You Benchang (; born 16 September 1933) is a Chinese actor. You is noted for his roles as

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 ...

in the television series ''

'', which earned him a Best Actor Award at the

4th Golden Eagle Awards The 4th Golden Eagle Awards were held May 9, 1986, in Fuzhou, Fujian province.第四届电视金鹰奖
C ...

Early life and education

You was born in Taizhou,

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

on September 16, 1933, and primarily studied in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

and

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

. When he was a child, a fortune teller said that he could not live to be 13 years old unless he became a monk. So when he was 6 years old, his parents sent him to Fazang Temple () in Shanghai, where he received ordination as a monk under Master Xingci (). And he got the

dharma name A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The nam ...

"Chengpei" (). In 1951, You joined the Nanjing Song and Dance Troupe after high school. You entered Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1952, majoring in acting.

Career

After graduating in 1956 he was assigned to the

National Theatre Company of China The National Theater of China or National Theater Company of China (), based in Beijing, is China's national theatrical company, founded on December 25, 2001 with the merger of China National Youth Theater () and China National Experimental Theat ...

as an actor. You joined the Chinese Dramatists Association in 1980. In 1984, You performed a famous

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

named ''Shower'' () in the annual

CCTV New Year's Gala The ''CCTV New Year's Gala'', also known as the ''Spring Festival Gala'', and commonly abbreviated in Chinese as ''Chunwan'', is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Media Group (CMG). It is broadcast annually on the eve of Chinese Ne ...

. You first rose to prominence in 1986 for playing

in the television series ''

''. The series reached number one in the ratings when it aired in China. In 2009, You had a minor role as Tang Pangzi in '' The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman'', which starred Masanobu Andō as Yaba. You participated in many films, such as ''

Reign of Assassins ''Reign of Assassins'' is a 2010 ''wuxia'' film directed by Su Chao-pin and co-directed by John Woo. The film is shot in China and set during the Ming Dynasty. The film stars Michelle Yeoh, who plays an assassin who tries to return to a normal li ...

'', '' The University Days of a Dog'', and '' Painted Skin: The Resurrection''. In 1994, You founded the Beijing Benchang Movie & TV Cultural Co., Ltd. On July 28, 2009, You became a monk at the Great Light Temple, in

Suifenhe Suifenhe () is a county-level city in southeastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, located where the former Chinese Eastern Railway crosses the border with Russia's town of Pogranichny, Primorsky Krai. In January 2014, ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a Provinces of China, province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is th ...

. In 2021, he made a guest appearance as a Buddhist monk on the

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

''Lie Detector''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:You, Benchang 1933 births People from Taizhou, Jiangsu Shanghai Theatre Academy alumni Male actors from Jiangsu Living people Chinese male television actors Chinese male film actors