Taoism
This article is part of a series on Taoism
Fundamentals
Dao (Tao) · De (Te) · Wuji · Taiji · Yin-Yang · Wu Xing · Qi · Neidan · Wu wei
Texts
Laozi (Tao Te Ching) · Zhuangzi · Liezi · Daozang
Deities
Three Pure Ones · Guan Shengdi · Eight Immortals · Yellow Emperor · Xiwangmu · Jade Emperor · Chang'e · Other deities
People
Laozi · Zhuangzi · Zhang Daoling · Zhang Jue · Ge Hong · Chen Tuan
Schools
Tianshi Dao · Shangqing · Lingbao · Quanzhen Dao · Zhengyi Dao · Wuliupai
Sacred sites
Grotto-heavens · Mount Penglai
Taoism Portal v t e

Zhengyi Dao (Chinese: 正一道; pinyin: Zheng Yi Dào) or the Way of Complete Orthodoxy is a Chinese Daoist movement that emerged during the Tang Dynasty as a transformation of the earlier Tianshi Dao movement. Like Tianshi Dao, the leader of Zhengyi Daoism was known as the Celestial Master.

History[link]

Longhu Shan, the headquarters of the Zhengyi Daoists, in Jiangxi, China

By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in 618, the term 'Celestial Master' had lost the potency it had in earlier movements such as the Five Pecks of Rice, and any prominent Daoist could be accorded the title.^[1] Emperor Xuanzong (712-756), canonized the first Celestial Master Zhang Daoling during his reign. This did not benefit the original territory of his followers in Sichuan, but rather benefited a temple in the Jiangnan area of Jiangxi province. This temple, located at Longhu Shan, claimed to be the spot where Zhang Daoling had obtained the Tao, and where his descendants still lived. Recognized by the emperor as the legitimate descendants of Zhang Daoling, these new Celestial Masters established a new patriarchy at their base of Longhu Shan.^[2]

The importance of the Zhengyi school grew during the Song Dynasty, with the Celestial masters frequently receiving imperial appointments. In 1239, the Southern Song Emperor Lizong commanded the thirty-fifth Celestial Master Zhang Keda to the united Lingbao School, the Shangqing School and Zhengyi Dao. The new school was to retain the Zhengyi name and remain based at Longhu Shan. Shortly after the schools were united, Kubilai Khan conquered the Southern Song Dynasty to usher in the Yuan Dynasty. He accepted the claim that the Celestial Master of Longhu Shan was descended from Zhang Daoling and granted the school the right to control affairs relating to Daoism in the Jiangnan area. In 1304, as a result of Zhengyi Dao’s increased importance under the Mongols, all of the Daoist schools, with the exception of the Quanzhen School, were united under the banner of the Zhengyi School, with the thirty-eighth Celestial Master, Zhang Yucai as leader.^[3]

The foundation of the Ming dynasty in 1368 marked the beginning of a long decline in the power of the Zhengyi Daoism. The first emperor of the Ming the Hongwu Emperor (1368–98) suppressed the use of the title of 'Celestial Master' among the Zhengyi School, and the fiftieth Celestial Master Zhang Guoxiang had his title stripped by the Longqing Emperor (1567–72).^[4] By the Daoguang (1821–50) period of the Qing Dynasty, relations between the court and the Celestial Masters came to an end. The school's activities became localized to regions in which the school was particularly important.^[5] Despite ending association with the court, the Celestial Master himself still retained a great deal of prestige and importance among Daoists throughout China.^[6] This prestige, which arose from the belief that he was descended from Zhang Daoling, was evident when the Celestial Master traveled and attracted crowds of people wherever he went.^[7]

Beliefs[link]

Unlike prior incarnations of the Celestial Masters, like the school based at Louguan, the Zhengyi Daoists did not venerate Laozi as a god. Instead, he was viewed as the ancestor of the school's teaching.^[8]

Practices[link]

The main gate of the residence of the Celestial Master at Longhu Shan

During the Tang Dynasty, the primary activity of Zhengyi Daoists was to sell protective talismans. Local cults developed around the sale of these talismans, and around guilds and associations patronized by members of the church.^[9]

One of the fundamental practices of the school was conferring registers (lu) upon people entering Daoism. A register was a way to allow that the Daoist tradition passed one to future generations by ensuring those who received them had an adequate knowledge of the school's teachings.^[8] Registers also had the names of deities written on them who could be called upon by the bearer to assist in times of need.^[10] Once one received a register, they were considered to be part of the priesthood. There were different grades of registers for laypeople with differing levels of religious knowledge.^[8]

The Celestial Masters adopted the Thunder Rites during the last two decades of the Northern Song period. The Five thunders variety appeared earlier and was linked with the Celestial Masters.

Rituals[link]

There are two main types of rituals performed by the Zhengyi Daoists the jiao (Offering) and zhai (Retreat) rituals.^[8] The zhai ritual is performed as a way to gain benefits through purification and abstinence, and usually takes place immediately before the jiao ritual. In performing a ritual, an adherent must first recite a litany of repentance, then notify the deities of the merits gained though repentance by submitting a document to heaven. Upon completion of the zhai ritual, the jiao ritual begins in which deities are given offerings and thanked.^[11] The jiao ritual is usually performed over a three day period. Much of the ritual is performed by priests in a temple, but can also involve religious processions through the city, musical performances and a mass offering in front of the temple.^[12]

Texts[link]

The Zhengyi Daoists were particularly notable for their work in gathering Daoist texts and assembling them into collections. Zhang Yuchu (1361–1410) received an imperial commission in 1406 to gather texts, in particular those produced during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor (1368–98). With these texts, Zhang compiled a reference work known as the Zhengtong Daozang (Canon of the Zhengtong Reign), which was an overview of current Daoists texts and practices.^[13] Zhang Guoxiang (?-1611), compiled a similar reference work in 1607 known as the Wanli Xu Daozang (Supplementary Daoist Canon of the Wanli Reign Period).^[14]

See also[link]

Taoism portal

• List of Celestial Masters
• Mount Longhu
• Celestial Masters
• Quanzhen Dao

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Andersen, Poul. "Jiao." in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., The Encyclopedia of Taoism (London: Routledge, 2008), 539-544.
• Boltz, Judith. "Daomen Shigui." in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., The Encyclopedia of Taoism (London: Routledge, 2008), 1226-1227.
• Boltz, Judith. "Zhang Guoxiang." in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., The Encyclopedia of Taoism (London: Routledge, 2008), 1226-1227.
• Chen, Yaoting. "Zhengyi." in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., The Encyclopedia of Taoism (London: Routledge, 2008), 1258-1260.
• Goossaert, Vincent. "Bureaucratic charisma: The Zhang Heavenly Master institution and court Taoists in late-Qing China," Asia Major 17.2 (2004), 121-159.
• Kleeman, Terry. "Tianshi Dao." in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., The Encyclopedia of Taoism (London: Routledge, 2008), 981-986.
• Miller, Amy Lynn. "Lu." in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., The Encyclopedia of Taoism (London: Routledge, 2008), 40-42.
• Robinet, Isabelle. Taoism: Growth of a Religion. Stanford: Stanford University, 1997.
• Schipper, Kristopher and Franciscus Verellen. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2004.
• Toshiaki, Yamada. "Zhai." in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., The Encyclopedia of Taoism (London: Routledge, 2008), 1216-1217.

