yoshyushi

[yoshyushi]

20241223 Another Man Magazine cover feature: Yu Shi - As I enter the Sea I became the Sea

Just like 6 years ago,

Yu Shi wrote a character biography for Ji Fa,

Now he has finally come to realize,

What needs to be continuously written is a story of himself.

This would be different from his past narratives,

He dares to dream, has the bravery to realize them,

Change from what was unfathomable into "nothing is unfathomable"

This is the final day of this shoot, the final outfit and look. The staff were making adjustments on the set for the final time. While waiting, Yu Shi walked aimlessly to the second level and chanced upon a light green guitar placed in a corner. He picked it up, found a chair and sat himself down, strumming to the song by Coldplay "Viva la Vida", starting with

I used to rule the world

Seas would rise when l gave the word

Now in the morning l sleep alone

Sweep the streets l used to own

Time moves yet it amalgamates. On some levels, it's detached from the moment. Yu Shi is wrapped up in music, momentarily he's able to put his mind off things.

"Music isn't something that was forced into my life, it's always been part of my life." No matter where he went, as long as the circumstances allowed for it, Yu Shi would always carry a guitar. As he closes off all other senses, Yu Shi's sense of hearing is amplified, place all his thoughts upon the strings, step into another world. "Coincidentally, it has become a respite for my lifestyle, a relief for my current circumstances through my hobby."

Many a time in the past, Yu Shi was like this too. After he had ended work, he would stay alone in his room, playing the guitar. Sometimes he sings, sometimes he doesn't. At just 28, he often thinks about the people and things of the past. "As you live in the moment of time, you often feel it moves slowly. As you recall a moment from a year, five years, ten years or twenty years ago, you'd feel that time is like the sand in the hourglass, when it finishes, it finishes.

Fleeting time, yet every moment remains vivid

3 months after the premiere of 《Creation of the Gods: Kingdom of Storms》 Yu Shi found a recording from his old phone. It was his character biography he had made for his character, starting from when Ji Fa was born, to fill in the milestones of Ji Fa's life before the moment where the film begun. He had once thought the recording was lost, but "luckily" it was still intact, his own voice of a 22 year old rang before his ears.

Another 3 months passed, an interview on Yu Shi positioned the movie's ending scene of Ji Fa riding on a horse across the wheat fields as an important metaphor, Yu Shi "started on the path charging towards becoming an actor." It adhered and added a portion of destiny to the character biography that Yu Shi had written "at that time, the silly me had never thought that my life would truly begin to transform." The scene had turned into a story for keepsake, Yu Shi reminded himself repeatedly "it was the first scene to be filmed for 《Creation of the Gods》 since the kick-off of filming, his first scene in 《CotG》 and the first scene as an actor.

The uniqueness of this moment was in how Yu Shi and Ji Fa, actor and character, reality and fiction had amalgamated into a single entity. Since then, Yu Shi repeatedly recalls the moment of being one with his character, which has since become the moment he chases after in his acting. "To the extent that before the cameras rolled, when I was on standby, I would emote with the character. Regardless if it was using my own feelings as a proxy of the character's feelings, or if it were me truly entering the character in my creation, that moment, I was living with and as the character -I'm at a loss for words, it's hard to say who I actually was."

It has been a year and a half since the premiere of the first 《CotG》 film, 5 years since he wrapped up its filming, 7 years since he first stepped into the "CotG boot camp". All the dates and time, every milestone are all etched into Yu Shi's mind. As he recalls, it was like watching his past from a distance. "I clearly know he has since left me far behind. Time is fleeting yet everything is so vivid. I'm not exaggerating that during our dubbing of the first and second movies, I remembered everything about how we had made adjustments for each scene and all of our preparation." At night, Yu Shi would look at photos taken back then, the journals, voice recordings and videos, and watch them.

As he reminiscences, Yu Shi feels the "monstrosity of time" at the same time. "Memories are like movies." The images of a movie cannot tell the full story nor an entire character's life, from the time where Ji Fa escaped back to Xiqi (TN: Ji Fa's hometown) from Zhaoge (TN: where he had served the tyrant King Yinshou) he had gone through a number of years and had suffered in life, but it was only expressed in captions on the silver screen. "It weaved a story through short fragments of scenes, just like how as I recall things from the last 20 years, they are similarly frame after frame.

It was almost 2 years from his entry into the production until filming wrapped up. During the days in production he would think "When can we finish filming?" And now, the premiere of the sequel of 《CotG》 had been a year and half since it's first movie. "While waiting for the first movie to premiere, my feelings were complicated, swinging between anticipation and disappointment again and again." Yu Shi assesses these 2 experiences of awaiting. "'Disappointment' or 'fear' are due to not knowing what's ahead. I was afraid my efforts as an actor would not be seen by others, I wasn't even sure if I could become a true actor. The unknown made me fear. When the first movie received pretty good box office, I knew the sequel would definitely premiere, so even if the wait could be long, I felt assurance." All he had to do was to "simply wait," to wait for Ji Fa's return on the horse back to meet the audience.

And so, this poetic metaphor continued to grow. Yu Shi wrote a "monologue" of his character beyond what was in the script. "I imagined a scene where Xiqi was under siege and I encouraged the people to fight together. The speech went something like, I, Ji Fa is pro-peace, but if others trample our lands and hurt our people, I must let the enemy know we're not sitting ducks, we must fight." Many years later, Yu Shi is still able to recite his "monologue" fluently with his head held high. There's a part of Ji Fa that seemed to remain and exist within his flesh and blood.

It's not right to lose yourself completely

Sometimes, it's not necessary to wait too long.

The movie 《Operation Leviathan 蛟龙行动》 that wrapped up last June is also about to premiere. 《Operation Leviathan 蛟龙行动》 is the sequel to 《Operation Red Sea 红海行动》, Yu Shi plays Han Xiao, a commando in Team Leviathan. "There's few dialogue in action films, maybe just a liner— infiltrate, open the door, enemy in sight, open fire— but during filming the process is really long." Yu Shi did not wait for the "torture" from the "director from hell" Dante Lam and went beyond to overdeliver. "That's not torture, I enjoyed the process. Such genre definitely isn't something that has easy demands. Since I've chosen such work to do this, I shouldn't "brag" about how difficult the process was. If you describe all the difficulties you went through yet end up being a flop, it would sound like excuses. It's not to show others how difficult it was, but to show others how well I've done."

There was a scene involving an explosion, 50 "explosives" were placed within 10 meters of him. Yu Shi had to carry some one on his back to escape from the explosion. "It'll be a lie to say I wasn't afraid." Director Dante Lam never told him there was only one shot at it, but Yu Shi knew it would be difficult and resource intensive to restore the scene after such a huge explosion scene. "It's definitely stressful to be given just one take for it, from the follow focus cameras until the placement of the explosives, every staff on set were tensed and there was just a single string tying all of it together. I needed to trust in the explosives technician fully, and trust in everyone who was on set."

Yu Shi told himself, there wouldn't be any problem, just take a deep breath. He knew as soon as he heard a shout from the other end "3, 2, 1 action," every distracting thought would vanish. "Even if I were to jump from the 5th floor, all I needed to do was to run straight on at all costs and leap at the end of it," he knows he's an actor and he must nail the scene. "3, 2, 1, like a spell- cameras rolling, just do it already!"

"Cut" became the moment where the spell was broken. Yu Shi returned to rational self, he monitors his own performance. "I'm not watching to see if I looked good from the angles taken. I should say, in that moment, I had my own standards." More than one senior had encouraged him "You must learn to control yourself. This is performing, not your life. You could allow your performance to come close to your life, but you must know restraint. Acting often requires the actor to repeat themselves again and again. If you're totally emotional thinking this take was pretty good, but the cameras weren't able to capture it but you're already trembling in tears, how would you complete your second take? This is a complicated process, it's not enough to lose yourself in the role- no, it's not right to lose yourself in it."

Yu Shi increasingly believes that artistic creation is a very subjective matter. "If you are a singer, you're akin to an actor while you're singing, and the lyricist and composer are like the playwright and director. When arranging the music, it's akin to being an editor." He has included in his future plans to "becoming a director". "I've once said I wanted to be an actor, and they all said, stop bragging. I said I wanted to release an album, to hold my own concert, they all said, stop bragging. But as long as you want to, each of these things would come to realize bit by bit, including me mentioning that I would want to become Best Actor, I do believe I can achieve it one day. I said I want to be a director, no matter the means, I would definitely be able to do it."

"This isn't ambitiousness, it's a dream." Presently, there's too little of such lively, passionate declaration. Yu Shi is easily fired up, it's an invigorating personality that he's born with. There are many who are shy in expressing their aspiration and determination. "Perhaps they feel insecure, but I definitely have full confidence in every matter that I speak of. I will not speak of the things I'm not confident of. It's a different matter if dreams can come true, but you've must have a dream to begin with."

As I enter the Sea, I become the Sea

There were definitely those who doubted, but these doubtful voices were more of disbelief in chance, and dismissive about putting in efforts, disillusioned from the setbacks in their paths towards success. "I've always been using a unfathomable way of doing the things I do now," Yu Shi does not avoid any kind of voices. "Like how I've come so far, many people think I've taken a shortcut. (TN: underhanded means) Those who know me know that it's impossible- I took the longest time to film a movie, to film a difficult movie, to film shows brings the least renumeration of all other projects. At the same time every project I took on were the ones that was impossible to "plant" someone in.

To face such voices, it is understandably human to feel hurt, but at the same time Yu Shi gets some sort of "kick" out of it "It proves that I've done something very impressive. Everyone thinks it's unbelievable. I would have never in their imagination be able to achieve this- I'm not even trained in acting. But I want to tell them this, this is the power of determination and persistence. If you do not give up and give it all into this one thing, you can do it too."

What kind of person does he want to be exactly- an actor, a composer-singer, or a director? "Those who like you will raise you up with no bounds, while those who dislike you will step on you with without boundaries. Everyone has their own interpretation of an identity, there's voices everywhere and everything there is to be said is said and done. "No one is at fault, there are those who like your looks, those who admire your acting, those who think you sing well, those that think your opinions are interesting... but I want everyone to know, I love acting. In fact, the struggles, frustrations, suffering and misunderstanding of people is due to the lack of determination of the self." He believes without storms one wouldn't learn how to sail. It is only through terrible and great waves and the return to peace would one know how to navigate through it. "To consider these questions in the midst of great tribulations are more meaningful to me."

When he was young, Yu Shi liked watching movies by Bruce Lee, he liked how Bruce Lee fought while outnumbered and liked to imitate his moves. "It's a very superficial appreciation." As he grew up, Yu Shi's admiration of Bruce Lee came from his interviews, his philosophy, his thinking. Yu Shi doesn't miss a word as he recites a quote from Bruce Lee back in 1971.

Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water.

Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup

you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle.

you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot.

Now water can flow or it can crash.

Be water, my friend.

"Be Water, my friend," Yu Shi repeated this phrase, just like how he had repeated it multiple times before. "This can be applied to anything in the world, it's a perspective of your life. Lao Tzu once said "Great virtue is like water." water is soft yet it contains great powers to cause damage." But what was most important was the second half of the saying. Water benefits many but claims no credit.

"5 years ago I was like a kid who had yet to grow up. I was a brick, one who would break and crack if I tried too hard. A brick is unable to blend with many things and matters. As I entered society and started working, facing all sorts of issues and people, there are good ones, bad ones... I'm slowly changing myself. In the past I would think 'why should I put myself in a sorry position', 'why should I bow down', but if you think you're water, then you've reached another level - there's no compromise, only entering different vessels. When poured into a tea pot you become the shape of a tea pot. When poured into a cup, you're the shape of a cup- As I enter the sea, I become the sea."

