Ji Qilin (born 27 May 1947) is a Chinese actor.

Ji Qilin
Born (1947-05-27) May 27, 1947 (age 77)
Spouse
Zhang Bailing (张百灵)
(m. 1973)
ChildrenJi Chenmu
Chinese name
Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJī Qílín

Biography

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Ji Qilin was born in 1947 to two deployed soldiers on their way south during the Chinese Civil War. Because of the war, he grew up in his grandmother's house in Liaocheng, Shandong until the age of 5, when he and his grandmother joined his parents in Beijing.[1] When he was 11, he was admitted to Beijing Chinese Opera School (北京戏曲学校). Two years later, his parents were relocated to Guangzhou, leaving Ji Qilin by himself in Beijing. At school, he trained to become a Peking opera wusheng performer under Hou Hailin (侯海林), a disciple of Yang Xiaolou.[2] In 1963, after eight years of dedicated practice, Ji Qilin received a perfect score for his graduation performance, the first in school history.[1]

Instead of becoming a star performer as everyone had predicted, Ji Qilin saw his dream dashed with the advent of the Cultural Revolution, which banned all traditional Chinese operas. In 1968, Ji Qilin was "sent down" to work in a salt mine in Tianjin. After an attempt to star in revolutionary operas proved unsuccessful, he decided to become a modern dancer. At that time, his newlywed wife Zhang Bailing (张百灵) was working as a stage actress for the Kunming Military Region (昆明军区) in Kunming, and Ji Qilin managed to join the army in Kunming to be with her. He was already 23 with no background in dancing. In order to take on non-extra roles, Ji Qilin had to work much harder than everyone else: he woke up one hour earlier and practiced until late in the evening. His dedication paid off: he was given main roles in the ballet Red Detachment of Women.[2]

Just then the Cultural Revolution ended, and in 1978, Ji Qilin made another career change: he returned to Beijing to enroll in the China National Opera & Drama Dance Theatre so that he could star in dance dramas (舞剧), which sought to combine traditional art forms with western-imported modern dance. Again, Ji Qilin worked extremely hard and came to be recognized as one of the best dancers in China. However, by his late 30s he was increasingly battling back injuries. At that time, his young son Ji Chenmu acted in some films. Encouraged by Zhang Bailing, Ji Chenmu changed his career yet again: he followed his son and became a film and television actor.[2]

Filmography

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Film

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Year English title Original title Role Notes
1982 Sword Prince Musical film
1983 The Legend of Sculptor Chang 泥人常傳奇 Qianlong Emperor
1985 Kung Fu Hero Wang Wu 大刀王五 Tan Sitong
1986 The White Dragon Sword 白龍劍 Du Baojie
1987 Woman Demon Human 人鬼情 Teacher Zhang
1988 Zhu De and Fan Shisheng 相遇貴相知 Fan Shisheng TV film
1993 The Sword of Many Loves 飛狐外傳 Fuk'anggan
Kung Fu Cult Master 倚天屠龍記之魔教教主 Zhu Yuanzhang
2009 The Price 买单 Zhou Houde
2010 Shining Life 闪亮的青春 Shi Jianguo
The Dream of Mr. Lee 小人物狂想曲 Mr. Bai
2011 Golden Chili Pepper 金椒 Zhao Qinian
2013 Clock of God 天钟 Xia Xin

TV and film series

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Year English title Original title Role Notes
1985 Master Haideng 海燈法師 Hu Chun
Yue Fei 岳飛 Yue Fei
1988 A Dream of Red Mansions 紅樓夢 Jia Lian
1990 The Story of the Great Wall 长城故事 Qin Shi Huang
1991 Sombre Night 夜深沉 Adjutant Li
1992 Revolution in 1911 辛亥首義 Sun Yat-sen
1994 Big Boss Cheng Changgeng 大老板程長庚 Cheng Changgeng
Mei Lanfang 梅兰芳 Feng Gengguang
1995 This Life of Ours 今生今世 Ma Songnian
1996 Shanghai Tango 上海探戈 He's father
New Dragon Gate Inn 新龍門客棧 Dorgon
1997 Swallow Li San 燕子李三 Li Xian
1999 Red Crag 紅岩 Liu Erge
2000 Bleeding Love and Revenge 碧血情仇
The Great Emperor Guangwu 光武大帝 Cen Peng
2002 Ode to Gallantry 俠客行 Shi Qing
2003 The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber 倚天屠龍記 Yin Tianzheng
Lady Wu: The First Empress 至尊紅顏 Li Yuanji
Bandits of Guanzhong 關中匪事 Xu Yunqing
Birthday Celebration by Five Daughters 新五女拜壽 Liang Chaochen
2004 Genius Physician 神醫俠侶 Liu Yuan
So It Is You 原來就是你 Du Zhen
Wudang 武當 Qiu Chuji
Miracle 奇迹 Zhang Jie
2005 Strange Tales of Liao Zhai 聊齋志異 Wang Pupin
Wind and Cloud 2 風雲2 Qin Shi Huang
Happy 7 Fairies 歡天喜地七仙女 Bare-foot Immortal
2007 Sword Stained with Royal Blood 碧血劍 Taoist Musang
The Gold Convoyers 鏢行天下 Shen Rong
Special Mission 2 特殊使命2:亂世女兒紅
Roaming the World with a Sword 劍行天下 Yang Tianpeng
2008 Tiger Mountain 虎山行 Li Qingtian
Taiwan 1895 台灣·一八九五 Prince Gong
The Legend of the Condor Heroes 射鵰英雄傳 Wang Chongyang
2009 Look at Flower in Fog 雾里看花 Mr. Ge
A Beautiful Daughter-in-law Era 媳妇的美好时代 Yu Hongshui
2011 We Are Family 我们是一家人 Zhao Pengfei
Get Married at 30 三十而嫁 Yu Yuanzhi
2012 Mother-in-Law's Happy Life 岳母的幸福生活 Zhao Baofu
Secret Battle in Emei 密戰峨嵋 Dong Ji
2013 When Tianzhen Meets Xianshi 天真遇到现实 Yang Tianzhen's father
The Third Kind of Happiness 第三种幸福 Ren Huanting
2015 Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon 风花雪月
Happiness Returns 幸福归来
Mum Go Go Go 妈妈向前冲 Yin's father
2016 Not Easy to Raise a Child 养个孩子不容易

References

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  1. ^ a b "姬麒麟:通往桂冠之路充满荆棘" [Ji Qilin: The Road to Honor Is Bound to Be Thorny]. 我是文艺兵 [I Am an Entertainer Soldier] (in Chinese). 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Amei (阿梅). "精采的人生:记传奇人物姬麒麟" [A Spectacular Life: The Legendary Ji Qilin]. Big Stage (大舞台) (in Chinese): 34–38 – via CNKI.
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