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Jolin Tsai 蔡依林
MTV Asia Awards 2006, Bangkok, Thailand
Chinese name	蔡依林
Pinyin	Cài Yīlín (Mandarin)
Birth name	蔡依林
Ancestry	Fujian, China
Origin	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Born	(1980-09-15) September 15, 1980 (age 31) Xinzhuang, Taipei County, Taiwan
Occupation	Singer, Dancer, Actress, Designer, Model, Spokesperson
Genre(s)	Mandopop, Dance
Instrument(s)	Piano
Label(s)	Universal Music Taiwan (1998–2001) Sony Music Entertainment (Taiwan) (2002–2006) EMI Music Taiwan (2006–2008) Warner Music Taiwan (2008–present)
Years active	1998–present
Official Website	Jolin@Warner Music Taiwan
Awards Golden Melody Awards Best Female Mandarin Artist (2007) Dancing Diva Most Popular Female Artist (2007) MTV Asia Awards Style Award (2006)

Jolin Tsai (Chinese: 蔡依林; pinyin: Cài Yīlín; Wade–Giles: Tsai I-lin; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chhoà I-lîm; born September 15, 1980) is a Taiwanese Golden Melody Award-winning Mandopop singer, dancer and actor. Tsai was the second top earner among Taiwanese singers in 2010 behind Jay Chou (周杰倫), with earnings of US$14.51 million that year.^[1] She is managed by Mars Entertainment Ltd (天熹娛樂).^[2]

Early life[link]

Though Tsai was introverted and shy as a child, she studied English intensively during her youth and eventually majored in English Literature at Fu Jen Catholic University. During her childhood years, Tsai developed an interest in singing and experimented with different vocal techniques after listening to the songs of popular female singers such as Teresa Teng and Faye Wong.^{[citation needed]}

Musical career[link]

Universal Music Taiwan (1998–2001)[link]

Tsai first started her singing career by taking part in an MTV singing competition at the age of 18. She won the top prize at the competition with her rendition of Whitney Houston's #1 hit "Greatest Love of All". She was then signed by Universal Music.

In July 1999, her first single "Living With the World" (和世界做鄰居) was released. It was sold in convenience stores and was a tremendous success,^[3] which led to the release of her first album, Jolin 1019, in September 1999. At that time, she was promoted as "The Girl Next Door," and was an instant hit with teenagers, earning her the title "Teenage Boy Killer"^{[citation needed]}. Jolin 1019 ended up selling more than 400,000 copies in Asia. With the success of her first album, she released her second album in May 2000, Don't Stop. Many of the hits from that album were well known throughout Asia as the album also became a tremendous success.^{[citation needed]} She also released her first photobook with pictures mainly taken in Hawaii.

Nearing the age of 21, Tsai changed her image in her third album, Show Your Love. The album was considered more mature and soothing.^{[citation needed]}, but it did not sell as well as her previous two albums. Her fourth album, Lucky Number, also failed to match the sales of her first two albums. Tsai's music career came to a halt when conflicts surfaced between her and her music company.^{[citation needed]} At the end of 2001, Tsai's contract with Universal Music ended and her first greatest hits compilation, Together was released. Tsai did not release any albums the following year, but she did release her second photo book, with photos taken in Thailand.

Sony Music Entertainment (Taiwan) (2002–2006)[link]

Tsai signed with Sony Music Entertainment (Taiwan) that year and got the biggest break of her whole career. Her first single with Sony Music "Spirit Of The Knight" (騎士精神) became a big hit that led to the highly anticipated release of her fifth album Magic (看我72變). The album topped the Taiwan album charts for three months. More than 300,000 copies were sold in Taiwan alone, and over a million copies were sold in Asia.^[4] The album contained many of her most well-known singles, including the hit dance song "See My 72 Changes" (看我72變) that brought Tsai back to the top of the charts, a song which some suggested was named after The Monkey King's 72 transformations.^[5] Other songs from the album, such as "Say Love You" (說愛你) and "Prague Square" (布拉格廣場) were penned by fellow Taiwan star Jay Chou. Her more dance-oriented album marked her first release in two years following her hiatus in 2002.

Tsai's sixth album Castle (城堡), released in 2004, was just as popular as "Magic" and became a top album in many Asian countries.^{[citation needed]} Just as with Magic, many songs on this album were written by Chou, her rumored boyfriend at that time.^{[citation needed]} The playful song "It's Love" (就是愛) and the rock ballad "Rewind" (倒帶), became two of Tsai's biggest hits. Prior to the album's release, she showcased her single "Pirates" (海盜), another song composed by Chou, at a mini-concert. She subsequently filmed one of the most expensive music videos in Taiwanese history for that song.^{[citation needed]}

Between Castle and her next studio album, Tsai released a remix album of her most popular dance songs called J9 New + Party Collection. Tsai featured two new songs in the CD, including the hit song "Signature Pose". Tsai sang the Mandarin version of "Mirage (Warriors In Peace)", the theme song for the film Warriors of Heaven and Earth.

On April 25, 2005, Tsai seventh album J-Game was released, become the longest running album on the Taiwanese album charts in 2005, with over 1 million copies sold throughout Asia in just a little over a month.^[6] The album featured many more hip-hop influenced tracks than before, though it retained the dance pop and love ballads in her previous albums. Tsai supposedly broke up with Chou around the time the album was recorded, but she was able to find other writers and producers, including Leehom Wang, another pop star who composed "Exclusive Myth" (獨佔神話). The first single of the album "Barbaric Game" (野蠻遊戲) was a huge hit across Asia^{[citation needed]} and it was followed by other singles including "The Greek Girl Next To The Wishing Pond" (許願池的希臘少女) (composed by rising Hong Kong singer Ivana Wong), "Sky" (天空), "Repeat Signs" (反覆記號), "I Really Miss You" (好想你) and "Eyes Half Shut" (睜一隻眼 閉一隻眼). During this time, Tsai rapped in the duet "真命天子" [Destined Guy] with fellow artist Show Luo, which was featured on his album Hypnosis Show. She performed that song with Show in his first solo concert at the Taipei Arena.

Late in 2005, Tsai released her J1 Live Concert DVD, presenting performances of hits from her albums Magic (看我72變) and Castle from a late-2004 concert in Taipei. Show Luo made a guest appearance in the performance of "Prove It". The DVD did not include Jay Chou's guest appearance in her concert, in which he danced together with Tsai. It was later placed in the DVD for her greatest hits compilation, J-Top.

