Huayu: Starting with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

After the first eight episodes of "The Bright Moon Over the Mountains and Rivers" aired, it was as if someone had thrown a bomb into a calm lake in the public discourse.

The ripples spread outwards in concentric circles, reaching unexpected corners.

The film and television industry was the first to be affected.

Various platforms have begun to produce a large number of film and television commentary and analysis videos.

The most popular headline was "Why was Chen Mo's Zhu Zhanji deified?"

In just seven and a half minutes, the video garnered over 20 million views in three days.

The video features a comparative edit of Chen Mo's performances in three of his works.

Xiang Yu's domineering power.

Meng Chuan's forbearance.

Zhu Zhanji's introverted nature.

These three temperaments are completely different, but they share a common thread.

All emotions are suppressed deep within the eyes, never overflowing.

The video ended with a summary in white text on a black background:

"Three works, three roles, three acting styles, zero repetition."

Two words were neatly scrolled across the screen in the comments.

actor.

same.

The first to publicly express his opinion was Gao hope, the director of "The Legend of Chu and Han".

In an interview, when asked by a reporter about his opinion on "The Bright Moon Over the Mountains and Rivers," Gao hope thought for a moment and then said something.

"When I first met Chen Mo on the set of 'Legend of Chu and Han,' he was just there to play a minor role. I had him try out a scene as Xiang Yu, and I immediately felt that this young man had something very rare about him."

"Looking back now, there's a big difference between him then and now, but one thing about him hasn't changed: his dedication to his roles."

"Xiang Yu risked his life to fight, while Zhu Zhanji relied on his bones to grow. The methods changed, but the core remained the same."

The reporter pressed further, "How much further do you think he can go?"

Gao hope smiled and said, "I believe he will go very far. As for how far, I want to give him a future without limits."

The video of this interview was edited out and posted online, immediately trending on social media for half a day.

Followed by.

Director Zhou Mu shared a clip from the fifth episode of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" on his social media account.

It's the monologue after the war.

Although no opinion was expressed, the fact that a big-name director personally reposted it speaks volumes about its significance.

As for Chen Daomin...

He did not release any public statements, but he mentioned Chen Mo in a pre-recorded interview program that has not yet been broadcast.

The production team released a preview clip in advance.

In the video, Chen Daomin is sitting on a leather sofa, holding a teacup. When asked if he has been paying attention to any young actors recently, he paused for two seconds and then said something.

"There is one, Chen Mo. I worked with him in 'Legend of Chu and Han'. He played Xiang Yu and I played Liu Bang."

"I recently watched a few episodes of his drama 'The Legend of Ming Dynasty'. There was a scene where he played Zhu Zhanji that left a deep impression on me. He didn't cry when everyone else was crying. That scene showed me his professionalism."

"He has learned not to fill himself with emotion, and to leave space for the audience. I have not seen another actor of his age with this ability."

This trailer clip has circulated more online than the actual movie.

Chen Daomin holds a very important position in the industry. He rarely praises people publicly, but when he does, it means he truly approves of them, and it carries more weight than ten marketing accounts bombarding people with praise for their "explosive acting skills."

"Mountains and Rivers Under the Bright Moon" has been airing for a few days.

The attention drawn was not drawn to the film and television industry.

Qian Zhengqing, a professor in the History Department of Yenching Normal University, posted a long article on his blog.

This person has considerable influence in both academic and science popularization circles.

With over 800,000 blog followers, he usually only writes history and popular science articles and interprets academic papers. He never chases hot topics or reviews movies and TV shows.

But that night he posted a very long Weibo post.

"I watched the first eight episodes of 'The Legend of Ming Dynasty' tonight. I originally wanted to find fault with the historical accuracy and write a popular science post, but I didn't find many faults. Instead, I was pinned to the sofa by one of the actors."

"I have studied the history of the Ming Dynasty for 27 years, and I have talked about the character Zhu Zhanji in class no less than a hundred times. But tonight, when I saw this actor playing the young Zhu Zhanji, I suddenly realized that for 27 years, I have only talked about what happened after Zhu Zhanji became emperor. I have never seriously thought about what he went through before he became that emperor."

"In that post-war monologue, the boy stands in the wilderness, speaking in a completely emotionless tone. My first reaction was that the actor was slacking off. Why isn't he crying?"

