I.
Years later, whenever the phrase “coal baron” is mentioned, the big shots in the entertainment industry are sure to tighten up, and the actresses will definitely recall with great embarrassment the mixed feelings of those past encounters…
For a certain female star, the most unforgettable memory must be the night spent with the coal baron, L.
Boss L hailed from Shenmu, Shaanxi, where coal was abundant, and his rags-to-riches story was well-known in the area. After making his fortune from coal, he began to take a keen interest in actresses.
At that time, this female star had not yet become a “socialite.” When she attended an event in Shenmu, she caught the eye of Boss L, who paid for her company for the night.
Boss L played rough and wild, but afterwards, he was extremely generous, directly giving her 12 million yuan!
Compared to giving a friend 2 million for a Land Rover without a second thought, or splurging on an extended version Lincoln at weddings, this night saw Boss L throwing even more money around, showing off his extravagant side!
However, the female star never imagined that as soon as she pocketed the 12 million, Boss L would run into trouble…
Due to factors like the plummeting coal prices, Boss L’s coal business plummeted, and he got involved in a massive fundraising fraud case. As law enforcement agencies traced the illegal fundraising funds, the female star feared being implicated, so she returned the 12 million overnight.
Some gossipers joked, “She played the female star for a night for nothing.”
During the crazy era of coal barons, their lavish investments in the film and television industry, and their relationships with actresses were not just “unwritten rules” but open secrets.
How crazy did it get?
Renowned director Zhang Yimou couldn’t help but sigh.
Back then, when Zhang was casting for “The Love of the Hawthorn Tree,” he scouted thousands of art school students for the lead role. When he was still unsatisfied, Zhang Yimou casually made a profound remark:
“Nowadays, children are getting uglier and uglier. Pretty girls don’t want to have children with handsome guys anymore. They all go for coal barons, wealthy people, or older men… It’s a common phenomenon. So nowadays, kids really don’t look good.”
This might sound like a joke, but it indirectly reflects that during those days, coal barons pursuing actresses was indeed a common occurrence.
The exchange of money and power, money and relationships, has always been the case throughout history, especially during the time when coal barons aggressively entered the entertainment industry…
II.
The story begins in 2002.
After China’s accession to the WTO, there was a noticeable increase in coal demand, the government lifted the price controls on electricity coal, and coal prices skyrocketed. The “golden decade of coal” officially began, and “coal barons” became symbols of wealth, stepping onto the historical stage.
Many coal barons who hadn’t even graduated from primary school and were deeply in debt just a few years prior suddenly became billionaires overnight. Many even made it onto the Hurun Energy Rich List.
With money coming in too easily, many coal barons with little education indulged in extravagance – luxury cars, mansions, women, and all sorts of lavish spending.
For example, a certain boss in Lvliang, Shanxi, openly had three “wives” and fathered a large number of children, resembling a wealthy family from the movie “Raise the Red Lantern.”
Of course, having multiple wives was quite a burden, so it’s said that this coal baron always carried medications for aphrodisiac and kidney tonics like kidney treasure, turtle-based tonics, and six-flavor rehmannia pills in his bag, just in case…
By 2008, the financial crisis hit, coal demand weakened, and prices plummeted.
The following year, Shanxi began restructuring its coal enterprises, reducing the number of mining entities from over 2,200 to 130 after restructuring. Those coal barons who were cut off received huge compensation payments and began various transformations.
Some ventured into real estate, only to suffer losses. Some tried group buying and failed miserably in the “Hundred Regiments Battle.” Some engaged in microfinance, some sold red wine, some ventured into the internet… and some ventured into film and television!
In 2009, in Beijing, the Shanxi-born director Jia Zhangke often received visits from some fellow provincials.
These fellow provincials were mostly coal barons, asking him, “What should we do? We can’t run coal mines anymore, but we have all this cash!”
One of the bosses was quite young and had the least power: “I don’t have much money on hand, only 300 million!”
Although busy, they were still fellow provincials, so Jia Zhangke spent a long time advising them. Unfortunately, the coal barons didn’t understand things like box office sharing in the film industry.
Regardless of their lack of understanding, the coal barons forcefully entered the film and television industry because they had their own agenda.
III.
The first person to link coal and film was not a Shanxi coal baron but the northeastern comic actor Zhao Benshan.
In 1993, Zhao Benshan, 20 years ahead of the “Internet+”, ventured into the “Coal+” business. At that time, he opened an art development company dealing with culture, advertising, film and television, and even coal as the main business.
Coal business seemed unrelated to the arts, but one couldn’t help but admire Uncle Benshan’s vision because it was with coal money that he struck gold, supporting his artistic dreams when culture, advertising, and film and television weren’t profitable yet.
Different from Uncle Benshan, most of the coal barons who flooded into the film and television industry after 2009 didn’t have artistic dreams.
They just wanted to make money and dine with actresses. Of course, sometimes after dinner, they might play a game of Tetris.
Whether coal barons or actresses, as long as they could make it, they had extraordinary skills. So, let’s enjoy the gossip without worrying about their identities. I’ve omitted names to avoid unnecessary curiosity leading to trouble.
Thinking of the steamy stories between coal barons and actresses, the first person that comes to mind is the female singer T.
T’s story with the coal barons began before they massively entered the film and television industry. At that time, she started in a local song and dance troupe, beautiful, sweet-voiced, and with a great figure.
In the entertainment industry, even if you have talent, it’s extremely difficult to become famous without backing. Reality is just like what was said in “The New King of Comedy,” “Even if the universe is destroyed, it won’t be your turn.” This is a high probability event.
T was lucky. By chance, she met Boss Z.
Z was a renowned coal baron, rumored to have influence in both legitimate and illegitimate circles, to the extent that even local officials had to pay their respects before taking office.
After joining Z, T also experienced a period of influential days. Whenever there was trouble in the provincial capital or even Beijing, Boss Z could help her out. So not having a formal status didn’t matter much. After all, not every woman of a coal baron could become a legal wife. Once you’ve accepted this fact, life becomes easier.
When Boss Z went to Beijing on business, he would take T with him. However, Boss Z never mentioned their true relationship, let alone introduce her to friends or business connections. He only emphasized T’s identity as a singer, enhancing his own reputation and earning respect.
One late night at a high-end restaurant in Beijing, Boss Z called T, who was asleep in her hotel room, telling her to come over and sing to liven up the atmosphere for his friends.
Over time, T sadly realized that Boss Z only wanted her in bed, not in his heart.
Once, when T’s mother’s coal mine was troubled by hooligans, T went to Boss Z’s office to plead for help. Normally, Boss Z would handle such matters, but at that moment, he was in a bad mood and didn’t treat T well. With tears in her eyes, T left. Later, when Boss Z’s mood improved, he helped, but it made T even more aware of her lack of status in his heart.
But so what? After all, Boss Z would still sponsor her concerts and casually give her millions of yuan without hesitation.
Being attractive always has its advantages, especially with T’s pretty face, good figure, and youthfulness. Which high-ranking official wouldn’t love that?
In business, Boss Z naturally had to give gifts and make connections.
Later, the anti-corruption campaign took down many high-ranking officials, and Boss Z ended up in prison, leaving T in trouble. Her music was temporarily removed from major platforms…
Yet, this was just a small step in the coal barons’ powerful entry into the entertainment industry.
IV.
In 2010, it seemed to be the peak of coal bosses entering the film and television industry. In just the first half of the year, the number of registered feature films exceeded the total for the entire previous year. The box office that year more than doubled compared to the same period the year before.
During the most intense days, Hong Kong director Er Dongsheng said he once encountered a coal boss carrying a whole box of cash, wanting to invest in making movies, but he refused. Er Dongsheng said he wasn’t short of money, he just didn’t dare to accept money from a coal boss.
As is well known, coal bosses investing in movies like to stuff people into the crew, commonly known as “bringing capital into the group.” Director Pang Ho-cheung also had a deep experience with this. He directed “Love in a Puff.” Once a coal boss approached him, saying he was willing to invest in an art film, with no concern for the amount, as long as it could walk the red carpet at international film festivals. Pang Ho-cheung was delighted, but the coal boss had another requirement: “The female lead must be my girlfriend!”
With such a simple and crude demand, countless female stars found happiness. Among them, the happiest was the famous J.
J wasn’t ugly, but in the entertainment industry filled with beauties, she was not particularly outstanding. So what made her frequently become the leading lady in major films and always be in the spotlight since her debut?
It’s said that J’s boyfriend is none other than the Shanxi coal boss, L.
Shanxi coal boss L is very mysterious, never appearing in public, and there are no photos of him online. During J’s time studying in Beijing, she met a wealthy shareholder of a large corporation who was also a wealthy coal mine owner from Shanxi, Mr. L, and they had a close relationship.
According to J’s classmates at the time, during her university days, Mr. L spared no expense to promote her in various ways, “crowning” her as the campus flower, and hiring a large number of internet water armies to spread her photos all over the internet. Later, he simply established a film and television company, with the sole purpose of having J star in all the productions, and she had to play the absolute leading female role.
However, despite working with big names like Zhao, Liu, and Zhang Fengyi, J failed to become popular.
Actor Sun Honglei once said, “The first time I went to the set, a little girl came up to me and said, ‘I don’t know how to act, what should I do?’ In my ten years in the industry, it was the first time I encountered such a ‘monster’… When I just started out, I wasn’t as pretty as her, I wasn’t well-behaved, no one helped me, and it caused a lot of damage to my soul.”
It has to be said, Mr. L is an impatient person. He only knows he has endless money to spend but overlooks the process of building an actor’s success, which has its own rules. Many things have a natural process. Sometimes, pushing too hard, like pulling up seedlings to help them grow, might backfire.
Thinking back to the days when Raymond Wong heavily promoted Joey Wong, bringing in top stars to pair with her, like Stephen Chow, Chow Yun-fat, and Andy Lau… but Joey Wong didn’t play any significant roles. In short, she was just a vase next to the heavenly kings. But later on, Joey Wong became an unforgettable star in the Hong Kong film industry.
Compared to that, another internet tycoon from a coal boss background who established a company to promote his girlfriend is much smarter.
V.
This tycoon is Jia Yueting, who “will return to China next week.” Strictly speaking, Jia Yueting is not a coal boss in the complete sense, but he does have strong connections to the coal industry. In 1996, Jia Yueting resigned from a local tax bureau in Shanxi Province and started a manufacturing company, mainly dealing with selling steel, coking, coal washing, printing, etc.
After making his first fortune, in 2004, Jia Yueting registered a company based on video business in Beijing. In the same year, Jia Yueting met his future wife, Gan Wei, who later married and divorced him.
Similar to other bosses from coal backgrounds, Jia Yueting shares a common hobby: promoting his female companions. His company invested in two films, one directed by Gordon Chan, “The King of Fighters,” starring Sun Li, and another one, “Battle of Sha Ma Town,” starring Sun Honglei and Lin Chi-ling. Both films featured appearances by Gan Wei.
However, Jia Yueting’s establishment of a film company is notably different from other coal boss-backed ventures. His primary goal is not to promote Gan Wei. In essence, Gan Wei is just his link to the entertainment industry. Through Gan Wei, Huang Xiaoming, Deng Chao, Sun Li, Liu Tao, Qin Lan, Qu Ying, Chen He, Jia Nailiang, Li Xiaolu, Huo Siyan, Sun Honglei, and even Guo Jingming… have all directly or indirectly become shareholders of his company.
In 2010, Jia’s company became the first video website to be listed on the A-share market. Some investors expressed confusion: a video website ranked 17th but leading in financial indicators within the industry, it’s like magic!
Later, Jia faced setbacks, went overseas, and his company changed hands several times. Gan Wei also faced hardships and eventually divorced him. Who could have predicted this turn of events, and what will happen in the future?
Not all actresses are as fortunate as Gan Wei or J to encounter a generous boss. But in the era when coal bosses entered the film industry, “bringing capital into the group” was not an isolated incident.
VI.
In the circle, there’s a well-known Beijing-based media company with coal boss connections, producing films starring Jackie Chan and Wang Leehom in “Little Big Soldier,” and also featuring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Jay Chou in “The Warlords.” The star lineup and film quality are remarkable, with one common factor: they all have the same leading actress.
There’s also the movie “Feast of Kings,” with a 90s beauty H playing a goddess. Netizens questioned her beauty, but as in the viral song “Little Apple” MV, “Is appearance really that important?”
During the most difficult times of filmmaking, H brought in substantial funds to ensure the production continued. In the director’s eyes, is there anything more beautiful than this?
Because of this, when talking about coal bosses’ investment or rescue in the film industry, the representative figure, famous screenwriter Wang Hailin, couldn’t help but express his emotions:
“I really miss the days when coal bosses were investors. Apart from asking to find actresses, they didn’t have any other requirements and never interfered with our creative process…”
This statement stirred up gossip about coal bosses and female stars, quickly becoming a hot topic.
