Ｅｖｅｒｙ　Ｄｒｅａｍ　Ｃａｎ　Ｃｏｍｅ　Ｔｒｕｅ.docVIP

Ｅｖｅｒｙ　Ｄｒｅａｍ　Ｃａｎ　Ｃｏｍｅ　Ｔｒｕｅ 　　DESPITE featuring no big stars, no romantic twists and no hot boys and girls, the TV drama Soldier’s Sortie was a surprise runaway hit in 2007. The story revolves around the simple but strong-minded farm boy Xu Sanduo and his years in the army. Wang Baoqiang, the actor who plays Xu, was himself a farm boy before clawing his way into the film industry from the very bottom. His unaffected portrayal of a Chinese “nobody,” compared by some to Forrest Gump in the eponymous US film of 1994, soon endeared the 22-year-old actor to viewers all over the country. Wang also drew the attention of several preeminent directors. With the sweeping success of Solder’s Sortie, he now finds himself in the limelight and a role model for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Chinese around the nation. “It seems everyone is watching the drama ?C I am greeted as Xu Sanduo in the street,” beams the young actor with pride. 　　 　　A Boyhood Dream 　　 　　Wang Baoqiang was born into a rural family in Nanhe County, Hebei Province. One night in 1992 his village hosted an open air screening of Shaolin Temple, a 1982 Kung Fu classic starring Jet Li that launched the 1980s boom in Chinese martial arts flicks. The eight-year-old Wang, like millions of his countrymen, was fascinated by the hero’s stunts, and formulated the idea of learning Kung Fu himself at the legendary Shaolin Temple in neighboring Henan Province. Like Jet Li, Wang wanted to be a film actor. 　　His parents initially baulked at the idea, but eventually let him apply to enter the temple, reasoning that a rural boy had nothing to lose from learning some self-defense. He could still be a farmer if things didn’t work out. But Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Chinese Kung Fu, and doesn’t just take anybody. All applicants have to undergo a rigorous skeletal examination by a martial arts master, and only those of the right physique are admitted. Shi Yanhong, now the temple’s chief martial monk, concluded th