Zuo Dabin

Zuo Dabin (Chinese: 左大玢; born 22 October 1943), also known by her art name Honghui (红辉), is a Chinese actress and educator best known for her role as Guanyin in Journey to the West.[1]

Zuo Dabin
Born	(1943-10-22) October 22, 1943 Xingyang, Henan, China
Other names	Honghui
Occupation	Actress, educator
Years active	1959-present
Organization	Hunan Vocational College of Art Hunan Opera Theatre
Home town	Changsha, Hunan
Political party	Communist Party of China
Parent(s)	Zuo Zonglian (father) Zheng Fuqiu (mother)
Chinese name
Chinese	左大玢
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zuǒ Dàbīn

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zuo.

She was a member of the 7th and 8th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. She is vice president of Hunan Federation of literary and Art Circles and Hunan Drama Association.[2]

Early life and education

Zuo was born on October 22, 1943 in Xingyang, Henan, to Zuo Zonglian (左宗濂), a major general under the leadership of Cheng Qian in the KMT troops and magistrate of Ru County (1940–1943) and Xingyang County (1943–1945), and Zheng Fuqiu (郑福秋), a Xiang opera performer.[3][4] She has an elder sister.[3] Her ancestral home is in Changsha, Hunan. In 1954 she was accepted to Hunan Drama School, majoring in Xiang opera.[4] After graduation, she was assigned to Hunan Opera Theatre as an actress.[4]

Acting career

In 1959, when Mao Zedong returned to Hunan, she performed For Life or for Death. After the performance, Mao Zedong invited her to dance.[4]

In 1966, the Cultural Revolution broke out, she was denounced as a "shoots of revisionism" because her father once served in the KMT army. She was sent to the Dao County to do farm works for two years.

In 1973, she made her film debut in Song of Teacher, playing Yu Ying. Jiang Qing criticizes her "acting like a young mistress of the house! The film is a poisonous grass!" On August 4 of that same year, she made a review at the Beijing Exhibition Hall. After watching the film, Mao Zedong said: "What is the 'big poisonous grass'? What's wrong with it?" Mao Zedong's speech lessened her criticism.[4]

In 1976, at the age of 33, she acted as Guanyin in The Legend of Chasing Fish. After watching the opera, director Yang Jie felt very satisfied. In 1982, Yang Jie invited her to portray Guanyin in Journey to the West, adapted from Ming dynasty novelist Wu Cheng'en's classical novel of the same title. The series was one of the most watched ones in mainland China in that year.[5]

She joined the Communist Party of China in 1984.

Since 2003, she taught at Hunan Vocational College of Art and Hunan Opera Theatre.

Filmography

Film

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes
1973	Song of Teacher	园丁之歌	Yu Ying

Television

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes
1986	Journey to the West	西游记	Guan Yin
2000	Journey to the West	西游记续集	Guan Yin

Xiang opera

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes
1960	The Broken Bridge	断桥
1978	Guo Liang	郭亮
1982	Princess Baihua	百花公主
1986	Giving a Sword	赠剑
1989	Yang Saifeng	杨赛风
1997	Zixue	子血

Variety show

Year	English title	Chinese title	Role	Notes
2018	Ace vs Ace	王牌对王牌	Herself	[6]

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Result	Notes
1989	6th Plum Blossom Prize	Traditional Opera Award	Won

References

1. Zhang Xingjian (5 February 2018). "'Journey to the West' cast reunion spells nostalgia". Chinadaily. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
2. 湖湘人物左大玢. Hunan Library (in Chinese). 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
3. Mi Fangjie (米方杰) (20 September 2018). "观音菩萨"左大玢回到出生地荥阳:不忘自己是河南人. sina (in Chinese). Retrieved 22 October 2019.
4. Huang Yukang (黄禹康) (2006). “观世音”与毛泽东的忘年交. people.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 22 October 2019.
5. 西游记“观世音”老到认不出！当年片酬57元一集，却成就经典！. sina (in Chinese). 4 February 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
6. 《王牌对王牌》回归 《西游记》张青燃爆泪点. 163.com (in Chinese). 5 February 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2019.