Zhang Yimou’s mother-in-law: I have been with my daughter Chen Ting through the “underground” for 10 years, and I feel most at ease with her marriage.

In 2000, 19-year-old Chen Ting brought 50-year-old Zhang Yimou home to meet her parents. The Chen parents recognized Director Zhang at a glance and were shocked: "Isn't this Gong Li's boyfriend?" ?”

After some pleasantries, they found out that the famous Zhang Yimou was actually their daughter’s boyfriend!

Facing this prospective son-in-law who was 11 years older than herself, Chen Ting’s mother couldn’t laugh or cry, and immediately made a three-part agreement with Zhang Yimou.

When Zhang Yimou divorced his ex-wife, Zhang Yimou said:

But now, faced with the three demands of Chen Ting’s parents, Zhang Yimou did not accept them. Agree,

And in the days to come, Zhang Yimou not only fulfilled all his original promises, but also became Chen's mother's capital to show off.

Many people say that Chen Ting was lucky enough to meet the right person at the right time.

But only Chen Ting knows that behind the glamor, there are unknown tears and love. Forbearance. It’s not easy at all for a woman to be around a boss.

So, what did Chen Ting pay to win Zhang Yimou's favor?

And how did those three promises ensure Chen Ting's lifelong happiness?

Chen Ting was born in Wuxi in 1981. Her parents were ordinary workers and her family background was average.

Chen Ting fell in love with dancing when she was very young, and her elegant temperament gradually formed through hard study and practice day after day.

Although her parents love her, they never spoil her. Chen Ting has been living on campus since junior high school, so she has a very independent and independent personality.

When she was 17 years old, after watching Gong Li's movie "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit", Chen Ting decided to become an actor and was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy of her dreams.

In a school full of beauties, Chen Ting is not very eye-catching, but she is lucky enough.

In his sophomore year, Zhang Yimou was preparing to shoot "Happy Days" and went to Nortel to select the heroine.

For a time, all the girls were eager to give it a try. You know, how wonderful it is to be able to work with a big director before you graduate.

Chen Ting is no exception. She has always been a fan of Zhang Yimou, so she happily signed up. Passed the preliminary examination smoothly.

But in the re-examination, Chen Ting failed. She was very sad. Who could have imagined that a bigger pie fell on Chen Ting's head.

Zhang Yimou personally presided over the re-examination. As soon as Chen Ting came on stage, he couldn't help but feel excited.

He looked at Chen Ting with a professional eye. Although she was not suitable to play the heroine, But there is an indescribable feeling flowing in my heart.

He and Gong Li broke up not long ago, and he was intoxicated by this long-lost feeling.

Soon after, Chen Ting received a call from Zhang Yimou. She thought she had passed the interview, but what Zhang Yimou said next shocked her.

Faced with such a frank confession, Chen Ting's heartbeat continued, even offsetting the loss of "losing the heroine".

You know, she has always liked watching Zhang Yimou's movies since she was a child. In her heart, Zhang Yimou has always been the object of her admiration. Such an unattainable great director confessed his love to her, and Chen Ting couldn't bear to refuse.

It is said that a woman’s love comes from admiration. This is true for Gong Li and so is Chen Ting.

Since then, Zhang Yimou has launched a passionate pursuit of Chen Ting. From trivial matters in life to career arrangements, Zhang Yimou has given Chen Ting unprecedented care.

Chen Ting also fell into the love of this mature man. The two held hands regardless of the 31-year age gap.

After getting along for a year, Chen Ting felt that the time was almost right, so she told her parents about their relationship. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, under Chen Ting's persuasion, they came to Beijing to meet Zhang Yimou.

When the great director on TV really stood in front of them alive, Chen Ting's parents were surprised and at a loss.

Especially when they knew that their daughter was still discussing marriage with this "old man", they found it even more unreasonable.

But Chen Ting was resolute, and soon after, she called and claimed that she was pregnant.

Faced with their stubborn daughter, the Chen family's parents had to bow their heads no matter how reluctant they were.

I originally thought that these three conditions were harsh enough and Zhang Yimou would quit in spite of the difficulties. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yimou agreed without hesitation.

Is it because of the consideration of the child in the belly? Or after breaking up with Gong Li, in order to heal his emotional wounds and find a stable place for himself?

We don’t know.

Here, the two of them finally managed to deal with Chen Ting's parents. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yimou's family did not agree with the two of them being together.

First of all, the prospective mother-in-law Zhang Xiaoyou did not accept Chen Ting.