In early 2006, it was announced that Tsai would be leaving Sony Music Entertainment (Taiwan), to join Capitol Music Taiwan, which released under the name EMI Music Taiwan.^[7] To prepare for her new album, Tsai worked to perfect her dancing and change her style again.^{[citation needed]} She won the Style Award at the 2006 MTV Asia Awards, where she performed her new single "Dancing Diva" (舞孃) with elements of yoga and various props including a ball and a ribbon.^[8]

In May 2006, Sony released a greatest hits compilation album called J-Top, which included two CDs and a DVD with two previously unreleased music videos and a 70 minute documentary on Tsai's time at Sony. In one of the two music videos, Tsai looks back on all her previous music videos.

EMI Music Taiwan's label-Capitol Records (2006–2009)[link]

In concert during 2007 in Singapore.

After the release of J-Top, her first album with EMI Music Taiwan Dancing Diva was released on May 12, 2006. This album became Tsai's biggest album yet, selling over 2 million copies in Asia.^[9] The album featured her released single "Dancing Diva" (舞孃) along with "Pulchritude" (玩美), "Mr.Q" (The music video for this song shows Tsai getting intimate with Hong Kong pop star Edison Chen.), and the bonus track "Attraction of Sexy Lips"(唇唇欲動) (a song she did as part of an endorsement deal with MaxFactor similar to Anita Mui's song "Hot Red Lips"). The album also featured two of the biggest hits in Asia during the year^{[citation needed]}: the upbeat "A Wonder in Madrid" (馬德里不思議) and the love ballad "Pretence" (假裝). She collaborated with friend and label partner Stanley Huang on the song "Nice Guy" (乖乖牌), which he also helped to write. Tsai had some writing duties on the album, writing the lyrics for the song "The Prologue" (開場白), which many speculated was written about Chou. The album was re-released in July as the "Perfect Celebration Edition" with a DVD featuring music videos of all eleven of the songs on the album. She has done the same thing for Magic, Castle, and J-Game as well.

During the fall of 2006, Tsai began her Dancing Forever World Tour, performing concerts to sellout crowds in Asia and then to audiences in North America and Australia. The huge opening concert in Hong Kong, which took place on her birthday, featured many special guests, including one of Hong Kong's top male artists Eason Chan, Taiwan's rising pop princess Rainie Yang, and Show Luo. Show and Huang also made surprise appearances in other stops of her tour. In the most shocking moment of her tour, she kissed fellow Taiwanese star Elva Hsiao on the lips during one of her concerts. Tsai made guest appearances at her friend Stefanie Sun's concerts, while she and Singaporean male artist JJ Lin took turns appearing at each other's concerts.^{[citation needed]}

Tsai released her third remix album, Dancing Forever (唯舞獨尊) in October 2006, which contained two CDs and a DVD. The first disc contained all new material, including the title track and theme for her tour "Dancing Forever", covers of songs by Chinese singers Sandy Lam and Faye Wong, and the duet "Marry Me Today" (今天你要嫁給我) that she recorded with her idol and mentor David Tao. In this album, she experimented with two other Chinese dialects — Taiwanese and Cantonese (the Canto version of "Pretence" is on the album). Up to this point, she had only released music in Mandarin and English. The second disc included remixes of three dance hits from Dancing Diva, while the DVD featured the LUX-sponsored mini-concert she performed in the summer in Kaohsiung where Huang and Taiwanese boy band Energy also performed.

A month later, Sony released another two-CD compilation album called Jolin Favorite Live Concert Music Selection. This album consisted of remixes of popular songs Tsai recorded under Sony, as well as rare live tracks.

Tsai ended 2006 performing hits like "Mr.Q", "A Wonder in Madrid", "Pretence" and "Dancing Diva" at several New Year countdown parties in Taiwan. According to G-music, Dancing Diva became the biggest selling album of the year in Taiwan, while Dancing Forever reached #15 on the year-end album sales charts.^[10] Dancing Diva accounted for 4.26% of all Mandarin album sales in Taiwan for the year, ahead of Jay Chou's Still Fantasy, which accounted for 3.50%. Tsai's popular duet with Tao was considered by many lists to be the #1 song of the year in Taiwan^{[citation needed]}. Singles like "Dancing Diva," "Pretence," and "A Wonder in Madrid" also won many song awards between 2006 and 2007.^{[citation needed]}

On June 8, 2007, Tsai released her second DVD The Acquired Talent (地才), which featured performances from her latest world tour and documented her work in preparing for the tour. The DVD shows footage of her performing dance sequences with concert guests Luo, Huang, and Hsiao. The DVD opened at the top of the Taiwanese audio/video charts and stayed there for thirteen weeks.^[11]

On June 16, Tsai won the Most Favorite Female Artist and the Best Mandarin Female Singer Award for the first time at the 18th Golden Melody Awards.^[12][13] Her duet with David Tao won the Best Song Award. Tsai's win for Best Mandarin Female Singer drew criticism from netizens and industry critics, who believed her voice was not as strong as the other nominees (A-mei, Sandy, Angela Chang, and Penny Tai). However, many said that she won due to her all-round talent, hard work, and universal pop appeal.^[14] Regardless of the controversy surrounding this award, she won the Most Favorite Female Artist award following a fan vote conducted for a few months prior to the awards show, beating out many other artists such as A-mei, Fish Leong, Hsiao, Sun, Twins, and Yang.

Just a few days before the release of Tsai's new album at EMI Music Taiwan, Sony released another compilation album, Jolin's Final Wonderland (Jolin夢綺地精選). This collection featured almost all the songs Tsai released during her time at Sony in three CDs (The songs were separated into dance songs, cute songs, and love ballads.), as well as a DVD with 22 music videos and a 52-page photo book.

Jolin Tsai became the online game spokeswoman of "We Dancing Online" after the CD album release of "Dancing Forever".

Tsai's second album with EMI Music Taiwan, titled Agent J (特務J), was released on September 21, 2007. The album featured eleven new tracks - the title track "Agent J" (特務J), the ballads "Alone" (一個人) and "Fear Free" (怕什麼), the dance tracks "Bravo Lover" (愛無赦) (best known for its often-imitated dance steps^{[citation needed]}) and "Tacit Violence" (冷‧暴力), and the bonus track "Let's Move It," which was used as a promotional track in commercials for Toyota. The deluxe version of the album contained a 3-part 70-minute music movie filmed in France, London, and Bangkok. The movie, which cost NT$50 million to film, stars Tsai as the leather-clad Agent J and features popular Korean actor Kim Jae Won and Hong Kong stars Stephen Fung and Carl Ng.^[15][16] During the filming of the movie, Tsai had to learn two new forms of dance in 10 days: aerial silk dancing and pole-dancing. She almost paralyzed her right arm and fainted in the process.^[17]

According to G-music Taiwan, the album accounted for 45% of album sales and over 65% of Mandarin album sales in Taiwan in its first week of release. Since its release, the album stayed at the number one position for two weeks.^[18] Tsai released two more versions of the album: the Champion Special Edition (featuring 10 music videos, 4 dance instruction music videos, and a remix of Bravo Lover) and the No. 1 Special Celebration Edition (featuring the "Let's Move It" music video and her "Agent J" celebration concert with the best male artist at the Golden Melody Awards Nicky Lee from Taiwanese hip-hop group Machi).

