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There is such an amazing artist in the Chinese entertainment industry: his life trajectory is like a script with ups and downs. At the age of 52, he ushered in the first protagonist in his life; At the age of 73, in order to pursue his artistic ideals, he did not hesitate to lose all his family property; Even at the age of 85, he still shows endless enthusiasm on stage.
This artist is the well-known actor of "Jigong" - You Benchang.
From an unknown actor to a deeply rooted image of Jigong, You Benchang has interpreted the true meaning of artistic pursuit with half a century of persistence. His legendary experience is not only reflected on the screen, but also in real life with a story that is more exciting than any script.
Let's unveil this legendary life together, and witness how an old artist sticks to his dream in the face of adversity, and finally becomes an irreplaceable "Jigong" in the hearts of the audience.
You Benchang's theatrical journey began with an accident in his childhood. At the age of three or four, he followed his parents into the theater and was deeply attracted by the brilliant lights and wonderful performances on the stage.
This experience planted the seeds of drama in Xiaoyou Benchang's heart, and since then it has taken root in his heart.
As he grew older, Yau's love for theatre grew stronger. When he was six or seven years old, he often slipped into the teahouse to listen to the play, despite the opposition of his family. When he got home, he would show his family what he had seen and heard.
The immature but passionate performance, although young, has already shown his talent and love for acting.
With his dedication to drama, You Benchang was successfully admitted to the Shanghai Theater Academy. In school, he eagerly learned various acting skills, laying a solid foundation for his future acting career.
With his outstanding performance, You Benchang was selected to enter the Central Experimental Repertory Troupe after graduation, as if a bright future was just around the corner.
However, fate often makes people. Just as You Benchang was passionately preparing to show his strength, a decade of catastrophe befell a golden age of a young actor full of potential, and it was ruthlessly ruined.
But even in those difficult years, You Benchang did not give up his dream. In addition to his busy farming, he will give several wonderful performances to the people around him, and use art to bring a ray of light to the dark days.
After the Cultural Revolution, You Benchang returned to the Central Repertory Theatre, but found that he could only crawl around in the role of a dragon. Seeing that some of his former classmates have become dazzling stars, and some have been promoted to leaders while he is still playing inconsequential supporting roles, You Benchang can't help but feel a little lost in his heart.
But he quickly adjusted his mindset and decided to treat every performance as a protagonist and devote himself to it.
In this way, before the age of 52, You Benchang performed 79 roles in obscurity. No matter how many scenes there are in every role, he puts all his heart and soul into it.
He firmly believes that there are no small roles, only small actors. Even if it is a character with only a few words, or just a silent background board, You Benchang will devote himself to it and carefully carve it.
His performance in "The Thunderstorm" is a prime example. Although the serf role he played only appeared for a dozen seconds, in order to create this role, You Benchang read through 19 translations of "The Great Thunderstorm", studied the serfdom system in depth, and fully integrated himself into the character's life.
In just a few seconds, the audience seems to see the life of a serf through his mannerisms and movements.
It was this dedication and love of art that laid the foundation for his future glory. You Benchang proved with practical actions that as long as there is a dream in your heart, everywhere is a stage.
Even in the most difficult years, even if he could only play insignificant roles, he never gave up his love and pursuit of acting. This perseverance will eventually shine brightly in the future.
Life's turning point often comes unexpectedly. For Yau, this turning point came in the early eighties. At the age of more than half a hundred, he suddenly developed a strong interest in pantomime.
In those days, pantomime was an extremely challenging field, and almost no one cared about it. But You Benchang sees infinite possibilities in this neglected art form.
With a love for new art forms, You Benchang embarked on his own journey of exploration into pantomime. He searched everywhere for relevant information, often practicing in front of the mirror repeatedly. In order to hone his skills, he even goes to various welfare homes to perform in his spare time.
Those silent performances, although there are no flowery words, convey the deepest emotions and gradually attract more and more people's attention.
