Actor: Thank you.

The next day, Cheng Hao went out after changing her clothes in the dressing room and saw him, noticing that he didn't look too good.

"The talk last night didn't go well?"

"How much did you drink? You poured it all out as soon as you got home," she asked with concern.

He went home and slept in the guest room yesterday so as not to disturb each other's rest.

"No, I'm fine." His expression relaxed a bit.

"Things were handled very well."

"Then why are you wearing a long face?"

"It's not because of today's play."

Soon the two arrived at a brand new photography studio.

Unlike the previous hospital and residence, this place was decorated in a rather dark and eerie way, with a cold and gloomy sense of oppression.

The previous scenes were all based on a warm white background, with a pale yellow tone that leaned slightly towards orange, similar to the lighting of an old-fashioned light bulb.

The scene was set against a grayish-blue background and lit with a colder, more austere light than moonlight.

This scene is a replica of the infamous Terminal Island Immigration Bureau prison.

This small island in California, located between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, is particularly notorious.

Because Mr. Qian was imprisoned here back then.

Unlike Alcatraz, North America's most infamous prison, Alcatraz is a place where serious offenders are held.

There is a common misconception in China that Qian Xuesen was imprisoned on Alcatraz Island, which is incorrect.

How could we possibly lock up a great scientist and a murderer together? It's not to protect him, but because they would be difficult to manage.

When they detained Qian Lao, they were afraid he would collude with others to give a false testimony, so the guards were far more strict than that.

And their goal is not to humiliate you, but to torment you.

When they arrived at the filming location, while the lighting and camera crews were busy, the makeup artist still had to touch up his makeup.

You need to apply shading to your cheeks to make them look thinner.

The dark circles under the eyes also need to be dark and red.

"For a moment you won't have any words, but you need to show that blank, absent-minded state."

"Do you understand what I mean?" Director Zhang Jianya asked him.

"I know, it's that feeling of not sleeping for a long time."

He recalled that not sleeping was even categorized into different levels.

Drinking, singing karaoke, playing mahjong—it's a night without sleep, with bloodshot eyes and oily skin.

Working overtime continuously, programmers and architects often only get a few hours of sleep during 36 or 48 hours of work, and then go home to catch up on sleep like crazy.

This condition causes shortness of breath, chest tightness, cold and trembling hands and feet, blood circulation problems, and significantly increases the risk of sudden death.

Another type of overtime is maintaining a long-term, overloaded work schedule.

For example, during the final stages of filming "The Return of the Condor Heroes," he was not allowed to go back to the hotel to sleep on the bed for more than ten days in a row. He could only stay on the recliner and sleep with the script covering his face when the crew was scheduling.

A good production team spends 7% waiting time and 3% filming.

The bearded man was inhuman; the action was intense and demanding. He would sleep for an hour or two, then be woken up to film a whole fight scene, and then lie down again.

After two weeks, both he and Sisi experienced a significant decrease in appetite and became noticeably more irritable.

As for their bodies, even though they are all young, they have experienced varying degrees of strain and chronic pain. Her cervical spine problem was caused by a combination of factors, including the action scenes, the headgear, and the lack of rest.

Therefore, short-term high-intensity lack of rest can easily deplete your health bar, while long-term lack of rest can easily result in a bunch of debuffs that cannot be removed.

And what about Qian Xuesen?
Zhang Yuan felt that the director's descriptions of the director as absent-minded or dazed were not quite accurate.

Because the inhumane North American immigration authorities deprived Mr. Qian of sleep!

This is a fairly common method of interrogation and torture; it is simple and effective.

They'll lock you up and shine bright lights in your cell 24/7.

Meanwhile, every 10 minutes, a prison guard would come and knock on the bars, telling you to stand up. If you didn't stand up, they would go in and drag you out.

Even if everything else remains the same, and you're given food and drink, you'll be finished in a few days.

An ordinary person would confess everything in less than 3 days.

I caused the Spanish flu.

I commanded the World War.

I lured the Trisolarans.

You can have anything you want.

Don't just watch the video and then like, comment, and subscribe.

Using Pixiv on the company network.

I don't cut off the tags when I buy clothes.

They accepted it all.

What are the immigration authorities, the FBI, and the Pentagon trying to get Qian Lao to confess to by torturing him?
He needs to admit that he joined the CCP in 38.

Furthermore, he had already joined forces with the media to widely publicize his alleged communist sympathies.

It's all the same: if Amy suspects you of something, you'd better actually be guilty.

The tricks used to prank people haven't changed over the years: find a reason to detain someone, then launch a media campaign to stir up public opinion and justify their actions.

Qian Xuesen, a national treasure, even a human treasure, was persecuted by the Kuomintang as a Japanese.

During his half-month detention, Mr. Qian lost 28 pounds.

