Another Fan Letter to YY on His Bday

This one is really good, too. I have to say, these ymls are so good at writing and expressing!!

https://m.weibo.cn/status/4943892623392973

2015年的春天，我无聊中点开一档已经播出了几期的热门综艺。一期期看下来，直到看到有一期，你接受完采访，发现自己被队友们遗忘在活动的地点。
2015 spring, I casually clicked on the link of a popular variety show that already had several previous seasons. I watched the episodes from one season to another, until I saw in one season, after you finished an interview, you found that your teammates forgot about you and left you at the location where the activities took place earlier that day.

我至今记得渐渐沉下去的夜色中，坐在路边的你的眼神。导演问你，“天黑之后她们还没来呢？”你说，“那就试着找咯”，傻乎乎地笑一笑，嘴角弯着，但眼睛里没有真正的笑意，有的依然还是不甘和倔强。

Even now, I can still remember clearly, the look in your eyes, when you sat by the road under the night sky that was getting darker and darker. The director asked you, "What if they still don't show up after it gets dark?" You said, "then, I'll try to find my way back." The corner of your mouth curved to give a silly smile, but there was no smile in your eyes... only the look of unreconciled and stubbornness remained.

我没有见过第二双同样的眼睛。没有指责，没有怨恨，没有对任何人的恶意，但却依然保留了自己的强硬和坚持。那是我第一次在一个人身上感受到这么明确的硬气，这么强烈地感受到一个人对自己所信奉的游戏规则的维护，面对集体的漠视和冷遇时对于自身正当权利的维护。即使那时候你看起来还很弱小，并且有许多种途径让你可以“就这样算了”，即使满怀信任等下去遭遇的可能是更深的尴尬和失望，但是你还是选择了坚持自己认为对的行为。
I have never seen another pair of eyes like that. No blame, no resentment, no ill thoughts towards anyone, but your toughness and persistence remained. That was the first time I felt such clear toughness in a person, how strongly a person maintained the rules of the game that he believed in, and how he maintained his own legitimate rights when facing the indifference and cold treatment from the group he was in. Even though you still seemed young and weak at that time, even there were many ways for you to "just let it go" or give up, and even if you might encounter deeper embarrassment and disappointment if you continued to wait with full trust, you still chose to stick to what you thought was the right action.

那是你第一次让我深深地意识到，你和他们是不同的。不是和这个节目里的人，而是和我粗浅地了解到的这个圈子里的绝大多数人，乃至这世界上的绝大多数人。

That was the first time you made me deeply realize that you are different from them. Not from the people in this show, but from the vast majority of people in this (entertainment) circle that I have a superficial understanding of, and even from the vast majority of people in this world.

这个认知到今天都没有改变，并且在我认识你的这八年里，在无数个不同的事件里，被一次次反复验证。我2015年认识的那个男孩子，到了2023年已经变成了一个更加成熟、更加丰富、深刻和迷人的人，但他还在，你还是他。那种清澈的倔强，那种对自我原则的信赖和坚持，那种遭遇怎样的困苦和压力都不改其志的内核，或许更为纯粹强悍，但并没有发生任何松动和转移。

This understanding has not changed to this day, and it has been verified time after time in countless different events in the past eight years I have known you. The boy that I got to know in 2015 has become a more mature, richer, profound and charming person in 2023, but he is still there, and you are still him. That kind of clear stubbornness, that kind of trust and persistence in self-principles, that kind of will that does not change its ambition no matter encountering what hardships and pressures... There has been no weakening or budging in these qualities, and maybe they even become purer and stronger.

这让这八年时间里我对你的爱，没有一秒钟是虚掷的。

This made me feel that not a single second of my love for you in these eight years was in vain.

