11.29 Begin - English Translation of Gong Jun’s book
In January 2019, Gong Jun wrote and self-published a book titled 11.29 Begin, with sales from the book going to charity. The book is currently out of print but at that time, he wasn’t very popular yet so he didn’t actually manage to sell many copies, so he quietly donated the projected sales in advance out of his own pocket — 150,000 yuan (about US$23,000). The money went to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (中国扶贫基金会), funding school kitchens for four schools in Sichuan, and fans only noticed because the organisation tagged him in their thank you message. Gong Jun also made the donation under “俊味仙” — the name for his fans.
There are seven chapters plus a preface and afterword, with each chapter talking a bit about the seven projects he had done up to that point, as well as stories about himself and some of his thoughts about life. Gong Jun has said that he doesn’t intend to reprint the book because it has fulfilled its purpose, although he may do similar charity projects in future. I have translated his text but I won’t be posting the photos from the book (also because there are 190 pages in this book ^^;).
Please do not repost my translation anywhere else, including other platforms like twitter and Instagram. If you want to quote parts of it, please link back to me or at least give credit. And if you feel inspired by his book and have the means, perhaps you can consider making a donation to a fund for needy students on his behalf.
Preface
Life is like a long, meandering journey. On the way, many beautiful sights [1] may pass you by, and you can choose to go with the flow or go against it, admiring the scenery along the way and enjoying the freedom, unfettered by limitations. Life is also like a movie, with a rousing opening, ups and downs in the story, and at the end you come away with an understanding of how wonderful the whole process has been and a love for life.
If I could, I would like to just get a backpack and take to the road, so I can feel the wind on my face; travelling throughout the four seasons, admiring the scenery along the way and enjoying the glow of freedom.
If I could, I would like to take a leisurely stroll along the side of a lake, quietly savouring the feeling of not having a care in the world. I would watch movies in the afternoon, taking in the breadth of human experience, and appreciate the joy of being alive.
The hustle and bustle of the city brings its own unique drive and passion. Caught up in this busyness and activity, I often ponder: What kind of person am I? What version of “me” do I want to become? How can I become the version of “me” that I want to become? When I think of things like that out of the blue, it makes me feel like a profound philosopher; and then, poof, I’ll laugh at myself. I never thought I would write a book for myself one day. Before I started writing, the mental draft of things that I wanted to write about would probably have used up countless post-it notes. Suddenly, I discovered that I was more prone to rambling than I’d expected. But when I actually put pen to paper, I didn’t know what to say. Anyway, I hope that from the sparse and simple prose in this book, you can feel the real me, the “me” just the way that I am.
And then, in the unknown future that lies ahead, I hope that even as I pursue my aspirations, I will always remember my original intentions. I hope I can face every unexpected acquaintance and long-awaited meeting with sincerity.
Two years ago, I left Shanghai and came to Beijing. It was an unfamiliar city, a completely new environment, and there’s a vast difference between the north and south (where I’m from). Along the way, I’ve seen different sides to myself, and at different stages and circumstances I’ve experienced love and friendship, as well as setbacks and pain. Still, from the bottom of my heart, I am grateful for all the people I’ve met and experiences I’ve had along the way.
After playing these characters, I’ve discovered that acting is truly a Pandora’s box. In every character, I’ve found a different side of me. I like the rich inner worlds and the unique soul in every character. They are the only ones who will always be with me for every next stage of my journey.
Life is not a grand banquet of material things, but a polishing of the soul, so that when the curtains fall the soul shines brighter than it did at the beginning when the curtains rose. For example, my favourite singer, Li Ronghao-laoshi, whose soul blossoms with the spirit of all things; he can write a whole song by himself and I can feel the power in the melody and the truth in the lyrics, all of which resonate in my heart. I may be just a fledgling in my career as an actor, but I am willing to work ten times, a hundred times harder, to create a character with a soul. That way, I won’t let myself down, I won’t let the years of my youth down, and I won’t let all of you down.
