You Benchang
Uncle crossed his legs and closed his eyes. A group of staff members tossed all kinds of camera equipment in the room and placed the position of the interview recording, making a mess of his living room, but he was not disturbed in any way, and if he did not move, he seemed to enter a state of steady.
"Teacher You, I'm so embarrassed."
Uncle opened his eyes, and it was the eyes of an old drama bone, shining brightly. With a smile in his eyes, the old man looked at the kindness and generosity of his juniors, "You have worked hard." ”
In "Flowers", Uncle Bao is Mr. Bao's life mentor, teaching him to do business, dress, and be a man. In "Ji Gong", the mad monk seems to be playing the world, and his entity sympathizes with the suffering of the world and saves the world. In life, Uncle and Jigong's actor You Benchang has experienced the ups and downs of life, experienced extreme loneliness and liveliness, and at the age of 91, he still loves drama performances like a teenager and embraces the world enthusiastically. As Romain Rolland said, "There is only one true heroism in the world, and that is to recognize the truth of life and still love it." ”
Fill yourself with your soul and take care of the hearts of others. Over the years, You Benchang has taken "literature and art to guide people's hearts" as his action guide, hoping to give back to the society through art public welfare, and initiated the establishment of a charitable foundation for this purpose. He also cares about young people very much, and always wants to promote the younger generations, so he has the move of holding training classes for the art candidates who failed to make the list. Just recently, he offered not to participate in the selection of the Magnolia Award for TV dramas, hoping to leave the opportunity to win the award to young people.
"Uncle is so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and you are expected to win the award." The journalist threw him this question.
You Benchang sighed, "I've had enough!" ”
"It's enough, a lot, it's okay. A lot of people who deserve it haven't gotten it yet. We have to get more young people this opportunity, don't you think? He pointed to the photo of Hu Ge placed on the coffee table, "Hu Ge said, 'When you receive the award, you are always alone, but when you work, you are a large group of people'." How can you take it again and again. ”
On June 28, the Magnolia Awards were announced, and "Flowers" became the biggest winner, winning five awards: Best TV Series, Best Actor, Best Art Award, Best Cinematography Award, and Best Screenplay Award. Best Actor Hu Ge thanked You Benchang after winning the award, "Without uncle, there would be no Mr. Bao." ”
Uncle also never forgot Mr. Bao. The fan sent him a photo of You Benchang when he was young and a photo of Hu Ge together, and he printed out the photo and put it on the coffee table in the living room at home. He has always been grateful for the considerate care of the team and juniors during the filming process. One of the scenes is on location in winter, and You Benchang is thinly dressed and wearing an overcoat, ready to play at any time. The north wind blew in the wind, and the staff stood in front of him and shielded him from the wind.
Speaking of these, You Benchang's eyes were filled with tears, "I have always been grateful. ”
Educate people with art
You Benchang always carries a small notebook with him, and he will write down any random thoughts, and take it out to take a look if he has nothing to do. Turning a page casually, it is a hand-copied poem by Master Hongyi; Turn another page, and it reads, "The hearts of the people are purified, the society is peaceful, and there are no disasters in the world." Charity, medical care, education, and humanities".
You Benchang was born in 1933 in Taizhou, Jiangsu. Although his childhood was spent in turbulent times, You Benchang is still full of happiness in retrospect. At that time, the family was not wealthy, but it was full of art, and the memories were all scenes of the second sister singing at home every day. Xiaoyou Benchang kicks shuttlecock, hopscotch, rubber band, and hoop with his friends every day...... Had a pretty happy time.
So he still thinks that children should go out to play more instead of blindly burying their heads in their homework. Once, when he was walking down the street, he saw a huge black backpack moving forward in the distance, "Isn't this the turtle spirit that floods the golden mountain!" When he looked closer, it was a child, wearing a pair of big glasses and carrying a big school bag. At that moment, he had mixed feelings in his heart, "Now in every family, it is the children who get up the earliest, the children who sleep the latest, and the children who have the largest amount of homework." He complained to reporters.
He thought he had to do something.
In 2007, by chance, You Benchang got acquainted with the principal of Beijing Shijia Primary School, "I can go to your school to do happy education." He told the principal that the two hit it off. Since then, You Benchang has been going to school once a week to give students a drama performance class at 3:30 after class, and the project has been carried out rain or shine for six years.