我对你一定存在过某些细节和性格的误读，也许现在都有，就像你也随着不同的角色和不同的人生阶段而不断调整着自己的气质和状态，但这八年里，和未来的几十年里，我和你，我们都是真诚的。你很少自我表达，但从不以伪饰示人；我或许对你多有误解，但爱的从来不是自己幻想出来的虚像。你阳光般坦荡耀眼的魅力，你清澈纯粹的品质，建立在黄金般确凿的客观现实之上。而我作为喜欢你的人的优越感，不仅仅来自于我爱着这么强悍、这么美好的你——无论是作为演员的你，还是作为明星的你，还是作为一个“人”的你，更来自于，喜欢你，不用自我欺骗。喜欢你是事实引发的情感和冲动，爱你是因为不得不爱。你的真诚，你的纯净，你对原则和底线的坚持，你的美好，让我的情感寄托每天自苏醒便踩在坚实的地上。这种安全感，这种笃定不移的自信，是你给我的，是你用了漫长的时间，以无数事实为自己背书，向我以及向整个世界所证明的。

I must have some misconceptions about some details and personalities of yours, and maybe I still do, just like how you have adjusted your temperament and conditions with the different roles you played and with different stages of your life. But in the past eight years, and for decades to come, you and I, we are sincere. You rarely express yourself, but you never show people a fake you (ie. you are always sincere, not pretentious or fake); I may have some misconceptions about you, but what I love is never an illusion I imagined. Your charm that's kind, sincere, and dazzling like the sunshine, and your quality that's clear and pure, are based on objective reality as solid as gold. And my sense of superiority for being someone who likes you not only comes from the fact that the one I love is so strong and beautiful - whether as an actor, as a star, or as a "person" - but also from the fact that there is no need to lie to myself to like you. Liking you is the emotion and impulse due to facts; loving you is because I cannot but love you (there's no way not to love you). Your sincerity, your purity, your insistence on principles and bottom line, and your beauty made my love for you feel so strong and sure like stepping on solid ground everyday I wake up. This sense of security, this unshakable self-confidence, was given to me by you. It was you who spent a long time to endorse yourself with countless facts and proved to me and the whole world (that you are so worth it).

2015年的夏天，我看了一部电视剧。男主角经常苍白着一张脸，但神情严肃端方，他有着世界上最美的五官和脸部轮廓，像初雪覆盖着白玉。我没有见过第二个有这样气质和神情的人，他让我第一次知道人类的脸部线条可以长成这么优美的样子，一个人的气质能够干净庄重到这个样子。那部剧叫旋风少女。

In the summer of 2015, I watched a TV drama. The male lead often had a pale face, but his expression is serious and dignified. He has the most beautiful facial features and contours in the world, like the first snow covering white jade. I have never seen another person with such a temperament and expression. He made me realize for the first time that facial features of human being can be so beautiful, and that a person's temperament can be so clean and solemn. That drama is called "The Whirlwind Girl".

2017年的夏天，我提前买好电影票，兴奋地带着家人去看。我没有参与你的粉圈，不知道更多险恶的内情，但从电影院出来之后并且开心地带着家人二刷完之后，接下来发生的事情让我全然迷惑。我只是一个被你作品和你本人吸引的路人粉和剧粉，即使如此，粗浅上网后获取到的信息也让我心痛到翻来覆去很多天，写了无数篇没头没尾的日记自我开解，总结下来无非四个字，“何至于此”。颠倒黑白，没有天理。

In the summer of 2017, I purchased the movie tickets in advance and took my family to the theater excitedly. I was not involved in your fandom, and I didn’t know many sinister inside stories. But after I came out of the theater and happily took my family to watch it for the second time, I was completely confused by what happened next. I was just a casual fan and drama fan who was attracted by your works and yourself, nonetheless, the information I obtained after superficially surfing the internet made my heart ache so much that I couldn't fall asleep for many nights. I also wrote countless diaries/memos to help calm myself down. But the conclusion was always summarized with 4 words "何至於此 (he zhi yu ci = Why is it so). Right and wrong got confused; there was no justice.

那不是你第一次遭遇这样的恶意，当然也不是最后一次。
That was not your first time being attacked with malicious/mean intentions. Of course, that was not the last time, either.

