Chen Qiang (; 1918 – 26 June 2012) was a Chinese film and stage actor and comedian best known for his performances as

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.The Red Detachment of Women'', ''

The White Haired Girl ''The White-Haired Girl'' () is a Chinese contemporary classical opera by Yan Jinxuan to a Chinese libretto by He Jingzhi and Ding Yi. It was later adapted to a ballet, a Peking opera, and a film. The ballet adaptation was regarded as a revo ...

'' and ''

Devils on the Doorstep ''Devils on the Doorstep'' (; ; literally "the devils are here"; the devil is a term of abuse for foreign invaders, here referring to brutal and violent Japanese invaders in China during World War II) is a 2000 Chinese black comedy war film directe ...

''. Chen began his career as an actor in 1947 and has played more than 40 different characters since then. His second son,

Chen Peisi Chen Peisi (; born 1 February 1954) is a Chinese sketch comedian, film and stage actor, and voice actor. Chen's oft-time comedy partner is Zhu Shimao. Name Chen Peisi is the second son of famous stage and film actor Chen Qiang. Chen Qiang's f ...

, is also a well-known actor and comedian.

Biography

Chen was born Chen Qingsan () to a poor family in Xujiahe Township of Ningjin County, in

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

province. When he was a child, he relocated to

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

with his parents. In 1936, he attended Taiyuan Youth Theatre and Xinsheng Theatre; both were progressive groups organized by the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

. In 1938, he went to

Yan'an Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...

to study acting at Lu Xun Academy of Arts. After graduating in 1939 he joined the Song and Dance Troupe of Shanxi-Chahaer-Hebei Border Region. Chen joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1942, and made his comedy debut in ''The Second Uncle''. In 1945, he was cast as Huang Shiren, the despotic landlord, in the ballet play ''

''. His performance was so convincing, that an emotionally invested soldier in the audience almost shot him with a rifle in anger. In 1947, he was an actor in Dongbei Film Studio, that same year, he participated in ''Leave Him to Fight Jiang''. In 1949, after the founding of the Communist State, he appeared as Lao Houtou, an old worker in ''The Bridge'', which is the first feature film in the People's Republic. He also played as Yang Mingqing in ''The White Warrior''. He was transferred to

Beijing Film Studio Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is lo ...

in 1953. At the same year, he appeared in the film ''Marriage''. In 1958 he starred in two films, ''He Beauty in the Picture'' and ''No Mystery Three Years Ago''. And he had a supporting role in the film ''A Visit to Relatives''. In 1961, he starred as Nan Batian in

Xie Jin Xie Jin (; 21 November 1923 – 18 October 2008) was a Chinese film director. He rose to prominence in 1957, directing the film '' Woman Basketball Player No. 5'', and is considered one of the Third Generation directors of China. Most recently h ...

's film '' The Red Detachment of Women'', which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Award at the 1st Hundred Flowers Awards and a Best Actor Award at the 3rd

Asian - African Film Festival Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from As ...

, in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, 1964. In 1982, Chen Qiang co-starred with his son

in ''Sunset Street''. In 1986, he played the lead role as Laokui in the comedy film ''Father and Son''. In 1995, he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 13th Golden Eagle Awards for his performance in ''When Something Amazing Happens''. On September 13, 2008, Chen won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the

29th Hundred Flowers Awards The 29th Hundred Flowers Awards was a ceremony held on October 16, 2008 in Dalian, Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map ...

. Chen played One-stroke Liu in ''Devils on the Doorstep'', the would-be executioner and legendary swordsman, who in fact is merely a crazy old man. On June 26, 2012, Chen died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

at Anzhen Hospital, in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Personal life

Chen had two sons, Chen Buda () and

, and a daughter, Chen Lida ().

Filmography

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Qiang 1918 births 2012 deaths People from Xingtai Chinese male film actors Male actors from Hebei Deaths from bleeding 20th-century Chinese male actors 21st-century Chinese male actors Chinese communists Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery