[This is a translation of an interview published in the Yangcheng Evening News 羊城晚报 (Guangzhou), November 21, 2008. Byline: Li Li 李丽. The original is online at Jinyang Net, the paper's online edition. Italicized parts are the reporter's intro to each section; bracketed items like this one are the translator's notes.]
Once More a Student, Tang Wei Feels Rejuvenated
After presenting so stunning a feminine screen image in "Lust, Caution," Tang Wei suddenly vanished – as if she had gone back in time to the film's historical setting. What has happened in her world during the last year? Amid the ever-growing rumors about her in entertainment circles, how might she have changed when she came back? And even more importantly, what does the future hold for her?
Although she rarely accepts media interviews, Tang Wei yesterday granted an exclusive interview to a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News.
1 Studying in London
Not long ago, Tang Wei spent two months in London taking advanced classes and – fitting for someone in the acting profession – she chose to take courses in stage acting. Now, Tang says she still continues to draw inspiration from her time in London. What did that experience mean to her, and what did she learn from it?
[In the following dialog, Y=the Yangcheng Evening News; T=Tang Wei]
Y: What had you studied Prior to going to London to study? What prompted you to make this decision? And why London in particular?
T: Because I often want to just get away from working for a while, that's why I didn't pursue a long-term curriculum. I had taken courses in stage acting before, and I performed a role in a Shakespearean play as a graduation project. I have studied a lot, this was the most suitable course for me, and I spent the rest of my time there studying English. I've liked English since childhood, and learning English has always been my dream. I chose London because I like its humanities and its culture, plus there are 200 theaters there, and lots of parks.
Y: What did you find most interesting about going to school in London? Why?
T: I liked London, and the things that left the deepest impression on me was Londoners: their courtesy, their reserve, their strong moral sense, their beer and their collective culture. And of course, the weather there. If you ask me what was my most interesting course, I think it would be this.
Y: How did you handle food, drink and housing while you were in England? What did you do on those days you were not in class?
T: I'd take the bus, take the subway, prepare my own meals and carry my lunch to school. At the end of the day after classes I'd go to a play, and on the bus going home I would think over the play I had just seen. I led a very typical English student's life.
Y: Your English was already good, is it better now?
T: There are still some shortcomings. When Chinese people learn English, they usually do fine with language for everyday use, but to really master it can take 10, 15 years or even longer. I hope that someday I can understand the humor in English language movies, and I hope that one day I can appear on a London stage.
Y: After having lived abroad for a time, how is your mood different?
T: I've learned considerably more English and seen a lot of plays, so my mood is naturally very good, very fulfilled.
2 Settling in Hong Kong
Because of her torrid love scenes with Tony Leung Chiu Wai in the film, and her uncommon female grace and elegance, it was inevitable Tang Wei would be compared with Maggie Cheung. And Tang Wei is becoming a Hong Kong resident – as Maggie Cheung is – and will receive her HK residence card very quickly.
Y: What was your initial thinking in applying for Hong Kong residency under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme? Is your being in "Lust, Caution" of importance in the application process?
T: I applied for Hong Kong residency because my current company is in Hong Kong, and it's more convenient for traveling in or out. I'm not too clear on the specifics of the application process because that's all being arranged and handled by the company.
Y: Would you consider long-term residence in Hong Kong?
T: At the time we were filming, I had lived in Hong Kong for six months. It's a place I like very much, and I hope to make even more new friends through working there. But my family is in Beijing, and I hope to be with them as much as possible.
Y: When you were in Beijing a few days ago, the media saw you and Maggie Cheung together. She's one of Hong Kong's most successful actresses, do the two of you have mutual admiration?
T: Maggie Cheung is very friendly, and I was very happy to chat with her.
Y: Can you reveal what the two of you talked about at that time? About acting, about the future, about life's path, did she make any suggestions to you?
T: We talked about movies, the theater, we talked about whatever came up, it was very informal.
Y: Do you hope become the same kind of artist as Maggie Cheung?
T: There will always be only the one Maggie. Each person can only be themself, and not duplicate someone else.
Y: After "Lust, Caution," you made many public appearances, and we understand that many international brands liked your elegant manner. Do you feel this elegance is inborn? Why? And if not, how did you acquire it?
T: When I was little I was very much like a boy, very good at sports. It wasn't until "Lust, Caution" that I realized to my surprise that I could dress in a qipao [cheongsam] and look good in it. I feel that every girl has an elegant side, but in this era of advocating gender neutrality, everyone tries to conceal it. Actually, everyone wants to be perfect, women want to be gentlewomen, men want to be gentlemen, but with rebellion now so fashionable, "gentlewoman" has become a dirty word, and it seems like elegance is no longer part of being young. As for myself, I've always liked me the way I am. But there is both external elegance and internal elegance, and if I can only have one of these, I'd rather have the latter.
3 Looking back at fame
"Lust, Caution," Tang Wei's maiden film appearance, was a movie which really changed her life. Looking back on it now, what does she think of her acting? And if she had the chance to do it again, would she?
Y: You've acted on the stage, and also made a heavyweight movie. Before you went to England to study, what did you feel was lacking in your acting art, and why?
