Chapter 123 New Goals

"Audiences familiar with the series all know that the so-called Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils refers to eight kinds of monsters, with the celestial beings and dragon beings at the top, hence the name Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils."

Zhang Yuan did not go directly into the story at the beginning, but started by talking about the names of the novel and TV series.

As the saying goes, "literature and logic are the two parts of drama." To put it simply, storytellers must be open-minded and use literature to convey their ideas. Because the literacy rate was very low in ancient times, storytellers even took on part of the responsibility for educating the people.

However, opera performance must be "reasonable". What is meant by reasoning is that every action, every expression, every word, and every emotion on stage must be within the storyline.

This principle also applies to making TV series and movies.

Therefore, storytellers, especially big storytellers, basically all love to recite idle stories. The content and viewpoints that these gentlemen derive from the stories are what the audience loves.

Radio host Dapeng, who is squeezed in with the crew, knows this well.

"Neither hurried nor slow, he has the demeanor of a great man."

After seeing Zhang Yuan's performance, he, who was originally skeptical about actors crossing over to storytelling, now has become interested.

"Generally, storytelling students or laymen, out of nervousness and guilt, will get straight to the point and use stories to attract people."

"The real big names will tell their stories in detail. I think this kid is quite relaxed."

He didn't know that the bearded man increased Zhang Yuan's salary to 10,000 yuan per episode. In this era when the average salary is less than a thousand yuan, how could he not be relaxed when he could earn so much money just by talking?

"The eight divisions are the gods, dragons, yakshas, ​​gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, and mahoragas."

"Mr. Jin originally planned to write eight separate sections, but the characters, background and events intertwined with each other, eventually forming a huge web."

"In the end, I had no choice but to give up for various reasons, which led to the story you see today, with the three protagonists at the center."

"Before listening to this story, we must first understand what kind of story Mr. Jin wrote in this book."

"The Legend of the Condor Heroes is about 'the greatest heroes serve their country and their people', while The Return of the Condor Heroes is about 'what is love in this world, that makes people pledge their love through life and death'."

"When it comes to Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the core of the story, in my opinion, is just one word: 'fate'!"

"The underlying theme of the whole story is 'fate', but the wonderful part is the 'disobedience' of these characters."

“Everyone is teased by fate, but everyone is fighting against fate.”

"Qiao Feng is a Khitan but his heart is with Han."

"Xu Zhu devoted himself to Buddhism but broke his vows time and again."

"Duan Yu is extremely infatuated but cannot get the love he wants."

"Murong Fu was determined to restore his country but encountered repeated setbacks."

"On the contrary, Murong Bo and Xiao Yuanshan, who caused all the trouble, were finally converted and became monks with a good end."

"This kind of story about fate playing a joke on you is what makes Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils so wonderful."

“The greatness of mankind is the greatness of courage, and the greatest courage is the courage to fight against fate.”

Having said this, Zhang Yuan paused for a moment, and the "audience" present also had some feelings.

There is a Chinese saying that "life and death are determined by fate, wealth and honor are determined by God."

There is also a saying that "My destiny is in my own hands, not in the hands of God."

So the real heroes are those who dare to fight against fate.

Dapeng felt that the young actor on stage exceeded his expectations.

Not only does his words have substance, his understanding of the story is also far beyond that of ordinary people, and he sees through Mr. Jin's creative ideas.

In fact, if you want to understand this story, you have to look for clues from the author. After all, any story is inseparable from the creator himself.

Zhang Yuan saw this from Mr. Jin’s life experience.

On his 10th birthday, Jin's father gave him a copy of Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" as a gift.

That was 1934!
At that time, the illiteracy rate in China was as high as over 80%, but he was able to receive foreign masterpieces as gifts.

Therefore, the difference between Jin Yong and other traditional Chinese writers is that he has a dual foundation.

He is proficient in both Chinese and Western literature.

The design of the character and story of Qiao Feng are actually very different from the male heroes in traditional Chinese literature.

It is quite consistent with the image template of traditional tragic stories in Western literature.

For example, the famous tragedy "Oedipus Rex".

After Oedipus was born, his father abandoned him because he received an oracle saying that the child would kill his father and marry his mother in the future.

A kind servant gave it to a shepherd to raise, and later it was adopted by the childless king of the city-state of Corinth.

But isn’t this life story exactly the same as Qiao Feng’s, from his parents jumping off a cliff, to being adopted by the Qiao couple, and then to joining the Beggars’ Sect.