那不是第一次让稍微有点良知并且对你有好感的人，因为你的遭遇感受到这种程度的心痛，自然也不是最后一次。心痛和对你爱意的纯度以及这事件的荒谬程度成正比，你值得最真诚的爱，那么我们遭遇的必然也是最真诚的痛心，这当然不是你的责任。美好从来不是一个人的过错。

That was the first time for those with conscience and have good impression about you to feel that level of heartache because of what you had to suffer. That was certainly not the last time. The heartache and the purity of our love for you are proportional to how absurd the incident was. You deserved the most sincere love, so what we felt must also be the most sincere heartache. That was definitely not your responsibility. Being wonderful is never something wrong (It's not your fault being so beautiful and wonderful).

多年以后，在我深入接触到你粉圈之后，我看到了那时候你路演的一个视频。你没有因为恶意而沮丧，面对着那么险恶的算计和背刺依然坚强而有尊严，唯一的一次眼泪，流在爱你的粉丝真诚地鼓励你和安慰你的时候。

Years later, after I got involved with your fandom deeply, I saw a video from one stop of the movie promotion tour. You were not frustrated because of those malicious attacks. You were still tough and dignified even when facing those evil schemes and backstabbing. But the only time you shedded tears was when your fans sincerely cheered for you and comforted you.

2022年的采访里，有个问题是问你上一次哭是什么时候。和2015年那次一样，你的回答一直是“拍戏的时候”。

In an interview in 2022, you were asked "when was the last time you cried?" You gave the same answer as in 2015. You said "During acting."

你的眼泪只流给值得的人。

Your tears are for those who are worth it.

她们值得。

They (the fans who love you) are worthy of your tears.

2019年的夏天，我看到了一个与你以往的所有角色都不同的——虽然你以往的所有角色也都各各不同——一个白白嫩嫩、灵动可爱的角色。那段时间我非常忙，一天的喘息时间就是工作结束后看几集你的电视剧，抓紧碎片时间看几个产出剪辑。那个角色的灵透舒展、轻松自然，在我心里是到那时候为止看过你的所有角色之最。拍这部戏时你受了不少网暴。但是，从我听说你开始，被防爆你的法制咖粉网暴，被现在已经得到报应的资本狙，被恶意造谣人皮面具，被烧纸，被以绯闻之名恶意抹黑人品，你受过的网暴还少吗？

In the summer of 2019, I saw a character that was different from all the previous roles you played before -- although all your previous roles were also all different from each other -- This character had fair and soft skin, and the personality was witty and cute. During that time, I was very busy. The only time to catch a breathe was when I got to watch a few episodes of your TV drama after work, and when  I gather all my remaining spare time between work to watch some fan-produced videos edits of your drama. The flexibility, ease and naturalness of that character were, in my mind, the best of all your characters I had seen up to that time. When you were filming this drama, you were cyberbullied a lot. You were cyberbullied by fans of those who were later caught violating the laws; you were hindered by investors that already received their punishments by now; you were attacked by malicious rumors saying that you did a facial mold for making a mask for stuntman to wear (so you didn't have to act in all the scenes); you were cursed to death; your characters were maliciously smeared by fake dating scandals... Since I got to know about you, haven't you received enough cyberbullying?

但是你的所有作品中，从来都没有被它们伤害过的痕迹。作品就是作品，角色就是角色。你呈现给观众的永远是真诚、纯粹、不受侵扰的东西，是独立的角色本身。或许你的意志坚定到那些恶意和伤害甚至无法侵扰到现实里的你，但这无从知晓。我知道的只是，你呈现的作品，无论是在什么境遇下产出的，拍摄的时候又遭遇着什么，你拿给观众的，永远是最独立最纯净最美好的那部分，只属于作品和角色的那部分。

But in all your pieces of work, there were never any sign of any of this harm. Works are works. Characters are characters. You always show the audience sincere, pure, and undisturbed performances. They are the independent characters themselves. Maybe your will is so strong that, no matter how harmful those malicious attacks were, you (in reality) are not bothered/disturbed at all. But that's something I would not know for sure. What I do know is that the work you showed us, regardless of the circumstances under which it was produced, regardless of whatever was encountered during filming... What you showed the audience was always the most independent, purest, cleanest, and most wonderful part -- the part that only belonged to the works and the characters.

那是你身为创作者能力的强悍，同样是你身为创作者高贵的自尊。

That is your strength/toughness as a creator, and it is also your noble self-esteem as a creator.

