Text/Wanxi

When we think of Zhang Ziyi, what comes to mind are her flaming red lips, stubborn eyes and naked ambition.

When we talk about Yuan Quan, the words we use are literary and artistic, fresh, calm appearance and light posture.

One is like a wanton red rose, and the other is like a silent and gentle white rose. Logically speaking, it is impossible to describe these two people together.

But if we move our gaze back 21 years, we will find that in the autumn of 1996, they entered the Central Academy of Drama at the same time and became classmates. The other members of this class are Qin Hailu, Mei Ting, Hu Jing, Zeng Li, Liu Ye...

"All the best people in the country are here."

They once stood together A starting point, but ultimately a completely different future.

1

Most of the girls who enter Chinese opera had a difficult childhood and adolescence to learn arts.

Zhang Ziyi and Yuan Quan both lived in dormitories when they were 11 years old. The difference is that Yuan Quan went to the Middle School Affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Opera, while Zhang Ziyi went to the Middle School Affiliated to the Beijing Dance Academy.

After the lights go out, a slender and thin figure will always appear in the girls' dormitory of Beiwu High School. She tiptoes, slips lightly but quickly to the practice room, and then quietly does the splits and leg presses. , lower the waist. After practicing for a while, he sneaked back to the dormitory, climbed into bed, pressed his legs against the wall, and fell asleep with a vague pain.

That was Zhang Ziyi, who was eleven or twelve years old. The teacher said her flexibility was not good. She was particularly afraid that she would be kicked out of school because of poor performance. "That would be so embarrassing."

Even when she was admitted, she stood out from two thousand applicants and was the only one who was admitted.

Yuan Quan was probably writing a letter at this time. She confided her troubles to her parents: "My legs are very long, and the toes never reach my forehead, because this teacher always makes fun of me."

My parents wrote back and said: "Quanquan, as parents, we understand you and feel sorry for you. We will never ask you to work hard when you try your best and temporarily fail to achieve your goal."

In the next seven years, Yuan Quan successively exchanged 279 letters with his family, seeking inner peace through written emotional communication.

This kind of power is gentle and peaceful, which is different from Zhang Ziyi's stubbornness and aloofness. But no matter what, the two girls are growing up in their own ways.

The path a person wants to take may have been foreshadowed in his youth.

What determines destiny is a mixture of personal character and the background of the times, something that is both accidental and inevitable.

2

It was Zhang Ziyi who became famous first.

In 1998, at the age of 19, she was selected by Zhang Yimou to play the heroine Zhao Di in "My Father and Mother". After the movie was released, the words "Zhang Ziyi" became widely known and became synonymous with overnight popularity.

Later on, drama appointments came one after another. Mei Ting had already filmed "Red Lover" with Leslie Cheung, and Yuan Quan had also received his first movie in his life, "Spring Rhapsody".

With this film, she won the prestigious Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Both of them are lucky girls. Because at a very young age, they have been favored by the God of Destiny, met good characters and good directors, and then were carefully polished and crafted.

In a blink of an eye, it’s time for graduation assignments. At that time, the director of the Central Experimental Theater named three people from their class: Zhang Ziyi, Qin Hailu, and Yuan Quan.

Zhang Ziyi is not interested. Her utilitarian heart has been latent for a long time, and she was pushed into the forefront of Vanity Fair early. Therefore, "My Father and Mother" came immediately after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Directed by Ang Lee and starring Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh, this is a film destined to cause an international sensation. Her choice couldn't be clearer.

But Yuan Quan happily went to the theater to report. Later she said: "I knew very early that the stage is what I love all my life."

Knowing what you want early is a An amazing talent. In the future, we will save a lot of twists and turns, and there will be less unnecessary hesitation and hesitation in life.

3

At the 2000 Berlin Film Festival, Zhang Ziyi appeared wearing a red bellyband.

At that time, she had no money and no brand sponsorship, but her young and fearless eyes showed undisguised desire.

News reports at the time said: "Zhang Yimou had asked Zhang Ziyi not to go on stage together, but Zhang Ziyi didn't listen and followed him on stage to receive the award, which made Zhang Yimou unhappy. Because under normal circumstances, In all major international film festivals, the director takes the stage when he wins an award."

So, the Chinese girl Zhang Ziyi wearing a red bellyband instantly attracted the attention of the world.

Too beautiful, too high-profile, too vibrant, and too eye-catching.

