The Romance of Braby Kon and Zhang Wenting

By Wang Gaoyan

Many people would be confused if asked who Braby Kon is. If they are told Braby Kon is the Chinese-speaking humorous foreigner in Liu Laogen II, a television blockbuster, they can very probably associate the name with the familiar face. On April 28, 2009, Braby Kon and Zhang Wenting got married, adding a new chapter to their 10-year-long romance.

Braby is from Ukraine. He was a footballer. He came to China in 1992 to study Chinese at the age of 22. He later came to Shenzhen. He is a born comedian with a very nice voice. He worked hard in Shenzhen and earned a reputation as a singer in nightclubs in Shenzhen.

In early 1998, he got a role in a movie in Hong Kong. He played as a British singer. When the shooting was over, Braby was happy to go and get his payment. However, he found the manager had run away with all the money. There were many who did not get paid, too. Zhang Wenting was one of them. Zhang and Braby chatted about the situation and felt helpless. Braby decided to go back to Shenzhen. It happened that Zheng Wenting also lived in Shenzhen and had a car. The two went back to Shenzhen together. On the way back, they chatted about themselves. Braby learned Zhang is from a family of artists and she is a dancer. Zhang found the man was honest.

The more she knew about Braby, the more, she found Braby is a talented entertainer. In June, 1998, she signed a contract with a showbiz company in Hong Kong. She had an idea: why not team up with Braby? They discussed the idea and it was worth trying. Zhang helped Braby correct his Chinese pronunciation and learn how to dance traditional Chinese dancing steps. They worked out a team show. It was a hit. The team work was highly successful. They got many show contracts. And the two began to date and fell in love with each other.

Braby cherished the relationship. He was approaching 30 and it was his first love. His mother died when he was a kid. He grew up with his grandfather. So he cherished the love of a woman very much. But Zhang Wentings parents objected the relationship, saying Braby was a foreigner and did not look handsome. The parents said it was okay to have Braby as a friend, but not as a son-in-law.

At that time, the show contract was over. Zhang was accepted as a student at Beijing Film Academy. Braby came to see Zhangs parents and proposed to learn Peking Opera from Wentings father. The father was delightfully surprised and accepted the foreign fan.

Braby learned fast. In two months he mastered many arias. The teacher was pleased. Braby was smart enough to invite his would-be parents-in-law to see his performance. He never forgot to mention Wentings father was his teacher. Gradually, Zhang Wentings parents changed their minds about this young man from Ukraine. And Wentings mother advised Braby to learn regional operas. Braby was most willing. The talented Ukraine learned to sing arias from more than ten major regional operas. With his richly expanded repertoire, Braby became a star in variety shows. The parents finally embraced the young man as their would-be son-in-law.

As Braby learned more about Chinese operas and folk shows, he found himself fascinated by the song and dance duet, a popular entertainment in northeastern China. He bought some tapes of the duet performances and imitated. He noticed Zhao Benshan, the superstar comedian in China and the man who has brought renaissance to the regional genre and made the whole nation sit up and notice the amazing folk art from Northeast.

One day he learned from a friend in Shenzhen that Zhao would appear in Shenzhen. Braby rushed to Shenzhen. With the arrangements of the friend, Braby met with Zhao Benshan. Zhao appreciated Brabys show, but remained noncommittal after hearing Brabys request to be his disciple.

Zhao began to make preparations for Liu Laogen II, a sequel to the successful Liu Laogen. Zhao came to the Beijing Film Academy to find an associate director for the sequel. Zheng Wenting happened to be among the candidates and Zhao Benshan found Zhang was the only one of the candidates who had watched Liu Laogen from episode alpha to episode omega. She knew everything about the television drama and Zhao was deeply impressed by her professional comments and suggestions.

Zheng Wenting was hired to work as the executive director on the spot. Zhang read the script and found Braby was the right person for a character. She recommended Braby. Zhao was surprised to learn that Braby was Zhangs boy friend. In early 2002, Zhao Benshan called Braby, making a job offer in Liu Laogen II and saying he had decided to take Braby as his student.

The romance between Zhang Wenting and Braby Kon deepened. They wanted to get married. They were too busy to make their individual schedules match. They finally got married in April, 2009. □