Ｅｖｅｒｙ Ｄｒｅａｍ Ｃａｎ Ｃｏｍｅ Ｔｒｕｅ

ＷＵ　ＹＵＥＭＩＮＧ

DESPITE featuring no big stars, no romantic twists and no hot boys and girls, the TV drama Soldiers Sortie was a surprise runaway hit in 2007. The story revolves around the simple but strong-minded farm boy Xu Sanduo and his years in the army. Wang Baoqiang, the actor who plays Xu, was himself a farm boy before clawing his way into the film industry from the very bottom. His unaffected portrayal of a Chinese “nobody,” compared by some to Forrest Gump in the eponymous US film of 1994, soon endeared the 22-year-old actor to viewers all over the country. Wang also drew the attention of several preeminent directors. With the sweeping success of Solders Sortie, he now finds himself in the limelight and a role model for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Chinese around the nation. “It seems everyone is watching the drama – I am greeted as Xu Sanduo in the street,” beams the young actor with pride.

A Boyhood Dream

Wang Baoqiang was born into a rural family in Nanhe County, Hebei Province. One night in 1992 his village hosted an open air screening of Shaolin Temple, a 1982 Kung Fu classic starring Jet Li that launched the 1980s boom in Chinese martial arts flicks. The eight-year-old Wang, like millions of his countrymen, was fascinated by the heros stunts, and formulated the idea of learning Kung Fu himself at the legendary Shaolin Temple in neighboring Henan Province. Like Jet Li, Wang wanted to be a film actor.

His parents initially baulked at the idea, but eventually let him apply to enter the temple, reasoning that a rural boy had nothing to lose from learning some self-defense. He could still be a farmer if things didnt work out. But Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Chinese Kung Fu, and doesnt just take anybody. All applicants have to undergo a rigorous skeletal examination by a martial arts master, and only those of the right physique are admitted. Shi Yanhong, now the temples chief martial monk, concluded that Wang Bao-qiang was both intellectually and physically qualified and agreed to become his mentor.

No accomplishment comes easy, but this is particularly true of mastering Kung Fu. Any lapse in the grinding daily routine of Shaolin disciples may result in a penalty of remaining in the Horse Stance (or bow step) for as long as three hours. During his eight years in the temple, Wang only returned home during the annual Chinese New Year festival. His parents, too poor to afford the journey to Henan, never came to see him. Nevertheless, Wang recalls his days in Shaolin as the “happiest of his life.” Each technique mastered brought him one step closer to his dreams of the silver screen.

Finally, in 2000 Wang Baoqiang bid farewell to his mentor at the gate of Shaolin Temple, and boarded a train for Beijing with RMB 500 in his pocket. A tiny portion of Chinas aspiring actors enter showbiz via the handful of state-run theatrical academies, but for others the only way to break into the film industry is to loiter outside big studios and hope to be selected for walk-on roles. Wang Baoqiang did exactly that, joining the wistful crowds hanging around the entrance of Beijing Film Studio. His money frequently ran out, forcing him to seek odd jobs on construction sites. After collecting enough cash he would return to the studio gates. During the idle hours of waiting, Wang often practiced Kung Fu in front of the other unemployed actors, secretly hoping a passing director would notice him.

For two years Wang scrounged occasional work as an extra in crowd scenes. No matter how brief his appearance, he was always excited about seeing himself on screen. But those around him often jeered: “You are small and not handsome. You would be wise to spend a few more years in Shaolin Temple before trying your luck here.”

The Big Break

On a spring day in 2002, Wang Baoqiang was toiling on a building site when he received a message on his friends beeper. It was an invitation to a screen test for Li Yang, now one of Chinas most noted arthouse film directors. The jaded Wang hurried to the audition venue and braced himself for the test. “Afterwards, I asked for a copy of my audition reel, and was disheartened by the sight of my conspicuously speckled face,” he recalls ruefully. Against all his expectations Wang received a second message that night, asking him to attend an interview. Eventually he was given the lead role in Li Yangs Blind Shaft (Mang Jing, 2003), the story of two miners plotting to murder a fellow worker as part of a scam in a Chinese coalmine.

