Bao Guo'an

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisBao.

Bao Guo'an
Born	(1946-06-04)4 June 1946 Tianjin,China
Alma mater	Central Academy of Drama
Occupation(s)	Actor, professor
Years active	1983–present
Awards	1.Flying Apsaras AwardFor Best Actor(1995) 2.Golden Eagle Award for Best Actor(1995)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	Bào quốc an
Simplified Chinese	Bào quốc an
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bào Guó-ān

Bao Guo'an(born 4 June 1946) is a Chinese actor and professor in theCentral Academy of Drama.Best known for his role asCao Caoin the 1994 television seriesRomance of the Three Kingdoms,Bao won two Best Actor awards at the 1995Golden Eagle AwardsandFlying Apsaras Awards.Bao was also a delegate in theNational People's CongressandChinese People's Political Consultative Conferencein 2003.

Early life and career

Bao has been fascinated with acting and drama since he was a child. He attended a primary school inTianjinwhere most of his schoolmates were from affluent backgrounds while he was not from a wealthy family. On weekends, his schoolmates watched movies at the cinemas. Bao did not join them initially but he did so later when he felt left out, and became addicted to movies. At the time, Tianjin's cinemas were divided into three classes (A, B and C), with A screening the latest movies but having the priciest tickets. Bao could only afford to watch movies in the B and C class theatres, but he saved the allowance his parents gave him for buying snacks, and spent it at the cinema every weekend. Bao recalled watching many Soviet films at that time, includingChapaevandLenin in 1918,and he especially enjoyed movies about heroes.

In 1960, at the age of 13, Bao gained an opportunity to appear on screen. Around the time, a performing arts group in Tianjin was making a film about a young revolutionary martyr,Liu Wenxue( lưu văn học ), and Bao was chosen as an actor. In 1964, when the Fourth Agricultural Division of theXinjiang Production and Construction Corps(XPCC) came to Tianjin to recruit cadres, Bao insisted that they let him join their performing arts group. Bao recalled his experience in the XPCC: "Even though I spent only five years in the Fourth Agricultural Division, I learnt a lot of things. Without this experience, I would not have been able to enter theCentral Academy of Drama.Life in the military helped me develop the qualities of diligence, perseverance and courage. They have a great impact on shaping my character and personal beliefs, and on my acting career. "Five years later, in 1969, Bao was transferred to another group inZhumadian,Henan,where he worked as an actor and director.

The Mountain Below is Home

In 1978, Bao was accepted into theCentral Academy of Dramaand, due to excellent performance, was asked to remain and teach there after his graduation. Around the time, thePearl River Film Company( châu giang điện ảnh chế phiến công tư ) was holding auditions inBeijingfor the filmThe Mountain Below is Home( sơn hạ thị cố hương ). By chance, Bao was acting in a stage play in Beijing when he was noticed by the directorLiu Hongming( lưu hồng minh ) and was selected to play the lead character "Chang Mao". Although Bao has been watching movies since childhood, he had no clue to the process behind acting in a film. He requested to be given a chance to personally experience rural life so that he can prepare better for his role. A month before shooting began, the producers sent Bao to the countryside inYou County,Hunan,where he lived among villagers and did menial labour. Bao recalled that when he returned home after working on the film for more than half a year, his appearance had changed so much that his son could not recognise him.

The Opium War

In 1997, Bao was cast asLin ZexuinXie Jin's historical epic filmThe Opium War,which won the 1997Golden Roosterand the 1998Hundred Flowersawards for Best Picture. To prepare for the role, Bao travelled to Lin Zexu's hometown ofFuzhouto experience life there. Apart from that, every morning when he woke up, he would imagine himself as Lin Zexu and try to adjust his thoughts and personality to fit his character's.

Zhen Xin

In 2001, Bao played the lead role inZhen Xin( chân tâm;True Heart), a biographical film aboutWu Dengyun( ngô đăng vân; b. 1939), a medical doctor known for helping to improve healthcare inUlugqat County,Xinjiang.Bao commented, "IfLin Zexuwas an example of a firm and assertive hero, then Wu Dengyun is a kind and tender hero. "Zhen Xinwas shot in thePamir Mountainsat an altitude of 5,000m. Bao suffered from severehigh blood pressureand during the descent he had to be carried, wearing anoxygen maskand onIV drip.Recalling this incident, he said, "I almost lost my life in making this movie."As Bao was very absorbed into his role, he would feel like crying each time he sees Wu Dengyun, with whom he has developed a close friendship, and when he is reminded of Wu's daughter. He said, "After Wu Dengyun's daughter died, her body was transferred to the morgue in the hospital where Wu Dengyun worked. Every night, he would light a lamp and go to the morgue to see his daughter. This is the" tender "side of the hero Wu Dengyun! Until today it still moves me deeply."

