Zhang Zhehan
Zhang Zhehan is a Chinese actor and singer. He gained attention for his roles in the television series Legend of Ban Shu, Legend of Yunxi, The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion, and achieved breakout success with Word of Honor. His career was abruptly derailed in August 2021, when photographs taken in 2018 showing him visiting areas near Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine and Nogi Shrine surfaced online, leading to his blacklisting in mainland China. In the aftermath, Zhang shifted his focus toward a music career in overseas markets.
Early life
Zhang was born in Xinyu, Jiangxi province, China on May 11, 1991. He graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy.Career
2010–2021: Early years and breakthrough success
In 2010, Zhang made his acting debut in the romantic drama Why Love You. Thereafter, he signed a contract with Yu Zheng's studio, and played the leading role in the comedy web series Crazy for Palace and its sequel. The series gained a small following online.Zhang then went on to act in various supporting roles in dramas produced by Yu Zheng; such as Palace 3: The Lost Daughter, The Romance of the Condor Heroes and Love Yunge from the Desert. He first gained recognition playing the role of the antagonist in the mystery costume drama Cosmetology High, and went on to portray young Mei Changsu in the acclaimed historical drama Nirvana in Fire.
In 2015, Zhang played the male lead in historical drama Legend of Ban Shu with Jing Tian. He went on to play lead roles in the spy drama Decoded, and headlined both seasons of the fantasy web series Demon Girl. In 2018, Zhang played in the historical romance drama Legend of Yunxi alongside Ju Jingyi. The series received much praise for its storyline. In 2019, Zhang performed in the disaster film The Bravest as a firefighter.
He starred as Wang Yue in the short film Brother, which was directed by Vicky Zhao. He has also appeared as a regular member in the variety show Everybody Standby.
In 2020, Zhang starred in the romantic drama Everyone Wants to Meet You produced by Zhao Wei. Zhang also appeared in the historical romance drama The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion alongside Ju Jingyi.
In 2021, Zhang starred alongside Gong Jun in the Wuxia drama series Word of Honor, which is an adaptation of the BL novel Tian Ya Ke by Priest. He played the role of Zhou Zishu, an elite royal service leader who leaves his past and starts anew. He then met Wen Kexing, a mysterious martial arts master. Both embark on a journey together and find soulmates in each other. Word of Honor gained popularity in and outside of China, especially after the show aired on Netflix. The show's first episode has accumulated over 8.7 million views on YouTube, and its popularity put the two male leads Gong Jun and Zhang under the spotlight, becoming overnight sensations.
2021: Blacklisting
In 2021, anti-fans of Zhang circulated photographs from one of Zhang's friend's social media accounts, showing him in an intimate pose with a woman. Internet users critical of Zhang alleged that he was being dishonest and unprofessional, misleading fans by portraying himself as possibly gay while being involved with a woman.On August 12, 2021, posts on Douban and Weibo showed Zhang at a friend's 2019 wedding with fellow wedding guest Dewi Sukarno. The posts alleged that Zhang had an anti-Chinese and pro-Japan stance, and many Weibo users described Dewi as "a right-wing anti-Chinese politician". The posts also incorrectly stated that Dewi Sukarno was the wife of the Indonesian President responsible for the massacres of Chinese in Indonesia.
On August 13, 2021, photos surfaced online of Zhang posing in front of cherry blossom trees near Japan's Yasukuni Shrine in 2018 and of him attending a wedding ceremony at Nogi Shrine in 2019. The Chinese public and government condemn the shrine, which Japanese politicians visit on the anniversaries of Japan's surrender in World War II, and view the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism and Japan's invasion of China. Chinese people refer to visiting the shrine as baigui.
Zhang's photos sparked outrage among Chinese netizens. Zhang issued an apology, stating: "Today, I deeply apologize for my past ignorance, my shame and especially my previous improper behaviour. I attended a friend’s wedding in Japan. It is my mistake for the oversight of the historical background behind the wedding venue and the political background of the other wedding guests. When I used to travel everywhere, I liked to casually take pictures. Due to the lack of understanding for the local architecture and the history and being careless about the content when taking pictures, when I took the pictures, it resulted in content that seriously harmed the feelings of compatriots. I also solemnly apologize here, I am sorry." In response, the People's Daily stated: "As a public figure, a lack of historical knowledge and unknowingness of the suffering of the nation is unacceptable."
