Winning Them Over

Li Lianjie had seen plenty of the world and was eager to see how this fellow, who was only three years older than him, was going to talk big. Chen Qi ignored him, however. First, he chalked a line of characters on the blackboard, then turned to the group and said, "There is a great deal of theory in acting, but you don't need to study it. For the sake of this film, we'll focus strictly on targeted, practical training. First, remember one sentence: What is acting? "It is producing an accurate reaction under different circumstances! "What does that mean?" He turned to Li Lianjie. "Can you run all the way over to that end?" "Which end? Across the soundstage? That far?" "Ji Chunhua, you do it!" "No, no, I will! I'll cooperate!" As he spoke, Li Lianjie took off toward the opposite wall. The soundstage was massive, and by the time he pressed his back to the wall dozens of meters away, he shouted, "And then?" "Come here!" Chen Qi called in a normal speaking volume. "What?" "Come here!" "Head over there? Fine!" Li Lianjie ran forward again, only to be halted when he was about twenty meters away. Chen Qi said, "Talk to me." "What should I say?" "Good enough. Closer!" "Mm, right, now come back here, right in front of me!" Li Lianjie had been run in circles without understanding why, and the onlookers below were just as baffled. Chen Qi said, "Did you see that clearly? When you're far away, your voice is louder; when you're close, it's softer." "B-but isn't that just common sense?" Huang Qiuyan asked. "It is normal, because that's a person's most natural physical reaction. But what happens when you put it in a movie? Suppose there's a scene where two people are a hundred meters apart, calling out as they walk toward each other. How would you act that? "You act it just like that! That is what an accurate reaction is. "Here's another example! Can you act out carrying a bunch of things, squeezing onto a bus, and clumsily getting into an argument with the conductor?" "I can do that!" "Huang Qiuyan, you play the conductor. I'll give you a few lines!" Huang Qiuyan stepped up shyly. Li Lianjie found the whole thing amusing. He looked around and, showing some cleverness, hauled over two stools. At Chen Qi's nod, he began his performance. Clutching the stools, he pretended to be weighed down by heavy loads, staggering awkwardly and groaning in mock strain as he labored toward Huang Qiuyan. "Comrade, where are you headed?" "The Old Summer Palace!" "Are you stupid? This bus doesn't go to the Old Summer Palace! You took the wrong bus and didn't even notice? Get off already!" "Hey, comrade, what kind of attitude is that?" The two stiffly and awkwardly finished the exchange. Chen Qi asked the crowd, "How did that feel?" "Uh..." Everyone looked at one another. After all, they were not well acquainted yet, and no one wanted to hurt anyone's feelings with blunt honesty. Chen Qi smiled and said, "Ji Chunhua, bring him another stool." "Right!" Ji Chunhua carried over a wooden stool and handed it to Li Lianjie. Chen Qi asked, "Is it heavy?" "Underestimating me? I've got plenty of strength." "Add another one!" Transforming into a sexy little secretary, Ji Chunhua added another stool. "Heavy now?" "Manageable!" "Whose bag is that over there? Hang it around his neck... That basket, put it on his back. Those two bags go in his left hand, and that one in his right!" By now, Li Lianjie was clutching four stools, carrying a basket on his back, wearing a large bag slung around his neck, holding two bags in his left hand, and grasping another in his right. He was already short, and now he was nearly buried beneath the clutter, wobbling unsteadily. "Follow my lead! "You're waiting at the bus stop. The bus arrives, and you hurry to push your way forward... Lift your leg, lift your leg! You're on the bus now, squeezing through the crowded passengers, trying to free a hand to dig out money for a ticket..." Li Lianjie was draped in so much gear that there was no way he could free a hand. He didn't need to act at all, because that was his actual reality. He struggled desperately to reach into his pocket, but in doing so, he fumbled, and with a clatter, a bag slipped from his grasp. He lunged to grab it, and with another crash, another bag fell. Immediately after, things dropped in a clattering cascade. Scrambling in a flustered mess, unable to keep track of everything, he broke into a sweat. Chen Qi strode over to act alongside him, asking harshly, "Where are you headed?" "The Old Summer Palace!" "Are you stupid? This bus doesn't go to the Old Summer Palace! Pick up your things and get off at the next stop!" "Can't you see