2019年的秋天我开始认真关注你，第一次申请了专门刷你的号，当时你在拍摄一部黑皮寸头军旅剧，拍得辛苦又危险，受伤无数，我关注你的时候它已经超期，直到最后，超期三个月。和我15年认识你的时候相比，你的肩膀变宽了，身材更加矫健优美，不再是白瘦幼的清秀美人，但性感得让我实在无法不心生爱慕。我依然深刻地记得那时候看到的一些物料：GQ拍摄的小太阳，黑白照片，你侧躺着，露一颗虎牙，我没有见过那么干净甜美舒展的笑容，即使在你身上。你当时的代言送的明信片，宽阔疏落的肩膀，穿一件宽大的黑色长T，寸头，五官明朗而表情清澈，你变成和之前完全不同的人了，和那个严肃端庄的美人和那个灵动娇憨的甜心都不同的人了，然而性感干净到了新的境界。

In the autumn of 2019, I started to follow you seriously. For the first time, I applied for an account (weibo) focusing on supporting you. At that time, you were filming a military drama in which you had dark skin and short hair. The filming was hard and dangerous, and there were countless injuries. By the time I started following you, the shooting had already exceeded the scheduled crank-up time. At the end, filming took 3 more months than originally planned. Compared to when I first met you in 2015, your shoulders had become wider and your figure was more toned and graceful. You were no longer the fair, thin and delicate beauty, but you were so sexy that I couldn't help but admired you. I still vividly remember some of the videos and pictures at that time: the little sunshine at the GQ photoshoot; black and white photo, you lying on your side, with one of your canine showing. I have never seen such a clean, sweet and expressive smile, even on you. On the postcard sent from one of the products you were spokesperson for, you had broad and bare shoulders, long black T-shirt, short hair, clear facial features and refreshing expression. You had become a completely different person from before; someone different from serious and dignified beauty and that witty and cute sweetheart. But your sexiness (with clean/naive/neat feeling) had reached a new level.

2021年的夏天，你饰演的航天科学家问世。每一次见你的角色，都是完全不同的，每一次都美到新高度，是你从来没有展现给观众的样子，会让人纳罕“这怎么会是我之前认识的你演出来的”，但他们确实都是你演出来的，每一次都无比耀眼迷人，每一个都极其饱满鲜活。他让无数人深深地爱慕，当然包括我，一直到今天——就像你的其他无数角色一样。
In the summer of 2021, the aerospace scientist you played was shown to the world. Every time I saw your new character, it would be completely different from before. Every time, your beauty reached a new level. It was a look you had never shown to the audience. It would make people thought, "I couldn't believe this was you, the same person I've known before, playing this role!" But they were indeed all played by you. Every time, your role was dazzling and charming, and each one was vivid and full of character. He (Yu Tu) was deeply loved by countless people, including me of course, to this day - just like the many other characters you played before.

2022年的春天，你的兵王和世子降生。尽管前者因为种种原因而迟来了两年，但它的成绩没有辜负你的每一分付出——那是十年来播得最好的军旅剧，无论网播还是收视都强势地证明了他的魅力和你的扛剧能力。而后者的优雅、高贵、美丽，那种灵透、敏锐和细腻，依然是你从来未曾呈现过，却超乎所有人想象地被你塑造出来的，他让我非常意外并且喜爱——而这种意外，正是你无数次给予我的。

In the spring of 2022, your characters of "king of soldiers" and "prince" were brought to life. Although the former came two years later than expected due to various reasons, its results lived up to every bit of your efforts - it was the best viewing military drama broadcasted in the past decade, and both online broadcast and TV ratings strongly proved the charisma of your character and your ability to lead a drama successfully. At the same time, in the latter work, your elegance, nobility, beauty, agility, sensitivity and delicacy were also something you had never shown before, but you created the character beyond everyone's imagination. He gave me a big (pleasant) surprise which I loved very much - and this kind of surprise was exactly what you had given me countless times.

