#wei wuxian was the original method actor

[5-pounds-of-carrots]

[jianghushenanigans]

A sequel to the ‘most annoying guy TM in the Jianghu’ and ‘most annoying guy TM in the cdrama capital’ poll because I was specifically asked to include Ming Tai and honestly he deserves it

Propaganda of a sort under cut - also feel free to provide your own

Ming Tai: as a teenager (early 20s? unclear: Hu Ge is blatantly in his mid 30s but we're ignoring this because he's a good actor) and a baby brother raised by significantly older siblings, Ming Tai is the spoiled brat. He's also very good at being a competent spy when he needs to be, but that doesn't make him less annoying when he wants to be, which is always

Shang Xirui: of all the characters on here he's the only one I actually personally cannot stand, but that's partly because he sings opera and I have discovered through watching Winter Begonia that I do not like opera of any kind. But also he's insufferable and needs to get a grip on reality. Some things are more important than the show! Like FOOD! And the WAR!

Zhao Yunlan: SUCKING TOO HARD ON YOUR LOLLIPOP OH LOVE'S GONNA GET YA DOWN. Guardian was the first CDrama I saw and I actually don't remember what he did but I do remember that he liked to cause problems

Wen Kexing: Winner of the 'most annoying guy in the jianghu' poll, I don't think I really need to write propaganda about him but like. Has he considered a method of flirting that does not consist of stalking a random homeless man?

Wei Wuxian: 2nd in the jianghu poll. Everyone knows why he's annoying, I won't go into this any more than to say in the Cloud Recesses arc he distinctly reminds me of one of the most annoying people I have ever met in real life

Lin Chen: 3rd in the jianghu poll and my personal Favourite Guy. To paraphrase @nemainofthewater: 'if he was in it for any longer I wouldn't be able to stand him, but he's only there for long enough that it's actually charming'. Enjoys the fact that he's smarter than (almost) everyone else and likes to be obnoxious about it

Mei Changsu: came joint 1st in the 'most annoying guy in the cdrama capital' poll. Professional party ruiner, but he does try to only enjoy it when his political enemies are suffering. Gets to tag team with Lin Chen bc I don’t want them to split votes and also because between them they manage to annoy literally every character in the whole show

Fan Xian: joint 1st in the capital poll AND 4th in the jianghu poll because he is annoying all the time and everywhere. As a transmigrator he is (unfortunately) aware that he is the main character, causes problems on purpose

Zhao Yujin: 3rd the capital poll. I won't lie that this surprised me because I have seen one gifset total for this show on tumblr (the one that persuaded us to watch), but I guess for those who have seen it it is a legal requirement to vote for him because of literally everything he does ever. In his defence he fell in a pond as a child and then his overbearing mother babied him. That being said, he is an adult now

Huang Yaoshi: included because of @tavina-writes's extensive propaganda in the jianghu poll: my favourite part of it was "the OG torture flute soloist; his flute solo canonically sounds like sex, x-rated porn sounds"

Wu Xin: I missed him off the original jianghu poll, and also the whole point of the polls is for me to try and get people to watch my shows so there’s more fic and I’m not just here crying on my own. An overpowered gremlin boy. 'Would you like to get kidnapped?' 'no??' 'ok that's cool I'm kidnapping you anyway!'

[life-rewritten]

SPOOKY/ NON SPOOKY BLS TO WATCH IN HALLOWEEN

Happy Spooky Season BL Fans! Honestly so sad that in Halloween we can't really fully enjoy it due to the pandemic out there. So why not stay at home and have a fun night in during this spooky month watching BLS with spooky/entertaining shows to get you into the spirits. Surprisingly there was a lot of shows from different countries I could add to this list. Join me and let me know what shows you plan to watch for this Halloween! 

Ratings: From 1 to 5 (1 being least excited to watch, 5 being most,) how excited am I to delve into these shows/again? 

Korea

1. Antique

Ratings: 4/5 Genre/Themes: Psychology, Thriller, Bakery,  Bromance, Open ending/Happy ending. Country: Korea Verdict: Weirdly, this is one of my favourite BL movies, to be honest, most Korean movies just make me happy despite the sense that you can feel it's censored more than it has to be. Either way antique is so fun to watch, at first you're watching about this guy who hates cakes and sweets, but it is determined to start a bakery to find out some weird stalker who is kidnapping kids, and you're like wait what? As we delve deeper into his past, it becomes horrifying, terrifying and also just intriguing to find out what made him the way he is and how it's affected him psychologically. Add a twist of BL with someone who absolutely loves him and helps him with his bakery, and it's cute and lovely to see.

2. Method Ratings: 4/5 Genre/Themes: Psychology, Thriller, Romance, Tragedy, Acting industry, Internalised Homophobia Country: Korea Verdict: Korea is so good at producing these deep movies that really make you think and analyse whilst still having this haunting introduction to couples that are tragically affected by Internalised Homophobia in Korea. Method may seem like just an artistic story about two people who are being fake with each other, and it does seem that way at the end but when you actually look at it deeply you'd see it's a tragic love story about two people who couldn't fight society with their love for each other and decided to use facades to hide what truly happened. Anyway brilliant show, very thrilling and scary at times towards the ending especially about the psychology of Method actors and the struggle to differentiate  what's real vs what's acting when it comes to love and obsession?

Taiwan

History Hero/Obsessed

Ratings: 3.8/5 Genre/Themes: Gender bender, Rebirth, Ghosts,  Death,  Romance, Comedy, Happy ending Country: Taiwan Verdict: History is one of the best anthologies Taiwan produced for BL. And even the first history series are just as good as recent, whilst maybe more low budget and shorter, I still enjoy them as much as the other one. Hero is one that is actually not my most loved one, but it's heartwarming and also interesting to watch. It's a supernatural gender bender, with our main charcter's body taken over by his crush's girlfriend who we watch figure out the budding relationship between her boyfriend and the dead guy. It seems it would be tragic, or end in a heterosexual way but it doesn't, it does have a bitter sweet ending since we're seeing it from her perspective but our BL character's come out unscathed. Obsessed is one of my faves, also a rebirth story, our main character comes back to life and goes back in time after being betrayed by his lover determined to avoid him as much as possible only to realise that his lover is obsessed and determined to get them back together despite not understanding why he loves him. It's so fun to watch this show, and I enjoy the chemistry between Benjamin and Teddy. But yeh Halloween, mysterious deaths, rebirths and romance great times!

