Generation Z Artists

Chapter 209 The unification of Chinese civilization is the mandate of heaven!
"Ok, deal!"

Fang Xinghe adopted an almost domineering attitude and set the final outcome.

……

The nameless one approached and used the Hidden Sword Technique to slash at him. Suddenly, the jade seal on the table emitted a hazy, clear light, blocking the sword. The King of Qin remained unmoved and said sarcastically: "I am ordained by Heaven. How can you dark and petty people harm me?"

The nameless warrior, burning with blood and life force, unleashed another powerful strike, tearing off a corner of the imperial seal. Simultaneously, he rebounded and slammed into a palace pillar.

The King of Qin was furious. He drew his sword and threw it, pinning the nameless man to a pillar in the abdomen.

dialogue.

Wuming laughed loudly: "The reason why things failed is that I wanted to kidnap him alive, and I had to get a treaty to report to the Crown Prince!"
(If I hadn't wanted to capture you alive and secure an agreement for the Yan Kingdom, I would have gone all out with my first sword strike, and your imperial seal wouldn't have been able to protect you.)
The King of Qin was moved: You are a righteous man, but unfortunately you lack the right timing.

He elaborated on the great cause of unification, saying: "The wars among the six states have caused the Chinese people to lose blood year after year, and the estrangement has deepened. If unification is not achieved, and another hundred years of chaos ensues, then foreign tribes will surely arrive, and the legitimate dynasty will be lost."

Although Qin was warlike, this was a crucible method, taking the bloodlines of the six states, fusing the essence of a hundred races, and reforging the ancestral dragon, thus achieving long-term peace and stability. Only then could China truly be China.

You only possess personal bravery and petty loyalty; how can you know the grandeur of my heart?
The nameless man remained silent for a long time, then sighed and said: "Your Majesty may kill me now. I humbly request Your Majesty to hang my head and that of the Crown Prince of Han in a high place, so that I may witness the end of the six kingdoms, the unification of the four seas, the cessation of war, and the peace and happiness of the people. Even though I am but a commoner, I will sing joyfully."

"good."

The King of Qin stepped forward, personally beheaded him, and with a wave of his sleeve, declared: "The body of this brave warrior shall be given a grand burial. The head of this righteous man shall be hung in a high place. I shall use this as a mirror to reflect upon myself!"

Transitions.

As the flames of war subsided and the six kingdoms were destroyed, the coronation ceremony took place, and the Fengshan ceremony was held at Mount Tai. The Imperial Seal of the State was placed on the Fengshan Stele, and the dragon's aura rose and took shape.

In the final scene, the camera pans to a corner of Mount Tai—

A stone tower holds hundreds of skulls, their deep-set eyes seemingly gazing upon the mountains and rivers.

The camera zooms in on the skull's eye sockets, revealing Nameless and Prince Han sitting opposite each other, sipping tea.

Crown Prince Han seemed to sense that he was being spied on, and suddenly turned his head to look, smiling and nodding slightly.

Looking back at the bleak place, there is no wind, rain, or sunshine when I return.

The screen ends, the movie ends, and the credits roll.

The Qin dynasty unified the six states, established a centralized government and a prefecture-county system, and laid the core framework for the perpetual unification of Chinese civilization in terms of its political genes.

By standardizing written language and ethical conduct, cultural barriers were eliminated, a shared culture was formed, and a foundation of identity was laid at the cultural level for the eternal unity of Chinese civilization.

Standardizing cart tracks and roads promotes market unification, drives productivity development, and provides the central empire with the economic foundation for its continuation.

The construction of the Great Wall and the opening of the Ling Canal protected the core agricultural areas and expanded the territory in all directions. Successive emperors followed this practice and expanded the territory, ensuring that the core territory of Chinese civilization remained unchanged for generations.

The Qin Emperor's achievements were unparalleled, and he was ordained by Heaven; later generations revered him as...

The First Emperor.

From then on, Chinese civilization became the only unified civilization in the world, enduring countless wars yet continuing its lineage. How magnificent, how beautiful, how supreme!

……

The final plot designed by Fang Xinghe displeased screenwriter Lao Feng and also caused Zhang Yimou a lot of distress.

"You've made this way too complicated!"

"Exactly! A perfectly good kung fu movie suddenly turns into something supernatural and ghostly at the end. Isn't that ridiculous?!"