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Although Bao has portrayed heroes and protagonists many times on screen, his best known role to date, however, is that of an antagonist — "Cao Cao"inRomance of the Three Kingdoms,a 1994 television series based on the classicalnovel of the same title.Before shooting started, Bao told the producers that he wanted his portrayal of the character to be "answerable to his family and audiences". He was very focused and diligent in preparing for his role, doing extensive research and spending long periods of time pondering over his character. Bao decided not to limit himself to the traditional image of Cao Cao as a villain, so he based his Cao Cao on his personal interpretation of the character in the novel and the Cao Cao described in historical texts. Bao's performance inRomance of the Three Kingdomspropelled him to fame and earned him two Best Actor awards at the 1995Golden Eagle AwardsandFlying Apsaras Awards.AfterRomance of the Three Kingdoms,Bao promised himself never to act in historical-themed productions again, but ironically, he found himself receiving and accepting more offers to play historical figures in films and television. He commented on this, "Cao Cao got me overwhelmed!".

Initiating Prosperity

In 2005, Bao played the tyrannicalEmperor Yangof theSui dynastyin the television seriesInitiating Prosperity( khai sang thịnh thế;The Opening of an Age of Prosperity).He wanted to reject the offer for the role but found it hard because the director and producers were his old friends. In one scene, the emperor is shown shedding tears when sending off his daughter to a distant land to marry aTujueleader. Bao recalled that he had never been so emotional in any of his previous projects except forZhen Xin.Bao commented, "He was an emperor but he was also a person! No matter how bad he was, he was still flesh and blood."Bao later revealed that he had imagined Emperor Yang's daughter as his young granddaughter, so he could not hold back his tears at the thought of his granddaughter leaving him. Bao also explained that he wanted to present a complete, three-dimensional, vivid, and historically accurate portrayal of Emperor Yang, which boils down to his flamboyant costumes, as the emperor was known for his extravagance.

Current work

Apart from teaching at theCentral Academy of Dramaas a professor, Bao continues to remain active in the entertainment industry although he hardly plays leading roles now. Bao mentioned that as he grew older he felt that he has become more mature in his career. He once said that an actor should take precautions not to "slip" as age catches up with him, because if he "slips" he would lose his "explosive power" in acting.

Filmography

Film

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes
1983	Hometown at the Foot of the Mountain	Sơn hạ thị cố hương	Chang Mao
1986	Decision	Quyết sách
1990	The Atmospheric Layer Vanishes	Đại khí tằng tiêu thất	Siberian tiger	voice acting
1997	The Opium War	Nha phiến chiến tranh	Lin Zexu
1999	Zero O'Clock Action	Linh điểm hành động	Wei Feng
2001	True Love	Chân tâm	Wu Dengyun(older)
2002	The Love of a Policewoman	Cảnh chi luyến		TV film
2003	The Injustice to Dou E	Đậu nga oan	Dou Tianzhang	TV film
2004	Invincible Army of Nuclear Power	Hạch điện thiết quân	Li Zihua	TV film
2010	Sacrifice	Triệu thị cô nhi	Zhao Dun
2013	Shandong Brothers	Sơn đông huynh đệ	Professor Wang
	To the Sea	Sơn ngoại thị hải	Old Shen
2018	The Story of Qianyuan	Càn nguyên thương khung	Secretary Liu

