Actor Tang Guoqiang (R) and actress Zhao Ke are seen in a scene from the unfinished television biopic of Tang dynasty calligrapher Yan Zhenqing. Tang Guoqiang fell off a horse last week and broke his ribs while shooting the historical drama, media reports said on Monday. [Photo: ent.sina.com.cn]

Renowned Chinese television actor Tang Guoqiang fell off a horse last week and broke his ribs while shooting a historical drama at a shooting base in eastern Zhejiang province, the local media reported on Monday.

Tang Guoqiang was working on a biopic of Tang dynasty calligrapher Yan Zhenqing (709-785) in Hengdian World Studios on Wednesday when the accident took place, according to Oriental Morning Post, a newspaper based in neighboring Shanghai.

The actor reportedly asked the director to re-film a horse-riding scene he had finished but was unsatisfied with. During the re-filming the horse suddenly shook Tang Guoqiang off to the ground.

Tang Guoqiang was soon sent to a local hospital where he was found to have broken his left collarbone and four ribs. Doctors estimated it would take the 55-year-old actor three months to recover. He is being transferred back to Beijing on Monday for better treatment, the report says.

The drama Tang Guoqiang was working on would face loses of up to one million yuan (US$141,751) if it had to wait for three months. But director and producer Gong Xiaodong told reporters that he would not consider using stand-ins and is looking forward to Tang Guoqiang's recovery.

(CRI March 24, 2008)