Ying Ruocheng


Ying Ruocheng was a Chinese actor, director, playwright and vice minister of culture from 1986 to 1990. He first came to the attention of Western audiences for his portrayal of Kublai Khan in the 1982 miniseries Marco Polo. He is best known for playing the part of the governor of the detention camp in the Bernardo Bertolucci's film The Last Emperor, and the role of the Tibetan Buddhist Lama Norbu in Little Buddha. He is also well known as a theater translator, director, and actor for the Beijing People's Art Theatre, particularly for his role as Pockmark Liu in Lao She's masterpiece "Teahouse" and as Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" in 1983, directed by Arthur Miller.

Biography

Ying was born in Beijing into a Manchu family. He studied in a church school in Tianjin in his early years, and later graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages of Tsinghua University. He was forced into the provinces to perform manual labor during the Cultural Revolution.
Ying is the author of a memoir, co-authored by Claire Conceison, "Voices Carry: Behind Bars and Backstage During China's Revolution and Reform".
Ying died on December 27, 2003, at the age of 74.

Personal life

His wife, Wu Shiliang, was a translator, and his son, Ying Da, is also a noted actor. His grandson Ying Rudi is a noted ice hockey player.

Ancestry

His father Ying Qianli was a professor at National Taiwan University and Fu Jen Catholic University. His mother Cai Baozhen was president of Beijing Children's Library. His grandfather Ying Lianzhi was the founder of Takungpao and Fu Jen Catholic University. His grandmother Aisin Gioro Shuzhong was a member of the Qing dynasty royal family and therefore related to Puyi the last Emperor of China. His maternal grandfather Cai Rukai was president of National Beiyang University.

Autobiography