Jia Hongsheng - Life and Career

Life and Career

Jia began acting in the late 1980s, and is probably best remembered in the 2001 Chinese drama film, Quitting, a movie that chronicles his life and his story, in which he struggles to overcome drug and alcohol addiction. He also appeared in other Chinese films.

He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1989, and soon gained fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an actor in films such as The Case of the Silver Snake and A Woman from North Shaanxi. While rehearsing for a stageplay titled Kiss of the Spider Woman (also directed by Zhang Yang) in the fall of 1992, Jia first became exposed to marijuana and eventually became addicted, while also experimenting occasionally with heroin. Then, in 1995, after filming Weekend Lovers, Jia quit acting completely and lived off his younger sister Wang Tong. He was also an avid fan of The Beatles. He listened to their music obsessively and began to fantasize himself as the son of the lead singer, John Lennon.

In late 1995, his parents decided to move to Beijing in order to help their son quit drugs. Wang Tong also came back to live with her parents and brother in the same apartment. Several efforts made by his parents to penetrate their son's inner world were met with indifference, sometimes even hostility. Over time, however, Jia began to open up. He started to take regular walks with his father, usually buying a bottle or two of beer along the way. Jia Fengsen also bought his son cassette tapes by The Beatles.

In early 1996, Jia relapsed after being off drugs for almost six months. On 19 March of that year, after drinking several bottles of beer for the celebration of his twenty-ninth birthday, Jia slapped his father, claiming it was to teach him the "meaning of life". Jia's family was upset by this and felt he needed to be taught a lesson. They contacted the police, and three officers arrived at their house the next day. Jia was taken into custody and sent to a mental institution.

Upon arrival at the institution, after being placed on medication, his condition improved greatly. He also stopped fantasizing and started to see himself as just an ordinary human being. His doctor determined that Jia was not suffering from schizophrenia but recommended that he stay a little longer to sober completely. He was finally discharged on 19 March 1997, his thirtieth birthday.