''My Uncle Zhou Enlai'' () is a 2016 Chinese historical biographical television series directed by Chen Li and written by Zhang Fachun, starring

Sun Weimin Sun Weimin (; born 14 July 1955) is a Chinese actor best known for typecasting Zhou Enlai in film and television. He first garnered recognition for his acting in 2013, when his performance in ''The Story of Zhou Enlai'' and earned him a Best Acto ...

as the

Chinese premier The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

. The series also features

Huang Wei Huang Wei (; 1904–1989) was a Chinese Nationalist military general who fought in the Encirclement Campaigns, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. Early life and career Huang was born into a rural intellectual family in Guixi, Jiang ...

Tang Guoqiang Tang Guoqiang (born 4 May 1952) is a Chinese actor best known for portraying historical figures in several films and television series. Some of his more notable roles include: various Chinese emperors (e.g. Emperor Taizong of Tang, Yongle Emper ...

, Ma Xiaowei, Lu Qi, Wang Wufu, Yang Buting and Zhao Liqiang. The script was loosely based on Zhou Enlai's niece Zhou Bingde's biography of the same name, and covers Zhou's life from the establishment of the Communist State to his death in 1976, focusing on his efforts to make the new China strong. The series was aired on

CCTV-1 CCTV-1 (CCTV General Channel) is the primary channel of CCTV, the national flagship terrestrial television network of the People's Republic of China. It broadcasts a range of programs from CCTV Headquarters at East 3rd Ring Road in Beijing and ...

on July 4, 2016.

Synopsis

This drama describes the life of

, who serves as

Premier of the People's Republic of China The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...

, from the founding of the Communist State in 1949 to 1976 until his death.

Cast

** Hou Xianglin as young Zhou Enlai * Huang Wei as

Deng Yingchao Deng Yingchao (; 4 February 1904 – 11 July 1992) was the Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1983 to 1988, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, and the wife of the first Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai. E ...

Communist Party

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

* Lu Qi as

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 ...

* Wang Wufu as

Zhu De Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...

* Yang Buting as

Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and C ...

* Zhao Liqiang as

Xi Zhongxun Xi Zhongxun (15 October 1913 – 24 May 2002) was a Chinese communist revolutionary and a subsequent political official in the People's Republic of China. He is considered to be among the first and second generation of Chinese leadership. ...

* Li Shixi as

Ye Jianying Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthrew ...

* Wu Haiyan as

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. ...

* Yao Bingyou as

Shao Zili Shao (; Cantonese Romanisation: Shiu; Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Shaw) is a common Chinese family name. It is the 86th most populous family name in China. It corresponds to last name So in Korean; "Thiệu" or "Thiều" in Vietnamese; “Zau” in Wu Chinese ...

* Zhang Yang as

Tong Xiaopeng Tong may refer to: Chinese *Tang Dynasty, a dynasty in Chinese history when transliterated from Cantonese *Tong (organization), a type of social organization found in Chinese immigrant communities *''tong'', pronunciation of several Chinese char ...

* Shi Lin as

Liao Mengxing Liao Mengxing (1904 – January 7, 1988), also known as Liao Xianlin and Liao Shaofen, was a Chinese political activist. She was the secretary of Soong Ching-ling and was later a member of the All-China Women's Federation. She was the daughter ...

* Ding Jun as

Luo Ruiqing Luo Ruiqing (; May 31, 1906 – August 3, 1978), formerly romanized as Lo Jui-ch'ing, was a Chinese army officer and politician, general of the People's Liberation Army. He created the People's Republic of China's security and police appara ...

* Zhang Jianguo as Feng Jiping * Cui Genshuan as

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

Niu Ben Zhang Xuejing (张学景, Tianjin, 1935-), stagename Niu Ben (牛犇) is a Chinese film actor. Biography He lost both of his parents at the age of six, then lived with his oldest brother, who worked as a driver at the third film factory in Beij ...

Shen Junru Shen Junru (; January 2, 1875 – June 11, 1963) was a Chinese lawyer, political figure, and the first president of the Supreme People's Court of China of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. Biography Shen was b ...

* Ding Liuyuan as

Sun Weishi Sun Weishi ( zh, s=孙维世; 30 November 1921 – 15 October 1968) was the first female director of modern spoken drama (''Huaju'') in Chinese history. Sun's father was killed by the Kuomintang (KMT) in 1927, and Sun was eventually adopted b ...

* Zhao Xiaochuan as

Chen Yun Chen Yun (, pronounced ; 13 June 1905 – 10 April 1995) was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 1990s and one of the major architects and important policy makers for the Reform and op ...

