Chinese name: 侯咏 Born: September 26, 1960 From: Xi’an, Shanxi, China Occupation: Cinematographer, director Worked with Ziyi: 4 times

The Rebel Princess (2021) Director

Jasmine Women (2004) Director

Hero (2002) Cinematographer

The Road Home (1999) Cinematographer

Hou Yong is a Chinese filmmaker and cinematographer. He is perhaps best known for his collaboration with director Zhang Yimou, though he has worked with many of China’s major directors. Like some of Zhang’s other cinematographers, Hou has also moved into the directing world. In 2004, he directed Jasmine Women starring Zhang Ziyi.

Hou began his career after graduating from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982 in the same class as Fifth Generation directors Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Tian Zhuangzhuang. Hou’s early career was spent mainly on Fifth Generation projects, notably those of Tian, and Wu Ziniu. By the late 1990s, Hou began collaborating with Zhang Yimou for a series of films during Zhang’s realist period. —Wiki

♦ Hou Yong wanted Ziyi in three lead roles not only to save money: “Actually, I insist on letting one actress playing three characters since the beginning. I just want the audience, from an expression in her eyes or a smile, to find in that something from her mother and let them think more. If I use three actresses to play these three characters from three different times, that will not be neo-classic, it will be post-modernist. If I made (the film) ten years ago, these roles would belong to Gong Li, but now they are for Zhang Ziyi. The reason is very simple – I must use the best actress in China and she is also good for the box-office” —Helloziyi.us
♦ Hou Yong was the cinematographer of Ziyi’s first film, The Road Home.