Zhao Benshan
Encyclopedia
Zhao Benshan is a Chinese
skit
and sitcom actor, and recently turned TV director. He appears regularly on the CCTV New Year's Gala
.
, Liaoning
, in a peasant family, he was orphaned when he was 6. Apprenticed to his uncle, he learned many local traditional performance arts, including erhu
and Er Ren Zhuan
.
Jiang Kun
, a Xiangsheng
artist, recommend him to the 1987 CCTV New Year's Gala, a TV program broadcast all around China. After his first appearance, he had appeared in each Gala show every year except in 1994. His performances have included "Yesterday, today and Tomorrow", and "Fixing up the house".
Zhao has appeared as an actor in many films, including Zhang Yimou
's Happy Times
(2000) where he played an aging bachelor dying to get hitched.
Zhao has appeared as the main character in Liu Laogen and Ma Dashuai
, as well as a secondary character in Rural Love and their sequels.
Zhao was nominated for the Best Actor Award for his performance in Getting Home
at the 2007 Golden Horse Awards, held in Taipei
on the 8th of December, 2007. He did not win however, losing to Tony Leung Chiu-Wai for his work in Lust, Caution
.
Zhao also took part in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay by being a torchbearer in the Liaoning
leg of the relay in Shenyang
city, capital of China's Liaoning
province. In 2009, Zhao is studying in the 4th intake CEO class at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business
. In September 2009, Zhao was in the news again following a cerebral aneurysm
rupture. He is said to be in a stable condition after an operation, although close associates have mentioned that he often felt unwell in recent years when he is exhausted on the set.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
skit
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
and sitcom actor, and recently turned TV director. He appears regularly on the CCTV New Year's Gala
CCTV New Year's Gala
The CCTV New Year's Gala is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Central Television. Broadcast on the eve of Chinese New Year on its flagship CCTV-1, satellite channels CCTV-4, CCTV-9, CCTV-E, CCTV-F, and CCTV-HD, the broadcast has a yearly viewership of over 700 million viewers, making it...
.
Biography
Born in Shizui Cottage in Lianhua Village, Kaiyuan County in TielingTieling
Tieling is a prefecture-level city in Liaoning province of the People's Republic of China.The population is 3 million at the 2nd of 2004. Tieling is a city where coal mining is an important industry.The mayor of Tieling is Li Wenke...
, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
, in a peasant family, he was orphaned when he was 6. Apprenticed to his uncle, he learned many local traditional performance arts, including erhu
Erhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
and Er Ren Zhuan
Er Ren Zhuan
Er ren zhuan is a genre of local folk dance and song from Northeast China. It usually consists of two people, a boy and a girl. They sing as well as dance, using folded fans or red square handkerchiefs during the dancing portion. It is enjoyed by a majority of uneducated rural people of Northern...
.
Jiang Kun
Jiang Kun
Jiang Kun is a Chinese football player who currently plays for Shanghai Shenhua.-Bayi Football Team:Jiang Kun started his professional football career in 1997 with Bayi Football Team after graduating from their youth team...
, a Xiangsheng
Xiangsheng
Xiangsheng , sometimes translated as crosstalk, is a traditional Chinese comedic performance in the form of a dialogue between two performers, or, much less often, a solo monologue or, even less frequently, a multi-player talk show. The language, rich in puns and allusions, is delivered in a rapid,...
artist, recommend him to the 1987 CCTV New Year's Gala, a TV program broadcast all around China. After his first appearance, he had appeared in each Gala show every year except in 1994. His performances have included "Yesterday, today and Tomorrow", and "Fixing up the house".
Zhao has appeared as an actor in many films, including Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
's Happy Times
Happy Times
Happy Times is a 2000 tragicomedy film directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, starring Zhao Benshan and Dong Jie. It is based loosely on the short story, Shifu: You'll Do Anything for a Laugh by Mo Yan; the story appears in English translation in the collection of the same title translated by...
(2000) where he played an aging bachelor dying to get hitched.
Zhao has appeared as the main character in Liu Laogen and Ma Dashuai
Ma Dashuai
Ma Dashuai is a Chinese-language drama–comedy TV series that was filmed and aired in China in three installments of approximately 30 episodes each from 2004 to 2006...
, as well as a secondary character in Rural Love and their sequels.