* Chen Rui as

Nie Rongzhen Nie Rongzhen (; December 29, 1899 – May 14, 1992) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, and one of ten Marshals in the People's Liberation Army of China. He was the last surviving PLA officer with the rank of Marshal. Biography ...

* Zhu Xinyun as

Li Kenong Li Kenong (; 1899–1962) was a Chinese general and politician, one of the creators of the security and intelligence apparatus of both the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army. Notably, he served as Director of the Ce ...

* Wang Guodong as Li Hu * Wang Jian as

Ren Bishi Ren Bishi (; 30 April 1904 – 27 October 1950) was a military and political leader in the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In the early 1930s, Ren commanded the Fifth Red Army and was a central figure in the Hunan-Jiangxi Soviet, but ...

* Shao Xiaowei as Chen Zongying * Wang Bozhao as Zhou Enshou * Hao Yan as Wang Shiqin * Ding Yongdai as

Geng Biao Geng Biao (; 26 August 1909 – 23 June 2000) was a senior official in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a leader in Chinese politics, foreign relations and military. Early life Geng was born in Liling, Hunan Province of China. In 1922 ...

* Guo Dongwen as Huang Zhen * Zhang Xicai as

Zhang Shizhao Zhang Shizhao (; March 20, 1881 – July 1, 1973), courtesy name Xingyan, pen name Huangzhonghuang, Qingtong or Qiutong, was a Chinese journalist, educator, politician of the early 20th century known for his advocacy first of revolutionary cultur ...

* Lin Yujia as Sun Xinshi * Lu Chang'en as

Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (; October 24, 1898November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, who served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary edu ...

* Wan Siwei as

Mao Anying Mao Anying (; 24 October 1922 – 25 November 1950) was the eldest son of Mao Zedong and Yang Kaihui. Educated in Moscow and a veteran of multiple wars, Mao was killed in action by an air strike during the Korean War. Early life Mao was ...

* Chu Xingyi as

Luo Qingchang Luo Qingchang (; 4 September 1918 15 April 2014) was a Chinese politician and long-time leader of the security and intelligence services of the Chinese Communist Party, where he worked for 45 years (1938–1983), eventually serving as Director of ...

* Lyu Yiding as

Liao Chengzhi Liao Chengzhi (; 25 September 1908 – 10 June 1983) was a Chinese politician. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1928, and rose to the position of director of the Xinhua News Agency; after 1949, he worked in various positions related to ...

* Zheng Qiang as

Huang Hua Huang Hua (; ; January 25, 1913 – November 24, 2010) was a senior Communist Chinese revolutionary, politician, and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister of China from 1976 to 1982, and concurrently as Vice Premier from 1980 to 1982. He was i ...

* Zeng Yixuan as Zhou Bingde * Zhou Xuqi as

Li Xiannian Li Xiannian (pronounced ; 23 June 1909 – 21 June 1992) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, President of the People's Republic of China (''de jure'' head of state) from 1983 to 1988 under Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping and ...

* Lyu Yi as

Zeng Shan Zeng Shan (; 1899–1972) was a Chinese Communist military commander and security minister. His wife, Deng Liujin, was one of the few women who participated in the Long March, and later ran a school for the children of high cadres. He was the fa ...

* Ma Chongyue as

Chen Guodong Chen Guodong (; 15 September 1911 – 7 June 2005) was a member of the 12th and 13th Central Advisory Commission from Nanchang, Jiangxi. He was also known to be the former Shanghai CCP Shanghai Municipal Committee Secretary. Chen joined the r ...

* Kang Fulin as Zhou Bingjian * Fu Fangjun as Zhou Binghe * Quan Yicheng as Zhou Bingjun * Wu Hao as Zhou Binghua * Jiang Wenwen as Zhou Bingyi * Song Xiaoying as

Cai Chang Cai Chang (; 14 May 1900 – 11 September 1990) was a Chinese politician and women's rights activist who was the first chair of the All-China Women's Federation, a Chinese women's rights organization. Early life Cai Chang was born in 1900 to ...

* Zheng Yu as

Wu Jieping Wu Jieping (; 22 January 1917 – 2 March 2011) was a Chinese medical scientist and politician. Wu was the Chairman of Central Committee of Jiusan Society from 1992 to 2002, and a Vice-chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee ...

* Yuan Xia as

He Xiangning He Xiangning (; 27 June 1878 – 1 September 1972) was a Chinese revolutionary, feminist, politician, painter, and poet. Together with her husband Liao Zhongkai, she was one of the earliest members of Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary movement Tongme ...

