Nowadays, it’s common to see the real names of Chinese stars just beside their screen name due to industry rules requiring them to reveal their actual names on promotional materials. Chinese actress Song Zu’er (宋祖儿) is one star who’s going above and beyond with this approach as she appears to have stopped using her stage name.
In the teaser for her upcoming drama, Song Zu’er simply uses her real name Sun Fanqing (孙凡清), which is also a change of her surname from Song back to Sun. Meanwhile, her co-star Guo Qilin adhered to the rules by listing his real name alongside his stage name in parenthesis. On the same day, a brand announced Sun Fanqing as its ambassador, with all promotional materials consistently using “Sun Fanqing” and making no reference to her stage name. As early as June 2026, she had already begun introducing herself at events by saying, “Hello everyone, I’m Sun Fanqing.”
Sun Fanqing who debuted as a child actress reportedly had to adopt the stage name “Song Zuer” when she signed with an entertainment agency. As an adult, the actress terminated her contract, went through litigation and a period of career controversies to return with hit dramas such as The Prisoner of Beauty. Sun Fanqing using her real name is being interpreted as a way for the actress to reclaim her name and identity.