Chinese

Rebirth Ratings: 4/5 Genre/Themes: Rebirth, Romance, Historical,  Death, Drama, Royalty, Happy ending Country: Chinese Verdict: Absolutely so stoked with this drama, frustrated with censorship from China which prevented some scenes from being shown like the waterfall kiss, but it has a happy ending! Like what? I'm so happy because it's quite dramatic and has moments where it looks like would be tragic but I adore the romance between the King and his companion, and the way they're both loyal to each other. For Halloween this deals with death and reincarnation of our main character to return back and save the King from getting killed. Go watch it if you can find uncut link so worth it.

Untamed Ratings: 5/5 Genre/Themes: Zombies, Fantasy, Horror,  Romance, Happy ending, Rebirth, Death Country: China Verdict: Like I don't have to explain this one. Go watch it if you haven't. Tbh for Halloween I'm not going to be watching the show Untamed because I've seen it too many times, so I'll probably be crying over Wei Wuxian and Wang Ji's love with the audio drama (Season 3 especially) Whatever way you wanna watch Mo dao Zu shi: anime, book, tv show, audio drama, this is a masterpiece and so incredibly scary enough, supernatural enough and great enough for this Halloween. A masterpiece.

Guardian Ratings: 3.5/5 Genre/Themes: Supernatural, Romance, Rebirth, Horror, ,Bromance, Censored, Comedy, Mystery, Detectives Country: China Verdict: Guardian is so fun to watch but when I think of it's original source I get so upset with China and I just don't want to watch it especially that stupid ending. But for Halloween Guardian is the most Halloween like BL show there is, deals with demons, zombies, ghosts, etc Mysteries about aliens, humans and supernatural deities. And a painful romance that has amazing chemistry, acting and story behind it. Go watch it just for the fun cases the characters have to investigate each episode connected to the supernatural stuff.  Or go read the book and see what it was meant to be like.

Thailand 

Red wine in the Dark night Ratings: 3.5/5 Genre/Themes: Psychology, Thriller, Horror,  R rated, Tragedy, Vampire Country: Thailand Verdict: My first movie introducing me to Fluke and his incredible acting. But like this movie messed me up, I went into it like nice vampire/cute boy romance and halfway through I was like wtf?? It's incredible and dark to see this movie and for Halloween scary enough to contemplate and analyse so yeh a great spooky watch with shady, flawed characters traumatised to make choices to be with love.  Watch it for Fluke.

Blue Hour Ratings: 4/5 Genre/Themes: Psychology, Thriller, Horror,  R rated, Ghosts, Mystery Country: Thailand Verdict: This is another messed up movie with an amazing cast. Both Oab and Gun are like so great in this, and they are my ghost ship. This movie starts of like a romantic with drama BL movie, about like falling in love and meeting the right person and then it just gets twisted and starts to be horrifying. Again has a lot of shady, dark characters who do things that are just so unexpected. It will scare you well and Gun's performance as a winner. But we already know this about him. Go watch Gifted and Gifted Graduation (also spooky in my opinion for Halloween)

My dream Ratings: 3/5 Genre/Themes: Supernatural,  Fantasy, Romance,  Drama Country: Thailand Verdict:  Okay only adding this on the list because of its supernatural genre but I actually don't remember what this is about. All I can remember is the main love story is between Runway and his lover who he sees in his dreams due to a mysterious dream catcher given to him by his family to protect him. Yeh this is fantasy so good for halloween but it's actually not my favourite show, I remember disliking a lot of things about it apart from the second lead couple so yeh Meh. But for Halloween you can squeeze a watch and try and see if you like it.

Until We Meet Again

Ratings: 4.2/5 Genre/Themes:  Reincarnation,  Rebirth, Suicide,  Drama, Death, Romance, Mystery, Happy ending Country: Thailand Verdict:  Can’t believe I almost forgot about this, But this is a great thai BL series, one of the best ones actually if you’re okay with slow paced storyline but with depth, and interesting plot. I love all the couples on this show and it kept me on my toes with anxiety and worry about how it was going to end. Go watch this for Fluke again, as he is so amazing at his role of Pharm. Everyone else on this cast is also my favorite. Reasons for Halloween, this deals with the psychological trauama of death and suicde, and also deals with the consequences of reincarnation. Because of this the psychological breakdown and reveal of Pharm’s connection to Inn, is ver scary, worrying and frightful as you go deeper the story. We’re not sure where this will lead, but we know as an audience that it sure isn’t going to be a nice reunion with Inn and Korn whenever the latter finds the truth about why they’re dead. Yeh towards the last three episodes it’s almost close to being a thriller, so much angst, drama and pain and fear for our character’s lives, will make this a scary but not scary Halloween watch for sure. 

Greater man academy Ratings: 5/5 Genre/Themes: Gender bender, Fantasy, Unicorns  Romance, Competitive all-boys school, Happy ending, Plot twists Country: Thailand Verdict: Can I just praise how genius this series is. Because no one else doing so it's understandable it's hard to find the subs because Nadao refuses to release it on its platform. Either way seeing Nadao mentioned as the producers makes you know this is incredible. From acting, to story telling, to directing, to dynamics, to the romance. I am in awe of greater man academy and I will never stop speaking about how I wish more BLs was like this. Add she's the man (the movie or twelfth night by Shakespeare) and BL tropes to this and you get greater man academy, Except this show is different, 3 dimensional characters that will take your breath away from the amount of plot twists written for their characters, romances that will keep you on your toes with anticipation and mystery and the suprising fact that this ends up as a BL when it didn't need to is what shocks me still to this day. Go watch it I don't want to spoil anything else. Just watch it. For Halloween we have magical unicorns with wish granting abilities, ghosts and other fantasy themes in the academy for the great men.

He's coming to me Ratings: 4.5/5 Genre/Themes: Ghosts, Mystery,Slice of Life,  Romance, Comedy, Happy ending Country: Thailand Verdict:  I've already talked about this show on here as well. But again just go watch it, it's incredible a bit slow paced but it's worth it. I just want more shows like He's coming to me, the whole supernatural world building was fantastic, the mystery, the plot, the love story between our main guy who sees ghost and his ghost best friend, and him learning to embrace his identity and sexuality. Brilliant. Also again Ohm Pawat is in this so are you shocked and Singto as well who is amazing.

