Chapter 53: Han Zhou's Quest for the Sword
In the morning, Han Zhou and Zheng Changhe stood outside the set.
"Come on, let's practice."
Zheng Changhe, who was only ten years old, stood by the fence, straightened his back, and faced the road outside: "Eight hundred standard-bearers ran to the north slope, the standard-bearers ran side by side with the artillery..."
While practicing the tongue twister, white smoke came out of his mouth.
The weather is indeed a bit cold, but for Zheng Changhe, who has been practicing martial arts since childhood, it is not a big deal.
"Come again."
Zheng Changhe: "Eight hundred standard-bearers rushed to bed..."
"Can your bed accommodate eight hundred standard soldiers?" Han Zhou interrupted loudly.
"Are you crazy about sleeping? You want to be an actor and still want to be lazy and sleep?" Han Zhou waved the cane in his hand: "Come again!"
Your master hasn't slept yet, and you still want to sleep in? I'll give you the power!
“Zheng!”
Zheng Jianjun drew the sword from his waist and said, "Teacher Han, come here, use this to hit me."
Han Zhou glanced at the sword that Zheng Jianjun had drawn: "This... won't it beat him to death?"
"It's okay, it's not sharpened." Zheng Jianjun said nonchalantly.
Han Zhou: "Who said you can't kill someone without a gun?"
Zheng Jianjun's eyes lit up: "You are an expert! Is Mr. Han practicing the Southern or Northern style? Or Emei?"
Han Zhou laughed awkwardly: "I practiced my eloquence."
"Does your martial arts school also teach weapons? Martial arts routines?"
"What kind of tricks are you using?" Zheng Jianjun said, "It's specifically to teach you how to use weapons in a fancy and beautiful way."
"In Hengdian, there are still people who study martial arts and boxing seriously."
"But who would want to learn weapons in this peaceful time? Wouldn't it be difficult for them to practice using a soft sword to break bamboo?"
"Most of the people practicing weapons in Hengdian are extras or special actors brought in by the directors."
"Sometimes I will guide the leading actors who are not good at martial arts."
The so-called special actors are actors who only have one or a few lines.
One level higher than extras.
Extras get paid around 100 yuan a day, while special actors get close to 1,000 yuan for just a few shots and a few lines.
During the few days that Han Zhou was in Hengdian World Studios, he worked as a special actor in various crews.
Han Zhou became interested: "So, you can actually be a martial arts instructor?"
Zheng Jianjun: “It’s different.”
"I also worked with the martial arts instructors on the crew."
"They mainly want to set the moves so that they can shoot a coherent set of fighting scenes."
“I teach how to use weapons, so that the actors can perform a set of moves coherently on their own.”
Zheng Jianjun didn't actually explain it clearly, but Han Zhou, as an insider who had also made a movie, knew what Zheng Jianjun meant as soon as he heard it.
In an action movie, a fight scene will have many shots.
For example, an actor swung a sword down, then he jumped up and swung the sword, and then he turned around while holding the sword backwards.
Through editing, interspersed with the opponent's response actions.
The action sequence becomes a complete routine in which an actor forces his opponent to retreat with a sword, then jumps up and swings the sword in pursuit, only to reveal a flaw, allowing the opponent to fight back, and then he turns around after landing to avoid the opponent's attack.
In fact, these are three simple actions shot separately and edited together. It looks okay after editing.
What Zheng Jianjun teaches is how an actor can complete these three or even more than a dozen movements at once in a continuous motion.
Obviously, the former is more in line with the current market environment.
After all, the daily pay of popular actors is ridiculously high, and not many directors would pursue the texture of real fighting and let the actors practice real skills. Anyway, this job can be left to the editor, and it only costs a few thousand yuan.
If actors were asked to practice , their pay would have to be increased by hundreds of thousands or even millions, which would be very costly.
For a martial arts TV series or movie, there are dozens of characters, and if everyone makes this request, the pay alone would have to increase by tens of millions.
However, if we look at the effect, the latter is definitely better looking.
In terms of texture, the latter far exceeds the former.
This is the difference between a martial arts instructor and a martial arts coach.
