In 1969, a 40-year-old woman with three children married a man 14 years younger than herself. This is something that would cause a lot of discussion now, let alone that era.

Her name is Yang Jie, and she is the female director who later made the 1986 version of "Journey to the West." His name is Wang Chongqiu, the crew's photographer. The story between two people from meeting each other to staying together for 48 years is more exciting than the TV series.

In 1950, Zhou Chuanji graduated from Shandong University and was assigned to Qingdao People's Broadcasting Station. This man is tall and thin. He likes to wear a light red scarf and a pair of glasses in winter. He looks like a literary young man coming out of a book.

His family background is unusual. His great-uncle Zhou Ziqi served as acting president of the Republic of China. Although he only served for 11 days, the Zhou family was indeed a prominent family at the time. Zhou Chuanji himself is also capable. He can speak English, Russian, Polish, and German, and he also plays the violin very well.

Yang Jie was working as a radio announcer at that time. On June 2, 1949, Qingdao was liberated. This was the news she broadcast about "Qingdao Liberation". Her voice is sweet and powerful, and she quickly became the mainstay of the show.

That's how the two met. After work, we talk about literature, music, and art together, walk on the beach, and listen to the waves crashing on the rocks. Zhou Chuanji's erudition and demeanor were a beam of light for young Yang Jie. She felt this was the right person.

They wanted to get married during the Spring Festival of 1951, but their families did not agree. The Zhou family felt that it was wrong to find someone who was not a good family member, so they had to find a lady. Yang Jie's family also opposed it. Yang Jie's father, Yang Boxai, was a revolutionary martyr and died in the Twelve Bridges Massacre in Chengdu in 1949. His mother, Wei Shuyuan, came from a scholarly family and was worried that her daughter would be wronged if she married.

Unit leaders also came to persuade me. Yang Jie became more stubborn: "I'm not a party member, and he's not a spy. You can't control him!"

After getting married, I gave birth to three children, and they seemed to be doing well on the surface. But as time goes by, problems arise. Yang Jie later said that marriage and love are really two different things. When you are in love, you only see the good side. After getting married, every day is just a chore.

In 1953, Yang Jie suffered from lung disease, and the doctor cut her ribs. There are different opinions on whether it was 4 and a half strands or 6 to 7 strands, but this disease did change her life. His lung capacity was damaged and he could no longer work as an announcer, so he had to move behind the scenes.

In 1954, she was transferred to the Central People's Broadcasting Station, while Zhou Chuanji was still in Qingdao, and the two separated. The distance made them quiet for a while.

In 1958, Zhou Chuanji was also transferred to Beijing, and the couple lived together again. But quarrels became commonplace. Yang Jie is enthusiastic, outgoing and outspoken; Zhou Chuanji is introverted and quiet, and likes to be alone. This kind of difference feels complementary when you are in love, but it turns into friction in marriage.

The turning point came in 1962. Zhou Chuanji encountered unfair treatment that year, and his temper became violent. He often got angry at home. The three children were often scolded and cried, and the atmosphere at home was so oppressive that it made people breathless.

Yang Jie felt uncomfortable seeing the children being wronged. She began to wonder, is this marriage still necessary?

In 1963, after Zhou Chuanji "took off his hat", Yang Jie filed for divorce. Not many people were divorced in that era, let alone with three children. But Yang Jie doesn't want the children to continue to live in that environment.

The two went through the divorce procedures peacefully. The three children followed Yang Jie, and she began to raise the children alone. Zhou Chuanji later entered the Beijing Film Academy and trained great directors such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, becoming the "Tarzan Beidou" in the film industry.

During that time, Yang Jie had no illusions about love. With three children around her and a failed marriage, she felt that this would probably be it for the rest of her life. When someone introduced someone to her, she stayed away.

She puts all her energy into her work. Worked as an opera program director at CCTV, and the Peking Opera "Xiangluopa" he directed was later rated as a national outstanding program.

Wang Chongqiu was 22 years old when he transferred from the army and was assigned to work as a photographer at Beijing Television Station. He is also from Macheng, Hubei, and is a fellow villager with Yang Jie.

Yang Jie speaks her mind and acts vigorously and resolutely on the set. Wang Chongqiu filmed with her while carrying a machine, watching her direct the crew, communicate with the actors, and adjust the lights. Her whole figure was on fire. He later said that Yang Jie had "a man's boldness" and was always at the forefront.

At that time, Yang Jie was no longer the little announcer she was back then. After more than ten years of hard work, she has become a key director in the theater, and her Pingju opera "Double Jade Chan" is particularly popular.

Wang Chongqiu's feeling for Yang Jie was first of admiration. This woman is so amazing, she has managed to make a name for herself in the male-dominated television industry. Slowly, worship changed its flavor. He found himself paying attention to her unconsciously, wanting to know what she was doing and listening to what she said.