Tsai then collaborated with Australian pop queen, Kylie Minogue in a song called "In My Arms", which would be included in the Asian version of Kylie's album X. Tsai was invited to the world premiere of Kylie's movie 'White Diamond', where Tsai presented Minogue with her newest album and a jade bracelet which Tsai personally picked for her.

Soon after, Tsai traveled to Hong Kong for Christmas, attending various functions and performing and winning three awards at the 2007 Metro Showbiz Music Awards, before returning to Taiwan. Tsai again ended off the year performing hits in Taiwan to celebrate the end of 2007. For the second year in a row, Tsai had the best-selling album in Taiwan. According to g-music, sales of Agent J accounted for 3.08% of all album sales in Taiwan and 5.96% of Chinese albums for the year, even higher than the numbers for Dancing Diva a year ago.^[19] Agent J also topped the year-end album charts according to Five Music, while The Acquired Talent was the best-selling music DVD of the year.^[20][21][22]

Like the previous year, Tsai also topped the Hito Top 100 Singles chart for the year. This time her song "Sun Will Never Set" was voted Top Song of the Year by over 340,000 voters.^[23]

In April 2008, Tsai incorporated newly learned skills such as flying rings and pole dance in addition to her usual multi-style dances in her concert in Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

For other uses, see Wuhu.

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Wu Hu (Chinese: 五胡; pinyin: Wǔ Hú; literally "Five Barbaric Tribes") was a Chinese term for the northern non-Chinese nomadic tribes which caused the Wu Hu uprising, and established the Sixteen Kingdoms from 304 to 439 AD.

Definition[link]

The Chinese word "Hu" (胡) in "Wu Hu" means "unintelligible" or "difficult to understand," which probably refers to the native languages spoken by these ethnic groups. It is similar to the origin of the word "barbarian" in many European languages. A diplomatic message sent by Hulugu to Emperor Wu of Han which was recorded in the Han Shu defined Hu as the proud son of heaven (天之驕子).^[1]

The Xiongnu were the most powerful non-Chinese ethnic group bordering the Chinese Han Dynasty, therefore the Han simply referred to them as the Hu (the non-Chinese or barbarians). Both "Hu" and "Xiongnu" were used concurrently. Nevertheless, Hu later became a collective term for non-Chinese ethnic groups, often preceded by Chinese numerals and characters such as Wu (five) or Zhu (numerous). The term Wu Hu meaning the "Five Hu" was first used in the Shiliuguo Chunqiu (501-522), which recorded the history of the five tribes ravaging Northern China from the early fourth century to the mid fifth century. They are mostly defined as: Xiongnu (匈奴), Xianbei (鮮卑), Di (氐), Qiang (羌), and Jie (羯); although different groups of historians and historiographers have their own definitions.

After later historians determined that more than five nomadic tribes took part,^[2] Wu Hu has become a collective term for all non-Chinese nomads residing in North China at the time.

The time of the ravages is called the Wu Hu Period (五胡時代) or Wu Hu Chaos (五胡亂華, literally "Five Hu Wreak-havoc-on China").

The Southern Xiongnu[link]

The Xiongnu were a people who had migrated in and out of China proper, especially during times of turmoil, apparently at least since the days of the Qin.^[3] Huhanye Shanyu (呼韓邪, 58-31 BCE) (also called Hu Hanxie Chanyu) signed a heqin agreement or Peace and Kinship Treaty^[4] with Han China in 53 BC.

In 48 CE, after a dynastic conflict within the Xiongnu confederacy, a contending Shanyu Hiloshy Jodi Bi Huhanye (48-56 CE), who was a son of Uchjulu Jodi-Chanyu (8-13 BCE) and a grandson of Huhanye Shanyu, split off and brought eight tribes of the Western Wing to China under a renewed Peace and Kinship Treaty, creating a polity of Southern Xiongnu in vassalage to China, and a polity of Northern Xiongnu who maintained their independence.

As the Northern Xiongnu declined under internal and external conflicts, the Southern Xiongnu received waves of new migrants, and by the end of the 1st c. CE a majority of the Xiongnu resided in China proper and along its northern borders.

In the 190's CE the Southern Xiongnu revolted against attempts of the Chinese Court to appoint a puppet Southern Shanyu (Shanyu or rather Chanyu meaning 'Son of Eternal Sky' and equating with the title of King) against their will:

"Dong Xian, who was boastful of his victories, forsook the rules which could keep peace, and was unfair and greedy, seized the right to frighten and pardon, again installed Shanyu for Northern Hu, returned him to the old court, began favoring both Shanyus, and thus, for his own prosperity, violated the principles of justice and have sown seeds of great evil".^[5][6]

The Southern Xiongnu then elected Shanyu Gudu-heu from the Suibu tribe, and the puppet Shanyu Yufuluo (188-195 CE) fled back to the Chinese Court. After the death of Shanyu Gudu-heu (188-196 CE), most of the Southern Xiongnu left to join the Northern Xiongnu, and only five tribes remained in China.^[7][8][9]

The War of the Eight Princes during the Western Jin Dynasty triggered a large scale Southern Xiongnu uprising from 304, which resulted in the sacking of the Chinese capitals at Luoyang (311) and Chang'an. The Xiongnu Kingdom of Han Zhao captured and executed the last two Jin emperors as the Western Jin Dynasty collapsed in 317. Many Chinese fled south of the Yangtze River as numerous tribesmen of the Xiongnu and remnants of the Jin wreaked havoc in the north. Fu Jiān temporarily unified the north but his achievement was destroyed after the Battle of Feishui. The Northern Wei Dynasty unified northern China again in 439 and ushered in the period of the Northern Dynasties.

Wu Hu after the fall of Northern Xiongnu[link]

In the first century the Eastern Han Dynasty brought the Northern Xiongnu into submission by military measures. Hordes of herdsmen and the Southern Xiongnu, originally subdued by the Northern Xiongnu, began trading without having heavy tribute imposed on them. Horses and animal products were traded mainly for agricultural tools, such as the harrow and the plough, and clothing of which silk was most popular. In return those herdsmen helped defend the Han dynasty against any remaining Xiongnu. The more they engaged in commerce with the Chinese, the more they preferred to stay near China's border, to facilitate trade, instead of residing on the steppes of Manchuria and Mongolia.

Some groups of non-Xiongnu herdsmen even settled permanently within the Chinese borders, first of which was the Wuhuan (烏桓), who migrated to the area of today's Province of Liaoning during the era of Jiangwu (25–56). Note that the Southern Xiongnu migrated before the Wuhuan but not for commercial reasons.

