1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 56 'Class'

—A warm welcome to Comrade Han Sanping, director of "Cow," and Comrade Chen Fusheng, screenwriter and lead actor, for their lecture at our school!
Chen Fusheng and Han Sanping had just arrived at the gate of Beijing Film Academy when they saw this slogan, and the two looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Didn't you say you were just here to share your experiences with your classmates? Why is the school making such a formality?" Chen Fusheng looked at Han Sanping, who had acted as a go-between in this matter.

But Han Sanping hadn't expected that the Beijing Film Academy would actually put up a banner for the two of them, so he had to bite the bullet and say:
"Since we're already here, we can't just turn back. Let's go in and take a look first."

Chen Fusheng nodded, "That's the only way!"

……

"They're here, they're here!"

Outside the newly recruited amateur acting class at the Beijing Film Academy, a student returned from the restroom. Before even entering the classroom, his excited voice rang out.

"Have they arrived? Where are they?"

"I went to the principal's office."

"Let's go and have a look."

The same scene also occurred in the five classes of the Class of '78.

Of course, not all students were particularly enthusiastic when they heard that Han Sanping and Chen Fusheng were coming. Some of them were second-generation descendants of the film studio, such as Tian Zhuangzhuang and Chen Kaige.

They had been used to directors and actors since childhood, so they were only a little curious about Han and Chen.

"Kaige, aren't you going to go take a look?"

"They're not aliens, why do so many people need to go see them?"

"Are you going to the lecture later?"

"If everyone else can go, why can't I?"

"You... fine, whatever you do, you're always right."

"Because what I said makes sense," Chen Kaige said confidently.

Before long, some students started coming in to bring in chairs.

Those still in the classroom asked, "Is the lecture about to start?"

"Yeah, aren't you going to listen?"

"Let's go, let's join in the fun."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kaige silently picked up his stool and headed to the screening room from last time, because that classroom was big enough to seat all the teachers and students in the school.

Meanwhile, Chen Fusheng and Han Sanping had finished a cup of tea in Principal Cheng Ying's office. A young teacher came in and said that the students had already gone to the main classroom, so Cheng Ying stood up and said:
"Now that the students are in place, Director Han and Comrade Fusheng, let's go down as well."

"Okay."

On their way to the large classroom, they whispered to each other:

"Fusheng, what are you going to say later?"

"I'll just briefly share my acting experience. What about you?"

"Then I'll share some of my filming experience," Han Sanping continued. "You go first."

"why?"

“You were a teacher before, so you definitely have more experience than me. Set an example for me.”

"That's a stereotype of me. I'm a teaching assistant, I don't teach classes."

Although Chen Fusheng said that, when he arrived at the large classroom and saw Han Sanping constantly giving him meaningful glances, he still stepped forward first.

"Good morning, teachers and students of Beijing Film Academy. I am Chen Fusheng!"

Splash, splash!
After taking the stage, Chen Fusheng first gave a brief self-introduction.

I was going to continue, but I didn't expect the students from Beijing Film Academy to be so enthusiastic.

The applause lasted for a full half minute before it stopped.

He also overheard some murmurs. For example—

“I never expected that Comrade Fusheng would be so different from the character Niu Er he played in the movie. I’ve watched the movie ‘Cow’ twice, but before today, if I had run into Comrade Fusheng on the street, I probably wouldn’t have recognized him.”

"That's true. The key is that he's not only incredibly talented with amazing acting skills, but he's also good-looking..."

Chen Fusheng gave a smile to a female classmate in the front row who had praised him to the point.

At this moment, the applause stopped.

He continued:

"Thank you, thank you everyone, for letting me see and feel the enthusiasm of the students at Beijing Film Academy and your youthful energy that is full of infinite possibilities for the future."

When Chen Fusheng first went on stage, he was indeed a little nervous, but after the applause, it seemed that all his nervousness had turned into excitement.

