This star is going to the moon

Chapter 448 The burden of both the nation's hard and soft power rests on Lu Yun's shoulders!

It's not that Chinese people don't play games, but the ones that stand out are mostly online games and mobile games. How do we explain the sudden emergence of "Black Myth: Wukong"?

Just like in ancient families where generations of people were merchants, they were rich, but their social status was insufficient.

The effect was completely different when a member of the family suddenly passed the provincial examination and became a scholar.

The reason why "Black Myth: Wukong" is called "the scholar" is mainly because its cultural attributes have become somewhat excessive. After ordinary gamers exclaimed "Ah, this light, this water," comments from some cultured people came out.

The game characters are all well-made, but just a heads-up to the developers, where's my fairy?

[Yes, where is the spider demon I described in the original text as having "a body as white as snow, shoulders as delicate as powder, a soft and supple belly, and a smooth and clean back"?]

[Exactly! And what about the White Bone Demon, described as having a body like a swallow hiding in a willow, a voice like a nightingale singing in the forest, a half-opened crabapple blossom shrouded in the morning sun, and a newly opened peony playing in the spring sunshine?]

[Guess who this description is for: "Starry eyes, delicate and even eyebrows, arched shoes with phoenix-like beaks, and embroidered silk stockings"...]

Ahem, not those, that cultural aspect is a bit off.

These are the ones below.

[Thank you to the game development team. As a native of Dazu, seeing the stone carvings of my hometown made me cry uncontrollably T﹏T]

[Haha, me too! Our Dazu Rock Carvings are one of the eight major grottoes in the world, hailed as "the last monument in the history of world grotto art." It was successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998. My dad was involved in the whole process and even went to Beijing to receive the certificate. However, because it's not included in textbooks, its fame is far less than that of Mogao Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes, etc. But it's truly beautiful!]

Me too! From undergraduate to graduate school, because I majored in cultural heritage, I chose the Dazu Rock Carvings as the subject of every paper I wrote that could be related to them. I also did my internship at the Dazu Rock Carvings Art Museum. I really never thought I would see familiar scenes in a game. Welcome everyone to visit Dazu!

The most distinctive features of the Dazu Rock Carvings are their secularization, continuous narrative, and integration of the three religions (Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism). Here you'll find truly awe-inspiring sculptures such as the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, the Reclining Buddha, the Three Sages of Huayan, the Six Paths of Rebirth, and the Eighteen Levels of Hell. Dazu boasts 72 rock carving sites, including 5 World Heritage Sites. We truly deserve the title of "Hometown of Rock Carvings," but unfortunately, too few people know about it. Everyone is welcome to come and see!

The painted sculptures of Shuanglin Temple, the Twenty-Eight Constellations sculptures of Yuhuang Temple, and the Sumeru Mountain sculpture of Five Hundred Arhats shown in the video are all based on existing ancient buildings from the Yuan, Ming, and even Southern Song dynasties, demonstrating the depth and professionalism of the art team's research and investigation!

Indeed, only a thorough understanding of ancient Chinese art and architecture could create a game like this. As a researcher of ancient art history and archaeology, I am so gratified to see such a game team and their work. This is not just a simple rehash of Japanese or Chinese styles; this truly brings ancient culture back to life!

Our previous cultural exports were too rigid and had high barriers to entry. Games are definitely an excellent medium for cultural export, and the fact that we can see this game today shows that our cultural export capabilities are becoming more and more professional.

[Keep it up! If this game succeeds, it will definitely show global players and users a different kind of Eastern power, with a unique visual presentation and profound culture, distinct from Japanese games! Japanese games have dominated East Asian cultural exports for so many years; it's time to let them go!]

The production team of "Black Myth: Wukong" not only showcases our own excellent ancient culture, but also shows great respect for foreign ancient cultures. Those evocative lines have been translated into Old English, making them quite enjoyable for cultured foreigners to read!

Indeed, for example, "thou" is the Old English form of "you," roughly equivalent to the Chinese usage of "汝" and "尔" as "you." The translation of the dialogue contains many extremely precise Old English tenses. Combined with the context of the plot and the original text's anti-prophecy and its implications, the translation is very meticulous. It was definitely done by professionals who put in a lot of effort, achieving a high degree of faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance!

Cultures have always been about mutual respect, but foreigners these days are too arrogant. I wonder if they'll understand the production team's good intentions...

This problem is indeed rather unsolvable.

National strength is multifaceted, but it can generally be divided into hard power and soft power.

If a country's hard power is 80 points, then if its soft power is strong enough, it can exaggerate its strength to 100 points!
Many people's understanding of "foreign countries" from a few magazines is basically a reflection of their soft power.

That's not just exaggerating an 80 into a 100; it's practically an Eden, a paradise, a utopia, as if it were the ultimate form of human society.

As information flows more easily, more people have actually come into contact with "foreign countries" and found that they are not so different from others. Of course, this is mainly due to the fact that China's own national hard power has caught up.

However, China's cultural soft power is... truly weak.

Other people's soft skills are a plus for them, but the soft skills of the Chinese are a total minus for them.

They clearly had the ability to score 80 points, but after a series of manipulations involving cultural soft power, they only scored 50 points, not even passing.

This directly names the film and television industry.

Those lousy movies they make, let alone cultural export, aren't even worth watching for domestic audiences!
And they still have the nerve to yell about a "film and television winter".

Isn't this "film and television winter" something the film and television industry itself has created?
Not to mention that in recent years, several movies have been released that have achieved both high box office and high ratings.

In terms of blockbusters, there is "The Wandering Earth," which has grossed nearly 65 billion yuan and received high ratings.

There is also the animated film "Ne Zha", which has a box office of 60 billion yuan and a high rating.

As for those veteran filmmakers who are clamoring about a "film and television winter," why are your movies box office flops, have low ratings, and are even called trash by the audience?
Don't you ever think about your own problems?

Veteran filmmaker: "My own problem?"

"I'm fine!"

"There are just too many bad viewers who simply can't understand my great films, which are full of artistic and cultural tension!"

Ordinary viewers are helpless against these shameless old film and television actors; they can't just shoot them all.

Fortunately, the film and television industry has successors, and the younger generation has grown up.

It can also be connected with "Black Myth: Wukong".

When the new short film was shown after the title "Since we can see the future, why not worship?", the usual special thanks followed by the appearance of the [Wukong] logo, including the company that enabled them to use Unreal Engine 5 first, the company that helped them solve graphics card problems, and the earliest investment company.

Of course, we also thank Lu Yun, An Fangfei, Guo Fan, and Jiaozi, who were acknowledged from the very first short film.

Indeed, the future of Chinese film and television still depends on Lu Yun!

Yes, who would have thought that Lu Yun would shoulder the burden of both the nation's hard and soft power!

[New talents emerge in every generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years! We've learned about those remarkable figures from history before, and now we've encountered such extraordinary individuals ourselves, witnessing much history unfolding right now—history that will undoubtedly be recorded in future history books!]

Yes, I have a feeling that our era will witness a great deal of history, both domestically and internationally. This is a turbulent era, a period of unprecedented change!

I hope to witness only positive historical events, and preferably avoid all sorts of terrible ones...

(End of this chapter)