Liaison among the dynasty and groups of herdsmen relied on mutual economic and military benefits. As the Northern Xiongnu, the masters of the Mongolian steppes and mortal enemy of the Han Dynasty, were still potent enough during the reigns of Emperor Ming, Emperor Zhang and Emperor He (58–105) to keep the volatile alliance intact, the Eastern Han dynasty enjoyed the most prosperous years of its almost 200 years of existence. Even fragments of the Northern Xiongnu migrated well within the border to the Xihe plain, west of the Huang He and south of the Ordos Desert).

The picture drastically changed in the later years of reign of Emperor He, son of Emperor Zhang. Dou Xian (50s–92), brother-in-law of Emperor Zhang through his sister Empress Duo, utterly defeated the Northern Xiongnu in a series of campaigns during the Yongyuan era (89–105). The remnants just escaped annihilation, conceded defeat, began migrating out of the Mongolian steppes and disappeared as a distinct group of herdsmen once and for all. Others were assimilated into other tribes by intermarriage: the Yuwen tribe being a good example.

In their wake a power vacuum was left on the Mongolian steppes. The main contenders were the Southern Xiongnu, who inhabited a region to the south of the steppe and had now grown into a group of more than a hundred thousand herdsmen on the Xihe plain, the Xianbei, who lived in the east of the steppe residing on the plains of Manchuria, the Dingling, who originally dwelt on the banks of Lake Baikal and had already commenced trekking south into the steppes before Duo Xian destroyed the Northern Xiongnu, and the Wuhuan, who lived south of the Xianbei and were the weakest of the four.

Instead of constantly trading for provisions, tools and luxuries, these four powerful groups of herdsmen, though still allies of the Han Dynasty, often cooperated to plunder areas of the northern border. The dynasty could not muster an all-out campaign to wipe them out, but often attempted, through diplomatic and monetary measures to split one or more groups from the alliance of herdsmen.

On the other hand the dynasty was constantly declining as clans of consorts and eunuchs engaged in a continuous struggle for power. Wealthy merchants and aristocrats were acquiring lands from peasants who had been cultivating their own land for years. "Landless" peasants had to come under the protection of the rich and so pay rent to these new landowners rather than pay taxes to the government. Coupled with bureaucratic corruption, tax revenues dropped dramatically. Large landholding families also took advantages of the weakness of central government and established their own armies. Increasingly governors of regions (the highest level) administered their territories as independent rulers. The recruitment of troops and tax collection could be carried out at the discretion of the regional governors, contributing to the disunity that led to the inevitable crumbling of China into the Three Kingdoms.

The dynasty also had to deal with the Qiang and Di on the western border, who had constantly been involved in skirmishes against the dynasty since the middle of Western Han Dynasty (around mid-1st century BC). As the Eastern Han Dynasty declined, the Qiang, nominal ancestors of modern Tibetans, began planning major invasions. Through spies and collaborators, the Han court knew about the situation and had to deploy soldiers near the border to fend off Qiang skirmishes and small-scale invasions.

Although few major Qiang invasions were carried out, never successfully, such a military deployment constantly drained the treasury and was a cradle for ambitious militarists, the most famous of whom was Dong Zhuo (130s–192), the pretender to the Han court from 189-192. The more the Han court weakened through domestic problems, the more the herdsmen craved the dynasty's wealth. The Wuhuan were a frequent ally with the Han court against Xianbei and the Southern Xiongnu, although they also sometimes allied with the Xiongnu to fend off joint attacks by the Han and Xianbei.

The Han court also deployed mercenaries from the Xianbei and Wuhuan for campaigns against the Wu Hu and to quell peasant insurgents. These mercenaries were often sympathetic to the peasant uprising and hence not trusted by the Han military authorities. However they were the best available option for suppressing the insurgents and consequently these soldiers were poorly treated by being deployed far away from their homeland, or in the most dangerous positions on the battlefield or by starving them of provisions and weapons. Thus military who could earn the trust of the Xianbei or Wuhuan would collaborate with the tribes for the sake of their own careers.

For instance a unit of about 5,000 Wuhuan cavalry that usually resided in You Province (part of modern northeastern Hebei and western Liaoning Province) was deployed in Southern Jing Province (in Hunan Province) for three consecutive years. The rebellions (187-189) of Zhang Chun (died 189) and Zhang Ju (died 189) in You Province in alliance with this Wuhuan cavalry unit marked the first of many such collaborations. Yuan Shao (140s–202) and Gongsun Zan (140s–199), two warlords of the end of Han Dynasty, also exploited Wuhuan and Xianbei respectively in their own quests for predominance. Ironically Gongsun Zan was the commander tasked with suppressing the rebellion of Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju.

Xianbei confederacy of Tanshihuai[link]

The difficult relationship between the Han court and various nomadic groups lasted from the start of the second century to the early 160s and the appearance of Tanshihuai (檀石槐 b. 120s - d. 181), an illegitimate son of a low ranking military officer of Xianbei mercenaries deployed against the Southern Xiongnu. Despite his low social status among Xianbei herdsmen, he managed to unify all the Xianbei tribes under his rule in a confederacy against the Han court.

Each Xianbei tribe was led by a chieftain and were grouped under the confederacy into three smaller federations, the Western, the Central and the Eastern. Notable chieftains under Tanshihuai were Murong (see Sixteen Kingdoms), Huitou (see Sixteen Kingdoms) and Tuiyin (see Tuoba).

The confederacy was a rudimentary centralized government. All tribes had to share all trade profits, military duties and a unified stance against the Han court. Slavery was also important as captives were forced to work to provide provisions and weapons.

Supported by this confederacy, Tanshihuai brought the Southern Xiongnu into a close alliance. The Wuhuan, Dingling, Qiang and Di were at times aiding the confederacy which now included all the major tribes on the steppes stretching from today Jilin province to central Xinjiang.

Uneasiness at the Han court about this development of a new power on the steppes finally ushered in a campaign on the northern border to annihilate the confederacy once and for all. In 177 A.D., 30,000 Han cavalry attacked the confederacy, commanded by Xia Yu (夏育), Tian Yan (田晏) and Zang Min (臧旻), each of whom was the commander of units sent respectively against the Wuhuan, the Qiang, and the Southern Xiongnu before the campaign.

Each military officer commanded 10,000 cavalrymen and advanced north on three different routes, aiming at each of the three federations. Cavalry units commanded by chieftains of each of the three federations almost annihilated the invading forces. Eighty percent of the troops were killed and the three officers, who only brought tens of men safely back, were relieved from their posts.

Tanshihuai found a temporary solution when he sacked the area of modern Jilin province. To make the matters worse, the successors of Tanshihuai (his sons and nephews) after his death in 181 never earned the respect from the chieftains of the three federations. They were also less ambitious and constantly fought among themselves for the increasingly powerless lord of confederacy.

On the other hand, tribes began to emigrate from the steppe, mainly to the southwest and southeast for better pasture. The weakness of the Han court also encouraged tribes to move further into China. For example the Tufa (禿髮) tribe, an offshoot of the Tuiyin (Northern Wei Dynasty), settled in the eastern mountainous area of today Qinghai province. Thus the effective border of dynasty was pushed further south and east. The confederacy was virtually dissolved in early third century therefore the warlords of the Han dynasty could play their own game of fighting for supremacy without much interference from tribes outside China.