I would like to dedicate this book, 11.29 Begin, to myself at the age of 26, as well as to the interesting souls I admire.
[1] The phrase he used was 十里春风; literally translated to “ten li of spring scenery”, originating from the poem 《赠别·其一 (Presented at Parting, Part One) 》by Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu.
–
Chapter One
I’ve chosen what I love, so I should love what I’ve chosen. I’ve always wanted to be an actor.
Advance Bravely
Advance Bravely (盛势) is an adaptation of a novel by Chai Ji Dan (柴鸡蛋). Before I was casted in Advance Bravely, I had not read any of Chai-laoshi’s novels. Because the process between accepting the role and starting filming had been very rushed, I didn’t have the chance to read the script properly, so I thought it was simply a drama with two male leads. To better understand the character I was playing, Xia Yao, I decided to read the original novel. My first reaction was: “Wah! This is going too far!” So I was quite resistant at first.
I’ve forgotten where I came across this, but later I read this piece of advice: “I’ve chosen what I love, so I should love what I’ve chosen.” It was truly enlightening. Since I’ve chosen acting as a career, I should be passionate about every role that I play, imbuing every character with a soul and sense of self. That is my job. After that, I loosened up a lot and was less inhibited on set, which also lessened my mental stress. Only by letting go of my self-consciousness can I find my character’s sense of self.
This was not only my first time working with a proper filming crew, but also my first time taking on a role that had so many scenes. Xia Yao is the pivotal character in all the drama’s storylines. At first, I had a hard time coping with the number of scenes I had to film every day, but gradually I got the hang of it. In every production, everyone in the cast and crew are working hard together to present the best work to the audience.
The experience of filming the fight scenes and the scenes in the rain remain vivid in my mind. The martial arts instructors were very patient with me when they taught me the moves and techniques, including wrestling and sprinting under the machines making artificial rain. Previously, I had seen such scenes in the movies and they always looked so cool. Now that I’ve experienced the process of filming them, I realise that it takes a lot of hard work from the cast and crew to complete a scene like that.
We filmed this drama in Tianjin in summer. The weather was really hot and there were a lot of mosquitoes; we would not have survived without fans and a lot of insect repellant. Even the winter scenes were filmed in summer, and I had to wear heavy winter clothing and walk under the blistering sun at 37–38°C temperatures. At that time, I was suffering from an allergic reaction on the skin at the back of my neck, and it was then that I realised that being an actor really isn’t easy.
Xia Yao really enjoys his food, so I had a lot of scenes where I had to eat. I’m also someone who enjoys food so I was really happy until I actually had to film the scenes. Almost all the scenes that involved eating were scheduled on the same days, and in every scene I had to eat a lot to accommodate the various shots from different angles and camera positions, and I did so many takes that I had to keep eating and eating. By the time we wrapped, I had put Xia Yao’s favourite food, lotus root filled with glutinous rice, on my blacklist. I never want to see that dish again in my life, haha.
To get closer to the character of Xia Yao, when I’d finished filming my scenes for the day, I’d go for roller-blading and boxing lessons. As a result, I only had a few hours of sleep every day, and I felt like I was fighting in a war. I considered giving up a few times, but in the end I managed to pull through, not wanting to let everyone else down and waste all the effort that we had already put in. When I finally saw the finished product and saw that the accumulation of every day’s hard work had been woven into a story with such emotion and spirit, it solidified my passion and aspirations for acting as a career.
Acting is not just a job but a career I love
Before becoming an actor, I knew nothing about it. Now, I think that while you might be able to find a succinct definition of the job in the dictionary, what being an actor entails is so much more than that. Acting (as a profession) is like the rains of the south, constantly changing throughout the four seasons – sometimes a roaring storm and sometimes a gentle drizzle, bold and exciting, elegant and obstinate, always bringing anticipation and imagination, and giving one the kind of energy that seeps into your soul. An actor’s every performance can take your breath away with their mastery of their skill. Whether one is playing the mightiest hero or the most mild-mannered scholar, each character has their own emotional journey and soul.
