Guardian - Blog Posts
“If I can play a monkey and shoot illogical dramas, how difficult can these problems be?”
Words to live by 🥰
I love you, 朱一龙！
Zhu Yilong: No time to swell
EN translation of Zhu Yilong's Esquire Sept 2018 Cover Issue Feature Interview by wenella
朱一龙：我来不及膨胀
Zhu Yilong: No time to swell
ESQ: When did you realise that you became popular?
Zhu Yilong: I was filming (note: My True Friend) so I didn't feel anything... But when I went to record Happy Camp in Changsha, I was shocked to see so many people at the airport. Even the police was mobilised.
ESQ: Your fans praise you for maintaining the integrity of your acting despite a bad script. How did you do it? What do you think of imperfect dramas?
Zhu Yilong: I managed to develop pretty good tolerance over the years. If the script isn't great or is illogical, I will sort out the character's development and his lines to make it better. If not, it will be impossible to act.
ESQ: How do you feel about your previous acting experiences?
Zhu Yilong: How many good dramas are produced in a year now? Good dramas that excite audiences, that are praised by the industry, that feature excellent actors & directors? Probably one drama a year? With such limited good productions, it is hard for actors to land themselves in good roles. In fact, even though many actors are constantly acting in new shows, they rarely get the chance to play a role that they they really want. Well, one can choose to say, "I will not act if it isn’t a role that I like." But if you don’t act, who will approach you with roles in the future? If I didn’t accumulate a decade of acting experiences after graduating, how can I be sure that I will do well when I receive a a good script? Hypothetically, I could have taken up my role in Guardian even as a fresh graduate, but the result would definitely be different.
ESQ: Probably a tricky question; what motivated you to create your role as Savage in Hunting Savage (2011)?
Zhu Yilong: I was quite resistant initially. I thought, a savage? How do I play a savage? When I first started, I felt that I had to sort out the character's story. I was on very good terms with the director and we came to a consensus: let's just have fun. And we did.
ESQ: What did you learn from this experience?
Zhu Yilong: That all actors need experiences like this. It will help to build your resilience. After filming Hunting Savage, I found it easier to face other problems. I mean, what problems? If I can play a monkey and shoot illogical dramas, how difficult can these problems be? Therefore, whenever I encounter any problems with my scripts now, it isn't as devastating as before. I am able to resolve the issues. I have a better mindset and I do not shy away from any difficulties or challenges.
ESQ: Can you share if there were any dramas or roles played by you that were integral in shaping your acting style and approach?
Zhu Yilong: There are three shows. "Family Banquet," "Love for Three Lifetimes," and "The Story of Minglan."
Let’s start with Family Banquet. Feng Douzi’s personality is really different from mine. He is a bad student and all he wants to do is to make money. He sells houses, gets into illegal pyramid schemes; well, he is basically a rascal. I was only a year out of college when I played this character.
Looking back, I was glad that I did it. I can’t possibly do aloof and cool roles all the time. When I acted as Chi Rui in Love for Three Lifetimes, I wasn’t confident as I had very few lines. At that time, audiences often criticized actors for being expressionless. I mean, everyone loves animated and vivid performances, but Chi Rui was written as an aloof, icy, and expressionless character; what could I do about it?
ESQ: So it became a test of your emotional scenes......
Zhu Yilong: Yes, but audiences probably weren't able to understand this. I was very worried during the filming and kept discussing my scenes with the director. In the end, I didn't express Chi Rui's emotions through his facial expressions, but internalized them instead. I took his love & hatred to extremes and differentiated them.
ESQ: How did "The Story of Minglan" impact you?
Zhu Yilong: I tried to do something different in The Story of Minglan; that is, I did not design anything for my character. In the past, I had to be sure of the character’s logic and development before the filming and hence, I'd prepare extensively for my role. This was to ensure that my acting was consistent & logical. But Qi Heng had very limited scenes and the director had full control over the drama's pace. It was hard for me to tell what the eventual result would be like, so I couldn't follow my instinct.
