Former Chinese actress and business celebrity Chen Xiaoxu has taken tonsure and joined a monastic order at a Buddhist temple in Changchun, Jilin Province, her husband told a newspaper last weekend. Chen became a household name in China in the 1980s after being cast as the heroine Lin Daiyu in the TV series A Dream of the Red Mansions, based on a classic novel written by Cao Xueqin in the Qing Dynasty. After that, she disappeared from public view for several years until re-catching people's attention, this time, as a successful businesswoman and millionaire in advertising.

The news of her tonsure was confirmed by her husband, Hao Tong, who said that he plans to follow in his wife's footsteps by becoming a monk at another monastery. Hao said it was something they had both dreamed about. Chen was reported to still be at the Buddhist Baiguoxinglong Temple, where she received her tonsure.

(China Daily 03/01/2007 page3)