Ji Qilin (born 27 May 1947) is a Chinese actor.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. When he was 11, he was admitted to
Beijing Chinese Opera School (åŒ—äº¬æˆ æ›²å¦æ ¡). 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. In
1963, after eight years of dedicated practice, Ji Qilin received a
perfect score for his graduation performance, the first in school
history.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 (å¼ ç™¾ç µ) 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.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.
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. When he was 11, he was admitted to
Beijing Chinese Opera School (åŒ—äº¬æˆ æ›²å¦æ ¡). 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. In
1963, after eight years of dedicated practice, Ji Qilin received a
perfect score for his graduation performance, the first in school
history.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 (å¼ ç™¾ç µ) 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.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.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.