The Shipper Ratings: 4/5 Genre/Themes: Death, Gender bender, Mystery,, Tragedy, Comedy, Romance Country: Thailand Verdict: Didn't know if I should add this here but there is a heavy supernatural theme to it, and it does have BL despite the fact that could be questioned but I love Way and Kim, and I think the actors are great and the plot is actually good for most of it, there are some issues with the show but honestly if the ending was better It would be a favourite of mine in 2020. Sigh. Halloween there's death, and the lore surrounding death and mystery about why it and how the circumstances our main character is happened, and it keeps you on your toes. Ohm Pawat that's it another reason and First and Fluke were incredible in this. Girl actresses were also good. And it's directed and written by the writer of the girl from nowehere, so that's another positive. (Must watch for Halloween if you haven't yet not BL)

Other recommendations: Bite fight, Niyamruk, Ghost boyfriend, Ghost Roomamate, Fanatic Love.War of Highschool 

That;s the list I’ve compiled. Probably missing like other spooky ones because I’m a wimp and horror aint my thing, Romance is. So here you have some shows mixing the two in a non squeamish way for me.  What about you guys how’s your Halloween season and planning going? Have fun!

[nutty1005]

How “The Untamed” reversed its fate, Xiao Zhan went the hard way in his depiction of Wei Wuxian

Original Article: https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404476523863212216#_0 Original Author: 乍暖已寒 (Published by: 爱战DAYTOY_1005)

(TN: The Untamed was based off the novel “Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation” or “Mo Dao Zu Shi / 魔道祖师”. Bringing this novel to the silver screen had its fair share of troubles and many did not look kindly at this project in 2018, nor believed that it would fair well in China.)

I have said this before – when a new top celebrity with stunning good looks appears onto the scene, immediately accompanying it will be forceful criticisms of his/her acting. Xiao Zhan, who burst into fame because of The Untamed, is no exception to this as well.

Endless negative articles, out-of-context screen snaps with negative captions (e.g. the first 3 episodes where he had to act as Mo Xuanyu, a lunatic), slowed down GIFs, or even insinuating special effects… they really tried their best to smear his acting.

Just this once though, Xiao Zhan prevailed despite all of these. The endless waves of well-prepared negative articles did not prevent Xiao Zhan’s acting chops from appearing on Weibo’s trending topics  (instead of his appearance). His unforeseen, exceptional performance in The Untamed proved them wrong – such a great refute to their efforts!

Xiao Zhan’s Exceptional Moments

He had multiple different ways in handling his crying scenes, and they were all able to invoke a lot empathy in his audiences. There were tears of helplessness, tears of doubt, tears of pain, tears of false bravado, tears like that of a lost child – and every teardrop touched his audiences’ hearts.

This scene was my personal favorite – it was as painful as it was beautiful. Besides grief and hopelessness, you could also sense Wei Wuxian’s helplessness, and it became extra heartbreaking. Yes, many would always forget that beneath the all powerful Yiling Patriarch, he was merely a teenage boy, and he had just lost his home. 

Besides his crying scenes, Xiao Zhan also had similar delicacy and accuracy in managing the character’s psychology – for example, the scene which Wei Wuxian discovers the method to transfer the Golden Core. At the moment of discovery, he was filled with exultation, but the joy in his eyes slowly dimmed down, ending with relief. There was this sliver of sadness amidst the jubilation but it was quietly set aside.

Xiao Zhan used his “eyes acting” to great effect, and performed the series of complex emotions perfectly – from the discovery of a cure, to understanding that someone has to sacrifice his Golden Core, to deciding that he would be this person. This made the audiences want to ask, “What about you? What is going to happen to you?”

I also admired Xiao Zhan’s attention to details in the scene where Wei Wuxian brings Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli to Yiling Supervisory Hold – he was like a helpless prey trapped at a dead end.

Wei Wuxian was just an child when his family perished, and he had just went through another massacre – there was simply too much death and bloodshed. He was high strung and any bit of provocation could make him lose his rationality. He was instinctively biting his teeth and shaking as he forced himself to protect his only remaining kin.

In fact, after leaving behind the first 10 episodes of happy-go-lucky, Xiao Zhan had countless exceptional moments such as these. I could not even finish describing 10% of them in this long article of mine. For someone who was the lead actor for the first time, his future is really filled with endless possibilities.

As such, I could not even fathom why someone would blindly mock Xiao Zhan’s acting, even more so than when someone mocks his appearance. For someone who could weep while script reading with his fellow actors, how could he be someone with “zero acting chops”?

“Empathic” Style of Performance

The most apt words I can use to describe Xiao Zhan’s acting are “graceful” and “touching” – there appears to be no discourse to his acting, but yet his acting draws empathy and his characterization extremely believable.

To an actor, this is a solution, but this is one of the dumbest method as this is also one of the most harmful method. This is because this method requires the actor to breakdown his personality and restructure himself to suit his character. It makes entering and exiting the role extra difficult – every teardrop is created from the actor’s blood and soul.

To me, I am an extremely sensitive viewer and I like the acting to be natural; I cannot accept any bit of deliberation. I do not like it when performance leaves a trace of the techniques used, instead this “dumb” method is what that can touch me – to become one with the character.

This is probably why this silly child could weep like this during script reading. He might really be a natural born actor, but also a gentle angel – what kind of soul resides in him? How is he able to empathize entirely with Wei Wuxian such that he could tear up like this? Who would not love this boy, who is naturally extraordinary, but yet also incredibly compassionate?

He Understands Wei Wuxian

And because he understood the true meaning behind “becoming Wei Wuxian”, so he understood him even in the smallest details.

Have you ever wondered how Wei Wuxian was like beneath the manically cool Yiling Patriarch and suave youngster?

Firstly, he was an insecure person.

Below is from the author’s Weibo:

His childhood as a stray set the tone for him as person who is always filled with uncertainties – he will subconsciously attempt to change his facade in order to please his loved ones.

And it is evident that Xiao Zhan understands this – you can see that Wei Wuxian has a different facade when dealing with different people. To Jiang Cheng, he is his best buddy; To Nie Huaisang, he tries to be the friend who leads him astray; To Jiang Yanli, he is unashamedly a child begging for praises; To Madam Jiang, he is the most proper and obedient student.

In fact, this scene of an obedient Wei Wuxian gave me more affirmation that Xiao Zhan knows Wei Wuxian, more than any of his crying scenes. (Madam Jiang appeared, and he was the first person who stood up, in apprehension.)

Secondly, he puts up a false front.

Before the broadcast of the drama, Xiao Zhan gave an interview which caused displeasure among part of the novel fans. He said “Too many crying scenes, Wei Wuxian cried too much.” Some of these agitated fans expressed that Wei Wuxian was actually a cheerful happy-go-lucky person, he does not like to cry – he only cried twice in the books, Xiao Zhan must not understand his character!

