The author was fortunate to buy a copy of director Yang Jie's autobiography, "My Nine Hundred and Ninety-one Difficulties", and after reading it, I had a kind of realization, that is: character determines destiny, and straightness has no regrets. Although I feel that the use of upright to describe director Yang Jie seems to be more lofty, but after reading her life autobiography , I still think that uprightness is the most accurate evaluation of her.
Yang Jie's straightforward character almost throughout her life, she has paid a price for it, but also got lucky, a life of many trials and tribulations but always manage to turn the danger into safety, a life of countless people offended by the pro but won thousands of respect. In short, she is a never bow to fate, not to injustice, is a capital person.
Yang Jie's life can be divided into four stages, respectively, the announcer prequel and announcer, television theater director, "Journey to the West" six years, "Journey to the West" after the biography.
I. An intellectual without schooling as an announcer
Yang Jie was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in 1929, her father was the famous revolutionary Yang Bokai. Yang Bokai was mainly engaged in the cultural front in his revolutionary career. Yang Jie was also given the opportunity to read and think from a young age.
Relatively speaking, Yang Jie's character came more from her father. In Yang Jie's words, her mother's biggest hobby in her life was playing mahjong. Yang Bokai, on the other hand, mainly served as Yang Jie's life teacher.
In Yang Jie's writing, Yang Bokai is a deep-voiced, introverted workaholic who opposes Yang Jie's attendance at those boring schools, so Yang Jie's career as a student lasts only a few days, and she learns more from the books given to her by her father.
Yang Bokai was a senior revolutionary, his comrades in arms were all in very high positions, but he was a man of practical work and not greedy for fame, until the liberation of the country he was still only a newspaper editor-in-chief. Although Yang Bokai died on the eve of the liberation of Chengdu, his spirit of doing practical work without seeking fame was inherited by Yang Jie.
Yang Jie came to Yan'an in 1945, and after a short stay in the liberated areas of North China, she was given the chance to work as a broadcaster by chance, after experiencing roles as a student and in a cultural and labor troupe, thus launching her broadcasting career. She also became one of the first generation of broadcasters in China.
After working at Xinhua Radio in Jinchaji, Xinhua Radio in Shaanbei, Jinan Radio and Qingdao Radio, Yang Jie was transferred to the Central People's Broadcasting Station (CPB) in 1954 due to a serious lung disease that made her return to Beijing to recuperate. (The disease stayed with her for the rest of her life, making her unable to breathe as smoothly as a normal person)
At that time, Yang Jie's colleagues were almost all the future big names and senior leaders in China's radio and television industry, such as Ding Yilan, Qi Yue and Meng Qiyu, among others. Yang Jie would have had the credentials and resources to be a senior leader in the broadcasting industry if she had wanted to be. Her sister-in-law, Gui Gongzhi, was a female revolutionary who participated in the Long March, and her cousin, Zhang Ruihua, was the lover of General Nie. But Yang Jie's love of practical work and not leadership began at this time, and she always loved the concrete work on the front line, for example, the first news of Qingdao Radio "Qingdao Liberation" was broadcast by her with malaria.
During this period, Yang Jie also suffered one of the most serious ordeals in her life, when her superior, the station manager, tried to control her for his own personal desires, but Yang Jie resisted with all her might, and for this reason, she gave up joining the party and was forced to give up her chance to go to the Shanghai Broadcasting Station. Yang Jie's tenacity in the face of injustice helped her to escape, a history that may have reinforced her tough character.
Yang Jie returned to work after lung surgery in Beijing, where she was given a medical certificate exempting her from manual labor for the rest of her life, a sign that her health was indeed in serious jeopardy.
Back to the Central Radio Yang Jie due to an earlier public affairs aftermath suffered unfair treatment, in view of this in 1958 Yang Jie wanted to change careers, her original colleague Ding Yilan love of talent will be transferred to the newly established department of the Beijing Television, which is the predecessor of the CCTV.
Now it seems that from the radio station to CCTV is simply heaven, but in those days it was the same as the distribution, after all, the country's television sets are not many, the TV station in the end how to do it there is no precedent for success, everything must be to feel the way to do.
