I WANT TO INTRODUCE TO YOU GUYS, ZENG JIANG... (MR. GAO OF METEOR GARDEN II)

He's one of the actors I admire most, aside from F4, Jay Chou, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Louis Koo, Sammi Cheng, Carina Lau, Tony Leung, etc... etc... There are also some of the OLD ACTORS that make a good impression on me... Of watching "Eagle Shooting Heroes"... Of watching "Return of the Condor Heroes", I know them by faces but don't know their names... I CAN REMEMBER ONLY A HANDFUL OF THOSE "FAMILIAR FACES", one of them is ZENG JIANG another is "UNCLE SOUP" FROM LOVESTORM but of course i call him by his character name in "EAGLE SHOOTING HEROES" as "Cheng Ji Si Han" or Gengis Khan. Anyways...

LET'S TALKE ZENG JIANG
I first grew familiar of his face because of "Eagle Shooting Heroes". He portrays Huang Rong's father Huang Yao Shi also known as "Dong Xie". His character in "Eagle Shooting Heroes" is a very unpredictable man, he lives in a secluded island called "Tao Hua Dao" with his daughter Huang Rong. His character is very much in the NEUTRAL because you can't say that he's a good man nor a bad man. He doesn't believe in "Jiang Hu Gui Ju" meaning the STANDARD RULES OF THE MARTIAL ARTS WORLD. He is a man with a world of himself, as much as possible he doesn't want to interfere with the fight between good and evil. He thinks that greeting an elder and having to kneel or bow is an 'OLD TRADITION' and does not impress him at all. I also liked his character because he's the ONE AND ONLY "ELDER" who was very much amused with 'YANG-GUO' marrying 'XIAO LONG NU' even though their relationship is a student-teacher relationship. I like him being the cool guy, he even takes YANG-GUO as his friend, which is in the REAL MARTIAL ARTS WORLD, there must be a line between the elder and the next generation, their relationship must not be friends but father-son... LIKE HUANG YAO SHI SAID: "RULES ARE SET BY PEOPLE, SO WHY CAN'T IT BE BROKEN BY PEOPLE?"... I think he's really cool... for me... I never liked rules, I like to do what I like, whatever tradition one may have, i respect it, obey it but not actually DO IT!

"Eagle Shooting Heroes" was remaked several times, 1982 in HK by TVB starring Felix Wong and Barbara Yeung; 1994 in HK by TVB again starring Athena Chu and Chilam Cheung; then another one by CHINA around 2003 by Lee Ah Peng and Zhou Xun. There were other remakes but i can't remember it anymore. The story focused on Guo-Jing and Huang Rong with Yang Kang as the bad guy.

"Return of the Condor Heroes" a sequel to "Eagle Shooting Heroes", Huang Yao Shi is also present, this focused on YANG-GUO AND XIAO LONG-NU's part. Yang-guo by the way is Yang-Kang's son. This TV series was also remaked several times, 1983 in HK by TVB starring Andy Lau and Ivy Chen; around 1994 in Taiwan starring Ritchie Ren and Wu Qian Lian; 1995 in HK by TVB again starring Louis Koo and Carman Lee; In Singapore there was also a remake but I don't know who the casts are; In China, on 2006 a remake is in the process starring Huang Xiao Ming and Liu Yi Fei (There was a time there was a poll who would be chosen as Yang-guo and Jerry was in the poll, i was hoping he could get it coz he's too fit for the role... the story of the two characters is similar to Meteor Garden, difference is, the TIME SETTING.. and some plot...)

I was comparing all those remakes excluding the TAIWAN VERSION BECAUSE... IT SUCKS! Didn't watch it! THey totally changed the story... So anyways, I was there comparing the characters etc etc... I watch these TV SERIES over and over again, I do that once a year, at least. Then I realized that in those remakes, the character of Huang Yao Shi is delivered differently, Zeng Jiang's portrayal of Huang Yao Shi is that he is very strict, affirmative and he never gave others chance to explain further the situations they're in. Whatever you say about him, if he doesn't like it then to hell with you i'll go my own way. That's the Huang Yao Shi I grew up knowing of... But then here comes this lenient Huang Yao Shi in 1994 and 1995... I said where's the character i'm looking for? He became lenient, caring and most of all he even understood what was happening around him that he almost made a compromise for the group not to mistake him for what he didn't do. It's the opposite of the other HUANG YAO SHI that i knew...

MY CONCLUSION: I like Zeng Jiang better, acting-wise, character portrayal-wise, he's the HUANG YAO SHI I was looking for... And now, he met his Yang-Guo, the only actor he mentioned FOUR TIMES IN DIFFERENT INTERVIEWS IN DIFFERENT YEARS... the RESPECTABLE YANG-GUO and my Yang-guo... [B]JERRY YAN[/B].

YANG-GUO's character: He's always mistaken as an imitation of his father, betrayed his country, his friends and even his parents. Yang-guo's character is that he's a one woman man, always thought of as a snob, he's not good in words but in action, he helps his friends even enemies and is willing to sacrifice himself for others' sake...

DIFFERENT INTERVIEWS OF ZENG JIANG MENTIONING JERRY YAN:

娛樂八卦』 [資深粉絲]曾江又說言承旭了(轉載)


之所以說”又”,是因為曾江先后四次在采訪中提到言承旭,最新的一次是在上個月文匯報的一個報道中.曾江先生曾在流星花園2中,与言承旭有過合作.

