Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 435: That Lantern Festival in Chang'an

As the sky gradually darkened, the preparations before filming were completed. We just had to wait until it was completely dark to shoot the scene of the Chang'an Lantern Festival Night Market.

This plot is a continuation of the previous plot.

After Lin Yuan rejected his superior Li Renjie's solicitation, he unexpectedly received a military order to return to Chang'an.

It was already 737 AD. In this year, the conscription system was further rolled out. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang issued an edict:

Soldiers were recruited to volunteer for permanent garrison service, their families were allowed to accompany them, and official land and houses were allocated to them. From then on, the conscription system completely replaced the fubing system, which also laid the groundwork for separatist regimes in the Tang Dynasty.

The families of the imperial guards guarding the capital naturally had to remain in Chang'an as hostages.

But for soldiers like Lin Yuan who "voluntarily" garrison the border for a long time, their families can join the army.

Because the border towns have begun to massively increase the number of recruits, the central government is actually no longer able to control the families of local soldiers, so there is no need to guard against them as strictly as before.

Lin Yuan and Meng Tao led a team of soldiers back to Chang'an to visit their relatives, and by the way, they took the families of their soldiers back to Yunzhou.

The scene being filmed tonight is the scene where Lin Yuan returns to Chang'an and visits the Lantern Festival Night Market in Chang'an with his wife, played by Liu Yufei.

The Yunzhou Market that was filmed before was modeled after the East and West Markets in Chang'an.

In the previous scene, the camera only roughly showed the prosperous commerce in the border town of the Tang Dynasty, but the protagonist did not use a personal perspective to take the audience to visit the Tang Dynasty market 1300 years ago.

In today's scene, Director Nolan hopes to showcase the unparalleled style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

The Lantern Festival, also known as the Lantern Festival.

During the Tang Dynasty, cities enforced curfews at night.

However, on Lantern Festival night, the market is not closed and the whole city celebrates the festival together.

So that night, the streets were brightly lit, and everyone went out of their homes to visit the night market, creating a prosperous and bustling scene.

In the layout of Chang'an City, Taiji Palace is in the center, while Daming Palace and Xingqing Palace are located to the east.

In order to make it easier to go to court, officials flocked to the east of the city to buy houses.

Therefore, the East Market, located in the east of the city, was influenced by its proximity to the residential areas of the powerful, and its catering, entertainment, and brothel industries were extremely developed. Emerging industries such as pen shops, woodblock printing, and musical instrument shops also flourished.

Chongrenfang has spawned the largest hotel street in Chang'an City. Looking at the East Market, the commodity transactions and consumption levels of buyers and sellers tend to be high-end.

The West Market, located in the west of the city, is more accessible to the public and is known as the "Golden Market".

When it comes to the taste of life and the atmosphere of the market, the first choice is of course Xishi.

In 2000, there was a very popular TV series in China called "The Story of the Palace of Eternal Life".

In the play, Princess Taiping first met Xue Shao, the man she fell in love with at first sight, at the West Market on the Lantern Festival.

The scene to be filmed tonight will also showcase the unparalleled splendor of the Tang Dynasty through the West Market during the Lantern Festival.

Before filming began, Director Nolan, as usual, was explaining the script in detail to every actor - except Lin Yuan.

At this time, he was communicating with Liu Yufei.

"Ms. Liu, please tell us about your understanding of this scene. How will you portray the character of Li Fei?" asked director Nolan.

Li Fei, played by Liu Yufei, is a descendant of Li Jing, the Duke of Wei, a famous general of the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

Like the Yuchi family, the lineage of Duke Weiguo had also declined at this time, but similar family backgrounds allowed the two to understand each other more deeply and rely on each other.

"In my understanding, the core word for the character of Li Fei is 'restraint.'" Liu Yufei continued to explain:
"Because she comes from a military family, she understands the difficulties her husband faces when he's away from home for years, stationed on the frontier. She's not without loneliness and sadness, but she uses reason to control herself and tries not to show it, thereby putting pressure on her husband."

"She was delighted to be reunited with her husband. The time they spent together at the Shangyuan Night Market was the happiest time of her life in recent years. But she was very restrained and didn't show her excessive happiness.

Because only by showing that she doesn't care about her husband's company and the prosperous life can she prevent her husband from feeling indebted and wanting more compensation.

This is a woman who hides her love very deeply," Liu Yufei said.

Director Nolan was stunned when he heard Liu Yufei's answer.

He didn't expect that Liu Yufei's understanding was so thorough.

In his impression, Liu Yufei's acting skills were not outstanding, but he didn't expect that she could understand the role so thoroughly.

In this way, he no longer worried that Liu Yufei would not be able to play the role well.

In fact, Liu Yufei's acting talent is indeed not high. Although she has been working hard to learn and is very dedicated when filming, God will not let a person be without shortcomings.

In her previous life, she created many classic film and television roles, but that doesn't mean her acting skills are good.

She is very dependent on the character's personality when acting. When the image of a fairy who is otherworldly and highly matches her, Liu Yufei can play the role in her true colors and does not need much acting skills to present the role, creating a classic screen image.

However, if the role she chooses is not suitable, it will often turn into a disaster and highlight her acting flaws.

What about Li Fei who starred in "The Heroes of Tang Dynasty" this time?
It definitely matches her.

As a descendant of a famous family, Li Fei has a noble temperament, which matches Liu Yufei's temperament.

Li Fei's state of mind is perfectly integrated with Liu Yufei's.

Because of Liu Yufei in real life and also because of Lin Yuan's busy schedule, the two were separated for a long time.

She also restrained herself, not letting Lin Yuan feel guilty, not letting Lin Yuan feel that she was dependent on his company, and not letting Lin Yuan want to compensate her...

These states of mind are exactly the same.

Therefore, why would Liu Yufei worry that she would not be able to perform this scene well?

At this moment, she is Li Fei, and it is really hard to tell the difference between her on and off the stage.

After discussing the play with Liu Yufei, Director Nolan went to Meng Tao with gritted teeth.

Tonight's Lantern Festival play also has his plot:
That is Lin Yuan and Liu Yufei, who ran into Meng Tao and his wife, played by Zhang Ziyu, during the Lantern Festival, and a conflict arose because of Meng Tao's wife's infidelity.

The reason why director Nolan felt embarrassed was because he also knew that Meng Tao in real life had a similar situation with his wife.

When a normal person encounters this kind of thing, it will be a huge scar in his heart, and he will try to avoid it to avoid hurting himself.

But Meng Tao seemed to have a masochistic tendency and insisted on playing the role of a man whose wife had cheated on him.

Maybe he wanted to use this repeated pain to numb his heart.

The more pain there is, the less it hurts.

But director Nolan couldn't help feeling embarrassed. From a director's perspective, he had to communicate clearly with Meng Tao to ensure that he could perform this scene well.

But this kind of communication really makes people feel very strange.

Director Nolan sat down with Meng Tao and asked with a smile, "Are you familiar with this scene tonight?"

Meng Tao nodded: "I have studied it many times. I know you are worried about me, so I will tell you my experience."

"The character I play is away from home all year round and has made no contribution to the family other than financial responsibility. He is negligent in accompanying his wife and caring for the elderly.

The two of them had no children as a common bond, so they gradually drifted apart.

In fact, he had a premonition that his wife would cheat on him.

After all, how could he not know whether the relationship between husband and wife is close or not?" Meng Tao said.

At this moment, Meng Tao seemed to be talking about the character in the play, and also about himself. He continued:
"He was fearless in battle and burned his life to the fullest. For him, the fear of life and death on the battlefield was far less than the helplessness he felt when facing his family.

Therefore, when he discovered his wife's affair on Lantern Festival, he was not angry, but felt a sense of relief.

He can finally stop bearing the moral pressure because he is no longer the one who is wrong."

Meng Tao finished speaking, then looked at Director Nolan silently.

"Very good. Since you understand it so well, let's focus on capturing this sense of relief later." Director Nolan patted Meng Tao on the shoulder, his words full of encouragement.

At this time, the sky was completely dark and the lights were just coming on.

The streets to be filmed tonight have been officially equipped and can be filmed immediately.

These are two intersecting streets with a total length of 400 meters. On both sides of the road are Tang-style buildings with black roofs and red walls, and various shops are lined up on both sides.

The candlelight inside the store, the lanterns outside the store, and even the lantern racks that were erected several stories high, illuminated the two avenues brightly, making the scene look quite prosperous at first glance.

But prosperity alone is not enough, it also needs to be lively.

A total of 2000 extras participated in tonight's filming, blocking the two streets.

