He played the role of Guan Yu in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", chivalrous and heroic. He was the "mainlander" who dared to act and was sentenced to 14 months in prison for living together out of wedlock.
He is the righteous and awe-inspiring "second brother", in order to raise funds for the treatment of "Zhang Fei", he performed everywhere. At the same time, he was also a virtuous husband who sheltered his wife from the wind and rain.
actor Lu Shuming is him. On the morning of November 1, 2022, he died of a sudden illness at the age of 66. This sad news spread quickly in the film and television industry, which made many fans deeply regretful.
The death of "Guan Yu", who had always been in good health, was really unexpected, and he left behind a wife and a filial son.
Lu Shuming's life has experienced many twists and turns and controversies, so how did he go from the trough to the peak?
On August 15, 1956, Lu Shuming was born in Qingdao, Shandong, and his ancestral home is Yantai, Shandong. His family consists of six siblings, both of whom are ordinary workers.
In 1966, in response to the state's policy of "supporting the development of the northwest", parents brought their young children to settle in Weinan, Shaanxi.
The naughtiest child in the family is Lu Shuming, who often plays with the neighbors' children after school, and they go to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, climb trees and pick fruits, and have a lot of fun. It wasn't until someone came to the door to reprimand that the parents realized that the naughty child in the house was in trouble again.
14-year-old Lu Shuming is naturally lively and active, half a head taller than his peers, coupled with a strong physique, he has dabbled in various sports. Basketball was his favorite of these events, and his love and strength made him a regular player on the varsity basketball team.
This student left a deep impression on the teacher, because Lu Shuming was keen on literature and art, and he was very attentive to his specialty subjects.
One day during recess, he hummed Peking Opera with the ** teacher in the next class. Quickly attracted by the charm of Peking Opera, he actively sought to join the school's Peking Opera group.
His father was worried that Lu Shuming was addicted to opera, thinking that his hobby was "a plaything", and even adopted the method of family law education to warn him of the impact of learning Xi.
He was so impressed that he always kept this hobby hidden in his heart and did not dare to show it at home. His father thought he would at least stay healthy playing basketball, but at that time, opera actors rarely had the opportunity to get ahead.
The love of parents for their children is profound, and the father hopes that Lu Shuming can live a stable life and learn a skill to seek an "iron job bowl".
In 1976, 20-year-old Lu Shuming chose not to continue playing basketball, but decided to follow his father's advice, find his own strengths, and concentrate on learning Xi this unique skill.
For four years, he has been engaged in professional aerial photography, until one day a chance acquaintance changed the trajectory of his life and led him back to embark on the literary and artistic path that he had not touched for a long time in his heart.
When he was 24 years old, Lu Shuming happened to encounter the entrance exam of the Xi'an Drama Theater. A relative planned to take the exam, but due to the long distance, the elders were not at ease and hoped that someone would accompany them to take care of them.
This relative approached Lu Shuming, who is 1.86 meters tall, for help, because his figure makes people feel very safe and is a very suitable choice.
However, due to his father, he personally did not dare to agree to this proposal easily, and fortunately, relatives managed to convince his father.
In a strange place, the two of them walked around, asking for directions, and happened to meet Guo Da, the deputy captain in charge of admissions. Guo Da was busy arranging various affairs for the candidates, and when he saw the eye-catching Lu Shuming, he hurriedly asked, "Are you also here to take the exam?"”
Lu Shuming felt conflicted in his heart, and he couldn't answer for a while. Guo Da led the two of them towards the examination room, talking as they walked, and learned through his companions that Lu Shuming's father was against him engaging in theater performances, but he himself liked theater very much.
After Guo Da understood the situation, he told Lu Shuming: "Since you are here today, you might as well give it a try, it doesn't matter what the result is." ”
Lu Shuming also gladly accepted, and then Guo Da greeted the recruitment teacher and arranged Lu Shuming's exam. He calmly stood on the stage and naturally showed what he had learned.
He was successfully admitted to the Xi'an Drama Theater, and the news made him feel mixed and didn't know how to express it to his father.
His relatives had already told his father the good news, who knew that his father knew in his heart that he could not blindly hinder his son from pursuing the career he liked, so he agreed to his son to go to the theater, and repeatedly told him to obey the arrangements of the leaders in the unit.
However, although Lu Shuming was not so obedient, during his actor training, his cheerful and hearty personality attracted the attention of the whole class, many girls secretly had feelings for him, and some even took the initiative to show favor to him.
As a young and handsome man, he started a passionate affair with a girl under the age of 18, and soon began a life of pre-marital cohabitation.
At that time, the ideology was generally conservative, and most people could not accept the phenomenon of cohabitation. The girl's family went to the theater several times and asked the unit to deal with the matter.
He was transferred to do chores, such as burning boilers and doing physical activities every day, and felt aggrieved about it, and as a result, the two people who loved each other were separated like this.
In 1983, Lu Shuming didn't realize that his thinking was wrong, but he chose to "commit crimes against the wind" and dance when he was cracking down on bad style. As a result, he was sentenced to 14 months in prison for "mental pollution".
When my mother learned of this, she was deeply saddened. After Lu Shuming was released from prison, he made up his mind to change himself and was determined not to let his parents be sad anymore.
