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Liu Xiao Ling Tong recruits candidates to play Monkey King

(People's Daily Online)    16:30, June 03, 2016

Liu Xiao Ling Tong(R)teaches a kid how to play Sun Wukong on stage.

This year, 2016, is the Year of the Monkey. Most Chinese people associate this with the deified monkey Sun Wukong and Liu Xiao Ling Tong, an actor who plays the fictional monkey hero.

Liu Xiao Ling Tong is the stage name of Zhang Jinlai. In 1959, Zhang Jinlai was born to an artistic family in Shanghai whose male descendants are famous for playing Sun Wukong on stage. Zhang is the fourth generation to play the Monkey King.

Zhang rose to fame by playing Sun Wukong in the 1986 television adaption of the classic novel "Journey to the West."

During the six years he spent shooting the adaption, Zhang poured a great deal of effort into his portrayal of the Monkey King, in order to fulfill the wish of his elder brother, Zhang Jinxing, who died in 1966.

More recently, Zhang has been promoting his autobiography around the world. He hopes that people can learn something valuable from the Monkey King, such as his enterprising spirit, indomitable will, optimism and perseverance.

Since he has no sons, Zhang has to break with the family tradition and recruit an outside candidate to inherit the role of Monkey King. According to Zhang, an actor who wants to effectively play the Monkey King on television or in film must first train by playing the Monkey King in traditional Chinese opera; otherwise, he will not be able to grasp the soul of the character.

According to Zhang, traditional Chinese opera requires movement of the hands, eyes, limbs and whole body to imitate monkeys in the wild.

As for his collaboration with the Paramount Pictures, with whom he plans to shoot a cinematic version of the classic, Zhang said the filming has been delayed because of problems with the screenplay.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Editor:Ma Xiaochun,Bianji)

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