Wu Hu during the Three Kingdoms[link]

As the Eastern Han Dynasty slowly disintegrated into an era of warlords, battles for predominance eventually ushered in the Three Kingdoms. However years of war had generated a severe shortage of labor, a solution to which was the encouragement of immigration of Wu Hu herdsmen. Thus the Wei court, controlling Northern China at the time, reluctantly yielded areas already occupied to the Wu Hu and sometimes colonized areas depopulated by war with some weaker tribes of herdsmen. Several large-scale forced relocations of Di to southwestern Shaanxi and northern Sichuan took place in the 220s.

Surprising to some historians, the immigration went smoothly since no powerful confederacy of any tribes was established. The Wuhuan, partisans of Yuan Shao and his sons, had already been squashed when Cao Cao sent an expedition into You Province. Its herdsmen were dispersed all over Northern China and were no longer a major threat.

The later years saw only border skirmishes as the three governments concentrated on reclaiming the loss of productivity. Thus after the unification under the Western Jin Dynasty an era of prosperity began as the relocated tribes adopted agriculture and contributed to the revival of the economy. Other tribes, still residing in the areas that they had occupied since the Eastern Han Dynasty, frequently served as mercenaries against minor rebellious chieftains such as Kebineng and Tufa Shujineng (禿髮樹機能).

However the Jin bureaucracy forgot an underlying threat: Living in areas well south of the Great Wall and closer than ever before to the capital of China at Luoyang, any widespread uprising by the Wu Hu would be impossible to halt.

Jin Dynasty[link]

A era of relative prosperity had existed since Jin Wudi unified China in 280. Wu hu tribes residing inside and near China regularly paid taxes to the Jin court. They traded horses and animal products for agricultural goods and silk. Mercenaries could always be called upon. The scenario resembled that of Eastern Han Dynasty with one exception: the internal weakness of the dynasty provided the Wu Hu with the chance to become rulers of China.

An important reason for this weakness was the influence of the principal landholding families. These families were so powerful that the founders of the Three Kingdoms had to rely on them to establish their domains. The Nine grade controller system, by which prominent individuals in each administrative area were given the authority to rank local families and individuals in nine grades according to their potential for government service, further consolidated their authority. Because the ranking was arbitrarily decided by a few prominent persons, it frequently reflected the wishes of the leading families in the area rather than the merit of those being ranked.

Since individuals from the elites were almost guaranteed bureaucratic posts without ever working hard, many found other ways of killing time. They engaged either in extravagantly showing off their wealth or time-consuming and often useless discussions on Daoism. Such pastimes were so popular that the minority of hard working individuals were often despised. Local officials and nobles often exploited both peasants and Wu Hu herdsmen for personal gain and in order to bribe officials for higher posts.

Although the Jin Dynasty was slowly deteriorating socially and politically, some officials did foresee the crisis. Discussion of the God of Money (錢神論 Qián Shén Lùn) and Discussion on Tribe Relocation (徒戎論 Tú Róng Lùn) acutely reflected the extravagant livelihood and the possibility of an uprising of the Wu Hu. The latter work provides accurate locations of the region where the Wu Hu resided. Southern Xiongnu now dominated Bingzhou (in modern Shanxi province) and their horsemen could arrive at Jinyang (Taiyuan) in half-a-day's ride and Luoyang, the capital, in a few days.

The Wu Hu Uprising[link]

The accession of the Jin Emperor Hui in 290 marked the beginning of the crumbling of the Jin Dynasty. Possibly retarded at birth, he was a puppet of powerful parties which sought to control the Jin court. During the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, all parties in power attempted to wipe out the former rulers by murder, mass executions or battles. Each struggle grew more violent and bloodier than the one before. Not surprisingly, Wu Hu mercenaries were often called upon. Wu Hu chieftains and herdsmen clearly comprehended the selfishness of the nobility and the destruction of the country through their struggle for power and wealth. Coupled with famine, epidemic and floods, cannibalism was observed in some parts of the country only a few years after Emperor Hui's accession. Wu Hu herdsmen saw no reason to obey orders from the Jin court and widespread uprisings soon followed.

The revolt by Qi Wannian (齊萬年), a Di chieftain residing in the border region of today's Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces, marked the first such uprising. His group of insurgents, which was mainly made up of Di and Qiang tribesmen, numbered around fifty thousand. Although his revolt was suppressed after six years of destructive battles, waves of refugees and remnants wreaked havoc in neighboring territories. The first of the Sixteen Kingdoms was founded by a group of Di refugees who fled into Sichuan.

See also[link]

• History of China
  • Han Dynasty
  • Three Kingdoms
  • Jin Dynasty (265-420)
  • Sixteen Kingdoms
  • Southern and Northern Dynasties
  • Northern Wei Dynasty
• Shiliuguo Chunqiu
• Chinese sovereign
  • Xiongnu
  • Xianbei
  • Di
  • Qiang
  • Jie
• Wuhuan
• Dingling
• List of past Chinese ethnic groups

References[link]

1. ^ Han Shu, Chapter 94
2. ^ “五胡”新释
3. ^ di Cosmo 2004: 186
4. ^ Di Cosmo (2002), 192–193; Yü (1967), 9–10; Morton & Lewis (2005), 52
5. ^ Fan Ye, "Book of Later Han" (Hou Han Shu), Ch. 79, concluding comments
6. ^ in Taskin B.S., "Materials on Sünnu history", Science, Moscow, 1973, p. 98 (In Russian)
7. ^ Fan Ye, "Book of Later Han" (Hou Han Shu), Ch. 79, f. 7b
8. ^ in Taskin B.S., "Materials on Sünnu history", Science, Moscow, 1973, pp. 95-96, 154 (In Russian)
9. ^ and in Bichurin N.A., Collection of information on peoples in Central Asia in ancient times", vol. 1, Sankt Petersburg, 1851, pp. 146-147 (In Russian)

Jia Yi (賈誼, pinyin: Jiǎ Yí; Chia I, Wade-Giles; 201 BCE – 169 BCE) was a Chinese poet and statesman of the Han Dynasty.

Life[link]

Jia Yi was born in 201 BCE in Luoyang.^[1]

When he reached the age of 18, he was already well known in his county for his ability in poems and essay-writing, and was referred to as "Jia sheng", i.e. "Student Jia". Soon, he was recommended by Wu Gong (吳公) to Emperor Wen of Han. He soon achieved a high status but was repulsed by older, high-ranking officials at the time such as Zhou Bo (周勃) and Guan Ying (灌嬰).

Jia Yi made many suggestions to Emperor Wen about governing his empire. As an advocate of Confucian reforms, attacking Xiongnu and lessening the power of local governors, he made enemies at court and lost his position.^[1][2] He became the tutor to the King of Changsha,^[1] a place he disliked as he feared its humid climate would lead to an early death. When passing the Xiang river, he wrote several poems grieving for his sad fate and compared himself with Qu Yuan, as he believed he was sent into exile. Changsha was known as "The home of Qu [Yuan] and Jia [Yi]" (屈賈之鄉) because of their influence.