Zhang Xiaoyou was born in the 1930s and graduated from Shaanxi Medical University. Before retiring, he worked in the Dermatology Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Medical College.

Because of his higher education, Zhang Xiaoyou was modest, simple and traditional.

When Zhang Yimou decided to divorce his ex-wife Xiao Hua, Zhang Xiaoyou tried his best to stop it. Xiao Hua had paid too much for Zhang Yimou.

Xiao Hua came from a wealthy family. He had a chance to go to college after graduating from high school, but he accompanied Zhang Yimou to the countryside to join the team. After returning to the city, the two of them were assigned to different units.

Because of Zhang Yimou's words: "When you go to college, we will no longer have the same language, and it will be a matter of time before we break up."

Xiao Hua gave up going to college again Instead, he tried his best to support Zhang Yimou to go to film school. He served the elderly at home and took care of the children to do housework.

Even Zhang Yimou’s first camera was bought by Xiao Hua after three months of frugality.

It can be said that without Xiao Hua’s contribution, Zhang Yimou would not be where he is today.

Therefore, when the elders of the Zhang family learned that their son had betrayed Xiao Hua, they were extremely angry.

Zhang Yimou’s mother, Zhang Xiaoyou, even went to Gong Li’s residence and begged Gong Li to break up with her son.

Unexpectedly, Gong Li was more decisive than Zhang Yimou: "It is your son who sticks to me. If he wants to break up with me, I have nothing to say."

Zhang Xiaoyou even knelt down to Gong Li, but still could not stop his son's decision to be with Gong Li.

For this reason, she hated Gong Li, and her relationship with her son was also in crisis for a time.

Deep down, the old couple always felt that the Zhang family felt guilty towards Xiao Hua. Therefore, even if their son and Xiao Hua divorced, they still regarded Xiao Hua as their own child and loved Zhang Mo very much.

After seeing Zhang Yimou and Gong Li break up, the old man still wanted to bring Xiao Hua and his son together.

Who would have thought that if his son took back such a little girl, how much true love would there be?

So the old man treated Chen Ting politely but distantly.

When she was alone with her son, she hit him more than once: "Are you suitable? Have you considered the future? You are already emotionally involved. I have fallen down on the road, and I can't afford to lose again."

Chen Ting heard these words very clearly through a window, and felt mixed emotions in her heart.

After returning from Xi'an, Chen Ting was unhappy. Even considered aborting the child.

Seeing this, Zhang Yimou enlightened her and said: "I am an adult man. It is useless for anyone to object to what I decide. Don't worry. But I still give you two choices. One is to abort the child. Continue to go to school, and the second is to drop out and have a child and stay with me."

Facing Zhang Yimou's sincere eyes and the unique responsibility and frankness of a mature man, Chen Ting's worries were gradually relieved. flat.

She decided to give it a try and chose the second path.

Watching her baby grow up day by day, as a mother, Chen Ting wanted a marriage contract, so that she would be responsible for herself and the baby in her belly.

Zhang Yimou hesitated. If he went to apply for a marriage certificate with Chen Ting, their affairs would be made public.

As a great director, every move is magnified infinitely, especially the encounter with Gong Li that year, which made him unbearable. Now, he does not want to be pushed to the forefront of public opinion anymore, he just wants to Live a peaceful life of fireworks.

But not getting married means breaking your promise to Chen Ting.

While Zhang Yimou was hesitating, an article "My Father and Mother" exposed the extramarital affair between Zhang Yimou and Gong Li.

The book was written by Zhang Mo, the daughter of Zhang Yimou and his ex-wife Xiao Hua. It pointed out that Gong Li was the destroyer of her parents' marriage. Her appearance robbed her of her father's love and left her with a missing childhood.

This news caused an uproar in the society, and was more like a wake-up call to dispel Zhang Yimou's idea of ??high-profile remarriage.

After all, Chen Ting is not deeply involved in the world, and it is impossible for her to withstand Zhang Mo's various "tortures."

In those days, Zhang Yimou didn't think about food or tea. On one side was his beloved wife who was pregnant with Liujia, and on the other was his daughter's unreasonable troubles. It was difficult for Zhang Yimou to make a choice.

Chen Ting saw his embarrassment, and after thinking for a long time, she took the initiative and said that she was willing to wait a little longer.

Zhang Yimou was deeply moved by Chen Ting's open-mindedness.

In fact, it goes without saying that a young girl who gives birth to a child out of wedlock will suffer a lot of looks and criticism.

