Zhou Jie was once among China’s most beloved television stars. Rising to fame as Erkang in the iconic drama My Fair Princess, he captivated audiences with his scholarly image and tragic romance with Ziwei. At the height of his career, he had everything—fame, fan adoration, and top-tier roles.
But Zhou Jie’s dazzling career unraveled swiftly due to a string of controversies. From inappropriate public behavior to traffic incidents and problematic remarks, his once-adored image crumbled. Gradually, he lost acting jobs, endorsements, and the public’s favor. Eventually, he left the entertainment industry altogether.
Zhou retreated to his hometown and reinvented himself. He became a rice farmer, built an eco-farm, and now lives quietly cultivating organic crops. “Only when my hands touch the soil and I watch seeds sprout do I feel at peace,” he once reflected.
A Life Marked by Loss
In a rare recent interview, Zhou opened up about his current solitary lifestyle. Despite once being the charming face of a megahit drama, he now lives alone—his only “companions” being the urns of his late parents.
His father passed away in 2016, followed by his mother in 2021. Zhou never buried their ashes. Instead, he keeps them in his room, greeting them every time he returns home: “Dad, Mom, I’m home,” he says into the vast silence of his villa, reportedly worth tens of millions of yuan.
His grief is deeply personal. Zhou recalled his father’s cremation, shocked by how different it was from what he had imagined. “The ashes weren’t smooth like in the movies, but fragments of bone. I couldn’t let my dad suffer anymore. I picked them out with my hands,” he said tearfully. When his mother died, he handled the cremation himself, bringing gloves and personally placing her remains in the urn.
Every morning, he stands before their memorials, speaking to them as though they were still alive—sharing his daily routine and thoughts. It’s his way of staying connected, of keeping his heart anchored.
Now 55, Zhou Jie has never married or had children. When asked if he fears aging alone, he simply replied, “Does having children guarantee they’ll take care of you? Who says we must get married?”
He has lost over 20 family members and says he’s learned a vital lesson: “If you want to do something, do it now. If you want to say something, say it now. Don’t wait until it’s too late to cry and say ‘I love you, Dad.’”
Though Zhou occasionally appears on programs, few are allowed into his secluded home. On his wooden table sit the ancestral tablets of his parents—silent, steadfast—and they remain his source of strength to carry on in solitude.
You must be logged in to post a comment.