Cui Yongyuan
A pioneering Chinese television host whose sharp, conversational style broke the mold, then turned critic of the medium he helped define.
Born 1963 (age 63)·Chinese TV host and professor·Birthday: February 20·Baby Boomers
Biography
Cui Yongyuan was the face of a new kind of Chinese television in the 1990s. On CCTV, he hosted 'Tell It Like It Is,' a talk show that felt revolutionary for its informal, direct dialogue with everyday people on social issues. Ditching the formal, scripted tone of state media, he leaned in with his trademark candor and a slightly rumpled, everyman demeanor. He became a national celebrity, a trusted voice who made television feel like a conversation. In later years, that same independent streak turned inward on the industry. He publicly criticized television's drift towards shallow entertainment and rampant plagiarism, and his outspoken views on various social matters often sparked controversy. After leaving hosting, he moved into academia and became a vocal, sometimes embattled, figure on social media, embodying the complex journey of a public intellectual in modern China.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Cui was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Cui Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Cui's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Hosted the groundbreaking and massively popular CCTV talk show 'Tell It Like It Is' from 1996 to 2002.
- Pioneered a relaxed, conversational, and socially engaged hosting style that influenced a generation of Chinese TV.
- Served as a professor at the Communication University of China after his career in front of the camera.
- Led a highly publicized investigative project into fraudulent practices in the television industry.
Did You Know?
He is known for his passionate advocacy against television plagiarism and once presented a detailed report on the issue to the National People's Congress.
He has been open about his personal struggles with depression, helping to destigmatize the topic in China.
He embarked on a well-publicized 'Long March' retracing the historical route, documenting it for a television series.
He started his career as a radio reporter before moving to television.
“A real conversation requires listening, not just a script.”
