(English edition)
(Chinese edition)
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Time Out magazine, the Beijing edition has joined local editions of the listings magazine around the world in choosing a list of forty “heroes” of the city.
Or rather, two lists, because Time Out Beijing comes in both an English and a Chinese edition. Although the lists overlap somewhat (ten of the heroes appear on both lists), there are some notable differences:
· Scope: While both lists include heroes from the worlds of modern art, music, theater, film, and the printed page, the Chinese list also contains some big names from sports and business, and the English list includes expatriate residents of Beijing.
· Age: The youngest person on the Chinese list is Zhang Ziyi, born in 1979. The English list features two “post-80s” names (Xander Zhou and Li Yuchun), and one selection that’s even more recent (the cartoon Olympic mascots known as Fuwas).
· Preference: Any list of this sort is going to be arbitrary to some degree, but having two competing lists makes it all the more obvious. For fifth-generation directors, for example, the English edition has Chen Kaige; the Chinese, Zhang Yimou. For architects, English: Ma Yansong; Chinese: Cui Kai. For novelists, English: Yan Lianke, Xinran, Ma Jian, and Jiang Rong; Chinese: Wang Shuo, Ah Cheng, and Hai Yan.
The English list also seems to have a few ringers put there for the express purpose of provoking controversy (see if you can spot them). Chinese Time Out ran a concurrent online poll (linked below) where netizens could vote for their favorite “Beijing Heroes.” Hutong artist Kuang Han, Olympic Committee honorary president He Zhenliang, and TV classics lecturer Yu Dan beat out all the magazine’s picks, and Sohu CEO Charles Zhang (Zhang Chaoyang) also made the top eight, along with list members Wang Shuo, Li Ning, Xu Tao, and Ge You.
The English edition’s list identifies each of the names for the benefit of readers who might not know who they are (bolded names are on both lists):
- Artist Ai Weiwei 艾未未
- Designer Xander Zhou 周翔宇
- Director Chen Kaige 陈凯歌
- Architect Ole Scheeren
- 798 founder Huang Rui 黄锐
- Hang On The Box punk Gia (王悦)
- Film mogul (Huayi brother) Wang Zhongjun 王中军
- Actress Zhang Ziyi 章子怡
- Rock legend Cui Jian 崔健
- Supergirl winner Li Yuchun 李宇春
- Writer Ma Jian 马健
- Viola player Su Zhen 苏珍
- Women’s rights pioneer Wang Xingjuan 王幸娟
- Writer Yan Lianke 阎连科
- MIDI founder Zhang Fan 张帆
- Red Gate Gallery founder Brian Wallace
- Ullens director Jerome Sans
- Yugong Yishan founder Gou Zi 狗子
- Architect Ma Yansong 马岩松
- Modern Sky Records founder Shen Lihui 沈黎晖
- Iraq journalist Chen Si 陈思
- Film producer Fang Li 方励
- Explorer Liang Zi 梁子
- Director Li Yu 李玉
- Migrant children charity founder Jonathan Hursh
- Entertainer Dashan 大山
- CCTV presenter Yang Rui 杨瑞
- Writer Xue Xinran 薛欣然
- Photographer HS Liu 刘香成
- Classical guru Su Lihua 苏丽华
- Environmentalist Ma Jun 马俊
- Writer Zhang Lijia 张丽佳
- Artist Chen Danqing 陈丹青
- The Fuwas 福娃
- Great Wall preservationist William Lindesay
- Gay rights pioneer Li Yinhe 李银河
- Theatre director Meng Jinghui 孟京辉
- Writer Lu Jiamin (Jiang Rong) 姜戎
- NAMOC director Fan Dian 范迪安
- Environmental lawyer Wang Canfa 王灿发
The list in the Chinese TimeOut gives a “field” for each name on the list; we’ve added more specific information in parenthesis:
- Chen Danqing 陈丹青, arts and literature (Tibet paintings; cultural criticism)
- Meng Jinghui 孟京辉, theater (Rhinoceros in Love)
- Wang Shuo 王朔, literature (novels, screenplays, general outspokenness
- Li Yinhe 李银河, culture (sex issues)
- Huang Rui 黄锐, modern art (798)
- Zhang Yimou 张艺谋, film
- Shen Lihui 沈黎晖, music (Modern Sky)
- Ai Weiwei 艾未未, modern art (also architecture, blogs, social criticism)
- Liu Xiaodong 刘小东, art (record-breaking auction prices)
- Fan Di’an 范迪安, art exhibitions (currently head of the National Art Museum)
- Wu Wenguang 吴文光, documentary film (pioneer, in 1989, of Beijing documentaries)
- Ah Cheng 阿城, literature and film (novelist and screenwriter)
- Cui Jian 崔健, rock music
- Fu Weibo 傅维伯, theater (small stage producer)
- Guo Wenjing 郭文景, music (composer)
- Cui Kai 崔恺, architecture
- Zhang Xin 张欣, urban development (SOHO)
- Hua Xinmin 华亲民, public service (hutong protection)
- Yang Dongping 杨东平, arts education (televised arts programs)
- Jing Yunjiao 井蕴娇, real estate (courtyard home agent)
- Jet Li 李连杰, film (martial arts action movies)
- Andrew Yu 余志海 (aka Anzhu 安猪), NGO and public service
- Ge You 葛优, film (To Live)
- Hai Yan 海岩, hotels, literature, and TV (police romances)
- Guo Degang 郭德纲, xiangsheng
- Feng Xiaogang 冯小刚, film (New Year’s comedies)
- Xu Jinglei 徐静蕾, performing arts (film star and online media mogul)
- Zhang Ziyi 章子怡, film
- Jenny Lang Ping 郎平, sports (volleyball; US women’s coach)
- Li Ning 李宁, sports (gymnastics; clothing brand)
- Zhang Yining 张怡宁, sports (ping-pong)
- Gouzi 狗子, performance venues (Yugong Yishan)
- Zhang Fan 张帆, music (Midi)
- Qi Xiaojing 祁晓晶, bars (popularized Houhai)
- Li Hengli 李亨利, nightclubs (currently retired)
- Dong Zhenxiang 董振祥, restaurants (Peking duck chain)
- Zhuang Songlie 庄崧冽, business (Sculpting in Time cafe)
- Robin Li 李彦宏, IT (Baidu)
- Xu Tao 徐滔, TV (BTV legal program host)
- Yang Bo 杨勃, Internet (Douban)
- Time Out: Time Out heroes Beijing (I), Film and Art, Architects and Connoisseurs, Theater, Classical Music, & Writers, Travel, Design, & Campaigners
- Time Out (Chinese): Heroes gallery, Candidates list, poll results