ESQ: So what did you do this time?
Zhu Yilong: I didn't prepare much. When I first joined the set, I kept discussing my role with the director. I asked Director Zhang Kaizhou, "So what do you think of Qiheng?" I trusted him a lot. Director Zhang was very insightful and had a totally different personality from Qi Heng. Thus, he was able to look at this character more objectively. I adjusted my acting according to his demands. And as the filming progressed, I kept reminding myself to be more open-minded.
ESQ: What do you think of the relationship between an actor and good looks?
Zhu Yilong: Firstly, I don't think they contradict one another. There is no correlation between good looks and acting skills. Some genres require actors to look good. If not, it would be hard for the audience to accept them as the character. In film and tv, being good-looking can help an actor enhance the character's charisma, but this is also dependent on how the actor uses his good looks. He can’t behave in a way that impresses on audiences that all he does is to try and look good.
ESQ: You acted in a theatrical adaptation of “Devils on the Doorstep” (Dir. Jiang Wen, 2000) in college?
Zhu Yilong: Yes! I played Er Bozi (Second Neck) and all my lines were in Tangshan dialect. “I have a mouth just like my mum’s; it can’t keep secrets.” The previous version was played by Huang Bo. Several students from my cohort are particularly fond of director Jiang Wen, so we produced a new version.
ESQ: You're different from Jiang Wen. He's more flamboyant than you.
Zhu Yilong: Actually, we are pretty similar. I think flamboyance stems from one’s confidence. If you are like Jiang Wen and made a successful film such as In the Heat of the Sun (1995), you should express yourself confidently; your ideas are probably right as whatever that you say is based on the success of the work. However, if you insist on flaunting despite not having what it takes or if you think that being ignorant is cool, it is impossible for you to gain the recognition of others.
ESQ: Have you ever taken risks in your acting?
Zhu Yilong: I've always taken risks, but not without fear. I think I was a bit more daring when I first started filming. I thought that no one would watch those late-night movies on TV anyway, so I experimented with different acting styles.
ESQ: You’ve picked up some acting techniques by now, such as swallowing fake blood before puking or playing lame by stuffing a rock in your shoe. Why don't you try a smarter method instead? For example., you can get a sense of how it feels to be lame for a few days and you remove the stone from your shoe during the actual filming.
Zhu Yilong: I don't think there are any short cuts to acting. I can definitely try the smarter method. However, after reading the interviews and biographies of foreign actors, I realised that I haven't been able to immerse myself in my role as much as they did. This is something that I hope to achieve. (The former method) may be more harmful for my body, but I feel that it is more meaningful as I get to immerse myself in the character during the filming. If not, what is the point of acting? Using short cuts and techniques? What’s the point?
ESQ: You've played a lot of roles that are very different from yourself. Looking back, do you feel surprised by your performance? Do you feel a sense of accomplishment?
Zhu Yilong: To be honest, those roles aren’t great. I think the characters are rather superficial. Actors can express a range of emotions and play a variety of roles, but it takes a lot more to make a character deep. No actor can play one role today and another role the next day. Every role is contingent on one's experiences; you need to invest time to experience a character’s life.
ESQ: Have you been this sober since you were a kid?
Zhu Yilong: I don't know. In retrospect, it might have something to do with my dad. My dad loves to talk to me about life & values. When I was 13 years old, my dad dragged me into the snow on New Year's Eve and told me that "people need to decide how to lead their entire life." My dad is a loving father; he has never scolded or hit me. Whenever my dad was in a good mood, he’d come to pick me up from school and took me to play games. My mum would chase after us and drag me back home. She’s pretty strict.
ESQ: Your parents treat you very differently.
