I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Chapter 115 Cheng Sheng's Low Emotional Intelligence
Are all Chinese men wooden figures?

Zeng Li smiled slightly, secretly pleased to see Scarlett's bewildered expression.

It's not so bad for Cheng Sheng to be a fool; at least he won't attract unwanted attention.

Even if a woman likes him, he probably wouldn't understand what women are thinking.

Such a good man, yet he's a bit too young.

The thought of Cheng Sheng's age filled Zeng Li with immense frustration. It was truly a case of "you were born before I was born, I was born after you were old, you regret that I was born too late, and I regret that you were born too early."

"By the way, Scarlett, you don't have any scenes to film today. I'll schedule your scenes for filming all at once so it won't affect your return home."

Cheng Sheng's words almost made Scarlett explode.

That bastard, he came to China to make a cameo appearance in his movie just so he could go back to his country sooner?

whee!

Zeng Li couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

Although Su Chang is not very old, her upbringing has made her quite mature, and she is worried about Cheng Sheng's emotional intelligence.

"Changchang, you're playing Cai Wenji. After you change your clothes, you'll be the third to appear. It's the palace scene..."

Cheng Sheng ignored Scarlett's reaction and instead talked to Su Chang about the things they needed to pay attention to during filming.

After Cheng Sheng had communicated with everyone in the crew and was ready to start filming, Liu Meng, the executive director, came over, frowned, and said, "Boss, it's so noisy outside, it will affect the sound recording."

"Find the film studio management to handle this; they should be responsible for this kind of thing," Cheng Sheng said.

Liu Meng nodded, then took out his phone and reported the situation to the film studio management.

Before long, the film studio dispatched over a hundred security guards, which finally kept the people outside quiet.

After finishing the processing, filming officially began, and Cheng Sheng approached it with utmost focus and seriousness.

Although he has a cheat code that allows the actors and the entire crew to perform at 200% of their potential, he cannot afford to be complacent.

Since he had become a director, Cheng Sheng believed that he should handle every detail well.

The first scene, the first shot, is a filming of the morning assembly.

The scene includes Emperor Ling of Han and his court officials.

The next scene shows court officials leaving the palace, followed by a conversation between Cai Yong and Cai Wenji, recounting the events at court.

As the chief director, Cheng Sheng only oversaw the overall situation behind the scenes and provided the crew with an immersive experience.

As the executive director, Liu Meng was in charge of all filming matters.

Immersive experience begins.

Everyone in the crew was invigorated, especially the actors, who felt as if they were actually attending the morning court session in ancient times.

In many movies and TV dramas, when the bell tolls in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, all the ministers kneel down and shout "Long live the Emperor!" The emperor sits on the dragon throne, and the scene is incredibly majestic.

However, in reality, it wasn't always like that. In the earliest pre-Qin period, the relationship between rulers and ministers was quite different from what it became later.

During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the emperor was more like the leader of a tribal alliance, and frankly speaking, he and his ministers were all "partners."

Take the Shang Dynasty for example. When the Shang king and his ministers talked, they often sat down. Back then, "sitting" was similar to kneeling today, with the knees on the ground and the buttocks resting on the heels. But it wasn't the kind of kneeling and kowtowing.

For example, in the Records of the Grand Historian, it is written that when Tang of Shang met Yi Yin, the two sat down as equals to discuss matters. Yi Yin even dared to directly tell Tang of the great principles of governing the country. Where is the strict sense of hierarchy that came later?

By the Zhou Dynasty, although the Zhou Rites had been established and the etiquette of "bowing" was stipulated, it was just bowing and making a gesture of respect, at most kneeling on one knee, which was far from the "thump" of kneeling down seen in TV dramas today.

When the Qin Dynasty came to power, Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms and established a centralized government. The imperial power began to grow, but the ministers did not all kneel when they went to court.

Actually, it's divided into levels.

High-ranking officials like the Chancellor and Grand Commandant might have seats, while lower-ranking officials had to stand. During Qin Shi Huang's reign, when Li Si was Chancellor, he was probably able to sit and speak during court sessions.

However, the laws of the Qin Dynasty were strict. If ministers behaved improperly in court, they would be punished, but it did not come to the point where they all had to kneel.

Things changed somewhat during the Han Dynasty.

A Confucian scholar named Shusun Tong established court etiquette, requiring ministers to be arranged according to rank when attending court, and to perform a "bowing" ceremony upon seeing the emperor, which involved bowing and then sitting or standing separately.

For example, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Zhu Fu Yan gave the emperor some advice, and the two sat and talked for a long time. Zhu Fu Yan was still able to sit and argue with the emperor, which shows that the ministers had not yet reached the point of completely kneeling down.

As a serious drama, Cheng Sheng's film must respect history and will not be like current films and television dramas, with characters kneeling and kowtowing three times and shouting "Long live the emperor!"

As for why people in TV dramas and movies kneel and shout "Long live the Emperor!" when they attend court, why is that?
The first point is mainly that there are too many Qing Dynasty dramas.

Secondly, it was still influenced by the history of the Ming Dynasty. Everyone thought that when ministers went to court, they had to kneel and bow to the emperor and then call him "Emperor".

Zhu Yuanzhang bears the primary responsibility for this.

During the Tang Dynasty, court etiquette became more casual.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, he particularly enjoyed discussing matters with his ministers. Wei Zheng dared to criticize him to his face, and he had to tolerate it. During court sessions, officials of the fifth rank and above had seats, while those of the sixth rank and below stood.

Moreover, in the Tang Dynasty, "bowing" was more of a gesture of respect, and only on important occasions, such as the grand court assembly on New Year's Day and the Winter Solstice, would one perform the "double bow" ceremony, which meant bowing twice, with the knees possibly touching the ground, but quickly getting up, unlike later times when one would kneel for half a day.

During the Song Dynasty, court etiquette began to change significantly.

When Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, staged the Chenqiao Mutiny and became emperor, he was always afraid that his ministers would follow his example, so he tried every means to weaken their power.

Once, during a court session, ministers such as Fan Zhi were sitting and talking when Zhao Kuangyin said his eyesight was failing and asked them to bring him their memorials. After the ministers stood up and handed over their memorials, they turned around and found that their seats were gone! It turned out that Zhao Kuangyin had secretly ordered the ministers' seats to be removed, and from then on, the ministers had to stand during court sessions.

However, at this point they were still standing, not yet kneeling.

By the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang had strictly defined the etiquette and rules for attending court. Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a humble background, was particularly concerned about the majesty of imperial power. He stipulated that attending court required "one kneeling and three kowtows," that is, kneeling down and kowtowing three times before standing up to discuss matters.

However, during major court assemblies, such as New Year's Day, the Winter Solstice, or the emperor's enthronement, one had to "kneel three times and kowtow nine times," which meant kneeling three times and kowtowing three times each time, for a total of nine times.

The Qing Dynasty took it even further, developing the kneeling etiquette to its peak. Established by the Manchus, the Qing Dynasty already had a tradition of kneeling, and with the highly centralized imperial power, ministers would frequently kneel before the emperor.

When attending court, ministers had to first "kneel to greet the emperor," which meant kneeling on one knee and saying "May you be well." Then, if they had something to report, they had to kneel down and wait for the emperor to say "Get up" before they could stand up.

(End of this chapter)