On January 10, actor Li Jiaming visited 90-year-old "Grandpa Jigong" You Benchang and went to the door to thank the "life-saving grace".
It turned out that 3 years ago, Li Jiaming's father was ill and hospitalized and had no money for treatment, and You Benchang took 10,000 yuan for Li after learning about it, and now the difficulty has passed, and it is time to pay back.
Li Jiaming came to You Benchang's house, he held an envelope containing 10,000 yuan in both hands, and bowed deeply to the old man: "Thank you!" ”
Unexpectedly, You Benchang pushed the envelope back and said:
"Come to Jigong, return to Jigong, take it for public welfare!"
This news is so warm! The clear light emitted by You Benchang's words and deeds is simply like a mirror that illuminates the ugliness of gold in the entertainment industry so that there is nowhere to hide.
This incident reminded netizens that Guo Degang and You Benchang had a conversation that year, and Old Guo asked with inferiority:
"I also want to play Jigong, but I'm so fat, can I act?"
You Benchang said: "You can act, child, the bodhisattva is phaseless. ”
You Benchang seems to have really lived himself as Jigong since he played Jigong at the age of 52.
He always gives the impression of being strong and Buddha-like: compassionate, empty but not empty, empty...
But who would have thought that "Grandpa Jigong" did not have everything smooth in his life:
He had poor physique since childhood and was asserted that "he would not live long"; 30-year-old fainted on stage due to malnutrition; 52-year-old wife with cancer; Being slandered as soon as he became famous; The iron rice bowl was lost when he was about to retire; Almost 80, he sold the house to shoot the drama "Jishi" ... Now the old man is almost 90, and for the sake of art, the family has almost lost everything.
Others say that his life has been in vain, but he says that art has nourished his life.
At the age of 30, he was hungry and faint, and he didn't shout pain when he filmed "Jigong", just because he understood that "the situation changes with his heart"
Some actors play a role in their whole life, but they can play the role alive. For example, Chen Xiaoxu's Lin Daiyu, You Benchang who plays Jigong.
Before Chen Xiaoxu played Lin Daiyu, he wrote poems that Lin Daiyu could write. And You Benchang experienced a similar experience to Li Xiuyuan before playing Jigong.
Li Xiuyuan became a monk in the year of the weak crown, and You Benchang converted to Buddhism in his childhood.
You Benchang's parents gave birth to a child at an advanced age, and one high-ranking person said that the child would not live to be 13 years old unless he converted to Buddhism. So, his parents converted 6-year-old You Benchang when he sent him to Buddhism, and the number of Dharma was trained.
The 6-year-old "little housekeeper" You Benchang has been in good health since then, and his journey has been going well.
After graduating from high school at the age of 17, he was recommended to join the Cultural Troupe, and the following year, he was transferred to the Shanghai People's Art Theater as an actor and sent to the acting department of the Shanghai Theater Academy to study. After just a few years of work, You Benchang went up the mountain to the countryside, and in the days of the "reclamation" of the production and construction corps, he learned fitter, built houses, ploughed the land, and made steel.
Although there are no performance conditions, he always likes to find time to perform for villagers and young people. With the sky as a curtain and the yellow earth as the stage, You Benchang felt more "open".
This down-to-earth labor experience made You Benchang fall in love with "pantomime" - people use their bodies to create more when working, without words. The same is true of pantomime: it focuses on physical communication rather than verbal communication (known as the "poet without words"). So, 30-year-old You Benchang began to teach himself the art of pantomime.
At that time, what you wanted to learn depended on self-realization, and there were no "art training courses". You Benchang learned from Chaplin, learned from Morshaw, and then went to the orphanage to perform a charity performance. Finally, he became famous - his pantomime "Humorous Ballet" was once on a par with "Eating Chicken", adding a thick ink to the art of Chinese pantomime.
In 1962, You Benchang received an invitation to the CCTV Gala - director Wang Fulin personally studied the script with him, which was an excellent opportunity to become famous, who knew that during the rehearsal, You Benchang suddenly fainted due to malnutrition!
