In 1998, the hit of "Huanzhu Gege" made Zhao Lijuan a household name, and she created the classic role of "Concubine Ling" with her outstanding performance.
However, her success was not all smooth sailing, and there was a lot of pain and sacrifice behind it.
During the filming, she had to terminate her pregnancy and thus lost the child in her womb, and all this was planned by director Qiong Yao.
In the face of the temptation of fame and fortune, Zhao Lijuan chose to sacrifice her family. However, behind the halo, is the price she paid really worth it?What kind of struggles and pains did she go through deep down?
On the way to pursue her dream, she finally realized her dream in an old-fashioned compound in Beijing. There was a dull and peaceful childhood there, but for that little girl, it was full of passionate yearning and longing for performance.
Whenever the literary and artistic corps performed in the square, Zhao Lijuan was always the one who was most looking forward to it, her eyes flashed, staring intently at the literary and artistic soldiers performing on the stage.
Whether it is a simple recitation or a warm song and dance, she is deeply attracted by these colorful programs and her mood is surging.
After the performance, she would sneak up on the stage, trying to touch the place where it was still shining, as if she wanted to feel the enthusiasm and vitality of the performers on the stage.
After each performance, Zhao Lijuan is always excited, she will repeatedly reminisce about the performance just now, and then direct and star herself in the courtyard, fantasizing that she is the focus of the square.
However, this dream was not understood and supported by the parents.
Zhao Lijuan was born into a family with a strong academic tradition, and her parents had high hopes that she would be able to concentrate on her studies and be able to enter university and contribute to the country.
They are worried that the show business industry is too turbulent to provide a stable and bright future for their daughter.
Facing the expectations of her parents, Zhao Lijuan was full of struggles. She felt that she was under a paradoxical pressure, on the one hand, she longed to repay her parents for their nurturing kindness by studying hard and getting excellent grades.
On the other hand, her love for acting is like an invisible magic that fascinates her deeply and makes her unable to let go. In her spare time, she would sneak to the Children's Palace to take acting lessons, hoping to improve her dancing and speaking skills.
In order not to be noticed by her parents, she often disguises her learning process for various reasons.
Zhao Lijuan finally waited for an opportunity to realize her dream, and a provincial song and dance theater openly recruited students. She mustered up the courage to sign up and successfully passed the exam. This is undoubtedly a rare opportunity that makes Zhao Lijuan excited, and she is looking forward to the days when she will leave home for further study.
However, the parents strongly disagreed, as the theater was far away from home and needed to stay alone for a few years. Despite the challenges, Zhao Lijuan did not give up, and she decided to use her own efforts to prove that she can face life independently.
They feared for their daughter's safety and strongly objected to her leaving home too early. Despite this, Zhao Lijuan could only regretfully give up this precious opportunity. However, Zhao Lijuan did not give up pursuing her dream, she continued to hone her skills, and applied for the exam again a year later.
The parents may have seen their daughter's unwavering determination and finally agreed to let her study abroad.
Zhao Lijuan realized her dream of entering her favorite theater and embarked on the road of being an actor. When she was just starting out, in order to win attention, she followed the trend, created a ** image, and played a sultry role in many film and television dramas.
Although Zhao Lijuan has always hoped to get more attention in the entertainment industry with her appearance, her quiet personality is not suitable for this highly competitive route. Although she starred in several small roles, she didn't get enough **.
Until 1997, 39-year-old Zhao Lijuan was photographed by Qiong Yao and starred as Concubine Ling in "Huanzhu Gege", a classic role that made her really popular.
Originally, the producers of "Huanzhu Gege" hoped to use young actors to star in this hot work, however, unexpectedly, the actor who was finally selected turned out to be Zhao Lijuan, who was close to 40 years old.
The reason why Qiong Yao chose her was because of her solid acting skills, which are not bound by the age of the character. In the performance, Zhao Lijuan's performance made the director's eyes shine, and from then on, she began to gradually find her own position, and soon attracted everyone's attention with her excellent acting skills, so as to gain a firm foothold in the entertainment industry, and finally won the recognition of the audience with her strength.
Although she lost her way at the beginning, because of her persistent love for drama, Zhao Lijuan finally realized her childhood vision and became a highly respected actor. Zhao Lijuan rose to prominence with the wonderful performance of the first part of "Huanzhu Gege", and this drama shined brightly in her heart.
When "Huanzhu Gege 2" was being prepared, what she thought in her heart was that she must win the opportunity to play her own role this time.
