Renowned actress He Qing passes away at 61

An obituary released by the family announces that renowned Chinese actress He Qing passed away peacefully in Beijing on Saturday, at the age of 61. A farewell ceremony will be held at 10 am on Dec 15, in the Jiuan Hall of the Changping District Funeral Parlor in Beijing.

Born on Jan 13, 1964, in Jiangshan, Quzhou, Zhejiang province, He Qing showed a passion for the arts from a young age. At 13, she joined the Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Troupe to study traditional Kunqu theater. Her acting career began in 1983 when director Hua Shan cast her as the clever and brave young girl Xiao Qin in the film Disciples of Shaolin Temple.

Her breakthrough came in 1984 when she encountered Yang Jie, chief director of the classic TV series Journey to the West, who selected her to play Lingji Bodhisattva (in the form of the playful maiden Lianlian). Though her appearance lasted less than ten minutes, He Qing left a vivid impression with her bright, infectious laughter.

In 1988, she was chosen by director Xie Tieli to portray the sentimental and tragic Qin Keqing in the film Dream of the Red Chamber. Later, she took on other iconic historical roles: the captivating Xiao Qiao in the 1993 TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the celebrated courtesan Li Shishi in the 1996 series Water Margin.

With her delicate classical beauty and gentle, serene demeanor, He Qing masterfully brought to life a series of legendary characters from Chinese literature. She remains the only actress to have performed in adaptations of all four great classical novels within Chinese literature.

On Sunday, actor Liu Xiao Ling Tong paid tribute to He Qing in a post on his WeChat account, writing "Farewell, classmate He Qing."

According to a report by China News Service, Liu Xiao Ling Tong said that He Qing was his junior-class classmate when they studied at the Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Troupe. He noted that she had a deep command of Kunqu Opera and later achieved remarkable success in film and television, with audiences fondly calling her "Sister Lianlian" for the character she portrayed in the China Central Television adaptation of Journey to the West.

"We will always remember her. May there be no illness in heaven. Farewell, classmate He Qing," Liu Xiao Ling Tong said.

According to a social media post by Yu Yong, a research fellow at the School of Drama and Film Studies at Nanjing University of the Arts, He reportedly passed away due to an illness. Yu expressed his condolences by sharing a black-and-white photo of He.

Netizens left more than 1,000 comments under Yu's post, expressing shock and sorrow, with many saying they were still unable to believe that He had passed away.