First, You Benchang's theatrical life, like a drama with ups and downs, kicked off when he was young. When he was in high school, the young You Benchang stood on the school stage and participated in "Song of Victory".
This performance not only won him many awards, but also ignited his inner love for acting. Under the spotlight, the eyes of the young You Benchang flashed with a vision for the future, and that enthusiasm was like a spark, indicating the wonderful life he was about to embark on.
With a yearning for the stage, 19-year-old You Benchang joined the Nanjing Art Troupe and officially embarked on the road of professional actors. However, the gap between ideals and reality is often unexpected.
Standing on the professional stage, facing the role of a farmer that needs to be played, the young You Benchang suddenly felt unprecedented confusion. He recalled: "But when I stood on the stage, I was at a loss, and I couldn't act at all."
At this moment, he deeply realized that acting is an art that needs to be constantly learned and honed. This experience made You Benchang deeply in awe of the performing arts.
He understands that to become a good actor, talent and passion alone are not enough. With a thirst for professional knowledge, You Benchang resolutely decided to apply for the Shanghai Theater Academy.
In this professional school, he will spend four years of study to lay a solid foundation for his future career in theater. You Benchang graduated from the Shanghai Theater Academy (then the East China Branch of the Central Academy of Drama) with full marks, and was subsequently admitted to work in the Central Experimental Drama Troupe.
This learning experience not only allowed him to master professional acting skills, but also gave him a deeper understanding and love for the art of drama. The young You Benchang's eyes were full of firmness and expectation, as if he had seen the bright light on the future stage.
He knows that this is just the beginning of his long theatrical career, and that there are countless challenges ahead of him. But at this moment, he is ready to write his own wonderful chapter on this charming stage with his enthusiasm and talent.
After entering the Central Experimental Repertory Theatre, You Benchang began his long career. However, the young actor was not discouraged by this. There was a determined light in his eyes, and he always held on to a belief in his heart: "There are no small roles, only small actors."
This phrase was not only his motto, but also became the guiding principle of his later artistic career. You Benchang treats every character with all his might, even the tiniest supporting roles.
Second, in the Russian drama "The Great Thunderstorm", he played an old serf with no lines. For this seemingly insignificant character, You Benchang actually read 19 different versions of the original book.
His seriousness and persistence have brought this otherwise obscure character to life. When the hostess committed suicide, the serf played by You Benchang silently shed tears of sadness, and this moment became a "classic trick", which was impressive.
You Benchang's efforts did not go unnoticed. In a five-act play, he played five roles by himself, winning praise from theater critics. The next day, the newspaper commented on him: "A big actor who plays a small role."
This affirmation, like a ray of sunshine, illuminates his way forward. Opportunity always favors those who are prepared. When director Sun Weishi overrode the public opinion in "The Kremlin Bells" and let You Benchang play the leading role, he was already ready.
Sun Weishi said to him: "Young man, you can do it!" This performance was a great success, becoming You Benchang's first leading role in the theater and an important turning point in his career.
Recalling that time, You Benchang was deeply grateful. He knows that success depends not only on luck, but also on the perfect combination of labor, talent and opportunity. He said: "To succeed, labor, talent, and opportunity are indispensable.
This realization allowed him to maintain a humble and enterprising attitude throughout his later artistic career. You Benchang's experience proves that even in the most difficult times, as long as you stick to your ideals and maintain your love and dedication to art, you will eventually usher in your own stage.
He illustrates what a true theatrical person is with his actions: he is not afraid of difficulties, never gives up, and pours all his passion and talent into every role. Just as Yau's acting career was beginning to take off, a political storm that swept the country interrupted his theatrical career.
During this special decade, You Benchang was sent to work many times. He has worked in steel, iron, furnace fitters, and also went to Pinggu, Huairou, Miyun, Fengtai and other places to work, and has done various manual work such as building houses, working as small laborers, planting fields, planting rice, pulling radishes, pulling peanuts, peeling corn, harvesting wheat, and so on.
Third, this experience is undoubtedly difficult for You Benchang. His most precious years of youth were delayed and wasted, and the gears of the times ran over without a single wail.
What shocked him even more was that one of his great benefactors, director Sun Weishi, the founder of New Chinese Drama, was also persecuted to death during this period. However, even in the most difficult moments, You Benchang did not give up his love for acting.
He recalled: "After all, it wasted many years on me, and the reason why I was able to work until I was over 90 years old was because I had not forgotten that I was an actor, so I was still accumulating, still learning, and treating it as an experience of life and an accumulation of performance materials."
During that special period, although You Benchang was depressed and confused, he finally chose to face it positively. He has not forgotten his identity as an actor, and in his spare time, he often performs selflessly in the mountains and fields and in the kang factory.
This persistence not only maintained his acting skills, but also allowed him to maintain his love of life in a difficult environment. You Benchang's experience made him cherish every opportunity to perform in the future.
"This involuntary passivity allowed him to work extra hard to seize any opportunity and keep it from slipping through his fingertips," he said. This attitude has become the biggest confidence for him to return to the stage in the future.
In that turbulent era, You Benchang guarded his inner love for art in his own way. His experience tells us that even in the darkest of times, as long as there is a dedication to art in our hearts, we will never lose hope.
This experience has also become a valuable material for his future artistic creation, making his performance more profound and full of vitality. With the changes of the times, You Benchang finally returned to his beloved stage.