Since 1986, he has successively played supporting roles in movies, TV series and dramas. In 1989, he co-starred with Gong Li and Zhang Yimou in "Ancient and Modern Wars of the Qin Warriors" and played the role of "Qin Shi Huang".
Zhang Yimou also affirmed his performance, but his career has been mediocre. When the trough of a few years was about to wear off Lu Shuming's passion, it was still that person who found an opportunity for him to break through.
In 1990, he encountered a rainy day while filming the movie "The Iron Soldiers of the Ancient City" in Xianyang. Because he suddenly remembered that the windows in Xi'an's house were not closed, he hurried home.
When he returned home, he found a note posted on the door detailing the reason, address, and time of inviting him to audition for the Romance of the Three Kingdoms crew.
He wondered in his heart: "The note was left three days ago, is it too late to rush over now?"Despite his hesitation, Lu Shuming hurried to the hotel.
It happened that the crew planned to return to Beijing that day, but was stopped by the sudden heavy rain, which caused them to postpone their return trip by a day.
It was this unexpected day that gave them the opportunity to get together, and the people who appeared in front of the casting director seemed to be more suitable for the role of Guan Yu than the more than 30 people they had seen before, and Guo Da's recommendation really lived up to its name.
Guo Da's recommendation is the reason why Lu Shuming will be considered in this casting. At that time, CCTV spent 1700 million yuan to shoot "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", director Wang Fulin has high requirements for the role, hoping to truly restore the character itself.
The actors who have not been confirmed to play the role of Guan Yu either do not meet the requirements in appearance or lack a foundation in martial arts. After repeatedly searching for more than 30 people, they were not satisfied.
It wasn't until Guo Da recommended Lu Shuming to Wang Fulin that the casting director met him by coincidence.
Lu Shuming arrived at the crew on time, and the makeup artist created the image of Guan Yu for him: Danfeng eyes, lying cicada eyebrows, holding a glaive knife, wearing a green scarf, and wearing a robe. After getting ready to go, he pushed the door and entered, and said calmly: "Guan is late." ”
A real martial arts master suddenly appeared in front of them, and the director immediately decided to invite Lu Shuming to join the crew to create this great work together.
Guan Yu had a lot of equestrian performances, and there was no stand-in at that time, so Lu Shuming specially arranged time to learn Xi horseback riding. At first, due to his size, it was difficult to find a suitable horse, and he delayed for some time, until he found a horse that could bear his weight, and he practiced Xi diligently, sometimes even staying on horseback for half a day.
In order to perform well, it is necessary not only to be proficient in riding, but also to be appropriate in the performance. Once, he accidentally fell while riding a horse, and his leg was bruised and purple, and he could not even walk normally. Despite this, he still continued filming without delay and meticulously.
During filming, because his eyes were not the shape of Danfeng eyes, he had to use latex to stick his eyes like Danfeng eyes all the time. The show took three years to shoot, and he endured eye discomfort and even joked that he was "disfigured" because of it.
Not long after filming, he claimed that he had an urgent matter at home to return to visit, and after returning to the group, the whole person was not as integrated with the character as before.
The director said to him in a serious tone: "You don't have to be too anxious about playing Guan Yu, the important thing is to find an inner connection with the character, no matter how you perform, you are him, he is you." ”
Lu Shuming remembered these words deeply, and he copied the lines word for word and pasted them all over the room, so that he could look at them at any time and blurt them out at any time. He has perfectly integrated his life with his role, and the reputation he has earned through his hard work is very high.
The audience highly appreciated the role of Guan Yu in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and his image was portrayed so classic that no one has been able to surpass it so far. In 2015, Lu Shuming won the Top Ten Coordinate People Award of the 3rd Global Chinese Guan Gong Award.
He also showed the spirit of righteousness in his life, just like Li Jingfei, who played "Zhang Fei" in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", was sick, but his family economy was not well-off, and he needed a lot of expenses for treatment. After learning of the situation, Lu Shuming actively participated in commercial performances and various commercial activities, and raised funds for Li Jingfei.
Netizens ridiculed him for overconsuming the image of "Guan Yu" in the performance, but he didn't care. As long as he can be worthy of his friends and relatives around him, he will pay without hesitation. However, his wife has always supported his decision.
Since they got married, Lu Shuming and his wife Gao Lan have been on a very good relationship. Gao Lan used to be an opera singer, but after giving birth to her son Lu Weilun, she rarely participated in performances anymore.
Lu Shuming often goes out to perform, he often visits the filming crew, and the family's affairs are taken care of by his virtuous wife, including taking care of his sick mother-in-law and raising his young son.
Lu Weilun, a son who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, has been working as a director, and he directed the 2015 film "Old Wine" and the 2018 film "My Waste Wood Superpower". The couple saw their son's efforts and hoped that he would not work too hard.
In June this year, Gao Lan also accompanied Lu Shuming to participate in a live broadcast, and the two were inseparable, demonstrating their deep relationship. Originally, the family was happy, and when Lu Shuming occasionally filmed and participated in commercial performances, his wife was always by his side to support.
His sudden death has thrown the family into chaos, a fact that Gao Lan still can't accept.
At present, the theater is preparing for Lu Shuming's memorial activities, and due to the impact of the epidemic, everything must be simplified.
Everyone has to experience death and don't have to struggle", this is Lu Shuming's statement.
For those who have left, they hope that their families will take care of themselves and take care of their health.