　　
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　　※ 曾江: 言承旭有星味（2003/2/6 苹果）


　　說到接拍《流星花園II》的原因，曾江不諱言是基于好奇心，他說：“我唔明點解言承旭呢個仔會咁紅，咪索性去睇佢點解咁紅。見到之后就明白啦。佢真系几靚仔，就算老遠望埋去，都已經有星味，做戲都唔錯，對我呢老人家又尊重，听教听話。”

* Zeng Jiang: Yan Cheng Xu has an aura of a star (2003/2/6) Apple Daily

Why did he accept the role in , He said: " I don't know why Jerry Yan is so famous. I'm not satisfied so I went to see why he's that famous. When I met him, I understood. He's very handsome, even when i see him from afar, he has the aura of a star, not bad in shooting films, he treat old people with respect and he listens through whatever i teach him or tell him."
　　
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　　※ 曾江喜歡言承旭不會演戲 （明報周刊第1849期 4/17/04）


　　和言承旭做過對手戲，他曾江一向對對手要求高，問他覺得Jerry會不會演戲？


他說：“我希望他不會做戲，他做回自己就很可以。他真的好棒，他有‘星味’（當藝人的資格），這個臭小子，身材、衣著、甚至步行都好好看，不要談演戲，先把自己做好。害羞其實沒有大問題的呀，女的見到他這樣（害羞）已經喜歡到不成，對嗎？由１３歲到６３歲的女人都喜歡他，我老婆見到他們都喜歡到不成……”
　　
Zeng Jiang Likes Jerry Yan not to act good (Ming Bao 4/17/04)
When he had a chance to act opposite Jerry Yan, does he feel Jerry can act or not?
He says: "I wish he wouldn't 'play games', just be himself and that's okay. He's really great, he's got this "Star aura" (The right to be an ACTOR), this stupid guy, has the body, the taste for clothings and even how he walks, everything looks good in him, let's not just talk about how acting, just make oneself look good. Being shy is not a problem, girls who see him being shy makes them fall for him, am i right? The age range of these women is from 13 to 63, they all liked him. Even my wife is liked them so much I can't take it...."
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　　※ 港台DJ 車淑梅訪問曾江（已翻譯成白話）


　　 DJ: 合作時,對他們印象如何?


　　曾: 我主要是和JERRY合作, I like him, 他好乖, 人好好, 我覺得他比現今大部分年輕人要好很多,我開始以為他們這么紅, 一定很大牌, 但他對我們合作拍戲的演員和工作人員都好尊重, 有商有量, 恭恭敬敬, 有時他二十几個鐘頭沒睡, 空擋時就隨便找個地方磕睡一下, 有時就找個地方一躺, 但一叫他埋位就很快, 很准, 真的好專業, 看到我們不管多累, 也要打招呼, 問好, 我從未見他發脾气, 是個好
乖, 好安靜的好孩子。

　　HK-TWN DJ: Che Shu Mei interview of Zeng Jiang
DJ: While filming, what do you think of them?
Zeng Jiang: I only have scenes with Jerry, I like him, he's very obedient, he is a very good person, I think comparing to the other young actors nowadays, he's far off better than them, I thought from the beginning that they're so famous, for sure they act that they're big time actors, but he treated all the staffs and crews including me with respect, he does many compromises, very very respectful, there were times that he wasn't able to sleep for more than 20 hours, when there's time he will just crash into any place and take a nap, there were times when he just looks for a place to sleep, but if it's time for his part, he's quick, very accurate, very PROFESSIONAL, when he sees us, even if he's too tired, he still makes it a point to greet us, ask us how are we, i never saw him lost his temper, a very very good person and a very quiet kid."

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　※ 曾江：“老戲骨”的雙面人生（2005-06-02 上海文匯報）


　　記：可是現在的娛樂圈，和你年輕時又不一樣，現在的演員很多都要多栖發展，否則就無法在這個圈子立足。


　　曾：是啊，壓力大是他們比較苦惱的地方。但多栖發展也要有這個實力的。你要是天賦秉性，像言承旭，要貌有貌，要身材有身材，又討人喜歡又有腦子，那稍微努力一點就能脫穎而出。要不你就踏踏實實，多學習一些技巧，一步一步走好了。最怕那些半吊子還出來賣弄的人，磚不磚木不木的，還自我感覺好的不得了，就是這些人，讓香港娛樂圈萎靡。


Zeng Jiang: "Old Play's Bones" 2 faced life (2005/6/2 Shanghai Wen Hui Newspaper)

Reporter: In this entertainment Circle, those actors/actresses that are younger than you are not the same, there are many who wanted to grow fast, or else they won't survive in this circle.

Zeng Jiang: Yes, pressure is their utmost problem. Landing on more success needs more strength. If you are in the position of the likes of Jerry Yan who possesses natural talents, you want respect he has respect, you want great body he got one; easy to like and has the brains, with his diligence and a little bit more effort and he'll make it through. If not why don't you step onto the ground and learn more arts, take it one by one. I hate those who just come out and sell themselves out and fool people, like bricks and wood, feeling that they're very good, it's these people who degrades the HK entertainment circle.

THE OLD MAN SAYS IT ALL.. SO WHAT DO WE STILL HAVE TO SAY?


DALI NA-ASI JERRY SA CEBU! I'M JUST TWO DAYS AWAY...