Jiang Wen
# Jiang Wen

Jiang Wen (born 5 January 1963) is a Chinese actor, screenwriter, and director. As a director, he is sometimes grouped with the "Sixth Generation" that emerged in the 1990s. Jiang is also well known internationally as an actor, having starred with Gong Li in Zhang Yimou's debut film Red Sorghum (1986), and more recently as Baze Malbus in the Star Wars film Rogue One (2016). He is the older brother of fellow actor Jiang Wu.

## Career

Born in Tangshan, Hebei, in a family of military personnel, Jiang relocated to Beijing at the age of ten. In 1973 he attended Beijing No. 72 Middle School, where he studied alongside Ying Da. In 1980, he entered China's foremost acting school, the Central Academy of Drama, graduating in 1984. After graduation, he was assigned to China Youth Art Institute as an actor. That same year, he started acting both on the stage (with the China Youth Theater) and in films.

Jiang's debut role was in the film The Last Empress, where he portrayed Puyi. He then starred in Hibiscus Town directed by Xie Jin; his role as an intellectual revolutionary earned him the Best Actor Award at the Hundred Flowers Awards. Jiang once again paired with Hibiscus Town co-star in the film Chun Tao directed by Ling Zifeng. Jiang was cast in Zhang Yimou's debut film Red Sorghum.

Jiang also featured in the France-Chinese film Tears of the Bridal Sedan, and his first commercial film The Trial.

After appearing in many television series and films, Jiang became known in China for his role in the 1992 television series A Native of Beijing in New York, based on the novel Beijinger in New York, which made him one of the most popular actors of his generation. In addition to these he also starred in Black Snow (1990), Li Lianying: The Imperial Eunuch (1991), The Emperor's Shadow (1996), and The Soong Sisters (1997). Apart from Red Sorghum, Jiang also collaborated with Zhang Yimou for the 1997 film Keep Cool.

Jiang wrote and directed his first film in 1994, In the Heat of the Sun, adapted from a novel by Wang Shuo. A tale set in the Cultural Revolution, it won for its young lead actor Xia Yu the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival and garnered six Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.

In 2000, Jiang co-wrote and directed the black comedy film Devils on the Doorstep. The film premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and clinched the Grand Prix but was subsequently banned in its home country; said to undermine the country because it "seriously distorts Chinese history". Jiang himself was banned from making films for seven years. In 2001 he was a member of the jury at the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival.

Jiang starred in several films in the early 2000s; namely The Missing Gun, Green Tea, My Father and I, Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Jasmine Women and Letter from an Unknown Woman.

Jiang has also acted in television series, such as Da Qing Fengyun (2006), in which he played Hong Taiji. He also played notable historical figures, Mao Renfeng in the propaganda film The Founding of a Republic; and Cao Cao in the historical war film The Lost Bladesman.

Jiang returned with his fourth feature The Sun Also Rises in 2007; a fantasy realism film which contains a polyptych of interconnected stories in different time-zones; the film received positive reviews from critics but bombed at the box office. He then collaborated with 10 other directors on the romance anthology film New York, I Love You.

Jiang's fifth feature, a Western-styled action comedy Let the Bullets Fly set a box office record by becoming the fastest Chinese-language film to break RMB100m mark ($15.15m) in Chinese cinemas; and received critical acclaim.

In 2013 he was named as a member of the jury at the 70th Venice International Film Festival.

In 2014, Jiang directed the action comedy film Gone with the Bullets, which screened at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.

Jiang co-starred in the Star Wars anthology film Rogue One, released in December 2016. In the film, he portrays Baze Malbus, a native of the moon of Jedha who is drawn into the war against the Galactic Empire.

In 2018, Jiang directed the Republican-era spy comedy Hidden Man. The film was China's submission to the 91st Academy Awards.

Jiang is set to return to the small screen in upcoming historical drama Cao Cao.

## Personal life

### Family

Jiang Wen's father is Jiang Hongqi, a veteran of the Korean War. Described as taciturn and bookish, he played a minor role in his son's 2011 film, Let the Bullets Fly. Jiang's mother Gao Yang — “a cheerful, extroverted woman” — worked as a piano teacher. Jiang Wen is the eldest son in the family; in addition to his younger brother, Jiang Wu, he has a younger sister, Jiang Huan.

Close to his family, Jiang has a deep bond with his parents: whenever he is on site for shooting or acting, he arranges for them to come to his workplace so that he can spend time with them. Each movie he makes, he saves the best seats for them and asks for their opinions. Even on artistic composition, he sometimes resorts to them for advice. It was his parents' endorsement on the original novel of A Native of Beijing in New York that propelled Jiang into his performance. Later, during the filming of his first feature film, In the Heat of the Sun, Jiang again considered their evaluation of Xia Yu, before settling on him as the leading actor.

### Relationships

Jiang met his first partner, Liu Xiaoqing during the production of his debut film Hibiscus Town. As he was 23 and she was 31, their relationship was controversial in the entertainment industry at that time, although it was reported that the crew was very supportive of their relationship. Liu Xiaoqing never confirmed the relationship, but only claimed that the media pressure was so suffocating that she once considered going abroad. Years later at one ceremony, Director Xie Jin finally verified this rumor, revealing that they had actually lived together for three years. Liu and Jiang separated amicably in 1994.

