Liu Xiao Ling Tong

Zhang Jinlai (; born 12 April 1959), better known by his stage name Liu Xiao Ling Tong (), is a Chinese actor, best known for his role as the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) in the 1986 television series Journey to the West () adapted from the classic Chinese novel of the same name. Zhang adopted his father Zhang Zongyi's stage name, Liu Ling Tong, and amended it to Liu Xiao Ling Tong.

His compelling performance in Journey to the West was greatly praised by critics and helped him win the Best Actor award at the sixth Golden Eagle Awards in 1988. On September 27, 2006, he was conferred the Certificate of Mouthpiece of the 3rd International Forum of the China Cultural Industry. In June 2007, he played both the roles of Wu Chengen and Sun Wukong in the costume drama "Wu Cheng'en and the Journey to the West" (吴承恩与西游记). In 2009, he acted in the historical drama "War and Peace in the North" (北平战与和).2015, acted in the ancient mythological drama "Shi Dang Dang Zhi Xiong Ceng Tian Dong“ (石敢当之雄峙天东)。

In 2017, he was awarded as a national actor；In the same year he played the role of Master Xuanzang in the documentary "One Belt, One Road - Retracing the Road of Xuanzang" (一带一路·重走玄奘路) and was the chief producer and director of the documentary, which won the Best Documentary Award at the Vancouver International Chinese Film Festival;

In recent years, Zhang has made great efforts promoting Sun Wukong in popular culture, which contributed to increasing the popularity of both the classic novel and the character around the world. Zhang Tingchun mostly performed in the countryside of Zhejiang under the stage name "Huo Hou Zhang" ().

Zhang's grandfather, Zhang Yisheng (), had the stage name "Sai Huo Hou" (). He changed his stage name slightly, to "Liu Xiao Ling Tong", which still means "Little Six Year Old Child".

As a dedication to the memory of his elder brother, Zhang put great effort into playing the role of Sun Wukong well. He also helped people affected by leukemia. In 1992, China Central Television produced an eight-episode television series titled Hou Wa () about Zhang's life.

Career

Zhang gained international fame for his starring role as the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) in the 1986 television series Journey to the West, adapted from the classic Chinese novel of the same title. Zhang's compelling performance, which was greatly praised by critics, helped him win the Best Actor award at the 6th Golden Eagle Awards in 1988.

Zhang reprised his role as Sun Wukong in Wu Cheng'en and Journey to the West, a 2010 television series about Wu Cheng'en—the author of Journey to the West—and his inspiration for writing the novel. Zhang also simultaneously portrayed Wu Cheng'en.

Filmography

Film

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! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | English Title

! scope="col" | Chinese Title

! scope="col" | Role

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes

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! scope="row" |1981

| The True Story of Ah Q

| The revolutionist