Ji Qilin (born 27 May 1947) is a Chinese actor.
Biography Ji Qilin was born in 1947 to two deployed soldiers on their way south during the Chinese Civil War. Because of the war, he grew up in his grandmother's house in Liaocheng, Shandong until the age of 5, when he and his grandmother joined his parents in Beijing. When he was 11, he was admitted to Beijing Chinese Opera School (北京戏曲学校). Two years later, his parents were relocated to Guangzhou, leaving Ji Qilin by himself in Beijing. At school, he trained to become a Peking opera wusheng performer under Hou Hailin (侯海林), a disciple of Yang Xiaolou. In 1963, after eight years of dedicated practice, Ji Qilin received a perfect score for his graduation performance, the first in school history.
Instead of becoming a star performer as everyone had predicted, Ji Qilin saw his dream dashed with the advent of the Cultural Revolution, which banned all traditional Chinese operas. In 1968, Ji Qilin was "sent down" to work in a salt mine in Tianjin. After an attempt to star in revolutionary operas proved unsuccessful, he decided to become a modern dancer. At that time, his newlywed wife Zhang Bailing (张百灵) was working as a stage actress for the Kunming Military Region (昆明军区) in Kunming, and Ji Qilin managed to join the army in Kunming to be with her. He was already 23 with no background in dancing. In order to take on non-extra roles, Ji Qilin had to work much harder than everyone else: he woke up one hour earlier and practiced until late in the evening. His dedication paid off: he was given main roles in the ballet Red Detachment of Women.
Just then the Cultural Revolution ended, and in 1978, Ji Qilin made another career change: he returned to Beijing to enroll in the China National Opera & Drama Dance Theatre so that he could star in dance dramas (舞剧), which sought to combine traditional art forms with western-imported modern dance. Again, Ji Qilin worked extremely hard and came to be recognized as one of the best dancers in China. However, by his late 30s he was increasingly battling back injuries. At that time, his young son Ji Chenmu acted in some films. Encouraged by Zhang Bailing, Ji Chenmu changed his career yet again: he followed his son and became a film and television actor.
Filmography Film YearEnglish titleOriginal titleRoleNotes1982Sword劍PrinceMusical film1983The Legend of Sculptor Chang泥人常傳奇Qianlong Emperor1985Kung Fu Hero Wang Wu大刀王五Tan Sitong1986The White Dragon Sword白龍劍Du Baojie1987Woman Demon Human人鬼情Teacher Zhang1988Zhu De and Fan Shisheng相遇貴相知Fan ShishengTV film1993The Sword of Many Loves飛狐外傳Fuk'angganKung Fu Cult Master倚天屠龍記之魔教教主Zhu Yuanzhang2009The Price买单Zhou Houde2010Shining Life闪亮的青春Shi JianguoThe Dream of Mr. Lee小人物狂想曲Mr. Bai2011Golden Chili Pepper金椒Zhao Qinian2013Clock of God天钟Xia Xin
TV and film series YearEnglish titleOriginal titleRoleNotes1985Master Haideng海燈法師Hu ChunYue Fei岳飛Yue Fei1988A Dream of Red Mansions紅樓夢Jia Lian1990The Story of the Great Wall长城故事Qin Shi Huang1991Sombre Night夜深沉Adjutant Li1992Revolution in 1911辛亥首義Sun Yat-sen1994Big Boss Cheng Changgeng大老板程長庚Cheng ChanggengMei Lanfang梅兰芳Feng Gengguang1995This Life of Ours今生今世Ma Songnian1996Shanghai Tango上海探戈He's fatherNew Dragon Gate Inn新龍門客棧Dorgon1997Swallow Li San燕子李三Li Xian1999Red Crag紅岩Liu Erge2000Bleeding Love and Revenge碧血情仇The Great Emperor Guangwu光武大帝Cen Peng2002Ode to Gallantry俠客行Shi Qing2003The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber倚天屠龍記Yin TianzhengLady Wu: The First Empress至尊紅顏Li YuanjiBandits of Guanzhong關中匪事Xu YunqingBirthday Celebration by Five Daughters新五女拜壽Liang Chaochen2004Genius Physician神醫俠侶Liu YuanSo It Is You原來就是你Du ZhenWudang武當Qiu ChujiMiracle奇迹Zhang Jie2005Strange Tales of Liao Zhai聊齋志異Wang PupinWind and Cloud 2風雲2Qin Shi HuangHappy 7 Fairies歡天喜地七仙女Bare-foot Immortal2007Sword Stained with Royal Blood碧血劍Taoist MusangThe Gold Convoyers鏢行天下Shen RongSpecial Mission 2特殊使命2：亂世女兒紅Roaming the World with a Sword劍行天下Yang Tianpeng2008Tiger Mountain虎山行Li QingtianTaiwan 1895台灣·一八九五Prince GongThe Legend of the Condor Heroes射鵰英雄傳Wang Chongyang2009Look at Flower in Fog雾里看花Mr. GeA Beautiful Daughter-in-law Era媳妇的美好时代Yu Hongshui2011We Are Family我们是一家人Zhao PengfeiGet Married at 30三十而嫁Yu Yuanzhi2012Mother-in-Law's Happy Life岳母的幸福生活Zhao BaofuSecret Battle in Emei密戰峨嵋Dong Ji2013When Tianzhen Meets Xianshi天真遇到现实Yang Tianzhen's fatherThe Third Kind of Happiness第三种幸福Ren Huanting2015Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon风花雪月Happiness Returns幸福归来Mum Go Go Go妈妈向前冲Yin's father2016Not Easy to Raise a Child养个孩子不容易
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