Bi Fujian (; born 16 January 1959), also known by his nickname Laobi (), is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

director, television host and professor. Bi is the long-time host of the singing competition franchise ''

Xingguang Dadao ''Xīngguāng Dàdào'' (星光大道 "Star Boulevard", "Avenue of Stars") is a Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) talent show from 2004 onwards. Named after the Chinese name for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it was CCTV's more ...

'' (''Avenue of Stars''), and has been a host on the

CCTV New Year's Gala The ''CCTV New Year's Gala'', also known as the ''Spring Festival Gala'', and commonly abbreviated in Chinese as ''Chunwan'', is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Media Group (CMG). It is broadcast annually on the eve of Chinese N ...

variety entertainment program from 2012 to 2015.

Biography

Bi was born in Jinzhou District of

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

City,

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

Province on 16 January 1959, the sixth of seven children. Bi attended Fenglin School (), Wangjia School (), Dalian No. 12 Middle School (), and Dalian No. 2 Middle School (). During the

Down to the Countryside Movement The Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement, often known simply as the Down to the Countryside Movement, was a policy instituted in the People's Republic of China between mid 1950s and 1978. As a result of what he perceived to ...

Bi became a

sent-down youth The sent-down, rusticated, or "educated" youth (), also known as the ''zhiqing'', were the young people who—beginning in the 1950s until the end of the Cultural Revolution, willingly or under coercion—left the urban districts of the ...

, working in the mostly rural

Pulandian Pulandian District () is one of the seven districts under the administration of Dalian, located in the south of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. Its area is and its permanent population is 741,230. The district borders the prefectu ...

area near Dalian from 1976 to 1978. After the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, Bi joined the Navy and served for seven years, initially joining the Beihai Fleet. In 1984 he joined a military expedition to in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. Bi left the military and entered

Communication University of China The Communication University of China (CUC) () is a leading public university in Beijing. It is one of the China's key universities of 'Double First Class University Plan', directly administered by the Ministry of Education of the People's Repu ...

in 1985, majoring in directing. He graduated in 1989.

Career

After graduating, in June 1989, he began working for

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...

as a junior director in its arts and entertainment department. In 1994 he took part in the filming of ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'' as a camera specialist. In 1995 he visited the Arctic. In 1997, Bi became a host of ''Dream Theater'' (). Beginning in 2004, Bi hosted ''

'', an "Idol"-style singing competition franchise also known as ''Avenue of Stars''. In October 2011, Bi became a part-time visiting professor at

Shandong University Shandong University (, abbreviated as Shanda, , English abbreviation SDU) is a public research comprehensive university in Jinan, Shandong with one campus in Weihai, Shandong and one campus in Qingdao, Shandong and is supported directly by the ...

. Since 2012, Bi has been a host on the annual

, known for his natural presentation style, sense of humour, and improvisation skills. In January 2014, at the season finale of the ''Avenue of Stars'' competition, Bi came out dressed as a Buddhist religious figure and performed a song that was seen as mocking the Buddhist religion. Buddhist groups in the country protested and Bi apologised. In April 2015, an online video surfaced of Bi Fujian attending a dinner party and making irreverent remarks that were seen as critical of Mao. He made sarcastic remarks such as "Uh, don't mention that old son of a bitch, he tormented us!", believed to be a reference to Mao, as he sang lines from Mao-era opera

Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy ''Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy'' ( Chinese: 智取威虎山; pinyin: zhì qǔ wēi hǔ shān) is a Peking opera play and one of the eight model plays allowed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The plot is based on parts of the popular ...

while entertaining his friends. Due to this incident, CCTV suspended all programs hosted by Bi, started from 8 April to 11 April 2015. Bi was suspended by CCTV on 10 April. On December 19, 2015, Bi Fujian participated in a charity event at

Jilin Normal University Jilin Normal University () is a university in Siping, Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( R ...

, in Siping,

northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

province.

Personal life

Bi was married in 1991. His daughter, Bi Ling (), also known as Jiaojiao, was born in July 1996. The couple divorced in 2004, and his daughter immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with her mother. Bi enjoys calligraphy, drawing comics, and playing basketball.

Works

Television

* ''Dream Theater'' () * ''Xingguang Dadao'', also known as ''Avenue of Stars'' () * ''

'' (2012-2015)

Sketch comedy

* ''Don't got money'' () * ''Got the money now'' ()

Single

* ''Racecourse'' () * ''The Beautiful Girl is going to Marry'' () * ''Laobi's Love'' ()

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bi, Fujian 1959 births People from Dalian Communication University of China alumni Living people CCTV television presenters Educators from Liaoning