Wang Toon

Wang Tong or Wang Toon (born Wáng Zhōnghé, April 14, 1942) is a Taiwanese director who started his career as an art director and production designer and later became a film director and educator.

He started working in the Central Motion Picture Corporation (中ちゅう影かげ股また份有限げん公司こうし) in the department for art and costume design in 1966.  He won the 13th Golden Horse Award for best art direction in 1976 for Forever My Love, directed by Pai Chingjui (白しろ景けい瑞みず).

He demonstrated his talent as a film director with his first feature, If I Were for Real (假かり如我是ぜ真しん的てき), which won him four awards, including Best Narrative Film, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay in the 18th Golden Horse Award in 1981.

Between 1981 and  2015 he directed 13 feature films, 2 animation feature films, and 1 documentary. His achievement and contribution to Taiwan cinema for almost 60 years was recognized by the 56th Golden Horse Lifetime Achievement Award presented to him in 2019.

Wang Tong was also devoted to education. He took a teaching position in the Department of Filmmaking at the Taipei National University of the Arts in 2007 and served as the Chair from 2010 to 2013 and 2017 to 2019. He retired from the university in 2019 and was awarded the Art Education Contribution Award (藝術げいじゅつ教育きょういく貢獻こうけん獎) by the Ministry of Education (教育きょういく部ぶ) in 2022.

Life and career

Wang Tong was born in Anhui, China in 1942 and moved to Taiwan with his family in 1949 because of the Chinese Civil War. He studied at the National Taiwan College of Arts (國立こくりつ藝術げいじゅつ專せん科か學校がっこう) from 1962 to 1965, under the guidance of teachers such as Long Sihliang (龍りゅう思おもえ良りょう), Gao Yifeng (高こう一いち峰みね) and Wu Yaozong (吳ご耀宗). When he was young, Wang was nourished by inspiring journals, such as Juchang (劇場げきじょう; Theatre Magazine) and Wenxue jikan (文學ぶんがく季刊きかん; Literature Magazine), and his association with contemporary poets and painters, including Chen Yingzhen (陳ひね映うつ真しん) and Wei Tiancong (尉じょう天てん聰さとし), and Huang Chunming (黃春明おうしゅんめい) at Cafe Astoria (明星みょうじょう咖啡館かん). It was there that Wang Tong read the manuscript of the novel Days of Watching the Sea (看み海うみ的てき日子にっし) by Huang Chunming, which he later adapted into a popular feature film A Flower in The Raining Night (看み海うみ的てき日子にっし).

Wang Tong got a chance to join the production team of Songfest (山やま歌か姻緣) as art assistant when Director Yuan Qiufeng (袁秋楓かえで) came to Taiwan to his this feature film in 1963. Realizing that he was good at art design and his work could bring him higher  income than his classmates who worked as art teacher, Wang decided to join the film industry for his career.

Wang entered Central Motion Picture Corporation in 1966 and was placed under Johnson Tsao Chuang-Sheng (曹莊生せい), from whom he learned to improve his aesthetic skills and the details about film production, such as architecture, space, makeup, costumes, and color. He had worked for many major directors at that time, including Lee Hsing (李り行こう), Ting Shanhsi (丁ちょう善よし璽), Pai Chingjui, Sung Tsunshou (宋そう存そん壽ことぶき) and Richard Chen Yaochi (陳ひね耀圻) as the art director of their films. An avid learner, he also grabbed whatever opportunities he could have to learn from other directors he admired, such as Li Hanhsiang (李り翰祥) and King Hu (胡えびす金きん銓) to polish his production skills.

Wang Tong made his debut feature film, If I Were for Real in 1981 while continuing to work as an art director for his own films and for other directors. In 1983, he directed A Flower in the Rainy Night, which was adapted from Huang Chunming's novel, Days of Watching the Sea. The film was a box office success and won two 18th Golden Horse awards: Lu Hsiaofen (陸りく小しょう芬), who was known for her roles as sexy revenging woman, for the Best Leading Actress and Ying Ying (英えい英えい) for best supporting actress.