I love acting. I love being able to experience different life stories through each character, I love the metamorphosis of every character that I bring to life. I love it, and I enjoy every moment of it.
In a life filled with trivial things, acting has become my dream, my aspiration, and where my heart lies. As Stephen King wrote in Shawshank Redemption, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” For me, right now, that’s what my love for acting means to me. No matter how big the challenge, I will face it bravely.
–
“Life is a train to the grave. There will be many stops along the way, and it is difficult for someone to accompany you from the beginning to the end. When someone who is with you has to get off the train, you should say ‘thank you’ even if you find it hard to let go. Then wave goodbye.”
一 Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki
–
Chapter Two
The process of growing up is like a thief of time; it will steal the things you’ve been dependent on, the things you’ve been holding onto all your life.
Love Lost in Times
Love Lost in Times (醉玲珑) was my first costume drama, so I had to learn a lot of things, including horseback riding, archery, chess and so on. One particular scene filmed mainly in Dunhuang required many shots of me riding a horse, but I had zero experience with horses. It took me almost a whole day to learn how to ride a horse, but they told me I was a pretty fast learner, and I was quite gleeful about that – maybe I have some talent in this area.
I played the role of the eleventh prince, Yuan Ji, or as you all like to call him, “the scary protector of his brother". In the drama, he is brave and loyal, protecting his fourth brother in every way, obeying everything he says, and aiding him in everything he does. Yuan Ji is also pretty devoted in his romantic relationships, doting on Cai Qian. But the reality on set was that everyone was taking care of me. The director guided me on filming techniques, and Wai-ting-ge (William Chan Wai-ting) shared his years of experience with me. As a newcomer to costume drama, every time I couldn’t get into the right headspace, everyone helped me get into character, feeding lines to me off-camera, practising lines with me, and teaching me how to be more natural. I remember there was a scene in which three characters were playing against each other and I couldn’t get into the right headspace. We must have had to do more than ten takes because of me, but the director didn’t blame me. Instead, he guided me patiently, talking through the emotional beats of the scene so that I could get into the character’s headspace more easily, and Wai-ting-ge was there to feed me my lines. It made me feel that the whole cast and crew was like a big family, bringing together a lot of loving and caring people who helped each other like family.
My company is the best gift that I can give my family
There is an old saying: while your parents are still alive, do not travel far.
My parents were always there for me while I was growing up, and now that I’ve grown up, my biggest wish is to take my parents travelling and show them the world. But as an actor, free time is hard to come by. Whenever I do have time between projects, I’ll bring my family out for a spin, taking them to try out food places and shops that have been highly recommended online, and touring famous landmarks and scenic views with them. What’s important is that I’m there to hold their hands.
The moon is always brighter at home [2]
One of my friends shared this quote in our group chat: “I went through so many examinations, but all I got for it was having to leave home, never getting to spend the spring or autumn with my family, only the fleeting winter and summer.” [3]
Going to university was my first taste of separation from my family. I was born in Chengdu, grew up in Chengdu, and I’d never left it before then. On the day that I left, I took the last possible flight out. Behind me were my parents, reluctant to see me go and filled with worry; in front of me lay the university life that I’d been looking forward to. I was suddenly aware that I stood at a turning point in my life. I would no longer have my nagging but loving parents by my side, and I would have to grow into my best self independently, taking responsibility for myself. The two-and-a-half-hour flight brought me to a foreign city. There were none of the familiar little shops that I’d visited every week, none of the internet cafes that I’d frequented when I was playing truant from school, none of all my decade-old “secret bases”.
After I started university, I seldom had the opportunity to spend the mid-autumn festival at home, and after I graduated I didn’t even get to go home many times in a year. Over time, I began to really feel the accumulation of all those mid-autumn festivals and other festivities that I hadn’t had the chance to celebrate with my family. Like my favourite Dongzikou Zhang’s cold noodles and Liaoji Laoma’s pig trotters from the alleyways of Chengdu, all these have become things that I can only experience in my memories.
[2] This is a line from 《月夜憶舍弟 (Thinking of My Younger Brothers on a Moonlit Night)》, a poem by Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu.
[3] These are lyrics from the song 《我的大学 (My University)》. Both the spring festival (the Lunar New Year) and the mid-autumn festival are important celebrations of reunion and family in Chinese culture.
–
Chapter Three
I have come to join this celebration of youth that I’ve heard so much about, pulling aside the curtains to face the unknown with excitement and enthusiasm; embracing it, protecting it.
The spin-off
Love Lost in Times (醉玲珑) and Exquisite Drunken Dream (玲珑醉梦) were filmed at the same time, one after the other, so we managed to keep the same cast for both projects. Because we’d all been working together for a while, we were all very fond of each other and comfortable with each other, and at the later stages we were even confident enough to make suggestions to the director.
Exquisite Drunken Dream is mainly about the eleventh prince and Cai Qian. Xu Muchan and I had gotten to know each other well after Love Lost in Times and we’re very good friends in real life. She’s from Dongbei, so when we’re chatting, sometimes she’ll unconsciously say something in Dongbei dialect so I ended up picking up some of it from her. Sometimes I still slip into Dongbei dialect! I remember reading a joke from somewhere, that if there’s someone from Dongbei living in your dormitories, after a week you’ll all become people from Dongbei. It looks like the Dongbei dialect really does have that power, and Xu Muchan definitely has plenty of the generosity and charm typical of the people from Dongbei.
We had a lot of fun filming Exquisite Drunken Dream and we were more relaxed on set so we were more daring about trying out new things in the scenes that would not have been possible in the main series. There were a lot of characters in Love Lost in Times and every character had a very fulfilling storyline, so we didn’t want to suggest too many of our own changes in case it messed up the big picture story arc. But because Exquisite Drunken Dream revolves around the eleventh prince and Cai Qian, we were more daring about suggesting quirks for our own characters to make them come alive, and contributed more of our own opinions on our performances. That was a new experience for me.
To my beloved friends
I am thankful for the new friends I make from every project, and I’m grateful to have them in my life.
I make friends quite easily. As long as we get along and are comfortable with each other, friendship is as simple as sharing stories over a round of drinks, and being open and relaxed around each other is the most important.
Actually, a lot of my friends are very similar to me in terms of personality, and we share similar interests. Our interactions are simple and casual. I don’t really have many hobbies or interests – playing video/computer games, going to the gym, cooking. I live quite near two of my friends from university, so we’ll play games together, they’ll let me borrow their gym membership cards, and I’ll cook for them. It might not be much, but it makes me happy.
I have passed through your world countless times
Many people will appear and bloom in your life, bringing joy and laughter, while many others will leave, sometimes forever, bringing pain and regret. Time passes quickly, and those who pass through my world must have had a special bond of fate with me.
At the end of every project, I will feel melancholic for a while. The end of a project means we will have to say goodbye to each other, and separation means eventually becoming distant to each other. But because I have put in time and effort into every relationship, I don’t want these relationships to fade over time.
On set, everyone treats me like a younger brother, and the time we spent together remains vivid in my mind – shooting scenes together, memorising our lines together, eating together, playing games together, and chatting about everything and anything together. The happy and busy times pass so quickly and before I know it, it’s time to say goodbye and end this brief time together. With reluctance, gratitude and stammered words of farewell, everyone heads off on their next journey.
–
“I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way. You see, the world looks very different up here… Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way. Even though it may seem silly or wrong, you must try.”
“Seize the day… Carpe Diem.”
一 Dead Poets Society
–
Chapter Four
When you are faced with obstacles, chew through them carefully like you would chew your food. Life is something you have to digest slowly on your own.
Fantasy Westward Journey
Fantasy Westward Journey (梦幻西游) is a classic game that a lot of us played for many years, a unique memory from our youth. I was a fan of the game too and I was really excited when I found out I was going to be in this drama [4]. As an avid gamer, getting to play the main character in the game world is usually the kind of dream you have after gaming all night, but this dream came true for me.
I joined the production team with great anticipation and excitement. All the mountains, rivers, and valleys that I had visited in the game world were represented by green screens on set, and the ever-changing fantastical abilities of the characters would only be added in with CGI in post-production. It was extremely challenging for me at that time to act with no physical guides. The actors were surrounded by green cloth and had to find their own sightlines, camera angles, and position markers.
Because the story would alternate between the historical fantasy setting of the game world and modern day setting of the real world, the actors had to adjust their performances and speech patterns accordingly. In the game world, we had to speak in a more elegant manner, while the dialogue in modern scenes were done in casual everyday speech. A lot of the scenes played on the juxtaposition and switching between these two settings. I learnt a lot through this production, including new acting techniques.
The ten-thousand-year love affair between Chengdu people and hotpot
Chengdu people like to take life at a leisurely pace – it is our attitude to life and things that come our way. I was born and raised in Chengdu, and like the people of my hometown, I enjoy a comfortable and relaxed lifestyle but that doesn’t mean that I’ll overindulge in it. The best way to demonstrate the characteristics of Chengdu people is probably in the spirit of the way we eat hotpot. In Chengdu, eating hotpot is all about the mood and feelings it inspires. Slow cooking brings out the unique flavours and reminds us to savour life. Every ingredient dipped however briefly in the soup stock makes us realise that every chance meeting adds to the rich tapestry of our lives, and the bubbling soup mimics the ups and downs that we must experience in life.
To fully experience Chengdu’s spirit of hotpot-eating, you must of course eat it with both the “ma” (numbing) and “la” (spiciness) flavours. There are hotpot restaurants everywhere you go, and all of them are imbued with the same spirit. You can cook tens of thousands of ingredients of every variety in the same hotpot, and that is how you understand the tolerance and open-mindedness of the people of Chengdu.
I’ve loved eating hotpot since I was a child – I don’t know if I was born with a taste for it, or it was something inculcated by my family. When I was young, my family ran a business and there was a hotpot restaurant near the factory. I ate there very frequently, basically every other day. The owner of the restaurant was very friendly with my family, and I ate there so often that I was practically like their foster son!
Eat more, my friends, life is short!
In many households, the mother is the one who is capable both in and out of the kitchen and the father just sits in the living room soaking his feet and watching TV. But in my family, my dad takes care of everything in the household, and he also has a special skill – he’s a really good cook. When I was a kid, my mother and paternal grandmother would always play assistant to my father and paternal grandfather in the kitchen. One of my most heart-warming memories from childhood was that after walking home from school every day at noon, my grandfather would have my lunch ready and he would be waiting for me at home. I liked to watch TV while I ate, so my grandfather would mix the sauce from the dishes in my rice before bringing me my meal, and if I ate well he would chuckle and pat me on the head. In my memory, my grandfather’s hands were very large and warm. [5]
When I was young, my family had a small factory, and the cook at the factory cafeteria was a really good cook. When I had nothing to do during the summer holidays, I would go and watch him cook and I learnt a lot of cooking techniques from him. Most of the dishes I know how to cook are Sichuan cuisine, and the finished products are all pretty presentable. The first time I cooked was during the Lunar New Year – I cooked a full table of dishes for my family, and although it’s so long ago that I don’t remember how the food tasted, I still remember the pleased smiles on the faces of my family members. Probably because of the affirmation I received when I was young, I have always taken great delight in cooking, so I often cook for my friends and colleagues. When I’m at home and not away filming, my house is basically their communal dining hall.
With a messy kitchen, a dining table laden with piping hot dishes, and three to five friends getting together with laughter and jokes, even being in the big city of Beijing doesn’t feel so lonely anymore.
[4] This drama series was filmed in 2017 but put on the back-burner for a long time. After the success of Word of Honour, it was eventually released in April 2021 under the title The Player (指尖少年). Gong Jun is also currently the new spokesperson for the PC version of the game.
[5] Gong Jun’s paternal grandfather passed away in 2015, four years before the publication of this book.
–
Chapter Five
No longer wandering aimlessly along this limitless and boundless path to growing up, but seeking victory through experiences, finding a direction, and always searching.
Art On!
Art On! (艺术生) [6] is a coming-of-age drama series about youthful inspiration, with art students as its main characters. As an art student myself, I really empathised with the challenges the characters faced working towards the university entrance exams/auditions.
Dance is the second most important skill that all art students have to learn, but for someone like me with very bad physical coordination, it was a real challenge. Before we began filming, all the actors went for about half a month of classes. The different stretching exercises were a nightmare for me, but I gritted my teeth and bore with the pain for half a month. Filming Art On! was like reliving my days as an art student in university. Other than the dance classes that I couldn’t get the hang of, everything else was more or less familiar to me, so it was much easier to get into the role.
The straight-A student with a guilty conscience
Other than the dance practices, another challenge I faced for this role was having to understand how it felt to be a straight-A student. In the drama, my character is an all-rounder and high achiever with perfect grades, but in real life I’m the complete opposite. I think most guys don’t like studying when they’re young – this is my personal opinion, and maybe I’m just giving myself excuses for my poor results. Anyway, there are always many outstanding students in school, but I was never one of them.
I’ve never stressed myself about school. The classroom was the best place for naps and internet cafes were my favourite haunt. I slept during classes and only woke up to play computer/video games after school, and sometimes I’d even play truant so that I could spend more time playing games. Before I started preparing for my university entrance exams/auditions, I had probably never put in any real effort in my studies. It was only after I became an art student that I decided that it was time to put in some effort towards my own life.
An accidental occurrence
The university entrance examinations are an extremely stressful period, an army of thousands trying to cross a bridge made from a single plank. By the time I realised that I would actually have to study to get into university, it felt like it was already too late. But sometimes life is like that – just when you’ve given up hope, the gods will give you a bit of candy.
One completely ordinary afternoon, three teachers came to visit our class. After one week of observations, one of the teachers pointed at me and said, “Could you please step out.” Just like that, the door to the examinations/auditions for art students was open to me. I worked hard to learn the skills needed for the auditions, and every day was rewarding, happy, but also very tiring. Fortunately, I soon received the acceptance letter for Donghua University in Shanghai.
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if the teachers hadn’t walked into my class that day, or if I had played truant again and hadn’t been in school? What would my life be like now?
Youth, in all its glory
There’s a song that goes, “Youth is a journey where you may stumble and fall, but when you look back on it, there’s beauty in it” [7], and I think that’s exactly what it’s like. Art On! brought me back to a university campus and made me feel like I was reliving my university days. All the big story arcs and little details brought back so many memories of those four years.
It is the best age, the best time to shape up into the best version of yourself. There were a lot of students learning together, and most of our days were pretty mundane. But whenever we had to put up an actual performance, there would be a lot of laughter. Because we were all inexperienced actors, our performances were very unstructured, and when we watched our classmates perform, we didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
My university days were filled with both laughter and tears, and it was both the easiest and the toughest time. Being reminded of a single moment can lead to endless reminiscing, a beautiful memory of youth. I remember that one chef on the first floor of Cafeteria No. 2 made really good claypot rice, I remember being scolded by the lady in charge of the dormitories for secretly cooking hotpot in the dormitories, I remember the banners under the parasol tree where you could confess your crush, and I remember riding my bicycle through the breeze that made my short hair slightly messy.
