Wei Jin

Biodata

Power Progression

Wei Jin’s levels are his own measurements, not a formally established ranking system. He linked his improvements to sleep quality through observation and exercise tests 7.

Background

Wei Jin was born into a scholarly family. His father, Wei Xingbang, was a university professor, while his mother, Yang Yu, had been an elementary school teacher before dying of illness. After a poor college entrance exam result, Wei Jin entered Beijing Film Academy’s directing department in 2002 1.

On June 24, 2003, he awoke in hospital after being struck by an out-of-control car. The original Wei Jin had died from the impact, and his body was taken over by a bank relationship manager from 2023 who had died suddenly. After their memories merged, he confirmed that he had returned to his original world twenty years earlier 1 2.

Appearance

Wei Jin is tall, well-proportioned and handsome, with a cheerful appearance 1 5.

• Height and weight: 181 centimeters and 78 kilograms when he first examined his new body 1.
• Features: Swordlike brows, starry eyes and sharply defined features; his appearance is compared to Qiao Zhenyu’s 1 5.
• Build: Long legs and shapely shoulders 5.

Personality

Wei Jin is ambitious and opportunistic. Soon after returning to 2003, he planned to use his knowledge of future works and events to build wealth, then sought an award at a major European festival to establish himself as a director 2 8.

He is flirtatious and often cheeky, particularly with Zeng Li. Although he becomes attached to her and supports her career, he also pursues relationships with other women. He initially feels guilty about sleeping with her close friend Hu Jing, then rationalizes his behavior 1 23 34.

Wei Jin can be considerate toward family and collaborators: he helps his father during visits home and encourages younger actors. He dislikes obligatory industry socializing, however, leading some people to regard him as arrogant and unapproachable 30 35 39.

Abilities & Skills

Sleep-Linked Enhancement

Wei Jin discovered that high-quality sleep improved his memory and physical fitness. He tested the pattern by measuring his recall and doing exercises such as stair climbing and weighted push-ups 7.

• His improvements included strength, endurance, lung capacity and musculature 7.
• His recovery from his head injury was unusually rapid, though he could not establish whether sleep caused it 4 7.
• Poor sleep after leaving the hospital coincided with a halt in the memory improvements he had noticed 7.
• The mechanism and potential limits of the enhancement remained unknown 7.

Memory and Learning

His enhanced recall lets him draw on books and films from his previous life. He also finds that he learns and comprehends new material unusually quickly 7 8.

• He reproduces Snowstrider from novels he had read repeatedly before transmigrating 2 7.
• His ability to retain images helps him reproduce and later revise films he remembers 8 46.
• He becomes fluent enough to converse in German in less than a month 16 18.

Filmmaking

Wei Jin studies directing at Beijing Film Academy and prepares scripts and storyboards for his projects 1 9.

• He directs Buried Alive, earning an award at Berlin 9 19.
• He edits and scores You Are the Apple of My Eye himself 30.
• For Painted Skin, he revises the story to emphasize effects, the central romance and action 46.

Business and Investment

Wei Jin uses his foreknowledge to select entertainment projects and expand beyond filmmaking 2 16.

• He retains copyright to songs recorded by Huang Bai and Li Jian while granting them income or performance rights 9 23.
• He invests in television productions, literature websites and cinema development 16 24 34.
• He becomes a major shareholder in Summit Entertainment 41 42.

Career

Writing and First Film

Zeng Li connected Wei Jin with her friend Lin Xue at the Capital Evening News, where Snowstrider began serialization. Its popularity led to a publishing deal; by the end of June 2004, fifteen volumes had sold more than six million copies 2 3 8 24.

He recruited Huang Bai to record “Who Do You Really Love,” then presented his Buried Alive script and storyboards to his teachers. Jiang Wei became the producer, and Qin Hao was cast as the lead. After three weeks of filming, Wei Jin founded Wei Jin Fengliu Studio and signed Huang Bai as its first artist 9 11 13.

Buried Alive entered the Berlin International Film Festival’s main competition, where Wei Jin won the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award. He later sold its rights to China Film Group for three million yuan 17 19 21.

Expansion in China

Wei Jin hired Chen Zhiming to lead the studio’s television work. An initial three-million-yuan investment secured 10 percent of Chinese Paladin; a later five-million-yuan contribution raised the studio’s stake to 30 percent. He also invested in productions including New Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Emperor Wu of Han and World’s Finest 16 24.

His youth novel You Are the Apple of My Eye was published with a 12 percent royalty. He arranged for Li Jian to sing its companion song and developed the story into the film also known as Those Years 23 26.

North American Ventures

After domestic plans to bet on the 2004 European Championship fell through, Wei Jin used an offshore company holding his overseas copyright revenue to participate legally overseas 23 24.

He later traveled to North America and negotiated with Summit Entertainment, proposing an investment in exchange for an ownership stake. After becoming a major shareholder, he directed Dead Silence and The Infiltrator for Summit; both completed post-production and were scheduled for release 40 42.

Relationships

• Wei Xingbang — His father, a university professor who cared for him after the accident. Wei Jin visits him during Spring Festival 1 16 39.
• Yang Yu — His mother, an elementary school teacher who died of illness three years before he woke in hospital 1.
• Wei Anguo — His eldest uncle, who lives alone and treats Wei Jin affectionately 16 39.
• Zeng Li — His hospital caregiver and girlfriend. They grow close during his recovery and later live together; he puts their new apartment in her name and supports her acting career 3 21 25.
• Gao Yuanyuan — His landlady in Lianhuachi. They become intimate after meeting again in Berlin, while Wei Jin remains involved with Zeng Li 5 17 18 21.
• Hu Jing — Zeng Li’s close friend, with whom Wei Jin sleeps. Zeng Li later asks Hu Jing to keep other women away from him, unaware of their involvement 34 38.
• Huang Bai — Singer, actor and friend; the first artist signed to Wei Jin’s studio. He continues to treat Wei Jin as a friend as the director’s status rises 9 13 44.
• Jiang Wei — Wei Jin’s teacher, who produces Buried Alive and later agrees to direct the television script The Infiltrator 9 26.
• Chen Zhiming — Studio executive hired to lead television drama work and negotiate investments 16.
• Liu Yifei — His Beijing Film Academy schoolmate and a Those Years cast member. He advises her to keep practicing and progress steadily 21 36 47.
• Fan Bingbing — An actress who auditions for Those Years; she and Wei Jin later spend a night together 27 36.
• Scarlett Johansson — Wei Jin meets her in North America, spends time with her and gives her a song before returning home 41 42.