In 173 BC, he was recalled by the emperor to the capital Luoyang, allegedly to be asked about matters of mysticism by Emperor Wen, and was later made a tutor of his youngest son, Prince Huai of Liang (梁懷王), true name Liu Yi (劉揖).

In 169 BC, Prince Huai of Liang, whom he tutored, fell off a horse and died. The following year Jia committed suicide,^[1] allegedly out of feelings of responsibility for the incident.

Works[link]

He is known for his fù (賦), poems in a mixed prose and poetry style that was popular in the Han Dynasty, and for his political works such as Guo Qin Lun (過秦論) and Zhi'An Ce (治安策), the latter mostly lost. Since he wrote favorably of social and ethical ideas attributed to Confucius and wrote an essay focused on the failings of the Legalist-based Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC), he was classified by other scholars in the Han Dynasty as a Confucian scholar (rujia).^[1]

See also[link]

Poetry portal

• Ten Crimes of Qin
• Chao Cuo

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Loewe, Michael. (1986). "The Former Han Dynasty," in The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24327-0.
• Di Cosmo, Nicola. (2002). Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77064-5.

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Andy Lau 劉德華
Andy Lau being interviewed at the 29th Hong Kong International Film Festival (2005).
Chinese name	劉德華 (Traditional)
Chinese name	刘德华 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Liú Déhuá (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Lau4 Dak1 Waa4 (Cantonese)
Ancestry	Xinhui, Guangdong
Born	(1961-09-27) 27 September 1961 (age 50)[1] Tai Po, Hong Kong
Other name(s)	Wah Zai (華仔) Lau Wah (劉華) Ngau Wah (牛華)
Occupation	Singer, actor, film producer, and presenter
Genre(s)	Cantopop, Mandopop
Instrument(s)	Singing
Label(s)	Capital Artist(1985) EMI(1986-1989, 2002-2004) Polygram(1990-1993) Warner Music(1993-1995) Music Impact(1995-2000) Multi-Talent(2000-2002) Ever Song (2004-2005) Focus Music (2005-2007) East Asia Music(2007-present)
Years active	1981 - present
Associated acts	Five Tiger Generals
Spouse(s)	Carol Chu 朱丽倩 (2008 - present)
Children	1 daughter
Official Website	www.andylau.com
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best Film 1998 Made in Hong Kong 2011 Gallants 2012 A Simple Life Best Actor 2000 Running Out of Time 2004 Running on Karma 2012 A Simple Life Best Supporting Actor 2008 Protégé Best Original Film Song 2003 Infernal Affairs Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Actor 2001 A Fighter's Blues Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor 2003 Running on Karma Golden Horse Awards Best Actor 2003 Infernal Affairs III 2011 A Simple Life Golden Rooster Awards Best Media Rooster for 2009 TVB Anniversary Awards My Most Memorable Male Leading Role 1999 The Return of the Condor Heroes Other awards Panasonic Awards 2007 1st Asian Film Awards 2007 Box Office Star of Asia Award

Andy Lau Tak-Wah MH, JP^[2] (born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time.^[3] In the 1990s, Lau was branded by the media as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop (四大天王) along with Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai.^[4]

Biography[link]

Andy Lau was born in Tai Po, Hong Kong, with origins in Xinhui, Guangdong. As a young boy Lau had to fetch water for his family up to eight times a day because their house was not equipped with plumbing.^[5] He later graduated from a Band One Secondary School, Ho Lap College in San Po Kong, Kowloon.^[6] He also practices Chinese calligraphy.^[7] Lau converted to Buddhism in the 1980s.^[8] He was raised in a nominally Buddhist household and is now a follower of the Lingyan Mountain Temple in Taiwan.^[9]

In 2008, Lau married Malaysian Chinese Carol Chu after 24 years of speculation over their relationship.^[10] The couple registered their marriage in Clark County, Nevada, in the United States.^[10] On 9 May 2012, Chu gave birth to his first child, a daughter.^[11]

Career[link]

Dramatic acting[link]

In 1981, Lau signed up for the artist training program offered by TVB, which is where his acting career began.^[1] The lead role which led to his initial popularity was in the 1982 TVB series The Emissary. In 1983, Lau's role as "Yang Guo" in the TVB series The Return of the Condor Heroes further increased his popularity. From then on, he would take on many of the lead roles in many of the TVB series.

In September 1983, TVB was looking to increase their ratings in competition with Korea and Japan for the best variety show. The station then created the show TVB All-star challenge (星光熠熠勁爭輝) featuring almost the entire lineup of the most popular actors and singers at the time.^[12] Lau along with Tony Leung, Michael Miu, Felix Wong, and Kent Tong were branded as "TVB's Five Tigers" (無線五虎將) due to their popularity on the show.^[12]

In the late 80s, Lau left TVB due to contract problems. TVB wanted to bind him to an exclusive five-year contract which Lau refused to sign, so TVB blacklisted him. He then focused on his film career.^[5]

Film acting[link]

Lau's wax figure at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong

In 1981, Lau made a guest appearance in one of Susanna Kwan's music video and caught the eye of the manager Teddy Robin.^[13] Teddy Robin then gave Lau a chance to play a small role in the movie Once Upon a Rainbow.^[13] This was the first step in Lau's film acting career.^[13] He was then given a role in Ann Hui's 1982 film, Boat People.^[1] Later in 1983 he had his first leading role in a Shaw Brothers film called On the Wrong Track.^[14]

One of his early leading roles included the more serious 1988 film The Truth (法內情). However, Lau is best known in movies for his (often) recurring roles as a "Heroic Gangster" such as Wong Kar-wai's 1988 film, As Tears Go By and Johnnie To's 1990 film, A Moment of Romance.

Though a respectable actor, Lau in the early days was known more for his good looks. The people he works with say he is an idol, but he has claimed to be an artist.^[3] Lau has proved his acting skills in many of his movies. His first major acting prize came with A Fighter's Blues, which was his first Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor.^[15] He would win the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor award that year for Running out of Time.^[16] In 2004, he won the prestigious Golden Horse Award for his performance in Infernal Affairs III, the sequel to the popular Infernal Affairs.^[17] Western audiences may also be familiar with his performance in the House of Flying Daggers.

In 2005, Lau was awarded "No.1 Box Office Actor 1985-2005" of Hong Kong, yielding a total box office of HKD 1,733,275,816 for shooting 108 films in the past 20 years.^[5][7] The aforementioned figure is as compared to the first runner-up Stephen Chow's (HKD 1,317,452,311) and second runner-up Jackie Chan's (HKD 894,090,962). "I've never imagine that it would be as much as 1.7 billion!" he told the reporters. For his contributions, a wax figure of Lau was unveiled on June 1, 2005 at the Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.^[18] In 2007, Lau was also awarded the "Nielsen Box Office Star of Asia" by the Nielsen Company (ACNielsen).^[2]

Film producer[link]

In 1991 Lau has set up his own film production company called Teamwork Motion Pictures Limited, which in 2002 was renamed to Focus Group Holdings Limited. His contributions in the film industry as well as his involvement in nurturing new talents in the Asian film industry led him to being awarded the "Asian Filmmaker of the Year" in the Pusan International Film Festival in 2006.^[2] Some of the films he produced include the award-winning Made in Hong Kong and the mainland digital film Crazy Stone.

