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

Television Year English Title Chinese title Role Notes 1986 Journey to the West Sun Wukong 1993 Monkey Child Liu Lingtong 1994 Yan Shipeng 1997 Father 2000 Luo Dapeng Zhou Enlai Journey to the West Sun Wukong 2001 The Pearl King Li Zhengping 2002 The doctor 2004 The Story Of Three loves Guan Shoufeng 2005 Lian Cheng Jue (A Deadly Secret) Hua Tiegan The Delighted Seven Fairies Taishang Laojun 2006 Xun Huisheng Wang Yaoqing 2007 Legend of He Long Zhou Enlai 2009 War and Peace over Peking Hu Shih 2010 Wu Cheng'en and Journey to the West Wu Cheng'en 2013 Chivalous Robber Lee-San Li Xian 2015 Dare Stone Male Tiandong Jade Emperor

Personal life On June 12, 1988, Zhang married Yu Hong , a staff of China Central Television, in Beijing. Their daughter, Zhang Tongtong , was born in November 1990. Zhang expressed his concern over more contemporary Sun Wukong portrayals. While Zhang stated that he was happy to see Journey to the West, as well as other Chinese classical novels, receiving increased attention from foreign directors, he emphasized that "such adaptation has to be based on adequate knowledge of Chinese culture" and that "the Monkey King is not King Kong". Zhang believes that Goku from Dragon Ball does not portray the Chinese style of Sun Wukong.

Awards Year Nominated work Award Result Notes 1988 Journey to the West 6th Golden Eagle Television Awards: Best Actor 1994 Monkey Child 12th Golden Eagle Television Awards: Best Supporting Actor