He Ping Dies: Chinese Director Of ‘Sun Valley’ and ‘Warriors Of Heaven And Earth’ Was 65

Liz Shackleton
·3 min read
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Chinese director, screenwriter and producer He Ping, best known internationally for his hybrid ‘Chinese Westerns’, has died aged 65. Local press reported that he died of illness in Beijing on January 10.

He Ping was well known on the international film festival circuit and was one of the first Chinese filmmakers to work with a U.S. studio, directing Warriors Of Heaven And Earth with backing from the now defunct Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia (CPFPA) in 2003. Similar to two award-winning films he made in the 1990s, the film was shot in the Western deserts of China and combined elements of classic Westerns and Chinese wuxia (swordplay) movies.

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Born in Shanxi province, He started his career in the 1980s, initially directing stage productions and documentaries, and later transferring to the state-owned Xian Film Studio, where acclaimed directors such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige had also started their careers. His early fiction films included We Are The World (1988) and Kawashima Yoshiko (1989), about the Manchurian-Japanese princess of the same name.

In the 1990s, He directed his first two Chinese Westerns, Swordsmen In Double Flag Town (1991) and Sun Valley (1995), along with historical drama Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker (1994), which won a jury special mention at San Sebastian International Film Festival. Swordsmen In Double Flag Town won the Grand Prize at Japan’s Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, while Sun Valley won an Alfred Bauer Award Honorable Mention at Berlin Film Festival.

Warriors Of Heaven And Earth, starring Jiang Wen and Zhao Wei, was China’s submission to the best foreign-language film category (as it was then known) of the 2004 Academy Awards. Sony’s CPFPA, headed at the time by U.S. producer Barbara Robinson, co-produced the film with Huayi Brothers & Taihe Film Investment Co and Xian Film Studio.  CPFPA’s Chinese slate around this time also included films such as Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle.

In 2009, He directed historical drama Wheat, starring Fan Bingbing, which he also produced along with Polybona Films (later known as Bona Film Co) and Xian Film Studio. His 2015 film, The Promised Land, about a ballet dancer who moves to Beijing to pursue her career, received an honorable mention from the Platform jury at the Toronto International Film Festival.

A statement issued by the China Film Directors Association, paying tribute to He, said:  “We are shocked to learn that Mr. He Ping, a member of the China Film Association, former Vice President and Secretary General of the China Film Directors Association, and a leading national director, has passed away due to illness. We extend our deepest condolences to Mr. He Ping’s relatives.”

The statement continues that He’s films are “deeply loved by movie audiences and praised by industry experts for their strong artistic pursuit and unique creative style. Mr. He Ping has made outstanding contributions to the country’s film industry and left behind precious artistic wealth. His death is a huge loss to the Chinese film industry.”

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