Zhu Yilong: Yes, I looked better when I was a child. I had curly hair and big eyes. My mum loved to tie my hair into a ponytail, apply red nail polish on my nails, and dress me in skirts or dresses. My dad, who used to practice Sanda, was very upset with my mum over this. He threw me into a Sanda training team as a way of developing my masculinity. Looking back, parental education has a direct impact on a child's development.
ESQ: You said you want life to be simpler, but characters you play to be more complicated. Why?
Zhu Yilong: Because I’m lazy (laughs). Life is so complicated every day. There are so many things to think about, it is tiring. I like a simple life; to keep interactions with people simple. To keep things simple. As for my roles, I like them to be more complicated & layered. I don’t want to play a role that will allow people to predict what will happen to him in the last episode just based on the first.
ESQ: Some people say that your generation of actors debuted at the wrong time.
Zhu Yilong: When we just graduated, the main characters on TV were played by actors such as Sun Honglei and Zhang Jiayi. We could only play their son or younger brother. We didn't have opportunities to play more sophisticated characters as we weren’t senior enough.
And when we finally made it into our 30s to play the roles that we want, audiences seem to prefer very young actors. It is as though we have missed out on something.
ESQ: Do you feel upset?
Zhu Yilong: Not really, I don't think too much about this. I'm neither a young fresh meat nor a veteran actor. If I can't play the role I want, I'll just try something else. I mean, I've played a monkey before, there is nothing that I can’t act, right?
Post translation note: It warms my heart to read a 2018 article and realise how Zhu Yilong has grown closer to his acting goals since then. This interview was probably done in Aug 2018 after Guardian concluded. I like it because it focused a lot on getting Zhu Yilong to express his views on the craft of acting, rather than to answer the usual (and meaningless) questions regarding “high traffic stars” or “idol vs. actor.” Happy reading. If you want to re-translate this thread into another language, pls DM me for permission and credit + share the link to the original post. Thanks!
I feel like I am under attack here...he certainly killed me...no question
My Danmei 耽美 Literary Adventure
Seven Seas Chinese Danmei novels, Notes Masterlist
Some of my favorite books, especially, The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, Stars of Chaos, and Guardian, are now officially in English! Thank you, Seven Seas.
These notes are here to help friends who may not speak Chinese or have enough Chinese cultural background to understand the nuances presented in these works, or are just getting confused with all the different terms of address.
Please forgive me if I have missed anything, and dm or comment if you have anything to add!
魔道祖师 Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation
by MXTX
二哈和他的白猫师尊 The Husky and His White Cat ShiZun
by Meatbun 肉包不吃肉 (Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou)
Usage of the word "Master" vs "Teacher"
How to pronounce people's names (bc it does NOT follow the rules of English pronunciation)
Book Annotations
杀破狼 Stars of Chaos
by Priest
Vol 1-4 are here!
（Volume 5 notes will arrive next.)
镇魂 Guardian
by Priest
Coming eventually :)
It’s accurate.
Watching Guardian like:
I know. I already made one like that.
But it's funny.
Wherein we have a meltdown over just how filthy of a mouth Zhao Yunlan has in the Guardian webnovel, so like, reader beware I guess.
Moggiesandtea: I’m gonna be curious to see what ZYL calls Shen Wei after they’ve hooked up, since he’s been calling him his wife and variants thereof for 70 some chapters
Keep reading
Guess who finally finished reading 镇魂 Guardian!
镇魂 translations etc. masterlist
I was going to put up a masterlist of my translations and then decided I might as well compile a list of all the Guardian 镇魂 novel translations that I know of, so they’re available in one place for your convenient reading. :D This also includes links to some novel meta posts and name/honorific discussion. ♥ to my fellow Guardian fans.
Keep reading
So, I’m getting to the very end of the novel 镇魂 Guardian by Priest, and I know that everyone is super worried that Chaos 混沌 is about to envelop the world, but the more I read, the hungrier I get…
What a difference one radical makes.
