When You Benchang was a child, there were two Buddha statues in his home, one was Maitreya Buddha and the other was Jigong Buddha. In particular, this Jigong Buddha statue is porcelain white throughout, sitting in a unique posture, and the tongue can still move.
Every day when he came home from school, You Benchang loved to stare at this Jigong Buddha statue the most, he always felt that this Buddha statue was alive, and perhaps in this meditation, Jigong planted a seed in You Benchang's heart.
But this seed only began to sprout when You Benchang was 52 years old. You Benchang, who was still performing in Dalian at the time, received a phone call and said: "People from Shanghai want you to play Jigong." ”
After decades of obscurity in the drama theater, the actors of the same period have long become famous artists, and You Benchang seems to have become the forgotten one.
When he received the call, You Benchang was a little flattered, but he did not immediately agree.
Because he had seen in the newspaper that the actor Yan Shunkai had personally disclosed the news that he was about to play Jigong, he was reluctant to grab it with others, even if this opportunity was rare and hard-won.
Later, he learned that this was a big oolong, Yan Shunkai and he wanted to play were basically two different dramas, and the two did not have conflicts and disputes.
The people in the unit advised him: "You are over 50 years old, it is time to have a tome." In this way, You Benchang nodded in agreement.
In the face of this hard-won opportunity, You Benchang especially cherished, from the plot to the props to the acting, You Benchang devoted himself wholeheartedly, just to play this role.
When he encounters unreasonable places in the script, he will volunteer to make suggestions to the director, and also personally make fans and clothes old, and design the unique movements and postures of the characters, and a vivid image, flesh and blood Jigong appears on the screen.
On TV, Ji Gong, who broke the fan with his hand, walked slowly, and sang "shoes are broken, hats are broken" in his mouth, became the focus of attention of the whole family.
After becoming famous, You Benchang's films continued to be made, but good scripts like "Jigong" could not be sought, and more shoddy scripts were found, adhering to the adherence to art, and You Benchang refused.
Even if the leader of the drama troupe came to persuade him, he did not waver, this came and went, invisibly offended a lot of big people, and finally the drama troupe issued him an ultimatum: every month must meet a certain number of filming targets, otherwise he will leave.
Serving the people and art, You Benchang is willing to suffer hardships, but for the sake of RMB service, he is not willing to aggrieved himself. Because of his disagreement with the concept of the repertory theatre, he reluctantly quit the repertory theatre.
After You Benchang quit, before a few days of free good days, the notice of his wife's cancer was issued, and he gave up acting and took medicine and rehabilitation with his wife.
Seeing that his wife's face was gradually bloody, and his daughter told him that he did not want to go to school and wanted to drop out of school to write full-time, he was patient enough to explain to his daughter the stakes of learning and writing.
While assisting her daughter in her studies and taking care of her sick wife, she was so busy that she didn't have the opportunity and time to go out to act.
When the situation at home improved, he used his little savings to set up the Beijing Benchang Art Communication Center to shoot the scenes he wanted to shoot.
In 1998, the sequel "Jigong Travels" invested by You Benchang was successfully launched, and the humorous and interesting episode attracted a lot of new and old audiences, and also made You Benchang earn 1.8 million.
But soon, the money was "ruined" by You Benchang: he directed and self-acted "Mr. You Is Dumb and Laughing" and "Fan Fan" two dramas grain.
At the age of 73, You Benchang became a monk, only because he wanted to make a drama about Master Hongyi, he entered the drama with his body, entered the empty door only to understand the role, and finally, he sold the house to create this unprecedented drama.
An old man in his seventies and eighties sleeps less than four hours a day, from shooting, to performance to props, all of which are undertaken by him, just like "Jigong" more than ten years ago.
Fortunately, the performance of the drama is also as outstanding as "Jigong", from the first three times a year, to the hundreds of performances in the following year, the drama "Master Hongyi - The Final Victory" has also gone from unknown to international.
Today, the 88-year-old You Benchang insists on morning exercise every day, and with his 84-year-old wife, his life is full of taste, and he is often active on social platforms, becoming the favorite "net red" artist he calls "dolls".
Ji Gong achieved You Benchang, but did not restrict You Benchang, and You Benchang won the respect of the audience with his pure heart for artistic pursuit.
【To be continued】
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