The decision has been made, but if we want Zhang Yimou to make a good film and bring out his full potential, we still need to get his approval on a conceptual level.

So Fang Xinghe had no choice but to patiently guide him.

"What's the most important thing when making a commercial film?"

“It looks good!”

"So how can we make it appealing to the audience?"

"Forehead……"

Seeing that these people couldn't figure it out, Fang Xinghe didn't keep them in suspense and revealed the answer directly.

“The visuals are exquisite, the action is exciting, and the plot is full of twists and turns, but these are all superficial.”

Commercial films pursue box office success, but ultimately, they aim to provide emotional satisfaction to the widest possible audience.

However, Chinese and Western cultures are completely different, and even the cultures of China, Japan, and Korea are not the same.

Our film will be shown to audiences worldwide. How can we make it acceptable and even satisfy viewers from all different cultural backgrounds?

We must find the greatest common denominator at the core of our thinking.

The entire creative team, including Zhang Yimou, the screenwriting team, Wei Ping, and Li Lianjie, fell into deep thought.

Gong Li wasn't so fixated on the plot, and jokingly smoothed things over, saying, "Xiao Fang, a common divisor is a mathematical concept, right? How do you understand it?"

"Let me give you a simple example."

Fang Xinghe knew they were being stubborn, so he tried his best to explain.

"For example, highbrow art films and lowbrow comedies are not suitable for cross-cultural or cross-national release."

The former has depth, but it demands too much from the audience's understanding and empathy.

The latter contains hidden cultural barriers and only works in a fixed region.

What is the core emotion that can truly touch all of humanity?
Love comes first, followed by family ties; personal struggle takes a backseat. Some countries celebrate personal struggle, while others do not. This is a cultural difference.

"Hero" is a period kung fu blockbuster based on real historical background. We can't use love as the core emotion, so we can only sell period kung fu. But this selling point is too weak and is just a superficial aspect. There should be a core that elevates the theme.

The nameless one represents faith, and the Crown Prince of Han represents righteousness. Can Western audiences understand these two points and be moved by them?
is allowed.

The West has a code of chivalry; whether they still adhere to it or not, at least we can grasp its essence.

Keeping one's word corresponds to honesty, and sacrificing oneself for righteousness corresponds to sacrifice. By emphasizing the personal characteristics of Nameless and Prince Han, we can make Western audiences believe in the characters' motivations.

As the final climax, the King of Qin cannot be weak or ineffective; he must put on a strong show in the last scene.

The problem is that he can't be a martial arts master. If he were, and then he had a fight with Wuming, the plot would be off-track. The grand and profound history would seem to turn into a gang fight. What kind of spirit are we conveying then?
Is it a case of the strong ruling the world, or the king being the strongest?
Qin Shi Huang could be brave, but he couldn't be a martial arts master; history can be ambiguous, but it can't be ridiculed.

You've portrayed Qin Shi Huang as the greatest martial artist in the world, which seems like an exaggeration, but actually diminishes his stature. Brother Wang's idea is absurd.

Associate screenwriter Wang Bin blushed, feeling both resentful and aggrieved.

Fang Xinghe ignored him and continued his statement.

"So Director Zhang's overall approach is correct. The First Emperor cannot defeat Nameless head-on, but he cannot die either. As a compromise, you choose to let him use words and righteousness to dispel Nameless's murderous intent."

This is a last resort.

The problem is, if you do it this way, Chinese people will definitely not accept it, and foreigners will also be completely confused.

After going through so much trouble and paying such a high price to get this opportunity, it ended abruptly after just a few words?

Is this fun?
The emotions had been building up all the way, but instead of being released here, they only made me feel even worse, which was very frustrating.

The Chinese people know the story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin—Jing Ke revealed his dagger when the map was unrolled, the King of Qin reacted quickly, cut off his sleeve and ran around a pillar to escape, Xia Wuqie threw a medicine bag at Jing Ke, and the King of Qin finally drew his sword and cut off Jing Ke's leg.

Filming according to your idea is both an insult to Jing Ke's integrity and a disgrace to the First Emperor's courage.

Foreigners don't know the story's background, nor can they understand the core culture behind Nameless's decision to abandon the assassination attempt—based on my understanding of Americans, they would definitely curse.

Not killing, stopping war, the world... it's too lofty, too abstract, and too disconcerting to say these things out loud.