Zhao was nominated for the Best Actor Award for his performance in Getting Home
Getting Home
Getting Home is a 2007 Chinese comedy/drama film directed by Zhang Yang and starring Chinese comedian Zhao Benshan. The film is episodic in nature and follows two workers in their 50's, Zhao and Liu...
at the 2007 Golden Horse Awards, held in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
on the 8th of December, 2007. He did not win however, losing to Tony Leung Chiu-Wai for his work in Lust, Caution
Lust, Caution
Lust, Caution is an 2007 Chinese espionage thriller film directed by Ang Lee, based on the novella of the same name published in 1950 by Chinese author Eileen Chang. The story is mostly set in Hong Kong in 1938 and in Shanghai in 1942, when it was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army and ruled by...
.
Zhao also took part in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay by being a torchbearer in the Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
leg of the relay in Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
city, capital of China's Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
province. In 2009, Zhao is studying in the 4th intake CEO class at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business , . Established in November 2002 with the financial backing of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, CKGSB is one of the leading business schools in China...
. In September 2009, Zhao was in the news again following a cerebral aneurysm
Cerebral aneurysm
A cerebral or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel.- Signs and symptoms :...
rupture. He is said to be in a stable condition after an operation, although close associates have mentioned that he often felt unwell in recent years when he is exhausted on the set.
Filmography
- Don't Kidding Me (1987)
- Xian Shi Huo Bao (1990)
- Whoever Comes Is a Guest (1990)
- Keep CoolKeep Cool (film)Keep Cool is a 1997 Chinese black comedy directed by Zhang Yimou and adapted from the novel Evening Papers News by Shu Ping. The film about a bookseller in love in 1990s Beijing, marked a move away from earlier period pictures of Zhang's earlier work to a more realistic Cinéma vérité-like period...
(1997) - Poet reader - The Emperor and the AssassinThe Emperor and the AssassinThe Emperor and the Assassin, also known as The First Emperor, is a 1998 Chinese historical romance film based primarily on Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin, as described in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. The film was directed by Chen Kaige and stars Gong Li, Zhang...
(1999) - Gao JianliGao JianliGao Jianli was a citizen of Yan, a Chinese state during the Warring States Period, and a player of the zhu . After Jing Ke was killed in his assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang, Gao changed his name and became an assistant in a wine shop as Qin Shi Huang retaliated against all friends of Jing Ke... - Happy TimesHappy TimesHappy Times is a 2000 tragicomedy film directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, starring Zhao Benshan and Dong Jie. It is based loosely on the short story, Shifu: You'll Do Anything for a Laugh by Mo Yan; the story appears in English translation in the collection of the same title translated by...
(2000) - Zhao - Getting HomeGetting HomeGetting Home is a 2007 Chinese comedy/drama film directed by Zhang Yang and starring Chinese comedian Zhao Benshan. The film is episodic in nature and follows two workers in their 50's, Zhao and Liu...
(2007) - A Simple Noodle Story (2009)
- The GrandmastersThe GrandmastersThe Grandmasters is an upcoming Hong Kong action drama film based on the life story of Wing Chun grandmaster Yip Man. The film is directed and written by Wong Kar-wai and stars Tony Leung as Yip Man.-Cast:* Tony Leung as Yip Man* Zhang Ziyi...
(2010) - Just Call Me NobodyJust Call Me NobodyJust Call Me Nobody is a 2010 comedy-martial arts film directed by Kevin Chu. The film is about a bumbling cobbler who becomes a martial arts master.-Plot summary:...
(2010) - The Founding of a PartyThe Founding of a PartyThe Founding of a Party, alternatively titled in English Beginning of the Great Revival for its international release, is a Chinese film released in 2011 to mark the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party of China...
(2011) - Duan QiruiDuan QiruiDuan Qirui was a Chinese warlord and politician, commander in the Beiyang Army, and the Provisional Chief Executive of Republic of China from November 24, 1924 to April 20, 1926. He was arguably the most powerful man in China from 1916 to 1920.- Early life :Born in Hefei as Duan Qirui , his...
Television series
- Liu Laogen - (2002) Title character
- Ma DashuaiMa DashuaiMa Dashuai is a Chinese-language drama–comedy TV series that was filmed and aired in China in three installments of approximately 30 episodes each from 2004 to 2006...
- (2004) Title character