In 1985, the eight-episode TV series "Jigong" became popular all over the country immediately after its broadcast. The streets and alleys rang out with the singing of "broken shoes, broken hats, broken cassocks".
After playing more than 80 supporting roles, You Benchang ushered in the peak of his career at the age of 52, who has long passed the golden age of an actor. He rarely played the leading role, but the leading role he ushered in was a ragged, dirty body. Xi's monk Jigong, but You Benchang, with his unique way of acting, made this seemingly inconspicuous character shine in a different way. This light still shines after nearly 40 years, even though the props of the show are simple , the special effects are backward, but it can be side by side with "Journey to the West" in terms of artistic height, but the story of "Jigong" is far less well-known among the people than "Journey to the West", but this does not affect people's perception of "Jigong" 's favorite.
The success of "Journey to the West" is the success of the entire team, and more than half of the success of "Jigong" is due to You Benchang.
He portrayed Jigong's madness and uninhibitedness, not taking pleasure in things, not sympathetic to himself, and his character and mind to make people feel kneeling. You Benchang's Jigong has become one of the characters that cannot be imitated in the history of film and television.
Jigong, created by You Benchang, became a Bodhisattva known to women and children at that time. "Wine and meat pass through the intestines, Buddha sits in the heart" became the mantra of people after watching Jigong at that time. You Benchang was one of the few actors at that time who did not depend on his appearance at all.
You Benchang played the role of Kong Yiji in the TV series "Kong Yiji" in 1981, but due to the age, few people remember this play, but I can imagine the down-and-out appearance of Kong Yiji he played.
You Benchang is a relatively special existence in the entertainment industry. He is an actor who has become popular all over the country with a role, but seems to have disappeared in the following years. When more than ten years later, he was mentioned again by people. It is because his conversion to Buddhism seems to have nothing to do with his acting career.
After more than ten years have passed, when people mention him again, he is already a white-haired old man, but in "The Adventures of Li Xianji", he amazed the whole movie as an old man who has only appeared on the scene for a short time. , the audience even commented on You Benchang: If there is no part of him in the film, I am afraid that this film will not be watched at all.
You Benchang's eyes are full of deep affection and generosity under the precipitation of years, as if thousands of years of affection and waiting are all integrated into this one look. Neither young people nor the generation familiar with Jigong have ever discovered that this old man with his affectionate eyes and glowing eyes turned out to be Jigong who was covered in tattered clothes more than 30 years ago.
More than 30 years ago, he supported a TV series with his superb acting skills. After more than 30 years, he made a bad movie known to the world with just one look. Many netizens just wanted to see his eyes. And watched the whole movie.
One look made many audiences cry. This is the skill of You Benchang's performance, and it is also the charm of his performance.
He once said about his attitude towards supporting role performances: as much effort as the protagonist puts in, I also put in as much effort as I do.
"The Adventures of Li Xianji" was filmed in 2011. At that time, You Benchang was already a 78-year-old old man, but he looked energetic and showed no signs of old fatigue. I saw Shu Ting's eyes in my mind. A few verses:
There is blood in the chest, and the heart is hurt.
Don't have a good flower,
Don't have a flute, a short flute, a long flute. ,
hangs high with a face of autumn frost...
You Benchang's name always appears passively with another person's name. This person is Brother Monkey - Liu Xiaolingtong. The two of them represent different attitudes to life and also represent different life choices. I don't want to praise one another. In order to live, in fact, no one is at fault too much. It's just that different choices lead to different evaluations. I also like Liu Xiaolingtong, and there are more misunderstandings about him than objective evaluations. , because he is too obsessed with the role itself, too serious and deeply burdened by fame and fortune. In contrast, You Benchang lives a more free and easy life.
You Benchang seems to have lived his life as Jigong, not burdened by fame and fortune, not bound by the world, living a free and easy life. The eyes can be so tender and affectionate, and have the power to touch the tenderness of everyone's heart.
What we lack is not a handsome man and a beautiful woman, but an actor with real connotation and texture like You Benchang.