“I thought it was a Kung Fu film, and assumed I was chosen because I knew how to perform stunts. But when I arrived at the shoot, I was dressed as a student and instructed to walk back and forth in the doorway with a backpack.” Clinging to his swordsman dream, Wang was not too elated about his first major part. He had no idea it would change his life. Li Yangs film went on to collect numerous international awards, including the Silver Bear at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival. It also earned Wang the Best New Performer Award at the 2003 Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan. “I was shaking and sweating when I stepped on stage to receive an honor for the first time in my life,” Wang recalls with a bashful smile. Despite its success on the festival circuit, the film was not permitted to be shown on Chinas mainland, so Wang Baoqiang remained little known outside the nations film circles. Many amateur actors shine once and fade away, unable to play parts that are not a reflection of themselves. But this was not the case with Wang Baoqiang.

In 2004 he was contacted by Feng Xiaogang, one of Chinas most successful directors, known for his commercial features full of quips and bitter humor like Big Shots Funeral (Da Wan, 2001). Feng offered Wang a role in A World Without Thieves (Tian Xia Wu Zei, 2004), the tale of two grifters and a young migrant worker on a train trip. The boy, taking all his savings home for the Chinese New Year, is so naïve and kind that the two pilferers eventually drop their well-conceived plan to steal his money, and instead protect him from other villains on the journey. As the films box office shot to RMB 120 million, Wang Baoqiang shined as a popular star, impressing audiences throughout China with the talent lurking beneath his unimpressive appearance. Wang later sent the director a bag of millet from his hometown – the best gift he could think of to express his gratitude.

An Inspiration for Others of Humble Origins

Things just kept getting better for Wang Baoqiang in the years following A World Without Thieves. He appeared in popular spy-themed TV series Secret Scheme (An Suan) as a blind boy with extraordinarily sharp ears. Soldiers Sortie was a milestone in his career, but his climb to the top hasnt stopped there. Feng Xiaogang offered Wang another soldier role in Assembly (Ji Jie Hao), an epic story of the Chinese civil war. The film opened the ROKs Pusan International Film Festival in October 2007 to widespread critical acclaim, and enjoyed a popular cinema release in China over the 2007/08 new year period.

Back in his home town, Wang Baoqiang has built an RMB 500,000 house for his parents – the best abode in the village. But the stars life is not an easy one of leisure. Despite building them a house, Wang didnt see his parents once in 2007. “I am always at work, and have no time off,” he says regretfully. Such is the price of success. A heavy workload has not shaken his resolve however – the cruelties of life Wang witnessed as a poor youngster, and his years of Shaolin training have hardened his mind, body and spirit. For a scene in Soldiers Sortie, Wang twice plunged from a one-meter-high stage, falling flat on his back. The searing pain still gives him a chill when he thinks of it today. In the Saga of Yin and Shang (Yin Shang Chuan Qi), a mythic TV drama, he insisted on throwing himself against a wall instead of having the stunt performed by a stand-in. Playing the role of Xu in Soldiers Sortie has further matured the young actor. “I still feel Xu Sanduos mood. He is me, and I am him. I can understand all the pains and stress he experienced. Life is sometimes so cruel.”

Although Wang “regards every chance as his last,” he now looks set to finally realize his long-held dream of playing in a Kung Fu flick. The Huayi Brothers Pictures Co., Ltd. is planning a tailor-made martial arts film for Wang Baoqiang later this year. “Its my dream come true,” says Wang calmly. He has waited years for this role.

Nowadays nobody says Wangs success is a fluke, nor is anyone telling him to go back to Shaolin Temple. In his hometown more parents are sending their sons to Shaolin in the hope they can follow in Wangs footsteps. Throughout the nation many more people draw courage from his story and the character of Xu Sanduo. For countless millions, both actor and character embody the same message: “Nothing is impossible in todays China.”