Untitled by Ivana Stojakovic Via Flickr: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/istojakovic" rel="nofollow">www.facebook.com/istojakovic</a>
Professor McGonagall
Today is the birthday of Professor McGonagall, our stern but motherly figure while attending Hogwarts, especially for those in her house, Gryffindor. While off topic, as JK Rowling stated she wanted English actors only to portray the Hogwarts students, she also stated that she always wanted Maggie Smith to portray Professor (Minerva) McGonagall who not only played the part but held it as dear to her heart as we do, as she continued to film both Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II.
Professor McGonagall was always a great mother figure to me as she was clearly an independent woman; she was also strict and fair: important qualities for someone who is going to need to guide young wizards, teach, and be a guardian at a boarding school. She was also a role model, maybe not directly as Hermione Granger was, but she taught all of her students (readers included) to stand up for themselves, believe in themselves, and be honest and truthful about yourself, to yourself, and your surroundings.
Some of my best moments with her will always be in regards to Neville, who throughout his years as a students at Hogwarts she repeatedly told him that all he needed was confidence. She further pushed this when after the O.W.L.S. she stood up for him to himself, reminding him that he should be proud of his accomplishments and not base his happiness on his grandmother. With these developments, and her change from guardian to friend as our Hogwarts friends grew older, there was much to admire and adore and want in a personal relationship with Professor McGonagall, all before getting to her history and heartbreak pre-Hogwarts years and her odd relationship with Dumbledore. She was force to be reckoned with, her and her Maggie Smith, and I encourage all to re-read the books and explore her history more to understand how truly Brave, Clever and Kind she was.
OH MY GOODNESS and her AND her patronus was a Cat!!! <3
Last chance!
Tomorrow is the last chance to jump into the August prop raffle on my patreon page! It's only $10 to enter for a chance to win something custom made! https://www.patreon.com/jlinneprops
I just can never get enough of Shen Wei’s wavering control when it comes to Zhao Yunlan
(I got Zhen Hun vol 1 and I read it in three hours I was so excited)
Like, Shen Wei is so obviously obsessed. He stares at Yunlan constantly (as long as Yunlan is not looking). He can’t help but to look back when he leaves Yunlan. Yunlan is sick and Shen Wei helps him home, basically tucks him into bed, and cleans his entire apartment. Shen Wei is absolutely the type of person to smell Yunlan’s clothes-
But my favourite scene is definitely when Shen Wei helps Yunlan drink. Because he does very well! He and Yunlan drink an alcoholic under the table, and Yunlan is really only tipsy, meaning either Shen Wei did all the heavy lifting or Yunlan’s liver is inhumanly quick.
And with being drunk comes Shen Wei completely losing his last threads of sanity. He is a being born from darkness whose hunger can never be sated, and good golly it shows. Him basically trying to eat Yunlan has always been a highlight. The moment Yunlan shows resistance (full resistance instead of just hesitance), Shen Wei full on unpossesses his own body.
I’m fully convinced (I wasn’t on my first two reads, but I am now) that Shen Wei unpossessed himself. He is so talented. His entire body shuts down, Yunlan of course fucking panics, and Yunlan takes three tries to literally summon Shen Wei’s soul back. Man just unpossessed his own body. The body that he is attached to. Shen Wei has never stolen a body, this one is just his, and he manages to unpossess it.
It’s so great. Yunlan told him to stop and, like, he did. He really, really did. He stopped his heart beating and himself breathing and literally being in his own body. 10/10, Shen Wei is so good at following directions.
Yunlan, upon realizing that Shen Wei is the super intimidating, ominously cloaked figure who literally everyone on his team is fucking terrified of and who has worked with him for years and has only been sort of (very) obsessive over Zhao Yunlan: “I should probably stop flirting with him, because it’s a bit awkward.”
Yunlan, approximately five seconds later: “You threw yourself at me while you were drunk. I never knew how much you favoured me.”