Taking people in the industry as an example, they are very strong in both aspects and their awesomeness is visibly visible to the naked eye. The martial arts instructor is represented by Yuan Baye, while the martial arts coach is represented by Yu Hai.
But in terms of status and net worth in the circle, Mr. Yuan Baye is much higher.
Because, it saves trouble...
Han Zhou took the sword and fiddled with it for a few times, remembering the sword-twisting action he had seen in his previous life. Han Zhou tried to put himself into the role of Li Xunhuan. He raised his hand and put the sword back into the scabbard, took the sword from Zheng Jianjun's hand, and raised his hand to twirl the sword.
Zheng Jianjun smiled when he saw it: "Yes, yes, I specialize in teaching actors this kind of thing."
Han Zhou grasped the scabbard while turning the sword, drew out the sword, threw away the scabbard gracefully, made an Emei sword finger gesture, and then stood still.
Zheng Jianjun's eyes lit up, and he looked around at Han Zhou's movements, surprised: "What kind of posture is this?"
“This starting position looks really cool!”
Han Zhou: "Emei Sword Finger."
Zheng Jianjun was puzzled: "Emei, does the Emei School have this kind of swordsmanship? I have never seen it before."
Han Zhou was stunned for a moment before he reacted.
There is no such thing as Emei Sword in this world.
In the past, almost every movie or TV series, as long as there was a sword action, would have Emei sword fingering action.
Hold the sword in your right hand horizontally or with your backhand, and put the index and middle fingers of your left hand together like acupoint pressing.
This kind of action has become a common and iconic action in fighting scenes.
In the previous life, this movement was very common. Even in certain scenes, when performing Tai Chi sword, Bagua sword, or Bodhidharma sword, the martial arts instructor would arrange this movement.
As I said, it saves trouble and has good results.
Zheng Jianjun looked left and right: "Two more?"
Han Zhou was happy: "These are the moves I prepared for my next TV series, I can't teach you."
"If you teach these moves to other crews, wouldn't I be aiding the enemy?"
After hearing what Han Zhou said, Zheng Jianjun knew that even if he promised not to spread it, he would not be able to see Han Zhou's original tricks. After all, he himself was also half an insider.
"Forget it, Mr. Han, just teach Chang He how to be an actor. I won't ask about your business secrets. But if you have already started filming, can I come to your crew to learn?"
Han Zhou thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. I'll contact you then."
"What movements do you usually teach actors?"
Zheng Jianjun took the sword: "Take a look."
After saying that, Zheng Jianjun started to use his tricks.
To be precise, Zheng Jianjun's sword techniques are still martial arts routines.
But one thing is that countless routines are viewed from a flat perspective.
In the routines performed by Zheng Jianjun, some movements are obviously suitable for looking down, while some are suitable for looking up.
And also it's cool.
Although Zheng Jianjun is too strong and doesn't look very cool, the effect will definitely be good if a handsome young actor uses the same movements and wears a long flowing ancient costume.
Han Zhou is interested in Zheng Jianjun, maybe this person can be poached!
After Zheng Jianjun finished two sets of moves, Han Zhou smiled and said, "I have a suggestion."
Zheng Jianjun wiped the sweat off his face: "What?"
Han Zhou took the sword while Zheng Jianjun was wiping his sweat and said, "Changhe's name is not suitable for him to develop in this industry. Let's change his name."
"Just call me... Xiaolong."
As he spoke, Han Zhou looked at Zheng Jianjun: "Old Zheng, where did you buy this sword?"
Zheng Jianjun looked at Han Zhou and said, "Oh, this sword... Director Han, I'll give it to you. I see that you are pretty good at twirling the sword with both hands. You will definitely be filming a martial arts movie in the future. This sword will be used as a training prop."
Not far away, Ye Manyi couldn't collapse anymore.
Han Zhou got this sword. If there is a zombie crew filming downstairs next time... he will have to chop melons and vegetables like a pro?!
horrible!
…
Chen Xiaoyong pushed the camera with great concentration.
Under the lens
It was dusk and the lights were not on in the room.