In order to realize his dreams, he is willing to give up his family affection. In 1998, the first part of "Huanzhu Gege" became a hit, and producer Qiong Yao planned to shoot the second part. She found the smash hit actor Zhao Lijuan at the time and invited her to continue to play the role of "Concubine Ling".
Although Zhao Lijuan was already busy with the filming of another drama at that time, she was full of enthusiasm for this drama, and in order to thank Qiong Yao for giving her a chance back then, she did not hesitate to agree to the cameo role.
During the filming of the double-front operation, Zhao Lijuan became pregnant unexpectedly. She and her husband Zhang Mingming have always longed to have children of their own, and their dream has finally come true.
However, in order to be able to play the role of Concubine Ling again, she went through a difficult psychological struggle, and finally made a difficult decision in 1999 - to give up her own flesh and blood.
Although this brought her a huge impact, it also won her the appreciation of her peers and the audience, and everyone saw the image of an actor who is fully committed and responsible for her acting career.
After learning about this, Zhang Zhizhi was very angry, and even on the verge of divorce, he couldn't accept that Zhao Lijuan was willing to give up his own children for the sake of his acting career.
After Zhao Lijuan vowed to have children after achieving success in her career, Zhang Mingming reluctantly agreed to maintain the marriage.
Zhao Lijuan then succeeded in fulfilling her promise, shining in a performance in "Huanzhu Gege 2" and also receiving rave reviews in another new drama.
With the passage of time, Zhao Lijuan's popularity gradually weakened, and was replaced by the rise of new generations such as Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li, and her status in the entertainment industry became more and more marginal.
As a woman, Zhao Lijuan also longs to have an ordinary family in her heart, whenever she sees other mothers hugging their children, she can't help but think of the ambition to pursue her career, she gave up the most precious flesh and blood, which is the deepest pain in her life.
Those days haunted her like a nightmare, casting a haze over her relationship with her husband, and she would cry every time she remembered her husband's disappointment and pain at that time.
At that time, she failed to find the perfect combination between career and family, and finally ended up with a broken ending.
When people reach middle age, they know the preciousness of family happiness, but no matter how successful their careers are, it is difficult to undo the damage caused to their husbands. Zhao Lijuan felt deep remorse and immersed herself in repentance every day.
Five years later, perhaps by a gift from heaven, she conceived her own child again, and perhaps this was the answer to her prayers.
In 2004, Zhao Lijuan was pregnant with her second child, and after sharing the good news with her husband, the two decided to give up their lives in the entertainment industry for the sake of their children.
She decisively chose to retire and devote herself wholeheartedly to family life and accompany her daughter's growth.
Zhao Lijuan knows the pain of giving up her flesh and blood for her career when she was young, so she now values her family more, devotes herself to her husband and children, enjoys a peaceful family time, and uses wisdom and love to create a happy time for the family.
Her heart is full of apologies for her family, so she devotes double her love to her daughter, and it may only be at a certain age that people can truly understand the meaning of giving up.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, her daughter has become an adult, and Zhao Lijuan is also aware of the call of her career. So, in 2010, she returned to the public eye and successfully realized the role transformation from a young actress to a middle-aged actor.
Her first comeback work was done with the directors she had worked with.
Zhao Lijuan, with the unique temperament of a middle-aged woman, successfully attracted the attention of the director. With a wealth of life experience, she quickly integrated into the role and achieved the perfect transformation.
After the transformation, she successively starred in Cao Yuezhi's ** milk in "Qiao's Courtyard", Xiaobao's mother in "Ode to Joy 2", and Wu Huilan as the heroine in "His Life".
She managed to overcome one obstacle after another and let the audience get to know her again through her excellent performance. Today's Zhao Lijuan is 58 years old, although the years have left traces on her face, she is full of happiness.
Years of family life have made her pay more attention to her inner temperament rather than her external appearance.
Zhao Lijuan is low-key, rarely shows family affairs, and only wants to find peace in the hustle and bustle. She walks with her husband and enjoys leisure time, and often goes home to take care of her elderly parents and give them warmth.
Nowadays, she is no longer running for fame and fortune, but enjoys the fun of acting. Her acting skills continue to improve, and she has a steady stream of good roles, gradually transforming from a senior actor to a powerful middle-aged actor.
Zhao Lijuan encountered bumps in the road of life, but with her firm will and extraordinary intelligence, she successfully turned the corner and paved a broad road full of happiness for herself.
Zhao Lijuan's choice reveals the difficulty of women finding a balance between family and career. We should not judge her lightly, because everyone's life circumstances and ideals are different.
Regardless of the end result, the important thing is that she gains inner peace. However, whether this tranquility will last, and whether there is still regret hidden in her heart, we do not know.
Zhao Lijuan