Childhood: Michael Ma, Teenager: Yin Zhi, Adult: Leslie Cheung.

Cheng Dieyi (程蝶衣), alias Xiao Douzi (小豆子) and Yu Ji (虞姬), is the protagonist in the novel Farewell My Concubine (霸王别姬), written by Li Bihua (李碧华) and its spin-offs.

The story describes Cheng Dieyi, who was sold to a Beijing opera troupe by his prostitute mother when he was a child, and was rejected by the master of the troupe due to his own defects, which led to his mother breaking one of his fingers before he was recognized by the master of the troupe, and later became confused about whether he was a man or a woman. Duan Xiaolou, his senior brother, was very close to him, and they became famous for co-starring in "Farewell My Concubine".

Unexpectedly, Xiaolou married a prostitute, Juxian, and the two brothers turned against each other during the Cultural Revolution, which made Cheng Dieyi feel lost in his lifelong pursuit of art, and he finally cut his own throat on stage while rehearsing the play with Xiaolou again.

Chang and Cheng Dieyi

Chang's excellent performance of the role of Cheng Dieyi, who is "not crazy, not alive", was a masterpiece. He was also nominated for Best Actor at the 46th Cannes International Film Festival for his performance in the film (which he lost by only one vote).

Zhang has acted in many classic movies in his life, but when it comes to his most influential movie, I am afraid that "Farewell My Concubine" is the first one. Zhang's performance was the key to the movie's success.

In 1993, Farewell My Concubine went to the Cannes Film Festival and eventually won the Cannes Palme d'Or, a world-class honor for a film that has been screened all over the world because of the Palme d'Or's prestige.