China sure loves their witty nicknames and designations. The four dan actresses (四小花旦) has been a thing since the early 2000’s and it has come to collectively refer to the most bankable actresses over the years. The designation itself can be up for contention depending on who’s doing the choosing considering that CCTV had unveiled their own picks that replaced Ouyang Nana with Sophie Zhang. Nonetheless, the four young ladies who have landed on the cover of Marie Claire have certainly sparked a buzz.
Ouyang Nana, Vicky Chen Wenqi, Guan Xiaotong and Zhang Zifeng represent the new crop of four dan actresses. Guan Xiaotong is the oldest at only age 21 while the remaining three are part of the post-00s generation. Being so young and carrying their unique style, many were reminded of post-90s, post-80s and post-70s actresses that also held the title and got to reminiscing over how much the industry has evolved.
2002: Vicki Zhao, Xu Jinglei, Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun
2009: Eva Huang, Crystal Liu, Yang Mi, Wang Luodan
2013: Yang Mi, Cecilia Liu, Angelababy, Ni Ni
2016: Zheng Shuang, Zhou Dongyu, Guan Xiaotong, Yang Zi
2019: Wen Qi, Ouyang Nana, Wendy Zhang Zifeng, Guan Xiaotong
Source: 1
Anonymous
Guan Xiaotong… Is so wrong she doesn't know how to act
Anonymous
YES. I know this is really late but I SO AGREE.
Anonymous
There isn't anything wrong with Guan Xiaotong acting actually.
But I got to say she isn't…so pretty. She's just not captivating, and doesn't possess a special aura. She doesn't look like a big female lead, she's a better match for the side kicks. That's why it's a bit cringey to watch her on television when she's the lead. But her acting is decent, better than actress like Jing Tian and Zhang Xingyu.
Anonymous
GXT is on there twice. Makes no sense!
Anonymous
GXT can’t act! Ouyang Nana and Zhang Zifeng are pretty though.
Anonymous
Zhang Zifeng and Wen Qi are good in acting, but look like kids. They and Zhou Dongyu will be stuck in quirky movie roles because they don't have the mature woman aura.
The pretty ones don't have a reputation for good acting.
Seems like the first batch of Four Dan is the only batch that has both visuals and skills.
Anonymous
Zhou Dongyu will be stuck in quirky movie? Hilarious when she's known for her ability to play darker character in Soulmate. She also has upcoming dark film with Yiyangqianxi that tackles bullying, rape issue. I'm confused where you get the idea that always play quirky role. She's quirky in real life but she has wide range ability to play wide range of roles r with a lot layers. Same goes to Zhang Zifeng and Wenqi. Both of them have play few darker roles before .And of course they look like kids because they're technically still kids what do you expect? Wenqi is 2003 liner and Zhang Zifeng is 2001 liner. Please do some reasearch first before embarrassing yourself.
Anonymous
"MaTuRE wOMan AuRa" when it's actually an advantage that ZDY look youthful, it allows her to play students or younger role for long time compared to actresses like Yangmi, Yangzi, Dilireba. If you watch Soulmate, she looks like mature woman just fine. Thanks for your concern though.
Anon, Wen Qi and Zhang Zifeng are kids so it's only natural that they look like kids. It would look weird if they suddenly have "mATure WoMAn auRA" at their age.
Anonymous
If being young means looking like a kid then uh sure. I prefer actresses who actually look like full-grown women like Yang Mi, Yang Zi and Dilreba.
Well, other actresses their age already has the lady-like aura. Like Ouyang Nana. They just simply look like kids because they are short and don't have very beautiful facial features.
Anonymous
You are the embarrassing one by trying to enforce your opinions on me. Glad you don't have the displeasure of watching This Is What I Expected, Sparrow, Thousand Faces of Dunjia, Kung Fu Monster where she keep playing those dumb girl roles.
Clearly "dark" roles are not the norm. But I don't blame her since her physical appearance limits the range of roles she can take.
Lmao this has nothing to do with age. They will still look like kids in a few years because of their height and weird physical appearace. Ouyang Nana already looks pretty when she's the same age as them. At least their fans like yourself can boast about being all-natural.
爱丽丝
Personlly, I think dilireba should replace Guan Xiao Tong for the four dans of China. She has the skills and the only reason nobody likes her acting is because she was always given childish roles. dilireba suits being the main role but it would be better if there are a wider range of characters for her to act. Dilireba has a lot of skills. she could sing, dance, act and also play the piano. she is really could at miming and talking in different dialects too.
Unknown
My favorite of them all is "Ouyang Nana" besides being a good actress, she is very talented, apart from playing the cello and singing, plays the piano and other musical instruments, she is considered a prodigy, other girls only enter the industry for its beauty like Angela Baby and Dilireba, they may be popular but not very talented, apart from GXT does not act haha.