Wang’s next film Run Away (策さく馬入ばにゅう林りん; 1984) is praised for its realistic style, which makes it very different from previous martial art films in the 1960s and 1970s. His Spring Daddy (陽春ようしゅん老ろう爸; 1985) is a film about a family composed of mainland veteran father and Taiwanese mother, a social phenomenon depicted in many films of the 1980s.

Wang subsequently made three films about Taiwan’s history from the colonial time of the 1920s to the civil war between the nationalist and communist parties in the mid 20th century: Straw Man (稻草いなくさ人じん; 1987), Banana Paradise (香こう蕉天堂どう; 1989), and Hill of No Return (無言むごん的てき山やま丘おか; 1992). These films, all realistic depictions of the life experiences of local Taiwanese and mainland immigrants, are also known as Wang’s Taiwan trilogy. Red Persimmon (紅べに柿かき子こ; 1995) is an autobiographical film based on his childhood memories. Wang’s 12th feature A Way We Go (自由じゆう門もん神しん; 2002) is a contemporary dark comedy about three socially marginalized young men finding no way to go in globalized urban Taipei. After 13 years, Wang’s last film Where the Wind Settles (風ふう中ちゅう家族かぞく; 2015) picks up the same topic of Chinese Civil War to tell the story of a group of mainland refugees forming a new family in Taipei after 1949.

Wang Tong was actively involved in the production of animation films. In 2002, he joined Wang Film Productions Co. Ltd. (宏ひろし廣こう股また份有限げん公司こうし), founded by his elder brother Wang Zhong-yuan (王おう中元ちゅうげん). He made The Fire Ball, (紅べに孩兒がいじ：決戰けっせん火ひ燄山; 2005), an adaptation of Chinese novel Journey to the West. The film won the Best Animated Feature in the 42nd Golden Horse Award and the Best Animated Feature in the 50th Asia Pacific Film Festival. The other film A Story about Grandpa Lin Wang unfortunately failed to come to fruition.

Wang was promoted to be the director of Central Motion Picture Corporation Studio (中ちゅう影かげ製せい片へん廠しょう) in 1997. Under his helm the company established the first and exclusive high-tech post-production studio in Taiwan's film industry, with synchronous recording cameras, lighting equipment, and computer editing capacity. Wang also established Taiwan's first dolby recording studio, Central Motion Pictures Corporation Dolby Recording (中ちゅう影かげ杜もり比ひ錄音ろくおん室しつ). At the same time, he also worked as the chairman of the Taipei Film Festival from 1997 to 2002. Turning to 2003, when he served as the CEO of the executive committee of the Golden Horse Awards (臺北たいぺい金きん馬ば影かげ展てん執行しっこう委員いいん會かい), he has established the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (金きむ馬うま創はじめ投とう) which brings regional and international industry professionals to Taiwan with the purpose of developing international joint ventures and cross-productions.

Wang Tong was also devoted to education. He took a teaching position in the Department of Filmmaking at the Taipei National University of the Arts in 2007 and served as the Chair from 2010 to 2013 and 2017 to 2019. He retired from the university in 2019 and was awarded the Art Education Contribution Award (藝術げいじゅつ教育きょういく貢獻こうけん獎) by the Ministry of Education (教育きょういく部ぶ) in 2022.

Filmography

Source

Feature film

Year	Chinese title	English title
1981	假かり如我是ぜ真しん的てき	If I Were for Real
1981	窗まど口こう的てき月がつ亮あきら不ふ准看じゅんかん	Don't Look at The Moon Through The Window
1982	百ひゃく分ふん滿點まんてん	One Hundred Point
1982	苦く戀こい	Portrait of A Fanatic
1983	看み海うみ的てき日子にっし	A Flower in The Raining Night
1984	策さく馬入ばにゅう林りん	Run Away
1985	陽春ようしゅん老ろう爸	Spring Daddy
1987	稻草いなくさ人じん	Straw Man
1989	香こう蕉天堂どう	Banana Paradise
1992	無言むごん的てき山やま丘おか	Hill of No Return
1995	紅べに柿かき子こ	Red Persimmon
2002	自由じゆう門もん神しん	A Way We Go
2015	風ふう中ちゅう家族かぞく	Where the Wind Settles