And his overall condition is getting better and better.

"Let me tell you, when I arrived at the school gate and saw that banner, I was a little hesitant. To be honest, I haven't had any systematic training in acting, so how could I be qualified to give a lecture to you? Wouldn't that be like showing off my limited skills before an expert?"

"So although I'm standing on this stage now, I'm not giving you a lecture. I'm just chatting with you and sharing my acting experience. It may not be correct, so if you hear any contradictions later, you can bring them up and discuss them with each other."

Chen Fusheng didn't have the habit of being a teacher, so he first established his proper status, which made it understandable even if what he said wasn't good.

As soon as he finished speaking, a student raised his hand and stood up to ask a question: "Comrade Fusheng, since you haven't studied acting, why was your acting in 'Cow' so outstanding? Do you have any acting secrets?"

"That's a good question. What's your name, classmate?" Chen Fusheng actually knew the other person, but he asked on purpose.

"I am Zhang Yimou from the photography class."

"Okay, Zhang, please have a seat. I'll answer your question."

Chen Fusheng continued, "First of all, thank you for recognizing my acting skills in 'Cow.' If I were to ask what my secret to acting is, my personal understanding would be summed up in one sentence: truly see, truly hear, and truly feel!"

"Comrade Fusheng, can you explain these three words?" Another familiar face interacted with Chen Fusheng.

"Of course, no problem. But the next student who asks a question, please state your name so I can get to know you."

"My name is Zhu Lin, and I'm from the acting class."

"OK, thanks."

Chen Fusheng glanced at the Queen of the Women's Kingdom, who should only be 28 years old, and found that she was indeed very beautiful when she was young. However, in terms of skin color alone, he felt that Zhu Lin was not as fair as his wife.

Realizing he had been daydreaming, Chen Fusheng quickly gathered his thoughts and began to explain what it meant to 'truly see, truly hear, and truly feel'.

Because the Beijing Film Academy had not yet incorporated the "three truths" into its acting curriculum at that time, not only the students in the audience but also many teachers were quite curious.

"To illustrate what true seeing means, let me give you an example. Imagine acting out a scene of a long-awaited reunion. You don't plan ahead and say, 'I'm going to cry.' Instead, you genuinely see the weariness on your co-star's face and the excitement in his eyes. Then, that emotion naturally wells up from within you, and you can't stop it. That's what I understand as true seeing."

"The so-called true listening is not just listening to the voice, but also understanding the meaning behind the other person's words, and even the emotions implied in their words. For example, if someone tells you 'I'm fine,' you have to listen to the sob in their voice and the clenched fist. Only then can you truly hear the other person's voice and realize that they are actually saying 'I'm not fine.'"

"As for the so-called genuine feelings, this point is actually a combination of the previous two. When you really see and really hear, the feelings will come naturally. If you don't have these genuine feelings, then when you act, are you deliberately squeezing out tears and widening your eyes? This is not a genuine feeling, but a performance feeling."

"Let me give you another example. For instance, when acting out a scene about losing a loved one, you don't have to force yourself to feel sad. You have to act like the person you care about most and imagine how you would breathe, walk, and talk if you could never see them again. Only that kind of feeling that comes from the very core of your being is the real feeling."

"Therefore, I believe that acting is not about imitating emotions, but about truly living in that situation and letting your emotions grow naturally with the situation."

After Chen Fusheng finished explaining his understanding of "truly listening, truly seeing, and truly feeling" in one breath, he suddenly found the huge classroom completely silent.

And they were all staring at him with eyes full of reverence and longing.

Chen Fusheng immediately sensed something was wrong.

I just said I wasn't in class, and now I've said too much.

At this moment, his gaze swept over Han Sanping below the stage, and he saw that Han Sanping had a look of disbelief on his face.

Chen Fusheng could only silently add in his mind: I think I did a pretty good job, right?

Han Sanping: MMP!

(End of this chapter)