"But after thinking about it for a few more seconds, I suddenly realized that he didn't cry because he didn't know he should cry."

"He saw death, but he hadn't yet developed the cognitive framework that 'death should make me sad.' This kind of processing is a million times more terrifying than wailing, because it means that this child is being changed by war, and he doesn't even know it."

"Finally, I'd like to say that I've been teaching Ming Dynasty history for 27 years, and I've never seen a film or television production of Zhu Zhanji that made me think, 'Yes, that's how he should be.' Tonight is the first time. I'm grateful to this young actor for allowing me to rediscover a historical figure I thought I knew very well."

The blog post was shared over 30,000 times within two hours of being published.

The comments section was filled with Professor Qian's students.

Many people became fans of "Mountains and Rivers Under the Bright Moon" because of this post.

Simultaneously.

In a rented room far away in Hengdian.

Old Zhou, Old Zhang, and Little Zhao squeezed together on a long bench to watch episode eight.

These three people were all extras in "The Legend of Ming Dynasty". They had acted with Chen Mo on set, shared boxed lunches, and chatted with each other in the waiting area.

Old Zhou was a veteran extra who had played minor roles for fifteen years. When he was having dinner with Chen Mo on set, he said, "You're different from the other main actors. You're willing to sit with people like us."

He was watching the scene on TV where Zhu Zhanji was snatching the knife, his chopsticks hovering in mid-air, unaware that his lunchbox had gone cold.

"This kid is amazing."

Old Zhou muttered, "When he was eating boxed lunches with us on set, you'd never guess he was such a good actor."

Old Zhang chimed in from the side, "You wouldn't guess it. He chats with us on set just like a normal person, but he completely changes when he's on camera. That look in his eyes, tsk tsk."

Xiao Zhao was the youngest, in his early twenties. After watching episode eight, he posted a photo on his WeChat Moments with a picture of himself and Chen Mo on set. It was a group photo that Chen Mo had taken with the extras on the day filming wrapped up. He zoomed in and cropped out the positions of himself and Chen Mo.

The caption reads: "A photo with Teacher Chen; he is a very approachable person."

This post on WeChat Moments was forwarded by several extras, and then somehow it ended up on a blog. After being reposted by marketing accounts, it garnered over a million views.

Someone in the comments section said, "Even the extras said that, don't those people who accused him of being arrogant feel ashamed?"

Speaking of which, Ji Yu is indeed in pain.

The smear articles about "acting like a diva" that were bought before are still online. But after "The Legend of Ming Dynasty" aired, the comments section under those smear articles completely changed.

"Saying he's acting like a diva? Even the extras say he eats boxed lunches with everyone on set. His diva behavior is actually quite down-to-earth."

"I suggest those accounts that spread rumors go watch the monologue scene in episode five to see what real talent is. Instead of wasting time making up scandals, they should learn acting."

"Some people can't buy this kind of reputation no matter how much money they spend, because reputation is something that's acted out, not something that's done through public relations."

Ji Yu's face was very ugly. Without saying a word, he stood up and went back to his room.

It's not that he doesn't understand the situation.

Once Chen Mo's "The Legend of Ming Dynasty" airs, the gap between the two will not only be in terms of reputation, but also in commercial value.

In fact, it has already begun.

Shen Yu began receiving collaboration offers from brands during the first week of the broadcast of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

The first company to approach them was a domestic sportswear brand, offering a two-year endorsement fee of six million yuan.

Then there's a Greater China promotional partnership with a high-end watch brand.

Then came an invitation from a new energy vehicle brand to become a brand ambassador.

Within a week, Shen Yu's inbox contained eleven letters of intent for brand cooperation.

She didn't rush to reply to any of them, but instead organized them all into a table, categorizing them by brand image, cooperation type, and price range, preparing to filter them together when Chen Mo had time.

She called Chen Mo and only said one sentence.

"The brands are here, eleven in total. I'll screen them first. You don't need to worry about them, just focus on filming your scenes."

Chen Mo agreed.

He hung up the phone and glanced out the window.

The night sky over Yanjing was hazy and the stars were nowhere to be seen.

I didn't think much of it.

Wash and sleep.