Yan Shunkai (; 6 June 1937 – 16 October 2017) was a Chinese comedian, actor and film director. Yan rose to fame after portraying Ah Q in ''

The True Story of Ah Q ''The True Story of Ah Q'' is an episodic novella written by Lu Xun, first published as a serial between December 4, 1921 and February 12, 1922. It was later placed in his first short story collection ''Call to Arms'' (吶喊, Nàhǎn) in 1923 ...

'', which was based on an episodic novella by

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. ...

, one of the pioneers of modern Chinese literature. He was awarded the Best Actor at the 6th

Hundred Flowers Awards The Hundred Flowers Awards () are, together with the Golden Rooster Awards, the most prestigious film awards honouring the best in Chinese cinema, as well as Hong Kong cinema and the Cinema of Taiwan, they are classified as the Chinese equiv ...

and earned "The Gold Stick Prize" at the Second International Comedy Film Festival of Vevey, Switzerland in 1982.

Biography

Early life and education

Born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

on June 6, 1937, Yan enrolled in the

Central Academy of Drama The Central Academy of Drama (), abbreviated Zhong Xi (), is a drama school in Beijing, China. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university identified by the Ministry of Education of China. The school is the first theatre ...

in 1959, graduating in 1963.Yan Shunkai: a Well-Known Comedian
chinaculture.org, 17 January 2008. After graduation, he joined the Shanghai Farce Troupe ().

Career

Yan first garnered recognition for his acting in 1980, when his performance in ''

'' earned him a Best Actor award at the 6th

, the Chinese equivalent of the

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

, and received "The Gold Stick Prize" at the Second International Comedy Film Festival of Vevey, Switzerland in 1982. The film is his film debut. Yan co-starred with Liu Falu, Jin Kangmin, Niu Hong, Chen Qi and Fang Qingzhuo in the 1983 film ''Spring in the Hometown'' as a lame person. In 1984, Yan starred as Du Xiaoxi in Wang Weiyi's

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

'' The New Stories Of Du Xiaoxi''. Yan appeared in the

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

''The Female Director's Boyfriend'' (1986), in which he played Cui Hailong. In 1988, Yan made his directorial debut ''The Story of Ah Tan'', and he also starred as Ah Tan in the film. In 1996, Yan starred with Lu Yanfang in the comedy film ''The Harmonious Gouple''. Yan appeared in

Huang Jianzhong Huang or Hwang may refer to: Location * Huang County, former county in Shandong, China, current Longkou City * Yellow River, or Huang River, in China * Huangshan, mountain range in Anhui, China * Huang (state), state in ancient China. * Hwang Riv ...

's ''Girls in the Red Chamber'' (2002), based on

Cao Xueqin Cáo Xuěqín ( ; ); (4 April 1710 — 10 June 1765)Briggs, Asa (ed.) (1989) ''The Longman Encyclopedia'', Longman, was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty. He is best known as the author of ''Dream of the Red Chamber'', one of the Four G ...

's classical novel ''

Dream of the Red Chamber ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known fo ...

'', as Jia She, one of the heads of the Jia family. In 2003, he was cast in the romance television series ''Dear Angle'' with Chang Yue and

Li Xiaolu Li Xiaolu (, born 30 September 1982), also known as Jacqueline Li, is a Chinese actress and singer. She is best known for her role in Joan Chen's directing debut '' Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl'' (1998), idol drama ''All the Misfortunes Caused ...

. Yan filmed in ''Legend of the Book's Tower'', a

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...

television series starring

Sharla Cheung Sharla Cheung Man (born 7 February 1968) is a Hong Kong actress and film producer. Career Cheung's acting career began in 1986 in The Magic Crystal. Cheung was discovered by Wong Jing, with whom she worked on many of his productions in the earl ...

Nicky Wu Nicholas Wu Qilong (born 31 October 1970) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He found fame in 1988 when he became a member of the popular Taiwanese band, Xiao Hu Dui (Little Tiger Team), performing alongside Alec Su and Julian Chen. The trio were ex ...

, Allen Lin, and

Tiffany Tang Tang Yan (, born 6 December 1983), also known as Tiffany Tang, is a Chinese actress and singer. She graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 2006. In 2007, she was nominated for the Best Actress award at the Shanghai Television Festival for h ...

. In 2006, Yan had a minor role in ''Pretty Girls in Jianghu''. The drama stars Christy Chung,

Du Chun Du Chun (, born 22 May 1983) is a Chinese actor. Early life Du Chun was born in Hebei, China. His parents are also in the performing business. His father, Du Zhiguo is also an actor, and his mother, Yang Li, is a dancer and dancing instructor. A ...

, and Liang Guanhua. In 2010, when he was 72, he starred as Wang Mugen, reuniting him with co-star Yvonne Yung, who played his daughter-in-law, in the television series ''My Ugly Dad''.

Death

Yan died on 16 October 2017, aged 80, in

Filmography

Film

TV series

CCTV New Year's Gala

Film and TV Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Shunkai 1937 births 2017 deaths Central Academy of Drama alumni Male actors from Shanghai Chinese male film actors Chinese film directors Chinese male television actors Chinese male stage actors