Returning to the 82 Mountain Village: An Encounter with the Journey to the West Film Crew at the Beg

Zhou Fangyuan also carefully observed the actions of the Taoist priests of Qingyang Palace.

They are peaceful but principled, providing convenience for the crew's reasonable needs as much as possible, but gently but firmly explaining the boundaries of any requests that may damage the cultural relics of the palace or seriously disrupt normal order.

This wisdom of "maintaining purity amidst hustle and bustle, and being accommodating to human relationships within the bounds of principle" has greatly benefited Zhou Fangyuan.

By evening, the filming area was basically set up and did not conflict with the daily operation of the temple.

Li Hongchang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to Zhou Fangyuan: "The event should start smoothly tomorrow. You did a great job coordinating things here."

After the two parted, Zhou Fangyuan stood in the gradually quieting courtyard.

As the setting sun painted the gilded roof with gold, the number of worshippers gradually decreased, leaving only the Taoist priest calmly sweeping the area.

There are no seas of clouds and pine waves like at the ancient Changdao Temple, but there is a different kind of calm and vibrant power rooted in the everyday life of ordinary people.

He touched the stone in his pocket, then looked at the thick palace walls before him.

New challenges lie ahead, but he is now standing on more solid ground, ready to face them, to learn, and to grow.

The story of Qingyang Palace has only just begun.

The Qingyang Palace at night is completely different from the hustle and bustle during the day.

Zhou Fangyuan came out of his temporary room to get some fresh air. He saw that the courtyard was dark and the moonlight was bright. The bronze ram that the pilgrims had been touching during the day gleamed with a lonely luster under the moonlight.

In the distance, the main hall's outline stood imposingly, with only a few eternal lamps flickering quietly in the night, casting long shadows of its eaves.

The vibrant energy that blends with the everyday life of the city during the day has now settled into a profound, tranquil, and ancient majesty.

He took a deep breath of the air, which smelled of incense ash, and was about to turn back when he caught a glimpse of a figure under the ancient camphor tree that had been chosen as the "ginseng fruit tree," with a tiny spark flickering in the air.

Mars remained in the same position for a long time without moving up or down.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that it was director Yang Jie.

She was wearing a coat, a cigarette between her fingers, and looking up at the ancient tree with sparse branches and leaves in the moonlight.

They seemed to be looking at the trees, or perhaps they wanted to cross the courtyard wall to see the "scenery" outside.

There seemed to be tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

This ancient camphor tree belonged to the Cultural Park in 1982, but was officially assigned to the east side of the Sanqing Hall of Qingyang Palace in 2002.

She stood under the tree, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she were still pondering some difficult problem.

"Director Yang, are you still up so late?"

Zhou Fangyuan greeted him softly.

Upon hearing the voice, Yang Jie's sorrowful expression changed abruptly, but upon seeing it was him, his expression softened slightly.

"Oh, it's Fang Yuan. He couldn't sleep, so he came to see this tree to try and find some inspiration."

The long plume of cigarette ash fell to the ground automatically.

"We're filming 'pushing it down' tomorrow, and I'm feeling a little uneasy. It's not that I'm afraid I won't film it well, it's that I'm afraid... I won't be able to capture the weight it should have."

She paced back and forth under the tree, her voice exceptionally clear in the silence:

"Filming on the mountain evokes a sense of otherworldly beauty and spiritual practice. Filming 'Wuzhuang Temple' here, especially the scene of destroying trees, is about conflict, human relationships, and, more importantly, about principles."

The ginseng fruit tree of Zhenyuan Daxian is a spiritual root of heaven and earth. When the monkey pushed it down in a fit of anger, it was not only unruly, but also a complete destruction of 'rules' and 'cause and effect'.

This destructive power, this severity of the consequences—I'm afraid special effects and the actors' angry expressions alone...wouldn't be enough.

She looked at Zhou Fangyuan, her gaze sharp yet probing:

"Fang Yuan, you studied scripts with Teacher Dai and experienced two Taoist temples. What do you think is the soul of this scene, beyond the surface fighting and destruction, at a deeper level?"

How can we make the audience feel that we're not just toppling a tree?

This is a creative challenge that goes straight to the heart of the matter.

Zhou Fangyuan felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that Director Yang was testing him and genuinely trying to find a solution.

He pondered deeply, the awe he felt from the classics of his past life, and the power of "order" and "nature" he experienced in the Taoist temple in this life converging in his mind.

After a moment, he cautiously spoke up: "Director Yang, I think... the 'weight' of this scene may not lie in the moment of 'pushing down,' but in what happens before and after 'pushing down.'"

"Oh? How so?" Yang Jie raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Before it was demolished..."

Zhou Fangyuan carefully considered his words and thought for a while before continuing, "Sun Wukong's rage was born from being humiliated and wronged; it was an outburst without regard for the consequences."

But the ginseng fruit tree stands there, silent and profound, representing a kind of ancient, inviolable order and vitality.

Can our camera work and atmosphere, while capturing Wukong's venting, also emphasize the contrast between the silent weight being violated by brute force?

For example, show close-ups of tree roots and trunks, accompanied by dull, resonant impact sounds, rather than relying solely on loud fighting sound effects or isolated sparks.

Yang Jie's admiration was somewhat obscured by the darkness, but his eyes shone brightly in the moonlight.

She gestured for Zhou Fangyuan to continue.

"After the destruction, there shouldn't just be a mess of branches and leaves. Zhenyuan Daxian's wrath wasn't just because the treasure was destroyed, but also because the 'spiritual root' was severed, and a certain 'balance' was broken."

Although in the original story, Zhenyuan Daxian didn't seem to care much about the fruit tree being knocked down.

But this is for a wide audience, and it's meant to stir up their emotions.

The 'silence' and 'emptiness' brought about by this destruction may be more unsettling than the scene of devastation itself.

Perhaps... after the tree has fallen and the dust has settled, a brief shot of everything falling silent, even the wind seems to have stopped, coupled with the two children's later regretful and heartbroken cries, would make it more three-dimensional.

Yang Jie listened quietly, unaware that the cigarette between his fingers had burned to the end.

Under the moonlight, her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"The weight of silence... the emptiness that follows the disruption of balance..."

She paced back and forth, muttering to herself, then suddenly turned around: "Great! This is a good idea!"

"Internalizing external conflict into a perception of 'collapse of order'! Fang Yuan, you've cleared things up on this point!"

She seemed somewhat excited, pacing back and forth a few steps:

"The camera positions and sound design for tomorrow need to be adjusted! We need to give this tree 'dignity,' and make its 'fall' a ritualistic act of destruction!"

……

Oh, and there's also Zhenyuan Daxian's reaction. Wu Guiling's acting should lean towards this rage of "the Taoist tradition being shaken," not just feeling sorry for the baby!

She turned her head and patted Zhou Fangyuan's shoulder hard, her face showing a rare joy!

"Good lad! Your head isn't just full of ideas, it's full of theatrical spirit!"

Go and get some rest, you'll be busy tomorrow! I'll make sure to tell the cameraman, the sound engineer, and Teacher Wu all this!

Watching Director Yang hurriedly leave, cigarette stubbed out, his silhouette seemed to be recharged with energy.

Zhou Fangyuan was happy. Standing under the ancient camphor tree, he looked at the shoulder that Director Yang had just patted on.

My heart ached a little... His clothes had a hole burned in them...

Moonlight filters through the branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows.

A storm is about to break out here tomorrow.

Zhou Fangyuan, on the other hand, has just infused this storm with an even deeper soul.