Documentary

Year	Chinese title	English title
2007	童心どうしん寶貝ほうがい	Tongxin Baobei

Animated feature film

Year	Chinese title	English title
2005	紅べに孩兒がいじ：決戰けっせん火ひ燄山	The Fire Ball

Screen play

Year	Chinese title	English title
1995	紅べに柿かき子こ	Red Persimmon

Art director

Year	Chinese title	English title	Notes
1976	楓かえで葉よう情じょう	Forever My Love
1976	追つい球たま追求ついきゅう	The Chasing Game
1976	翠みどり湖こ寒さむ	The Spring Lake
1977	煙けむり水すい寒かん	The Glory of The Sunset
1977	微笑びしょう	The Smiling Face	Corporate with Chi-Ping Chang
1977	愛あい的てき賊ぞく船せん	A Pirate of Love
1978	煙波えんぱ江上こうじょう	Love On A Foggy River
1978	男おとこ孩與女おんな孩的戰爭せんそう	The War of the Sexes
1979	昨日きのう雨あめ瀟瀟	The Misty Rain of Yesterday's
1979	師し妹いもうと出で關せき	The Woman Avenger
1979	結婚けっこん三さん級きゅう跳とべ	Jiehun Sanjitiao
1979	悲之秋あき	A Sorrowful Wedding
1979	衝刺	Chongci
1979	醉よい拳けん女おんな刁手	No One Can Touch Her
1979	忘憂ぼうゆう草そう	A Girl Without Sorrow
1980	一いち根火ねび柴しば	Yigen Huochai
1980	一いち對たい傻鳥	Poor Chasers
1980	十じゅう九きゅう新しん娘むすめ七なな歲さい郎ろう	Shijiu Xinniang Qisuilang
1980	雁かり兒じ歸き	Flying Home
1980	我わが踏浪而來	Lover On The Wave
1980	愛情あいじょう躲避球だま	Twin Troubles
1981	怒いか犯はん天てん條じょう	Offend the Law of God
1981	假かり如我是ぜ真しん的てき	If I Were for Real
1981	窗まど口こう的てき月がつ亮あきら不ふ准看じゅんかん	Don't Look at The Moon Through The Window
1983	看み海うみ的てき日子にっし	A Flower in The Raining Night
1983	天下てんか第だい一いち	All The King's Men
1984	策さく馬入ばにゅう林りん	Run Away	Corporate with Chin-Tien Ku and Shung-Man Lam
1989	香こう蕉天堂どう	Banana Paradise	Corporate with Chin-Tien Ku and Bo-Lam Lee
1991	密宗みっしゅう威い龍りゅう	The Tantana
1993	異域いいき2孤軍こぐん	End of The Road

Producer

Year	Chinese title	English title
1995	熱帶魚ねったいぎょ	Tropical Fish
2002	藍色あいいろ大門おおもん	Blue Gate Crossing

Awards and honors

Source

Year	Name	Award	Category	Outcome
1976	Forever My Love	13rd Golden Horse Award	Best art direction	Won
1978	The Glory of the Sunset	15th Golden Horse Award	Best art direction	Nominated
1981	If I Were for Real	18th Golden Horse Award	Best art direction	Nominated
1983	All the King's Men	20th Golden Horse Award	Best costume design	Won
			Best art direction	Nominated
1985	Run Away	22nd Golden Horse Award	Best makeup & costume design	Won
			Best art direction	Won
1987	Strawman	24th Golden Horse Award	Best director	Won
1989	Banana Paradise	26th Golden Horse Award	Best makeup & costume design	Nominated
1992	Hill of No Return	29th Golden Horse Award	Best director	Won
1996	Red Persimmon	33rd Golden Horse Award	Best director	Nominated
2007		11st National Award for Arts		Won
2019		56th Golden Horse Award	Lifetime achievement award	Won
2023		9th Art Education Contribution Award		Won