However, after returning to the Central Experimental Repertory Theatre, he was suppressed and abandoned for a long time. The leader didn't like him, and once thought about transferring him away, You Benchang never got any ideal role.
He himself admitted: "Emotional intelligence is a bit low, a bit of the old intellectual's high level, don't ask for anything, this is my problem, I have suffered a lot in terms of connections." However, a turn of fate slipped into his 50s.
In 1985, "Jigong" starring You Benchang became his masterpiece, and the role of "Jigong" made him a household name. This is the 80th role he plays, which confirms the term "late bloomer".
But fame did not bring You Benchang the glory and wealth he imagined. He recalled that the salary for one episode was only 120 yuan, and the reward for the last few episodes was 30 yuan more to 150 yuan per episode, and he only earned a total of 990 yuan.
Fourth, to add insult to injury, his wife suffered from stomach cancer at this time. You Benchang is both an actor and a nurse, and accompanied his wife through the difficult treatment period. He said: "As an escort, after his wife's successful operation, You Benchang also lost almost half of his life.
Despite this, the role of "Jigong" not only changed the trajectory of You Benchang's career, but also profoundly affected his outlook on life. He often chanted: "Jigong, Jigong, Jishi is the public; Helping the world is the public, and it is happy; With me as the priority, there are many troubles; Helping the world is for the public, sincere for the public, and free in it.
This became the guideline that guided him for the rest of his life. You Benchang believes that "Jigong" is not only a character, but also a life coach. It was "Jigong" who reshaped his values in his fifties.
This role taught him how to be optimistic in the face of hardship and how to hold on to his ideals in the face of adversity. Although after "Jigong", due to You Benchang's strict standard of "not wanting to repeat and being bound by a class of roles", it is difficult to see him on the screen again.
But this role has been deeply imprinted in the hearts of the audience, and has also become the most important milestone in You Benchang's artistic career. Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, You Benchang has reached his old age.
However, at the age of 80, he did not choose to live out his old age in peace, but made a surprising decision. In 2013, You Benchang sold his house and rented a house with his wife and daughter, just to invest in the drama "Final Victory".
This decision seems crazy to others, but You Benchang has his own insistence. He said: "What is money for, money is a means, money is a means not an end, people should stand on money to consider problems, not lie under money to consider problems."
Be a rich man, not a slave. You Benchang doesn't think that selling the house is a price, nor does he think it is an impulsive and risky decision. Even in the face of economic pressure, You Benchang still insisted on his artistic pursuit.
He once performed 11 shows for deaf and mute children in the Beijing Social Welfare Institute. In his opinion, if you don't want to do it, you won't do it, and if you want to do it, you have to continue to do it if you lose money.
He can't understand that some actors go to do something else when they have money, in his eyes, it is inconceivable for an actor to open a restaurant with an improper artist. This attitude stems from his love for art and his recognition of his own value.
When he performed in Singapore, he did not feel inferior in the face of billions of consortium giants. Because in his opinion, "I have my value, and he has his value."
At the age of 90, You Benchang stood in front of the camera again and played the role of "uncle" in the hit drama "Flowers". His performance was on fire, but he didn't care about this fame and fortune. In "Flowers", the uncle played by You Benchang is the most stylish character in the whole play, and the precipitation of the years is not superficial, but internalized in the heart and then sublimated to another realm of the spirit.
Fifth, the story of You Benchang, just like the role of "uncle" he played in "Flowers", has become the spiritual coordinates of a generation. He proved with practical actions that age is never an obstacle to the pursuit of art, as long as there is still a love for performance in his heart, he will never be defeated by time.
In the long journey of life, You Benchang gradually formed his own unique philosophy of life. Even in his nineties, he still maintains his passion for life and career. He often said: "I want to forget my age, I want to prolong my artistic life as much as possible, I haven't thought about retiring when I'm old, I don't have this kind of thought."
In this sentence, his love for life and dedication to his career are revealed. Faced with the challenges brought about by age, You Benchang chose to actively deal with them. He has cultivated himself into a health expert, insisting on exercise and maintaining a regular life.
His attitude is: "Running water does not rot and the hub does not beetle, and the body will rust if it is not used." "He can walk and walk, he must climb the stairs if he can climb the stairs, and he must do it himself if he can do it himself, thinking that his body is prone to malfunction and suffer from retirement syndrome.
Regarding the difficulties and setbacks encountered in life, You Benchang has his own views. He said: "When a person is hurt by the seven emotions, he will get sick, he will be angry, angry, sad, frightened, sad, angry, angry, and sad, and angry, and he will be saddened by his lungs...... After strong stimulation, it is easy to get cancer, so don't worry about yourself.
He advocated: "Troubles, difficulties, adversity and setbacks are the normal state of life, and the key is not to suffer when facing them, but to be happy." This optimistic attitude has helped him overcome many difficulties in his life.
Today, You Benchang is still active on the stage and is one of the few artists of the older generation who still insists on his acting career. He often said: "The country has cultivated me, can I not do it?" I can still move, I can still do, and what I do is my profession, my pursuit, my dream, and my preference.
In You Benchang's eyes, the meaning of life lies in continuous exploration and creation. Even in his nineties, he still thinks about the value of coming into this world. His life story is like a wonderful drama, full of ups and downs and touching, and this drama continues to be staged.
Yau Benchang illustrates how to maintain a positive attitude at every stage of life, and his story inspires countless people to face life's challenges with an optimistic attitude.