The reason why Mr. Wang misses coal bosses is simple: they only required finding female actresses and didn’t interfere with anything else, so they could freely create. Later investors are always “wanting everything.”
Female actresses probably also miss coal bosses because they generously invested in films, showing art
school girls a shortcut to success: hitching a ride with coal bosses is more effective than hitching a ride with directors because directors work for coal bosses!
Even Yang Mi, who has become very popular nowadays, experienced this. However, Yang Mi was not a beneficiary but a victim.
In an early interview, Yang Mi once said, “The contract was signed, and the first payment was received. But just before filming started, I suddenly received a call saying, ‘Sorry, we’ve replaced you.’ At that time, I was still young, and encountering such a thing was a big blow. Later, I heard it was because they replaced me with the girlfriend of a certain investor.”
The charm of coal bosses (money) is truly unbeatable.
Even a female host whom Wang Xiaodao greatly admires, the sweet and lovely Z, married a coal boss in her fifties.
It is said that the matchmaker who brought these two together was actually from “Star Avenue.”
VII.
Furthermore, actress H, who starred in “My Fair Princess 3,” was rumored to have had an affair with a famous coal boss from Shanxi. The two often went on dates in Hong Kong and were seen entering and leaving the Four Seasons Hotel together as if no one else was around.
What’s even more surprising is “Super Girl” contestant C, who always maintained a neutral style. It was rumored that a coal boss once pursued her, not only customizing a diamond ring worth millions for her but also funding her concert.
The most unfortunate was a female star with the surname D. She was beautiful, talented, and had good acting skills. At the age of 22, she stood out in the talent show “Dream of the Red Chamber.” Later, she was chosen by a Shanxi coal boss-funded film company to star in a period drama, but for some reason, the Shanxi coal boss didn’t pay her a penny. To make a living, the inexperienced D took on other roles by herself, only to be sued and ordered to pay the coal boss 2 million…
There are also some second-generation coal heirs who may have inherited their fathers’ genes and have a special fondness for female stars.
The first boyfriend exposed by the current popular flower Y, whose stepfather is a coal boss.
And the husband of L, who was photographed kissing Song XX everywhere, also comes from a family that owns coal mines. They have several luxury cars, and Song XX showed off one of them, which led fans to worship her as a rich beauty.
For most female stars, the reason they feel coal bosses are unbeatable is simply because coal bosses have money.
But there are always exceptions. So, for actresses or female stars who don’t care so much about money, the “charm” of coal bosses doesn’t work.
VIII.
In 2011, newcomer Li Nian rose to fame with her role as “Hai Zao” in “Dwelling Narrowness,” and soon after, a coal boss from Shanxi invited her to dinner, offering a fee of up to seven figures. But Li Nian flatly refused because her agency wanted to establish a positive and pure image for her since she had just become famous.
In 2013, actress Qin Hailu, while promoting the new film “Young Style,” gave a media interview and angrily criticized coal bosses investing in the entertainment industry just to have dinner with female stars and get what they want.
The reporter asked, “Has a coal boss approached you to make a movie?” She said yes, but she declined to have dinner. “Of course, I would refuse. I’m not likely to do that kind of thing.”
Sichuan director Zhang Jiarui, during the promotion of his new film “Maze City,” candidly admitted that the phenomenon of stars accompanying wine was widespread. He even mentioned that during a collaboration with Zhang Jingchu, the investor specifically asked for Zhang Jingchu to accompany drinking, but after Zhang Jingchu firmly refused, the investor withdrew 30 million yuan of investment…
Actress Meng Xi, who appeared in “The Man from Macau,” also revealed on her blog that she had encountered many socializing situations after being in the industry for two years. Some people, through various connections, approached her agent, saying they would pay 500,000 for a meal.
“I’m not stupid. I know what’s on men’s minds. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. I know what money I can earn and what money I can’t.”
The wheel of fortune turns, and as coal bosses’ influence in the entertainment industry declines along with the decline of coal energy, those days are gone forever.
The pavilions and towers built upon the coal empire, after being emptied by dreams of extravagance and luxury, are like ruins left behind after being mined, leaving behind black holes, where people come to mourn in the harsh winds and rain…
Beyond the mountains, beyond the towers, when will the songs and dances at West Lake cease? The revelry of the entertainment world, built upon illusions of wealth and luxury, hasn’t ended with the decline of coal bosses; it’s just changed hands and moved to another stage.