Pei Yanlin’s Own Cultural Revolution

Zhong Kui, a fearsome-looking guardian spirit of the underworld, is one of the most beloved figures of Chinese folklore.

An ugly but warmhearted Chinese equivalent of Superman, he is a defender of justice and righteousness who punishes wrongdoers and protects the weak.

Zhong Kui now appears in a new film from Shanghai Film Studios that tells the largely true-to-life story of a famous actress, Pei Yanlin, who in 1985 became the first woman to perform the role of Zhong Kui on stage.

The film is a psychological inquiry into one woman’s struggle to overcome obstacles and achieve her potential.

As such, the film, “An Actress and Her Ghost,” is not just the story of Pei’s life, but an exploration into Chinese society.

The movie also illustrates how Chinese directors are breaking new ground as political controls on film making have been gradually relaxed the last few years.

Pei, 40, recalled how she was touched by Zhong Kui’s extraordinary kindness in a scene from “The Marriage of Zhong Kui’s Sister” when she happened to view the traditional opera about six years ago.

Zhong Kui desperately wished to have a glimpse of his sister after journeying from the underworld to her home, but he also wanted to spare her the pain of viewing his ugly visage. When they met, he kept his face covered with the sleeve of his robe and thus sacrificed the chance to see her face.

“I felt very deeply moved,” Pei said.

Pei, who had always portrayed pretty characters with little depth, decided that she wanted that role.

“Zhong Kui should not only belong to men, but also to women,” Pei said. “I wanted to portray the tenderness and sympathy he has toward Chinese women.”

Already a star with the Tianjin-Hebei opera troupe, Pei ran into instant opposition from friends, relatives and colleagues who said that Zhong Kui was one of a handful of roles that never had been and never should be played by a woman.

Even her father, a former actor who had greatly influenced her career, opposed the idea.

“He didn’t want his own daughter to play such an ugly spirit,” Pei said.

Pei, however, persevered. In 1986, a year after she started performing the role to critical acclaim, the Shanghai Film Studios started making “An Actress and Her Ghost.”

In the film, the woman actress is called Qiu Yun, but like Pei, she is the first woman in Chinese theater history to perform the role of Zhong Kui on stage. The film shows the budding actress facing obstacles from an early age. But at times of crisis Zhong Kui appears as in a dream. Qiu draws emotional support from these encounters, which are portrayed in visually powerful surrealistic scenes.

Pei, appropriately, plays Zhong Kui in the movie.

Qiu is played by three other actresses--a small child, an older girl and a young woman.

Huang Shuqin, the director of the film, said that with the less politically restricted environment for film making that has gradually developed since 1984, some film directors have chosen to portray how China’s political movements have affected people’s lives.

But Huang said she wanted this film to be a more subtle examination of Chinese culture.

“The actress’s difficulties don’t appear political in nature,” Huang said. “They aren’t related to any particular political movement. But they are created by the bad side of Chinese culture. We feel this also reveals something about Chinese political life, although it does not speak directly of political affairs.”

Huang cited a scene in which Qiu, who is beginning to succeed as an actress, suffers a pierced hand from a nail deliberately left protruding from a table over which she vaults during a performance.

“She is very capable, but people are envious of her and place the nail there,” Huang said. “This is a terrible thing. It’s not a political movement, but rather a kind of pressure created by the people around her.”

Pei and all the other actors and actresses in the film “live in the setting of Chinese civilization,” Huang said.

“This culture has its very wonderful aspects--for example, these opera performances, and the kind of deep feeling that exists between Qiu Yun and her father,” Huang said. “But Chinese culture also has its terrible aspects, such as this jealous mentality and invasion of personal privacy. I feel that these things are very important psychological and cultural factors that prevent our country from progressing faster.

“Some of our outstanding people, however, are able to break through these obstacles and achieve success. This movie is dedicated to these people--and especially to this kind of outstanding Chinese woman. Under very difficult conditions, they have found ways to give play to their talents.”