the state I'm in?!" Li Lianjie flared with genuine irritation at his tone. "You did that to yourself! Who else can you blame? Hurry up and pack it in—stop holding up the other passengers! Where did this country bumpkin come from?" "You!" Li Lianjie shot to his feet. "'You' what? I told you to hurry up and pack it in!" "Who do you think you're talking to?" "I'm talking to you! What, looking for a fight?" Chen Qi gave him a shove. Li Lianjie glared, his temper flaring higher. The atmosphere in the room turned frosty. Everyone was at a loss, because it felt entirely too real. Just as Yu Hai was about to step forward to break it up, Chen Qi abruptly stepped back and called out, "All right, cut!" Turning toward the onlookers, he asked, "Same content—which version was better? The second one, right? Where did it succeed? Who can tell me?" "Uh, I just thought it felt really natural!" "Extremely real!" "I honestly thought you two were about to throw punches. I didn't dare say a word." A chorus of voices broke out as everyone's interest was piqued. "Why did it feel real and natural? Because it was accurate. A person burdened from head to toe, clumsily squeezing onto a bus, is supposed to look like that. You accepted the circumstances, which is why it felt real. "Now, what do you think acting is? Did you think it was terribly profound? Yes, acting theory is very complex, but we don't need all that. Just remember the definition from before: making an accurate reaction! "And what I'm teaching you is how to make accurate reactions based on the script of Tai Chi!" Chen Qi rapped on the blackboard. "That is acting!" "Whoa!" The crowd gasped in unison, eyes lighting up with admiration—Yu Hai and Yu Chenghui included. They were masters of martial arts but total novices in acting, and Chen Qi's approach was precisely the kind that completely captivated beginners. Sitting among the audience, Gong Xue took notes with great care. Watching the crowd's reaction, she felt an inexplicable sense of pride. Li Lianjie, after what had just happened, felt as though he had been thoroughly worked over by a smooth operator, left hanging somewhere between flustered and impressed. Reflecting on it now, he viewed Chen Qi in a different light. The guy genuinely had real talent. Among kung fu stars, his own acting ability and Jackie Chan's were actually quite strong; they simply rarely had the opportunity to display it. "..." Zhang Xinyan, who had initially exchanged a few remarks with Li Wenhua, now remained completely silent. He watched for a long while before letting out a soft sigh as the session drew near its close, then quietly walked out of the soundstage. Chen Qi condensed the curriculum into two parts: facial expression training and physical movement training. Simply put, based on the scenes in Tai Chi, how to produce accurate facial expressions and how to execute accurate physical movements. While this approach might have smacked of cutting corners for quick results, there was no denying it: practical! Effective! More importantly, the learning pace was astonishingly fast. Zhang Xinyan reflected that if he were to conduct training for The Shaolin Temple himself, it would take at least two months. "Coaches Yu and Yu, both of you are older and deeply respected. If I asked you to make a funny face to get a laugh, would you be willing to do it? And Ge Chunyan, Huang Qiuyan, you two spirited heroines, what if I asked you to play a courtesan? Like this..." Chen Qi suddenly struck the pose of leaning against a doorway, swaying his hips, pinching his fingers in an orchid gesture, and waving an imaginary silk handkerchief as he called out with captivating coquetry, "Master, come in and play~" Ugh! A shudder ran through the crowd. The two female comrades shook their heads repeatedly; even if you beat them to death, they could never match his coquettishness, nor was their backside as perky as his. Gong Xue covered her mouth and chuckled quietly, having already experienced a taste of this back at Mount Lu. "If you want to deliver a good performance, you must first overcome psychological barriers, cast aside your vanity, and do things you wouldn't normally do. "So here is today's homework! Intensive expression training. Go back and practice in front of the mirror on your own. Five expressions of your own choice, plus one mandatory expression: side-splitting laughter. Six in total. "Tomorrow, everyone will demonstrate one by one, and we'll judge together as a group. Anyone who fails will have to put on a performance—singing or dancing are both fine, but martial arts are forbidden!" Chen Qi gave a grand wave of his hand. "Class dismissed!"