As mentioned earlier, You Benchang was born with a very poor physique, and in those two years he often had general edema and had to stay in bed as long as he was tired. Because he couldn't perform live, You Benchang could only plan with Wang Fulin behind his back. It was not until 1984 that he officially appeared on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, and the performance was "Shower".
The pantomime performance opened a door for You Benchang. In 1985, 52-year-old You Benchang got the opportunity to play the protagonist of a TV series for the first time, that is, "Jigong".
He went to the monastery again and asked the monks for the meaning of "Jigong", and wisdom was opened.
"I understood what a conscious person is, a wise person, why is Jigong not called Ji private, public and private are the watershed between enlightenment and unenlightenment."
After receiving this inspiration, You Benchang played Jigong especially "comfortable".
When I saw Jigong as a child, I was very happy in my heart, because I knew that in the future, the poor and the good will always be lucky, and the wicked and the clever robbers will always get retribution.
You Benchang's state of ragged clothes but light in his eyes has long been out of the realm of "acting", and he is "experiencing" Jigong.
It seems that God wants to deliberately give You Benchang "enlightened" encouragement, and it is said that during the filming of Jigong, many miraculous things happened.
"It was summer, and it was very hard to shoot in the heat of 39 degrees, but when it was my turn to shoot in the afternoon, it was overcast and cool; Hangzhou is rainy, sometimes it doesn't fall for a day when it's overcast, and the rain doesn't come down until our scenes are finished..."
Teacher You Benchang comprehended the realm to turn with his heart, and immediately, he applied these realms in "Jigong".
In those days, the budget for performing props was very low, and the chicken legs that Jigong gnawed always stinked (because several episodes used a piece of meat as a prop). But You Benchang bites the chicken leg every time without saying a word, until the director plays the "card", and then spit out the chicken leg or jam it from the throat.
Jigong's fight scene is also a real fight. The wife came to visit the class and saw her husband falling from a height of two meters and unable to get up, and she cried.
But You Benchang smiled and was happy that he had experienced the experience of "Jigong".
After the release of "Jigong", You Benchang became popular. How red is it? All provinces and cities require TV stations to rush to broadcast "Jigong" because the crime rate will drop significantly. Everyone thought that Youbenchang's good days were coming, and who knew that the test of life had just begun.
Falsely accused of "playing big names" and taking care of his cancer-stricken wife, he resigned and withdrew from the circle when he became popular
In 1988, a newspaper published:
"An actor who relies on Jigong to raise his value actually asked for a price from "Jigong" and proposed to sign a three-dimensional contract, otherwise he would bow down, and a living Jigong who has believed in Buddha and participated in Zen actually believes in Brother Kong Fang!"
This report is very powerful, and he framed it from two angles, which makes people have to believe it.
First, the term three-dimensional contract is proposed, which is easy to think: if the parties have not said it, where did the word come from?
Second, moral kidnapping. Innuendo to an actor who has played "Buddha" cannot talk about money.
If You Benchang hadn't recorded the sound at that time, he would have jumped into the Yellow River to wash it. What is the truth?
1. During the filming of the sequel, You Benchang's wife suffered from cancer, and he wanted to concentrate on accompanying his wife to fight cancer, and suggested that the film party change an actor.
2. The three-dimensional contract is a publicity plan that was discussed with the producer before, but it did not ask for a price (I didn't want to act at all, so why ask for the price).
It turned out that the producer was worried that You Benchang's version of "Jigong" was too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and did not buy the account of the new drama, so it came out like this.
After You Benchang sued, the case ended with the newspaper publicly apologizing to You Benchang and paying 2,000 yuan.
These things have hit You Benchang very hard, but the call for him in the market is still very loud.
But why did You Benchang disappear after the release of "Jigong" in 1989?
The answer is that You Benchang did not agree with the creative atmosphere at that time and withdrew from the circle.
