Tan Jianci

Tan Jianci (; born October 5, 1990), also known by his stage name JC-T, is a Chinese actor, singer, and dancer. He is the youngest member of the Chinese idol group M.I.C. Tan Jianci is active as an actor in China and is known for his roles as Sima Zhao in The Advisors Alliance, Cao Pi in Secret of the Three Kingdoms (2018), Chen Renxiang in Winter Begonia (2020), Shen Yi in Under the Skin (2022), and Xiang Liu / Fangfeng Bei in Lost You Forever (2023). He has been a permanent cast of the variety show Hello Saturday since 2022.

Early life Tan Jianci was born and raised in Beihai, Guangxi. He studied at the Beihai Haicheng No.3 Elementary School. At the age of six, he moved to Kumamoto, Japan with his family for a year. While living there, he changed his own name to Kenji (健次) due to his adoration for Kenshiro, a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fist of the North Star manga series. He returned to China at the age of seven and attended Beihai No. 3 Primary School of Guangxi. Inspired by Michael Jackson, he began to take dance classes in his spare time. At the age of 13, he attended the affiliated secondary school of Beijing Dance Academy where he learned professional ballroom dance. In 2006, he participated in three tournaments, Taoli Cup National Dance Competition – Latin (where he finished in first place in the group under 16), the National Dance Sport Championships Professional – Latin (1st place) and Modern (5th place) and the World Grand Prix Finals in Shanghai – IDSF – Latin (3rd place) and Modern (4th place). In 2007, he was admitted to the Beijing Sport University's Art department.

Career

Music In 2006, Tan Jianci was chosen as a trainee for Taihe Rye Music's project group, began a three-year training period in 2007. Adopting the stage name JC-T, he debuted as a member of the boy group M.I.C at the 2009 World Cyber Games (WCG) in Chengdu. That same year, the group competed in MIGU Star Academy and won the finals. M.I.C officially debuted in October 2010.

JC-T release his first solo single titled Fly Away in December 2014. After several years, JC-T made a career pivot to concentrate on acting in 2018, using his given name, Tan Jianci.

After a two-year hiatus, Tan Jianci returned to the stage in the variety show, Super Shine! Brothers. Three years later, on April 20, 2023, Tan Jianci released his first solo album, DREAMS. The album contains 16 tracks (eight songs and eight instrumentals), with a mix of ballads and two dance numbers, Imma Get It and Imma Get It (KAKA Remix).

In 2023, Tan Jianci released several original soundtrack singles for the dramas, Lost You Forever, and Love Me Love My Voice. The single, The Wait that Can't Be Waited marks Tan's first song to hit the top 20 on the China TME UNI Chart Top 100, debuting at number 11, and staying on the charts for twelve weeks.

Following a whirlwind year in 2023, Tan Jianci made a comeback at the Hunan TV spring festival show with his title single, Bad Mona Lisa, from his second album, Brilliance . On June 12, 2024, the eight track album was released on Chinese platforms. In the second week of release, seven songs hit the China TME UNI Chart Top 100. The songs were carefully curated by Tan Jianci to tell a different story, among which, INU debuted as his first English song.

Acting Throughout Tan's acting career, he had experimented with all kinds of genres, including several low budget indie projects. At the age of 16, Tan Jianci was cast as Xiao Chuan, marking his acting debut in 2008, portraying a bereaved and sullen teenager. The coming of age film, Lost Indulgence, directed by Zhang Yibai, explores several themes of lost, lust, love, and teen angst.

Between 2015 and 2017, Tan appeared in a couple of acting projects—his first drama Hua Yang Jiang Hu (2015), and his first historical drama The Advisors Alliance (2017), as Sima Zhao, the second son of the protagonist Sima Yi.

Following his decision to pivot careers in 2018, Tan starred in Secret of the Three Kingdoms , where he portrayed Cao Pi, the second son of Cao Cao and the first emperor of Wei Dynasty. The drama license expired in May 2024, and the project has been shelved.

Tan's domestic breakthrough moment came in 2022 with his portrayal of Shen Yi, a genius painter who joined the police force to repay for his involvement in the death of a police officer. The IQIYI drama, Under the Skin,

In 2023, Tan Jianci rose to international stardom for his portrayal of Xiang Liu, the Chenrong (Shennong) General of the resistance army, in the drama, Lost You Forever. Billed in a special guest role, Tan Jianci will bring to life the demon general based on the Chinese classical book The Classic of Mountains and Seas, propelling him into the A-list and earning him several acting awards. Lost You Forever is a live adaptation of Eternal Yearning, a novel by the Chinese novelist Tong Hua.

In the same year, Tan wrapped up the filming of Go East, a historical costume drama based on the Chinese novel, Records of Kings of the Western Regions (Sifang Pavilion). Shortly after wrapping up filming, Tan's urban romance drama with Zhou Ye, Love Me Love My Voice aired on Tencent. While the drama was airing, Tan started filming Filter, a drama based on an original screenplay by Tong Hua.

In 2024, season 2 of Lost You Forever, aired in July 2024. In August, Go East aired on IQIYI.

Tan joined a new film project as announced on his Weibo account in February 2025. On February 24, 2025, Tan reunited with writer Tong Hua for the contemporary fantasy drama Filter, based on an original screenplay.

On 25 January 2026, Tan Jianci has been officially announced as the top-billed lead in the historical drama Dancing with the Tide, based on the novel of the same name by Xianyuke. Filming commenced that day. Tan's acting was showcased on the competition show I Am the Actor (2018), where he earned approval from the audience and achieved an A grade on the show.

He made his stage re-debut as an contestant in Shine Super! Brothers (2020), where he placed first place. In 2022, Tan joined several of his idol colleagues, Meng Jia and Rainie Yang, as mentors for the college dance competition Campus Go, which was hosted by KUN.

In 2022, Tan became a permanent member of the popular variety show. He renewed his contract for 2024.

Filmography Film Year English title Chinese title Role 2007 Lost Indulgence 秘岸 Xiao Chuan 2016 Scary Notes恐怖笔记 Zou Yan Master Surrender: The Devil 天师伏魔·弑魂 Gao Yuan Lord Rebirth魔王重生 Gao Yuan 2019 Adoring宠爱 Luo Hua 2024 I Miss You被我弄丢的你 Bai Xiaoyu 2025 Sound of Silence震耳欲聋 Li Qi 2026My Story, Your Love Concert Tour Film《多见一次》个人巡回演唱会大电影Self V空枪Qi Honggang

Television series

Music Videos Year English title Chinese title Singer Album Notes/Ref. 2013 风起来的时光 Zhou Ziyan 2026"PROOF"Tan Jianci(3rd Album)"DEAD REFLEX"Tan Jianci(3rd Album)Choreography by: Jing Wei and Ingyoo KimDirected by: Lee Han Gyeol

Discography

Awards and nominations