Bai Yu & Zhu Yilong Primer

By: qikiqtarjuaq
AO3 | Twitter | Tumblr

Share: Twitter | Tumblr

For Guardian fans interested in learning more about Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong but get lost within the sea of Chinese social media, I've written up a quick primer with lots of fun trivia & Guardian-related interviews/behind-the-scenes information, using information gathered with the help of the Guardian Discord (especially choco).

Basic Factoids and Trivia

Harper's Bazaar Cover

Zhu Yilong - 朱一龙Bai Yu - 白宇
Birthday: April 16, 1988 Birthday: April 8, 1990
Height: 180 cm / 5'10" Height: 183 cm / 6'
Hometown: Wuhan, Hubei Hometown: Xi'an, Shaanxi
Alma Mater: Beijing Film Academy Alma Mater: Central Academy of Drama
Fans: Xiao Long Bao (小笼包) - A type of Chinese steamed bun. Pun on the Long (龙) character in Zhu Yilong's name. Fans: Xiao Yu Zhou (小宇宙) - Little Galaxies. Pun on the Yu (宇) character in Bai Yu's name.
Known Nicknames:

  • Long-ge (龙哥) = Older Brother Long. Most common nickname used by Bai Yu.
  • Zhu Laoshi (朱老师) = Teacher Zhu. Respectful name used often by interviewers/co-stars/fans.
  • Ju Laosi (居老师) = Teacher Zhu, pronounced using the Wuhan dialect.
  • Jiejie (姐姐) = Older Sister / Zhu Meili (朱美丽) = Zhu Beautiful. Nicknames only used by Peng Guanying (彭冠英), Zhu Yilong's bff. Zhu Yilong in turns calls Peng Guanying Meimei (妹妹) = Younger sister and Peng Piaoliang (彭漂亮) = Peng Pretty.
 Known Nicknames:

  • Johnny Bai - His official English name, though he doesn't use it for acting.
  • Xiao Bai (小白) = Little Bai / Lao Bai (老白) = Old Bai. Most common nickname used by Zhu Yilong. He uses Lao Bai when he wants to make fun of Bai Yu for looking older.
  • Bai Laoshi (白老师) = Teacher Bai. Respectful name used often by interviewers/co-stars/fans.
  • Bei Laosi (北老师) = Teacher Bai, pronounced using the Xi'an dialect.
  • Bai Shu (白叔) = Uncle Bai. Another name used often by interviewers.
  • Yu-ge (宇哥) = Older Brother Yu. Sometimes used by Bai Yu's younger co-stars.
Singing: PlaylistSinging: Playlist

Goofy Dudes

Trivia:

  • Has two dogs (poodles), Oscar and Cola.
  • Knows Muay Thai. Learned boxing in Peongyang when he was nine.
  • Short-sighted, wears contacts.
  • His mother used to dress him up as a girl.
  • Wasn't sure what he wanted to do, so decided to try acting at his mother's suggestion. He fell during both his auditions. Clip
  • Loves hotpot, eats it at least twice a week.
  • Had ants at home as pets (he named one of the ants “Shining Girl” 光辉女郎 because he thinks it’s depressed and he wants to cheer it up.
  • Once accidentally joined one of his fangroups on weibo, and promptly got kicked out of it. Video
  • He is not very social and often keeps to himself after work. In Story of Minglan, where he plays the second male lead, the two main leads were together (and have since gotten married + had a baby) - and he never noticed.
  • Is good at the claw machine, highest record was 10+ in one go. NYE claw machine video
  • Chinese fans often say he's blurry (adorably confused by everything). He once stood in same spot while the automatic door closed on him twice thinking up an answer to a question. The fan had to suggest they move.
  • Likes reading autobiography books
  • Has been known to go on lofter, bilibili. Fans often write danmu (scrolling text) telling him to stop watching their fanvids.
  • Loves playing basketball. His height holding him back from basketball success may have contributed to his height complex. See clip of him complaining his horse is too short.
  • Due to a series of injuries performing stunts, he has waist/back issues.
 Trivia:

  • Has one dog (name unknown). Pic.
  • Has two older sisters. His family is wealthy.
  • Takes long breaks between filming, sometimes up to half a year.
  • Short-sighted, wears glasses.
  • He loves vespas, was heartbroken when one of his got stolen.
  • Loves memes, shitposting (volume warning) and livestreaming. Has said he would become a professional streamer if he weren't an actor.
  • Very outgoing and not self-conscious. Has shaved multiple times on livestream and shown off his leg hair via close-ups.
  • Frequently drops by his fangroups to leave messages and talk to the fans.
  • He remembers people/conversations from years ago. One crew member reported Bai Yu remembering them from 3 years ago and the exact occasion when they last met.
  • Pretends his debut drama (0.5 Diors) doesn't exist when he talks about how he never did any gay scenes before. Wishes he could erase the 5-second stripping clip from that show from the internet.
  • Very romantic, most embarrassingly displayed in his old weibo, Huang Taizi.
  • Bai Yu requires at minimum 3 kisses per day. His longest make-out session is 20 minutes. Source
  • He wasn't originally the lead in Legend of Fa Hai, but when the original lead ran away with the money, he took on the lead role for free to help out his friends, even delaying his surgery.
  • He has stomach problems, but still likes spicy food. He's also had pneumothorax surgery three times.
  • Knows calligraphy and archery.
  • (Open Secret) His girlfriend is Liu Mengmeng, who he met during 0.5 Diors (屌丝日记).
Not included above are the variety of fan nicknames for the two actors. Such as Long Long (拢龙), Paopao Long (泡泡龙) = Bubble Dragon (for how often he logs onto weibo), Bai Tian Tian (白甜甜) = Bai Sweet, 玫瑰花刺 = Rose Thorn - nickname for Bai Yu's beard.

For more information on how Chinese naming/nicknames generally work, you can check out this post. So you wouldn't want to ever refer to Bai Yu as "Bai" or "Yu" alone, but go with any of his nicknames or his full name. You can technically call Zhu Yilong by "Yilong" by the two-syllable rule of thumb, but it's not a name I hear him called very often. Some fans do sometimes call Zhu Yilong "Zhuzhu" or "Xiao Zhuzhu" or "Juju."

Guardian Behind the Scenes

Guardian (40 Episodes) on Youtube

Zhao Yunlan pulls Ye Zun's Hair

Trivia:

Social Media Timeline

Memes & Jokes from Casting to the end of Guardian Promotions

Improvised Scenes:

Taxi Scene

Behind the Scenes:

Zhu Yilong Touches Bai Yu's Hair

Guardian Promotional Material

Guardian Interviews:

Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong Meow Meow Meow

Happy Camp Variety Show Appearance

Chin Touching

Guardian Release Conference

Lollipop Gift

Other Livestreams

For those of you with a lot of free time on your hands. Be warned: Zhu Yilong's own mother has said that his livestreams were boring.

Non-Guardian Interviews

Zhu Yilong DanceBai Yu Dance

If I list every interview Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong have done outside of Guardian, we'll be here all day. So instead, I'll link a few helpful YouTube channels who always have good content.

Filming Timelines (2017-2018)

Bow

Zhu Yilong - 朱一龙Bai Yu - 白宇
January - April 2017: As Flowers Fade and Fly Across The Sky
April 29 - July 12 2017: Guardian
July - September 29 2017: Granting You a Dreamlike Life
September - March 30 2018: Story of Minglan
May - September 2018: My True Friend
October 30 2018: Chongqi Filming Start		 2016-2017: Fated General, Zhao Ge, Founding of an Army
April 29 - July 12 2017: Guardian
July - Oct 2017: Suddenly This Summer
Oct 2017 - May 2018: Break
May 16 - Aug 27 2018: Detective L

Share: Twitter | Tumblr