Yang Jie also noticed this young man. Wang Chongqiu is very capable and very attentive to photography technology, and the things he shoots are becoming more and more interesting. Yang Jie recognized talents and loved them. He lent him his own equipment to practice and helped him recommend him in the circle. The more they chatted, the more they became more and more in tune with each other. Not only did they work together, but they also had similar views on art and life.

During the Spring Festival of 1967, Wang Chongqiu returned to his hometown and brought back two pieces of bacon as a gift to Yang Jie. This gift is inconspicuous, but to Wang Chongqiu, it is an expression of his heart.

Yang Jie may not have thought too much when she received the bacon. But Wang Chongqiu had no intention of hiding it. One day he said directly: "I like you and I want to be with you."

Yang Jie was stunned and even suspected that she heard wrongly: "What did you say?"

"I like you and I want to live with you." Wang Chongqiu was serious.

Yang Jie's first reaction was to refuse. They were 14 years apart, she had three children, and had just experienced a failed marriage. It's inappropriate no matter how you look at it. She said: "Let's just be friends and don't cause trouble for ourselves."

But Wang Chongqiu is not someone who gives up easily. He identified Yang Jie and made up his mind to chase her. He began to learn how to write love letters, and would go to Yang Jie's house whenever he had something to do, to help her with her work and chat with her. He rushed to do all the dirty work in Yang Jie's house.

In those years, the relationship between the two was very delicate. Yang Jie actually has a good impression of Wang Chongqiu, but she has too many concerns - the age gap, three children, and outside opinions. She tried to draw a clear line, but Wang Chongqiu always found a reason to show up.

The unit leader quickly noticed it and started talking to Wang Chongqiu: "She is 14 years older than you and has three children. Have you thought clearly?"

Wang Chongqiu's answer was firm: "I've thought about it clearly. I think I won't have any problems. We are fine."

There is a kind of stubborn persistence in his feelings for Yang Jie. He said that he had respect for Yang Jie's love and would worship her as an idol. Being with his idol is his biggest wish.

In 1969, Wang Chongqiu confessed again: "I recognize you."

These five words made Yang Jie break her guard. She looked at the young man in front of her who was more than ten years younger than her, and saw the determination and sincerity in his eyes, and felt that maybe she could give love another chance.

The news spread that the two were getting married, and there was another explosion outside. It was unthinkable at the time for a 26-year-old man to marry a 40-year-old divorced woman with three children. Gossips came from all directions.

Yang Jie thought about giving it up several times and decided against it. But Wang Chongqiu disagreed. He told those who advised him: "We already fully understand each other. We have a common language in terms of work and viewpoints. Age should not be a big issue."

He also deliberately behaved very close to Yang Jie in front of others, making meals, going out, and watching shows together, pretending not to see the hostile eyes.

They still got married in 1969. On the day of the wedding, both of them were working. After get off work, Wang Chongqiu packed the bed rolls in a canvas box from the dormitory and moved to Yang Jie's house.

The next morning, someone from the neighborhood committee came to our door and asked, "Why do you live together?"

In 1970, her daughter was born, named Yang Yunfei, nicknamed Yaya. Wang Chongqiu gave his daughter the surname Yang Jie, which was rare at the time.

Wang Chongqiu never treated Yang Jie's three children as outsiders. He patiently builds relationships with children and proves through his actions that he is sincere. The children were a little repelled at first, but over time they discovered that this person was really good and really loved their mother.

The atmosphere at home gradually became warmer. Wang Chongqiu took over most of the housework, cooking and cleaning the house. Yang Jie can concentrate on her career and no longer has to worry about trivial matters.

Those who were not optimistic about them at first slowly closed their mouths. Because everyone can see that these two people are really happy.

At the end of November 1981, the Literature and Art Department of CCTV held a meeting. Deputy Director Hong Minsheng said that the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television wants to produce "A Dream of Red Mansions" and "Journey to the West" and cannot let foreigners ruin our classics.

Suddenly Hong Minsheng looked at her: "Yang Jie, if I give you "Journey to the West", do you dare to film it?"

Yang Jie was stunned: "As long as you have money, there is nothing you dare not do!"

"Okay, the bureau party committee decided to let Yang Jie film "Journey to the West"!"

The difficulty of filming "Journey to the West" in the early 1980s can be imagined. I have never heard of 3D animation or Wia, and I haven’t seen a few foreign stunt films for reference. What worries Yang Jie the most is stunts.

Wang Chongqiu became the only photographer on the crew. This couple wants to accomplish something that seems impossible together.