There's always something that's more important. Yu Shi's passion goes far beyond acting, but "writing" a new story. "I've used these couple of years to consolidate my path. No matter if it would be 5 or 10 years later, or if I become a director, or I'm making music, I hope one day, like an old friend, I would be able to tell everyone 'there's nothing unfathomable about it, what's unfathomable about it?"

[yoshyushi]

20240707 China Screen Magazine cover feature: Yu Shi - Wait and Hope

French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas wrote in his epilogue of 【The Count of Monte Cristo】 "Until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words,—'Wait and hope." Evidently, in the long period of waiting and hoping in the dim light, this is applicable to both the protagonist and Yu Shi's path of growth.

"Everyone eventually grows, in the years of waiting it felt like time has been stretched, two years felt like four or five years have passed," this was what Yu Shi had said in an interview in 【封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I】 in 2023. The sweat from the Creation of the Gods boot camp did not go to waste, but the reciprocation of fate had secretly placed a price to it, as if working towards the same goal in different ways. Back then, as Yu Shi tossed and turned, he psyched himself up countless of times - from dusk till dawn. Finally, he became the radiating new star of the movie industry through 【封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I】 and 【长空之王 Born to Fly】 in 2023. This force that broke through the clouds extended into the 2024 mini-series 【我的阿勒泰 To the Wonder】 and movie 【欢迎来到我身边 Welcome to my Side】. Other upcoming films include 【蛟龙行动 Operation Leviathan】 and 【封神第二部 Creation of the Gods II】, 【封神第三部 Creation of the Gods III】. After a long time of waiting, Yu Shi welcomes the moment of bloom.

Popularity breaking through the clouds The popularity of this chap born in 1996 in Liaoning sky-rocketed in 2023, from the May movie season with 【长空之王 Born to Fly】 till the Summer movie season with 【封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I】, his performance recognized by the public. Just when audiences who have not seen his movies think he's just another shooting star in the industry, a one hit wonder idol, they will slowly come to discover that he is anything but ordinary.

In the audience's first meeting with Yu Shi on the silver screen, he as Deng Fang in 【长空之王 Born to Fly】 turned from cold and unsociable to a willing wingman, completing the metamorphosis from self-centric to team player. His bright handsome image, healthy and well-built physique was naturally highly suited for the role of a test pilot. Before he started filming for it, he diligently read 《蓝天亮剑》 (T/N: lit. Blue Sky Bright Sword, an auto-biography of Li Zhonghua, a Liaoning-born test pilot in the national army), and 《试飞英雄》 (T/N: lit. Heroic Test Pilot, a non-fiction documentation of national test pilots), gradually growing closer to this unfamiliar career through the psyche. 【长空之王 Born to Fly】 allowed him to garner the Shanghai International Film Festival's Movie Channel "Most-watched new actor by the Media" award through his inaugural work, showing that his silver screen performance was indeed good.

It takes a decade to forge a good sword. 【封神 Creation of the Gods】 that was repeatedly delayed was director Wuershan's gamble of a lifetime. The same could be said for Yu Shi. For him where acting was on a complete blank slate, he had risen from an extremely difficult international selection through a 1:3000 odds. He also went through the Creation of the Gods boot camp that went through 200 days of closed-door training and grueling assessment, finally emerging above the rest to greet Ji Fa (T/N: his character in Creation of the Gods). At this time, Yu Shi, who had been waiting had a short joyous moment, but more so a growing pressure. This was because he, as leading actor had to face 3 billion RMB worth of investment, face acting skills that had to be up to scratch, face thousands of production crew who had worked tirelessly, and face the audience's expectations of the adaptation of a cultural mythology…. Looking back at the Summer movie season, 【封神 Creation of the Gods】 met with tribulations, from its box office not meeting projected expectations until passerby traction finally “carried” the film out of the ICU. This intricately produced historical poetry had completely went against the tide, the Creation of the Gods hostage son team (T/N: referring to the group of rookie male actors groomed to star in the film) was recognized by the audience in the roadshows, festering within the movie industry's rookies, and became a recognized noun to describe the story of those who have overcome the odds. Within them, Yu Shi naturally garnered rising attention. When the audience watched the final scene where Ji Fa rode his horse exuding the aura of a hero, they couldn't help but be moved by his harrowing experience in his journey home. The 【封神 Creation of the Gods】 sequels are on their way, and new actor Yu Shi's high-fidelity portrayal of Ji Fa had gradually touched the audience's hearts.

Welcome to the audience's Side The rate of Yu Shi's popularity is relative. Since his entry into the Creation of the Gods boot camp in 2018 until actually appearing on the big screens in 2023 was nearly a 2000 day of shaping and refinement. To a youth in his 20s this requires him to endure through loneliness, a high level of physique as well as a self-discipline and refinement as an actor… Yu Shi has done it. Hence (T/N: hence = 于是 (Yu Shi) a play on homophone), he became popular.

In 2024, the audience could see that Yu Shi has rapidly become busy, bringing his new mini-series 【我的阿勒泰 To the Wonder】 to the Cannes Series festival, becoming part of the panel of the Beijing International Film Festival's new blood project, dubbing for 【Howl's Moving Castle】, completing filming as leading role for big production 【蛟龙行动 Operation Leviathan】, going all-out in promoting for his romantic comedy 【欢迎来到我身边 Welcome to my Side】…

Recently, the center of his work has gravitated to the Summer movie season premiere of 【欢迎来到我身边 Welcome to my Side】. This film feels more like a mini-project he had filmed amidst all his big productions, taking the path of "light calvary". With domestic romance films getting constant poor reviews by the audience makes one can't help but be curious if the beloved Yu Shi of the big screens would be able to score one for romance films through 【欢迎来到我身边 Welcome to my Side】?

Q&A China Screen exclusive conversation with Yu Shi

【欢迎来到我身边 Welcome to my Side】 was very enjoyable

CS: What was the reason you signed up for 【欢迎来到我身边 Welcome to my Side】? What was it about the script that moved you?

YS: It was about a year ago when I saw the script for the first time. I was told it was a project that's about modern romance, and it was also a comedy with some fantasy. After I read it I felt that the character's personality have similarities to myself, adding to the fact that I've never tried such roles before, so I decided to take it on.

CS: In comparison to your other projects that seem more solemn, how did it feel to perform in a fantasy rom-com?

YS: This work is different from all other characters that I've acted as, this is a modern romance movie. The character of Chen Xiao Zhou is closer to real life, there's areas which I'm able to improvise on. Besides that it's also a comedy, so my condition would be more relaxed.

CS: Last year at the "Starry Sea" (T/N: Movie Channel's project for recommended youth actors) you have directed a short clip with similar comedic style, and now you have a rom-com screening. Is it challenging to you in a comedy?

YS: I don't think it's considered challenging, comedies are very enjoyable, I communicate and do walkthroughs with the director on set to give a couple of different performing styles.

CS: Before filming this movie what background work did you do to prepare your condition for this performance?

YS: Normally I would watch some classic comedies, and I would watch Hongkong comedy movies many times. When I was filming for this project, I communicated with the director and scriptwriter and adjusted Chen Xiao Zhou to a condition where everyone was satisfied with.

CS: How compatible do you think you are with Chen Xiao Zhou?

YS: About half, some living conditions of Chen Xiao Zhou is very similar to myself, and some parts where he overthinks has some similarities to myself. The atmosphere on set was really good, we are all young people so the frequency was right, communication was smooth and filming was really fast.

【蛟龙行动 Operation Leviathan】 was astounding

CS: What was the greatest challenge in your new film 【蛟龙行动 Operation Leviathan】? Was the entire production team high performing?

YS: 【蛟龙行动 Operation Leviathan】 tells the story of a heroic elite team of naval soldiers, so we have to do our best to become as close to how these soldiers are in reality, hoping that we will be able to give off a natural aura of a soldier and achieve looking like a well-trained soldier even if we're not in uniform. The explosion scenes in the film left the most impression on me. These scenes were so realistic, I'm always astounded as I watch every replay after a scene was filmed on the small monitor. It would definitely be magnified many more times in the future when it hits the big screen. The entire production team are so high-performing, we entered the production in advance for physical training, diving, weapons, combating skills. Everyone was strict on themselves.

CS: Going into the skies in 【长空之王 Born to Fly】 and into the sea in 【蛟龙行动 Operation Leviathan】, what else do you really wish to present on the big screens in between?

YS: I'm personally very interested in the military, I'm really happy to be able to fulfill my own interests through work. As for the type of roles, I would like to try any roles that I haven't done before.

CS: Ever since last year we can see your busyness no matter through the big screens or on television. If you could look back at Yu Shi who had entered the Creation of the Gods boot camp back in 2018, what would you want to tell yourself the most?

YS: Zero in on what you want and persist, you will definitely be rewarded.

CS: What moved you the most since debuting?

YS: Having so many audiences liking my roles, and I've been receiving so much support from the seniors and teachers of the industry all this while. For a rookie like me, I'm so grateful.

Welcome to my Side - Loving you is non-negotiable

Story: Chen Xiao Zhou (Yu Shi) met with an accident following his breakup. Since then he would often see groups of rubber ducks gaggling, bringing major disruption to Chen Xiao Zhou's life. Until a day where a lady called Feng Jia Nan (Wang Ying Lu) appears, the ducks no longer appear to cause disruption, an amusing romantic journey ensues…

Fantasy set-up of a sweet romance 【欢迎来到我身边 Welcome to my Side】 is another big screen production by director Song Haolin following his critically acclaimed 【五个扑水的少年 Water Boys】. From the pre-production materials, it seems that director Song was pivoting his plot from a youthful coming-of-age to urban fantasy romance, keeping his light comedic creative style, bright colors and lively character personalities, good looking youth female and male leads, mischievous yellow ducks dominating the screens. Like a sweet dessert presented in a scorching hot summer noon, it's tasty and likeable.

Since the explosive success of 【封神 Creation of the Gods】 on the big screens, Yu Shi who had played the heroic youth had instantly turned into one of the most outstanding faces of the silver screen this year. From test pilot Deng Fang in 【长空之王 Born to Fly】, he also has a steady performance in the hit drama 【我的阿勒泰 To the Wonder】 as Kazahk youth Batay. Yu Shi had become the most watched youth actors. Courageous and adept in battles, the elite archer and riding youth Yu Shi had opened a new path in his inaugural role in an urban romance film, turning into a gregarious with a tinge of "goofiness" Chen Xiao Zhou.

(T/N: omitted description of co-actor Wang Ying Lu)

The world quacks on, you're the only cure After male protagonist Chen Xiao Zhou meets with an accident, he is diagnosed with a ridiculous case of "hallucination", he must not see anything yellow - after a yellow-clad delivery boy appears, Chen Xiao Zhou sees him as a huge yellow duck holding a take-out bag. During his speech at work, when a yellow page appears in his presentation, all his co-workers in front of him turn into neat rows of yellow ducks. Looking at the yellow wrapping in a grocery store, Chen Xiao Zhou loses his ability to hear when his boss rings him up on the phone, all he can hear is "quack"… As soon as he sees anything yellow, everything around Chen Xiao Zhou turns into a fantasy world of "quacking" ducks. In the sneak previews, Chen Xiao Zhou performed by Yu Shi rushed out of the hospital door in "tip top" condition, yellow ducks chasing after him, a ridiculous scene. Such a "disease" was only miraculously cured when he met Feng Jia Nan played by Wang Ying Lu. Feng Jia Nan hence became his one and only "cure".

June 2024, the film received TOP 10 most anticipated film in the Weibo Movie Night awards. This time, up and coming director Song Haolin sets his sights on the average urban men and women, through an imaginative set up and story conflict, conceptualizing "crazy and wild" emotions and anxiety of young adults of today, invoking new reflections.

[yoshyushi]

20240517 New Weekly - Yu Shi who became Batay is "irreplaceable"

【Only Altay knows】 exclusive magazine coverage

Batay is the Kazakh youth who would come riding over in the night, together with the singing voice along with the moonlight and night breeze, slowly but surely walking on the path home

In April's early Spring, 【To the Wonder】 was nominated for the Cannes Series 2024, the main cast and production team hence reunited at Cannes. In his 5th year of being an actor, Yu Shi arrived for the first time at one of the closest place on earth to film artistry.

In a certain night in Cannes, Yu Shi was suddenly inspired, took out his guitar and sang the drama's OST 【Moonlight】 at the bay city's roadside. This scene had moved a passerby, and she filmed it down in tears. Later they found out that the lady who had filmed this down was a Brazilian actress, she had posted this clip on her social media and said “you illuminate my night”.

The creator of 【Moonlight】 Yerboli had initially given this song the name 【Sunrise】 "The sunlight shines upon all things, bringing the power to chase away all the fog". He thought later that it was dangerous to walk in the wild at night in Altay, but if the moonlight is able to illuminate the way back home it wouldn't be a scary thing.

Yu Shi plays the character Bakhtibek ("Batay" in short) 【To the Wonder】, who's the Kazakh youth who would ride his horse in the night, accompanied by the moonlight, night breeze and singing voices, be on his way home slowly yet determined.

The wilderness is the existence of silence, but as long as there's a youth on horseback, the sound of wind will always guide people towards the answer - in a corner of Altay.

"Batay is a completely original character'

"Messila is like a king. He's tall and handsome and has a heart that's gentle and clear, and a pair of hands made for the Arts... the way they strum the strings of the instrument, note by note it makes its way to the most hidden gaps of the corners of the earth, entering into the heart of another youth..."

Before the series broadcasted, Li Juan's crush in the original story-- Kazakh youth Messila-- such a description was often used to describe Batay who was played by Yu Shi. Everyone thought of Messila as Batay's original form. To 【To the Wonder】 director Teng Cong Cong, such a guess could have originated from Yu Shi's "sudden fame" after 【Creation of the Gods: Kingdom of Storms】 (【Creation of the Gods】 hereafter) hit the cinemas.

The reason that caused this misunderstanding could also have been Yu Shi's physical compatibility with Batay and Messila. To this, executive producer Qi Kang agrees wholeheartedly. "Yu Shi has an element of sculpture about him, a very classic aesthetic," like a present-day imagination of masculinity.

Batay in the eyes of Yu Shi has a "non-traditional handsomeness, but very charismatic" Kazakh youth. He carries a "self-portrait" of Batay in his heart -- even though he looks rugged on the outside, but he's "soft and tender" on the inside. There's a "core" deeper in, his heart is especially strong."

This boy who had to step up to herd sheep and take care of his family since young had grown up to be rebellious and grew his hair long, he grew up in a traditional shepherding family, filled with child-like curiosity for "city things". He carries both the legacy of tradition and the yearning to step out of this place towards the city.

His skin rough, tanned, his cheeks freckled, a flush from the altitude and exposure to the winds and sun. To be close to the character, Yu Shi didn't wash his hands in the course of filming "this looks like someone who's been hard at work."

In the broadcasted product, there were many scenes of Yu Shi on horse, there's close relation to horses, including the clips shared online of the daily filming conditions. In 【To the Wonder】, there's numerous scenes of him with horses both on and off camera, because he was also the director for horseback archery in the production crew, in charge of training the horses.

Yu Shi's gift for horseback archery had already been revealed during his time with 【Creation of the Gods】. Kris Philips (T/N: lead actor in CotG) had once mentioned in an interview that the couple of horseback archery coaches in 【Creation of the Gods】 felt that Yu Shi had the talent to become a professional horse trainer. 【To the Wonder】 producer Cai Yue Ting told us that Yu Shi was the youngest in the production team, but his personality was unexpectedly old that led to everyone calling him "Big brother Yu". As Yu Shi made it look like he was so used to it, everyone often forgot that horseback archery without holding the reins of the horse is a very difficult thing. Until 【Creation of the Gods】 was screened, and everyone had watched all the clips of his training did they realize how difficult it had been for him back then.

If one has to ask Yu Shi on his experience training horses, he would tell you a basic principle "horse-riding is not for everyone, because it is another living soul. When it runs together with you, it has its own breath and heartbeat." All the abovementioned had also led Teng Cong Cong to conclude "there's no replacement for Yu Shi."

After the production crew visited Altay twice to source for filming grounds, the persona of Batay had finally become clearer: a descendant of nomadic shepherds who grew up in modern times, he needs to face the collision between nomadic culture and modern civilization, and to make a choice between what's old and new. Therefore, Batay isn't just a love interest of imagination.

When the audience sees the clarity in his eyes through the screen, they will naturally discover that this youth with an old heart had bounded his life onto the back of his horse, running across the fields of Altay, running towards the flow of the story. This is driven by a natural flow untamed by city life, and so its ruggedness is so captivating.

"When you're being and living in it, the lands so vast you can stretch your limbs out, that's when you truly have the freedom to chase (after your desires)" In the filming period in Altay, Yu Shi had been hanging out and interacting with the local shepherding community, spending large amounts of time to learn Kazakh language. When the sunset pours across the lands like flowing gold, the shepherds bring the sheep home, he would go forth and help out.

There's an old granny in Altay who don't speak a word of mandarin. But when Yu Shi and the production team visited her house, she warmly hosted them, sharing her life experiences openly. As they were bidding farewell, the granny poured panner into Yu Shi's pockets "my child, treat this house as yours, come have a cup of tea when you're tired from filming. Granny shall make lots of delicious food for you."

In this moment, the children of Altay -- Batay and Yu Shi shares an overlapping soul.

An actor who seeks breakthroughs

【To the Wonder】 is Yu Shi's first television series. When he received this project he was still a "zero resume" rookie-- the couple of movies under his belt had yet to be screened. This series had become his point of breakthrough.

In the long time of waiting, Yu Shi had no choice and has never considered "ping tang" (T/N: "ping tang", lit. "lying flat" is a social phenomenon in China among the younger generation who gives up on striving and simply go with the flow) He forced himself to work out "working out a little help to complete everything on hand that day". He continued the habits from 【Creation of the Gods】 production, learning how to train horses and horseback archery. In 2023, he participated in the 3rd Equestrian Festival in Guangdong and won the "Best Style Award".

Beyond his acting work, there's many new interesting things in the world that he hasn't come across, these are all things that make Yu Shi happy, where he can learn from scratch.

After Yu Shi and Teng Cong Cong met for the first time in June 2022, this drive in him was described by the latter as "a complex and enamoring spirit", "he really wanted to be a good actor, to prove himself, he needed a point of breakthrough. Such a thing is so fantastic." As a director, this was one of the traits Teng Cong Cong liked in actors.

Yu Shi would often think of Liu Liang Cheng when he was in Altay. This is one of his father's favorite writers and is also author Li Juan's mentor. When Yu Shi read 【To the Wonder】 he had picked it up from his father's bookshelf. "The village and grass fields that were described were all so beautiful, a feeling of paradise, but in reality, life here feels more like a place for city people's escape from reality. The reason why we yearn for this is because the writer's diction is just too good, this is the power in literary arts."

Where did all the strength from Yu Shi come from?

When he received the interview with 《人物 People》, he publicly shared about his harrowing experience:

One afternoon in the past, he canoed and arrived at a no-man island. As he reached the shores the weather changed, wild winds swirled the waters. A huge wave crashed over, knocking Yu Shi on a rock and he almost passed out.

The skies gradually darkened, and he could only wait for passing boats and the rescue team to arrive. He climbed to the top of a boulder, bare footed. As he stood on the tip of the boulder his feet were already blood stained. Just then, fireworks rose from afar, exploding and lighting up the darkness before him.

At that moment, a stunned Yu Shi was left with just one thought 「I would rather suffer, and I wish to live on」

The very first scene that Yu Shi filmed as an actor was the final scene of 【Creation of the Gods】. After going through tribulations leaning over his white horse, using his last strength to charge towards his hometown Xi Qi. In the ending of 【To the Wonder】, Batay's beloved horse Snowshoe was hurt. The injured hose was left with only two possible ends, a "painful death" or "quick death". Batay chose to send Snowshoe away with his own hands.

"To live or die," is such an eternal problem that seem like a question about time in itself. Humans seem to have to make choices over and over again. Life and soul are differentiated through a moment in time, yet it converges as it moves towards the future.

An actor who shares a life with the character has marked an end in front of the cameras, yet bringing a wisp of its soul into the next journey. At least, actor Yu Shi has somewhat figured out his unique experience:

To focus on continuing down the road, do not ever stop.

[yoshyushi]

20240514 Beijing Youth Interview

From 【Creation of the Gods】 to 【To the Wonder】, Yu Shi: Popularity isn't pressure, it's motivation

​​Actor Yu Shi is an idealist. In his recent exclusive interview with Beijing Youth's reporter, his confidence, maturity and sincerity seem to be reflected through the clear gaze in his eyes as he looks forward in his acting career. "The roles that I wish to be known for can't just be Ji Fa (T/N: leading role in 【Creation fo the Gods】). I want to leave behind many memorable characters and Batay is one of them."

Mini-series 【To the Wonder】 was exclusively broadcasted on iQiyi on 7th May and at the same time, entered CCTV golden primetime broadcast. The whip-wielding grassland boy on horseback Batay that Yu Shi plays in the drama brings forth a clear natural vibrance, blending with the majestically beautiful landscape. Yu Shi thinks this project had helped open up a new world for him. "Through 【To the Wonder】, I hope to let everyone see that I'm also able to take on a role like Batay who's so contradictory, rugged yet pure, deep and shy. Such vivid qualities are hard to come by in previous films and dramas."

It was just a "work finding" attitude back then, never thought to gain so much attention right now

【To the Wonder】 was adapted from a short stories publication of the same name by Li Juan, directed by Teng Cong Cong and starring Ma Yili, Zhou Yiran and Yu Shi, which tells a story of a young Han lady Li Wenxiu who grew up in Altay, her consecutive failures chasing after her literary dreams in the city that eventually forced her to return to her hometown to live with her mother who looked after a shop. After she met local youth Batay, Wenxiu gradually came to discover the beauty of the land.

【To the Wonder】 had a global premiere this April at Cannes. Following that, tickets were hard to grab when it had screened at the 14th Beijing International Film Festival. It could be said that it was highly anticipated. Yu Shi laughs as he claimed he hadn't expected that the project would be so popular when he first participated in it. "After I completed filming for 【Born to Fly】, I was jobless for a while. So at that time I only had the mindset of "finding a job" and got in contact with this project. During the audition, I chatted with director Teng Cong Cong and didn't know what the results would be. We met a second time, and it was confirmed that Batay would be played by me."

Yu Shi read 【To the Wonder】's original short stories in detail. The free land and unique quality of Altay made him yearn for it. "At that time I had a personal agenda, I thought as an actor, if I was able to experience the vast, primitive Northern Xinijang with livestock aplenty as penned by Li Juan would be such an experience of a lifetime."

Suddenly feeling like he had really become a local chap

In order to perform Batay well, Yu Shi's greatest challenge was language. He spoke mostly Kazakh in the drama. Half a year before he joined the production team, Yu Shi had started learning Kazakh language from a teacher. He laughed and said he had used a most primitive method-- to memorize blindly. "I couldn't learn it systematically from grammar to phonetics. The script was in mandarin, so I found a teacher to translate it into Kazakh. I recorded it into my voice memos and listened to it daily when I had the time, even when I was going to bed, I brainwashed myself through putting it on loop, memorizing it every day. To what extent did such muscle memory achieve? If you wanted me to speak a line from it (the script), I'm still able to. Although I'm unable to guarantee the meaning of every line but I can most definitely still recite them."

In order to ascertain how well he was able to speak his lines, Yu Shi became "chummy" with the local kids. "I would often grab a kid and greet him before speaking a line from my script, asking if he was able to understand me. He said yes, so I suppose I spoke pretty well."

Yu Shi had substantial dialogue in his first scene, which was a conversation with the owner of the stables. "That actor was Kazakh. Under his lead, my sense of the language got better, and I became more confident. And as filming progressed, I was also immersed into the local community. The few months I was there I rode horses, herded and mixed with the locals whenever I wasn't filming. I would help the shepherd grandpa to herd the sheep and was invited to a shepherd's home. I learnt some short local phrases, so my lines were spoken very naturally. I shook off the bondage of pure memorization and could even start to ad-lib. For example, Batay being a passionately helpful person, saw someone pushing a car from far away. He wanted to help so he went up to say something. At that time the script only wrote "What's wrong?" but I was able to put the script aside and I had forgotten about the language barrier and was able to interact with him like a true local. All of a sudden, I felt as if I had really become a local chap."

Besides writing character background stories, there's also a need to observe the details of daily life

From Yu Shi's point of view, there's a kind of contradiction in Batay, mixed with a different aura. This had become his unique quality. "He's not the kind of pretty that we usually identify with, but he has a kind of primitive masculine handsomeness about him. At the same time, he's just a seventeen, eighteen-year-old kid but all sorts of circumstances had made him mature. He had been shepherding since young and needs to carry family responsibilities and bear with things. But when it comes to feelings he's so shy and deep. This gave him a different charisma."

Yu Shi wrote character background stories for Batay, but he felt it wasn't quite enough. "I attempted to recall many things about myself when I was seventeen and eighteen, to retrace my emotions back then. These weren't enough, I had to observe life, recording down vivid details. For example, incorporating the way the natives express themselves. When Batay smiles, or gets shy, how should the look in his eyes be? I will do a harmonisation. This way, Batay is no longer a character from imagination, but as if he had developed from my own being, a character that's of flesh and blood."

【To the Wonder】 is Yu Shi's first collaboration with a female director. He felt that Teng Cong Cong's female perspective was "very awesome". "She magnified many good parts of me. When we chatted off-camera, she would often say 'you may wait with assurance, this project is definitely very good. As a woman I feel blessed as I watched it.' Director Cong Cong is very detailed, sensitive and is able to capture subtle moments."

Actors are not a "tool" in story telling, they must have their own opinions for the character to truly come alive

Yu Shi really likes to ad-lib in his performances. He laughed and said he is measured and wouldn't overdo his ad-libs. "When on set, being in all that vivid atmosphere, the actors would be inspired and in turn make the story more vivid."

Yu Shi cites an example of a scene where Batay has an argument with his father. His father had objected to his relationship with Wenxiu. Later, Batay rides his horse over and discovers Wenxiu asleep on the grass field. "In the script it writes that Batay plays a prank and ties Wenxiu's shoelaces together, causing her to trip afterwards. But I felt if I had simply acted this way, it would be too single-faceted. I observed that there were many little wildflowers that were blooming on the fields, so I plucked one and stuck it on Wenxiu's glasses. I thought this could express Batay's inner self. At that time, he was feeling messed up. His father had objected to their feelings for each other, Batay needed to take care of this family responsibilities, but he liked Wenxiu and also couldn't bear to wake her up. So, he picked a most beautiful flower to express his liking for Wenxiu. Then, I followed the script to tie her laces together. Such a Batay was no longer just mischievous but had a gentleness and intricacy to him. At that time when I did it, I didn't discuss this with anyone. I just felt inspired at that moment and had a sudden new feeling about it. I feel this was very meaningful in the process of creation."

To Yu Shi who likes adaptations, director Teng Cong Cong had given ample creative space, which was very gratifying to him. "For an actor, the script gives visibility to allow actors to know how the storyline would progress. But actors are not 'tools' to present a story, they must have their own opinions to allow the characters to truly come alive. At the filming set, you will have sudden new feelings. Such feelings would make you act in ways that's closest to daily life, the way in which we speak would also be expressed naturally. This makes it really vivid. The actors in the scene would feel really exhilarated. I really love acting with actors who step away from the script. Such chemistry is very important."

In such a "gratuitous" space, Yu Shi was able to improvise as he liked, to let loose in his acting, and was constantly discovering himself in this process. "The director's expectations are actually very strict. Once she's assured that everything is in order, she would toy with the idea of letting the actors to play around a little, to give more possibilities. For example, the director would let me use multiple ways to express a single feeling, to let me speak my lines in this tone or that tone, or even not saying it but just smiling a little. In this process of practicing, I would have a judgement of my own to discover which way would suit such a scene, and how to present a most powerful side in a relaxed condition. This was a kind of self-discovery."

I'm confident that I'm able to totally immerse myself to act well once I take on a project

Director Teng Cong Cong felt that there was no second option other than Yu Shi for the role of Batay. Not only was his outer-image handsome, it was more so because he had a spirit of really wanting to become a good actor. When Yu Shi was interviewed, he didn't hide his passion and ambitiousness in acting. He wishes for breakthroughs, to leave more recognized characters in his acting career.

【To the Wonder 】 seem to have opened Yu Shi to a new realm, allowing audience to listen to the shyness of a bright young youth. Yu Shi said "After performing in 【Born to Fly】 and 【Creation of the Gods】, I was really afraid of getting typecasted. I didn't want to be labelled. I wish to perform in all sorts of roles to prove myself as a multi-faceted and my depth as an actor. Performing Batay gave me such an opportunity."

In the beginning, when he received 【To the Wonder】, there were people who doubted why Yu Shi would accept a low budget production. Now, Yu Shi feels 【To the Wonder】 has proven itself through its quality. "I can really confidently say that the natural landscape in the show, the movie-style cinematography, the creation from the heart has made 【To the Wonder】 different from all the rest in the past."

Presently, Yu Shi's popularity can be described as "burning". On this, does he feel pressurized? Yu Shi laughed and said "Popularity isn't pressure, but motivation. Right now I feel really great. Such a feeling has nothing to do with popularity but it's from all the pent-up adrenaline I had for all these years that now has somewhere to be put to use, I can finally film more projects."

Yu Shi claimed he's an idealist. "I think a piece of gold will always shine. All great directors and great actors started out as unknowns, so why can't rookies have opportunities and why should they be doubted? What if I succeed? Even if I hadn't filmed 【Creation of the Gods】, I would still think the same. Nobody knew who I was before 【Creation of the Gods】, but that's unimportant. What matters is if you are able to act well. Don't ever be opportunistic, don't think of taking short cuts. I'm confident that I'm able to, when I receive a project, I will put all of myself into it to act well."

Benefitted a lot from the Beijing International Film Festival as a panelist, harbors a "directorial dream"

At the Beijing International Film Festival this April, Yu Shi was a panelist for the "New blood movie projects". Yu Shi reflected that it had been an exceptionally beneficial opportunity. "As I watched the short films, I had to carefully observe the project's cinematography, lighting, editing and all other aspects. This was of great help to me as an actor. Being an actor requires you to understand the entire development of the industry, to understand the styles adopted for cinematography, the director's creative thinking. A good actor would step out of his role to create a project on a macro-level. Secondly, I also saw many young creatives who had just graduated from university and have many thoughts put into their projects, with so much potential. Perhaps an influential creative genius could be born from them."

Yu Shi revealed that he has "dreams of becoming a director". "They inspired me a lot, which further boosted my confidence to persist in becoming a film maker. If I'm able to in the future, I would want to develop as a director, to explore with rookies and let more talented young people be seen."

Likes all things new, actors cannot be isolated, because you can't just be acting as yourself

Yu Shi can be said to be multi-talented in his daily life. A professional basketballer, an expert at horseback riding, archery, good with the guitar. He was also the horseback archery director in 【To the Wonder】.

Yu Shi told the reporter that the job of a horseback archery director is to ensure that filming can be done safely, can progress and that the images can be expressed well with the protocols put in place. "Firstly, it has to be scientific to allow the horses to learn and get used to the scenes. Horses run by nature, but when it comes to scenes on horseback archery, the live camerawork, the people moving around shouting orders would all affect the horses' conditions. So, every frame on the horse has to be captured systematically. Secondly, on the progress of filming, you would have to ensure that the cameraman is able to capture the required angles and frames to fulfill the long shot, full shot, medium shot and close-up requirements. Thirdly, you have to pick the optimum path to allow the cameraman to capture the beauty and aesthetics of the horses' speed, and it has to look good. These are all the communication and calibration work needed prior to filming."

Yu Shi had always loved animals. "They all have such spirits where they can feel if you're kind or malicious as you approach them. Horses are very intelligent. Their discernment through their ears and the sensitivity of their skin and fur are very high. As long as you have a good heart, your scent, your touch would make the animals feel secure and establish a good relationship with them."

On him being "multi-talented", Yu Shi laughed and said he's someone who likes to accept all things new. "The lucky thing is, being an actor really requires such a trait. An actor cannot be isolated, because you can't just be acting as yourself. No matter if it's someone cool, a hopeless romantic, restrained or a hero, villain, you may have to present all sorts of characters. At that time, your skills, your experiences would all become the source of creative inspiration. Just like an ordinary person, if he has a certain ability he would also be very charismatic. Likewise for a character, there could be something special about him, something that makes him better than others. When this happens, as an actor shapes this character and he is coincidentally equipped with such skillsets, he would be able to use it on the character to increase the definition of the role. For example, when I filmed 【To the Wonder】, Batay initially didn't do horseback archery. But because I'm good at it so it was applied onto Batay. The more an actor learns, he accumulates and is able to bestow more shining points to the role. Even a little casual hobby could come in handy during a critical moment to add points onto the character."

Love reflections when feeling anxiety, for example on mortality and the universe

One would be taken aback by Yu Shi's maturity in thinking and the clarity of his attitude as they converse with him. Yu Shi admitted he's the type of person who loves to mull over things and likes both rowdiness and quietness. "When I'm free I'd go for a round of work out and gym. When I return home I turn quiet, mulling over all sorts of things, over and over again, what's past, what's to come, all sorts of things, I'll mull over them all."

And reflecting is a way for Yu Shi to fight anxiety. He claimed he feels anxiety too but he'd think of ways to dissipate such bad feelings. "For example, singing, playing the guitar to let it out, listening to music. And there's another method, it's actually my little secret, which is to think about things in macro-perspective, to think about deep stuff like mortality, the universe, things about various dimensions, or perhaps to just think of these worries as heaven's best arrangement. After thinking about these, you'll find that all those frustrations amount to nothing, actually. There's definitely all sorts of road bumps in life. Just as you resolve an issue, a new one could come along the next day. There is a certain order of our existence here as humans, we will never be able to escape from it. Since no one can escape, then worries and anxiety are very normal things and they're no big deal. Because nothing good comes from worrying. At least you're still living on this earth as a complete being and able to see the sun the next day."

Yu Shi's current projects have all gained good reviews. Does this have something to do with his ability to pick scripts, or is it luck? Yu Shi admits that luck comes first. "No matter how careful a choice is made, it's no use if there's no luck. Many people love to predict if a piece of work would become explosively popular but this is in fact really difficult. Choices and luck come hand in hand. When I pick scripts I rely on my intuition. A good project is something you're able to sense. However as to whether it would become popular, that's controlled by fate. So, my team and I picking a good project is something within our control and it also concerns the how the audience likes it through word of mouth. As for the rest on if it would become insanely popular shall be decided by fate."

Before 【To the Wonder】 was broadcasted, Yu Shi wrote on his weibo "I heard a deep echo from the depths of the grasslands. And that stems from missing the wilderness." In reality, Yu Shi also faces every project and every role with a sincere heart. And then, waits for the echo of fate.

[yoshyushi]

20240309 WSJ Magazine

Yu Shi: Enter the court

Yu Shi recalls when he was young and played basketball. When he went on court the coach often said: don't think too much, don't get distracted, there's only offence and defense in your heart. This would later became one of the mantras in his life. "I think humans have to be like this. When you're decided on something, you'll undoubtedly lose once you get distracted."

Happy

Yu Shi speaks a little Kazakh, the kind for simple communication. He's also able to recite paragraphs after paragraphs of Kazakh lines, even though he had already wrapped up filming for 【我的阿勒泰 My Altay】 for more than half a year.

【我的阿勒泰 My Altay】 is Yu Shi's first drama, he plays a Kazakh boy Batay (Ba Tai).

While filming in Xinjiang, he liked spending time with the Kazakh nomads, chatting, sitting around, horse riding, shepherding and eating at people's homes. It wasn't the nomads' actual homes but a temporary homestay during shepherding transition. Mud house, dimly lit, rundown amenities. But Yu Shi didn't see anxiety or worry on the faces of these nomads, they all looked serene.

"I felt that they were all free and simple. They think about one thing every day. It could be to shepherd, it could be to feed the livestock. I suddenly thought of my past self, wanting this and that, worrying about many things. But speaking to them, I felt so free, and very simple. I forgot about all those things."

He had a deep impression of a Kazakh granny. High cheek bones and sunken cheeks, skin coarse, tanned and red having been under the sun all the time, wrinkles deep but her face was benevolent. "Really, I rarely see such benevolent people with such a labored face," he said.

The first time he met granny was after shepherding. Granny invited Yu Shi to her house for tea, looked at him and said "Child, I'm really happy that you have come to us from outside the village. You have been working here recently. You don't have to do anything for us, come by any time. Treat this place as your home, and I will treat you like my child."

Before he left the plains, Yu Shi popped by granny's place again, bringing with him some milk, fruits and pastries. He wanted to chat with the nomads again and brought something as a token of appreciation. He thought, he had been so happy all this time, free and at ease, having forgotten about everything in his reality. But he knew he couldn't live on the plains forever. The day before 【我的阿勒泰 My Altay】 started filming was the premiere of 【长空之王 Born to Fly】, new comer Yu Shi was featured. After filming had wrapped up, 【封神第一部：朝歌风云 Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms】 had premiered. Actor Yu Shi officially took the stage in the identity of playing Ji Fa.

"Now that the premiere has ended and the roadshows have ended, how would you see everything that's happened in 2023?" This was the first question we threw at Yu Shi.

"I gained a lot. If you asked me a month ago the answer probably wouldn't have been this. Having waited for a really long time, suddenly it was screening, receiving attention, people say it's an accumulation that burst forth, but this has its pros and cons. With more attention, difference voices have increased. I know this is a path that actors or public figures must take and have to accept. But my heart feels a little complicated." Yu Shi paused and said "But it's really peaceful now, it's more of feeling touched and grateful, grateful for the final presentation of 【封神 Creation of the Gods】 , grateful for the recognition from audiences."

The happiest day in 2023 was 4th November. The 【封神 Creation of the Gods】 production team participated in the 36th Golden Rooster Awards ceremony, receiving best story, best cinematography and best actor in a supporting role. "The Golden Rooster awards really was something that didn't let down the hard work and hopes of all the staff of 【封神 Creation of the Gods】," Yu Shi says.

He felt that perhaps this was a period to the sentence, finally considered a conclusion. After the premiere, even as the box office rose and received an influx of great reviews, he was cautious about being too happy. He always feels that people shouldn't be happy too soon, who knows if bad news could be waiting at the end.

"Why are you afraid of feeling happy at the beginning?"

"Many things remind me of that. This could be neo-daosim. Not to believe in it too much before something comes to fruition. Just like how when I used to play basketball, even if my coach tells me that I trained well, let's go sign up for the competition. But before the application gets submitted, I didn't dare to relax even for just a moment," Yu Shi said.

Having become a professional actor, he had experienced many ups and downs. He had been waiting for a long time, once in the morning on the day he thought the movie would be screened in the afternoon, he received a call to cancel his schedule. He felt terrible for two seconds, then laid down to sleep, and slept for another two hours. "I really felt terrible for just two seconds, I felt I was so unlucky. Afterwards I was calm, I know I can't decide on things like that."

And so goes another typical day for him.

Distraction

On abandoning distracting thoughts, Yu Shi knows it all since he was 13.

In 2008, Yu Shi entered the Chinese Basketball Association Fuxin Basketball School. There was a same-aged schoolmate who had joined years before him. That was the future national male basketball team's center Zhou Qi (T/N: Zhou Qi was drafted into NBA Houston Rockets in 2016).

In the five years in the basketball school, there was only half a day off each week, and could only return home once a year. A morning run at 5.30am, a round of 3200 meters, a round of 4 X 800meters sprint or 800 meters and 1200 meters staggered sprints. Before the morning run the beds had to be made. Different heights had different timings to meet, leaving no room for the kids to skive. "It's a run for your life after the warm-ups. If you can't meet the mark you had to run all over again until you meet the mark, you couldn't skive at all," Yu Shi said.

At the beginning, his parents objected to Yu Shi learning basketball. His father enrolled him into summer camp. "He wanted me to admit defeat through this," Yu Shi said. Unexpectedly, Yu Shi got through the summer camp and entered the basketball school.

"They know it's tough to be an athlete, so they wanted to confirm if I could persist. But I persisted and they stopped objecting. Slowly they felt that I had grown up and thus they trusted me more."

On basketball, Yu Shi's physique was not considered outstanding. Currently standing at 1.82 meters, he was not even at 1.7 meters when he entered the school, whereas his teammates were all at 1.9 meters thereabout. "My specs weren't as good as the rest and I wasn't very strong, so I could only train to jump higher, to shoot more accurately. I had to train like my life depended on it to get recognition from my coach, to be able to participate in competitions. This is all cruel."

He was a fast runner since young, jumped high, and was used to additional training in school. Sports required absolute true skills, for it was the only way to receive the opportunity to enter the court. "If points are lost as soon as I get on court, I wouldn't be able to accept it myself. I'd rather not enter the court, I'll go train on my own."

When he went on court the coach often said: don't think too much, don't get distracted, there's only offence and defense in your heart. This would later became one of the mantras in his life. "I think humans have to be like this. When you're decided on something, you'll undoubtedly lose once you get distracted. Hesitation will be your downfall," Yu Shi said it with conviction.

In total he watched 【封神 Creation of the Gods】 twice, once in the company, another time at the Xining for FIRST Youth Film Festival roadshow. The roadshow that lasted for two months across twenty over cities, it was only at Xining that he didn't have to rush to another theatre. Yu Shi watched Ji Fa of four years ago, and would sometimes think, what would it be if he had designed more for certain scenes? But he knows that's so much "ifs", for that Ji Fa was performed by him out of true feelings.

“The feelings at that time were very sincere, I had no distracting thoughts. At that time all I thought every day was how to perform each scene well, how to satisfy the director, how I can do justice to the crew, it was pure." Yu Shi said "I would also dwell on it as I wrapped up every day, if I had not acted well. Acting does leave lots of regrets, but the good thing was I had no distracting thoughts when I'm on set."

Yu Shi's current favorite sport is horseback archery. This was also a mandatory training for him at the "Creation of the Gods Boot Camp". In the "Creation of the Gods Boot Camp", the youths had one day off per week, starting each day at seven and ending at nine at night, with twelve hours of closed door training every day, which content included acting classes, cultural classes and wushu (T/N: Chinese martial arts), horseback riding, archery, music instrument classes and other lessons with "li (etiquette), yue (music), she (shooting), yu (riding), shu (books), shu (calculation)" as foundation.

Yu Shi enjoys horseback riding and archery. While filming in Xinjiang he named his white horse Olympics (Ao Yun), took care of it himself, and together they completed the first scene that the Creation of the Gods crew filmed. On archery, he asked of himself to "be able to go fight with a bow and arrow if I really were to be placed in a battle in ancient times."

In 【封神 Creation of the Gods】, there was a scene where Ji Fa, wearing 40 jin (T/N: approx. 45 pounds or 20 kilograms) worth of armor was riding on the horse's back without holding the reins, grabbing a bow tossed over by a partner from behind and he turned to shoot an arrow. Like how he had been at the basketball school when he was 13 years old, Yu Shi wanted to train himself more. "Train every day, train every day, train every day until it becomes muscle memory." He believes that hard work will pay off, if it doesn't pay off then he would continue to work hard. "Success or failure could depend on just a single moment, where everyone is exhausted and can no longer go on but you were able to grit your teeth and make it through, then you would have won."

When the film was done, Director Wuershan said the final scene that was presented would have been difficult to complete even for a horseback riding coach. After 【封神 Creation of the Gods】 wrapped up filming, Yu Shi continued to delve into two years' worth of horse back riding, archery, and participated in the Guangdong Equestrian Festival's national competition. "I will do my very best for something that I really like," he said.

Archery is a test of thinking, physical abilities and mentality. Why did I miss the bullseye? Was it the position of the hand or was it the stability of the hand that caused the issue? Yu Shi liked to ponder about things like that. More importantly, archery is a sport that requires distractions to be dispelled and both decisiveness and relaxation.

"Archery needs to be calm. Mentality needs to be stable. Once there's distractions, for example thinking that ah I didn't hit the target, I'll definitely not be able to hit the target then." Yu Shi said "every time the bowstring is released it must be an unintentional action, as if it is an unconscious "bam" moment and it's out. For many, their best shot is when their hands are not locked in position and the string suddenly released, like an accidental discharge. The arrow shot is the most precise and the best. Only when it is released unintentionally will the arrow move most perfectly in the air, the least influence from the stability of the person."

"Every time I play archery is like pitting me against myself, likewise for horseback riding, it's all me against myself and how to calibrate myself," Yu Shi said.

"Do it and it's done!"

Yu Shi is very animated, the entire room is full of laughter during the interview. The staff beside him says since debut, Yu Shi's every interview had been spontaneous, no staff had guided or spoken on his behalf.

He said he often surfs the internet and would read comments of himself by netizens, both good and bad ones. "Sigh I scroll through platform A and it's all praises. After a while I must take a look at platform B. I'm afraid I would become full of myself, so I look at platform B, ah so many are criticizing me, alright, I've found my middle ground." He spoke with such gusto, and deeply knows he has to keep a distance from the reviews of others outside of the circle. "If I rely my emotions on the reviews by others, then I would definitely be very conscious of myself and judge myself. What is it about me that attracted them? It's great if it's because of my acting, but what if it's because of my looks? Wouldn't I then really hope to present my best looking side while I'm acting? Then I wouldn't be able to act. this is what distraction is."

"He has no burdens, none at all," a staff from his team Zhang Fang (not their real name) had managed celebrities for many years, and felt themself changed by Yu Shi. "In the past it was always us trying to convince the celebrity, but now it is often Xiao Yu (Yu Shi) who convinces us, don't be afraid this is really fun, let's try this. Now our team becomes the worried ones, would it be too overwhelming to do this challenge?"

Driving an excavator and shooting ballons, shooting four balloons at one go on the excavator, this was the "first in the whole internet" challenge that Yu Shi had thought of when he celebrated 【封神 Creation of the Gods】 breaking the $2.6billion box office.

"He doesn't see challenges as missions, but he whole heartedly wanted to show his gratitude to every one, to thank all fans and friends. He wanted to do something different to make every one happy."

Yu Shi only has one requirement for the members in his team: I work like my life depends on it, you'll have to work like your lives depend on it. Such a spirit is similar to his idol Kobe (Bryant) and his team mates. And truly, ever since Yu Shi was young, in times of difficulties and exhaustion, he would always think of Kobe's unrelenting personality, he says he has always been influenced by the Mamba mentality (T/N: read Kobe Bryant's "The Mamba mentality: How I Play")

He doesn't like to criticize, he feels it does nothing for him only to bring troubles to his friends. If there's any unhappiness, he drinks some alcohol and gets over it in a blur. "That's life, things never stop moving. Do not be too quick to be happy, do not spend too long being sad."

In facing life, just like how his basketball coach used to tell him "I'm sending you onto the court, just do it and it'll be done!"

In the interview, when Yu Shi sincerely and passionately said "That's how people should be, just do it and it'll be done!" several times, those who hear it can't help but feel invigorated a little, realizing that life indeed is as such "just do it and it'll be done!"

Yu Shi's buddies say working with Yu Shi is easy to gain a sense of satisfaction. He makes sure every single detail of his work is done well. Somehow, he seems never tired, at least he doesn't say it.

"He really has a great attraction, an energy that's enthusiastic and seeking betterment, full of passion as if he had received an energy boost, instructing everyone to charge forth together!" Xiao Yu (Yu Shi) is already 27 years old, and has experienced many things, but would always tell you not to think that there would be no outcome on some of the things that you do, but instead, go do them first. It really rubs off on people.

After he left Altay, Yu Shi posted a vlog, recording himself horseback riding, shepherding, eating at the nomads' home, it's ending frame frozen at a liner "I love this world".

[yoshyushi]

【20230514】 Yu Shi weibo

Caption: A quick flash appearance! #VeryWOWtoday#

[yoshyushi]

20231101 Global People

Yu Shi: It's more important who you are

Yu Shi - born 1996 in Liaoning, Lingyuan. Entered showbiz through his performance as Ji Fa in 《封神三部曲 Creation of the Gods Trilogy》 in 2019. In 2023, movies starring him 《长空之王 Born to Fly》 《封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I》 premiered consecutively, where the latter won 9 nominations in the 36th Golden Rooster Awards.

19th October 2023, Yu Shi was interviewed by this magazine's reporter in Shuzhou.

In a coffee shop in Suzhou, Yu Shi arrives on time wearing a refreshing boyish smile. He greets the 《环球人物 Global People》 reporter, shakes his hand and puts on a Tang dynasty style top, folds his sleeves in a clean action, a smear of green is revealed, incidentally contrasting with the red backdrop behind him.

He sits on a chair, catches a glimpse of a guitar and strums on it while the crew sets up the lights. When he was eighteen, he who was passionate about music would learn and play to the songs he likes. But he never plays by the available sheet music - spontaneity is what he finds interesting about the arts.

"Is this guitar already tuned? It's tuned quite perfectly. I'll play with it again in a while," he sets down the guitar and the interview began.

Time retraces to the "First May release*", that was when many audiences' came to know Yu Shi. 《长空之王 Born to Fly》 was not his first movie but was his first movie to be screened. At that time, compared to the leading actors, Yu Shi was still "invisible".

(*T/N: the Chinese cinema have 3 key peak periods for movie releases that coincides with long national holidays and thus likely to garner higher box office sales: the Lunar New Year, First May labor/workers' day, Mid-Autumn Festival)

Two months later, his maiden movie made a belated arrival. During the 2023 scheduled release, 《封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I》 acclaims and box office sales went against the tide, even the "Zhi Zi Tuan*" became popular- great physiques, bright, testosterone oozing. Some have even commented that 《封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I》 had transformed the male standards in Chinese entertainment.

(*T/N: literally 'Hostage-son team', reference to the vassal state rulers who were forced to offer their sons as diplomatic hostages under the guise of serving the king in 《封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I》)

And thus, like a mainspring, life accelerated at neck breaking speed. Since the roadshow for 《封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I》 , Yu Shi nearly hasn't had a day of rest. No matter where he went, "fans" would gather. He says his most often spoken words now are "thank you" and "pay attention to safety". He persists in gym, there's always a gym equipment in his room. "If I end work late, I must train for a bit the next day before going for a swim."

In the face of sudden immense popularity, Yu Shi is relatively calm, as opposed to his parents who are worried. Each time before he ends his call, he must say "I will" to three things: "I will not be proud nor anxious, I will not forget my original intention, I will abide by the rules."

"They are worried I might become arrogant, but I will always assure them, I've grown up in these past years, I'm very clear about the person I wish to become, I won't lose myself because of these results."

The rebellious teen, the artistic youth

Speaking of his parents, Yu Shi spent 20 minutes speaking about his family: his mother had a gift for sports, his father a restrained cultured man, both exceptional aspects converged onto Yu Shi.

"My mother was amazing at running when she was young," Yu Shi said. "The provincial team had originally roped her in, but the elders in the family did not allow it." As for his father, Yu Shi used a single word to describe him, "poetic". His impression was that his father would always have a lamp lit in the study, "writing. His handwriting is really beautiful." There was a time his father was enamored with Xinjiang literature, and often talked about Liu Liang Cheng and Li Juan (T/N: Xinjiang authors) to Yu Shi. "At that time I was young and wasn't interested." After he grew older, Yu Shi opened up his father's bookshelf and gradually came to understand how wonderful these words were.

Such is the miracle of opportunity- at the end of last year (2022), Yu Shi received a script, and that was adapted from Li Juan's novel 《我的阿勒泰 My Altay》. He filmed the drama from March to May.

Yu Shi is similar to his mother, he displayed great abilities in sports from a young age, and is inherently rebellious. He was more daring than the others. When little, he was "the first in class" in all sorts of things, when he grew older, he left his hometown at age 13 to the city for provincial basketball. Just like how the elders had objected to his mother's entry into the provincial team, his father had also objected to Yu Shi learning sports. He first arranged for Yu Shi to join a summer camp, to overwhelm him. If he didn't do well he had to return home. "He wanted me to admit defeat this way." Unexpectedly, Yu Shi persisted for 5 years, from summer camp to youth training camp and became a second league national athlete, waking up at five thirty in the morning every day, with only half a day off each week where he could leave the training facility and could only go home once a year.

Yu Shi is also similar to his father, artistic on the inside. When he was young he liked watching Bruce Lee and Jet Li's movies, he loved re-enacting scenes from Hong Kong action movies. Besides basketball, his other passion is music, he listens to Zhou Yunpeng and Wan Xiaoli (T/N: folk musicians), learnt the guitar on his own, writing songs; he also liked reading and watching all sorts of books and videos, taking a delight in literature to general sciences, thinking that when it comes a time that these knowledge would come in handy if he has to perform any unique characters. Having filmed 《封神三部曲 Creation of the Gods Trilogy》, he fell in love with traditional culture from learning horseback riding and picked up 2 years' worth of mounted archery training and got himself shortlisted in the Asia region playoffs of the Archery World Cup. His habit now is to document and journal on his phone, but he would still do his serious writings and inspirations on pen and paper, like his father.

"When I was little shy of 20 years old I really liked music, and I got to know some people working in the music industry. And slowly people were telling me, why don't you try acting? That was when the thought was seeded in my mind," at that time, performing to Yu Shi was firstly, an interest that had yet to be uncovered and secondly, a potential means to make a living.

Starting from auditions, sets and sets of his profile and photographs were delivered. He went around to various sets and studios. The question he most often got was "are you a trained performer?" "No I'm not." And then, like a rock sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

With repeated dead ends, Yu Shi had also considered if he should just forget all about it, but he felt indignant. "It seems like everyone is particularly concerned with where I was trained in performing. Is it really not possible for someone to not have training?"

Finally, there was an opportunity for audition, it was a sports advertisement. "I felt it was pretty ok for my first time on camera." After the advertisement was broadcasted, 《封神三部曲 Creation of the Gods Trilogy》 production chanced upon it and invited him to enter their training camp. "They said they'll provide free acting training and courses, that really attracted me."

A list of 15,000 names, Yu Shi become 1 of 1400 who entered the auditions. The first round of auditions was to record a monologue in front of the camera, the content was a boy justifying his playfulness to his mother, making up an entire wondrous story. "Mom! I saw a spotted deer on the west side of Mount Yanting, I'll tell you, it was magical! Do you know that all of a sudden, it grew wings! I've never seen such a thing before, so I followed it and ran further and further away..." the lines were impromptu by Yu Shi, and after he was done he felt "really good", as if he had discovered a new world, "and this was the first time someone allowed me to speak (to have lines)".

2nd January 2018, after three rounds of auditions, Yu Shi became one of the 30 "backups" in the actors' training camp 《封神三部曲 Creation of the Gods Trilogy》, and thus the wheels of fate started to turn.

Metamorphosis in the training camp

《封神三部曲 Creation of the Gods Trilogy》 is touted as the most successful "star production factory" in recent years. Not only did the movie re-propelled Kris Phillips (Fei Xiang) and other veteran actors, it also brought attention to many unknown actors. To a rookie actor, the 24-week camp was a grueling training from inside out.

"Creation of the Gods boot camp" had two secrets to its success: all-roundedness and suffering.

All-roundedness refers to the coverage of the course. The training arrangement for Yu Shi and the rest were largely as follows: a day off a week, seven in the morning till nine at night, every day there was at least 12 hours of closed-door courses: besides performing lessons, they had to learn "li (etiquette), yue (music), she (shooting), yu (riding), shu (books), shu (calculation)", the six arts of a gentleman as foundation through wushu (T/N: martial arts), horse riding, archery, body building, drums, zither and other training. The cultural training was equally important, on history pre-unification, etiquette, oracle bone script (T/N: ancient form of Chinese writing), archeology, movie appreciation and analysis all in cycles. Every Saturday the actors have to put up an interim performance, to display the results of the training.

Suffering refers to the difficulty of the training. "I was an athlete and I almost couldn't endure through it. For example exercise lessons, the entire lesson was training just a single movement, or we had to be in horse stance* for half an hour." Another example was horseback riding. Besides basic knowledge and mounting training, there's great amounts of strength training. The actors were brought to Zhangjiakou Fengning to undergo field training on the plains, riding on the horses continuously for 60 kilometers. They even had to take care of the horses themselves in order to build close relationships with their horses through spending time with them.

(*T/N: a foundational position in wushu that involves holding at a half squat position)

Yu Shi named his horse "Olympics". There's a fruit tree at the ranch and he would pluck fruits for his horse every day. Since then, when ever Yu Shi got onto its back, "Olympics" would turn unusually quiet and very cooperative.

"At that time the expectations I had of myself during training was if they ever put me in a battlefield, I would really be able to fight with a bow and arrow." In the movie, the scene of Yu Shi letting go of the reins, turning and shooting astounded people. Having to wear 40 jin (T/N: approximately 20 kilograms) worth of armor and complete the action while riding on a horse running at full speed requires training every day until it becomes muscle memory.

Cultural and arts lessons were like walking on thin ice. "First, it was my original desire to learn, second it was that the teacher would always say "于是" (T/N: meaning "and so..." which has the same pronunciation as Yu Shi), whenever I hear that there's an anxiety of being called upon, I'll keep my guard on at all times."

The ranking of the interim performances for each of the subjects was never announced, the actors were also unaware of their actual standing. It was only until this year's roadshow that the martial arts director secretly told Yu Shi that he was ranked first in every subject in the training camp.

A first place did not guarantee that the role was his, but what set Yu Shi apart was the deep harmony he had with the character. When the training camp was almost over, the director arranged for everyone to talk about their past experiences, and that was when Yu Shi and Ji Fa (T/N: his character in 《封神 Creation of the Gods》) started to connect. In the movie, Ji Fa resisted the path his father had planned for him, so he played his cards and went to Chao Ge to become a hostage-son. In reality, Yu Shi also went against his family's wishes to become a basketball athlete. In the director's eyes, Yu Shi and Ji Fa shared similarities as idealists with youthful righteousness.

Half a month before filming commenced, Yu Shi was arranged for a costume fitting, and that was when he realized he was chosen for the role of Ji Fa. He wrote an extremely long backstory for his role. "The prelude was written in great details, right from when he was born. I wrote about Ji Fa's dreams, for example how my father bestowed me with a sword, which was used by Yin Shou. He worshiped Yin Shou deeply since, and then I wrote about the reason and his emotional journey going to Chao Ge..."

He showed these writings to the director and received a "pretty good" comment. "Just like how newbies at work receiving recognition from their bosses, I discovered I was able to do this well and felt really happy."

Act and film well, the rest are a bonus

At the end of August 2018, filming for 《封神三部曲 Creation of the Gods Trilogy》 commenced. Yu Shi's first scene was Ji Fa riding on his horse as he rushed back to Xiqi. At that time Ji Fa was exhausted, so it required the actor to grasp his actions and strength, yet to appear fatigued. "I couldn't use my legs to control the direction nor was I able to look forwards, I lost my sense of direction."

The scene was shot at the break of day, the most suitable timing each day was only 5 minutes. Due to these 5 minutes, the production crew filmed in Xinjiang for 5 days, Yu Shi had to get his make up done, prepare, and arrive at the top of the hill to stand by four to five hours in advance. When the first ray of light stuck the fields, the director's command would come through from the receiver in his boots, "Three, two, one, action!"

These words were like a magic spell, it makes Yu Shi forget about the filming set, forget about the equipment, forget himself, to relax and relax again, to get into the role and immerse in it. In that moment, he felt he had truly become Ji Fa- a boy who's about to become a man, a future king who's ideals have gradually awakened.

Thinking back on the year from the time of training camp to when filming wrapped up, Yu Shi confesses that the greatest takeaway has been finding the way of being an actor. "How to find my overall objective after receiving the role, how do I set my own sub-objectives in each scene, how to evoke his tone through the core mentality of the role, actions and other aspects that aligns with the character, and how to work with the entire team to present the best results."

These devices still influence Yu Shi's performance today. From 《长空之王 Born to Fly》 to 《我的阿勒泰 My Altay》 and also to 《欢迎来到我身边 Welcome to my Side》, he has followed through with it, relentlessly incorporating his personal perceptions.

"After getting famous, there are many people who are paying attention to your next role, does this create pressure in your performance?" the reporter asks.

"Actually, it really doesn't. I know that as an actor, shaping a character well will receive more attention, I won't forget my core work because of the attention. To perform and film well, to shape my character well, everything else is a bonus."

He's also awed at the wonders of fate. 3 years after 《封神三部曲 Creation of the Gods Trilogy》 wrapped up filming, he learnt horse back riding and read for enrichment and did work related to traditional culture. This was a process of dispelling his anxiety and was also a period of letting his emotions settle. He believed that all these preparations would come to good use one day.

"If it had premiered quickly back then, I may not have been able to cope with my situation now." 3 years of waiting was what his parents were referring to when they reminded him not to be proud nor anxious and to find his original intentions.

"I'm someone who's pretty good at psyching myself up. I'm not the kind to mull over things too much. The worries people have usually stem from comparison with others. At that time I was envious of people who could take on projects, but I knew instead of envy, I should be confident," Yu Shi says. "To improve isn't to compete with others but to be better than who I originally was."

Before 《封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I》 premiered, Yu Shi was filming 《我的阿勒泰 My Altay》 in Xinjiang, and played a Kazakh youth. He interacted often with the local nomads, got along with them, Kazakh language. Every sunset as the shepherds guide their flocks home, he would come forth to help. The evening skies of Xinjiang are almost like oil paintings, cows and sheep on the moving grass as the wind blows, time seems to stretch and he had more time and space to reflect on things on his own.

He recalled what Ji Chang (T/N: father of Ji Fa) told Ji Fa in 《封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I》 "It matters not whose son you are, more importantly it is who you are." This was a line that he loved the most, it had overwhelmed him when he filmed this scene with Li Xuejian (T/N: actor for Ji Chang).

"Life is long and yet is short," Yu Shi tells the reporter. "So we have to know who we are, who we want to become, to do our best in every task, not leave any regrets."

[yoshyushi]

20240126 ESQUIREfine Cover Story | Yu Shi: Dexterity to Grow Anywhere

cover story | Yu Shi

After 《封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I》 premiered, the topics of discussion surrounding Yu Shi was fixated on his role and his journey of striving. Despite how he himself always tries his best to give new refreshing and enriching answers, his main focus has never changed. Yu Shi understood what the prodding was attempting to get out from him. Facing these scrutiny and deciphering from people, his consciousness as a public figure were gradually formed.

With the double-edged sword of fame in his hands, what comes with it is a naturality of not having any prior training. Yu Shi remains to have a kind of simple passion, an almost clumsy way of baring himself.

actor | utter innocence

Sprawled on the floor - enamored with the destiny and life of each individual body

First it was the shooshing sound of the wind. The point of view expanded from the back of a horse, tanned hands pulling at the reins, the ground a chaos of needlegrass. A large herd of sheep are hastened into a circle, a cacophony of bleating calls. The skies are transiting between two shades of blue, the setting sun burning, its sides stained with a dream-like smoked purple. A small bright moon hung at the side.

This was a snippet of the vlog Yu Shi recorded when he was filming in Altay. The sun set behind the mountains. He rode his horse, shepherding the sheep as he headed to a local shepherd's home for a meal. This clip was filmed in a very simple way, but the images were authentic, presenting a clean, vivid view of the plains, the culture and vibes of the hardworking, hospitable locals, like a paradise. During the peak period of 《封神第一部 Creation of the Gods I》 screening, this four minute-long clip of Altay went viral, even raising a traveling trend amongst his fans. "Yes, I knew about the many people who went traveling because of it," Yu Shi laughs.

In 《我的阿勒泰 My Altay》, Yu Shi plays a Kazakh youth, his name was Bakhtibek. "Bakhti" means blissful, "bek" is a common suffix used in Kazakh male names, there's no specific meaning to it. In the drama he's known as "Batay (Ba Tai), like a nickname. In the first half of last year, he was like a real Kazakh shepherd, riding horses, shepherding and laboring, blending into local life.

In our conversation, Yu Shi gave a long precursor into describing the details of nomadic life, "shepherding requires a lot of brainwork, to find all ways and means to let the livestock be well fed, the nomads themselves also have to replenish their energy, to eat and to have enough, to keep things simple to bring around. So the locals have accumulated a rich knowledge of production and labor as well as some traditional characteristics."

In the example of the opening of the vlog, he was greeting the nomads in Kazakh honorifics to the elder generation. The other party's reply was slightly shorter, it was the way the elder generation would reply the younger generation. "Kazakh language is a little more complex, there's also gender and seniority differences in greetings. Getting 'free meals' is a common rule. The human density in Altay region is low and the standards of living of the nomads were tough for nomads in the past, often suffering from starvation when shepherding, when they finally pass by a house and enter it for drinks and meals, the head of the house would always host them passionately. The saying goes, Kazakhs are called the community with no beggars, because of how hospitable they are, even if there's only just a piece of naan left, a little bit of tea leaves, they would share half of them with their guests."

"Our filming takes place mainly at the Habahe County and Baihaba. They are considered mature attractions, the view is very beautiful." In Spring the grass is still withered and yellow, the grazing fields only turn green when Summer arrives, there's even mountains of wild dandelions and medick in Dzungaria. "Shepherding in Summer can't be on the mountains. The terrain is slightly flatter so it's possible to ride on the motorbike. In Summer shepherding has to be on the mountains and this can only be done riding on horses." His nomad friends even shared their experiences with him: if he ever feels bored he can dig for colophony on the pine trees and chew on them. It has the flavor of gum, something to pass time by.

Looking at the pictures and videos, Yu Shi was visibly tanned, with a loose outfit, riding around on the motorbike or horse. Sheeps are the hardest livestock to look after, there's even techniques involved in shearing and debugging. In Spring, the sheep would give birth and the lambs have to be brought back and looked after. Very well versed, Yu Shi hugs a lamb, and there was a calf too. "Batay is a pure and wild role. He helps his family to shepherd from a young age and does all sorts of hard labor. As he faces the harsh natural environment, he might be a little slow at interpersonal relationship, not too quick witted. But he has a very rich and vast inner world, he grew up on the plains after all. He knows how to take care of different animals and would communicate and interact patiently."

Altay is the sixth region of the East, the days are long and nights are short. The nomads rise at around three to four in the morning every day. When he's not filming, Yu Shi and his nomad friends labor together and drink tea, sometimes in the tents, some times sitting on the plains, every one distributing and eating the naans they brought along. "The nomads are not complex like the people out there, they are more pure-hearted in spirit, and have no agenda when it comes to interacting with people, no distracting thoughts." Yu Shi is good at observing. In his communication with the locals he learnt a fair bit of things and could even practice his Kazakh. "I learnt Kazakh the hard way right from the start, I asked the teacher to translate all the lengthy lines in the show, record them down and listened to it repeatedly, speaking it repeatedly and relied on muscle memory. When I really spoke to the Kazakhs in their environment I realized I was speaking ok, and felt a pretty great sense of satisfaction."

In between the natural world of things and a need of humanities, he has a subtle grasp on its equilibrium. In his past interactions, Yu Shi doesn't hide his yearning for the heroic and their legends. But besides his metanarrative, he was also enamored with the destiny and life of each individual body, attentive to the intricate triviality beyond breathing and sustenance.

Leaving and returning - if the heavens allow, we will meet again

The "Batay" in author Li Juan's original novel was a dream guy who appeared briefly at the village party. He was wonderful but leaned towards plain, an emotional anchor for a young girl's heart. Yu Shi admits "Honestly, I didn't have much of an impression of this character from the original novel. After I received the script and did the related studies, the character was gradually filled and completed in my mind."

Yu Shi arrived early at Altay and after confirming the filming spots he noticed "The Kazakh males don't grow their hair out on purpose and not all minority communities are exceptionally bold." He also came up with premises for his character. "Batay's thinking is a little more avantgarde and rebellious, he likes music and pop elements, so he grows his hair long. He looks to the world outside and doesn't wish to live a typical life on the plains like his predecessors.”

The Kazakh community in history lives by shepherding and hunting. After the implementation of ban on hunting and gun ownership and other policies on environment and nomadic lifestyle, the contrast between the traditional and modern has become more evident than ever. Not only the younger generation of shepherds, even the older generation are lost in the era of change, selling off their livestock and switching to other occupations to make a living just so that they can catch up with the changes.

For Batay's rebellion and departure, the rupture between modern civilization and the shepherding tradition becomes even more evident through him. Yu Shi created the circumstances for Batay, yet this are also the issues that the younger generation of Kazakhs face in reality.

"Besides shepherding tradition, Kazakhs are also very rooted in familial ties. Relationships between people are very tight." Locally, the shepherds hold regular family reunions. During weddings, coming-of-age ceremonies and other celebrations like birthdays, gifts are a must. "They would even gift children lambs and foals." Even if a stranger passes by they host with passion, playing the dombra, eating meat and drinking wine, and are sentimental when it comes to bidding farewell. "If the heavens allow, we will meet again."

"This is the most precious facet of their local culture. The shepherds are really pure and honest, and are straightforward in the way they express their feelings. For example Batay could be looking at someone and laughing as he sings a song on his dombra. A little dazed, straightforward and cute," Yu Shi documents the day-to-day details of life on the plains, all triggered from the warm emotions of the natural winds.

However, the plains aren't exactly true paradise. In the undulating plains beyond Altay, the views are beautiful, the nomadic life seemingly carefree, riding on horses, peaceful and quiet. In fact it is extremely difficult, especially under the harsh winter weather, the shepherd and animals are leading tough lives. More and more younger shepherds wish to detach from the migratory lifestyle and move to the cities to seek their fortune. This is reality.

Yu Shi had keenly sensed this. "The scenery is very beautiful, the experience touring here is great, but this was never utopia. If we had to live here through an extended time, it is in fact boring. The labors that the shepherds have to go through is tremendous, herding is tough work." When he first read Li Juan's book, he found the words healing. However having actually lived in Altay, Yu Shi felt things shouldn't stop at the superficial. "The author wrote beautifully, this is the power of the arts. An excellent work is able to let those who have never been there to be filled with anticipation. But we should also have the thinking and realization of reality beyond what's wonderful."

In June, he returned to participate in the film festival, making good use of the time on the plane to learn Kazakh language. When he touched down and returned to the big city, Yu Shi was dazed for a moment. "People need to feel the power of nature more. When I returned to the city, I felt awed by the vast nature, from the bottom of my heart I kind of yearned for the mountains and waters. More importantly, cherishing it."

Taking root - child-like and also an inherent dexterity to live and grow

The Kazakh people are very respectful towards horses. "Among all the animals of its land, besides the wounded ones, horses nearly never require humans to look after them. They look for their own grass to eat all year round. It knows how to find grass under the layer of snow in winter, and horses love to keep themselves clean, they'll run into the water and roll around.” Sprinting on horseback, Yu Shi has a kind of "feeling of teleporting". "As I close my eyes, the horse could take me anywhere. This is different from driving a vehicle. Horses are really quiet most of the time, but they give off a powerful sound of urgency when they gallop. They're alive, they are living beings. You may hand yourself over to them. It's such a wondrous feeling. As it starts running, I imagine myself as a general in battle in the ancient times, I'd only hear the breathing sound and heartbeat of the horse, and the sound of the fierce winds."

In a press conference for a certain brand, the organizer planned for Yu Shi to enter on a horse. The horse was very tall and was totally unfamiliar with Yu Shi. They only had an hour's time to know each other. Also, the event was livestream. There were a lot of equipment at the set, the strobe lights could startle the horse. Half an hour before the event the trainer was still holding onto its reins at the entrance to prevent an accident. "But I felt it wasn't genuine in that way, it's like I was pretending to ride on a horse and it affected the overall visuals. Since they have invited me here I should bring forth all of my sincerity." After some consideration, Yu Shi suggested to his team "I can do it on my own, don't worry, please trust me." In the end he rode the horse on his own in matching chemistry. The result was wholesome.

The chemistry with animals and his comprehension of the natural world had come together to create Yu Shi's unique spirit. Having trained in mounted archery in the boot camp, riding horses for an extended time in Altay, shepherding, getting along with camels, cows and the puppies in the ranch, for most of the time he became used to vibing along to a rhythm he calibrates to, finding his own joys in them. He doesn't feel it's childish nor is he afraid of being laughed at. He's just spontaneous in the way he expresses his intimacy.

Last winter solstice, at the 5th Hainan Island International Film Festival's closing ceremony was also Yu Shi's 27th birthday. The hotel he was staying in the couple of days had a special aquarium and offered diving activities. After hearing the introduction his first reaction was "Can I dive then?" On his birthday he went diving in jubilance. In the blue waters, the animals and fauna under the sea was colorful and diverse. Yu Shi interacted with the fishes that swam by and greeted the tourists and people watching from outside the glass, making various fun poses.

An expression of a pure and clear soul. Both child-like and a dexterity to live and grow, as if he could take root no matter where he went. Also, what's precious about Yu Shi- is that such a vivid facet isn't just towards nature and humans, but also towards the people he interacts with.

"He hasn't actually formed a routine work condition. For example at interviews, he speaks to writers like a personal friend, speaking honestly, just like how he would chat in his daily life, there's no framework of limitations." His staff was once worried, such an honest and straightforward manner would be potentially problematic, but after wards decided to retain his vivid side of him & not interfere too much with his individual expressiveness.There are many who had interacted with Yu Shi that are moved by his unguarded sincerity. At the same time they can't help but be curious: How long would such scarce uniqueness remain under the spotlight? As his experiences increase, would an armor be built upon his inherent sincerity and evolve into something impenetrable?The magazine photoshoot took place in an old house in Shanghai. Perhaps the wiring was old and couldn't support sufficient current, there was a short circuit when the team had just arrived. The house was pitch black and was only lit by torchlight. The place was too narrow, props and clothes piled up and there was no walking space, so the people who had no duties at that time were squashed along the aisle or sat on bar stools. A couple of steps away, Yu Shi was curled up in a low and small couch, getting his hairstyle adjusted as he chatted and laughed with everyone.

At that time the video director prepared a pillow for him, with the seams removed and feathers would fly when pressed. As the music began, Yu Shi twirled holding the pillow above his head, danced, and the feathers danced around too, the lights hazy. When the music ended, he turned his head and paused- everyone's coats and down jackets didn't go unscathed, everyone's hair had feathers in them and were laughing at each other. Yu Shi carefully rolled up the withered prop, placed it neatly and laughed as well. "Sorry, sorry, I killed a pillow."

His humor triggered off something. As he looked at the feathers on his hair, Yu Shi got inspired and suggested to the photographer "how about we try a few photos like this?" The photographer smiled and gave an ok sign and he posed immediately. Everyone enthusiastically matched up to his moment of inspiration, scooped the runaway feathers and created an atmosphere of rainfall. Very quickly, the cover image of his single 《梦幻泡影 Pipedream》 was born.

In the eyes of the crew, "Yu Shi isn't the kind to wait for things to come his way, he's good at igniting the passion in the team. It isn't a linear way of everyone carrying out their duties but injecting a lot of thoughts and inspiration from coming together." But in private, he's a sincere and interesting friend who takes care and understands others.

After the shoot that day, we made space to have a room for the interview. "This won't do," Yu Shi felt that the bar stools that were prepared wasn't convenient to relax and converse. He surveyed his surroundings and nudged the only chair available over. "Why don't you sit here." But there were no other chairs, so he sat on top a small coffee table. Not long after, he shifted a bar stool over and gestured "you can put all the recording stuff here."

The last time I saw Yu Shi was in Beijing. It was snowing. Filming took place from noon till nine at night, and it was nearly eleven when the interview was over. As I stood to bid farewell, I was shocked to discover that his teammates were all seated on the floor- there was actually a couch and chairs in the make-up room. Everyone was doing their own thing, huddled together talking softly, breaking into laughing from time to time. None of them felt it was problematic to sit on the floor, and they all looked really joyful.

Gift - having repeatedly tasted the bitter medicine, and so the gift from destiny had arrived

At Weibo Night, Yu Shi posted a group of photos which appeared to be him cutting his hair short at the mirror. At first the make-up artist specially prepared a wig and was making preparations to style him. But at the photoshoot, Yu Shi suggested to "try something different." He also picked a special present that day, Director Cao Baoping's "precious jar" (T/N: precious jar is also pronounced bao ping, a reference to the director's name)

His popularity expanded as the year draws to a close. Various schedules, including his birthday at the end of the year, Yu Shi received many blessings and gifts. Needless to say, he was joyful. What was most delightfully surprising is the love and support from his family. Crossing nearly half of China by flight, his parents had arrived specially to spend his birthday with him and watched his Hainan rehearsals and hosting debut. One week later on Shanghai's countdown stage, Yu Shi descended on wireworks, announcing his new movie role and even sang two songs. Also in the crowd clapping and cheering below the stage was his mother.

When the countdown ceremony ended, Yu Shi returned to Tsingdao for additional filming of 《封神 Creation of the Gods》. Nearly all of them were night scenes, his days and night went topsy turvy. He was used to playing the guitar, reading and writing at night, sometimes even worried about too much brain stimulation at night. "When I can't fall asleep it affects me, I have work the next day. I play videos about the universe at night and listen to Professor Ai's lectures (T/N: Ai Yue Jin, a Marxist and Maoism academia). Anyway I gradually get sleepy as I tune in." And now it's the other way around, major night scenes every day, heading back to sleep as the skies start to turn bright. In between the busyness and exhaustion he found stability.

Too many dreams were fulfilled in the past year. Returning to 《封神 Creation of the Gods》 production at the start of the year, it was as if a loop was formed. On the keywords of 2023, Yu Shi went silent for a long while. "Very complicated. There's a lot of things that touched me. A mixed bag of feelings."

When he was young a birthday gift that left the deepest impression was a basketball jersey. This year, as he pushed open the door after a day's work, was a dazzling sight. During his teenage years in the basketball team "I was facing setbacks almost every day, but the high pressure environment had made me more determined, I was just able to ensure through it all." He honestly expresses all his emotions and desires. In the past days of waiting, his earphones played many Liang Bo and Wu Bai songs, he feels that getting a sense of satisfaction from doing the things he likes is the best condition to be in. That's what music should be too. "When I was young my grandfather taught me to play the er hu, the flute, he really liked traditional music, but I was poor in both of them. It was until later that I learnt the guitar on my own. He gained satisfaction and has now released his own song.

His rich memories had evidently created the foundation of his personality. In the love wrapped in gentleness that he had received and the sharp piercing grueling training he had undergone, he grew into adulthood. Having repeatedly tasted the bitter medicine, and so the gift from destiny had arrived.

Many dramatic moments happened. From his perspective, the period of waiting was also a gift, the layering of experiences was injected into his life, becoming his observation of art, life and people. In the period of March and April last year, Yu Shi was still reading on his bicycle in Beijing, stopping as he wished, watching the congestion of people and traffic. "The weather was really wonderful, no haze, the sun was shining on the people passing by, really bright, there were also little dust particles moving in the air. You don't know their names and what these people had experienced, but the sun was warm. If you smile, someone would be smiling back at you. Every time this happens, I feel like I love this world a little more."

As work entered into rapid mode, such experiences became lesser. Yu Shi remained nimble, keeping that vivid and pure part of him. The day when movie 《星愿 WISH》 premiered, he received a small Valentino (T/N: Yu Shi voiced the character of Valentino) plushy. He couldn't keep his hands off it, bringing it wherever he went the entire day, even placing it on the table when at dinnertime. During that time he was working round the close and had lack of sleep. When the fireworks started, Yu Shi fell asleep as he took a nap on the couch hugging Valentino.

His nap was documented through behind the scenes recording by his team. He had almost no recollection of it, but he was feeling mostly happy that day. After wards, he detailed another nap time he had, where he had a strange dream. "I was rather tired that day and fell asleep in a daze as soon as I laid down when I returned to the hotel. Then I dreamt that my mobile phone was glowing, and many pictures flowed out of it, a bearded old man stood there and said these things are for you. I looked down and those pictures were marked onto my hand like tattoos, the markings wouldn't budge," he said and laughed, gesturing. "How sturdy were the markings? How should I put it? Let me think, ah yes, like the branding on pork meat."- the people around couldn't help but laugh.

"Did you have any other impression at that time?" I asked.

"I forgot, but I remember I was really happy, and the person in the dream looked really benevolent," Yu Shi kept laughing. "I suppose it was a blessing."