However, is that really so? Evidently not. The novel was written from Wei Wuxian’s angle, therefore the story was told to us by Wei Wuxian, and hence we are actually reading his version of the story.

When you think about it, how is it possible for Wei Wuxian to not be devastated at the massacre of Jiang Family, the death of his brother-in-law due to his misstep, the death of Jiang Yanli, who took the sword on his behalf, or his own death, where he despaired and allowed himself to be devoured by ghosts? It is definitely not possible, but why were these not described in the books? Because, Wei Wuxian, who liked to put on a false front, decided to sidestep these in his own version.

Yes, our Wei Wuxian was the sort of person who only spoke of the good, but never the bad. No matter how much trauma he suffered physically or mentally, he kept smiling and kept his false front. He always looked like nothing mattered to him and he never suffered.

Hence, when he was battered and wounded by the demonic dog in the drama, despite being covered in wounds, after he took a bite of the bun he got from Jiang Cheng, he smiled brilliantly and said “delicious”. This part made me cry for him – I felt so much for this stubborn child.

Below is why, I was sure from the beginning that Xiao Zhan would do a good portrayal of Wei Wuxian. He told Wei Wuxian at the end of The Untamed shooting to “cherish yourself more, stop putting on a false front”. 

He really knew him. He really felt for him.

He came from a boyband, he had no professional acting training, he did not even have much experience in acting, but he lived up to Wei Wuxian.

In the End

Finally I wanted to say, analyzing anyone’s acting using static pictures, GIFs or even short video clips, without script or character context, are all biased analysis. True performance is not pieced together by short clips, but by complete characterization. As such, perhaps my article may just be as truthful as those gossip articles online. You are welcomed to watch The Untamed in order to truly understand how Xiao Zhan did.

[razberryyum]

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The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 11

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapters 51 and 52]

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰+🐰+ 🐰🐰+ 🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰🐰🐰

I’m frankly surprised Wuji didn’t start playing as soon as Wei Ying turned around and saw Lan Zhan walking towards him. They even slo-moed the scene to further stress the romanticism of the moment so it was rather odd that Team CQL would let this chance to WangXian things up get away from them, especially considering the fact that since Wei Ying spent most of the episode thinking about Lan Zhan, that would’ve been completely appropriate.  

Wei Ying insistently saying Lan Zhan’s name to get his attention, even though he was being totally ignored, always makes me think of an image, which I’m going to share now, despite the fact that I’m pretty much opening myself up to humiliation due to my shamefully lack of artistic talent:

I wish this was actually drawn by a right-handed 3 year old using their left-hand, but unfortunately that truly is the extent of my drawing abilities, which is obviously less than nonexistent. I hope the spirit of what I’m trying to convey still comes through since I think the dynamics between Wei Ying, Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng are applicable for pretty much the entire episode. 

Thinking from Jiang Cheng’s point of view, he’s probably both annoyed and befuddled by how obsessed Wei Ying seems to be with Lan Zhan. Of course he couldn’t understand the greater significance behind Wei Ying’s focus—how could he, when even Wei Ying didn’t understand at this point—but I can imagine him replaying these events years later, after all that’s happened, and only becoming even more angry and bitter at Wei Ying for already choosing Lan Zhan over his own family this early on. I mean, Wei Ying almost followed Lan Zhan to Cloud Recesses because he was concerned for his safety before he even spared a thought about his own sect and family’s safety. It's a good thing Jiang Cheng was still in his loving, brotherly phase during this time, otherwise Wei Ying would’ve more than deserved his ire. Actually, considering how much Jiang Cheng warned Wei Ying against acting out and doing something rash that would negatively impact their sect, I can’t blame him for the anger he felt later on when Wei Ying did exactly what he, and even his father, told him not to do.  

Even though we didn’t see Lan Zhan reciprocating Wei Ying’s obsessiveness in return, I did love the fact that he utilized Wei Ying’s talisman to get away from Wen Xu since that was yet another indication of how much he appreciated Wei Ying’s abilities. I guess he might have gotten the talisman when they were trying to subdue the dancing goddess in Dafan Mountain. This will be the first time he’s kept Wei Ying’s talisman, and even though he was forced to use it, I love that the second time he kept one, he actually treasured it like a precious keepsake and only used it because Wei Ying was once again by his side. It serves as a nice marker of progression of their relationship.  

Jiang Cheng Appreciation Time

It hurt my heart all over again that we will never get to see this kind of interaction between these two brothers any more, I actually got teary-eyed watching it tonight, especially with how adorable Wei Ying was being. I really love their brotherhood before everything went to hell because it’s just so...loving and unselfish, and I give Jiang Cheng a lot of credit for that. If he were a lesser person, he could have easily been an abusive brother to Wei Ying, taking full advantage of his status as the heir of Yunmeng Jiang sect to make Wei Ying’s life as difficult as possible. I know Shijie helped a lot in smoothing their relationship in the beginning, but it is also a testament to Jiang Cheng’s sweet nature that he could even be coaxed into opening his heart to this orphan his father brought home, especially when rumors of his true parentage started floating around...mostly thanks to his own mom.  

I still wince when I watch this scene where Madame Yu basically cuts down her own son out of vindictiveness towards Wei Ying. I love Madame Yu, I really do, but wow do I not admire her parenting skills. Wei Ying almost nonchalant attitude to her rant was a good indication of how common her dressing down was, that he was able to even develop an immunity towards it. Jiang Cheng’s reaction broke my heart though. So did Shijie‘s: her non-stop peeling of those lotus seeds were clearly an indication of just how stressed she was by the situation. But since Jiang Cheng bore the brunt of his mom’s criticism, my heart bled for him more. Yet, despite having lived his whole life being told he will never be as good as Wei Ying, he still loved him like a brother and even admired him, as exemplified by this scene:  

Instead of being jealous of Wei Ying being able to hit the target when he failed and the accolades he received from their sect disciples as a result, Jiang Cheng looked downright proud of his brother, as if Wei Wuxian’s success was his own. If I didn’t love Jiang Cheng before, I sure as hell loved him after this moment. It really showed how big of a heart Jiang Cheng has, how decent a person he is, and just how wonderful a brother he is (despite his constant nagging and disapproval), and it also made me so much sadder about what happened to their relationship and Jiang Cheng as a person later on. I really mourn the loss of his sweetness and magnanimity.

