Shang Jing liked this work photo of him and “Wulin Gaiden” starring very much, and once washed it out and put it on the conference table in his studio.
For a long time, director Shang Jing’s name was associated with the sitcom “Wulin Biography” and a group of martial arts “weirds” at Tongfu Inn in the play. There was such a work photo on the conference table in his studio. In the photo, Shang Jing was sitting in the middle of the Taishi chair, flanked by Mo Xiaobei and Lv Xiucai holding a ledger. Behind him, Bai Zhantang was carrying a teapot, Tong Xiangyu Holding the fan, Guo Furong held a good wine and showed a signature smile, Zhu Wushuang held up two strings of red peppers, Xing Caitou, Yan Xiaoliu, and Li Dazui also made their own moves. This photo was taken during the filming of the show. Shang Jing liked it very much, so he washed it out and enlarged it. Later, when the studio moved, this photo was taken away by him.
“Wulin Biography” was filmed in 2005 and premiered on CCTV 8 in 2006. Shang Jing remembered that people were not optimistic about this sitcom at that time – it had no big scenes, big productions, first-line stars, it was full of nonsensical and ghostly plots, it was 80 episodes long, and there was no precedent for success. Unexpectedly, after the broadcast, all the David TVs also sought copyright from CCTV, and they were rebroadcasted on local satellite TVs one after another. Yao Chen, Yan Ni, Sha Yi and others also became famous with the play.
Sixteen years have passed in a flash. Shang Jing stood in the spotlight again because of a file called “Start Broadcasting! Situation Comedy. This is a variety show that claims to “incubate a sitcom that belongs to the 21st century”. As one of the “players”, Shang Jing has to lead the team through layers of PK. Can he be favored by capital and the market and create another sitcom? , depends on the final PK result.
Shang Jing is a person who can sit on the chief advisor team. In addition to “Wulin Biography”, “The Story of the Cooking Class” directed by him is also a classic work of Chinese sitcoms. If Yingda’s first Chinese sitcom “I Love My Family” is a mountain of family sitcoms, Shang Jing’s “Wulin Biography” is another mountain – it pioneered a costume sitcom. What “Wulin Gaiden” wants to talk about is not martial arts, nor rivers and lakes. It just wears the cloak of costume comedy, laughs and curses, and satirizes reality.
Chinese sitcoms emerged in 1993’s “I Love My Family”, and formed a climate in the 2000s, with the birth of “Northeast Family”, “Idle Man Ma”, “The Story of the Cooking Class”, “Wulin Biography” and “Family with Children” as representatives A batch of excellent sitcoms. Since then, with the rise of video sites and short videos, sitcoms have been declining day by day, and they have a tendency to withdraw from the stage of history.
Shang Jing is back on the stage of a sitcom, but times have changed. A generation of viewers is fed by short videos. They are used to being meme, and they can laugh at the beginning; for making people laugh, sitcoms are no longer “just needed”, and there are many generations of talk shows, cross talk and so on. For the capital market, if there are no stars in a drama, there will be no traffic and no highlights. These are all things Shang Jing never experienced when he made “Wulin Biography”. He does not refuse to be flexible, and has been trying to find ways to integrate with reality, but he also insists, “The aesthetics of long dramas, the perception of life, especially the eulogy of truth, goodness, beauty, friendship, love, and family affection are indispensable in life. People. You can’t completely indulge in short stories, if you lose your ability to read and appreciate long dramas, where will the aesthetics and spiritual shaping go?” he said.
When Shang Jing (right) directed “Wulin Biography”, the leading actors Sha Yi (left) and Yan Ni (middle) were not yet famous, and Shang Jing said that he liked “tossing” actors. The photo shows the three of them during filming.
“A life that blends joys and sorrows is the real life”
Southern Weekend:Many people remember you because of “Wulin Gaiden”, which was written in 2006, 16 years ago. Earlier, in 2002, you made China’s first military-themed sitcom “The Story of the Cooking Class.” How did your relationship with sitcoms start?
Jing Shang:The sitcom when I dive in and do it,