* Cheng Guodong as

Lin Boqu Lin Boqu (; Pinyin: ''Lín Bóqú''; Wade-Giles: ''Lin Po-ch'u''; March 20, 1886 – May 29, 1960) was a Chinese politician and poet. An early supporter of Sun Yat-sen and member of the Tongmenghui, as well as a later participant in the Na ...

* Wang Shuqin as

Kang Keqing Kang Keqing (K'ang K'e-ching; ; September 7, 1911 – April 22, 1992) was a politician of the People's Republic of China, and the wife of Zhu De until his death in 1976. Early life Kang was born to a Hakka fishing family in the township of Luotan ...

* Xue Shujie as Zhuo Lin * Liu Hanqin as

Ji Pengfei Ji Pengfei (simplified Chinese: 姬鹏飞; traditional Chinese: 姬鵬飛; pinyin: ''Jī Péngfēi''; February 2, 1910 – February 10, 2000) was a Chinese politician. Biography Ji Pengfei was born in Linyi, Yuncheng, Shanxi in 1910. He joined t ...

* Yang Tong as

Zhuang Zedong Zhuang Zedong (Chuang Tse-tung; August 25, 1940 – February 10, 2013) was a Chinese table tennis player, three-time world men's singles champion and champion at numerous other table tennis events and a well-known political personality during ...

Kuomintang

* Ma Xiaowei as

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

* Su Li as

Soong May-ling Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling, ; March 5, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang, was a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of Generalissimo and ...

* Lin Jinfeng as

Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...

* Yue Xiaobing as

Zhang Qun Zhang Qun or Chang Ch'ün (; May 9, 1889 – December 14, 1990) also known as Zhang Yuejun (張岳軍), was premier of the Republic of China and a prominent member of the Kuomintang. He served as secretary general to the President of the Republ ...

* Guo Tiecheng as

Mao Renfeng Mao Renfeng (; 5 January 1898 – 11 December 1956) was a Republic of China general and spymaster who headed the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (BIS, also known as the Counterintelligence Bureau and, after 1955, the Intelligence Bureau) ...

* Ding Zijian as Zhou Zhirou * Zhao Xiaoming as Duan Yunpeng * Zhang Fan as Ye Xiangzhi

Foreigners

* Liu Ziqiang as Yamaguchi Ryuichi * Wang Zhenli as Bung Sukarno * Tian Jingshan as

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Prime ...

* Wang Guangzhi as

Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...

Production

''My Uncle Zhou Enlai'' is base on the biography of the same name by Zhou Bingde, Zhou Enlai's nephew. Chen Li was asked to direct the series. Before accepting this series, she has directed the film ''Zhou Enlai's Four Days and Nights''. In the autumn of 2010, Zhang Fachun signed on to write the script for the series. Zhang has said he had spent three years developing the series.

is known for typecasting

, he cast in lead role Zhou Enlai. Most of the television series was shot on location in Rongguo House Film and Television Base,

Zhengding County Zhengding (), originally Zhending (), is a county in southwestern Hebei Province, North China, located approximately south of Beijing. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of the province, and ...

north China North China, or Huabei () is a List of regions of China, geographical region of China, consisting of the provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Part of the larger region of Northern China (''Beifang''), it lies north ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

province.

Broadcast

''My Uncle Zhou Enlai'' was broadcast on

CCTV-3 CCTV-3 is the art focused channel of the CCTV (China Central Television) Network in the People's Republic of China. This channel is based mainly on dance and music broadcast since November 30, 1995. CCTV-3 is the channel which have a creative bou ...

and

Hebei Television Hebei Television (HEBTV), () is a television network in Hebei province and all parts of the Beijing and Tianjin television viewing areas. Hebei Television also covers parts of Shandong, Henan and Shaanxi provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomo ...

in the summer of 2016. The series received mainly positive reviews. On August 28, 2016, admiral Luo Yuan said in

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

: "The series shows Premier Zhou Enlai's public servant spirit."

Li Zhun Li Zhun (; 4 July 1928 – 2 February 2000) was a Chinese novelist who was the vice president of China Writers Association and the librarian of Chinese Modern Literature Museum. Biography Li was born into an ethnic Mongolian family of teachers i ...

, a Mao Dun Literary Prize laureate, said: "The series has made new explorations and new creation in the way of narration of historical themes. It integrates state and family affairs into one."

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:My Uncle Zhou Enlai 2016 Chinese television series debuts 2016 Chinese television series endings Chinese period television series Chinese documentary television series Cultural depictions of Mao Zedong Cultural depictions of Zhou Enlai Cultural depictions of Zhu De Cultural depictions of Liu Shaoqi Cultural depictions of Deng Xiaoping Cultural depictions of Peng Dehuai Cultural depictions of Chiang Kai-shek