Xie Yan

essential information

Life of the characters

In the spring of 1983, with the help of Chinese American movie star Lu Yan, Xie Yan went to the United States to study film. After returning from his studies, Xie Yan made the film Huaqiao Rongji based on Bai Xianyong's short stories. In 1998, the film was nominated for the best adaptation screenplay award of the Golden Horse Award in Taiwan. And now in the film world, Zhou Xun's first film "daughter red" is also directed by Xie Yan. A few years before his death, Xie Yan's focus was on Taiwan. He shot the touching story "hand in hand life" about Ma Wenzhong from Henan Province. It is reported that Xie Yan's friends Bai Xianyong and Li Xing are loyal audiences of the play. Xie Yan also assisted in the last night of jindaban, a stage play directed by Xie Jin and starred by Liu Xiaoqing. A few years ago, Xie Yan bought the film copyright of the gay theme novel "notes of the desolate", but the shooting failed. Now it is a pity. Xie Yan graduated from the film department of New York University and is an alumnus of Ang Lee, Oliver Stone and other international famous directors. He is always low-key and steady, and never shows off his father's title as a famous director. He fully showed his talent as a director in two films, daughter red and Huaqiao Rongji. "Daughter red" was shot in 1994. Zhou Xun and GUI Yalei acted as the young and middle-aged of the heroine "Huadiao". As a result, Zhou Xun, who was only 17 years old at that time, became popular because of his brilliant performance in the film. GUI Yalei, who was 50 years old, also won the Queen's laurel at the International Film Festival in karovi valley. Xie Yan himself adapted from Bai Xianyong's novel Huaqiao Rongji, which is also starred by Zhou Xun and Zheng Yuling. As a result, he was shortlisted for the best adapted script of the 35th Golden Horse Award, and his talent was highly recognized. After Xie Yan took care of his aged parents and sick sister-in-law, he faded out of his creation stage. However, in some important works directed by Xie Jin, he worked silently. "The last night of jindaban", directed by Xie Jin and starred by Liu Xiaoqing, is popular in China. Xie Yan became his father's right-hand assistant in the process of creating and arranging the play. Xie Jin has three sons and a daughter. His two youngest sons are born with mental retardation. His eldest son, Xie Yan, took up the heavy burden of his family when he was young. In the most difficult days, he had to worry about his parents who were locked up in the "cowshed" while taking care of the elderly and protecting his younger siblings. After embarking on the road of directing, he not only did not want to borrow his father's light, but also focused on his father's career and devoted more energy to taking care of his parents and mentally retarded brother. After getting sick, Xie Yan was still rehearsing the drama "the last night of jindaban", quietly helping his father fulfill a big wish. In the last days of his life, he never said his illness. After arranging everything at home, he went to the hospital. Once he went, he never went home. Xie Yan passed away on August 23, 2008, which made the film industry sad. Professor Shichuan, the famous director of master Xie Jin, is generally regarded as the person who knows Xie Yan and his father Xie Jin best. After Xie Yan's death, he thought that the outside world had omitted some details, so that the outside world could understand a real Xie Yan. The following is recorded by the media after Professor Ishikawa. The editor's income is here, with deletion and modification. The first person such as "I" refers to Professor Shichuan.

Study in the United States with a gold watch

in the early 1980s, Xie Yan planned to study in the United States at his own expense. With the help of Lu Yan, a famous movie star, Xie Yan finally got a visa to the United States. However, the high tuition fees made him feel hard to walk with a monthly salary of 39.5 yuan. He had to turn to his father for help. Father and son pieced together, and finally saved enough to travel to the United States. Before leaving, Xie Jin solemnly gave Xie Yan a gift, which was a gold watch handed down by his grandfather. Xie Jin reluctantly gives it to Xie Yan and tells him to sell it when he doesn't have enough money. With this deep fatherly love, Xie Yan embarked on a long journey to study in the United States. But no matter how difficult life is, Xie Yan never thought of selling this priceless heirloom. When he first arrived in New York, Xie Yan's financial situation was very tight, but he not only supported himself with a pair of hard-working hands, but also miraculously paid up to US $40000 or US $50000 in tuition fees every year.