The narrative logic and character motivations break down here. Wuming's personal charisma suddenly collapses, the sacrifices of Feixue Zhaohou and Han Taizi become meaningless, and the character of Qin Wang is completely stereotyped, lacking any sense of oppressiveness as a big boss.

Have you thought about what the outcome would be?
Audiences from an Eastern cultural background will inevitably be dissatisfied with the plot.

Western audiences, however, will inevitably question the character.

At that point, even the best marketing and promotion can't salvage a completely collapsed storyline and plot. How can a commercially successful film that isn't exciting get high box office returns?

Li Lianjie interjected, "So, you mean Nameless must carry out the assassination to the end?"

Fang Xinghe nodded and said decisively, "With this nameless faith, we must risk our lives and exert all our strength!"

He paused, then continued, "Starting from the protagonist's motivations—a resolute act of selflessness and a willingness to die—to maximize the tragic atmosphere and complete his character arc, is the only way to truly establish Nameless and elevate him from an assassin to a hero." "That makes sense, but..."

Old Feng muttered under his breath, "You can't just conjure up an imperial seal to save the emperor, that's too far-fetched... Do you think Western audiences would accept that?"

"Of course!"

Fang Xinghe raised an eyebrow and smiled confidently.

"Don't underestimate this kind of mystery. It is the only explanation that Westerners can understand and believe in, which is the destiny of heaven."

"Huh?" Everyone stared at each other in disbelief. "Really?"

"King Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, Charlemagne and the holy sword Gouwayus, only the most perfect knight Galahad can become one with the Holy Grail..."

Brother Fang rattled off a string of examples from Western mythology.

"Westerners believe most in things like destiny. They believe that holy swords possess spirits, choose their masters and sing, are indestructible, automatically protect their masters, and can slay demonic dragons with their power..."

In Western perception, destiny is usually bestowed or certified by God, God, fate, or supernatural forces, and its sacredness originates from a supreme source.

Then, destiny often has a core symbol, such as a sword, a holy grail, a statue, a sacred object, or an oracle or prophecy.

In short, if a hero is destined by fate, then there must be proof.

Next comes identity verification, where obtaining a symbol or passing a trial is a key ritual for the protagonist to acquire their destined identity.

I hope Director Zhang will reshoot the scene of the First Emperor's Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, which is also a key scene to strengthen this symbolism of the Mandate of Heaven.

The next element is the mission and responsibility of the chosen one, which is highly valued in Western culture.

This perfectly corresponds to the Qin King's grand ambition of establishing a unified empire and ensuring the perpetuation of civilization.

Western civilization has never experienced a unified empire, so it does not understand the meaning of unification itself. However, through this transformation of destiny, they were able to recognize the responsibility of the Qin King as the chosen one, making the image of Qin Shi Huang more three-dimensional, richer, and more mysterious.

In the very end, it all boils down to fatalism.

Fate cannot be defied, and heroes often suffer tragic fates. Westerners don't need you to explain it; they can foresee it themselves.

The death of an unknown person will become natural, full of tragic significance and a sense of destiny.

The tyranny of the King of Qin in waging war would, in their minds, possess a legitimacy rooted in divine mandate, transforming this figure from a tyrant into a hero—a hero from a different perspective.

Everyone present was stunned and scratched their heads in disbelief.

On the one hand, I could hardly believe it, and on the other hand, I was deeply moved.

It's not that they're bad at it, it's just the way things are in this era.

At this historical juncture, Western civilization stands high above, while the Chinese people grovel in awe, neither knowing their own superiority nor understanding why.

Fang Xinghe's explanation was both bold and novel.

Some were truly earth-shattering, while others were unbelievable.

Zhang Yimou couldn't hold back any longer and had a heart-to-heart talk with Fang Xinghe.

"My idea is to deeply interpret and reconstruct the spirit of traditional Chinese chivalry."

The traditional chivalrous figure is elevated from an individual rebel who "uses force to break the law" to a tragic hero who cares about the common people and sacrifices himself for the greater order.

The core conflict lies in the fact that the King of Qin conquered the nameless man with the righteous cause of "stopping the war" and "the world", making him believe that unification is the only way to end the war and willing to sacrifice his personal life to achieve this goal.

This is also a tragedy, or even a sacrifice of a higher level. Why are you so certain that Westerners would rather accept fate than praise peace?

This was the first time that Mouzi (Zhang Yimou) openly discussed his thinking.

