From prosperity to turmoil: the origins of the Wang family
Wang Xinping's family story began in Shanghai's golden years. Her father, Wang Yu, was born in a wealthy family, and the family owned monopoly industries such as cloth mills, rice mills, and flour mills.
Xiao Wang Yu has been a naughty mischievous master since he was a child, and his family gave him the nickname "Demolition of the Sky", which means that his skin can be removed even from the sky. This energetic boy is energetic, adventurous, brainy, and not afraid of anything.
Wang Xinping's mother, Lin Cui, is also from an extraordinary background. Not only is she beautiful, but she is also a well-informed trendy person. Lin Cui's elder brother is the famous actor Zeng Jiang, and the two siblings are both fluent in English and proficient in horseback archery and other famous families in Shanghai.
However, the great wheel of the times was inexorably run over, and the political changes of 1949 forced the two families to leave their homeland. The Wang family and the Lin family fled to Hong Kong with gold and silver respectively.
In this city where opportunities and challenges coexist, Wang Yu still maintains the style of a rich child with a sense of superiority, while Lin Cui quickly emerged in the film industry with her outstanding appearance and talent.
The gears of fate began to turn, and Wang Yu and Lin Cui entered the Hong Kong entertainment industry respectively. For Wang Yu, it was just a ticket at first, but who knew that he would become popular as soon as he entered the industry.
He not only became a martial arts star, but also created a new era of martial arts, and even Bruce Lee respected him as a "senior". According to statistics from a film website in United States, the number of people Wang Yu "killed" on the screen is as high as 2477, ranking first in the global "killer king" list.
Lin Cui, with her amazing beauty and talent, quickly became a popular actress of the Shaw Brothers. In those days, her wedding was star-studded, and A-list female stars such as Glenn and You Min came as bridesmaids, which shows that her status in the film industry is extraordinary.
However, this seemingly good start planted the seeds of family turmoil in the future. The encounter between Wang Yu and Lin Cui is not the beginning of a fairy tale, but a controversial and dramatic relationship, and the beginning of Wang Xinping's complex family background.
Love born in the turmoil: the birth of Wang Xinping
In 1967, Lin Cui's marriage fell into crisis, and she separated from her husband, director Qin Jian. At this juncture, Wang Yu intervened.
Although Wang Yu is 8 years younger than Lin Cui, his family background is strong and his career is booming, which is undoubtedly an attractive choice for Lin Cui, who is at a low point in his life. Wang Yu later stated many times that Lin Cui's marriage had problems for a long time, and it was not because of him that he divorced.
Maybe he wasn't the source, but he certainly became the fuse. In 1969, Lin Cui officially divorced Qin Jian, and Wang Yu even accompanied her to sign. This decision has led to a series of tragedies.
On June 15, 1969, a news came that shocked the entire Hong Kong entertainment industry: Lin Cui's ex-husband Qin Jian committed suicide on the set. According to today's crisis public relations principles, Lin Cui and Wang Yu should have kept a low profile.
However, their actions took everyone by surprise. The day after Qin Jian's suicide, Wang Yu and Lin Cui held a press conference. The two wore white couple outfits, walked into the venue hand in hand, and announced in a high-profile manner that Qin Jian's suicide had nothing to do with them.
What's even more uproar is that Lin Cui tearfully displayed Qin Jian's various IOUs for gambling debts over the years. At the end of the press conference, Wang Yu stood up and made a generous statement, announcing that he would "love Lin Cui forever".
And Lin Cui caressed her slightly bulging abdomen, which was pregnant with a little Wang Xinping. The press conference became the most sensational topic in Hong Kong that year. On the cusp of such a storm, Wang Xinping was born.
Her birth seems to be a witness to this controversial romance and a harbinger of drama in her future life. At the end of the year, Wang Yu and Lin Cui officially got married, and the controversial sister-brother relationship finally came to fruition, but it also completely overturned the storm of public opinion.
However, this seemingly vigorous love did not last long. After marriage, Lin Cui gave birth to three daughters one after another, and her career was ruined. And Wang Yu, who became the father of three children at the age of 30, also began to be uncomfortable with this kind of life.
The aura of a former martial arts star is gone, and he begins to look for new thrills. In the end, the remarriage lasted only six years before it came to an end. When they separated, the relationship between the two was already on the same footing, and Lin Cui chose to go away.
The young Wang Xinping and her younger sisters began their lives in the turmoil of their parents.
Complex Family: Wang Xinping's formative years
With the separation of his parents, the life of young Wang Xinping has changed dramatically.
Her mother, Lin Cui, chose to go to United States alone to open a restaurant, while her father Wang Yu married Wang Kaizhen, a flight attendant who was more than 20 years younger than him. Wang Kaizhen was originally a fan of Wang Yu, and met an idol during a flight and excitedly expressed her love.
Wang Yu, who had just divorced at the time, was attracted by this young and beautiful flight attendant who did not exclude his daughters, and soon decided to get married in a flash. When they signed their marriage in Hawaii, Wang Kaizhen was only 21 years old and Wang Yu was 38 years old.
In order to marry the bride, Wang Yu even dispatched the only Rolls-Royce luxury vehicle in Taiwan at that time, which was extremely high-profile. However, Wang Kaizhen did not have children after marriage, but raised Wang Yu and Lin Cui's three daughters with one hand and one foot.
The mansion where Wang Xinping and his sisters live, covering an area of 1,100 square meters, looks simple and atmospheric on the outside, but the interior decoration is a splendid European style. From the dining table to the toilet in the bathroom, there are gold edges everywhere, like a miniature version of the imperial palace.
In this lavish but complex family, Wang Kaizhen played an important role. She not only manages the housework, but also strictly requires her daughters to clean up their own rooms, maintain a regular schedule, and study hard.