Because of this, Zhang Ziyi always gives people a sense of ambitious aggression. Her beauty is always full of aggression and oppression.

Such a thing would never happen in Yuan Quan's world. In all the private photos she has published, we can hardly see a brightly colored and outrageously styled dress.

Therefore, a person’s dressing philosophy is probably also her philosophy of life.

A Zhihu netizen once met Yuan Quan at 798 Children’s Art Institution, where her children learned to draw.

The class lasted nearly two hours. Yuan Quan sat on the sofa with other parents and waited. The difference is that she brings a book to read every time. She doesn't play with her mobile phone or chat with the parents nearby. She just lowers her head and focuses on the reading in her hands.

"Reading so quietly from beginning to end, no other parents will disturb you."

People will naturally calm down if they read more books. You can have a clearer understanding of the world and yourself, so you know where you want to go and how to get there.

Different goals lead to different paths, as well as different thoughts and paces.

4

But when it comes to fighting for their lives, these two people are exactly the same. Although one is devoted to the movie screen, the other is struggling on the stage of drama.

In 2003, a cry of surprise suddenly came from the rehearsal scene of "The Orphan of Zhao". The heroine Yuan Quan was seen lying on the ground in pain, and her face with deep features was so painful that it was deformed.

The ambulance roared in and Yuan Quan was diagnosed with a comminuted fracture of the clavicle. Zhang Ziyi suffered the same physical pain three years ago.

That was the filming scene of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". The staff of Diaowei Ya were ready, and director Ang Lee stared at the surveillance camera intently. Suddenly, he froze. Because he discovered that Zhang Ziyi was banging her face against the wall!

When hanging Wia, people’s instinctive reaction is to protect their head with their hands, but her instinct is to perform the scene well.

This is the sense of faith that Zhang Ziyi mentioned in "The Birth of an Actor", and it is also the biggest similarity between her and Yuan Quan, and even all outstanding actors.

In everyone's life, there are things worth fighting for and protecting with all your strength. When you find it, life has more than half its meaning.

People who really know what they want know how to give up part of it and cultivate part of it deeply.

When Zhang Jizhong was preparing to film the CCTV version of "The Swordsman", he offered Zhang Ziyi 2 million to play the role of Yue Lingshan. She was shocked when she saw the contract, and happily told her friends: "2 million can be used in Beijing." I can buy a big house and now I have money!"

But her idea was rejected by Zhang Yimou. The reason was: "If you want to be famous, you must go to the big screen route, don't do it just for a little bit. Petty profit ruined her future."

Perhaps it was the idea of ??becoming famous that inspired her. At that time, fame and fortune were to her what the stage was to Yuan Quan.

5

Yuan Quan’s graduation drama was the drama "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai". It was performed for several days, and children nearby often came to watch it.

When the young audience members come, they always poke their heads in first and ask: "Is Sister Yuan Quan coming today?"

If the answer is no, they turn around and leave without saying a word. No hesitation.

This is the praise Yuan Quan deserves. When she was still in college, she made a bold statement: "In addition to studying and taking classes, I want to live in the theater 24 hours a day."

Because the theater can bring her a sense of security, and the so-called sense of security means living a regular life.

After being assigned to the theater troupe, the first drama Yuan Quan received was called "I Heard Love", in which she played a deaf-mute girl. She enjoys that state very much. Everyone rehearses, performs, discusses, and commutes to get off work like an ordinary person.

In fact, there are very few actors who love to act in dramas.

First, the drama cannot be NG and the requirements for actors are very high. After the whole play is rehearsed, there can be no pauses. You have to start over from the beginning until the expressions and body language are passed, which requires a lot of physical strength and energy.

Second, drama is very niche, and the number of viewers cannot be compared with that of film and television. In other words, it is difficult for people who act in dramas to achieve both fame and fortune.

Regarding this issue, Yuan Quan wrote this passage in her album "Lonely Flower":

There are two roads in the woods,

And I chose the road less traveled.

Therefore, the stage rewarded her exquisite acting skills, calm posture, and the honor of being selected into the "Chinese Drama Centenary Hall of Fame" alongside older artists such as Lao She and Cao Yu.

Every gain means loss, and all losses will return in another way.

6

Zhang Ziyi once had almost the whole world.

When the 27-year-old arrived in Venice, film festival chairman Marco Muller personally went to the pier to greet her, and even knelt down to Zhang Ziyi in full view of the public: "Welcome, Empress!"