The crew started shooting during the Spring Festival of 1982. From that moment on, Yang Jie and Wang Chongqiu were like monk Tang's disciples, embarking on a journey full of difficulties and obstacles.

The crew only had one old-fashioned 300P camera, which was used from the beginning to the end of filming. The machine was old and heavy. Wang Chongqiu carried it up the mountain and down the river, leaving a deep mark on his shoulder. The machine only has a tripod, and the shooting angle can only be at eye level. Want to take an overhead shot? Tie Wang Chongqiu to a chair and hang him down with a rope.

During the filming of "Three Strikes of Bone Demons", Sun Wukong was chanting a tight curse, covering his head and spinning. Yang Jie came up with a way: the six-year-old boy turned clockwise, and Wang Chongqiu carried the machine to turn counterclockwise. It's so simple and crude, but it produces impressive shots.

Later, Yang Jie took the film to Japan for exchange, and her Japanese counterpart asked: "How many cameras do you have?"

"Journey to the West" requires a lot of "flying into the clouds and riding in the fog" and special effects shots. Yang Jie took Wang Chongqiu to Hong Kong to learn Diaowei. He only watched it for a few days and then came back to imitate cats and tigers.

Wia is a dangerous job. Due to financial constraints, the steel wires were severely worn after being used for a long time and they were reluctant to replace them. During one filming session, Yan Huaili, the actor who played Sha Monk, was hanging from a wire. The wire suddenly broke and his entire body fell onto Wang Chongqiu, who was filming from behind. Wang Chongqiu fainted on the spot.

In order to find a suitable scene, Yang Jie led the team to conduct preliminary scene selection and visited 60 or 70 places in more than two months. At that time, Jiuhua Mountain and Zhangjiajie had not yet been developed, and the mountain roads were extremely dangerous. Once in Zhangjiajie, Yang Jie wanted to go down a small slope to have a look, but it was raining and the road was slippery, and the person slipped down immediately. Fortunately, there was a knotted tree stump halfway to catch the clothes, otherwise it would have been an abyss.

The conditions for the crew were miserable. Hundreds of people traveled all over the country to shoot outdoor scenes, often eating steamed buns and pickles. The actors wore heavy props and were sweating during summer filming, but no one complained about being tired. Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie were paid 80 yuan per episode, and other actors were paid even less, some only 30 or 40 yuan.

Wang Chongqiu worked really hard to get good shots. When filming Tianhe Horses in Inner Mongolia, he took the initiative to dig a pit and lay down in the pit to shoot from his back. There are a lot of mosquitoes in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Within a few minutes of lying in the pit, he was covered in horsefly bites. He gritted his teeth and insisted on finishing. Yang Jie stood aside and watched, feeling extremely distressed.

Yang Jie herself did not show weakness. When shooting snow scenes in the Northeast, the temperature was over minus 30 degrees, and she stood in the snow for dozens of minutes. My feet were frozen and I was still staring at the camera. People on the crew said that Director Yang was like a man possessed during the filming, and he didn't even notice that the blanket behind him was caught on fire by the light.

This couple's tacit understanding at work is something that others can't learn from. They sometimes quarrel, and they quarrel quite violently. Wang Chongqiu gave advice from the perspective of the photographer, and Yang Jie considered the overall situation from the perspective of the director. But despite the quarrel, Wang Chongqiu would still listen to Yang Jie in the end.

The filming process was dangerous more than once or twice. During the filming of "Zhu Bajie", Lin Zhiqian, who played the role of Erlang Shen, played the role of a servant who was thrown into the pool. After taking the photo, why is the pool red? It turned out that his pants were scratched and there was a big gash on his leg that was bleeding, but he didn't feel any pain.

The scene of burning the cloud cave is even more thrilling. The fire was not powerful enough, so the smoke master increased the amount of magnesium powder, and the fire suddenly started. A wave of air knocked Zhu Bajie several meters away, and almost burned him.

What troubles Yang Jie the most is money. After filming the first 15 episodes, the 3 million budget was spent. Taili won't give me any more money. Some people outside reported that the crew "spent money randomly and traveled around". A joint investigation team from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television and CCTV went to the Shaoxing crew to investigate.

When the investigation team arrived in Shaoxing, they realized how miserable they were when they saw the actual situation. Not only was it not a waste of money, it was extremely miserable. After the investigation team returned, not only did they not hold anyone accountable, but they allocated another 1 million yuan to buy new camera equipment.

But the money is still not enough. Yang Jie originally planned to shoot 30 episodes, but now she can only reluctantly cut off 5 episodes and shoot 25 episodes. She secretly made up her mind at that time that no matter how far in the future, she would make up for these five episodes.