The huge crowds of people perfectly recreated the lively atmosphere of the Lantern Festival. "All departments, get ready, filming is about to begin," Director Nolan said over the intercom.

"The camera department is ready."

"The lighting crew is ready."

"The prop team is ready."

……

After receiving replies from all departments that they were ready, Director Nolan gave the order to start filming.

"Action!"

The clapperboard was struck and the shooting officially began.

First, an overhead shot:

Under the night sky, in the distance is the majestic Chang'an city wall, and in the near distance is the brightly lit night view of the West Market.

At this time, the market was crowded with people and it was a lively scene.

"As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. Our shop has just arrived with exquisite Shu brocade. You can buy a few yards of it and take it home to make a new set of clothes. I guarantee that you will be reborn in no time. Customers who pass by, don't miss it!"

"Here's medicine for sale. The weather's getting colder these days. If you're feeling the cold, it's best to take medicine early to prevent a minor illness from turning into a major one. A dose of 'Cold-Repelling Powder' is only 10 wen. It'll treat any illness you have, and prevent it if you don't."

"Our shop sells a large number of wooden combs, hairpins, bone bookmarks, and dice. They are all of good quality and inexpensive. We welcome all our customers to choose from!"

The shops along the street are trying hard to attract passers-by.

This was the shopping festival during the Tang Dynasty. Tonight's revenue is enough to cover half a month's revenue. How can these merchants not work hard to attract customers and sell their products?

Director Nolan carefully observed the scenes shot from several camera positions:

From the street setting to the performance of the personnel, he carefully examined each one.

The result made him quite satisfied.

So director Nolan said: "I have tried my best. This is the best effect I can restore the Lantern Festival in Chang'an, but I hope I can do better."

The assistant director nearby replied, "Are you still not satisfied with this? We used 2000 extras in one shoot. If we were shooting in North America, the cost would be unaffordable, so we would be forced to use computer special effects."

But how can special effects compare to real-life shots? "

"But director, tell me, was Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty really so prosperous? I'm afraid it's just an exaggeration." The assistant director was also American and obviously didn't know much about Chinese history.

Director Nolan shook his head: "There is absolutely no exaggeration. The real Chang'an is more prosperous than we can show.

I have read historical materials. The population of Chang'an City was over one million. There were probably 8 shops in Chang'an City, and the total industrial and commercial population exceeded 30.

Therefore, we are not exaggerating, but rather we were unable to perfectly restore it due to insufficient conditions.”

"8 shops, 30 people working in industry and commerce...it's hard to imagine. This was a city that existed 1300 years ago, during an agricultural dynasty.

"Thinking about our Western cities back then, it was a true megacity. Even more outrageous than New York today," the assistant director couldn't help but sigh.

"That's why Lin Yuan and I wanted to shoot this scene regardless of the cost. We hope to show the scene of Chang'an in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty to audiences around the world.

It also makes the audience understand that ancient cities are not just the dirty, crowded and chaotic images they imagine in the Middle Ages.

If you don't hold onto narrow nationalism, you'll definitely be conquered by the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty," Director Nuo An replied.

"Yes, just looking at this scene in front of me, I am shocked and willing to buy a ticket to watch the movie." The assistant director had to admit.

At this time, the camera lens was pushed in front of Lin Yuan and Liu Yufei.

Lin Yuan was wearing a white round-necked robe, looking handsome and elegant, completely unlike the heroic and brave look he had at the border.

Liu Yufei, who was standing next to him, was wearing a red cross-collared skirt, and she looked graceful and extremely beautiful.

The two are both handsome men and beautiful women. They are a beautiful sight when walking together. They are wearing standard Tang Dynasty costumes, which makes them even more eye-catching.

"The Lantern Festival tonight is really lively. I haven't seen such a scene for many years. Is it always like this?" Lin Yuan asked.

"I'm not sure either. I don't like crowds, and I rarely come here to play during the Lantern Festival in previous years." Liu Yufei shook her head and replied.

How could I really not like it?

Lin Yuan reached out and grabbed Liu Yufei with some heartache.

Liu Yufei blushed: "There are so many people here..."

Although the Tang Dynasty was more open in terms of relations between men and women than in other dynasties, walking hand in hand in public was still a bold act.

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "It's because there are so many people that I'm afraid of getting separated from you. We should have a good time tonight, so maybe we won't be separated by the crowd."