In 1995, Jiang began a relationship with Sandrine Chenivesse, a Doctor of Anthropology at the University of Paris, researching philosophy and Taoism in China, at an artistic event. They married in Paris in 1997 and had a daughter together, but the marriage remained discreet until their appearance on the red carpet of the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, Chenivesse announced their divorce, citing long-distance separation as the cause.

In 2001, during the filming of Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Jiang was introduced to cast member Zhou Yun, by fellow actress Zhao Wei. Later, Jiang recommended Zhou to the cast of The Music Box, but each left the crew after a creative difference between Jiang and the director Chen Yifei. Jiang and Zhou married in 2005 and have two sons together.

## Filmography

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1986 | The Last Empress 末代皇后 | Puyi | |
| 1986 | Hibiscus Town 芙蓉镇 | Qiu Shutian | |
| 1986 | Tears of the Bridal Sedan 花轿泪 | | |
| 1987 | Red Sorghum 红高梁 | My grandpapa | |
| 1989 | Chun Tao 春桃 | Wen Chiang | |
| 1990 | Black Snow 本命年 | Li Huiquan | |
| 1991 | Li Lianying: The Imperial Eunuch 大太监李莲英 | Li Lianying | |
| 1993 | The Trail 大路 | Chinese policeman | |
| 1994 | In the Heat of the Sun 阳光灿烂的日子 | Ma Xiaojun (adult) | Director; writer |
| 1996 | The Emperor's Shadow 秦颂 | Ying Zheng | |
| 1997 | Keep Cool 有话好好说 | Bookseller | |
| 1997 | The Soong Sisters 宋家皇朝 | Charlie Soong | |
| 2000 | Devils on the Doorstep 鬼子来了 | Ma Dasan | Director; writer |
| 2002 | The Missing Gun 寻枪 | Ma Shan | |
| 2003 | Green Tea 绿茶 | Chen Mingliang | |
| 2003 | My Father and I 我和爸爸 | | |
| 2003 | Warriors of Heaven and Earth 天地英雄 | Lieutenant Li | |
| 2004 | Jasmine Women 茉莉花开 | Mr. Meng | |
| 2004 | Letter from an Unknown Woman 一个陌生女人的来信 | Writer / Mr. Xu | |
| 2007 | The Sun Also Rises 太阳照常升起 | Tang Yunlin | Director; writer |
| 2008 | New York, I Love You 纽约，我爱你 | | Director |
| 2009 | The Founding of a Republic 建国大业 | Mao Renfeng | |
| 2010 | Let the Bullets Fly 让子弹飞 | Zhang Mazi (Zhang Muzhi) | Director; writer |
| 2011 | The Lost Bladesman 关云长 | Cao Cao | |
| 2014 | Gone with the Bullets 一步之遥 | Ma Zouri | Director |
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 侠盗一号：星球大战外传 | Baze Malbus | |
| 2018 | Hidden Man 邪不压正 | Lan Qingfeng | Director; writer |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1993 | Beijinger in New York 北京人在纽约 | Wang Qiming | |
| 1997 | A Sentimental Story 一场风花雪月的事 | | Producer |
| 2005 | Lotus Lantern 宝莲灯 | Chenxiang | |
| 2006 | Da Qing Fengyun 大清风云 | Hong Taiji | |

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1987 | 10th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actor | Hibiscus Town |
| 1989 | 12th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Actor | Chun Tao |
| 1989 | 2nd Golden Phoenix Awards | Society Award | Red Sorghum |
| 1994 | 12th China TV Golden Eagle Award | Best Actor | A Native of Beijing in New York |
| 1996 | 33rd Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards | Best Director | In the Heat of the Sun |
| 1996 | 33rd Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards | Best Original Screenplay | In the Heat of the Sun |
| 1998 | 17th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Soong Sisters |
| 2000 | 53rd Cannes Film Festival | Grand Prize of the Jury | Devils on the Doorstep |
| 2001 | 54th Cannes Film Festival | France Culture Award - Foreign Cineaste of the Year | Devils on the Doorstep |
| 2003 | 3rd Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actor | The Missing Gun |
| 2003 | 3rd Chinese Film Media Awards | Most Popular Actor | The Missing Gun |
| 2003 | 12th Shanghai Film Critics Awards | Best Actor | The Missing Gun |
| 2004 | 4th Chinese Film Media Awards | Most Popular Actor | Warriors of Heaven and Earth |
| 2004 | 11th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Most Popular Actor | Warriors of Heaven and Earth |
| 2005 | 10th Golden Phoenix Awards | Society Award | Warriors of Heaven and Earth |
| 2007 | 44th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards | Best Film Editing | The Sun Also Rises |
| 2008 | 21st Tokyo International Film Festival | Asian Film Award - Special Mention | The Sun Also Rises |
| 2011 | 20th Shanghai Film Critics Awards | Best Actor | The Lost Bladesman |
| 2011 | 48th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Let the Bullets Fly |
| 2011 | 11th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Director | Let the Bullets Fly |
| 2012 | 3rd China Film Director's Guild Awards | Best Director | Let the Bullets Fly |
| 2014 | 17th Shanghai International Film Festival | Outstanding Contribution Award | — |
