6th April 2016 : Excerpt from Li Yapeng’s interview talking about Z.Tao / CN version of Law of the Jungle -

(original link: http://ent.163.com/16/0406/22/BK0J3K8700031GVS.html)

Trans note: been busy.. this is just me practicing… hahaha getting rusty..

Q: In this show, other than yourself, you have partners too. Did you know Huang Zitao prior to this?



LYP: I know most of the others, though I may not be close to some. But I totally did not know Zitao; it was my first time meeting him. But I feel that our team is great. I really like each one of them very much. Because it’s been 6,7 years since I have been through this sort of communal life, I feel that even when I think back on the past 20 years of my career, it’s very hard to gather such a team whereby everyone gets along so well with each other. I think it’s very good.

Q: With regards to Huang Zitao, how do you find him in the show?

LYP: I actually really completely did not know anything about him before this. I based it on my instincts. I think he’s quite adorable. I like this kid very much. Only later did I know that he’s one of the new generation idols who’s often deeply embroiled in controversy. There are people who like him, and there are people who don’t. That, to me, is not a problem at all. I understand it too well. It was like this for me too when I first debuted. I think it’s like this for people, because he’s too young, he’s probably even younger than when we ourselves made our debut. If you put anyone who’s that young at a position where there’s so many people watching him, especially when everyone hasn’t made more in depth/intimate contact with him (to get to know him better), anything he says or does at any single instance can possibly bring him loads of criticism and negativity. But I think that’s objective. I believe that if anyone can get to know him better/have more in depth contact with him, you will discover, he has that special characteristics of those born in the 90s that I especially identify and approve of. I believe that it’s not just me, it’s all of us, including Nicky Wu. He likes to sing and he’s totally not shy about it. It doesn’t matter if his singing is nice or not, or if we like it or not. Because he’s singing Korean songs, to be honest we don’t quite like it. But he can just go on singing in front of us, until we are tired of it and shoo him away. Then he goes away and continues to sing in front of the show’s crew. Actually he’s the sort who doesn’t really care if you like it or not. If he wants to practice singing, he will. It’s that kind of persistence and that devotion to something that he likes that which I think it’s very praiseworthy. It makes me think. When I was young, actually we have very good chances and we had good potential, but I’m thinking, I’m not as hardworking as he is. That’s why I say that even though he’s young, he still leaves an impact on us. I think it’s a very valuable spirit. Of course, as he’s young, if you haven’t had chance to get to know him better, perhaps some of his young and aggressive behaviour may not bring much about positive sentiments/good feelings towards him. But I’m also there. I kept encouraging him in the process. I told him that he didn’t need to look at others. “You’re only in your 20s; you can’t possibly take care of everyone. If you could then you would have become god, and there’s simply no need to become such a god.” I said to him to just concentrate on his singing career and that’s very good.

[Questions about other things]

Q: Is there any particular thing in your life or circumstance (in the show)that you help everyone with?

LYP: Of course there is, because everyone, like you say, have their responsibilities and roles to play. So naturally, when you live together, it all fits in. After everyone and everything has settled down, everyone’s in the role that they are naturally suited to be in. It’s different from what you’ve designed at first. The show’s crew may have some other settings planned, but in actual fact, after you have lived together for 3-5 days, everyone goes back to their original roles. I think that for me, more often than not, I’m providing a little bit of mental support for everyone. For example, sometimes Zitao may become angry, than maybe I’ll chat with him. He comments about how lonely he is, and then I’ll talk to him about my loneliness. Then he discovers that there’s another person who’s so lonely too and he becomes happy. Just wait and see, actually everyone will have their own role.