You Benchang arranged a simple repertoire for the children, and the dolls followed Grandpa Ji, sometimes playing animals, sometimes playing people of various identities and occupations. He has witnessed the release of many children's nature and their emotions in drama, and he believes that drama education can play a very unique role in educating people.
In 2015, You Benchang decided to set up a "Jigong School" in Hangzhou to recruit children who are interested in drama and do drama training. Two years later, the school was successfully opened, and at the opening ceremony, You Benchang announced a surprise news to everyone: all students in the first phase were fully refunded the registration fee, 9,800 yuan per person. In this phase of training, You Benchang decided to make it a public welfare classroom.
In the face of everyone's doubts and incomprehension, You Benchang slowly explained the reason: first of all, he has an indissoluble bond with Hangzhou, and the "Jigong" and some other dramas that made him famous in one fell swoop were filmed here, and he has a deep affection for Hangzhou and is determined to give back to the city; Secondly, as the first batch of young actors trained by the state since the founding of New China, he believes that his school is not only free, but also subsidized, so he has the responsibility to repay this kindness.
"I just want to make it a free class, and I hope to thank all the people who trust me, and give it to the people." You Benchang said.
In 1951, after graduating from the private Nanjing Zhongying School, You Benchang joined the Nanjing Art Troupe. After that, he studied at the Shanghai Theater Academy, and after graduation, he entered the Central Experimental Theater (now the National Theatre of China). In 1985, after playing 79 "small roles", he finally played the leading role for the first time - "Jigong".
For nearly 40 years, the image of Jigong created by You Benchang has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and has endured. He is also thinking about the reasons, and he feels that one of the most important points is, "Ji Gong, Ji is Gong." Guided by this spirit, he established the Jigong Public Welfare Foundation in 2018, mainly engaged in drama aesthetic education, aiming to "guide people's hearts with literature and art".
In the second year of the foundation's establishment, You Benchang and his daughter You Sihan launched the public welfare project "Seed Project". The program recruits trainees from all over the country and provides them with a year of free professional theatre performance training. The project also organized a group of teachers to go to the grassroots level to carry out drama aesthetic education for children.
You Benchang's daughter You Sihan is giving drama education classes to children in mountainous areas.
Now that You Benchang is old, the daily work of the foundation is handled by his daughter You Sihan and agent Wang Mingli. Every year, the Foundation travels to remote areas at least twice to teach drama classes to school teachers. The teachers then returned to their respective schools to teach drama to their students.
Now, every time he goes to the grassroots to carry out a project, Yau Sihan will take a video and send it to his father, reporting to him the daily changes of the children. One of the things that impressed them the most was when they went to a school in the mountains to give a drama class, and there was a 13-year-old boy in the school who was usually unwilling to study hard, especially hated writing essays, and often scored 0 or more than a dozen points. After a drama lesson, the child handed in an essay in the day's Chinese class: "Look at this busy classroom, some people laugh, some people talk, and some people look at the world outside the window. At the first glance, someone is talking, at the second glance, someone is whispering, someone is sleeping, some are talking to each other, some are fighting, some are drawing, some are reading, what about the teacher? The teacher is under the podium, showing loneliness. Although the text was still young, it was enough to "stunned" his Chinese teacher.
"I think it's because in drama class, the attention of others has increased for him, and he has been seen, so he is willing to express himself." Wang Mingli told reporters, "The main purpose of this drama class is to cultivate children's self-confidence. ”
Using art to care for the soul, especially young people who are temporarily frustrated, You Benchang hopes to help them regain their confidence and stimulate their enthusiasm for life. In 2013, You Benchang rehearsed the drama "Master Hongyi - The Final Victory", and when he formed the team, he absorbed a large number of art candidates who failed that year, gave them the opportunity to act, and taught them acting knowledge that they could not learn in school.
"Everybody is talented, it's a question of how to cultivate it." You Benchang said, "As long as he is self-motivated, he should be given a chance." ”
Love can last a long time
In You Benchang's home, many trophies and certificates are placed, in a prominent position of this "wall of honor", there is an old photo, which is a group photo taken in the 60s of the last century, in the middle of the back row is Premier Zhou Enlai and his wife Ms. Deng Yingchao, You Benchang sat cross-legged in the first row, looking directly at the camera, smiling brightly.