Even Chen Ting’s parents were implicated and had to endure gossip from their neighbors.

Chen Ting chose to endure all of this silently.

During the years when she and Zhang Yimou lived together, the grievances and pressures Chen Ting endured were far more than that.

After Chen Ting became a mother, she did not go out to work and has been taking care of her children at home in Beijing.

After her eldest son Zhang Yinan was born, Chen Ting did not even dare to hire a nanny because their relationship was not public, so she had to ask her mother to help take care of the child.

Zhang Yimou is a workaholic and a bit imbecile in life. He never knows how to do housework at home, let alone cook.

Usually at home, he keeps books and scripts in hand, and most often hugs his children. Chen Ting and her parents take care of all aspects of the home.

In 2004, Chen Ting gave birth to her second son, Zhang Yiding. The two sons are 3 years apart, so the burden of taking care of them is quite heavy. It was not convenient for Zhang Yimou to hire a nanny, so his two sons were taken care of by Chen Ting and his mother.

Zhang Yimou didn't care about the children's fever, cold, daycare, and various auxiliary education. Chen Ting took care of it all.

The hard work involved is self-evident, but in order to prevent Zhang Yimou from being distracted, Chen Ting never complained. Even when her parents felt sorry for their daughter, Chen Ting would give her good advice.

Only a good-tempered wife like Chen Ting can do this. If it were another woman, there would definitely be conflicts.

Chen Ting once publicly stated in an interview that as long as Zhang Yimou called and said he was going home at night, no matter how late it was, she would wait until her husband came back.

In 2006, Chen Ting gave birth to a daughter, Zhang Yijiao. It is indeed unfair to Chen Ting that she gave birth to two sons and a daughter to Zhang Yisheng within 5 years without obtaining a marriage certificate.

But because she deeply loves Zhang Yimou, she has no complaints.

In addition to the trivial matters at home, as the wife of a great director, Chen Ting has not escaped the constraints of the "mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship".

Over the years, Zhang Yimou’s father felt his face was damaged because his son abandoned Xiao Hua and fell in love with Gong Li. He was depressed until his death.

In the heart of mother Zhang Xiaoyou, half of the cause of her husband's death was caused by her son.

Therefore, for so many years, she has always disliked Zhang Yimou, and she also disliked Chen Ting.

Zhang Xiaoyou would rather live alone in a dilapidated old building than live with Zhang Yimou. This also became a hidden pain in Zhang Yimou's heart.

Once, Zhang Yimou went home to visit his mother. Chen Ting took the initiative to say that she should take her son with her. Before leaving, Chen Ting whispered a few words to her son.

Zhang Yimou wanted to take his mother home to live with him, but Zhang Xiaoyou refused again.

At this time, Zhang Yinan came over and took his grandma's hand and said: "Grandma, go to my house. Well, I still want to hear your story, okay? Grandma."

It is said that Zhang Xiaoyou reluctantly agreed after seeing his grandson's young face.

Zhang Yimou is very happy, and all of this is due to Chen Ting’s efforts behind the scenes.

Because Zhang Xiaoyou is old and there is no nanny at home, the job of taking care of the elderly falls on Chen Ting, but she has no complaints.

She even mobilized her parents to spend more time chatting with her mother-in-law to alleviate her loneliness. In order to make her mother-in-law's stay comfortable, three meals a day are arranged according to her dietary preferences.

When relatives from her hometown came to visit, Chen Ting also warmly welcomed them and arranged their food, clothing, housing and transportation properly and thoughtfully, giving her mother-in-law face.

In particular, Chen Ting gave birth to two boys and a girl one after another, which made the elderly who have the concept of "more children, more blessings" feel very happy.

In 2018, Zhang Xiaoyou developed complications from diabetes and was hospitalized three times in Beijing. Chen Ting had full power to take care of her mother-in-law in the hospital.

Zhang Yimou only went to the hospital to see his mother once in several days, and Chen Ting stayed with her in bed alone. Chen Ting's mother prepared meals for each meal and sent them to the hospital, while Chen Ting took care of her mother-in-law.

Later, when her mother-in-law became critically ill, Chen Ting accompanied Zhang Yimou by her side, serving her around the clock for more than 20 days until her mother-in-law passed away.

Zhang Yimou is extremely grateful for Chen Ting's filial piety and forbearance. It is also because of Chen Ting's tolerance that Zhang Yimou can concentrate on his career without worrying about a fire in the backyard.

