Over the years, former actor Xie Shaoguang has steadily cultivated the reputation of an elusive legend: one who built up a stellar career in his prime, left the limelight, and was subsequently rarely spotted in public.
And though one may bemoan his premature retirement from the local acting scene, one can, at the very least, take solace in the fact that he seems content and well at the moment.
Xie Shaoguang is in S’pore for a Gathering With Former SBC Artistes
Xie is back in Singapore, and he was recently spotted doing something he excelled at:
Acting.
Though granted, it was just a game of charades, and not a full-length drama we’re all pining for.
Lest you’re unaware, Xie recently attended a Mid-Autumn Festival gathering alongside numerous other veteran actors and backstage crew members.
This group of individuals hails from the 80s, when Mediacorp was not known as Mediacorp but SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation).
Several attending actors were still active in the scene as well, including the likes of Pan Lingling, Jin Yinji and Wang Yuqing.
Meanwhile, old-time audiences may be familiar with faces like Xie, Tang Hu, Yang Libing, Hong Guorui, Jin Jugong and Zhang Jinhua.
And it seems the veterans were pretty busy, too, with the mandatory eating, photo-taking and interacting.
Some of them, including Xie, even got around to a game of charades.
In a clip, Xie could be seen raising three fingers, then five, before gesturing to his right leg.
Onlookers then guessed that it was the 1987 drama Five Foot Way.
Still Climbing Mountains
Local actress Chen Xiuhuan, who attended the event as well, expressed that she had the opportunity to chat briefly with Xie during the gathering and said he was still climbing mountains.
In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, she revealed that she had asked Xie what he was doing recently, to which he replied that he was not doing much.
She also asked him whether he still climbs mountains, and he replied, “Yes”.
Former actor Chen Xiang, who started organising such gatherings in 2016 (before Jaslyn Theen took over in 2018 and subsequently Hong), added that Xie is back in Singapore.
He was uncertain, however, how long Xie would be staying.
Netizens Smile
Former actor Wu Weiqiang and Chen Xiuhuan would later share the event on their own social media platforms, to which Netizens would react heartwarmingly.
Some, for instance, felt the nostalgia.
Translations: “I have watched your dramas since I was young… I can still remember some names.”
“An industry spanning decades, and the family is heartwarmingly reunited.”
Meanwhile, one Netizen asked a question that everyone can probably relate to:
But, like all things that are too good to be true, we can only imagine.
Xie is a five-time Best Actor winner at the Star Awards and has appeared in numerous classics such as Holland V and The Legends of Ji Gong.
However, he retired early in 2005.
He then moved to Malaysia, where he opened an animal shelter and cooked at a vegetarian eatery.
In 2013, it was reported that he had become a monk in a Buddhist centre in Pontian.
And sometime in 2015-2016, Xie resumed his job as a chef.
Thereafter, in 2017, he conducted a two-day workshop for next-gen Mediacorp artists, which included the likes of Elvin Ng and Romeo Tan.
Throughout the years, he has kept a relatively low profile, to the point where his appearances would routinely create media-worthy headlines.