In an announcement regarding the cast of the historical drama “Taste of Life,” directed by Huang Lei, lead actor Hu Ge was placed last (eighth) in the list of leading roles, leading to online fans referring to him as the “eighth lead actor.” This is not a demotion in Hu Ge’s status or a decrease in his role in the drama. It is due to the strict enforcement by the production team of the new rule of “stroke order” for ranking actors, following the official directive of the association.
In July this year, the China Television Drama Production Industry Association and others jointly released a new regulation requiring that for dramas aired after July 10th, actors of the same level must use their real names for credits and be listed according to the stroke order of their surnames, without consideration of fame, with the aim of rectifying the long-existing chaotic practice in the entertainment industry.
Among the eight lead actors in “Taste of Life,” Bai Yufan’s surname character “Bai” with 5 strokes ranks first; while Hu Ge’s surname character “Hu” with a total of 9 strokes is the highest stroke count among the eight actors, hence placing him in the eighth position.
Despite being in the last place, Hu Ge’s portrayal of chef “Fan Dacheng” is the absolute male lead character that spans the 30-year era changes throughout the drama, and he remains the visual core of all posters and trailers.
Hu Ge expressed his helplessness when attending the Mango Business Conference and sharing the official announcement on Weibo: “It’s actually quite good, with less distractions and more purity.” He humorously played on the dishes in the drama: “In the drama, Beijing roast duck could be ranked first among all cuisines, but according to the current ranking, ‘Nine-Turn Pig Intestine’ ranks first (because ‘nine’ has only two strokes).”
Fans play along with the humor, jokingly calling Hu Ge the “first lead actor at the end of the list in entertainment” and the “actor most concerned about rank order in the world.” Many fans commented on Weibo, saying: “Big Brother (referring to Hu Ge) feels pure himself, and as fans, we feel more assured, no longer having to be engulfed in meaningless ‘rank wars’ constantly.”
Although there’s no ranking war, some fans have raised very practical concerns. First is the issue of platform display. Because some video platforms have limited space for recommended slots and search boxes, they often only show the names of the first few actors, leading to Hu Ge, who is in the eighth position, sometimes being automatically omitted by the system.
Therefore, fans hope that the production team and broadcasting platforms can optimize promotional materials, such as clearly labeling character roles on posters or actor lists, and providing special reminders in recommended spots as “core male lead” to prevent ordinary viewers who are unaware from missing out on Hu Ge’s name when choosing a drama.
In fact, due to the strict rule of “fewer strokes go first,” not only Hu Ge, but many stars who were originally absolute leads have had their official ranking significantly delayed because of the strokes in their surnames.
For example, actress Zhou Ye, in the TV series “Red Dancing Shoes”, formerly occupied the exclusive leading role recognized by the market. However, after being merged into the “leading actors” category and ranked by stroke order, due to her surname character “Zhou” having 8 strokes, she was outperformed by the second male lead Zhu Zhengting (“Zhu” with 6 strokes) and the second female lead Li Haofei (“Li” with 7 strokes); actor Huang Jingyu, in the drama “Winning the Wind”, was the core lead, but because of his surname character “Huang” having 11 strokes, he directly fell behind actors like Wan Peng (“Wan” with 3 strokes) and Zhang Chi (“Zhang” with 7 strokes) in the name ranking.
Popular actresses Yu Shuxin and Ju Jingyi were listed as “key affected subjects” at the beginning of the new regulation’s release. Although Yu Shuxin has always used her real name, the surname character “Yu” has as many as 13 strokes; and Ju Jingyi’s surname character “Ju” is even more complex, naturally at a disadvantage in the ranking among ensemble cast dramas. In contrast, stars with surnames of smaller strokes like “Ding” and “Bu” directly “win by lying down.” Bai Yufan, who stars in “Taste of Life,” benefits the most from the new rule, as the character “Bai” with only 5 strokes skips over Hu Ge and lands first in the list of leading actors, leading online fans to jokingly call him the “greatest beneficiary of the new rule.”