Sun Li Once Saved A Donkey From Being Blown Up For Real During A Drama Shoot
The production crew had bought the donkey specifically for the purpose of killing it for a scene. How sick is that?
Following the controversy over the production team of Chinese drama Marvellous Woman allegedly killing a cat for a scene, a much more feel-good animal-related story has emerged, featuring Chinese actress Sun Li, 39.
The hashtag “Sun Li once saved a donkey as a cast member” has shot up the rankings of the most-discussed topics on Weibo.
According to reports, back in 2009, when the actress was filming the drama Auntie Duohe, the production crew managed to buy an old donkey, which they needed for a war scene, with the intention of blowing up the animal for real.
After Sun Li knew of the awful fate that was in store for the donkey, she immediately stepped in.
Recounting the incident in an interview, Sun Li said: “I was especially worried that they would blow up the donkey for real, so I told the director, cameraman and special-effects director that they really could not blow it up ‘cos it’s still a life that must be protected.”
Thankfully, the actress’ pleas worked, and the donkey was spared a gruesome death.
However, there was another problem ahead of her. As the production crew had purchased the donkey specifically for the purpose of killing it for the scene, they had no idea what to do with the animal after that.
Even though Sun Li was only scheduled to be in the area for two weeks for the shoot, she insisted on buying the donkey so she could find a better home for it.
She initially wanted to give it to the locals who lived near the film site. However, on second thought, Sun Li was worried that they would eventually slaughter the donkey for meat, since it was old, and couldn’t work much.
Sun Li couldn’t bear to see the donkey’s life end just like that, so she continued looking for someone to adopt it.
“Later, I found a local temple. After filming ended, the people living in the temple told me that they’d given the donkey to a worshipper who frequented the temple to deliver incense. They did not have a car, so the donkey now has a new job, to help that family transport incense to the temple,” Sun Li shared.
That was apparently not the actress’ first time taking in animals she met on set.
When the actress was filming Empresses in the Palace in 2011, there was a white cat that appeared in the drama. After the shoot, Sun Li took in the cat, with her relative eventually adopting it.
In 2018, Sun Li even shared on Weibo giving everyone an update on the cat, revealing that it’s living a good life with her relative.
Earlier last month, Sun Li shared on Weibo pictures of her two kids with her husband, Chinese actor Deng Chao, 42, petting two kittens that the family had rescued.
Photos: Sun Li/Weibo, 新浪大文娱/Weibo