Madame Yu Appreciation Time

I’ve talked about how much I love Madame Yu before, and despite how brutal she is towards her family, I still love her. I loved her the moment she shot that glare of death at her husband. Him looking away and down like a properly whipped man just made me love and admire her even more. Again, I don’t approve of her parenting methods, I would not want her as my mom, but otherwise, she is just fucking awesome in my book. She is also beautiful. Makes me wish Jiang Fengmian was more of a match for her aesthetically-speaking, since he definitely was in the donghua. I wish they didn’t go older with him in the live action since the actress herself (Zhang Jingtong) is actually only a couple of years older than Xiao Zhan. I guess this version of JFM just hadn’t developed his cultivation level enough to retain his youthful appearance.  

Liu Haikuan Appreciation Time

Any opportunity I get to show Big Brother some love, I will take it, although in this instance I would actually like direct that love and appreciation towards actor Liu Haikuan specifically for his heart-wrenching performance in the scene where he begged Uncle Lan to leave Cloud Recesses to preserve his life. I totally felt his desperation and fear for his uncle, and how completely unwilling he was to leave him and Cloud Recesses behind. Some actors can’t even produce a single droplet of moisture even when a scene is calling for them to cry their eyes out, yet Liu Haikuan drops those tears even when he doesn’t need to since they were hardly noticeable. I just love his performance.  

Lan Zhan Appreciation Time

Technically I probably don’t need to set aside a specific section to appreciate Lan Zhan since I appreciate him all the time already, but since I wasn’t sure where to stick this moment, I decided to put it here. I don’t say it enough but I truly love the way he floats down to the ground; he looks like an angel descending upon the Earth.  

Ex-BFFs

I really cannot wait for The Fatal Journey’s release because I am dying to find out how Nie Huaisang and Jin Guangyao went from this to what they become sixteen years later. I know Nie Mingjue is the reason, but the journey to that point is what fascinates me, so although I love Wen Ning and Sizhui and I do look forward to their movie, I must confess that I am most excited about the Nie brothers and JGY’s saga. January cannot come soon enough.

A Questionable Picturesque Setting  

I love the way both Lotus Pier and Nightless City looked, so much so that I wish such places existed so I can go visit them one day. While I’m sure there are probably places in China that resemble Lotus Pier (or can be dressed up to look like it more or less), I doubt anything like Nightless City exists because it doesn’t even really make sense as a residence. Who in their right mind would build their stronghold on a volcano? And I guess an active one at that considering the lava running down all the surrounding mountains. Maybe that’s why Wen Ruohan looks so sweaty all the time. Since this part of Nightless City is obviously different from the section we saw during the Sunshot Campaign and Wei Ying’s final stand later on, I have to wonder just how freaking big is this place. And where was Wen Chao appearing from since there’s no building nearby? Is there some underground tunnel where he popped up from? I didn’t see any openings during the long pan up those steps. And also, for a sect known for its sun motif, I didn’t see even ONE sun printed on any of those banners. I wish they kept the original design; Nightless City made more sense in the donghua’s version of the place.  

Overall Episode Rating: 8 Lil Apples out of 10

Disclaimer: The Untamed would not be possible without Mo Dao Zu Shi and Mo Xiang Tong Xiu-laozi.  I mean no disrespect whatsoever with my humble comparisons between the novel and the live action, even when I sometimes favor the changes in the show. All hail MDZS and MXTX-laozi always and forever!  

[nutty1005]

Xiao Zhan: Heart of a Youth – Serenity, Ingenuous and Principled

Translator’s Note: I take a break from the acting analysis articles and bring you something more current... I hope all of us can draw strength from this!

Original Article:https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404480985398902834#_0 Original Author: 雪色烟波里

“He is but a child of 30 years old.”

Quite frequently, the phrase “He is just a child” had been used as an excuse by fans, and I am not sure since when this has changed to become a way of mockery. Even before fans uttered anything on this, “bystanders” would have started going crazy with “although he made a mistake, he is still a child! So we should not let this go!”. I agreed very much with this statement – no one should use the identity of a child to absolve his responsibilities as an adult, an adult should act as one. However, when they started using this phrase on Xiao Zhan, and added his age as a form of mockery, this started to stink…

I felt as though I was personally insulted, since I am a self-claimed young girl nearing the age of 30. Using someone’s age as an insult is very impolite, since no one escapes the fate of becoming a 30 year old.

Always realistic about his age, and his self-deprecating laugh when he speaks of his entry to entertainment business 

To me, being of a certain age and yet having a heart of a youth is not conflicting. Some 18 year old could be methodical, sleek and boring, while others could be 80 and still retain their heart of a child, innocent and unblemished. As for Xiao Zhan, he had always positioned himself as an adult, and never used any excuses to shrink from his responsibilities, and therefore when his age was used as a weapon against him, and calling him a “30 year old child”, is definitely inappropriate. However, in the current darkness, I was able to see his heart of youth and his simplicity.  And I would put this across with the following phrase. 

A poem is always hard to translate, and therefore I give you the caption words instead. Serenity, ingenuous and principled.

SERENITY

“I always reminded myself, for many things, there is no need to openly display that on the screen, but you should just quietly do, and your efforts would always be seen. There is no need to fight for everything, and fighting for screen time would definitely be something not needed.” —- Xiao Zhan

The clip below was shot on 1 Feb 2016, when Xiao Zhan just debuted. Not vying or fighting might sound ridiculous in the world of adult, but this encompassed the entirety of Xiao Zhan’s acting career. No matter whether he was a side character, a supporting character or the lead character, he had always been quiet and low-key.

Moving automatically to the side for ”Joy of Life“ announcement press conference

In his group, he is willing to be on the sides and become part of the background, always all smiles but never speaking much, always wanting to do his personal best, but never looking for any rewards. In most of the concerts, he would be in the corner, running across the stage to get into position, but never skimping on his dance moves. 

Xiao Zhan when his group was still active 

Xiao Zhan during the Talent Show, as bright as the sun 

I liked to watch Xiao Zhan’s stage performances very much. From a technical perspective, his dance skills were way off from that of a professional’s, but you could definitely feel his enthusiasm no matter how far off to the side he was. Instead of admirable skills, he utilized more of his ability to inject emotions into his performances, creating an atmosphere of joy and passion. He enjoyed every single of his performances with passion. No matter whether there were flowers or applause for him, he always gave his 100% to the stage. For one to understand his dancing style, gifs are not enough; I would recommend watching his fan focused videos to understand better. 

Enjoying the stage with all of him 

That infectious smile

As a group vocal, Xiao Zhan is quite decent – his high notes are clear, his tone clean and warm, and generally very unique. Personally, I enjoy many of his China themed songs, never tiring from songs such as Qu Jin Chen Qing [曲尽陈情] (Wei Wuxian OST from the Untamed) and the cover of A Laugh over the Blue Sea [沧海一声笑] (OST from the The Smiling, Proud Wanderer movie).