The China Association of Performing Arts, a voluntary association of the entertainment industry, called for a boycott on Zhang due to the controversial photos. CAPA stated, "t is common sense for celebrities to know the history and ignorance is not an excuse... the Yasukuni shrine is the symbol of Japanese militarism in launching its invasion war and a place where right-wing Japanese deny the history beautify the war... Zhang's highly improper behavior not only harms the nation but also brings bad influence on youths who follow him as an idol."
Numerous brands, as well as his upcoming films and television shows, terminated their associations with Zhang. Tencent Video, Youku, iQIYI and Mango TV took down his works from their streaming platforms and Zhang's scenes in the movie 1921 were replaced by another actor. Sina Weibo shut down his Super Topic, and his personal and studio accounts were removed from Douyin, Douban and other Chinese sites. QQ Music and NetEase Music removed Zhang's songs from their music platforms. Zhang's anti-fans and online nationalists who had criticised Zhang deemed these events as a major success and referred to themselves as chujiandui.
Li Xuezheng, Vice Chairman of the China TV Artists Association and Director of the Golden Shield Television Center, questioned the authority of the CAPA to blacklist artists. Li said Zhang was not blacklisted by the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) or the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, who, Li argued, are the only authorities to blacklist people in the industry. Li said he was prepared to help Zhang file a lawsuit against CAPA.
On 1 January 2022, Li released a ten-minute audio recording of an interview with Zhang on Weibo, marking Zhang’s first public statement on a Chinese social media platform since August 2021. In the recording, Zhang denied entering or visiting Yasukuni Shrine, stated that he was willing to cooperate with any official investigation, and described severe psychological distress experienced by himself and his family following the controversy. The political framing of Zhang’s controversy coincided with the official blacklisting of actress Zhao Wei, who owned Zhang’s talent agency. In December 2021, Zhang filed a police report over online defamation.
2022–present: Return to public life, music releases
In January 2022, a wechat blog named Zhang Sanjian 张三坚 appeared and it shared reviews on books, movies. It had made 18 posts over a few months, before the account was mass reported and deactivated. Two weeks later, another blog named Zhang Sanjian is back 张三坚回来了 made its return, with new posts as well as including some of the older posts from the previous blog. After the establishment of zhangzhehan.net, Zhang Zhehan's Official site, these blog posts have been translated into English for global fans.In April 2022, Zhang returned to social media and posted a handwritten letter on his Instagram account thanking his supporters and requested that those reading his letter not hurt his family and friends. He also wrote that he and another star of Word of Honor had not had any contact since June 2021. In a follow-up video, he claimed that this ex-colleague had been using elements related to Zhang in their own endorsements without permission. This video and follow up posts caused a number of online fans to report his account as a deep fake due to their ongoing belief that the two actors were secretly in a same-sex romantic relationship despite his clarification. While Zhang did not directly indicate which co-star by name, newspapers reported his posts implicated his co-star Gong Jun's marketing team as the ones capitalizing on the fandom shipping of the two while Zhang was cancelled. In the same video, Zhang stated outside sources were "spending lots of money to create rumors about the political standing of a patriotic citizen, editing Baidu pages, working with social influencers, and using large amounts of Internet Water Army to influence the media."
In December 2022, Zhang returned from a year of domestic boycott with two singles "Melancholy Sunshine" and "Knight Errant", both reaching #1 on the global iTunes music charts. The lyricist and composer for "Melancholy Sunshine" was Malaysian songwriter Keon Chia, and Zhang Zhehan helped compose the lyrics for "Knight Errant". Both of the singles are part of the album Deep Blue. On January 14, 2023, the third single "Journey", in the Deep Blue series was released on various platforms. Zhang wrote and composed this song. The song played on Taiwanese radio HIT FM and Canadian Fairchild radio from December 28 to 30, 2022. On January 26, 2023, the fourth single "Primordial Theater", in the Deep Blue series was released on various platforms. Zhang wrote the lyrics for this song. The fifth single, "Lost Glacier," of the Deep Blue series was released on February 14, 2023. The song was earlier launched on Taiwanese radio HIT FM and Canadian Fairchild radio from February 8 to 10, 2023. The sixth single, Magnificent Life, of the Deep Blue series, premiered on YouTube on March 17, 2023. It was released on various platforms at midnight on March 18, 2023.