Strong and optimistic character overcomes hardship

Xie Yan's tenacity and optimism also come from his father. His hard life was nothing to him. Just think about what happened to his family during the "Cultural Revolution", life in New York immediately became a paradise. At that time, when my father lived in the "cowshed", he only had a monthly allowance of 50 cents, which was unable to support the living expenses of a family of six or seven people for three generations. In order to add nutrition to the two sick and frail children around her, her mother Xu Dawen had to go to the small vegetable market to pick up vegetable skins with the scornful eyes of passers-by. Xie Yan clearly remembers that even at this point, his father's optimistic and calm nature has not changed at all. When he was allowed to go home, he would often cook soup with vegetable skin and pig blood, just like middle school students do chemical experiments. Once he was praised by his family, he would show off his invention.

Two generations relay of Huaqiao Rongji

Xie Yan is a modest and low-key man. He never wants to share his father's honor and seldom appears in public with his father. However, father is still everywhere, he is like a huge magnetic field, radiating Xie Yan's career and life all the time. People may know that Huaqiao Rongji is Xie Yan's masterpiece, but few people know that Bai Xianyong's novel was first seen by Xie Jin and intended to be adapted into a film. It was in 1987 when Bai Xianyong first came to Shanghai. At Xingguo Hotel, Xie Jin met the famous writer and expressed his wish to adapt Huaqiao Rongji. However, due to the cross-strait relations at that time, the film could not be shot in Taiwan, so Xie Jin had to give up Huaqiao Rongji and choose to adapt Bai Xianyong's another novel "banishment of immortals" into the film "the last nobleman". Perhaps no one thought at that time that the regret left by his father ten years ago was fulfilled in Xie Yan's hands ten years later. However, when Huaqiao Rongji was in its later stage, the Asian financial crisis came unexpectedly, so South Korean film makers stopped investing in the film, which put Xie Yan in a desperate situation in Hong Kong. At this time, his father gave him a strong helping hand. With the help of his father, Xie Yan brought all the materials back to Shanghai and started editing again in Shanghai Film Studio. In order to let his son concentrate on his creation, Xie Jin also sent his long-term partner to Xie Yan to work as his later production, helping him manage his daily affairs, especially those creditors who come to collect money. Therefore, when Huaqiao Rongji finally won the honor at the Hawaii Film Festival, Xie Yan gave his first heartfelt thanks to his dear father.

Make an exception for drinking at the last dinner

At about 5 pm on August 23, 2008, Xie Yan, director Xie Jin's son, died of liver cancer. When the bad news came, my heart felt like a heavy blow. The pain was almost breathless. I tried to calm myself down, but I couldn't stop the turbulent thoughts like the storm. I looked up and thought about it again and again. Then I remembered the last time I met Xie Yan. It was June 12th, 2008. On this day, the famous Hong Kong film director Xu Anhua came to Shanghai. Xie Jin and Xie Yan met for dinner with her. I also had the honor to accompany her to the last seat. At the dinner table, Xie Yan not only had a lot of conversation, but also had an exception to drink Shaoxing Huadiao with director Xu. Looking at his red face, no matter what, he was already a very sick man.

Bear the pain alone and conceal the illness

more than a year ago, Xie Jin company was going to make a large-scale TV documentary about Xie Jin's film creation life. Originally, it was planned that Xie Yan would be the director himself and I would be the writer. But at the beginning of 2007, suddenly came the news that Xie Yan, who was far away in the United States, was unwell and needed some time to recuperate. However, the TV film was about to start, so I had to replace Xie Yan in charge of the editing, directing and outsourcing of the TV film. In late spring and early summer of 2007, Xie Yan returned to Shanghai. When I saw him, I found that he looked worried. He was thinner than before, and his hair was gray. At that time, I thought, was he introverted and burdened with unnecessary thoughts because of illness? In retrospect, he suddenly realized that Xie Yan had already known that he was suffering from an incurable disease. However, he didn't want to add mental burden to his aged parents, and he didn't want to trouble his relatives and friends, so he kept silent all the time. Xie Yan is such a person, only good things will be used to share with others, and used to bear all the pain and suffering alone.

The two of you have very different temperaments

Xie Yan's face is like her mother Xu Dawen. She is kind-hearted and calm. But the body is like his father Xie Jin, tall and strong, majestic. But in addition, father and son have almost nothing in common in temperament. Xie Jin's personality is open, his voice is loud, his work is vigorous and resolute, he likes smoking and drinking, and he is always careless, casual and straightforward in dressing and eating. Xie Yan, who has never been married in his life, is just the opposite. He is gentle and introverted. He speaks softly and carefully. He never drinks or smokes. He is good at keeping his life in order. When he learned that he was suffering from an incurable disease, he sold off all his property in the United States without even knowing his parents.

Chinese PinYin : Xie Yan