng Peipei: I was the older sister in . It was windy. We were filming a lot of beggar actors, and they couldn't go out. I entertained them on the set, and they all remembered it. Another time, I took a role in Malaysia, and the producer, I forgot his name, said, you know, I am where I am today because of your words.
Southern People Weekly: Which sentence is ?
Zheng Peipei: I don’t know. (Laughs) He said that it was a casual remark I made to someone on the set that helped him, and it later made him what he is today.
Southern People Weekly: How did they help you later?
Zheng Peipei: gives me many opportunities. You see, no matter which movie, especially the action movie, their martial arts or martial arts are all our small martial arts in the past, they all regard me as a relative. So I often say that I don’t need them to hire assistants for me all the time. Everyone is my assistant. (laughing)
Southern People Weekly: When html returned to Hong Kong in the 1890s, how did you face your old friends?
Zheng Peipei: At that time, I was living in a Buddhist temple, and gradually I started to keep in touch with friends. Some of my old friends at the time, such as Director Hu, Uncle Luo, and Mr. Yue, I believe they slowly began to feel that since I could accept it, they could accept it too, right?
Southern People Weekly: Where were your peers at that time? For example, Chen Honglie and others.
Zheng Peipei: Chen Honglie was the one who helped me the most. He quickly introduced me to Zhou Linggang and went to Beijing to shoot "Ma Yongzhen" for almost a year and a half. This was the most difficult time for me.
Southern People Weekly: had already filmed "Tang Bohu Spots Autumn Fragrance" at that time, was it still very difficult financially?
Zheng Peipei: is still very difficult. It’s hard financially and it’s hard to work. Not that easy. My financial problems didn't get better until I filmed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
In 2009, Yue Hua, Chen Honglie and I both appeared on Sandra Ng and Qian Jiale's "Stars Alumni Reunion" program.When I looked at three people that day, I felt that he felt better than Yue Hua and I, and he seemed to be physically stronger than us. He kept telling me that he would not live past the age of 67, and it was a fortune teller who told him so. I scolded him all day long because he had a very young child, so I said, if you pat your butt and leave, what will you do with your child? I say that to him every time. I didn't expect that he would leave so suddenly (Note: In 2009, Chen Honglie died of a heart attack while filming in Hong Kong). We still have a lot of things that we haven't talked about.
Southern People Weekly: Blue Eyes Fox made you win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. How did you feel after receiving this award? You must know that you were a very popular heroine back then.
Zheng Peipei: I was very grateful at the time, grateful to these people for helping me when I was in the most difficult time. In fact, it doesn’t matter if it’s the heroine or the supporting actress, it’s just that they identify with me. In life, you are always your own protagonist, and you need to go all the way. What you do is work, not something that needs to be attached to.
(Intern reporters Zeng Lin and Lin Ting also contributed to this article)
Southern People Weekly reporter Zou Jincan Intern reporter Yang Zhou
Editor-in-chief Yang Jingru