T: I'm a new actor, "Lust, Caution" was my first film, I lacked experience, and this would be my greatest shortcoming. I hope to have the opportunity to build a strong foundation on these inadequacies, and that's why I studied theater in London.
Y: What do you see as the differences between Western acting and Eastern acting?
T: When it's done diligently it's the same, no particular differences.
Y: If you were making "Lust, Caution" again, what improvements would you make? Would you give the audience something different?
T: (Laughs) I don't think I'd want to go back into that "Hell" with the director and Tony Leung again. Once was enough. (Laughs)
Y: After the publicity campaign for "Lust, Caution" was over, did you have any further contacts with Tony Leung and Ang Lee? What place do you feel they have in your life?
T: I think of them in my life as my teachers and friends. I hope to have the opportunity to learn more things from them in the future.
Y: After "Lust, Caution," many people thought that you were stationed at too high a starting point, and worried about your future. Did you also have that worry at that time?
T: Every station in life has a starting point, and I can treat every role as if it is my first. I will have many pitfalls to get past on my acting road.
Y: How would you handle it if your next film isn't as popular or influential as "Lust, Caution"? Do you consider "Lust, Caution" to be a personal benchmark you must outdo?
T: "Lust, Caution" is now totally in the past, and I'm now just an ordinary actor. When I get my next role I'll approach it earnestly from the beginning, do my best at it, and present a well-developed role to everyone.
Y: Do you have any regrets about becoming so famous?
T: What is there to regret? I just want to be a good actor.
Y: In that "open window" after "Lust, Caution," in what areas do you feel you can grow and mature? And how will you do it?
T: I really have no plans in that regard. If I gain something, then I gain it. I would prefer to acquire that sort of "maturity" naturally, and not have it "pasted" on.
4 Speculating About the Future
After "Lust, Caution," there were many news reports concerning new movie roles for Tang Wei, but in the end all were denied. What direction will her future path take? Will she go to Hollywood? Her response indicates her self-confidence is unshakable.
Y: Do you want to act in Hollywood? Why?
T: I hope that China will be the world's movie and TV center of the future, because I am a Chinese actor.
Y: In Hollywood, Chinese actors have always found it hard to be taken as seriously as white actors. How do you view this problem? How might this problem influence your decision?
T: This is a regional problem, like when a great many famous white actors have walked down major streets in China, and no one has recognized them. There is no difference.
Y: If you were offered a role in a big international film, what would be your bottom line in accepting it? And what sort of role and film would you absolutely not accept?
T: I couldn't know unless I had some role in front of me to evaluate.
Y: What kind of role do you hope for after "Lust, Caution"?
T: I haven't thought about that. I just want to act, and want challenging roles.
Y: What plans do you have for your future path?
T: I'm someone who has no plans whatever, my plans stop at this moment.
Y: How do you deal with those feelings a great many stars have, that they cannot bear not always being on top, or having gloomy prospects?
T: I'm now just an ordinary student, and I very conscientiously enjoy my student life. Actually, I'm situated on the same horizon as everyone else, just doing the work I like to do.
5 Candid about Feelings
Although Tang Wei has become a celebrity, she has remained very low keyed, but this has not hindered her feelings about romance at all. Until now she has never responded to questions about her past love life, but this time she has given the Yangcheng Evening News's readers an answer.
Y: In the past, the media has "looked into" three of your male friends, that is, Zhu Yuzhen 朱雨辰,
Duan Yihong 段奕宏 and Tian Yu 田羽 respectively; have these really been romances? And what was the reason you broke up with your last boy friend?
T: Duan Yihong and I were never boyfriend-girlfriend, we were just in the cast of the same play. Duan Yihong is a very good actor, and the success he has today is because he works harder and is more reliable than a lot of others. He and I have never been competitors for a part, so I have recommended him. I hope to have the chance of working with him again, and I hope his career goes smoothly.
Y: Your ex-boyfriends have all brimmed with emotion in their recollections of you, feeling you are a very nice girl. But it doesn't seem like you have the same sort of feelings when you talk about them?
T: I believe the Chinese word for this is "fate."
[The term Tang Wei used is "缘分" which means "fate" or "destiny," but specifically that fate or destiny which brings people together]
Y: What sort of man do you feel you could really commit to?
T: As Tony Leung Kai Fa's character put it in "The Eagle Shooting Heroes": "the one I'm destined for!" (Laughs.)
Y: Do you have a boyfriend now?
T: No.
Y: As for whether to make one's love life public or not, every star has a different way of dealing with that. What is your way?
T: If I have a boyfriend, and if the time is right, then everyone will naturally know of it.
Y: Do you think you will marry late? Or, like some female stars, find love and then abandon your career?
T: My understanding of Chinese law is that any marriage after age 25 is considered a late marriage, so I've already entered the ranks of the unmarried young. (Laughs) I think I'm the first person in my family to achieve that status.
Y: If life is a mountain climb, where do you see yourself located on it now? Why? And what scenery do you hope to see from the summit?
T: Life should be an endless series of mountains, rising and falling, going back and forth, but never stopping. Each of these mountains is different, and each has different phases I go through, and even on the same mountain I can have different feelings at each phase. I hope that when I'm 90 years old I can look down from the summit and have a birds-eye view of the world.