In 1984, the opportunity finally came. You Benchang made a stunning appearance on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala with the pantomime "Shower" and won warm applause from the audience. This successful performance not only made him stand out in the entertainment industry, but also laid the groundwork for him to take over "Jigong" later.
Only a year later, 52-year-old You Benchang received a notice to star in "Jigong". This is his 80th role and the first protagonist in his life. In the face of this hard-won opportunity, You Benchang poured all his efforts.
During the filming, You Benchang showed amazing professionalism. He only sleeps four hours a day, and spends the rest of his time working on the role and preparing for the shoot. Not only does he think deeply about the characters, but he also suggests changes to what he thinks is unreasonable in the script, often catching problems before the director and screenwriter.
In order to truly restore the image of Jigong, You Benchang did not hesitate to pay a huge price. When filming the scene where Jigong was beaten, because the group performance couldn't control the force, this scene was reshot 12 times.
After the filming ended, the actor, who was over half a hundred years old, could barely stand, but he did not complain.
What's even more admirable is that when filming the classic shot of Jigong eating meat, the meat had spoiled and stinky due to the high temperature that day. However, You Benchang still insisted on finishing this scene, and did not spit out all the stinky meat in his mouth until the end.
This dedication brings the role of "Jigong" to life under his interpretation.
The success of "Jigong" made You Benchang famous overnight. However, fame did not make him lose himself. In the face of a flood of scripts, he always adhered to his principles and rejected those shoddy and nonsense scripts.
The more he is famous, the more influential he is, and he has the responsibility to present quality work to the audience.
You Benchang's persistence made him fade out of the public eye at the peak of his career. But he did not regret it, because he knew that true art should not be bound by worldly fame and fortune.
He chose a more difficult but rewarding path, and interpreted what a true artist is with his actions.
From the obscure dragon set to the well-known Jigong, You Benchang used his persistence and efforts to compose a moving artistic hymn. His story teaches us that as long as we have a dream in our hearts, opportunities will always favor those who are ready, no matter how old we are.
In 1991, You Benchang's life stood at a crossroads again. The Central Repertory Theatre began to implement a new economic policy, requiring each actor to meet certain economic goals.
This change made You Benchang fall into deep thinking. As a pure artist, he had doubts about his artistic path for the first time.
Faced with this choice, You Benchang made a surprising decision. In order to defend the conscience of the artist, he resolutely applied for retirement and decided to set up his own film and television company.
His ambition is simple: to make great work that inspires and inspires people.
In 2002, You Benchang devoted his efforts to create "Mr. You's Dumb Smile". This work carries his understanding and pursuit of art, and is the crystallization of his artistic thinking over the years.
Four years later, in 2006, he released the touching "Mortal". Both works aim to guide the audience to believe in truth, goodness and beauty, and encourage people to do more good deeds, reflecting Yau's deep understanding of social responsibility.
However, the ideal is very plump, but the reality is very skinny. These two works, which are full of You Benchang's painstaking efforts, eventually led to the loss of all his property due to their lack of commercial value.
In order to adhere to his artistic ideals, 73-year-old You Benchang lost all the family property accumulated over the years.
In the face of doubts and incomprehension from the outside world, You Benchang has always maintained an indifferent attitude. Many people can't understand why he didn't use the popularity of "Jigong" to gain more wealth, but chose to put a lot of energy into making works that might lose money.
You Benchang just smiled slightly and did not respond.
In Yau's view, making meaningful works is a better way to reflect his value as an artist than to use the fame of Jigong to earn more wealth. Even if he loses, he has no regrets.
This choice may not be understood by most people, but it is this persistence and sacrifice of art that highlights Yau's character as a true artist.
You Benchang used practical actions to explain what is the social responsibility of an artist and what is the pure love of art. His story teaches us that true artists should not be bound by commercial interests, but should stick to their artistic ideals and create truly valuable works for their audiences.
