Zhang Yimou: No Matter High Table or Low Stool, They Are Wood After All 张艺谋：高桌子低板凳都是木头

三十年多间，他多次转型，屡屡成为潮流领军人物。《三枪拍案惊奇》的主题曲《我只是个传说》里，张艺谋“RAP”了一句“高桌子低板凳都是木头”。这句歌词正好诠释了张艺谋的艺术人生：工人转摄影师、演员转导演，他的每一次转行都颇为成功；从艺术片《红高粱》到大片时代的《英雄》，再到2008年北京奥运。张艺谋的品牌效应决定了，无论做什么事，他都会成为焦点。
In more than 30 years, he changed his styles many times and often leads the trends. In the theme song, I Am Simply a Legend, of his film A Simple Noodle Story, Zhang Yimou RAPs the lyric, “No matter high table or low stool, they are wood after all.” This lyric well interprets Zhang Yimou’s art life: From a worker to a cameraman, and from an actor to a director. Every time he changed his job, he was successful. From the artistic film Red Sorghum to blockbuster Hero and on to the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Zhang Yimou made his name his brand: No matter what he does, he will be in the focus.
第一阶段：传奇初创 从工人到导演 惊艳佳作连连
Stage One: Legendary Initiation, From a Worker to a Director With
作品：《红高梁》、《菊豆》、《大红灯笼高高挂》、《活着》、《秋菊打官司》、《一个都不能少》、《我的父亲母亲》等
Products: Red Sorghum, Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, The Story of Qiu Ju, Not One Less, The Road Home, etc.
张艺谋1968年初中毕业后，在陕西乾县农村插队劳动，后在陕西咸阳国棉八厂当工人。直到1978年，28岁的他才得以进入北京电影学院摄影系学习。毕业后进入西安电影制片厂，给张军钊导演的《一个和八个》、陈凯歌的《黄土地》、《大阅兵》当摄影师。他可算是个天才摄影师，其大胆的构图、独特的镜头设计屡屡在国内外获奖。
After graduation from junior middle school in 1968, Zhang yimou worked in the rural areas of Qianxian County of Shaanxi Province and later was a worker in Xianyang No.8 Cotton Factory of Shaanxi. In 1978, the 28-year-old people got the opportunity of studying in camera department of Beijing Film Academy. After graduation, he worked in Xi’an Film Studio as a cameraman for Director Zhang Junzhao in the film One and Eight, Director Chen Kaige in the film Yellow Earth and Great Dress Parade. He was a genius cameraman and his bold layout and unique scene design won him a lot of domestic and international awards.
1987年，张艺谋开始当起了演员，主演西影厂厂长吴天明导演的影片《老井》，连获国内金鸡奖和百花奖、东京国际电影节“最佳男演员奖”。
In 1987, Zhang Yimou became a actor, staring in the film Old Well directed by Wu Tianming, who was also the president of Xi’an Film Studio. This film also won him the domestic Golden Rooster Award and Hundred Flowers Award and the Best Actor Award in Tokyo International Film Festival.
但张艺谋的“野心”不止于此。张艺谋的导演处女作《红高粱》以浓烈的色彩将一个独特的时代刻画得淋漓尽致。之后，《菊豆》、《大红灯笼高高挂》等“张氏出品”同样以浓烈的色彩让观众印象深刻。后来，他又拍了《活着》、《秋菊打官司》、《一个都不能少》、《我的父亲母亲》等一系列现实主义题材影片，文艺气息甚浓。
But Zhang Yimou’s ambition was far from that. His maiden work as a director Red Sorghum fully illustrated a special era with thick colors. After that, his work such as Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern also left deep impression on the audience with thick colors. Later, he also directed a series of realism and literature-based films such To Live, The Story of Qiu Ju, Not One Less, The Road Home.
第二阶段：大片时代 开创武侠大片 惹来板砖满天
Stage Two: Blockbuster Age, Starting the Kungfu Blockbusters and Causing Numerous Criticisms
作品：《英雄》、《十面埋伏》、《满城尽带黄金甲》、《千里走单骑》
Products: Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower and Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles
2002年，拍电影的第15个年头，张艺谋突然挑战商业大片，召集李连杰、梁朝伟、张曼玉、陈道明、章子怡、甄子丹等一线明星，投资过亿元，打造了中国第一部古装武侠商业大片——《英雄》。
In 2002, the 15th year after he was engaged in film making, Zhang Yimou tried commercial large-investment films. He collected the most popular film stars such as Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, Chen Daoming, Zhang Ziyi and Donnie Yen Chi-Tan and invested more than 100 million yuan to produce China’s first commercial large-investment film of history story, Hero.
《英雄》让张艺谋赢得当时惊人的票房，也为他招来恶评如潮。但张艺谋仍在继续“创新”，很快又拍出了《十面埋伏》，后者招来的恶评铺天盖地。之后的《满城尽带黄金甲》仍然是“大投入、大宣传、高票房、高争议”的古装武侠商业大片，有人质疑他为了商业彻底迷失了方向。
Hero won Zhang Yimou surprising box office revenue, which also caused numerous criticisms. But Zhang Yimou continued his efforts. Soon, he directed House of Flying Daggers, which again, led to numerous criticisms. His film Curse of the Golden Flower is also the commercial large-investment film following the path of “big investment, large-scale promotion, high office box revenue and great controversy.” Some people queried whether he had lost himself for commercial purposes.
第三阶段：跨界创作 玩转歌剧舞剧 奥运再创巅峰
Stage Three: Directing Operas and Ballet and Reaching the Peak in Directing Opening Ceremony of the Olympics
作品：奥运开幕式、歌剧《图兰朵》、芭蕾舞剧《大红灯笼高高挂》、大型山水实景演出“印象”系列
Products: the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, opera Turandot, ballet Raise the Red Lantern and large scale real-scene performance Impression series.
张艺谋是个“全才”：执导过歌剧、芭蕾舞剧、“印象”系列，拍过北京申奥和上海申博的官方宣传片，拍过汽车广告，担任网络游戏艺术总监……无论出现在哪一行，他都会成为焦点。
Zhang Yimou is a versatile person: He directed operas, ballets and Impressive series, shot the promotion films for Beijing Olympics and Shanghai World Expo, directed auto ads and also worked as the art supervisor in online game companies… No matter what he does, he will be in the focus.
2008年，张艺谋又站在了另一高峰上——一场惊艳世界的开幕式成就了他的艺术新巅峰。奥运之后，张艺谋成为最具符号意义的中国文化名人之一。
In 2008, Zhang Yimou was on another peak: A breathtaking opening ceremony made him on the new art peak. After the Olympic Games, Zhang Yimou became one of the most symbolic cultural personages.
第四阶段：重拍电影 新片是否恶俗 评价有赞有弹
Stage Four: Returning to Film Making with His New Films Praised as well as Criticized
作品：《三枪拍案惊奇》、《山楂树之恋》
Products: A Simple Noodle Story and Under The Hawthorn Tree
《三枪拍案惊奇》是张艺谋“后奥运时代”的第一部电影作品。张艺谋起用了小沈阳当主角，加上预告片看起来比较“恶俗”，电影未上映就招来了争论。不少业内人士认为，张艺谋拍“三枪”是一种投机，也有人将其视为张艺谋“走向自由”的标志。
A Simple Noodle Story is Zhang Yimou’s first film after the Olympic Games. He invited Xiao Shenyang to star the film. In addition to the vulgar trails trailer, the film was criticized before it premiered. Many insiders said that Zhang Yimou directing the film was a kind of speculation; but some people regarded the film as a mark indicating Zhang Yimou’s returning to the freedom.