At the premiere of "The Banquet", Marco Muller knelt down again to greet Zhang Ziyi as she stepped onto the steps of the Film Palace, claiming that he fell under her pomegranate skirt.

At that time, she was the darling of the Western film industry and became the youngest lifetime judge of the Oscars at the age of 26.

"Times" once commented: Zhang Ziyi is China's gift to Hollywood.

Once fame and status come, love will naturally knock on the door. In those years, Zhang Ziyi's boyfriends ranged from wealthy Jewish businessmen to young masters of the Huo family, and all of them were rich or noble.

Everyone said that this was just a quarrel between beauty and power, and what she did was nothing more than exchanging beauty for a shortcut to the top of the pyramid. But she didn't hide anything, nor did she shy away from it.

Emotional life is another projection of values. What kind of person you are will determine the kind of love you will encounter.

Therefore, Yuan Quan has only loved one person in his life so far.

The only gossip news was that when he broke up with Xia Yunao, his eyes turned red in front of the media. Fortunately, she and the man she had been in love with for many years finally changed from school uniforms to wedding dresses, and from campus to home.

7

Today, both women are mothers.

It is said that when she is not filming with the crew, Yuan Quan’s daily life is like this:

After getting up in the morning and sending her daughter to school, she goes to the gym to exercise;

Go to the theater at 4 p.m. to put on makeup and prepare to go on stage;

At around 11 p.m. every night, you finish the day's drama work and go home to rest.

When "Where Are We Going, Dad" became popular all over the country, the program team also invited Xia Yu and Xia Haha, but they refused without hesitation.

Yuan Quan said: "My daughter and her father spend a lot of time together and have a very good relationship. There is no need to appear on variety shows."

Insiders describe the couple, "There is no need for them to be together." When the film was released, Yuan Quan and Xia Yu seemed to have disappeared from the world, and seemed to have withdrawn from the entertainment industry."

They are both people who know how to make subtractions in life, and understand that 90% of the things in the world have nothing to do with them. So I rarely appear in those glittering and star-studded occasions.

But the last time Zhang Ziyi was on the hot search, it was at the famous Harper’s Bazaar Charity Dinner.

At that moment, she was chatting calmly with Carina Lau. When she heard Su Mang shouting "It's time to take a photo," she suddenly took off her coat to reveal her slender shoulders, looking like "I am the most beautiful and the most attractive girl." The domineering look is still vaguely the same as the one wearing a red bellyband and standing proudly at the Berlin Film Festival.

The most recent one was during a variety show, he banged the table and threw his mobile phone, using "no sense of belief" to angrily criticize the acting skills of the traffic star.

She can hold her daughter in her arms, lower her eyes and frown with gentleness and compassion, and she can still look at all living beings with full aura. Even if she fell into the abyss, even if she married a man that everyone thought was unsuitable.

The world she fought with bare hands can withstand any form of arrogance and willfulness, because she has always been the Zhang Ziyi who has capital and power. This is something that no one can take away.

The thing that is carved into the bone marrow and blended into the blood has never changed, whether it is Zhang Ziyi or Yuan Quan.

8

Many people must have advised Zhang Ziyi: It will be good for you to keep a low profile and cover up a little.

Because the reserved Chinese people always hate people who have the desire for success written on their faces, especially women.

Someone must have suggested to Yuan Quan: It is necessary to increase the exposure and promote it appropriately.

After all, in the hustle and bustle of the times, the world is noisy, and it is inevitable to be high-minded and unpopular, so it is better to just go with the flow.

But this time, their attitudes are exactly the same: You can say whatever you want, but I won’t listen anyway!

Because they are the kind of people who know what they want very early on and know how to pay for it.

Such people will control their lives in their own hands from beginning to end. However, when sobriety, stubbornness and a strong desire for freedom are mixed together, their lives are destined not to be easy.

But everything is like what was written in "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty": There is only one way to succeed, which is to live life in your own way.

Where is the standard answer?

Success and happiness can never be determined by a prescribed template, but they can reach the same goal by different paths. After all, everyone is born different, and experiences can be learned from, but cannot be copied exactly.

And the deepest pursuit and persistence of human nature are nothing more than inner abundance and freedom.

There is no path that suits everyone, even if Yuan Quan and Zhang Ziyi once stood on the same starting line and faced the same future.