Qian Lao himself, especially when he was young, was not a very fat man, which shows the extent of the suffering he endured.

When Ms. Jiang Ying managed to raise $1.5 in bail and gain visitation rights with the help of Mr. Qian Xuesen's teacher, Theodore von Kármán, Qian Xuesen had already developed aphasia due to the torment he had endured.

His eyes were wooden, he couldn't speak, and he barely responded when others spoke to him.

Today they were filming this scene, so Zhang Yuan started getting into character early in the morning, and his face didn't look good.

Losing nearly 30 pounds in half a month, let alone being tortured, even with such rapid weight loss, one's complexion won't look good.

Unfortunately, he didn't, and couldn't, lose weight for this role.

Because of the small percentage of screen time, and the need to maintain a normal physical appearance at other times.

After the camera started rolling, he led two foreign extras dressed as prison guards to a glass wall.

Cheng Hao looked at him through the glass.

His face was listless, and his steps were stiff.

After standing still, his gaze became unfocused, as if he couldn't find a point of interest.

If you don't sleep for three days, your head will be buzzing. If someone calls you, you'll need three seconds to react before you turn around.

This feels like having a computer with Tencent PC Manager, 360 Security, 2345 Security, Norton, and Kaspersky all installed, while you're browsing the internet using Internet Explorer.

Now that Mr. Qian has developed aphasia, it is even more heartbreaking.

Furthermore, Qian Xuesen was an extremely proud person. He was a prodigy from a young age and had an incredibly smooth life.

He became a world-class scientist in his twenties.

When you reach your thirties and suddenly suffer such a blow, the damage is not only physical, but also psychologically devastating.

This is exactly the feeling that Zhang Yuan is trying to capture.

It's not just about becoming mentally dulled after being tormented; it's also about experiencing a sense of existential daze.

At this point, even the most brilliant person should have their true self locked away in the small compartment of their mind, which is both self-isolation and self-protection.

Seeing his appearance and demeanor, Cheng Hao was somewhat moved, even though it was just acting.

It's not just about looking at the sorrowful scene; it's also about experiencing a phantom pain, like being pricked by needles.

It also allows us to better appreciate the hardships our predecessors endured.

She portrayed the anxiety and despair required of a wife with genuine emotion, and her performance was excellent.

"You did a great job just now." During the break, the older sister took out a cookie.

"I won't eat." He pushed it away: "Eating ruins the character's feel."

“These silent scenes are actually harder to act than interrupting the dialogue.” Cheng Hao started eating by himself.

The sadness can be expressed through words or silence, and the emotional fluctuations can be greater than those with large emotional fluctuations. This is what distinguishes the quality or even the level of a performance.

A typical example is the Koreans. They have a lot of lines and often act crazy, making it seem like they have a lot of tension, but from a theatrical theory perspective, their performance techniques are very low-level.

“You should have won more awards,” Cheng Hao said gently, looking at him.

"Winning awards is not just about professional skills."

"If you're always focused on winning awards, you won't be able to make good films," Zhang Yuan said dismissively. Awards are certainly something to strive for, but they shouldn't be your number one life goal.

"Just like scientists doing research, they can't just focus on winning awards. That won't work; it will only turn them into academic tyrants."

"When you do everything to the best of your ability, achievements and honors will come naturally."

"You're quite optimistic." Cheng Hao was pleased to hear him say that.

"Plus a few tricks." Zhang Yuan clenched his fist.

Cheng Hao: ...

"You're here again." She reached out and gently pushed him away.

“Look at what happened to Qian Xuesen. Such a great scientist with such great abilities, yet he was almost ruined by his own actions.”

"While maintaining a noble character, one must also retain some despicable methods, otherwise how can one deal with those despicable people?"

The reason why Qian Xuesen was persecuted is actually very simple: the infamous McCarthyism.

McCarthy was a person, but not a person.

A large group of politicians, members of parliament, and influential figures from various fields participated.

Ultimately, it's still the same old right-wing populism: inciting anti-communism, launching escalating campaigns, attacking political enemies, and enhancing their own political capital and prestige.

If I say you're a communist sympathizer, then you're a communist sympathizer; if I say I'

McCarthy himself was a complete scoundrel, gaining notoriety by lying about his age to become the youngest judge in the region.

After being elected to the Senate, he led a chaotic private life, indulging in alcoholism, gambling, speculative trading, and even defending the German National Congress.

Because his reputation had plummeted, he sought to maintain his position by using anti-communism as a starting point to stir up a populist movement.

Besides Qian Xuesen, Oppenheimer, Einstein, and even Chaplin were persecuted for this reason.

Edgar Snow, the journalist who wrote "Red Star Over China," was also persecuted and forced to leave his hometown.

McCarthy is dead, but countless McCarthys are rising around the world.

