''Ji Gong'' () is a 1985 Chinese

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

television series directed by Zhang Ge, and starring

You Benchang You Benchang (; born 16 September 1933) is a Chinese actor. You is noted for his roles as Ji Gong in the television series ''Ji Gong'', which earned him a Best Actor Award at the 4th Golden Eagle Awards. Early life and education You was born ...

and Lü Liang as the "Mad Monk"

Ji Gong Ji Gong (, 22 December 1130 – 16 May 1209), born Li Xiuyuan and also known as "Chan Master Daoji" () was a Chan Buddhist monk who lived in the Southern Song. He purportedly possessed supernatural powers, which he used to help the poor and st ...

, a popular Chinese folklore figure from the

Southern Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(1127 – 1279).

Synopsis

Production

The character Ji Gong took inspiration from a popular Chinese folklore figure

from the

. You Benchang stated that Ji Gong is heavily influenced by

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

silent film maestro. "First it is very humorous and comedic. Secondly it sincerely advocates sincerity, kindness and beauty. However, it does not ruthlessly beat the false and the evil but instead educates them, making them realize their faults and helping them to amend them. It is full of love and mercy, not only to human beings but to all creatures. It shows that everything can be taught to be good……Chaplin very much as he has taught me a lot about

mime Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Message ...

." He said.

Critical reception

The television series received positive reviews. In 1985, streets in towns and cities across China are expected to empty soon as people gather in front of televisions to watch the hot TV series. The series has been replayed many times in the years since.

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ji Gong 1985 Chinese television series debuts Shenmo television series Television series set in the Southern Song Mandarin-language television shows

Synopsis

Production

Critical reception

Awards and nominations

See also

References