# Dying to Survive (我不是药神)
**Dying to Survive** (我不是药神) is a 2018 Chinese drama film directed by Wen Muye (文牧野), starring Xu Zheng as Cheng Yong, a struggling shop owner in Shanghai who becomes a smuggler of Indian generic medicine for chronic myeloid leukemia patients. It is loosely based on the real case of [Lu Yong](https://www.edgepedia.org/lu-yong), a leukemia patient who imported generic drugs from India, and it earned 3.1 billion yuan at the Chinese box office with a Douban rating of 9.0.[1](https://www.le.com/movie/10039080.html) • [2](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4523356?from=sohu)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chinese title / English title | 我不是药神 / Dying to Survive[3](https://www.nippon.com/cn/features/c03022/) |
| Release | 6 July 2018, China; drama, 116 minutes, Mandarin[1](https://www.le.com/movie/10039080.html) • [4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXIOlmLkaM) |
| Director and producers | Directed by Wen Muye; produced by Bad Monkey Pictures with Ning Hao and Xu Zheng as producers[5](https://www.sohu.com/a/236702417_745022) • [6](https://www.sohu.com/a/239519960_247520) |
| Principal cast | Xu Zheng, Zhou Yiwei, Wang Chuanjun, Tan Zhuo, Zhang Yu, Yang Xinming, Wang Yanhui[1](https://www.le.com/movie/10039080.html) |
| Box office and rating | 3.1 billion yuan; Douban 9.0[2](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4523356?from=sohu) |
| Major awards | Golden Horse Awards for Best New Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay (55th, 2018); Montreal World Film Festival Best Screenplay; Changchun Film Festival Best Feature[7](https://www.cnfilmrank.com/zh/movies/1018) • [23](https://www.screendaily.com/news/an-elephant-sitting-still-wins-best-film-at-golden-horse-awards/5134600.article) |
| Basis | Real events surrounding the "Lu Yong case", the import of Indian generic cancer drugs[1](https://www.le.com/movie/10039080.html) • [8](https://yz.jsjc.gov.cn/tslm/wenhua/201807/t20180717_531252.shtml) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Cheng Yong (徐峥) runs a shop selling Indian [aphrodisiac](https://www.edgepedia.org/aphrodisiac) products in Shanghai and is in financial difficulty: his ex-wife is seeking full custody of their son and plans to emigrate, and his father needs money for surgery. In 2002, a neighbor introduces him to Lu Yiwei (吕受益, played by Wang Chuanjun), a leukemia patient who asks him to bring back a shipment of "Glinic" (格列宁), a specialty drug for chronic myeloid leukemia, from India. Knowing the trade is illegal, Cheng Yong nevertheless decides to smuggle the drug, becoming its exclusive agent in China and selling it to patients who cannot afford the licensed medicine.[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXIOlmLkaM) • [7](https://www.cnfilmrank.com/zh/movies/1018)
The film follows his transformation from a profiteer into someone who supplies the drug at little or no margin, ending with patients lining the street as the police transport him away.[9](https://doss.xhby.net/zpaper/yzwb/pad/att/202203/04/ace2abb2-afb5-4847-8f4e-8ea0a72ca5f8.pdf) The supporting group around him includes the small-town patient Lu Yiwei, the dancer Si Hui who raises money for her daughter's treatment, the taciturn migrant worker "Huang Mao", and an English-speaking priest.[10](https://ent.ifeng.com/c/7eFwaCQZsPI)
## Production
The project began with producer Ning Hao, who read an early script and passed the story to Wen Muye, one of the ten young directors signed to Bad Monkey Pictures' "72 Changes Film Project", and introduced him to Xu Zheng.[5](https://www.sohu.com/a/236702417_745022) Wen Muye had previously directed nine short films; this was his first feature.[9](https://doss.xhby.net/zpaper/yzwb/pad/att/202203/04/ace2abb2-afb5-4847-8f4e-8ea0a72ca5f8.pdf)