2023年的夏天，你迄今为止塑造出的最有现实感和最复杂丰满的角色，也是我最喜欢的角色，和观众见面。在甫一播出就直接带飞一整个平台的两天过后，它遭遇了近年来最离谱、最颠倒黑白铺天盖地的长达两个月的黑水。

In the summer of 2023, the most realistic, complex, and emotionally rich character you have ever created so far, and also my favorite character, met the audience. Two days after it took over the entire platform as soon as it was aired, it encountered the most outrageous and overwhelming cyberbullying in recent years, which lasted for two months.

我这次没有太痛心。并不仅仅是因为我习惯了，而是因为我知道，2023的你已经不是从前的你了。真正强悍的人和真正美好的角色，哪怕一时被恶意涂饰的谣言所遮蔽，但时间终会涤去谎言，呈现真相。
I didn't feel too sad this time. Not just because I’m used to it, but because I know that "you in 2023" are no longer the you before. A truly strong person and a truly beautiful character will be seen, even if they are temporarily obscured by malicious rumors; time will eventually wash away the lies and reveal the truth.

我始终记得22年的采访里，你说过的一句话：
【就像他也不再去谈论过去经历的坎坷日子。当聊到“低谷”这个词，杨洋似乎知道这个问题需要的答案是什么，但他想了想，给出了一个更坦诚的回答，“我有没有过低谷……肯定是有的，要是两三年前你问我，我可能会有答案回答，但现在的我再回头看，有点看不到低谷和高峰了，就觉得一部戏一部戏地演到了今天。”】

I've always remember something you said in an interview in 2022:

[He no longer talked about the rough days he experienced in the past. When we mentioned the term "low point", Yang Yang seemed to know what was the correct answer to this question. But he thought for a bit and gave us an even more honest answer: "Did I ever have a 'low point'.... I certainly had. If you asked me 2~3 years ago, I might give you a straight answer. But now that I look back, I don't seem to be able to see the low points and high points... I just felt that I worked on one drama after another until today."]

那句话之后，一直到今天，我再也没有为你真正痛苦地纠结过。我依然充满激情地爱着你，对你的一切充满好奇，一次次被你所未曾呈现过的美好样子所震惊，至今依然不敢说有多了解你，但对你的猜测和理解一定是基于你表现出来的事实；会偶尔觉得荒谬、会感觉不平，但你再也没有让我像17年的夏天那样痛彻心扉，夜不能寐过。

After reading that, I never got truly painful and worried again (over cyberbullying, black water...etc.). I still love you passionately and am curious about everything about you. I still got shocked again and again every time you show us yet another beautiful side of you (or performance) that you have never shown us before. I still dare not say how much I know you, but my guesses and understanding of you are certainly based on the facts you showed us. I might occasionally feel absurd and unfair (when I see those malicious attacks), but those never made me feel as heartbroken and sleepless as in the summer of 2017 ever again.

不仅仅是因为，无论经历怎样离谱的抹黑和围剿，你的作品和角色依然被真正看剧的观众所喜爱，并且拿到有史以来最好的平台网播成绩和非常漂亮的收视成绩；
更重要的是因为，强大不是一个事件，强大是一种能力。强大是你一旦拥有就再也不会失去的品质。

Not just because, no matter how absurd the malicious rumors and attacks were, your works and the roles you played are still loved by the real audience (who actually watched your work), and you received the platform's best ever webcast results and very good ratings;

but what's more important is that "being powerful/strong" is not an event, "being powerful/strong" is an ability. "Being powerful/strong" is a quality you can never lose once you have it.

2017年被资本抹黑、被恶意打压的时候，你已经有了不少成功的作品和迷人的角色，有着非常强悍的塑造角色的能力，然而那时候我不确定你能在多大程度上扛过那一遭，未来又能走到怎样的高度；2023年再次被竞争对手抹黑、被背刺、被恶意围剿的时候，我心里的不确定感已经消失了。这种底气和自信，是这几年来你无数更加成功的作品和更加迷人、丰富、饱满的角色给我的。当你的能力已经到达了这个水平，那么无论是创造成功的角色，还是扛起一部作品，就不再是概率问题。那是必然事件。