Although this road was full of hardships and even paid a huge economic price, You Benchang still walked firmly. His persistence and sacrifice not only demonstrate the professional ethics of an artist, but also demonstrate the social responsibility of an intellectual.
In the era of rampant materialism, You Benchang used his own actions to interpret what is the true pursuit of art.
You Benchang, who was supposed to enjoy his old age in his old age, made a jaw-dropping decision: he sold his property to raise funds to rehearse the drama "Master Hongyi".
This move not only shocked the entertainment industry, but also made many people respect the old artist.
In order to perfectly interpret the role of Master Hongyi, You Benchang, who is over eighty years old, seems to have returned to the time when he played Jigong thirty years ago. He only rests for a short time each day, and devotes the rest of his time to character building.
In order to better understand the inner world of Master Hongyi, he personally went to the temple to experience life and feel the purity of Buddhism.
During the preparatory process, You Benchang insisted on his own artistic concept, refused to accept any form of sponsorship or commercial cooperation, and did not carry out any hype and publicity. He delved into the script on his own, found the right venue, and organized rehearsals, and the energy and enthusiasm he showed made many young people sigh at themselves.
Although the premiere of "Master Hongyi" was very expensive, it was only staged three times. In the face of such a result, You Benchang was not discouraged, but resolutely continued to move forward.
He believes that as long as he insists on doing something meaningful, he will eventually achieve good results.
Sure enough, the hard work paid off. In the following year, "Master Hongyi" won wide acclaim in the theater industry for its sincere emotional expression and pure artistic atmosphere.
This work not only toured in China, but also was invited to perform in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other regions, and even went to United States and Canada, with a total of more than 60 performances throughout the year.
You Benchang's persistence has finally paid off, and he has proved with practical actions that true art knows no age.
Even at the age of 85, You Benchang still keeps up with the pace of the times and tries all kinds of new things. He has set up a personal account on popular social media such as Weibo and Douyin to interact with young people, cheer them on, and encourage them to be resilient and face the present and look forward to the future.
You Benchang's vitality and open-mindedness have surprised and admired many young people.
What's even more amazing is that the 85-year-old You Benchang also wore a robe again at the request of fans to reproduce the breathtaking Jigong face-changing performance 30 years ago.
The superb performance of half crying face and half smiling face made the audience seem to see the vivid Jigong again, which triggered the memories and touching of countless people.
You Benchang proves with his actions that age is never an obstacle to artistic pursuit. On the contrary, his rich life experience has provided him with inexhaustible nutrients for his artistic creation.
His story has inspired countless people who love art, and it's never too late to dream about it, no matter how old or young they are. You Benchang's later life is not only a perfect interpretation of his artistic career, but also the best interpretation of the value of life.
Now You Benchang has been ordained as a monk in Daguang Temple, and his law name is Dingchang. However, being a monk did not take him away from his passion for art. In his spare time, this old man still does not forget his original intention, and often goes to schools to teach drama courses on a voluntary basis, and pours his lifelong artistic experience to the younger generation.
Even if he is over eighty years old, he still maintains the habit of daily physical exercise that he developed in college. He is always ready to take on new artistic challenges.
This kind of reverence for art and never-ending learning attitude makes people awe-inspiring.
In his dealings with people, he showed rare humility and gratitude. When someone asks him for an autograph, he is always flattered and writes a full page of blessings.
At the awards ceremony, when other young artists sat and waited to receive their awards, only You Benchang, an old man, stood up and bowed deeply to express his heartfelt gratitude for everyone's recognition.
You Benchang's artistic life is not only to interpret the role of Jigong vividly, but also to truly live a character like Jigong - optimistic, open-minded, and full of wisdom.
He uses his actions to explain what a true artist is: not only to perform a wonderful life on the stage, but also to live a wonderful life in reality. You Benchang's story is undoubtedly the best inspiration and inspiration for all art workers.
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