What difficulties did you encounter during the filming of the 86 edition of Journey to the West?

The director and cameraman of Journey to the West are actually husband and wife. They have filmed the Journey to the West all over the world for six years and have no time to take care of their 12-year-old daughter. Due to lack of funds, security measures have to be cancelled. When hanging Weiya (walking a tightrope), actors often fall down. On one occasion, Huaili Yan (Friar Sand) weighed 170 kilograms, hit the cameraman Wang Chongqiu on the head and fainted on the spot.

Directors Yang Jie and Wang Chongqiu went to Hong Kong to learn to hang Weiya. 1982, when we first filmed Journey to the West, the crew lacked guidance and everyone didn't know how to do stunts. Photographer Wang Chongqiu tried his best to be unrealistic. He happened to meet a Hong Kong man and asked him to hang people. But he is also an outsider who doesn't know the inside story, so the crew went to Hong Kong to learn to hang Weiya, and finally succeeded.

There is no leading role and supporting role in the cast. The protagonist is treated like everyone else. No assistant, no nanny car, no preferential treatment. After the shooting, I have to take some station wagon equipment and tools with the crew. When there is a lack of walk-on actors, we should also make up with the cast and save the scene.

It was very dangerous to hang Weiya in those days, and often Weiya's rope was finely ground and was still being used at risk. Every time the four disciples hang Weiya, they should be glad that they have come back to life, especially the Monkey King and Pig Bajie, who mainly hang Weiya. Every time after the end, they didn't fall, and they all high-fived each other to celebrate. All four of them fell and got hurt.

Now it's a compliment to say that the Westward Journey has been filmed for six years. But that's why I wore little shoes. In fact, 25 episodes took six years to shoot, which was a helpless result. There is only one camera, so it is impossible to shoot from multiple angles at the same time, which is very inefficient. During his visit to Japan, the director was also criticized by CCTV leaders for how fast Japan filmed! Yang Jie said she wanted five or six cameras, and I shot faster than them!

Because The Journey to the West was criticized by CCTV, CCTV formed an investigation team. The investigation found that the original crew was particularly difficult and financially difficult, and even the basic shooting equipment was not available. We agreed to give money and another camera. Who knows that when the team returned to CCTV, everything changed back to the old style. CCTV ordered the crew to stop filming The Journey to the West and just shoot a tail. At that time, only 15 episodes were filmed.

Yang Jie and CCTV leaders worked hard to negotiate. After many negotiations, they finally got a concession from CCTV: If you find the money yourself, but it must be a loan, not an investment, we will let you continue filming Journey to the West.