Zhang Songwen

Zhang Songwen was born in Shaoguan, Guangdong, on 10 May 1976. His father was a veteran, while his mother was a doctor. After graduating from Shaoguan Vocational High School, he held various jobs, including working at a printing factory, a food stall, and a beverage factory. At the age of 24, Zhang first heard about Beijing Film Academy through a fellow tour guide and on the same day, he quit his job and moved to Beijing. He enrolled in the vocational class of the Performance Department at the Beijing Film Academy, where he served as class monitor and student union president. A few years after graduation from the vocational class, he was admitted into the BFA's vocational-to-bachelor's program. After graduation, he worked as a teaching assistant at the academy for eight years. ==Career==

Zhang has worked as an acting coach for films and TV series, including the first season of the Cantonese sitcom Cheng Long Guai Xu (2005), where he also played his first leading role, and the film Love on Credit (2011), where he coached the leading actress Lin Chi-ling. In 2008, Zhang left his teaching position at Beijing Film Academy to establish his own acting studio. In 2009, Zhang collaborated with director Lou Ye for the first time in Spring Fever (2009). Zhang later starred in the director's The Shadow Play (2018), Saturday Fiction (2019), and An Unfinished Film (2024), all of which received critical acclaim. In 2017, Zhang appeared in End of Summer (2017), which won the KNN Award at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival. In 2020, Zhang appeared in the web series The Bad Kids, based on the Zi Jinchen's novel, Bad Kid (坏小孩). In 2023, Zhang achieved breakout success for his role as a fishmonger-turned-crime-boss in the TV series The Knockout (2023). He followed with Chen Kaige's Korean War film The Volunteers: To the War (2023) and Jonathan Li's crime film Dust to Dust (2023), and starred in four TV series within one year of 2024. == Controversy ==

Allegations of domestic violence On December 30, 2024, former actress Jiang Chen heavily suggested that Zhang committed domestic violence and infidelity during their relationship, which had begun when she took acting lessons from him thirteen years ago. On January 5, 2025, Jiang confirmed Zhang as the subject of her allegations by releasing a recorded phone call with Li Zifeng, the producer of the film The Sun Rises on Us All, in which Zhang stars. During the call, Jiang rejected the producer's offer of hush money. Li refuted the recording, accusing Jiang of maliciously editing it. Allegations of tax evasion On January 2, 2025, a paparazzi outlet claimed that Zhang had been questioned by China's tax authorities over suspected tax evasion. On January 7, the China Radio and Television Association Actors Committee stated that online rumors concerning "a well-known actor" contained "large amounts of false information" and that "tax matters should be based on official announcements by the relevant authorities," which was interpreted as an official endorsement for Zhang. ==Filmography==

Film Television series == Literary works ==

• Match Heaven (Reader: All Love) () • The Person who Lights the Lamp in the Heart "(Tianya) () ==References==