Ma Shaohua (born 23 September 1955) is a Chinese actor best known for portraying historical figures such as

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

and

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...

in several films and television series. He became widely known to audiences with ''

Towards the Republic ''Towards the Republic'', also known as ''For the Sake of the Republic'' and ''Zou Xiang Gong He'' (), is a Chinese historical television series first broadcast on CCTV in China from April to May 2003. The series is based on events which occurred ...

'', ''

The Emperor in Han Dynasty ''The Emperor in Han Dynasty'', also released under the title ''The Emperor Han Wu'' in some countries, is a 2005 Chinese historical drama television series based on the life of Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. It uses the histori ...

'', ''

The Rise of the Tang Empire ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', and ''

Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads ''Deng Xiaoping at History's Crossroads'' () is a 2014 TV biopic series based on the life of Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who serv ...

''.

Early life and education

Ma was born into a

Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

family in

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

, on 23 September 1955. After the third grade of primary school, he attended Beijing Opera Class of Guizhou Art School, studying ''Laosheng''. In 1969, he became an actor at the Cultural Work Corps of Guizhou Military District and moved to Guizhou Modern Drama Troupe in 1975. After resuming the college entrance examination, in 1978, he entered

Shanghai Theatre Academy Shanghai Theatre Academy () is a public university in Shanghai, People's Republic of China dedicated to dramatic art education. Its predecessor was Shanghai Municipal Experimental Theatre School cofounded by the famous educator Gu Yuxiu (:zh:顾 ...

, majoring in comedy.

Acting career

Ma made his screen debut with a supporting role as

in ''Li Dazhao'' (1989). In 1997, Ma made his film debut with a small role in the

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

''The Ninth Battalion''. In 2000, he portrayed Sun Yat-sen in the biographical television series ''Civilian President''. Ma starred as Sun Yat-sen, reuniting him with co-star Zhou Li, who played

Song Qingling Rosamond Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 189329 May 1981) was a Chinese political figure. As the third wife of Sun Yat-sen, then Premier of the Kuomintang and President of the Republic of China, she was often referred to as Madame Sun Yat-sen. ...

, in the 2001

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

''Twelve Years of Wind and Rain''. In 2002, he guest-starred on the historical television series ''

'', playing Sun Yat-sen. Ma took the lead role as

Zhang Daqian Chang Dai-chien or Zhang Daqian (; 10 May 1899 – 2 April 1983) was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a '' guohua'' (traditionalist) painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned ...

in the 2003 biographical television series ''Legend of Dun Huang: Zhang Daqian''. In 2005, he participated in ''

'' as , prime minister of the

Han Empire The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. Ma co-starred with Ma Yue and Jin Shijie in the 2006 historical television series ''

'' as

Zhangsun Wuji Zhangsun Wuji (; died 659), courtesy name Fuji (輔機), formally the Duke of Zhao, was a Chinese politician who served as a chancellor in the early Tang dynasty. He was Empress Zhangsun's brother, which made him a brother-in-law of Emperor Taiz ...

, the prime minister of

Tang Empire The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. In 2009, he appeared in

Ning Hao Ning Hao (; born 9 September 1977) is a Chinese film director. Ning studied at the Taiyuan Film School, where he majored in scenic design. He later transferred to the Art Department of Peking University. Ning eventually graduated from the Beij ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

film ''

Crazy Racer ''Crazy Racer'', also known in some countries as ''Silver Medalist'', is a 2009 Chinese black comedy film directed and written by Ning Hao and stars Huang Bo. It was filmed mostly in the southern coastal city of Xiamen. Plot The plot follows fou ...

'', playing the coach of

Huang Bo Huang Bo (; born August 26, 1974) is a Chinese actor, film director, singer and the current vice-chairman of China Film Association. He is the winner of multiple Chinese film awards, and ranked 34th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, ...

's character. For his role in ''Yimeng'', Ma was nominated Outstanding Actor at the 28th

Flying Apsaras Awards China TV Drama Flying Apsaras Awards (), also known as Flying Apsaras Awards or simply Feitian Awards, is a biennial awards ceremony awarding excellent achievement in Chinese television. Named after the ''Gandhanra'' aka ''Flying Apsaras'', the a ...

. That same year, he was nominated for Best Actor at the 25th

China TV Golden Eagle Award The China TV Golden Eagle Award (), commonly known in China as the Golden Eagle Awards, is one of three main national award ceremonies recognising excellence in the Chinese television industry. The award is presented by the China Television Artist ...

for his performance in ''Stranger''. In 2011, he appeared in the propaganda film ''

The Founding of a Party ''The Founding of a Party'', alternatively titled in English ''Beginning of the Great Revival'' for its international release,Patrick Frater, 21 May 2011Party becomes Revival for int'l release, Film Business Asia is a Chinese propaganda film relea ...

'', in which he played Sun Yat-sen. In 2014, Ma was cast in the war television series ''All Quiet in Peking''. Ma's performance in ''

'' which garnered him Best Actor Award at the 18th Chunyan Awards, Outstanding Contribution Award at the 21st

Shanghai Television Festival The Shanghai Television Festival (), abbreviated STVF, also known as the Shanghai International Television Festival is the first and one of the largest television festivals in East Asia. Held since 1986, STVF has become one of the most influential ...

, and 13th Sichuan TV Festival nomination for Best Actor in Long TV Series. In 2017, he was cast in the

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

Surgeons In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

'', opposite

Jin Dong Jin Dong (, born 22 December 1976) is a Chinese actor. He is known for his television roles in ''Legend of Entrepreneurship'' (2012), '' The Disguiser'' (2015), '' Candle in the Tomb'' (2016), ''Surgeons'' (2017) and '' The First Half of My Life ...

Bai Baihe Bai Baihe (, born 1 March 1984) is a Chinese actress. She was among the highest paid film actresses in China. She is best known for her roles in such films as '' Love is Not Blind'', ''Personal Tailor'', ''Monster Hunt'' and ''Go Away Mr. Tumo ...

, and

Li Jiahang Li Jiahang (; born March 8, 1987) is a Chinese actor. Life and career Li Jiahang was born in Anshan, Liaoning. He graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2010. In ''New My Fair Princess'', he played the role of Fu Erkang. He then starred in ...

. In 2021, he portrayed

Cai Yuanpei Cai Yuanpei (; 1868–1940) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Pek ...

in the propaganda television series ''The Awakeing Age'' and joined the main cast of ''Our Southwest Associated University'' as

Feng Youlan Feng Youlan (; 4 December 1895 – 26 November 1990) was a Chinese philosopher, historian, and writer who was instrumental for reintroducing the study of Chinese philosophy in the modern era. The name he published under in English was 'Fung ...

. He also filmed in the biographical

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

'' The Pioneer'' as Sun Yat-sen.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Shaohua 1955 births Living people Hui male actors Actors from Guizhou Shanghai Theatre Academy alumni Chinese male film actors Chinese male television actors