Musical career[link]

Andy Lau in concert 2011

Lau released his first album "Only Know that I Still Love You" (只知道此刻愛你) under Capital Artists in 1985.^[5] However, his first album was not a big hit.^[5] Despite having a voice not traditionally associated with popular music, his hard work and perseverance resulted in him being one of the most successful singers. His singing career reached stellar status in 1990 with the release of the album entitled "Would It Be Possible" (可不可以), and his subsequent releases only solidified his status as a marketable singer.^[5] For that song, he would win his first 1990 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards. He would then win at least one RTHK award category every year consecutively until the year 2007.

From Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards, he has won the “Most Popular Hong Kong Male Artist” award 7 times and the “Asia Pacific Most Popular Hong Kong Male Artist” award 15 times.^[5] He also entered into Guinness World Records for "Most Awards Won By A Cantopop Male Artist". By April 2000, he had already won a total unprecedented 292 awards.^[5]

Many of his songs quickly topped the music charts, not only in Hong Kong, but also in Taiwan, Mainland China, and in many different parts of Asia. Some of the most notable hits by Lau include "The Days We Spent Together" (一起走過的日子), "If You Are My Legend" (如果你是我的傳說), "The Tide" (潮水), "Forget Love Potion" (忘情水), "True Forever" (真永遠), "Chinese people" (中國人), "Love You Forever" (愛你一萬年), "You Are My Woman" (你是我的女人), "Secret Admiration" (暗裡著迷). Besides singing in Cantonese and Mandarin, he also sang in other languages, such as English, Japanese, Malay, and Taiwanese. One example of a Hokkien song was (世界第一等).^[19]

Since the early 1990s, Lau, along with Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai have been referred by the Chinese media as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings (四大天王).^[4]

Lau sang alongside Jackie Chan during a part of the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony on August 24, 2008. In addition Lau, who has been supporting the disabled athletes in Hong Kong for more than a decade, was appointed as the Goodwill ambassador for the 2008 Summer Paralympics.^[20] He led other performers in singing and performing the song "Everyone is No.1" at the Beijing National Stadium just a few hours before the 2008 Paralympics opening ceremony began to show his support for the disabled athletes.^[21] He also sang the theme song "Flying with the Dream" with Han Hong during the Paralympics opening ceremony on September 6, 2008.^[20]

Appearance in other media[link]

Lau is alleged to have been featured as a non-player character (NPC) as a random pedestrian in a sandbox-style action video game called PROTOTYPE. On 6 July, the Hong Kong local newspapers Headline Daily and Sing Tao Daily reported on Lau's cameo.^[22]

Community[link]

In 1994, Lau established the "Andy Lau Charity Foundation" which helps people in need and promotes a wide range of youth education services.^[2] In 1999, he was awarded the "Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World", being the 3rd person from Hong Kong at that time to bestow this distinguished honor.^[2] In 2008, Lau took a main role in putting together the Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign for donation relief toward the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.^[23] It was one of the largest and most ambitious charity event ever assembled in the territory.

Lau has been noted for his active involvement in charity works throughout his 30 years of showbiz career and was honored "Justice of Peace" by the Hong Kong SAR government in 2008.^[24] In May 2010, he received the "World Outstanding Chinese" award and an "honorary doctorate" from the University of New Brunswick, Canada.^[25]

Incidents[link]

Yang Li-juan fan case[link]

Lau experienced unexpected notoriety with his encounter with a 29 year old fan from mainland China, Yang Li-juan (楊麗娟), who had idolized the star for 13 years.^[26] After her parents sold the family house to pay for a trip to Hong Kong, Yang finally met Lau on March 26, 2007.^[27] One day later, Yang's father committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea in Hong Kong, leaving a suicide note chiding Lau for not having taken his daughter more seriously.^[27]

Awards and nominations[link]

Hong Kong Film Awards

Won[link]

• 1998 Best Film for Made in Hong Kong (Producer)
• 2000 Best Actor for Running Out of Time
• 2003 Best Original Film Song for Infernal Affairs (Singer with Tony Leung ^{[disambiguation needed ]})
• 2004 Best Actor for Running on Karma
• 2008 Best Supporting Actor for Protégé
• 2011 Best Film for Gallants (Producer)
• 2012 Best Film for A Simple Life (Producer)
• 2012 Best Actor for A Simple Life

Nominations[link]

Best Actor[link]

• 1989 Best Actor Nomination for As Tears Go By
• 1992 Best Actor Nomination for Lee Rock
• 1996 Best Actor Nomination for Full Throttle
• 2001 Best Actor Nomination for A Fighter's Blues
• 2002 Best Actor Nomination for Love on a Diet
• 2003 Best Actor Nomination for Infernal Affairs
• 2006 Best Actor Nomination for Wait 'Til You're Older
• 2008 Best Actor Nomination for The Warlords

Best Original Film Song[link]

• 1992 Best Original Film Song Nomination for Casino Raiders II (Singer)
• 1995 Best Original Film Song Nomination for Heaven and Earth ^{[disambiguation needed ]} (Singer)
• 1996 Best Original Film Song Nomination for Full Throttle (Singer/Lyricist)
• 1998 Best Original Film Song Nomination for Island of Greed (Singer)
• 1999 Best Original Film Song Nomination for The Longest Summer (Singer)
• 1999 Best Original Film Song Nomination for A True Mob Story (Singer/Lyricist)
• 2002 Best Original Film Song Nomination for Shaolin Soccer (Singer/Lyricist)
• 2006 Best Original Film Song Nomination for Wait 'Til You're Older (Singer/Lyricist)
• 2008 Best Original Film Song Nomination for Brothers (Singer with Eason Chan/Lyricist)
• 2012 Best Original Film Song Nomination for Shaolin (Singer/Lyricist)

Other Nominations[link]

• 1983 Best New Performer Nomination for Boat People
• 1999 Best Film Nomination for The Longest Summer (Producer)
• 2007 Best Asian Film Nomination for Crazy Stone (Producer)

(11 Best Actor Nominations, 11 Best Original Film Song Nominations, 4 Best Film Nominations, 1 Best Supporting Actor Nomination, 1 Best New Performer Nomination, 1 Best Asia Film Nomination)

References[link]

External links[link]

	Hong Kong portal
	Biography portal
	Film portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andy Lau

• Andy Lau's Official Website (Chinese) (English)
• Andy Lau at the Internet Movie Database
• Andy World Club
• Andy Lau interview.