On Jfdaily on 2/6, Wei Minh, the actor's daughter, confirmed that her father died on 1/6. The family held a private funeral in Shanghai on 5/6. In his final years, the artist suffered from various illnesses and rarely went out.
Wei Minh shared, "In his acting career, my father never truly sat down to quietly watch his own works. Yet, a week before his passing, he enthusiastically watched 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' and 'The Water Margin'." She noted his passion for film, adding that despite his frail health at the end of his life, his eyes would sparkle whenever acting was mentioned.
Actor Wu Jing, who collaborated with Wei Zongwan in the historical drama "Jiangshan Wei Zhong", paid tribute: "I had the fortune of sharing the screen with him, and I cannot forget the demeanor of this senior actor. Thank you for our acquaintance, may he rest in peace."
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Wei Zongwan in various television series. Photo: Sina |
Born in Shanghai, the artist was a familiar face on Chinese screens, creating many distinctive characters, including Sima Yi in director Wang Fulin's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". According to The Paper, he often proposed his own acting methods for many scenes, portraying the profound depth of the character.
When he joined the film crew, Wei Zongwan was over 50 and had never ridden a horse. At that time, actors completed all horse-riding scenes themselves without stunt doubles. He familiarized himself with horses, fostering affection for his four-legged co-stars. He once expressed envy for Tang Guoqiang, who played Zhuge Liang: "For 10 episodes, I rode a horse for all 10, while Zhuge Liang just sat in a carriage."
Filming for "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" began in 1990 and took over three years, resulting in 84 episodes. The series had the largest investment at the time, totaling 170 million yuan (23.8 million USD). Nearly 100 million yuan (14 million USD) was used to recreate the Three Kingdoms era setting. Actor salaries accounted for only about 5% of the total investment. The work was monumental and grand, both in its setting and its human elements, featuring approximately 400,000 actor appearances.
Wei Zongwan also left his mark as Gao Qiu in "The Water Margin" 1998. Additionally, he participated in "Bao Gong Sheng Si Jie", "Ge Ge Chu Jia", "Meng Duan Zi Jin Cheng", "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" 2002, "Sui Tang Ying Xiong", and "Jiang Hu Wang Su". His last work was "iPartment 5" (2020).
The artist believed that the essence of art lies in creativity, and actors should not repeat their own image. Therefore, after each film, he would forget the character he played, exploring to create new character images and avoiding repetitive expressions.