**Development.** Screenwriter Zhong Wei (钟伟) explained that in earlier drafts Cheng Yong was himself a chronic myeloid leukemia patient, but the dual motives of saving himself and saving others made the plot tangle, so the patient identity was removed and Cheng Yong was recast as a down-and-out Indian-oil shop owner, which clarified his motivation.[11](https://www.sohu.com/a/277695317_99914072) Script writing and revision took more than two years; preparation, shooting, and post-production together took another year and a half, with filming from 15 March 2017 over more than 80 days.[6](https://www.sohu.com/a/239519960_247520) Wen Muye said the story originated with a 2012 report by CCTV's *Face to Face* program about the male lead's real-life prototype.[6](https://www.sohu.com/a/239519960_247520) The production favored real locations to convey a sense of authenticity.[12](https://paipianbang.cdn.cinehello.com/resource/post/200326/95d4d240c472dbe4ef6e71ff7ac8bc84.pdf?e=1755285740&token=KJnqqvhWsp1fmO5eIhe6WB4Jq2WIwILYFWttBGt7%3AtMMuEU2BZRgz8WczYTZ9ZKLB4jg%3D)
## The real prototype and the rights dispute
The film is adapted from the case of Lu Yong (陆勇), a chronic myeloid leukemia patient who helped patient groups buy cheap generic drugs from India.[13](https://www.nbd.com.cn/rss/toutiao/articles/1232929.html) In the film, the protagonist Cheng Yong is not a patient, and he profits substantially from the trade before a change of conscience; Lu Yong said this characterization differed sharply from his own experience, in which he did not profit.[13](https://www.nbd.com.cn/rss/toutiao/articles/1232929.html) • [14](https://m.sohu.com/a/239278680_377335/)
In July 2018, while the film was in theaters, Lu Yong issued a rights-protection statement titled *I Am Not the God of Medicine, I Am Just a Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patient!*, making three points: he had never authorized the film, he had received no payment, and he objected to certain dramatized plot elements; he said he would defend his rights through legal means. The statement triggered wide discussion in the industry about the legal risks of adapting real people and events.[2](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4523356?from=sohu) Lu Yong later clarified that he had authorized a screenwriter to develop his story but had not participated in production, and that after seeing a rough cut he felt viewers unfamiliar with his case would misunderstand the protagonist, so a clip of the real Lu Yong was added at the end of the film.[15](https://news.sina.com.cn/s/2018-07-06/doc-ihexfcvk3030703.shtml) The film opens with a disclaimer that it draws on real events but its characters and plot are fictional.[16](https://k.sina.cn/article_1642591402_61e7f4aa019018cy5.html) Commentators noted that the film's publicity still invoked the true-story angle, and that disputes of this kind, seen previously with *Huo Yuanjia* and *Dearest*, reflect an unresolved industry problem in handling relationships with real-life prototypes.[16](https://k.sina.cn/article_1642591402_61e7f4aa019018cy5.html) • [17](https://www.36kr.com/p/1722649411585)
## Reception and awards
The film premiered in a preview screening at the Shanghai International Film Festival on 19 June 2018 and drew sweeping positive coverage, with reviewers calling it a milestone of Chinese cinema.[5](https://www.sohu.com/a/236702417_745022) During its preview period it scored 9.7 on ticketing platforms, a record for a domestic film, and 9.1 on Douban, becoming the ninth Chinese-language film to pass 9 on that site.[18](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2288462.html) By the eve of general release about 90,000 users had rated it 9.0, the highest of 2018's releases to that point.[19](https://dzb.whb.cn/images/2018-07/05/10/100705.pdf)
Its awards include Best New Director, Best Leading Actor (Xu Zheng), and Best Original Screenplay at the 55th Golden Horse Awards; Best [Screenplay](https://www.edgepedia.org/screenplay) at the 42nd Montreal World Film Festival; Best Feature, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay at the 14th China Changchun Film Festival; a jury special prize at the Tokyo Chinese Film Week; and honors at the [Silk Road](https://www.edgepedia.org/silk-road), Hainan, and Asian Film Awards, as well as the Hundred Flowers Award for Outstanding Film.[7](https://www.cnfilmrank.com/zh/movies/1018) • [4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXIOlmLkaM) • [3](https://www.nippon.com/cn/features/c03022/) • [23](https://www.screendaily.com/news/an-elephant-sitting-still-wins-best-film-at-golden-horse-awards/5134600.article)