Recently, there were many who mocked at him for being an idol vocal but not knowing how to use an in-ear monitor, but they never thought about whether a vocal of a relatively unknown idol group would have the right to his own personal in-ear monitor. He had to borrow for his performances, and if he was not able to adjust in time, he would just have to bear with it, because he had no right to complain. After he attained some fame, he was able to finally get his own in-ear monitor, and he immediately started learning from his mentors, so what is there to mock? I only saw a person who was able to practice patience in adversity, work hard and progress in good times. By watching the entire series of “Our Song”, you would have a better understanding of his vocal skills.

Xiao Zhan during the rehearsal of Our Song 

Xiao Zhan singing “My China Heart” on CCTV 

After attaining some level of fame, Xiao Zhan did not let that get to his head, but instead clearly understood his current position, and that popularity could be temporary, only his works would be the basis of his career. Many of his colleagues would describe him as “hardworking and down-to-earth”. In terms of his career, he never slacked off any of his jobs, always prepared and went all out. In interpersonal relations, he was always polite and restrained, and treated everyone around him modesty and warmth. His attitude towards his acting was that he always had to do better than what he did previously. His sense of serenity was not limited to just himself or to his future, and this instead created endless possibilities for his future. 

Always grateful 

He never liked to claim credit, never cared about having commendations – when the host said that the Summer of 2019 belonged to Wei Wuxian, he replied that the Summer of 2019 belonged to The Untamed. When the fans were looking forward to his undubbed performances, he instead pointed out that the voice actors did plenty of value add. When the host asked him about that famous clip of him tearing up during script reading, he instead pointed out Xuan Lu and said that she was also tearing up but it was not captured on screen. You can understand how emotionally intelligent and humble he was just from a few interviews.

Humble, kind and sincere

Detailed and polite 

He believed that hard work could change his fate, his faith almost like that of a fresh-faced youth – he did not care about everything else, except that if he did well enough he would be eventually rewarded. However, is the world really like this? He opened a path with his stubborn simplicity, and forced his way out, but now he has tripped and fallen. While everyone else is cheering and trying to add fuel to the flames, looking at this “entertainment business oddity” paying the price for not keeping to the “rules”, there may be just a handful of us reflecting on why it would be so difficult for a normal person to succeed. Does it mean that eking out a path on your own with just courage would only result in failure? This is something I refuse to believe. I will wait, and wait for him to stand again, to prove to the world that a person can create his own path with hard work, and we can follow every of his steps and not be defeated easily! 

We will not be easily defeated 

INGENUOUS

On why he did not change his Weibo account after joining the entertainment business:

“I did not change because there was no need to. There is nothing to hide from the others. In those times, in 2010, that was exactly how I felt, I’m very open, I feel that there’s really nothing. In fact, this proves that my personality is not what everyone thinks as “super nice”, I’m just a living person, I feel that no one is perfect, and I don’t want to be a perfect doll.” —- Xiao Zhan

Ingenuous

He did not change his Weibo account after 5 years in the entertainment business, he had always been a candid person. However, he overestimated the world’s tolerance and kindness, and all his personal inside jokes from his commoner days had been used to smear his and his friends’ reputation. Now, if you open Weibo, you would can see all the cyber-bullying against him, as though he had done a heinous crime, but the basis of all these were just some vulgarities he said 10 years ago. Is not the world ridiculous? Based on this, I could have been the most evil girl online, if whatever I said in Baidu Forums were ever exposed, since not only I used vulgarities, I also mocked posters who made a fool of themselves, but these history does not stop me from choosing to be a kind and upright person today. A person is ever-changing, and if we had to gauge a person’s current state on what he did 10 years ago, wouldn’t that be narrow minded? In fact, the Weibo environment 10 years ago is different from that of today, and it is ridiculous to impose current rules on something that was done 10 years ago. I respect all who are candid about themselves, and I would want to be such a person as well, and face the world with an open mind. 

The cyber-bullying could be seen everywhere 

This is overboard… and also something I rather not translate 

Xiao Zhan did not deliberately create any persona, and his candid nature in handling himself is very obvious. He did not pretend to be someone he was not, did not shy away from showing his anxiety, and always used his true self to face everything:

During his Milan interview, he said excitedly that this was his first time to Europe.

During his time in X-Fire, on his first high speed rail trip, he was so excited that he recorded a vlog on it.

During one of their group activities, the organizers arranged for them to stay in an luxurious hotel, and he was so excited that he recorded another vlog on it, showing off the hotel as well as the huge bathtub.

When faced with a cat, he would smile in spite of himself. And he would play with random cats, be accidentally scratched by one and had to go for jabs.

His phone wallpaper had always been of “The God of Fortune”

His eyes would brighten up when he speaks or hears of money.

In fact, if you study him long enough, you would know that he is not perfect, but just a vivid, living person like each and everyone of us.

“This is my first time to Europe” “I just felt, wow, this is amazing!”

His excited face on his way to the high speed rail 

His excitement introducing his hotel room, and whoever used this to spread rumors is just plain evil 

An ingenuous gentleman, his heart pure and clear, he does not need to be secretive about himself, nor does it need to disguise himself. This is the Xiao Zhan I know, and I accept every of his imperfections, and I am willing to work with him to become a better person. I hope that when I am nearing 30 years old, I would still be exuberant when I encounter the first snows of that year. 

And I hope that your heart will always remain clear, and your eyes forever starry 

PRINCIPLED

“I feel that youth is that strength, just that strength, undaunted, undefeated by fate and fearless.” —- Xiao Zhan

In Everlasting Classics, Xiao Zhan sang “Bamboo in the Rock”. To be a person, one would strive to be a gentleman. To be a gentleman, one would strive to be like bamboo – unwavering against strong winds, and upright between the heaven and earth.

Relentlessly holding onto the mossy hill The roots buried within broken rocks Tough and strong despite endless erosion and assault Firmly against winds from all directions

Xiao Zhan said that his inner self is like bamboo, firm and tenacious. Many would scoff at this, and say that he did not do enough to control his fans. But is this really the issue of him not providing guidance for his fans? In fact, he has always been telling his fans, but this had been hijacked by the racket of public opinion.