Only the fire pit was lit.
"You know, you've completely confused the four of us scientists. Are we being played by you? We can't find any loopholes in what you said."
Everyone was very depressed.
The historian in jeans: "Gulang, have you ever or do you still have any kind of faith?"
Talking about this topic, everyone perked up and looked at Gu Lang.
Han Zhou, who played Gu Lang, nodded and sat down next to the fire.
Half of the face was very clear in the light of the fire, while the other half was in the dark, with only the outlines drawn.
"Yes."
“Although ancestor worship had not yet taken shape when I was born, at that time we all had respect for things we didn’t understand, such as the heavens, the earth, the sun, and the moon. Our ignorance turned what we saw into belief.”
“What I mean by ignorance is not stupidity, but the lack of knowledge.”
"Later in my life, I also found new beliefs, some that were more logical and transcended primitive worship."
Liu Xi, who plays the female role, is always very curious: " I guess you used to be a witch doctor or a priest!"
Gu Lang smiled and looked at the female scholar: "In fact, in the Shang Dynasty, Confucianism refers to the clergy in charge of funerals. It can also be understood as witch doctors and witch doctors."
"In the era of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the Mohists were very opposed to the extremely complicated funeral rituals, so in the later historical inheritance, the Confucian heritage was split into three parts."
"Some of them were regarded as a bloody, brutal, ignorant and backward burial system and were abolished by Qin Shihuang."
"Part of it was passed down as ancestor worship, and combined with some of the essence of Taoism to form the current ancestor worship culture, which is still a common custom among all Chinese people."
“There is also a third part, which became Confucianism and has been passed down to the present day.”
When this was mentioned, the historian became very interested. He leaned forward from behind the only sofa that had not been moved, resting his hands on the backrest and saying, "Tell me about the myth. What kind of era was it in that era when the myth was born?"
"You must have experienced this era. Have you come into contact with a character in the myth? Or... are you one of them?"
The female professor, who is a Sinology scholar and Taoist believer, waved her hand and said, "No, don't talk about that."
Gu Lang also lowered his head: "Let's skip this topic."
The biologist was very excited: "How can you skip this topic? You can't skip it, otherwise you can't convince me to believe everything you say."
The female student looked at Gu Lang: "Are you Emperor Yan? Shennong? You have so much knowledge. If the story of Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs happened to you, it would be very reasonable."
Gu Lang narrated in a relaxed manner: "In ancient times, more than 4,700 years ago, the land began to warm up, and I moved to a more northern area, which is now called the north of the Central Plains."
"At that time, three great leaders were born: Huangdi, Yandi, and Chiyou."
"I have lived for 6,000 years and am tired of wars. I have avoided this era. I only know that Huangdi was a remarkable man. Many technologies and items that are still in use today spread from his tribe to almost the entire China."
"In ancient times, we would observe animals, such as dogs, and look for traces of herbal treatment after being injured to learn about the efficacy of medicine. During the time of Emperor Yan, the first great figure in history who conducted drug experiments was born, and what is even more admirable about him is that he used himself as a test subject."
“They come from an age older than the mythological age, and later, in the mythological age, these historical figures gradually became part of the mythology.”
The historian suddenly asked: "Have you read the original version of the Tao Te Ching? Or, how did people 2,600 years ago understand the Tao Te Ching?"
Gu Lang was silent for a second: "Let's avoid this topic."
"Don't talk about that."
Biologist: "You... have lived in this era and were one of them? Are you... Yin Xi? Did you witness Laozi's journey west through Hangu Pass?!"
Han Zhou: "Zhuangzi once said: The most perfect man has no self, the divine man has no merit, and the sage has no name."
The historian who understood this sentence was immediately excited: "I knew it, you are Laozi! You are Lao Dan!"
The elderly female professor, who was a Sinology scholar and Taoist believer, completely collapsed: "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"
She clenched her fists: "I knew he would say that..."
Anthropologist: "But according to legend, I was born with an old look, while you always look thirty years old and remain forever young. It's the exact opposite."
Gu Lang: "The original meaning of the word Lao Dan is not the appearance of old age."
