Our country has a long history and culture, and in this vast sea of historical and cultural resources, myths and legends are an indispensable part of it.
With the vigorous development of China's film and television industry, more and more mythological theme resources have been adapted into TV series, movies and other literary and artistic works, many of which have become popular classic works, such as the well-known "Journey to the West", "Legend of the New White Lady", "Fengshen List", "Baolian Lantern", "Journey to the East", "Mirror Flower Edge", etc., the classic character images of Sun Wukong, Bai Suzhen, Jiang Ziya, Eight Immortals and so on, which are shaped by these classic works, have also become the most profound memories and impressions of countless audiences. It represents the aspirations and pursuits of truth, goodness, beauty and justice by the vast number of ordinary people in China.
In the 1980s and 1990s, in addition to classic dramas such as "Journey to the West" and "Fengshen List" landing on the screen and meeting with the audience, there was another classic mythological drama that became a classic work that the audience was very familiar with, that is, the mythological drama starring You Benchang - "Jigong".
When it comes to the magical role of Jigong, the Chinese people can be described as a household name, and the most familiar is the various stories about Jigong that are circulating in the folk, such as we know, Guo Degang has a stand-up comedy masterpiece "Jigong Biography".
According to historical records, Jigong was indeed a man, a high-ranking monk who lived in the Southern Song Dynasty in China, who was not only profound in Buddhism, but also had excellent medical skills, often fighting grievances, relieving the poor and the needy, and eliminating violence and peace, so in the minds of the Chinese people, Jigong was the embodiment of justice.
For thousands of years, through the further shaping of the character of Jigong and its stories and legends by the common people, Jigong has also further added many unique labels: high magic, humor, wisdom, ragged clothes, crazy behavior, and occasionally some innocuous mistakes.
Perhaps it is the character image of Jigong that is very grounded in character characteristics, making Jigong like Sun Wukong, Pig Eight Commandments and other characters in Chinese folk, loved by the people and has a very high popularity.
In the 1980s, the TV series "Jigong", directed by Zhang Ge, a well-known TV drama director in Shanghai and starring you Benchang, a famous mainland performance artist, began to meet the audience with a total of 8 episodes. Once broadcast, the role of Jigong portrayed by You Benchang was immediately well known to audiences at home and abroad, and it was loved by everyone. Looking at that time, it directly caught up with the influence of Tang monks and apprentices in the CCTV version of the TV series "Journey to the West".
The theme song of this drama, "Where there is unfairness and where there is me", quickly spread in the north and south of the river, and I still remember that everywhere I went, I could hear men, women and children humming:
"The shoes are broken, the hats are broken, the robes on the body are torn;
You laugh at me, he laughs at me, a fan breaks. ”
After that, in 1990, You Benchang continued to star in 4 episodes of "Jigong Living Buddha" and continued to broadcast, but unfortunately, this drama did not complete the filming of the original planned 20 episodes because of insufficient funds. The first two episodes were filmed by Yang Jie, the director of Journey to the West, and the last two episodes were filmed by You Benchang himself.
Many years later, in 1998, the nearly ancient You Benchang continued to serve as a director, filming and starring in a TV series called "Jigong Travels", it is said that in order to pursue excellence, You Benchang used the original plan to shoot 30 episodes of investment, only 20 episodes were filmed, drawing a perfect end to his indissoluble relationship with Jigong.
Although the Jigong series of TV series has launched many, in the play, You Benchang has always been the best candidate to play Jigong, and You Benchang's teacher is integrated with Jigong in terms of appearance, temperament and demeanor. The Jigong he played has long become one of the classic roles in Chinese film and television dramas that have left a deep impression on the audience. I am afraid that only Jiang Ziya, played by Teacher Lan Tianye, and Zhuge Liang, played by Tang Guoqiang, can be compared with this role.
Since then, although there have been versions of Jigong such as Zhou Xingchi and Chen Haomin in Chinese film and television dramas, I think that as long as all ordinary people close their eyes, the first person in their minds must be the version interpreted by You Benchang.
Unlike the filming of the four famous TV series in that year, which was completed under the leadership of CCTV, the TV series shooting of the "Jigong" series was much more shabby, so many costumes and scenes and scenes in the play were far from being comparable to the four famous series of TV series, but why we still praise this drama to this day, it is because Teacher You Benchang's amazing interpretation has supported this drama.
In the "Jigong" series of TV series, Teacher You Benchang presented the audience with textbook-level acting skills.
If nothing else, Ji Gong's classic expression of half smiling and half crying alone is probably enough for many actors to spend a lifetime to figure out and understand.
There is also this meat-eating fragment of Ji Gong, which is also interpreted by Beiying as a classic teaching material.
The TV series of "Jigong" series are all based on a single episode as a separate chapter, telling the story of Jigong punishing evil and promoting good, curing diseases and saving people.
I still remember the classic passages in chapters such as "Changing The Dog's Heart to Cure the Patrol" and "The Case of The Headless Case".
In 2009, JiGong's actor You Benchang officially ordained his family.
If you look at You Benchang's outfit after renunciation, he seems to be a solemn monk.
Looking at the classic works in Chinese film and television dramas, the reason why they can be widely praised by the audience must be that there must be a force behind them that "regards acting as life" and "drama is bigger than the sky".
The audience actors are always heart-to-heart.
I hope that the current entertainers can continue to create more classic works for the future.