Tough questions get honest answers

The man has asked tough questions in the torrent of an eventful era. He has done this for 10 years across more than 100 episodes of a documentary-style talk show, without pausing.

This is not a traditional talk show where the host and guests sit impeccably dressed and behave politely in a studio.

On the program 13 Guests, host Xu Zhiyuan appears with a tousled, slightly chaotic head of curly hair.

He often wears flip-flops, a white shirt and jeans — a discordant combination — while chatting with his guests over coffee, drinks or barbecue skewers.

Each season, the show invites 13 guests from diverse fields, generations and backgrounds for in-depth discussions.

Since its debut in 2016, its guests have included composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, historian Xu Zhuoyun, writer Pai Hsien-yung, writer and food critic Chua Lam, singer-songwriter Lo Ta-yu, and such influential directors as Woody Allen, Christopher Nolan, Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou, and Jia Zhangke.

Xu Zhiyuan's guests also include former miner-turned-writer Chen Nianxi, former rural teacher-turned-painter Cai Gao, and teacher-writer Huang Deng, whose nonfiction works focus on the struggles of second-tier college graduates, a group often overlooked yet representative of most ordinary young people.

Their conversations take place in bookstores, cafes or the guest's kitchen, living room or balcony, and at times in more unconventional locales: a cramped stairwell, the edge of a serene lake, or even amid graves in a mountain wilderness.

Xu Zhiyuan, a journalist-turned-writer, publisher, and cofounder of One Way Space bookstore, stands in stark contrast to the conventional host who maintains an objective, neutral stance. Instead, he does not attempt to conceal his personal views and attitudes; he engages in deep dialogue and verbally spars with his guests through a distinct individual lens.

Equally distinctive is how the program embraces his personality, capturing Xu Zhiyuan's visible nervousness, occasional hesitation, prolonged silence, or sharp verbal clashes with interviewees with profound honesty.

"In a state of genuine thought, one is often at a loss," he explains. "You simply don't have all the answers. Only performative conversation flows smoothly. But real thinking is seldom smooth, cannot be smooth, and perhaps should not be smooth."

The program's producer Xu Chanjuan observes that Xu Zhiyuan shows almost no difference between his on-camera and off-camera personas.

She believes this lack of "camera mask" and his inherent authenticity form the very core of compelling video content.

"When someone who isn't a performer is placed in a new environment, their first reaction is genuine," she analyzes.

"This creates not only a surface-level dramatic effect but also a deeper, more substantive tension."