TV dramas

Year	English title	Original title	Role	Notes
1984	Outlaws of the Marsh	Thủy hử truyện	Song Jiang
1991	The Great Prime Minister of Tang	Đại đường danh tương	Wei Zheng
1994	Romance of the Three Kingdoms	Tam quốc diễn nghĩa	Cao Cao
1995	Wu Zetian	Võ tắc thiên	Emperor Taizong of Tang
1997	Sun Wu	Tôn võ	King Liao of Wu
1998	Law of This World	Nhân gian chính đạo	Wu Mingxiong
	The Strange Case of Double Phoenix	Song phượng kỳ án	Du Hanzhang
1999	Female Prisoners	Nữ tù	Liang Tianyu
2000	The Emperor's Teacher, Liu Bowen	Đế sư lưu bá ôn	Liu Bowen
2001	Peach Flowers in a Turbulent Age	Loạn thế đào hoa	Li Yuan
	Lord Bao's Life and Death Calamity	Bao công sinh tử kiếp	Bao Zheng
2002	Wind, Rain, Heaven and Earth	Phong vũ càn khôn	Sima Minwang
	The Director of People's Congress	Nhân đại chủ nhậm	Qi Hengshou
	Rescuing Juvenile Offenders	Chửng cứu thiếu niên phạm	Bao Wentong
2003	The Affaire in the Swing Age	Giang sơn phong vũ tình	Hong Chengchou
	Naked Snow	Lỏa tuyết	Cao Zhong
	Changping of the War	Thiết huyết trường bình	King Zhaoxiang of Qin
2004	So Rich in Beauty	Như thử đa kiều	Lin Ran
	The Execution of Chen Shimei	Tân trát mỹ án	Bao Zheng
	Undercover Light and Shadow	Vô gian quang ảnh	Xu Nuo
2005	The Emperor of Great Ming	Đại minh thiên tử	Hongwu Emperor
	Refusing Maturity	Cự tuyệt thành thục	Scribe
	National Secret	Quốc gia cơ mật	Mr. Xiao
	The Rebirth of a King	Việt vương câu tiễn	Wu Zixu
	Initiating Prosperity	Khai sang thịnh thế	Emperor Yang of Sui
	Ren Changxia	Nhậm trường hà
2006	The Naval Story	Thuyền chính phong vân	Zuo Zongtang
	For Truly Great Men	Sổ phong lưu nhân vật	Lin Ran
	Big Locust Tree	Đại hòe thụ	Hongwu Emperor
	A Legend of Shaolin Kungfu	Thiếu lâm tự truyện kỳ	Shaolin abbot
2007	The Legend of Xin Zhui	Tân truy truyện kỳ	Xiao He
	Major Case Squad	Đại án tổ	Mr. Zhang
2008	Pathfinding to the Northeast	Sấm quan đông	Tan Yongqing
	The Peacocks Fly to the Southeast	Khổng tước đông nam phi	Liu's father
2009	Venture	Sang nghiệp	Mayor Ye
	Broad Sky, Boundless Land	Thương thiên hậu thổ	Shi Xinyuan
	Wuliang Sky	Vô lượng thiên	Liu Keqian
	Oriental Casablanca	Đông phương tạp tát bố lan tạp	Fang Tianting
2010	Ice Is Water Asleep	Băng thị thụy trứ đích thủy	Feng Yunshan
	Liu Sanjie	Lưu tam tỷ	Liu Zhiyuan
	A Legend of Shaolin Kungfu 2	Thiếu lâm tự truyện kỳ 2	Shaolin abbot
2011	Brother Foes	Hiệp lộ huynh đệ	Huang Sidie
	Wonder Mom	Cực phẩm mụ mụ	An Yuan
2012	Sunny	Phong hòa nhật lệ	Yin Zegui
	Secret Battles in Emei	Mật chiến nga mi	Wu Shi
	Clever Little Kongkong	Thông minh tiểu không không	Abbot
	Crossing the Border	Việt cảnh	Army commander
	Special Arms	Lợi nhận xuất sao	Gao Shiwei
2013	Sleek Rat, the Challenger	Bạch ngọc đường chi cục ngoại cục	Bao Zheng
2015	History's Mission	Lịch sử đích sử mệnh	Tang Guanhong
	The Legend of Li Bing	Lý băng truyện kỳ	King Huiwen of Qin
2016	The Identity of Father	Phụ thân đích thân phân	Zhang Hanmin
2017	A Legend of Shaolin Kungfu 4	Thiếu lâm tự truyện kỳ 4	Abbot

References

Sources

• (in Chinese)Bao Guo'an: Performing artist.This page includes a transcript of an interview with Bao.

External links

• Bao Guo'anatIMDb
• Bao Guo'anat theHong Kong Movie Database
• (in Chinese)Bao Guo'an's profileon Haihua Sun's official website