The seventh song, Stars light you up, of the Deep Blue series, premiered on YouTube on April 13, 2023. The song was jointly premiered on multiple radio stations from April 12 to 14, 2023, including Taiwanese radio Hit Fm Network, MY Malaysia, UFM Singapore, and Canadian Fairchild radio. The album, Deep Blue, was released on April 14, 2023.
On April 26, 2023, the first single "Datura", in the Datura series was released on various platforms. On May 8, 2023, the second single "Believer", in the Datura series was released on various platforms. From May 10 to 11, 2023, Zhang held his concert titled “Zhang Zhehan 2023 Concert: Primordial Theater” in Bangkok, Thailand. Zhang was reportedly involved in various aspects of the concert, and celebrated his 32nd birthday with fans. On May 21, 2023, the third single "Moonlight", in the Datura series was released on various platforms. The song was premiered jointly on multiple radio stations from May 17 to 19, 2023. On June 21, 2023, the fourth single "Time to leave", in the Datura series was released on various platforms. On August 8, 2023, the fifth single "Unfinished Journey", in the Datura series was released on various platforms. Zhang co-wrote the lyrics and music for this song. In September 2023, Zhang released two more singles in the Datura series, "Pressure" and "Chase". On September 17, 2023, Zhang held the second stop of his concert titled “Zhang Zhehan 2023 Concert: Primordial Theater” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On October 7, 2023, Zhang performed on MY BIG SHOW A.I.23 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On November 25, 2023, at Yes 933 Hits Fest 2023 in Singapore, Zhang, who won "Artist of the Year", performed several of his own songs including "Magnificent Life", which was crowned "Hit of the Year".
Filmography
Variety shows
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Role | Network |
| 2010 | China-Korea Dream Team | 中韩梦之队 | ||
| 2010 | A Good Boy at Home | 家有好男儿 | Guest | |
| 2014 | Laugh Out Loud | 我们都爱笑 | ||
| 2014 | 新闻当事人 | |||
| 2014 | The Generation Show | 年代秀 | ||
| 2014 | Happy Camp | 快乐 大本营 | Guest | Hunan TV |
| 2015 | Trump Card | 大牌对王牌 | ||
| 2015 | 灌篮高手 | |||
| 2015 | Lets Go! Dream Team Season 2 | 中韩梦之队 | Guest | Shenchuan TV |
| 2015 | China and South Korea ''Dream Team | 中韩梦之队 | Cast member | Shenchuan TV |
| 2016 | The Amazing Race China | 极速前进 | Cast member | Shenzhen TV |
| 2017 | Beat the Champions | 来吧冠军 | ||
| 2018 | Give Me Five 2 | 高能少年团 2 | Guest | Zhejiang TV |
| 2018 | Taste of Time | 时光的味道 | Cast member | iQIYI, Beijing TV |
| 2018 | Happy Camp | 快乐 大本营 | Guest | Hunan TV |
| 2019 | Everybody Stand By | 演员请就位 | Contestant | Tencent |
| 2020 | Ace vs Ace | 王牌对王牌 | Guest | Zhejiang TV |
| 2021 | Ace vs Ace | 王牌对王牌 | Guest | Zhejiang TV |
| 2021 | Ace Actress | 我是女演员 | Substitute Teacher | Youku, Jiangsu Satellite TV |
| 2021 | Keep Running | 奔跑吧 | Guest | Zhejiang TV |
| 2021 | Happy Camp'' | 快乐 大本营 | Guest | Hunan TV |
Discography
Light Another Me Deep Blue Datura Scavenger- ''Kaleidoscope''