Zhao Yunlan is the best character ever. A hot professor acts really weird and is so obviously attracted to him and Yunlan is super into it. Shen Wei treats him like precious glass that cannot be allowed to even get dirty and also like he will die if Yunlan looks at him for too long. Shen Wei tries not to touch him but revels in the warmth left behind. Shen Wei bit him like thirty times because of his conflicting desires to both eat or fuck him. Zhao Yunlan is so fucking confused.
Zhu Hong suggests that Yunlan could sleep with her in lieu of payment and Yunlan is like “Okay :)” (because he thinks it would be nice to not need to have to pay her). Yunlan is openly bi to the point that him flirting with a hot professor surprises literally none of his coworkers (they just tease him because it’s funny).
Yunlan is positive that Shen Wei is attracted to him, because obviously Shen Wei is? Yunlan isn’t being vain or overly confident, Shen Wei literally caught him while he was falling off of the school roof and tended to his light scrape like it was Yunlan’s arm coming off. Shen Wei is so obviously attracted to Yunlan, but at the same time tries desperately not to show it. Zhao Yunlan is so confused. He is bummed when Shen Wei declines to meet with him and even more bummed when Shen Wei tells him he doesn’t want to go out with him and he is also baffled because he woke up to find Shen Wei literally watching him sleep less than a week later.
If I was Zhao Yunlan, I would also be confused.
Zhao Yunlan also is great because he’s the world’s best detective who comes up with half-baked theories and tricks people (well, mostly Shen Wei and Da Qing) into admitting he’s right. He cannot stand how useless Guo Changcheng is, but Guo Changcheng is his little good luck charm and he will be bringing him everywhere. Wang Zheng tries to die and he berates her like a little kid. The Emissary sends a spooky little guy to keep Yunlan from continuing forward, and Yunlan can’t bring himself to knock it aside, so he just steps over it. When it follows him, he eventually just picks it up. When it gets scared, he lets it hide in Clarity (his watch). He is disrespectful to the very idea of gods. He is unintimidated by the Emissary who literally everyone else is terrified of. He burns incense for the little messenger even though he didn’t have to.
There were some (a lot of) parts I didn’t really get, even during my second read. However, this translation makes a lot of sense! The underworld folk are fucking terrified of Shen Wei. Shen Wei is overpowered and answers to nobody and his very presence as the Emissary is enough to make most ghosts run and hide. They are so scared. Shen Wei is getting worse. If Shen Wei goes rogue, literally nobody can stop him.
Man, if only that mountain god, the one being in the entirety of history that Shen Wei was willing to listen to, was still around.
(They decide to get that mountain god back.)
Honestly, them wanting Yunlan to remember makes a lot more sense than whatever I thought they were doing the first two times I read it. They just need someone to hold Shen Wei’s leash, and they couldn’t have known that Zhao Yunlan is literally the worst possible choice for that.
(Zhao Yunlan doesn’t even care when Shen Wei tears his shirt (apparently with fucking claws) or bites him and he really doesn’t care what the Emissary does as long as Shen Wei lets him get his baby Wang Zheng back first. The mountain god, from what I recall, was more amused by Shen Wei’s darker tendencies than anything else. There is no one worse to hope will control Shen Wei, because there is no one else who is as willing as Zhao Yunlan is to sleep with the most powerful, uncontrollable being in metaphorical Hell.)
I’ll give them points for trying, but really, they didn’t do a very good job picking. I mean, there was literally no other option, but still. Shen Wei who retains some degree of his self control vs Shen Wei who is feral over Yunlan is a pretty obvious choice.
All in all, I love Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei. Yunlan thinks he might be coming on too strong, meanwhile Shen Wei would probably collect Yunlan’s hair if he thought he could get away with it. Shen Wei knows where Yunlan lives and lives nearby, he works in the same city, and he has stalked seen Yunlan on cases before, meanwhile Yunlan’s worst crime is sullying the professor in his head. I love them. They’re perfect for each other.