This is not the end. When Oedipus grew up, he learned the oracle that he would "kill his father and marry his mother", so he was forced to leave his hometown and leave the city-state of Corinth.

But he ended up going to his birthplace, and on the way he killed the king of Thebes who was on a secret visit, and this king was his biological father.

Afterwards, he defeated all the enemies along the way and killed the Sphinx who was causing chaos in Thebes. He was made the new king and married the old king's wife, his mother, as his queen.

Oedipus finally learned the truth, blinded himself and exiled himself to atone for his sin.

The experiences of the three characters, Qiao Feng, Azhu and A Zi, can all be found in the story of "Oedipus Rex".

Most of the articles in the world are plagiarized, it just depends on how well they are plagiarized. Mr. Jin is certainly one of the best plagiarists.

It's not just Qiao Feng, but also Wang Yuyan and Duan Yu. The stories and endings of these two people have been revised for many versions, and finally became "Wang Yuyan returned to her cousin, and Duan Yu broke his inner demons in the Wuliang Jade Cave."

This newly revised ending shows that the character of Duan Yu was designed from the very beginning based on another Western myth, "Pygmalion".

Pygmalion was the king of Cyprus. Similar to Ming Xizong Zhu Youxiao, he loved handicrafts, especially sculpture.

The god fell in love with the ivory statue of the girl he carved. Eventually, the god of love was moved and gave life to the statue, and the two got married.

The ending of the revised version proves that the one Duan Yu loves most is not Wang Yuyan, but the jade statue in the Wuliang Jade Cave that amazed him.

Wang Yuyan only resembled the jade statue in appearance and became a substitute for her grandmother and her grandmother's sister.

In this regard, Wang Yuyan's fate is exactly the same as that of her grandmother Li Qiushui. One was regarded as a substitute by Duan Yu, and the other was regarded as a substitute by Wuyazi.

The white moonlight of these two philandering men is actually Li Qiu Shui's sister.

After telling this story in front of the camera, everyone present had a new perspective on this young actor who was not very familiar to everyone on the stage.

"You know a lot."

"I love to hear quotes from classics and detailed explanations."

"I heard he's only 20 years old, which is the age of an average college student."

"Those college students are not as good as him."

Zhang Da Huzi hugged his shoulders and looked happily at the people on both sides.

"This kid is capable. I really didn't misjudge him."

"If I were to say who is the most unlucky person in the entire Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, I think it would be the character I played, Murong Fu."

"This Nan Murong has been in bad luck since he met the three protagonist brothers!"

"I was beaten up by Qiao Feng at Shaoshi Mountain."

"He tried to marry the princess of Xixia, but it turned out that Xu Zhu had already communicated with the princess. This marriage selection was basically a prince looking for Cinderella."

"And the cousin who originally loved me the most also fell in love with someone else because of Duan Yu."

"Even when he wanted to join Duan Yanqing, he was played around by the father and son." "I want to speak up for him!"

Hahahaha...the people in the audience naturally laughed at his words.

"But there must be something hateful about a pitiful person. Everything is his own fault."

"In the story, the character who serves as a counterpoint to Murong Fu is Duan Yanqing, the leader of the four evil men."

"Both of them also aim to restore their country and ascend the throne, and they are both famous in the martial arts world."

"But all Murong Fu's efforts were in vain."

"Duan Yanqing got it without any effort. In the end, his son Duan Yu ascended the throne, fulfilling his lifelong wish and allowing his own branch to ascend the throne again."

"This is destiny, and it cannot be disobeyed."

"There are so many characters and so many stories. If you want to know the details, please watch the TV series "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils"!"

When Zhang Yuan said this, he saw the director on his right making a gesture, indicating that there was enough time for the first episode.

He quickly found a crucial moment, opened his folding fan, and ended his speech.

"Card!"

Clap, clap, clap...the bearded man took the lead in raising his hands and clapping loudly.

Others immediately followed suit.

Zhang Jizhong was quite satisfied with Zhang Yuan's performance, which was even better than he had expected.

The professional folk art host Dapeng also pushed up his glasses and clapped spontaneously.

"It doesn't have the traditional content of golden helmets and golden armor slaying yellow robes, or heroes fighting for 300 times like others do."

"On the contrary, it is unique and has a personal style. It is quite interesting."

Over the years, Dapeng has compiled a lot of traditional variety shows, and what he laments most is the decline of crosstalk talent.