Li Hongchang, the deputy director of production, ran around and finally found the 11th Engineering Bureau of the Ministry of Railways and secured a sponsorship of 3 million yuan. After spending 6 million yuan and 6 years, "Journey to the West" was finally completed.

The 11 episodes were aired before the Spring Festival in 1986 and became an instant hit. All 25 episodes were aired on February 1, 1988, with a ratings of 89.4%.

With this drama, Yang Jie was selected as one of the top ten national film and television directors in the new era, ranking first among the top ten directors.

Wang Chongqiu's photography has also been unanimously recognized by the industry. An old camera can capture so many classic images, which is a miracle in itself.

After "Journey to the West" was broadcast, Yang Jie and Wang Chongqiu's status in the TV industry was completely different. But what happened next made Yang Jie feel uncomfortable. She felt like she had been "kicked out" and the six years of hard work seemed to no longer belong to her.

Wang Chongqiu felt uncomfortable seeing his wife like this. He knew Yang Jie's temper. She was almost stubborn in her pursuit of art and would not give in on issues of principle. Yang Jie refused to watch "Journey to the West" for a long time, nor did she accept interviews.

But life must go on. In 1987, Yang Jie directed "Qitian Le" Spring Festival Gala, in 1989 he filmed "Chun A Shi" and "Jigong Living Buddha", in 1993 he filmed "Zhu Yuanzhang", in 1996 he filmed "Xishi", and boldly cast Jiang Qinqin, who was not well-known at the time.

Wang Chongqiu has been by Yang Jie's side. Yang Jie is vigorous and resolute at work, but is a "novice" in life. I can’t cook, I’m not good at housework, I can’t even take medicine on time. Wang Chongqiu packed all these and packed her medicines in different colored boxes to remind her when to take what medicine.

Yang Jie had a serious heart disease, and Wang Chongqiu was particularly concerned. The hospital stipulated that no one was allowed to stay in bed with him, so he was worried and slept on a bench outside the ward every night.

From 1998 to 1999, Yang Jie decided to make a sequel to "Journey to the West" to make up for the story that was cut off due to lack of money. She was almost 70 years old at that time, but when she talked about filming, she was full of energy. Wang Chongqiu is still her photographer. The 16-episode sequel was broadcast in 2000, bringing a successful conclusion to the 1986 version of "Journey to the West".

In February 2015, 86-year-old Yang Jie participated in the Jiangsu Satellite TV Spring Festival Gala, which was her last public appearance. Wang Chongqiu accompanied her throughout the whole process, helping her carry her bags and help her up and down the steps, with their fingers intertwined. Although their age makes it a bit incongruous for the two of them to stand together, the smile on Wang Chongqiu's face is so natural.

In February 2017, Yang Jie was seriously ill and hospitalized. Wang Chongqiu stayed by the hospital bed, never leaving. One day Yang Jie looked at her wife who was busy going about her business and said: "In this life, I feel very happy to have you as my wife."

But the condition could not be controlled. At 8:39 a.m. on April 15, Yang Jie died of heart disease at the Beijing Armed Police General Hospital at the age of 88.

Wang Chongqiu later said that before Yang Jie left, he opened a pair of big eyes and looked at him. They were full of tears, clear and translucent, as if he had a lot to say, but could not say anything.

Coincidentally, on April 4, 11 days ago, Yang Jie’s ex-husband Zhou Chuanji passed away in Chicago, USA, at the age of 92.

Yang Jie's memorial service was of high standard, with Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang and other party and state leaders laying wreaths and elegiac couplets. Wang Chongqiu stood at the memorial service, looking like he had aged ten years.

Wang Chongqiu didn't know how to live without Yang Jie. But later, with the help of Journey to the West fans, he opened a public account called "Journey to the West Photographer Wang Chongqiu." He wanted to tell all the stories that Yang Jie didn't have time to tell.

He has also published several books and wrote "Missing My Wife Yang Jie". When I reached an emotional point, I couldn't hold the pen, and my tears wet the paper.

Every year on the anniversary of Yang Jie's death, Wang Chongqiu brings flowers to the cemetery. He caressed Yang Jie's portrait on the tombstone, as if she was still around.

Wang Chongqiu said something that made countless people cry: "When you first left, I heard a saying that Tianting was going to shoot a big drama and was short of a director, so they hired you. If the filming really starts, tell me in a dream. In the next life, I will be your cameraman."

Now Wang Chongqiu is 81 years old and still lives in the same home where he and Yang Jie lived. He buys groceries, cooks and walks by himself every day. I only go to my daughter’s house on holidays.

After 48 years of marriage, from being not favored to becoming a good story. Why do you think their love can go so far? Is it Wang Chongqiu's persistence? Or did Yang Jie have the courage to give love a second chance? In your heart, what kind of feeling is true love?