Yang Jie, an intellectual who has never been to school and only relies on books, has to face the old-fashioned cameras and broadcasting technology, and everything has to be learned from scratch, but fortunately, the TV station at this time is still at the point where the uncle does not hurt and the grandmother does not love it, and this provides her with the space to show off her skills. Soon she found the rhythm of work, and successfully broadcast multiple programs.
At this time, Yang Jie's top boss was her announcer colleague, Meng Qiyu, who asked Yang Jie to be the leader of the drama broadcasting team, and Yang Jie began a period of time in charge of broadcasting drama programs. Although she envied Wang Fulin and the others in the drama team, what she didn't expect was that the work of the opera team would provide far-reaching help for her future work.
It should be said that this period was probably the easiest experience in Yang Jie's career. Her father was a revolutionary martyr, which was equivalent to giving her wife and children the strongest umbrella of protection, and Yang Jie was never hurt by the movement, so she could always pounce on her work at the TV station.
It was also during this period that Yang Jie got married again after her divorce, and she tied the knot with TV cameraman Wang Chongqiu. What the two of them couldn't have imagined at the time was that the two of them, together with their daughter Yaya, who would later become a make-up artist, the family would actually be able to make up a small theater group.
This period of Yang Jie although engaged in the work of broadcasting, but whether it is from the work experience, camera, and actors, as well as contacts, Yang Jie inadvertently to the "Journey to the West" of the success of the filming of a good foundation. This is illustrated by the fact that many of the actors, from the assistant director to the actors, are from the opera industry, such as Zuo Dafenghuang, who plays Guanyin, and Xiang Han, who plays the Black Bear Monster, who Yang Jie met at the Hunan Hunan Opera Troupe. Because of her long history of broadcasting opera, she has established good relationships with various opera troupes across the country. Without the accumulation of this period, Journey to the West would not have been so successful, and there is a source for everything.
Another thing to mention is that in 1979, Yang Jie and Deng Zaijun of the Song and Dance Group directed the CCTV's "Spring Festival Literary and Artistic Gala", which was the first Spring Festival Gala of CCTV in the true sense of the word, and maybe it was because of Yang Jie's character or for other reasons that the CCTV selectively ignored the Gala later on.
Three, spring, autumn, winter and summer sweet and sour "Journey to the West"
After the reform and opening up, the CCTV began to shoot a long-running TV series program. Yang Jie is very enthusiastic about this, but she is in the theater group can only look at the drama group Wang Fulin to shoot a TV series.
Yang Jie, who did not want to give up, found a way to shoot a TV series called "Taoist in Laoshan", which was her first attempt to shoot a TV series and a brave exploration. Yang Jie also mastered the skills of shooting spells through the TV series, and the star of the show, Cai Yuge, later starred in "Journey to the West" as the goat-horned immortal.
But as a result of the filming of this drama, Yang Jie was once again criticized by her superiors, as she was already firmly set as the director of the opera group, and her report submitted for the filming of "Female Xiu Cai" was later put on hold.
Yang Jie, who was not willing to do so, planned an even bolder plan, that is, to make an opera version of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," which would be a serialized version of the famous Three Kingdoms plays on the Peking Opera stage, and I think if this plan can be carried out, it would be no less significant than the "Journey to the West," but unfortunately, Yang Jie's report was still sinking in the sea.
Just then, the higher-ups issued instructions to prepare for the filming of a TV series on China's four traditional masterpieces, Wang Fulin submitted a report on the filming of Dream of the Red Mansion in high spirits, while Yang Jie submitted a transfer report at this time, she was desperate to be able to film a TV series.
Hong Minsheng, the newly appointed deputy director of CCTV and director of the Arts and Culture Department, changed everything, and under his leadership, CCTV's decision-makers finally decided that Wang Fulin would shoot "Dream of Red Mansions" and Yang Jie would shoot "Journey to the West". When the news came out, it shook the whole station, including Yang Jie herself, who was shocked by the happiness.
Yang Jie, director of the film "Journey to the West" process has been introduced in many articles, I will not repeat here. What I would like to mention is the trials and tribulations that director Yang Jie went through during the filming.
Beyond the filming process of camping around, the pressure from the upper echelons of the Yang Jie is more than enough, she has always been in the midst of repeated trials and tribulations stiff-necked to adhere to their own principles, for which she offended a large group of people, but for the "Journey to the West" she fought through.