Around 1990, the major theater troupes across the country began to carry out structural reform: retaining the structure of the troupe, increasing efficiency by reforming the internal management system, and encouraging everyone to engage in a second career.
You Benchang also received "indicators", asking him to engage in a second career and complete the income-generating indicators, and he urged the leader:
"Literary and artistic work is to serve the audience, to promote truth, goodness and beauty, when will it serve the renminbi?"
This quick talk is to give the leader eye medicine, and his situation since then can be imagined.
In fact, You Benchang does not want to sing high-profile, but he has principles.
Since the "Tao" is different, let's not conspire with it. You Benchang quit the troupe and set up his own entertainment company.
The essence of the company is to create benefits, but You Benchang has not changed his original intention, and has not changed his "principle", which we will talk about later.
Life experiences are lessons and grindstones.
When Nandu Weekly interviewed him in 2010, You Benchang once laughed at his own bad temper:
"Emotional intelligence is very low, a bit of the purity of old intellectuals, and everything does not seek people."
But he went on to say:
As long as you think it is right, don't compromise, Mozart did not know that he would have such a high reputation, and Van Gogh did not expect that his paintings would fetch tens of millions of dollars when he was alive. ”
Teacher You Benchang is too strong!
Refusing to perform without a low line for 33 years, selling a house at the age of 80 to make a drama, he has been "pure" all his life
In the 33 years from 1990 to 2023, China's literary and art circles and entertainment circles have undergone earth-shaking changes.
For example, the "three-dimensional planning of TV series" suggested by You Benchang has now become mainstream; For example, those practices that sacrifice quality and fight for traffic have been worshiped and abandoned.
But Old man You Benchang is still as naïve as ever.
For example, change the lines to improve the matter.
In 1985, in "Jigong", there was a scene where Jigong went to the street to eat people's meat buns, and You Benchang changed it: "You can't take people's buns for nothing, isn't that a robbery?" So, the plot we see is: Jigong throws three copper coins.
In 2023, in "Youth Song Line", You Benchang plays the master of forgetfulness.
The original line is "Hanshui Temple is your [temporary perch]", and You Benchang changed it to "[temporary perching]";
The original line was "The rest of the road", and Teacher You Benchang changed it to "The road ahead, you have to go down by yourself." ”
The difference between one word and the foundation is immediate, and it is wonderful.
For example, the life of "knowledge and action".
In 33 years, I am afraid that two generations of popular actors have made fame and fortune in the entertainment industry, but what did You Benchang "get"?
In 1997, his wife's condition improved, You Benchang returned to acting, and the first thing was to invest in the promotion of "pantomime art";
There was not enough money, so he played a supporting role to make some money, and then invested again to direct and act in "Fan" (those who have seen "The Four Disciplines of Fan" know that this is a famous book of advice).
The pantomime and "Fan" made him lose nearly 10 million.
In 2011, he sold his house and raised funds to shoot a drama "Master Hongyi - The Final Victory". It cost millions of yuan to arrange the first play, and the cost was mainly used to buy the copyright of the script, find actors to pay and rent the theater.
He had to perform a show that recouped some of the cost and then invested in another performance.
Some people say that Grandpa You Benchang really lived as a "Buddha" and lived as an "immortal", and he was too far away from popular art.
After You Benchang decided to "help the world with drama", although he only occasionally made a cameo role, he could dedicate a fine product every time he made a move.
For example, "Youth Song Xing", the forgetful master played by You Benchang appeared twice, which made netizens boil. Netizens said that such a high-ranking monk will be canonized in the next few decades.
In "The Adventures of Li Xianji", which was broadcast in 2011, You Benchang only appeared for 10 minutes, and a look made the audience cry.
You Benchang can be called a true artist, not only because he has put into practice his ambition of "helping the world through drama" throughout his life, but also because his understanding of art is unattainable for future generations. He said:
"Love the art in your heart and give your life for it, but never love me in art."
Today's actors, how many people can understand?