Zuo Dabin (; born 22 October 1943), also known by her art name Honghui (), is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

actress and educator best known for her role as

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

in ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popu ...

''. She was a member of the 7th and 8th National Committee of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

. She is vice president of Hunan Federation of literary and Art Circles and Hunan Drama Association.

Early life and education

Zuo was born on October 22, 1943 in

Xingyang Xingyang (), is a county-level city of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou. It is situated 15 kilometers to the west of Zhengzhou city proper. The population of Xingyang is ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, to Zuo Zonglian (), a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

under the leadership of

Cheng Qian Cheng Qian (; 31 March 1882 – 5 April 1968) was a Chinese army officer and politician who held very important military and political positions in both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China.Wolfgang Bartke, ''Who was Who in the ...

in the KMT troops and magistrate of Ru County (1940–1943) and Xingyang County (1943–1945), and Zheng Fuqiu (), a Xiang opera performer. She has an elder sister. Her

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 ...

is in

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

. In 1954 she was accepted to Hunan Drama School, majoring in . After graduation, she was assigned to Hunan Opera Theatre as an actress.

Acting career

In 1959, when Mao Zedong returned to Hunan, she performed ''For Life or for Death''. After the performance, Mao Zedong invited her to dance. In 1966, the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

broke out, she was denounced as a "shoots of revisionism" because her father once served in the KMT army. She was sent to the

Dao County Dao County () is a county in Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of Yongzhou prefecture-level City. Located on the southern margin of the province, it is adjacent to the northeastern border of Guangxi. The county borders to the ...

to do farm works for two years. In 1973, she made her film debut in ''Song of Teacher'', playing Yu Ying.

Jiang Qing Jiang Qing (19 March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman o ...

criticizes her "acting like a young mistress of the house! The film is a poisonous grass!" On August 4 of that same year, she made a review at the Beijing Exhibition Hall. After watching the film, Mao Zedong said: "What is the 'big poisonous grass'? What's wrong with it?" Mao Zedong's speech lessened her criticism. In 1976, at the age of 33, she acted as

in ''The Legend of Chasing Fish''. After watching the opera, director Yang Jie felt very satisfied. In 1982, Yang Jie invited her to portray Guanyin in ''

'', adapted from

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

novelist

Wu Cheng'en Wu Cheng'en (, c. 1500–1582Shi Changyu (1999). "Introduction." in trans. W.J.F. Jenner, ''Journey to the West'', volume 1. Seventh Edition. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. pp. 1–22. or 1505–1580), courtesy name Ruzhong (), was a Chines ...

's classical novel of the same title. The series was one of the most watched ones in mainland China in that year. She joined the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

in 1984. Since 2003, she taught at Hunan Vocational College of Art and Hunan Opera Theatre.

Filmography

Film

Television

Xiang opera

Variety show

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuo, Dabin 1943 births Living people People from Changsha 20th-century Chinese actresses 21st-century Chinese actresses Chinese television actresses Chinese film actresses Chinese child actresses Actresses from Henan Actresses from Hunan Singers from Henan Singers from Hunan 20th-century Chinese women singers Chinese opera actresses