．Chinese Name: 常楓
．Date of Birth: April 6, 1923
．Date of Death: February 6, 2022
．Place of Birth: Harbin, China
．Did You Know?
Veteran actor Chang Feng has been involved in Taiwanese films and theater for many years, demonstrating outstanding acting chops and enthusiasm in film and television alike. He has won six Golden Horse Awards, including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Lifetime Achievement, and two Golden Bell Awards—Best Actor and Special Contribution. He once said, "If I had my life to do over again, I would still want to be a professional actor," which just goes to show the sheer scale of his love for acting.
Chang Feng was born in Harbin, China. After graduating from school, he took up work in banking. Despite having never taken a formal acting class, he got involved in amateur dramatics out of a pure love for theater. In 1945, Chang joined the political warfare team of the 207th Division of the Chinese Youth Corps (中國青年軍) and continued to participate in theatrical performances. After coming to Taiwan in 1949, Chang joined the ROC Air Force Dapeng Drama Team (中華民國空軍大鵬話劇隊) and has been involved in acting ever since. He co-starred with George Wang (王玨) and Lu Bih-yun (盧碧雲) in the film "Bad Dreams (惡夢初醒)" in 1951, starting to gain popularity from there. “Bad Dreams” is set during the Chinese Civil War, with Chang playing villainous Communist Party member Jiang Feng (江風).
In 1956, Chang married actress Chang Yao (張遙), having a son and daughter with her. After the launch of TTV in 1962, Chang became a drama director and one of the first iconic actors in Taiwanese television. In 1976, the station edited the show "Cold Stream (寒流)" into the film "Fragrant Flower Versus," with Chang Feng's performance winning him the 13th Golden Horse Award for Best Actor. The series focused on the development of the Chinese Communist Party in China and is set in the period from 1925, when the Communist Party began cooperating with the Chinese Nationalist government, to 1976, specifically the April 5 Tiananmen Incident in the wake of the death of Zhou Enlai. In the show, Chang Feng played the villainous Gao Yang (高揚).
In 1978, Chang jumped ship to CTS. In 1984, he won the 21st Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor for his appearance in the film "The Warmth of an Old House (頤園飄香)," which explored the problems faced by the elderly in contemporary society. That same year, he won the 19th Golden Bell Award for Best Actor for "Two Endings (華視劇展－兩種結尾)." In the show, Chang plays a man who is terminally ill and entrusts his wife to the care of his best friend, but unexpectedly they have an ambiguous affair. The heartbreak felt by Chang’s character is on full show in a bravura performance. In 1986, he won the 21st Golden Bell Award for Best Actor for "Autumn Moon and Spring Wind (頂好劇場－秋月春風)." Two years later, Chang retired from CTS, but remained involved in performances.
By the time he formally retired from the screen, Chang Feng had performed in a large number of films and television shows, playing a wide range of roles and becoming a well-known actor throughout Taiwan. In 2008, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th Golden Horse Awards and the Special Contribution Award at the 50th Golden Bell Awards in 2015, the two highest awards in Taiwan's film and television industry.
In 2019, he starred in the film "The Return (拂鄉心)," directed by Amanda Qin, in which he played the role of Jiang Sheng (蔣生), an elderly widower who has been drifting through life in a foreign country for many years. He was also awarded the Golden Goblet Award for Best Actor at the Shanghai International Film Festival for this film, becoming the oldest film star in the history of the festival.
As an evergreen actor, he was still performing in 2020, at the age of 96, in the short film "The Moon and the Tree (月亮樹)," helmed by director Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮). It would be his final performance. "The Moon and the Tree" focuses on the story of "moon singer" Lee Pei-jing (李珮菁) and "evergreen movie star" Chang Feng, presenting their daily lives after they had stepped away from their on-stage glamour. Director Tsai Ming-liang even likened Chang Feng to an actual tree, saying that “the older he gets, the more beautiful and dashing he becomes."
On February 6, 2022, Chang Feng passed away in his sleep at the age of 98. Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te expressed his deep condolences and his respect for Chang's lifetime of dedication to Taiwan's film and television industry. He added that Chang's outstanding skills, enthusiasm for performance, and lifetime of dedication to the industry, recognized by the Golden Bell, Golden Horse, and other awards, set a vital example that would stand the test of time, and that Chang would be missed and remembered for the many wonderful works he helped bring into the world.
(Photo courtesy of Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival)