CloudIndigo

OUR GENERATION

"Zhang plays Jiang Qiaoxi, an introverted boy forced to bear the weight of his family's hopes after the early death of his mathematically talented older brother. Pushed into intense Olympiad math training, Jiang grows up brilliant but emotionally stunted.

Unlike the near-perfect heroes he's portrayed in historical dramas, Jiang is flawed and vulnerable. Zhang describes the character as his "most grounded and relatable "role to date.

"He lives with constant emotional tension. His upbringing makes it difficult for him to express how he really feels."

To prepare for the part, Zhang looked inward. Raised in a strict household himself, he drew on personal memories.

Zhang describes his parents as "reserved" — his mother was the strong-willed decision-maker in the family, while his father was kind but "somewhat indecisive".

Their parenting style was strict.

"They never said 'Son, you're amazing' when I did well in exams. Instead, it was always 'You can do better'," Zhang recalls.
The emotional restraint of his upbringing stayed with him.

"For years, I found it hard to say 'I love you' to my parents or even compliment my friends," Zhang reflects.

"That made it tough to open up on screen too. Early in my career, I was always anxious — worried about how my acting would be received. Negative feedback really shook my confidence.""

"Zhang Linghe admitted: He was hardly ever encouraged as a child. Behind excellence lies an uneasy unease Take someone as outstanding as Zhang Linghe—who would have thought he once admitted: Growing up, I hardly ever received much encouragement and always lacked a sense of security.

In a public interview, Zhang Linghe sincerely shared his growth experience. He said that since childhood, he had hardly received any proper encouragement, and those around him always used comparisons to motivate him to move forward. For example, if he scores 90 on a test, thinking he'll get approval from his mother, but then his mother asks, "Why can't you get a perfect score of 100?" Even if he scores 98, which is close to a perfect score, his mother still says, "If you can get 98, then try a little harder. Wouldn't it be better to get 100?"

Whenever he feels he's done well and deserves a reward, adults always immediately pour cold water on him, telling him you can do better and work harder. Besides that, his mother often compared him to others, occasionally saying, "Look at the kid next door—he's better than you. You should learn from them."

Although adults' attitudes and statements weren't meant to deliberately discourage the child or cause him much harm, every time he heard them, it always left him feeling disappointed and uneasy. Zhang Linghe himself said that although he had good grades since childhood and was always seen as a good kid, it was precisely because of this upbringing that he lacked a sense of security and always felt inadequate."

Kismet! My background is the same. Similar culture to theirs indeed! Family is everything. But it can be very difficult if you don't conform. I'm in Canada.

No worries. I'll see what I can find.

I'm going to add directors to my list of industry villains. That's just cruel. There has to be a limit.

Understandable. I'm not going to trash his parents because he knows them, I don't. He also strikes me as someone very filial and loyal. But the underpinnings of childhood do matter, especially if there's a red flag and that fits the subsequent behaviours.

I learned It's really hard to find stuff that isn't hype. I found a couple or more articles on the interview IIRC months ago. What really surprised me was how casually he offered the information- as if it were normal.

I don't think I saved links so it might take me a bit of time to find them (if they still exist.). I might have bits of the interviews. And you're right, the translation might be off. But I did find different articles in agreement on the basic facts.

I will check and get back to you when I can. If only articles and no links I'll send you a message with them. I don't want to spread articles I can't source.

Yes, his own studio would be best. Yes, he did say they fully support his choice.

I gleaned the info about his mother from his reports about her in an interview for 'Our Generation. (I was horrified.) I consider OG to be imbued with an autobiographical aura. He has asserted as much himself.

To be clear, I realise that other cultures may have different norms.

Family, indeed. I'll venture one step further and speculate, perfectionist tendencies due to a hypercritical, browbeating mother when growing up. Very unbalanced. Compound that with an abusive agency. I hope the parents step in to take care of him. I would.

He does seem to have some physical distress as well. I don't understand why he isn't prescribed meds for sleep/anxiety for a bit at the very least.

Okay, it wasn't just the light. Thanks. Yikes!
I was surprised that he wasn't sticking to what he said after the fallout he felt from deprivation while filming of POJ. Must have affected his memory too (not).

I'm not ruling out workaholic tendencies either. He said he was anxious when not working and didn't know what to do with himself. The physical criteria fit as well. He also talked about creating a more balanced life. He's not unaware, I don't think but that doesn't necessarily translate into behaviour when it's become a habit.. I suspect the health events during Road to Glory were a warning.

I watched a bit and just can't. It's distressing.

Am I seeing his ribs when he bends down??? He looks remote. Oh wait, it's a trick of the light.

If he's lost weight for the role then someone needs to read him the riot act. I don't think it's the role, frankly.

Five months is a very long time. That means no breaks or rest for five months.

That is what I felt as well- fury. It was to the point that halfway through I wanted to kill the FL myself and hoped they'd all die in the end. LOL. Waste, indeed.

🎯

I envy him. He has really good cameras.

I put LBFD on hold because of her.. She basically does nothing for me. I'll get back to it at some point.
Thank you for the tip! 🫶 That is so helpful. Of course I do want to see ZLH do his thing. :)

I stopped watching it about 7 episodes in because I heard the ending was a tease. ( I also don't care for Esther Yu.) I do want to watch it all the way through. Where should I stop?

I loved his Gucci outfit. He and Gucci are made for each other. I imagine that Gucci styled him. They would be crazy not to.

He did take something apart. I thought you were joking! LOL

From what I've read, it seems like a chaotic, manipulative mess. Toxic, really. So disappointing and pointless.

I like ZLH. Love his acting, am still going through his catalogue of work. This is probably heresy (and not out of concern) but, not a good look. He's so bone thin he looks like a bobble head. And even he can't elevate this outfit.