“I can see that you say that studying is difficult, or work makes you unhappy, but growth is like climbing a mountain, the bigger it is, the harder it is, leave your grouses in your heart, when you look back at these problems again, you will realize that they were not difficult.” —- Xiao Zhan

“Actually, I want to tell everyone that no matter whether schooling or working, don’t forget to love life, to experience life and notice everything around you, love it!” —- Xiao Zhan

“There are both sides to everything, there are people who likes you and there will definitely be people who doesn’t like you, you don’t have to care too much about it. As long as we have good momentum, there will be more who will like us, and I will fight hard for those who likes us.” —- Xiao Zhan

Did anyone hear those?

“Idol and fans are actually symbiotic, we support each other and move forward together. When we live our respective lives well and continue to become better selves.” —- Xiao Zhan

“Hence I would say that my fans, I feel that you must first live your lives well so that you have spare time to like and follow the idol you like.” —- Xiao Zhan

Did anyone remember those?

“I am actually very careful, because now I represent not just Xiao Zhan, but my team as well, and if not for myself, there is no need to create unnecessary trouble. Frankly speaking, I haven’t met anything I can’t quite solve myself. But for many problems, others could only provide some opinions, give some directions, cheer you on, but they can’t really solve it for you. How to persist, how to endure, still all depends on myself, because only I know what really happened.” —- Xiao Zhan

“I feel that the ideal status is not changed by regrets. What is most important about life is making sure we live in the present and live well, and not regret the past. The present and future are the most important.” —- Xiao Zhan

Did anyone understand these?

He never stopped his guidance, but many were blind to them. Xiao Zhan’s firm attitude comes from being strict with himself, instead of becoming a nagging teacher disciplining his countless fans. A person could choose the person to like, but the person could not choose who would like him. Some people could not even be disciplined by their parents, how could this burden be instead placed on Xiao Zhan, who even has problems finding time to sleep? Is this not being difficult? If he had this ability, he might as well not be an actor, but become a professional educator.

He had always been providing guidance, but he definitely cannot control everyone

When large groups of anti fans overtook the “Secret Garden” in Sept 2019, spamming that post with the bad comments, his fans quickly counter spammed the post in fear that he might discover and read those bad comments. The unnatural spike in comments obviously alerted him, and he posted “I’m here, goodnight”. Those who took this out of context to claim that he was inciting more verbal war obviously did not see the entire comment. 

The “shhhhh” emoticon is often left out when pointing this out. 

In the storm of cyber-bullying, the only target is Xiao Zhan, because his Weibo account is the only one attached to a real name.

His personality is 100% firm and tenacious. His tenacity is in how he insisted to his doctor that he would continue to practice his dance steps despite inflammation in his knees; when his toenail fell off, he only asked if it would regrow. His tenacity is in how he would wear thick layers of period drama costume in the height of summer, and wear tattered rags in the deep freezing cold of winter. His tenacity is in shooting period dramas for straight 2 years, not knowing if they would actually be allowed to air. His tenacity is in how he would be fighting a lawsuit against his management, saying “Don’t look back, ever!”, while at the same time managing his endorsement deals by himself and plotting his own future. His tenacity is in how he would not give up despite not earning enough to support himself, and having to go to events by himself without any assistants.

He had survived one of the toughest period, so why should he admit defeat this time round? He would not, and his fans also have no reason to abandon him as well. He is faultless in this, and perhaps causing envy is his only fault here. Time will prove his innocence, falsehoods will not withstand the test of time.

Biting his air tickets, so that he has spare hands to carry his own luggage. We will not give up no matter how tough it gets. 

We will accompany you through thick and thin

We will become better people together

And I will end this article with another poem from Zheng Ban Qiao (the poet for Bamboo in the Rock):

A bamboo, an orchid and a rock, with integrity, discipline and fortitude

In a room these oozes gentlemanliness, evergreen against the test of time

A bamboo, an orchid and a rock, with integrity, discipline and fortitude

Firmly against gales and snowstorm, they will bring the news of the spring breeze

[nutty1005]

Period Dramas – An Analysis on Xiao Zhan's Character Portrayal Part 1

This is a series of short articles by the same author which will be a 6 part analysis on Xiao Zhan’s various roles.

Part 1.1 – Wei Wuxian

Part 1.2 – Wei Wuxian

Part 1.3 – Wei Wuxian

Part 2.1 – Yan Bingyun

Part 3.1 – Period Dramas

Part 3.2 – Period Dramas

Original Article: https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404475300028219446 Original Author: 诗债累累

We frequently read about actors being so good that they meld into the role and become unrecognizable, and these performances showcased the actor’s ability to differentiate their roles and produce unique features. To the actor, this is also a mission of highest importance: to complete a performance with his creativity and imagination, and imprint an unique touch to his roles – “I acted this”.

Although this is not some technical jargon, this brings forth some curious questions from the audiences:

How did the actor enter his role to create a vivid, living and realistic character?

How did the actor forget his own personality?

How did the actor create his roles such that they are unique?

One of the common methods used in training acting:

“When you are portraying a character, it is like you finding an astonishing item, and then you run into a house full of people, but now you have to explain to them this incident with your back facing them.”

Perhaps you may find this requirement strange, but to the actor, after being asked to portray a specific scene in several different manners, to reposition themselves multiple times to match the camera angle – sometimes it seemed as though you are facing your partner, but due to camera positioning, you were actually positioned facing away.

So, how do you portray the character?

We would have to start with the relationship between the actor and the character.

For easy understanding, I have tabulated Xiao Zhan’s main roles thus far, using their character features in the drama as the basis, since “Jade Dynasty” was only the first portion of the novel, and might have adaptation differences.

This is something that all of us can consider – while the emotions for Beitang Moran and Yan Bingyun were both restrained, what differences were there? What are the differences between Wei Wuxian’s teasing and sharp words, and Zhang Xiaofan’s simple and straightforwardness? From the tragic story lines of both Wei Wuxian and Zhang Xiaofan, what were their differences when they were seeking their own deaths? 

(1) An actor does not create a character —- The first layer comes from the completeness of a character

A character is actually created by the script writer, then the director. If the drama is adapted from a novel, it is first created by the author, then the script writer and then finally the director.

When the actor receives the role, it is, in fact, an already processed piece of work, and this piece of work contains his lines, his basic emotions and actions (usually written by the script writer), how the positioning of the character is like, and how he is supposed to interact with his partner (usually written by the director).

As such, the first thing the actor needs to do is to clearly understand his performance mission, understand the actions which the character needs to do, and the purpose of the character. Using the actions and the purpose, discover the main story, such that he will be able to sustain the performance regardless of the retakes, and also aid him in clearing his thoughts quickly.