[6] This drama series was filmed in 2017 but has not been released, although there are rumours that it might be released at the end of 2021 or in 2022.
[7] 《小幸运 (A Bit of Good Fortune)》by Hebe Tian.
–
“Only when one travels can one hear their own voice. It will tell you that the world is bigger than one can imagine. In this world, you will meet many opportunities, but you will never meet ‘God’. You have to find your own way.”
一 Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki
–
Chapter Six
I had a cup of hot coffee in my hand, or perhaps it was a cup of warm milk tea – I forget. All I remember are the opportunities and tribulations that came and went.
Unique Lady (绝世千金)
As a newbie, my acting experience and life experiences are both limited, so I enjoy getting the opportunity to experience new things during filming. Unique Lady is adapted from a text-based adventure role-playing game titled Lascivious Lady (好色千金) with a very Mary Sue protagonist. My character, Zhong Wumei, is arrogant with a dark side, sharp-tongued but secretly kind-hearted, a domineering prince who will choose righteousness over love. The part about this production that left the strongest impression on me is that the director would step in to fill whatever roles were required when we were short of actors, playing both male and female characters. He was very good at helping us figure out where we needed improvement, and it was always very entertaining when he dressed up for female roles.
Creating a “Domineering CEO”-type character for costume dramas that stands out from the rest means coming up with new gimmicks. The director gave me a lot of suggestions and inspiration when I was figuring out the character, and I really must thank him for his guidance.
My personal “Doraemon”
I really am quite a lucky person. I didn’t experience much hardship when I was growing up, and a lot of people took care of me when I went to university. In my second year of university, my seniors from school linked me up with some jobs filming commercials. That was my first taste of working life, and my first practical learning experience. After graduation, I stayed in Shanghai and filmed commercials for a year, but gradually I realised that as an actor, this wasn’t what I wanted from my career or pace of life. So I decided to move up north to Beijing.
In the cartoon series Doraemon, the main character Nobita has a round blue friend that he can always count on – I have a round friend who is always by my side too, my biaoge (older male cousin). My biaoge is very plump and fair, and with a full beard on his face, he may look quite fierce. But in reality, he’s a very kind, sensitive, and meticulous person. He’s given me a lot of help along the way, and I discuss a lot of things with him. Initially, I was quite anxious and uneasy about moving to Beijing, but even when faced with the unfamiliar and unforeseeable future, I knew that my biaoge had my back. He helped me with renting a place and the little everyday things, so that my move to the big city went smoothly and comfortably.
A strong support team
Many people who come to Beijing to find work may find that it’s full of hardship and really not easy, but things have gone pretty well for me since I’ve come to Beijing, and that’s my bit of good fortune. I haven’t experienced anything that has been particularly unbearable or upsetting since I’ve moved to Beijing, and things have been fairly smooth-sailing both in work and in my personal life.
Soon after I moved to Beijing, Chai Ji Dan-laoshi found me through Weibo, and I was casted in my first ever drama series, Advance Bravely – so thank you Dandan-jie.
Since I started my career, I have found that the difficulties of being a newcomer, the struggle to make ends meet, and preparing for the daily grind, have not drowned my passion and enthusiasm for this place. Instead, I feel that these experiences have made my life more real and added flavour to it. I have been able to adjust to and accept these unfamiliar things because I have my team, Biao-ge, my cousin, and many, many people around me supporting me. Their help, guidance, and companionship have given me the confidence and a great sense of security so that I can persevere on my path. I know that I will face other difficulties in future, but I believe that I will still be able to overcome them with big strides and keep going forward.
–
“I didn’t remember what month that was, or what year even. I only knew the memory lived in me, a perfectly encapsulated morsel of a good past, a brushstroke of color on the gray, barren canvas that our lives had become.”