Liu Yufei symbolically pulled her hand a few times, but found that she couldn't pull it out, so she let Lin Yuan hold her hand and stroll in the crowded night market.

At first she was a little worried, but she soon realized that there were so many people and everyone was busy eating, drinking and having fun, so they had no time to pay attention to her and Lin Yuan, so she felt relieved.

"Where do you want to go tonight? Is there anything you want to buy? I'm usually not at home, so let's go shopping and have a good time tonight!" Lin Yuan asked.

"I don't have any idea. Let my husband decide." Liu Yufei said with a smile.

It seems that girls in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, like to leave the task of arranging dating schedules to men.

Lin Yuan then replied, "How about we go to Hufang first to see what new things there are, and then go to Zuixiaolou for a nice meal?"

Hufang is a general term for shops opened by Hu merchants.

Xishi is also an international trade market.

There are merchants from Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Goryeo, Baekje, Silla, Japan and other countries and regions here. Among them, the largest number of "Hu merchants" are from Central Asia, Persia (Iran), and Daqin (Arabia). Most of them live in Xishi or some neighborhoods near Xishi.

According to statistics, the total number of Hu merchants in Chang'an exceeded 15000.

There is a line in Li Bai's "Youthful Journey" that says "I walk into the tavern of a Hu girl with a smile".

Zuixiaolou is the most famous restaurant in West Market. It is four stories high and can accommodate 300 people at a time, which shows its large scale.

Whenever a scholar passed the imperial examination or was promoted to a higher position, many lucky officials would often go to Zuixiaolou to order a "burning tail banquet".

The banquet featured exquisite dishes such as "Single Basket Golden Milk Pastry", "Guangming Shrimp Roast", "Scallion Vinegar Chicken", "Imperial Yellow Queen Mother Rice", as well as desserts such as "Crystal Dragon and Phoenix Cake", "Flower Goose Cake", "Glutinous Rice Cake", and "Cheese Cherry", covering a full range of cold dishes, desserts, hot dishes, and meals, which was extremely luxurious.

Who said that ancient people didn’t know how to eat?
At least the dignitaries in the Tang Dynasty didn’t eat badly at all.

"Zuixiaolou" is the symbol of high-end cuisine in Xishi.

Liu Yufei was naturally tempted by Lin Yuan's proposed itinerary for tonight, but she quickly shook her head and said, "It's too expensive. Let's save some money. We'll have to move to Yunzhong with you to settle down soon. I wonder how much extra money that will cost."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "It's precisely because we're going to Yunzhong. We don't know when we'll be able to return to Chang'an. Shouldn't we have more fun tonight?"

"But I don't have that much money with me, and you don't seem to have a lot of money on you." Liu Yufei said.

"That's easy. We just need to go and withdraw some money." Lin Yuan pointed to a cash box not far away.

During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, the shops in the two markets of Chang'an were already very developed.

To avoid carrying heavy copper coins, wealthy merchants deposited their cash at counters and received a note as a token of trust. In Chang'an and other places, a "flying money" system emerged, whereby one could deposit money and hold a note in one place and cash it in elsewhere.

Lin Yuan took out the note for withdrawing money from his pocket and handed it to the owner of the cashier's office. He immediately withdrew 1 string of copper coins and 5 taels of gold.

In the Tang Dynasty, 1 string of money = 1000 wen, which is equivalent to the purchasing power of 2000 yuan today.

One tael of gold is equivalent to 1 coins, which is equivalent to the purchasing power of 6000 yuan today.

Therefore, Lin Yuan has 62000 yuan in his pocket, which is more than enough for him to go to the night market tonight as long as he doesn't touch those luxury goods.

As for your question why not all of them were changed to Kaiyuan Tongbao?

That's because it's too heavy. One string of coins weighs more than six pounds. If he didn't have valuable gold, he wouldn't be able to travel comfortably carrying such heavy copper coins.

The Tang Dynasty could not use silver as currency. In addition to copper coins as standard currency, large payments generally used gold and silk.

After withdrawing the money, Lin Yuan returned to Liu Yufei with a smile: "Okay, you see, now we have money. I will buy you whatever you want tonight."

Liu Yufei patted him distressedly: "Why did you withdraw so much money? We don't need it so much!"

Lin Yuan smiled, took his hand, and walked among the crowd.

Aren’t the countless times of life and death on the battlefield just for this peaceful and tranquil moment before us?

(End of this chapter)