Based on the above explanation, we could say that the performance missions for Beitang Moran, Wei Wuxian, Yan Bingyun and Zhang Xiaofan were complete.

Example: Beitang Moran and Wei Wuxian

(1) Beitang Moran

Background: Regent with military power Action: To create resistance and difficulties for the protagonist Purpose: To improve the eventual ruler

This character was the nation’s second highest in power. He honed the Emperor’s ruling skills, and also honed his own. He knew that the nation was their home and while he was given great power, he wanted to return the power back to the Emperor once he had mature. This set Moran apart from the other court officials.

Besides Xiao Zhan’s looks, this character was attractive because of the sense of power. This power came from the political power as well as the strength of the character. The underlying line was “Everyone desires peace, if you are not worthy, I will take over”.

With this in mind, Xiao Zhan’s portrayal included a hidden sense of pressure, a sense of gravity that contrasted greatly with the general comical script. This quickly added charm to the character, and he also adjusted his vocal tone higher in consideration that this was a web drama (hence more lighthearted) and the age range of the target audience (teenagers), the direction was more haughty than noble.

If this character was written in a serious political drama, and 40 year old Xiao Zhan redid this character again, he would have gone for a deeper vocal range, portrayed nobility and regalness, and added more gravity to the role.

(2) Wei Wuxian (during Guanyin Temple)

Background: Self reconciled, moved on Action: To understand the truth, to rescue everyone Purpose: To save everyone’s lives (it was not important for Jin Guangyao to die, nor to understand the mystery behind Jin Guangyao’s actions) Additional Surprise: To discover the ridiculous reasons behind his demise

The scene at Guanyin Temple was the most complex, as there were many characters joining the scene one by one, escalating the incident with every step:

Discovering the truth behind the Sword Spirit

Unveiling the truth behind Qiong Qi Path – the turning point of Wei Wuxian’s life

Understanding Jin Guangyao’s background

After every step, the Wei Wuxian’s stance and attitude kept changing. When facing every other participant of the scene, he had to show different details to convey their relationship. This was one of Xiao Zhan’s most complex scene, with each unveiling of the truth, every interaction and attitude with other characters had to be adjusted.

To Jin Guangyao:

He was at a disadvantage, hence trying to buy time and discover his opponent’s weakness

He was in shock, after understanding that his demise was based on nothing but unreasonable and unprovoked malice and hatred

To Jiang Cheng:

He discovered that the truth about the Golden Core was made known

He had to comfort Jiang Cheng

At the same time, he was released from the burden of hiding the truth

To Jin Ling:

He had to rescuing him

He released himself from the guilt of accidentally killing Jin Zixuan, but also knew that he had an indirect relation to it

To Lan Wangji:

He realised that the truth about the Golden Core was made known

He felt that there was no need to hide the truth anymore

To Lan Xize (Zewu Jun):

He studied his interactions to understand his attitude, since he and Jin Guangyao were close friends

To Su Minshan:

He understood why he rather be Jin Guangyao’s lap dog

He understood why he would set him up.

The completeness of the scene was done extremely well, with high concentration of lines and interactions between different characters. The emotional flow and attitude changes after discovering each piece of truth was clean and smooth. The emotions went from anxiety to anguish (for one self) to resolution, interlaced with psychological and physical fights.

(2) An actor needs to add his own touch to the character —- The second layer comes from the special touches he adds to the character, besides what was scripted

There was once a great drama teacher once said, even though everyone acts a character in the same way, you should still try to twist your thumb differently.

Here, we will use the example of Zhang Xiaofan to see how the performance of a classic character is created. (TN: Jade Dynasty is a very popular classic fantasy novel.)

Zhang Xiaofan had quite a few scenes where he had to act without props, such as the scene with the Water Dragon, as well as the stick that is not there.

Action: To counter his lack of progress in skills by cooking and cleaning, or taking on the blame for his fellow disciples Purpose: To repay his benefactor sect (and to court his Shijie)

Xiaofan was a character that was easy to have performance ideas: to portray the kindness and innocence of the character, with optimism and open-mindedness. As compared with his other characters, he made the following adjustments:

He changed the way he smiled, by raising his head, and to openly smile by showing his teeth.

He added a lot of miscellaneous movements, such as scratching his head, wiping his hands and touching his face.

And we summarize his performance points below:

To animals:

He treated all creatures equally – he treated everyone the same, regardless of person, monkey, Water Dragon, or dog

To Shijie:

He had puppy love, immediate facial expressions upon seeing her

He always wiped his hands before holding her hands

He felt he was Jilted (he thought his Shijie liked him too), and ran to the mountain top to shout his thoughts out

To vengeance:

Although he kept saying that he did not have the ability to do anything, the thought always remained in his heart. The moment he found out the truth about his village, plus he had gained enough power to take revenge, he did not stop his hand

To truth:

He wished for his own death, fragile but sincere, after his dreams were shattered, it was all just his ill fate, and he was defeated by it.

After all of these designs, Zhang Xiaofan became someone that was more relatable, with blood and soul in the earlier part of the movie, and contrasted greatly with the latter part when he fell to evil, and this contrast elevated the tragedy.

Conclusion

Actors are like a sponge for emotions, a machine for rationality. They have to be absorb all emotions but yet memorize these emotions and actions rationally, in order to repeat endlessly.

In contemporary works, a common theory used is “emotional memory”, to let the actors use their own past experiences and emotions to directly or indirectly apply on their character, and understand how the performance is generated.

During these type of performances, the weight of the role hinges on the actor himself. For example, in “The Most Beautiful Performance” where Xiao Zhan acted in the short clip “Buying Ears”, because Xiao Zhan was brought up by his grandmother, he was able to apply that emotion when he acted the role of a hearing impaired deliveryman calling his grandmother (who was also hearing impaired). Or in “Family Rules”, where his lifelike performance of getting beaten up by his father, was probably also inferred from his real life – in his People Magazine interview, he spoke about how his parents would take turns in disciplining him.

Life experiences are a valuable treasure trove to actors, as they contain living material. The more living material there are, the better and faster it is for actors to be able to find the right emotional experience. As such, realistic material + lifelike performance + relatable experiences will have an advantage in reaching his audiences.

In the current day and age where scripts are often from the fantasy genre, the characters abandon realism, experience great ups and downs, have beyond human capabilities – these roles will need to move the weight from the actor to the character. Actors need to participate in the creation of the character, simply drawing from their life experiences will not be enough, and thus attempt to discover how the character felt. With more experiences, their treasure trove will contain more living material, and will be able to inject realism in their characters.