Chinese actor Ying Ruocheng, who appeared in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1987 film ``The Last Emperor,'' has died of liver disease, state media reported Sunday. He was 74 years old.

Ying Ruocheng

Ying, who died Saturday at a Beijing hospital, also acted in Bertolucci's 1993 film ``Little Buddha,'' which starred Keanu Reeves.

Ying was a graduate of China's prestigious Tsinghua University who went on to act with the Beijing People's Art Theater in the 1950s, various newspapers reported.

He was jailed for three years during China's 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, but later became vice minister of culture in the mid-1980s when the nation began to open up again to the outside world, the newspapers said.

It was while he was vice minister that he was cast in ``The Last Emperor.''

Fluent in English, Ying translated several Shakespeare plays into Chinese, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

In his stage career, he appeared in classical Chinese dramas such as ``Tea House,'' by Lao She, the paper said.

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