When you were maliciously attacked by some investment parties in 2017, you already had quite a few successful works and charming roles, as well as the strong capability to portray/create each role. But I wasn't sure at that time how well you would be able to handle/survive that experience (of being attacked like that) and how far you can go (what level you can achieve) in the future. In 2023, when you were speared rumors by opponents, stabbed in the back, and maliciously attacked from all directions, the uncertainty in my heart had already disappeared. This kind of certainty and confidence were given to me through many more successful works of yours and the more charming, colorful, and vivid characters you created in the past few years. When your ability has reached this level, then, whether it is creating a successful character or leading a project successfully, it is no longer a matter of probability. That is inevitable (must be!).

真正厉害的人是黑不倒的。不要说没有黑水的时候黑不倒，就算有了这种强度的黑水，无论靠着水军和YXH营造出怎样虚假的“风向”，也没有把你的作品和角色的播放成绩黑倒，遑论你本人。蚂蚁石破天惊地集结全蚁穴之力去攻城，爬不上狮子的一根脚趾罢了。

A truly powerful person cannot be defeated by malicious attacks. It's needless to say that he was successful when there was no malicious attacks, but even with such intensity of attacks - no matter how the water army (hired professional cyber attackers) and yxh (營銷號，ying xiao hao, they are accounts that are paid to spread rumors and issues. They are gossip accounts. They can be paid to spread or contain rumors.) use false information and rumors to mislead the audience - it will not bring down the performance of your works and characters, let alone yourself. Even if the ants somehow, in an unprecedented way, gathered the force of everybody in the ant hill and attack together, they still could not climb onto a lion's toe.

飞来山上千寻塔，闻说鸡鸣见日升。不畏浮云遮望眼，自缘身在最高层。

(Here, she quoted a poem called "Climb Fei Lai Peak" by Wang AnShi from the Song dynasty.

Literally translated:

"The Qian Xun Tower on Fei Lai Peak, when the rooster called, the sun came up.

Not afraid that the clouds might block my view, because I am on the highest level."

Implied meanings:

He is standing at a tall place, or he'd like to go to a high place (setting high goal, maybe).

He's not afraid of the villain and despicable people (bad guys/ mean people/ those who spread rumors), because he place himself at the highest level, or he is at the highest level.)

@杨洋 新的一岁，愿你健康，开心，幸福，愿你能够创造出更多有价值的作品、经历时光涤荡依然能够久久留存于人心的作品，创造出更多能够给人带来快乐、振奋、幸福、感动的角色。你被无数人深深地爱过，未来还会被更多的人以更加真挚和强烈的程度去爱——没有人不会爱真诚和美好的存在。绝大多数人都是以真善美为养料而活着的，这样的价值观和这样的生活逻辑，正是这么多年我和像我一样成千上万的观众和粉丝对你保有无限激情和深刻爱意的根本原因。

Yang Yang, in the new year of being 32, wish you great health, joy, and happiness. Wish you can create many more valuable works that can remain in people's heart for a long time despite the erosion of time, and many more characters that can bring people joy, excitement, happiness, and touch people's hearts. You are deeply loved by countless people, and you will be loved by more and more people in the future with even more sincerity and passion. Nobody would dislike the existence of sincerity and kindness/beauty (Everybody love the existence of sincerity and kindness/beauty like YY). Most of the people live and feed on sincerity, kindness, and beauty. Such values ​​and this logic of life are the fundamental reasons why I and tens of thousands of viewers and fans like me can maintain infinite passion and the deepest love for you over the years.

----- The End -----

Wow, she's so good at expressing her feelings. And her point of view is cool. She believes in what she saw, what YY showed her through all his work and efforts. So, she believes in him, and she believes that his work will be appreciated and can stand the test of time. I especially agree with what she wrote at the very end that "Most people live and feed on sincerity, kindness, and beauty." That's true. Regardless of lots of malicious posts online, I don't believe that many people are twisted. Those were probably attacks carried out by machines. I'm willing to believe most people are nice and kind.

Thank you for sharing the letter. It really lifted my spirit up a lot! Because after two months of malicious attacks, everybody was a bit down... So, thank you again!!