Among the younger generation, there are not many people who are talented or have potential, let alone top masters.

Today he discovered a genius.

Zhang Yuan went off the stage to adjust himself, drank some water and touched up his makeup, greeted all the staff present, and carefully asked them about their impressions of the show.

This made everyone have a good impression of this strange young man.

With the support of the bearded man, if it were any other young actor, he would probably be so proud of himself and look down on others. I have never seen anyone so kind.

"Teacher Dapeng, please give me some advice." Zhang Yuan came to the little round-faced man with glasses.

"Very good, I'm fascinated by it." Dapeng hurriedly handed it over.

Why was Zhang Yuan able to be friends with him?
It’s all for the purpose of promoting the crosstalk club.

It's my own company now, how can I not pay attention to it?

"When you are on the radio station, please help introduce more films."

"It's my duty." Dapeng had a mission to accomplish and had also received several hundred yuan in red envelopes from the crew, so he naturally understood.

"In addition to the TV series, I also hope you can help promote our crosstalk club."

"Crosstalk Club?"

Zhang Yuan explained it to him and told him honestly that he was the weakest one in Deyuan Society.

"Really? There are other experts?"

If Zhang Yuan had said this before the book started, he would not have bothered to respond.

But now after watching his performance, he is 70% convinced.

"How about this, after the recording is finished in a few days, when you are free, come to Guangde Building to listen to it."

"If you feel it's normal, please give us more advice."

"If you think it's good, please help us promote our garden on the radio."

Zhang Yuan said sincerely, "You know, I do this for love. It's not profitable to just invest money. It's too difficult for small classes now."

Hearing this, Dapeng nodded with a gloomy look.

In Mr. Lao She's teahouse, Mr. Chang Siye once said: I love the Qing Dynasty, and I am afraid it will be finished.

For amateurs like Dapeng who love traditional folk art, he loves folk art and he is afraid that he is finished.

So after listening to Zhang Yuan's words, he felt very emotional and a little moved.

"Okay, it's a deal." He agreed quickly.

Taking advantage of the halftime break, after introducing Guo Degang, Yu Qian, Zhang Wenshun and others to Dapeng, Zhang Yuan urgently needed to record the show.

Each episode is 20 minutes long, there are 20 episodes in total, and it takes 3 days to complete.

He spent almost the next two days in Guangde Building and finally finished his work after working himself to death.

After three days, he became completely darker.

Being exposed to the sun by the headlights above my head.

"Is Mr. Guo really that evil?"

He just said goodbye to the bearded man and left Guangde Building. He turned around and went to the company of Fatty Zhao Decai.

Fatty Zhao still has the same taste. From the front desk to the administration, and then to the secretary, they all have the same temperament: big boobs.

He came at an untimely time because Fatty Zhao had gone somewhere and was not there.

Zhang Yuan was not in a hurry. He simply found an empty seat and sat down, turned on the company computer, and started "surfing the Internet".

When the sun set and the streets of the entire imperial capital were lit up with yellow and red lights, Zhao Decai hurried back to the company.

He is not that enthusiastic when others come to him.

Only Zhang Yuan was different. He quickly jumped off the bed of an 18th-tier actress and hurried back.

How can he not be anxious? This is his God of Wealth!
As soon as he entered the door, it was already past the working hours and in the empty office, a melodious Chinese-style electronic music floated into his ears.

Following the sound, Fat Zhao came to the corner workstation and found Zhang Yuan, who was concentrating on fiddling with the computer.

At this moment, on the computer screen, several pixel-style figures are standing in a row, with several boxes directly below them, and separate cartoon characters corresponding to the numbers in the boxes.

The background of the picture is bright red, and in front of several little people is a huge golden dragon with an extremely ferocious appearance.

Zhang Yuan clicked the mouse, and a bald man with his chest exposed and holding a huge wine gourd immediately appeared on the screen. He drank the wine in the gourd and smashed the gourd to the ground.

The giant dragon was shaken by the shock wave from the shattered gourd, and a line of blue numbers appeared above its head.

"3316"

"What are you playing?" Fatty Zhao saw that he was playing very seriously and didn't have the heart to disturb him at first. He stood behind him for a long time before asking softly.

He doesn't play games, games are not as fun as women.

Zhang Yuan raised his hands, stretched, and turned his head.

"You don't understand, this is called The Legend of Sword and Fairy."

"This is our new goal..."

(End of this chapter)