一 The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
–
Chapter Seven
Fate doesn’t always come knocking, but when it does, it always arrives with a dramatic entrance. That’s why its other name is “Moment”.
Just a little drunk
The protagonist in Flavour It’s Yours (看见味道的你) was even more of a Mary Sue than the one in Unique Lady. In this drama series, I played a genius wine critic – except that my superhuman taste buds had to be awakened with a kiss, and that was the beginning of a strange love story.
In my opinion, when filming romantic dramas, you have to know each other very well. Once you get in character, you must imagine that you really are the character in this story. When I was filming Flavour It’s Yours, I convinced myself that I was indeed Lu Weixun, and I really loved the girl who was standing in front of me. To make a character come alive, you have to invest real feelings when you are acting out the scene. But once filming is over, you must step out of the character and live your own real life.
Flipped
One of my favourite movies is Flipped (an American romantic comedy released in 2010, with the Chinese title 《怦然心动 (Fluttering Heart)》). “Every once in a while, you find someone who’s iridescent, and once you do, nothing will ever compare.”
Finding someone you like is easy, but finding one who matches you is a little bit more difficult. Liking someone is about finding them attractive, feeling positive about everything they say or do; but the transition from “liking” to “matching" each other means you will end up taking on some of each other’s qualities. This is a process that nobody else can get in the way of, a communion of two souls and a promise to guard and protect each other. With such a relationship, you can find comfort in each other’s company, and you feel the simplicity and purity of the connection.
Many people spend their youth being involved in all sorts of heart-rending and gut-wrenching romantic relationships, but I seem to have spent most of my youth playing games and hanging out with my buddies. Looking back now, I’m actually quite envious of people who’ve experienced earth-shaking, passionate romantic relationships.
I can’t give you a definite physical description of my ideal type of girl or tell you what kind of personality she should have. But when she does appear in my life, I will take her hand bravely and invite her into my life.
–
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”
一 Darkest Hour (a 2017 UK war drama film)
–
Afterword
I don’t know where I’m going, but I know I’m already on the way there.
This is a letter to myself at the age of 26, as well as a summary of my life so far. A lot of unexpected meetings and events have happened in my life, but luckily, all of them have been beautiful and fortunate accidents. Both the joy when things are going smoothly and the pain when things are not going well are stepping stones for the long, arduous path to the future, so that I can keep improving and become a better version of myself.
In the past, I often felt lost and confused, but now I’ve finally had the time and energy to sum up all the things that have happened in my life and work so far. This book, 1129, marks the beginning of a new phase of my life, and is also a farewell to the phase that has passed. Whether the path ahead is going to be a field of flowers or a sea of thorns, I will face it filled with confidence and courage. After all, I’m already on the way…
With thanks to
I would like to thank all those who have accompanied me and supported me, giving me energy and strength. Their appearance in my life have helped me so much, and I am thankful to fate for bringing these people into my life and giving me the chance to know them.
A note in Gong Jun’s handwriting that is printed at the end of the book:
I’ve used the scenery I’ve seen along the way (as a backdrop to the photos in this book) to present this image of myself: someone who doesn’t have very intense desires, but also someone who doesn’t like a bland life. Like the majority of people, I am unexceptional but real, and both sincere and genuine.
Along the way, in both the happy and sad times, all of you have been there with me, sharing your warmth with me. I am thankful for your unwavering companionship and your constant unchanging warmth. To me, you are all priceless and rare treasures [8], and in the blank pages at the end of this book, I hope you can write down your own feelings and give it the perfect ending.
Gong Jun
[8] The phrase he used was 夏代有工的玉; literally translated to “jade with workmanship from the Xia Dynasty”, originating from the poem 《可遇不可求的事 (Things That You May Chance Upon But Cannot Seek)》 by Chinese novelist Feng Tang. The Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty in Chinese history (2070–1600 BC) and the jade items that survived from that era were almost never polished or worked on, so it’s a metaphor for something priceless and incredibly rare.