Well, I can only describe it as... very silly and naive.

Fang Xinghe knew he couldn't wake him up; Zhang Yimou was a stubborn man who knew too little about the world outside of film.

But "Hero" cannot be allowed to run wild. This is Fang Xinghe's first film. He is listed as the producer, assistant director, action director, and second male lead. He has also staked the path of domestic production of Chinese blockbusters in mainland China. He must suppress Da Huang and Er Hei.

Fang Xinghe must, and can only, destroy Mou Zi's naive illusions.

First, the West does not have the concept of "all under heaven".

This is an extremely grand and abstract concept in traditional Chinese political philosophy. It transcends the nation and ethnicity, pointing to a more universal order and peace.

What do Westerners believe in?
Individual heroism.

Personal value is paramount.

The Chinese values ​​of prioritizing collectivism and sacrificing the individual for the greater good are fundamentally in conflict with the core values ​​of Western individualism.

Second, the West lacks a unified set of values.

European history is a history of fragmentation, with hundreds of small states, each living its own life; city-states were independent, and races were given priority.

Western communities are divided based on race and bloodline.

This unification effort, carried out through military conquest, slaughter, and oppressive rule, is seen as necessary by the Chinese, but by Westerners, it lacks any legitimacy.

The West places great importance on procedural justice—at least superficially—so it is impossible for them to accept the Qin King's ideas.

Third, Western media are extremely wary of political ideologies originating from China.

The moralizing you deliver at the end of the movie will almost certainly be interpreted as 'using film to package political propaganda and glorify authoritarianism,' which is a huge pitfall that you should avoid if possible.

What about the greater good of the world? Isn't that just autocracy and authoritarianism?
My revised script also reflected authoritarianism, but I presented it in the end credits, guiding Western audiences to reflect on the excellence of unified civilizations without affecting their viewing experience—a subtle and pervasive influence.

If arguments are inevitable in the end, at least the viewers who enjoyed the show can chime in with a comment: "China has never had a break in generations? Wow, that's truly remarkable."

Fourth, Western audiences want to see a spirit of resistance, not a betrayal of personal ideals.

Once Wuming was persuaded by the King of Qin with words, he completely betrayed his personal responsibility and the cause of justice. Westerners cannot understand this kind of self-sacrifice; you can only move yourself.

Can Chinese people understand this kind of self-sacrifice?
I also have my doubts.

At least Jing Ke actually did it; if he didn't, it doesn't diminish his heroic spirit.

"If Nameless doesn't strike with that sword, I'll have died for nothing, Gong Li and Ziyi will have been sacrificed for nothing, and our fans will definitely be in an uproar."

That last sentence terrified Wei Ping so much that she wet herself.

"That won't do! We have to do it, even if we can't beat them, we have to fight them!"

Li Lianjie also agreed: "If we shoot according to Xiao Fang's ideas, my characters will be able to stand out. Otherwise, it will be a complete waste of time and effort."

Fang Xinghe nodded, bringing the topic back to the beginning.

"In conclusion, what is the greatest common denominator of commercial films?"
It involves selecting an emotion that can be understood by the most people, progressing step by step without deliberately pursuing profundity or mystifying the subject, so that the widest possible audience can understand and be moved.

Don't be afraid of a simple plot, or an exaggerated one; as long as the target audience is large enough, success will naturally follow.

Does the storyline of Nezha have depth?
Does Avatar have any depth in its plot?

Does the Titanic have any depth in its plot?

nothing.

Their success lies precisely in its universality.

Commercial films, in their pursuit of profound depth, prioritize entertaining the masses; that is their fundamental function.

If you want to explore depth, go make art films.

Anyway, Fang Xinghe is clear-headed. He only has one requirement for "Hero"—it should be suitable for all ages, appeal to both Chinese and Western audiences, and be a huge box office hit!
As for the debate over cultural attributes and consciousness...

Didn't I leave a surprise?

The First Emperor was born with the Mandate of Heaven.

Therefore, the unification of Chinese civilization is the destiny ordained by Heaven!
Only when you understand this point can you say that you have truly understood Fang Xinghe's "Hero".

This is neither scientific nor justifiable, but it is precisely the reason that those binary fools under the "happy education" system in the West can most readily accept.

It's a culture war, you fight your war, I fight mine, let's put aside the seriousness for now, just play with them!

(End of this chapter)