Over the years, the couple has always had a good relationship. The only time they had a conflict was because of Zhang Yimou and his ex-wife's daughter Zhang Mo.

Because of Gong Li's incident, the relationship between Zhang Mo and his father was not always good. In order to make up for his daughter, Zhang Yimou almost obeyed her daughter's requests.

When Chen Ting wanted to get married, a book by Zhang Mo made Zhang Yimou give up the idea of ??getting married.

Later, Chen Ting gave birth to her son Zhang Yinan, and Zhang Mo was hit by Due to the domestic violence of her foreign husband, Zhang Yimou devoted all his attention to his daughter. Not only did he personally take her back to China, he also placed Zhang Mo in his company and taught her step by step how to make movies.

For Chen Ting, who has just given birth, it is the time when she needs her husband's care the most, and the time when her children need their father the most.

However, Zhang Yimou is always busy with his ex-wife and daughter. On the contrary, Chen Ting was heartbroken because she ignored her son. Always shed tears silently.

When Zhang Yimou found out, he said: "I owe my daughter a lot. This is her most critical time, and I have to help her."

Although Chen Ting couldn't let go, she Still chose to forgive and accept.

Once, her son was ill and hospitalized. After Zhang Yimou heard about it, he rushed back from the set overnight and went to the hospital to visit his son. Seeing Zhang Yimou's worry and nervousness, Chen Ting was relieved.

She knew that if she wanted to have a harmonious relationship between husband and wife, she must have a good relationship with Zhang Mo.

For this reason, she invited Zhang Mo to her home many times. Her enthusiasm and thoughtfulness gradually melted Zhang Mo's wariness.

Because the two are similar in age, Zhang Mo likes to talk to Chen Ting about everything, and the two get along almost like friends.

In recent years, Zhang Mo has become a rising star in the director world, which makes Zhang Yimou very happy. Every time Chen Ting teaches her son, she will let her son follow the example of her sister.

Fortunately, Zhang Yinan is very good. When he was 18 years old, the works he shot with his classmates won three awards in succession for Best Film, Best Director and Best Music at the Shanghai Student Film Festival. .

After learning that his son won the award, Zhang Yimou was sincerely pleased: "I won my first award when I was 38 years old, and my son won the award when he was 18. The opportunities given by the times are really different."

Zhang Yiding, the second son of Chen Ting and Zhang Yimou, went abroad to study alone when he was sixteen years old. His ability to take care of himself independently should not be underestimated.

The youngest daughter Zhang Yijiao is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She is also good at ballet and often practices with her mother.

The three children are all so outstanding, and the family relationship is handled so well. It has to be said that Chen Ting is by no means a beauty and wealthy woman.

Moreover, over the years, Chen Ting has never given up on self-growth. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Chen Ting once said: "I went to school after giving birth to my eldest child, and I went to school after giving birth to my second child. I went to graduate school."

Perhaps out of gratitude for her years of hard work, Zhang Yimou and Chen Ting finally got married in 2011, and Chen Ting finally got married.

Now, seeing that their daughter has gone through all the hardships, Chen Ting’s parents said sincerely: I am most relieved about my daughter’s marriage.

At a young age, he was good at seizing opportunities and choosing the life he wanted. This is bravery and courage;

After being with Zhang Yimou for several years, he had no status. She is neither impatient nor impatient, and is still content to be the woman behind Zhang Yimou. This is magnanimous and forbearing.

Even if she was later exposed to the public, she did not overexpose herself because of your status as the wife of a famous director. This is low-key and wise.

Outsiders don’t know the inside story of Chen Ting’s marriage and say that she married Zhang Yimou just to enjoy the success and happiness.

In fact, what Chen Ting enjoys is the spiritual satisfaction that her husband brings to her. She has shouldered a lot in her marriage, and her contribution to her family and daughter far exceeds that of Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou once said: "It has been difficult for Chen Ting these years. She has a very good character, does not make various demands, and does not have all kinds of worries."

It is also her His kindness, virtuousness, tolerance and filial piety won Zhang Yimou's love and a happy and stable marriage!

Chen Ting may seem ordinary, but she has done what Gong Li could not do. She is willing to give up herself to make soup for Zhang Yimou and run a good family.

She also did what Xiao Hua failed to do. While running her family well, she never gave up on her own development.

If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight.

There is no free lunch in the world, and those things that seem to be obtained effortlessly have a hidden price tag.

If you want to get what you dream of, you must pay a price.