‘Handsome‘ actor faces wave of ‘pretty boy’ jibes after character in costume drama returns from battle looking fresh as a daisy
3-MIN READ3-MINFran Luin BeijingPublished: 6:00pm, 25 Apr 2026Taiwanese-American actor Peter Ho has gained renewed fame in mainland China for a warlord role he played 14 years ago, after another actor was mocked for playing a similar role with flawless makeup in a new drama.
Chinese actor Zhang Linghe was widely mocked as the “foundation general”, after a video clip of him playing a warlord in the recent romance costume drama Pursuit of Jade went viral.
The video was reportedly made by Zhang’s fans to promote their idol, but received public ridicule, as the warlord that Zhang plays, a fictional character, looks glamorous with perfect makeup after fighting a fierce battle.
Some mocked Zhang’s general’s femininity, joking that the general “would demand retreat because he looks cakey”.
Even the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-affiliated Jun Zhengping Studio denounced Zhang’s image, commenting that “men do not need to be masculine, but soldiers must be masculine.”
