Fàn Bīngbīng Makes a Comeback to Win Golden Horse Best Actress, Cries Her Eyes Out While Eating Hairy Crabs

On the 22nd, Chinese actress Fan Bingbing won Best Leading Actress at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards for the Malaysian film “Peach Blossom Land” (地母). As she was unable to attend due to work, director Zhang Ji'an went on stage to accept the award on her behalf, and called her on the phone to share the news—allowing her to give an acceptance speech via call. On the other end of the line, Fan Bingbing was sobbing uncontrollably. Nearly 4am on the 23rd, she updated on Weibo: “After replying to over 600 messages of congratulations from friends, I devoured three hairy crabs. At this moment, I feel a bit happy, a bit stunned…” She included a bare-faced selfie with puffy, tear-swollen eyes and a plate of crab shell remains, prompting smiles.

Backstage, Zhang Ji'an did a video call with Fan Bingbing, letting her check if her name was correctly engraved on the trophy before “signing for it remotely.” She was still so emotional that she couldn’t stop crying. Fan Bingbing’s international agent, Zhang Xinling, was happy for her: “Your hard work has finally paid off!” and also posted a scary photo of Fan’s arm covered in red bumps, commenting, “While shooting this film and transplanting rice seedlings, she was bitten by hundreds of mosquitoes all over her body every day.”

At the “Peach Blossom Land” celebration banquet, director Ang Lee and Golden Horse Executive Committee Chair Lee Pingbin both attended to show support. Ang Lee specially called Fan Bingbing to congratulate her, and she happily replied: “I’ve received over 650 messages, I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight.” Zhang Ji'an also revealed that Fan actually received her work visa six days ago, but because she’d already scheduled other work, even after trying to coordinate to the last minute, she still couldn’t make it to Taiwan.

Fan Bingbing first rose to fame with her performances in “My Fair Princess” (还珠格格) and “The Empress of China” (武媚娘传奇), but seven years ago, she disappeared for 123 days due to the 'yin-yang contract' tax scandal, and was eventually heavily fined 880 million RMB (about 510 million Malaysian ringgit), severely damaging her reputation and career. Her crowning as Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards on the 22nd is undoubtedly further recognition of her acting skills. Her studio posted a congratulatory message immediately, but perhaps due to sensitive content, it was later deleted.

Fan Bingbing shared and reposted a number of articles on her Instagram Stories about her winning the Best Actress award at the Golden Horse. The keyword “Fan Bingbing wins Golden Horse Best Actress” even trended. Her studio also posted: “Congratulations to Fan Bingbing for winning the Best Leading Actress from Treasure Island (Taiwan) for her role as ‘Feng Yin’ in ‘Peach Blossom Land’! In the future, Bingbing will continue to explore more roles with reverence, and answer expectations with her works.” However, this post was also deleted soon after.

Fan Bingbing previously won Best Supporting Actress in 2007, and now, 18 years later, has clinched Best Actress at the Golden Horse for “Peach Blossom Land,” becoming the first Chinese actress to have won both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress titles. After the ceremony, she shared her feelings via Zhang Xinling with Malaysian media, saying, “There are ten thousand ways to bloom when alive,” and thanked everyone for finally seeing her work.

Fan Bingbing especially thanked director Zhang Ji'an and the entire crew for enabling her to once again hold a Golden Horse trophy after so many years. She also mentioned the strength her character brought her: “I thank my character Feng Yin for allowing me to experience her life. I drew much strength from her story—it's a force of life woven together under the sun and uplifted by the earth.”

Fan Bingbing said that when she first read the script, she was deeply touched by the imagery of “the land.” Although the story was set in Malaysia, she felt a strong sense of connection: “Culture grows from the land. When I saw the trophy through the screen, I could almost feel the warmth of the earth’s soil—it's the body temperature of Mother Earth, and also the shared roots of our culture.”

Asked if she found it worthwhile to shed her star appearance and take on a humble peasant woman look in the film, she admitted: “The image serves the character, and the character serves the story. I only care whether the character is true to the person, and whether she stands up as a real person.” She said, just as the director once asked her, “Are you willing to let me destroy your face?” — to which she replied without hesitation, “Bingbing is in all the way.”