Wei Zongwan (; born 24 November 1938) is a Chinese actor. He has been acting since the 1980s and has appeared in over 70 films and television shows. He has won the

Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor Golden Rooster for Best Supporting Actor (中国电影金鸡奖最佳男配角) is the main category of Competition of Golden Rooster Awards The Golden Rooster Awards () are film awards given in mainland China. The awards were originally given an ...

for his role in '' San Mao Joins the Army'' (1993), and was nominated in the

Macau International Movie Festival The Macau International Movie Festival () is an international film festival that takes place in Macau, China. The first festival took place between December 26, 2009 and January 2, 2010. It was organized by mainland Chinese businessman Xu ...

for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''A Singing Fairy'' (2010).

Early life

Wei was born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

on November 24, 1938, in the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, with his

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

. After graduating from Shanghai Nanyang Model Junior High School () in 1955 he entered the Shanghai Turbine Plant () worked as a bench worker, and joined a drama team in that factory. Wei graduated from

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 ...

in 1963, majoring in acting. After university, he was assigned to the Shanghai People's Art Theatre. In a very long time in the Shanghai People's Art Theatre, he acted insignificant roles vividly. When watching the sketch he acted,

Hou Baolin Hou Baolin (; November 29, 1917 – February 4, 1993) was a Chinese xiangsheng performer. He was one of his generation's most popular and influential xiangsheng performers and was mentor to many later xiangsheng performers. His apprentices includ ...

, a

xiangsheng Xiangsheng (), also known as crosstalk or comic dialogue, is a traditional performing art in Chinese comedy, and one of the most popular elements in Chinese culture. It is typically performed as a dialogue between two performers, or rarely as ...

artist, commented:"It is just perfect and leaves some leeway. Being insufficient is better than overdoing."

Acting career

Wei had his first experience in front of a camera in 1982, when he was chosen to act as a supporting actor in '' One and Eight'', the first film of the 5th generation of directors. In 1992, he appeared in Zhang Jianya's '' San Mao Joins the Army'', which earned him a

. In 1991, he starred as

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

in Zhang Shaolin's ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', a historical television series where he co-starred with

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 ...

Bao Guo'an Bao Guo'an (born 4 June 1946) is a Chinese actor and professor in the Central Academy of Drama. Best known for his role as Cao Cao in the 1994 television series ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', Bao won two Best Actor awards at the 1995 Golden ...

and

Sun Yanjun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared r ...

, which was adapted from

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese writer who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo was attri ...

's classical novel of the same title. In 1997, he played a supporting role in Zhang Shaolin's television series ''

The Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is ...

'', which was adapted from

Shi Nai'an Shi Nai'an (, ca. 1296–1372) was a Chinese writer from the Yuan and early Ming periods. ''Shuihu zhuan'' (''Water Margin''), one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, is traditionally attributed to him. There are few re ...

's classical novel of the same title. In 2010, he participated in a romantic comedy called ''A Singing Fairy'' as "Laomo", he was nominated for "Best Supporting Actor" at the 2nd

. In 2014, he acted as a supporting actor in Wei Zheng's romantic comedy television series '' IPPrtment 4'', a hot TV series starring

Eric Wang Wang Chuanjun (; born 18 October 1985), also known as Eric Wang, is a Chinese actor and host. Wang is noted for playing Sekitani Kamiya in the romantic comedy television series ''iPartment'', which enjoyed the highest ratings in China when it was ...

Deng Jiajia Deng Jiajia (; born 17 May 1983) is a Chinese actress. Deng is noted for playing Tang Youyou in the sitcom television series ''IPartment'', which enjoyed the highest ratings in China when it was broadcast. Early life Deng was born in a militar ...

, Michael Chen,

Loura Lou Lou Yixiao (; born 27 December 1988), also known as Loura Lou, is a Chinese actress and singer. Lou is noted for playing Hu Yifei () in the hit sitcom television series ''iPartment'', which enjoyed the highest ratings in China when it was broadc ...

Kimi Li Li Jinming (; born 21 November 1985), also known as Kimi Li, is a Chinese actress and hostess. Li is noted for playing Chen Meijia in the romantic comedy television series ''iPartment'', which enjoyed the highest ratings in China when it was broa ...

, Jean Lee, Sean Sun and

Vanessa Zhao Zhao Wenqi (; born 14 September 1987), also known as Vanessa Zhao, is a Chinese actress and model. Zhao is noted for playing Qin Yumo in the romantic comedy television series ''iPartment'', which enjoyed the highest ratings in China when it was b ...

recently in

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

and

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 ...

four major Television.

Personal life

Wei married Zhou Weiming (), is a retired primary school teacher. They have a stepdaughter named Yu Hong () and a biological daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Variety show

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Zongwan 1938 births Male actors from Shanghai Shanghai Theatre Academy alumni Living people Chinese male film actors Chinese male television actors 20th-century Chinese male actors 21st-century Chinese male actors