Some people have asked that Journey to the West be equipped with a panel of advisers like Dream of the Red Chamber, but Yang Jie declined in a pragmatic manner.
Some people reported that Yang Jie led the crew of "Journey to the West" to travel around the mountains, which led to the slow progress of the shooting, but Yang Jie ignored it. Until the higher-ups sent a joint investigation team to the crew to follow the actual shooting for a period of time, the investigation team leaders gave the "Journey to the West" crew a high evaluation and approved funds and new equipment, the report has become a help.
An expert accused the title song and theme song of "Journey to the West" of being inappropriate and wanted to replace them wholesale, but Yang Jie did not hesitate to offend her superiors with a long and sharp rebuttal, which ultimately preserved these classic musical works.
The most dangerous moment for the cast and crew of Journey to the West was in 1986, when Journey to the West, which had just finished eleven episodes, was asked by its superiors to interrupt filming and end it directly. The entire cast and crew argued to no avail, and ultimately relied on the cast and crew themselves to raise funds to get the three million dollars to pay for it. The reason for China Railway Bureau 11's sponsorship was that "Journey to the West" was so good that they hoped they could continue to make better episodes. The audience's affirmation is the biggest motivation, but unfortunately, due to the increase in cost, the original thirty episodes of Journey to the West ended up with only twenty-five episodes.
During the six years of filming of Journey to the West, Yang Jie herself paid a big price. Her youngest daughter was left unattended in Beijing, where she dallied around, and was diagnosed by quacks with medication that almost led to dementia, and Yang Jie was forced to allow her daughter to give up her studies and follow the crew to learn make-up, and it can be said that Journey to the West changed the girl's destiny.
For Yang Jie, the biggest chill came after the huge success of Journey to the West. With all the episodes of Journey to the West on air, Yang Jie was kicked out of the crew by the relevant leaders, which directly led to a lot of information as well as the loss of props scattered, a man-made artistic disaster. Director Yang Jie later said that ten years of not watching "Journey to the West" is exactly from here, that is her heart and soul, but suddenly became irrelevant.
The eyes of the masses are discerning, and in 1988, among the top ten TV directors of the new era, director Yang Jie was ranked first with more than 95 percent of the vote, overriding such famous directors as Lin Ruwei and Wang Fulin. She, an opera director, was also finally recognized by all in the field of TV drama.
Four, do not change the original intention to continue to create without forgetting the original intention
"Journey to the West" has achieved great success, Yang Jie's TV drama director's road but did not embark on the fast lane, she then ten years of filming of the "Sima Qian", "Zhu Yuanzhang" and "Xishi" and other TV dramas are still bumpy, these dramas are without exception in the artistry of the recognition of many, but in the market is very difficult to get recognition.
Sadly, Yang Jie was also cheated by unscrupulous businessmen in order to raise funds for the cast of "Sima Qian," but in the pursuit of art, Yang Jie never changed her mind and didn't bow to difficulties, and despite the thorns along the way, she still managed to complete the filming of these TV dramas.
The heavens will not disappoint those who work hard, Yang Jie finally got the chance to shoot the sequel to "Journey to the West" ten years later, although the best time to shoot has long been missed, but in any case, Yang Jie director to his "Journey to the West" is considered to be a successful conclusion.
After filming the sequel to "Journey to the West," director Yang Jie was finally able to take it easy in the days that followed, and she was honored with the title of Most Influential Director of China's Glorious Thirty Years of Television Drama in 2008, which was the greatest recognition of her career.
Beginning in 2013 Yang Jie published two consecutive autobiographies, "Dare to Ask Where the Road Leads" and "My Ninety-Nine and Eighty-One Difficulties," the latter of which was comparatively more comprehensive and sharply written.2017 Yang Jie walked out of her life, and her funeral was very grand.
To summarize Yang Jie's life, I believe that throughout her life is two words, straight. She never knew what it meant to protect herself and to beg for perfection, and her original words were "I can work hard, but I don't complain"!
Because of her straightforwardness, she has suffered many blows and tribulations in her life, and also because of her straightforwardness, she is able to stick to the principles of being a human being and doing art, and take responsibility for herself and her works. In today's world of office chicken soup, Yang Jie's straightforward style is even more precious. She is a person with a capital letter.