Putting aside other things, the tricks that the blond guys are playing are pretty much the same, especially the trick of building their own army under the guise of arresting immigrants.

However, from Qian Xuesen's own perspective, McCarthy was not entirely a bad thing.

This experience of persecution had two consequences.

First, it solidified his determination to return to China, as he became utterly disillusioned with North America.

Secondly, he wrote "Engineering Cybernetics" during the years he was placed under house arrest.

The FBI had to review all his documents and drafts, but no one could understand them.

This is what is meant by "King Wen was imprisoned and then wrote the Book of Changes, and Confucius was in distress and then wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals".

The Book of Changes was written by King Wen of Zhou when he was imprisoned by King Zhou of Shang.

The Spring and Autumn Annals was written by Confucius when he was in dire straits and had no hope.

Qu Yuan wrote "Li Sao" after being exiled.

Sun Bin wrote "The Art of War" after his kneecaps were removed.

Sima Qian, who wrote this sentence, also wrote the Records of the Grand Historian after being castrated.

The difference between a genius and an ordinary person is...

Ordinary people, don't push me. If you dare to push me, I'll die.

Hey genius, don't push me any further, or I'll pull off something really big.

McCarthy's insistence on forcing Qian Lao resulted in a deluge of Heavenly Rank martial arts techniques, all of which he brought back to China.

What were the conditions for Qian Xuesen's return to China?

Three U.S. military pilots.

The Chinese people understand the relative importance of the combat power of three pilots versus five divisions.

But Americans don't think that way.

You're a Chinese scientist, with yellow skin. I don't care what high technology you've mastered or what level of weapons you can create, but you're not white.

Those three pilots were strong, white young men from our country!

Trading one Chinese person for three white people is such a good deal... That's what the people of Beacon City think, thanks to media propaganda.

And so, the people of the beacon of hope rejoiced, politicians like McCarthy gained votes, China gained a strategic scientist, and everyone had a bright future.

"So I think that although this scene is full of despair, you can't wear that despair on your face."

"Because these ten-odd days have actually been a period of transformation."

"This belongs to Qian Lao's 'enlightenment at Longchang'."

The origin of the term "enlightenment at Longchang" is Wang Yangming himself. He was demoted and politically persecuted after offending the powerful eunuch Liu Jin. He created "Yangming's Philosophy of Mind" amidst hardship and persecution.

The philosophy of mind influenced prominent figures such as Zhang Juzheng, Zuo Zongtang, and Sun Yat-sen, who turned the tide in several times when China was in dire straits.

This coincides with Qian Xuesen's story of forging a "sharp sword" for China through science after returning to the country.

History repeats itself again and again, and these great figures in history will resonate with their ancestors.

"I feel that being able to act in this play is a way of resonating with the predecessors in the history books, and that makes me happy," Zhang Yuan murmured after taking a sip of tea.

"Mmm." Cheng Hao was touched after hearing this.

I never expected him to be so insightful, more profound and multi-layered than I had imagined.

"If you can maintain this state, that would be good."

“Being serious has its advantages.” She preferred Zhang Yuan’s upright demeanor at that moment.

Instead of how she looked when tally marks were written on her body.

After a busy day, the two of them were so immersed in this slightly sad atmosphere that they couldn't pull themselves out.

Being able to get into character and then step out of character is also a skill that requires long-term training.

The two decided to have a nice dinner tonight to adjust their mood.

Cheng Hao's advantage is that she almost never diets, which makes eating more enjoyable.

Eating with those women who are on a diet, they refuse to eat this and that, it's so disheartening.

However, he had barely gotten into the car, and before the door was even closed, he was stopped.

"Director Huang, what's the matter?"

Looking up, he saw that the person who had stopped him was producer Huang Jianxin.

"Was yesterday successful?" the man asked with a smile.

"Great, thank you for helping me make the contact."

"That's good, that's good," Director Huang said kindly.

But Zhang Yuan felt that something was not right.

Too kind.

And if you were asking about this, why would you stop my car?

"Why don't you come to my house for dinner?"

"Let's have some fun together."

"We'll talk about it later. My wife is waiting for me at home," the other party declined.

"However... if we're going to have dinner, we can arrange to meet up."

"That's great! You can set the time."

"Okay, then I'll bring a few friends along too."

Cheng wanted to chime in, but noticed that Zhang Yuan slightly raised his hand to stop him.

"Which friends? Do I know them?"

Before agreeing, he asked one more question.

“My social circle isn’t as big as yours; it’s mostly friends in the industry.”

"There are several directors, cinematographers, and so on."

"Who exactly?" Zhang Yuan pressed.

Huang Jianxin frowned slightly before speaking.

Do you know Cao Yu?

"We know each other very well."

This Cao Yu is Yao Cheng's lover... (End of Chapter)