You Benchang told "Chinese Philanthropist" that this is a photo taken after the performance of the drama "Peach Blossom Fan", in which he plays a Qing soldier. "Look, I'm going to steal the camera." You Benchang pointed to himself in the photo and laughed. Then, with a sinking face, he pointed to one of the women in the photo, "This is my mentor." ”
You Benchang participated in the drama "Peach Blossom Fan" in the 60s of the last century, the picture shows a group photo after the performance, and the second from the left in the front row is You Benchang.
The mentor that You Benchang said was Ms. Sun Weishi. She worked as a Russian interpreter for Chairman Mao Zedong during his visit to Russia and was also a theater director. When You Benchang was an actor at the Central Experimental Theater, many of the plays he participated in were directed by Sun Weishi. The talented Sun Weishi unfortunately died during the Cultural Revolution.
In 1952, You Benchang was admitted to the Performance Department of Shanghai Theater Academy, and in the year of graduation, when the Central Experimental Theater was established, Dean Ouyang Yuqian and chief director Sun Weishi came to Shangju to select actors. You Benchang successfully attracted the attention of Sun Weishi and his party because of his mesmerizing performances on and off stage, and was finally selected for the Central Experimental Theater. At that time, only two students were selected for the play.
After entering the theater, You Benchang's acting career was restricted. Because he has no advantage in height, his image is thin, and he is not sociable, he has been playing the role of a dragon. Even, at that time, only actors with rehearsal qualifications could rehearse in the rehearsal hall, and You Benchang could only watch silently from the sidelines.
But he never thought of giving up, because he repeatedly asked himself that he couldn't find anything he liked more than acting. He made up his mind to work hard silently, while doing a good job in psychological construction, and simply positioned himself as a "condiment actor". Since then, whether it is in the moment of popularity or cold, such a mentality has been with him all his life: "There are no small roles, only small actors".
He is also not satisfied with the status quo and is bent on breaking through. You Benchang was deeply in love with the performance of Chaplin's meme, which at that time did not exist in China. In 1983, You Benchang decided to make China's first pantomime. At that time, none of the people around him were optimistic about him, but he still insisted on using his savings to form a team to create and rehearse pantomime plays.
Half a year later, the pantomime starring You Benchang appeared on the stage, which unexpectedly received praise and attention, and You Benchang appeared on the Spring Festival Gala in 1984 and performed the pantomime work "Shower" for the national audience.
It was the performance in "Shower" that made You Benchang noticed by Shanghai TV, which was preparing to shoot "Jigong" at that time.
He finally played the leading role. This time, he "exhausted what he had learned all his life" and played the role of Jigong.
In 1985, "Jigong" was broadcast, and it instantly became popular all over the country. Until now, it seems that everyone can hum the phrase "shoes are broken, hats are broken". With this role, You Benchang won the 4th China TV Golden Eagle Award for Best Actor. And that year, he was already over half a hundred years old.
52-year-old You Benchang has gained unprecedented attention. Many scripts were handed to him, but he politely declined. In his artistic values, performance can be divided into three types, the first is milk, which gives people nutrition; the second is boiled water, which is not nutritious but can quench thirst; The third is poison. "We must not be poison." He said.
"Jigong" was so successful that when someone proposed to make a sequel, many people questioned, "It shouldn't be a continuation of the dog's tail". In 1991, You Benchang went to Tibet to give a condolence performance, and at that time, the 6-episode Tibetan version of "Jigong" had just been broadcast, and two Tibetan children who offered him Hada saw You Benchang and asked him, "Grandpa Jigong, can you continue to shoot "Jigong"?" ”
"Yes!" Looking at the expectant eyes of the two children, You Benchang said without thinking.
Looking back now, You Benchang said with a smile, "A Hada in exchange for the sequel to "Jigong". Back then, after returning to Beijing, You Benchang organized a team to write scripts, and he even set up a company for this purpose.
In You Benchang's acting career, another role he attaches great importance to is Master Hongyi. In 2009, You Benchang came into contact with a script about Hongyi Master Li Shutong, and Master Hongyi's artistic attainments and life story have always made You Benchang very admired and moved, and he decided to buy this script.