When Wang Xinping was in middle school, Wang Kaizhen refused to let the driver pick her up, and asked her to transfer to and from school by herself to exercise her self-care ability. Once, Wang Xinping skipped school to watch a boy he liked play ball, and when he went home, he took out the exam papers of the previous day and wanted to pass the test in a foolish way.
However, neither Wang Yu nor Wang Kaizhen were fooled. Wang Kaizhen did not intercede for Wang Xinping, but told her: "The family doesn't have to worry about food and drink, as long as you read good books, why don't you study well?" Wang Xinping was deeply impressed by this kind of education.
However, family life is not all smooth sailing. During this period, Wang Yu frequently went in and out of court police stations, and was involved in slashing and being slashed many times, and many major and important cases affecting Taiwan's public security were related to him.
Despite this, under the care of Wang Kaizhen, Wang Xinping still completed his studies and was admitted to the Department of Journalism of National Chengchi University, a famous university in Taiwan. Wang Xinping later recalled his childhood: "I have two mothers, one is born to me, and the other is sincere to me, what else is there? This sentence speaks to her complicated family relationship and also reflects her gratitude to Wang Kaizhen.
Starlight and Haze: Wang Xinping's acting career
In 1993, Wang Xinping officially stepped into the entertainment industry and became one of the five little flowers of Polygram. With her excellent appearance and talent, she quickly established herself in the music scene.
Her songs "Don't Ask Me Who I Am" and "A Lifetime of Love" quickly spread all over the streets and alleys, becoming golden songs heard in the streets. However, her father's shadow has always hung over her career development.
In 1998, Wang Xinping was revealed to be in love with TVB student Zheng Jiaying. At that time, Wang Xinping was already a hot singer, while Zheng Jiaying was still a little-known newcomer.
This relationship lasted for more than four years, but it has never been recognized by Wang Yu. Wang Yu publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with Zheng Jiaying, and bluntly said that "this boy will not be promising".
In the face of her father's opposition, Wang Xinping could only choose to kill and deny it, she told the media: "The rumors between me and Zheng Jiaying are scandals. Such pressure has undoubtedly brought great trouble to Wang Xinping's love life.
In 1999, Wang Yu once again made earth-shattering news. In December, close to Christmas, Wang Yu led the police to an apartment in Taipei City and caught his wife Wang Kaizhen cheating on a man.
更戏剧性的是,王羽踹门那一刻,高喊"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year",为这起风化案增添了不少戏剧色彩。
This incident directly affected Wang Xinping's career development. In 2000, she made a big decision: to fade out of the entertainment industry. In the same year, she broke up with Zheng Jiaying and met her current husband Li Jiahui through a blind date.
The two hit it off at first sight and soon entered the marriage hall. Perhaps because he was accustomed to seeing his parents' grievances and hatreds, Wang Xinping chose a completely different way of life from before.
She no longer pursues luxury cars and wine, and is not obsessed with the halo of fame. Li Jiahui gave her a black card, but Wang Xinping only used it to buy vegetables. This plain and down-to-earth lifestyle seems to be a kind of redemption for her complicated family life in the past.
When Wang Yu mentioned this son-in-law, he always praised others for being honest, but said that "my daughter looks so closely, but in fact, men should go out and mix." Such remarks may also be one of the reasons why Wang Xinping chose to keep his distance from his father.
Although Wang Xinping's acting career is relatively short, the talent and tenacity she has shown in the process, as well as her decision to return to the ordinary, reflect her unique understanding and pursuit of life.
Back to the ordinary: Wang Xinping's present
Today's Wang Xinping has moved away from the hustle and bustle of the past. She and her husband Li Jiahui live an idyllic life, although the three IVF attempts after marriage failed, but the two of them are in love with each other and walk hand in hand.
This quiet and fulfilling life seemed to be a kind of redemption for her complicated family life in the past. Wang Xinping now has a yoga channel on YouTube, and although she only has more than 1,000 followers, she still keeps updating.
This perseverance shows her cherishing and pursuit of ordinary life. For her, it doesn't matter what she does, it's the ordinary, down-to-earth way of life.
However, the shadow of the family has not completely dissipated. In April 2022, the news of Wang Yu's death once again pushed Wang Xinping into the public eye. When she and her second sister arrived in Taiwan, her father had already passed away.
This once powerful underworld boss will eventually be unable to escape the erosion of the years. In his later years, Wang Yu lived alone in that once glorious mansion, his financial situation deteriorated, and his life was even more precarious after many strokes.
That mansion became known as the "Bullfrog Mansion", because of the small number of people, it fell into disrepair, it was full of bullfrogs, and it was noisy to death at night. The former martial arts star, the underworld boss, only had two nurses and cleaners to accompany him in the end.
Such an ending may have made Wang Xinping more determined to pursue an ordinary life. Looking back, Wang Xinping's life is like a movie with ups and downs.
From the "underworld" father to the superstar mother, to the silent stepmother of the flight attendant, everyone has left a deep mark on her life. Now, she has chosen a completely different way of life from the past, looking for her own happiness in the ordinary.
Recently, Wang Xinping has once again attracted attention due to his diagnosis of the new coronavirus. However, compared with the news of the death of his father Wang Yu and uncle Zeng Jiang, the attention this time is insignificant.
This may also reflect Wang Xinping's low-key lifestyle today. Perhaps, this is Wang Xinping's best interpretation of his family history: not to transcend the past, but to find his own direction, to maintain inner peace in the hustle and bustle, and to pursue simple beauty in complexity.
Her story, in a way, is a revelation of how to find oneself in a complex family context and ultimately choose one's own path in life.