## Social impact
The film turned the "Lu Yong case" into a nationwide conversation about the price of patented cancer drugs, generic drug regulation, and medical insurance coverage, and it is credited with setting off a wave of realist-themed Chinese films in 2018.[2](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4523356?from=sohu) • [20](https://xbgjxt.swu.edu.cn/data/article/preview-pdf?doi=10.13718%2Fj.cnki.xdsk.2019.03.017) Analysts noted that the film directs its criticism mainly at high drug prices charged by foreign pharmaceutical companies rather than at the domestic system, a choice commentators linked to censorship considerations.[21](https://www.siff.com/content?aid=import-cms-4131) A later legal commentary observed that conduct like Cheng Yong's and Lu Yong's, while still subject to regulation, was no longer automatically classified as the serious crime of "selling counterfeit drugs".[22](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32502047) The film also drew attention abroad: it won a jury special prize at the Tokyo Chinese Film Week, and Japanese commentary discussed it as an example of a socially engaged comedy with implications for Japan's own medical system.[3](https://www.nippon.com/cn/features/c03022/)
## References
1. [我不是药神, 乐视网 film page](https://www.le.com/movie/10039080.html)
2. [真事改编≠现实主义，需规避"侵权"问题, 澎湃新闻](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4523356?from=sohu)
3. [《我不是药神》：中国社会派喜剧电影引发的对日本未来的思考, Nippon.com](https://www.nippon.com/cn/features/c03022/)
4. [我不是药神丨官方预告片丨蒙太奇, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXIOlmLkaM)
5. [专访｜第一次拍长片就被赞"国产里程碑"，我们和这位导演聊了聊, 搜狐/淘票票](https://www.sohu.com/a/236702417_745022)
6. [专访导演文牧野："自我较劲"成就《我不是药神》, 搜狐](https://www.sohu.com/a/239519960_247520)
7. [我不是药神, 中国电影排行网](https://www.cnfilmrank.com/zh/movies/1018)
8. [《我不是药神》镶嵌法治正义, 扬州市人民检察院](https://yz.jsjc.gov.cn/tslm/wenhua/201807/t20180717_531252.shtml)
9. [扬子晚报 B01 (2022-03-04), 文牧野报道](https://doss.xhby.net/zpaper/yzwb/pad/att/202203/04/ace2abb2-afb5-4847-8f4e-8ea0a72ca5f8.pdf)
10. [《我不是药神》影评：足够有诚意，但千万别捧上神坛, 凤凰网](https://ent.ifeng.com/c/7eFwaCQZsPI)
11. [〖干货〗得了金马奖原创剧本的《我不是药神》，来听编剧聊聊创作心得吧, 搜狐](https://www.sohu.com/a/277695317_99914072)
12. [影视工业网：《我不是药神》的具体创作方式是怎样的](https://paipianbang.cdn.cinehello.com/resource/post/200326/95d4d240c472dbe4ef6e71ff7ac8bc84.pdf?e=1755285740&token=KJnqqvhWsp1fmO5eIhe6WB4Jq2WIwILYFWttBGt7%3AtMMuEU2BZRgz8WczYTZ9ZKLB4jg%3D)
13. [专访│4天12亿！《我不是药神》原型陆勇：我是个平民 不是英雄, 每日经济新闻](https://www.nbd.com.cn/rss/toutiao/articles/1232929.html)
14. [《我不是药神》，最多70分, 搜狐/医学界](https://m.sohu.com/a/239278680_377335/)
15. [《我不是药神》原型陆勇：只是患者 不是"药侠", 新浪新闻/新京报](https://news.sina.com.cn/s/2018-07-06/doc-ihexfcvk3030703.shtml)
16. [拍不好会吃官司？是时候聊聊真人真事的改编边界了, 新浪娱乐](https://k.sina.cn/article_1642591402_61e7f4aa019018cy5.html)
17. [《我不是药神》被指侵权，电影拍摄中著作权、名誉权的几个关键点, 36氪](https://www.36kr.com/p/1722649411585)
18. [《我不是药神》与它背后的阿里影业, 界面新闻](https://www.jiemian.com/article/2288462.html)
19. [文汇报 2018-07-05：《我不是药神》今天公映](https://dzb.whb.cn/images/2018-07/05/10/100705.pdf)
20. [新闻报道电影改编研究, 西南大学学报](https://xbgjxt.swu.edu.cn/data/article/preview-pdf?doi=10.13718%2Fj.cnki.xdsk.2019.03.017)
21. [《我不是药神》：直面现实的勇气与智慧, 上海国际电影节](https://www.siff.com/content?aid=import-cms-4131)
22. [锐评｜张凯越：《我不是药神》如何撼动中国, 澎湃新闻](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32502047)
23. ['An Elephant Sitting Still' wins best film at Golden Horse Awards](https://www.screendaily.com/news/an-elephant-sitting-still-wins-best-film-at-golden-horse-awards/5134600.article)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2017 to 2018 › Titles A to J*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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