He then did something that surprised everyone - selling his house and making a drama. This drama was not favored by film and television companies at that time, and You Benchang himself didn't want to put this script into business, so he decided to fund the filming himself, and did not hesitate to sell the house for this purpose.
The decision was somewhat capricious, but his family understood him. "It's like that in our family, whoever wants to do something, just do it." Daughter You Sihan told "Chinese Philanthropist".
In 2010, "Master Hongyi – The Last Victory" premiered, and as of 2018, the play has been performed more than 100 times.
You Benchang feels that Jigong and Master Hongyi have one thing in common, that is, crossing people. In life, living is not for oneself, but for the sake of purifying sentient beings, and using one's own behavior to demonstrate that others can get inspiration and nourishment from it. To a certain extent, the uncle in "Flowers" is also like this, he guided Mr. Bao to find his own direction in life.
The role of uncle runs through You Benchang's 91 years of life practice and infiltrates his understanding of life. This process is not only to cross others, but also to cross oneself. He went through the hardships that an actor needs to go through again, shot one scene after another, waited in the north wind in a single coat in the winter, and practiced every line well...... 91-year-old You Benchang, the old man, with the heart formed more than half a century ago, traveled thousands of miles.
You Benchang played Master Hongyi in the drama "Master Hongyi - The Final Victory".
Happiness is a necessity in chance
"Acting in "Flowers" became popular, and so much attention at once brought you any trouble?" The reporter asked.
"Haunted?" You Benchang was stunned, as if he had never had this word in his mind. "I'm so happy, I'm so happy!" As he spoke, his face was full of happy smiles.
"The old man actually doesn't have any feelings about hot searches or traffic, he just hears about it." You Sihan told "Chinese Philanthropist".
Every morning, when he got up, He Benchanglei practiced first and then ate breakfast, and the exercises included physical and vocal exercises. This is a habit he has maintained since he became an actor, and it has been the same for decades. He insisted that only by maintaining a good body and condition can acting not degenerate. At 91 years old, he is still ready for his next role.
"After playing Uncle, who do you want to play next?" The reporter asked.
You Benchang waved his hand, "Then let it be, let it be fate, it doesn't matter if you say it yourself." All Taoism is natural. ”
This year, You Benchang also caught up with the craze and did several live broadcasts. The first live broadcast was a public welfare live broadcast held by Jigong Public Welfare Foundation just after completing the teaching project. "Hello dolls!" You Benchang opened the microphone live, and he also wanted to do more for the "dolls".
In the live broadcast, You Benchang introduced his experience of doing happy education to everyone, and also shared the current situation of rural education that he observed. He called on everyone to pay more attention to rural art education and participate in public welfare undertakings.
Some netizens left a message saying that they studied psychology and wanted to participate in this public welfare activity. You Benchang couldn't see the words on the screen clearly, You Sihan repeated the words of the netizen to him, and he quickly applauded vigorously after hearing it, happy like a child.
He has always cared for society. Every day, he has to look through the latest newspapers and magazines, and in the past few years, his eyesight has not been very good, so he listens to the news. "I have to understand what's going on, and if I don't, I'm at a loss."
He also played "young people's stuff" - making short videos. Sometimes I also talk about the things that young people are concerned about today. In a video, You Benchang talked about "relaxation". "If you want to talk about relaxation, you have to learn from them." He pointed to the family's kittens and puppies, which were lying flat. "If you can afford it and put it down, you can stretch your waist when you release it, and people can do the same......"
In February this year, You Benchang won the honor of "Lifetime Achievement Artist" at the annual ceremony of Chinese TV dramas. The honor, he said, was like a mirror, "I faced it and asked myself, am I enough?" Did I do it? Am I doing my duty? Is there anything else that isn't enough? ”
After acting in a lifetime of playing, he still doesn't feel that it is enough. In the words of her daughter You Sihan, "It's a big addiction to drama." Recently, You Sihan and her team were preparing a drama, and when she told her father the outline of the script, You Benchang repeatedly asked her daughter if she could add a role to him in the play.
Dialogue with You Benchang: compassion, wisdom, and great wishes
"Chinese Philanthropist": You are 91 years old, is it very hard to act in the TV series "Flowers" at such an advanced age?
You Benchang: Aren't the staff hard? Isn't it hard for people who make up makeup? Isn't it hard for the person who prepares the props for you? When I was filming the location, there was a cold wave that night, and the wind was blowing, and our executive director stood in front of me and used his body to block the wind for me. In the shed, there was a leak of wind underneath, and some people stood there and stepped on it to block the wind. There's also a scene where I'm sitting there, and the rocking chair is moving, and the field assistant is lying on the ground holding the wheel.
There are too many details like this. A lot of people have put in a lot of hard work, whether we win the award or not, we have to do it, don't you say?
Chinese Philanthropist: We can all feel that you are really dedicated to acting.
You Benchang: Non-attachment is love. If you say "persistent", if you mean "unwavering", that's right, unwavering.
Chinese Philanthropist: Everyone's impression of you started from Jigong, and this image is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Are you also influenced by this role?
You Benchang: First of all, his compassion, his wisdom, his great will, his action, these are all very important. He urges you to act, to constantly raise your level, and to keep purifying your heart.
Chinese Philanthropist: You once said that "public welfare is a heavy responsibility of artists", why do you say that?
You Benchang: Your motivation and sense of mission are the same, because we want to serve the audience, and what you give to the audience must be nutritious, guide people's hearts with literature and art, and beautify their hearts. Laughter also has to be a problem with the quality of laughter, right? So the quality of the art is very important. First of all, it must be nutritious, if there is no nutrition, at least it must be plain water, which can quench thirst. But there must be no poison, this is a matter of morality.
Chinese Philanthropist: Everyone is well-known about your acting career, but few people know that you have been doing public welfare for so many years. Why did you do this in the first place?
You Benchang: It's gratitude. "Charity" does not dare to say at all, how can we have any conditions to do charity, but it is true that we have a charitable heart - compassion, this compassion has no preconditions, that is, empathy, compassion for everyone.
I have been receiving a bursary since junior high school, which is a private charity bursary, and I have always received this help from 1945 until the founding of the People's Republic of China. After that, he went to university again with people's grants. Without this help, I'd be an uneducated person, right? Because of this help, I was able to do what I loved, I was trained, and I was able to work.
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Chinese Philanthropist: Why does your charity focus on teaching children to learn acting?
You Benchang: Our art is not to cultivate artistic talents, no, but to open people's hearts. Expression, presentation, and communication skills can be learned through performance, and they learn to perform through games, and then learn about life through performance.
Once, an old comrade told me that he had just gone to a juvenile detention center. That place used to be a prison, and before liberation, our underground party comrades were imprisoned, and some of them died in it, but I didn't expect that now it is our children who are locked up there.
Therefore, I put the premiere of the 20-episode "Jigong Travels" in the juvenile detention center that year. Not in the theater, not in the club, just in the premiere of the young pipe, let those children be our first audience. I saw their feedback, I saw the hope on their faces, and I felt like it was really worth it. We have to do it.
Now, under the leadership of my daughter, the foundation has started to carry out projects in rural areas. There is no shortage of this content in the city, and the city is already rich. Many people don't have their hearts in the countryside, but my daughter's heart is there, and we have to pay attention to the children whose parents work in the city, who have no one to take care of themselves, or who are managed by the elderly.
Chinese Philanthropist: I would like to ask you a more direct question, it takes a lot of money to do this, what do you do with this money?
Yu Benchang: (laughs). First of all, whether you are determined to do this thing or not, this is the most important thing. You go down, as soon as you come into contact, you're going to be moved, you're going to act, right? There are very few who are not moved, and there are many who are moved. "Ambition to the Tao, according to virtue, according to benevolence", benevolence and benevolence, your life can be meaningful. In fact, to do this kind of thing is also to cultivate one's own morality and benevolence. Teaching is mutually beneficial, and it is not possible to teach without teaching.
Therefore, I hope that through the magazine "Chinese Philanthropist", I will call on our peers and everyone to contribute money and strength to carry out such things. In fact, this is also a process of self-education, self-improvement, and self-enrichment for ourselves.
Author: Yang Yongjie
Image source: Photography/Reporter Zhang Xu, provided by the interviewee, Visual China
Photo editor: Zhang Xu
Duty Editor: Wan Xiaojun