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nutty1005 · 4 years

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Period Dramas – An Analysis on Xiao Zhan's Character Portrayal Part 2

This is a series of short articles by the same author which will be a 6 part analysis on Xiao Zhan’s various roles.

Part 1.1 – Wei Wuxian

Part 1.2 – Wei Wuxian

Part 1.3 – Wei Wuxian

Part 2.1 – Yan Bingyun

Part 3.1 – Period Dramas

Part 3.2 – Period Dramas

Original Article: https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404476606478418045 Original Author: 诗债累累

Yes, still the same person…

In traditional Chinese opera, roles are determined by the following types:

生 Sheng – Gentleman

旦 Dan – Lady

净 Jing – Warrior

末 Mo – Wise Elderly

丑 Chou – Comedic Relief

Each of this archetypes represent an iconic character, and these characters usually have the ability to progress the storyline as well as stir up the audience’s emotions. We will focus on Sheng today in our analysis.

Nowadays, when we speak of Sheng, we usually refer to a young male actor. While it appears to be limited by age, the archetype Sheng actually encompasses most of the roles available to male actors.

In terms of the roles available to a male actor, it refers to the standard types of performances and scripted circumstances in the role. With this, we are usually able to determine the usual tropes that can occur in the script, and how the actors should react.

Contemporary drama are not as detailed or compartmentalized as traditional Chinese opera, but in terms of character creation, we can use opera archetypes to provide examples:

小生 Xiao Sheng (Young Gentlemen) – Wei Wuxian while studying in Cloud Recess, a vivid lively young man.

中生 Zhong Sheng (Adult Gentleman) – Beitang Moran, usually holds a fan, smooth movements

大冠生 Da Guan Sheng (Noble Gentleman) – Beitang Moran, usually a man in power, calm and composed, regal behaviors

小冠生 Xiao Guan Sheng (Scholarly Gentleman) – Yan Bingyun is a talented young man, suave and attractive

穷生 Qiong Sheng (Poor Gentleman) – Wei Wuxian as Yiling Patriarch, poor and rugged

翎子生 Ling Zi Sheng (Young General) – Ji Chong, who has to show military skills as a prince

长靠武生 Chang Kao Wu Sheng (General Scholar) – Beitang Moran, as a military tactician, someone who is able to both fight and plot as well

短打武生 Duan Da Wu Sheng (Fighter) – Wei Wuxian, agile and suave, movements includes somersaults and flips

For period dramas (as opposed to contemporary dramas), their difficulty lies in realism. Contemporary dramas could follow the classic theory of studying life > experiencing life > displaying life to create the performance. The actors could observe life details, be inspired, record these emotional experiences, and reuse these emotions on screen in order to allow audiences to be able to relate to the performance and hence generate sympathetic response.

Period dramas in China need to fulfill the rules and customs of the timeline which the story was set in and project that era as reality. Performances need to create realism within that logic, and on top of that, popular dramas also have to create aspirations beyond the depicted era, so this needs to be added as another layer in the performance.

Previously, I have used a table to summarize Xiao Zhan’s roles, and I have recreated it below:

There are four different body movements in period drama performances – relaxed, overall, modus, aesthetic:

(1) Relaxed

Even if the theme of the drama can be heavy, when performing, the actor will need to be able to stay relaxed in the delivery of his lines, movements and facial expressions, etc. For example, when Wei Wuxian was being chastised in Never Night City, he remained relaxed and this contrast elevated the severity of the situation, where the lines between good and evil had been blurred. Another example, when Fan Xian rescued Yan Bingyun, his movements remained relaxed while his mind was in overdrive, analyzing the situation – Was Fan Xian here to rescue him? Would Fan Xian actually be a traitor, and were there anyone else in cahoots with him? Was his teacher, Fei Jie, actually being used by him?

(2) Overall

Every role has its own set of movements and lines, with introduction, body and conclusion. Even if the character is not part of the main scene, he will need to stay in character, for example, when Wei Wuxian was having classes in Cloud Recess, even when the camera panned past him, he would be seen seated ungracefully. Another example, when Zhang Xiaofan’s teacher wanted to test his skills during meal time, all of his fellow disciples assisted him – this was repeated at the end of movie when all of his fellow disciples tried to assist him by bringing him back to his senses.

(3) Modus

An actor needs to be in control of his character’s styling, strength and tact, and always stay in control. For example, Beitang Moran was a general with military power despite his youth, but he always remembered his station, as well as maintained his job as the main antagonist. Such tact is required during performance. Another example, Zhang Xiaofan’s naivety – he remained ignorant of the strength he wielded in the stick, and hence he never held it tightly and always tossed it around as if it was any other normal stick.

(4) Aesthetic

Any character will need to be created as a piece of art, and not copied from a stereotypical character or referenced from some kind of archetype character. For example, Beitang Moran could have been acted as a typical court official with great power, but instead the character was portrayed as a character who did not care for power, as his power was only beneath that of the Emperor. Wei Wuxian looked like someone who did not care for much, but underneath his smiles and carefree nature, he was actually someone who would persist on doing what was right. Yan Bingyun focused on the righteousness and the nation, but he was also someone who could be negotiated and convinced, as long as it did not clash with his principles. Zhang Xiaofan might seem to be direct and innocent, but he remained faithful to the oath of secrecy and refused to speak of it. These unity of opposites fleshed out the characters’ aesthetic.

Conclusion

The above four points required good control of movements, emotions and expressions, and period dramas gave Xiao Zhan a good opportunity to learn and space to unleash his acting skills. There are technical skills required in utilizing these theories, and to become “lookalike” to a character is not easy. We hope that we can see him creating his own performance art as he stars in more period drama roles.

Lastly, many thanks to @颜阿帧 for editing the pictures and providing them for this article.

#xiao zhan #sean xiao #xiaozhan #肖战

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rqs902 · 4 years

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yang chaowen is really a sensitive kid... man he brings out renyu's song's feels and then brings up ylq to relate to the lyrics bc he knows his friend isnt getting as much appreciation as himself. (this makes even more sense after ylq said he had been crying before ycw went onstage and ycw was comforting him... and then after ycw came off the stage, it was time for ylq to comfort him from crying TT) Their friendship is really something. But then ycw saying he just gets ripped for getting screentime for crying all the time ouch but i dont get the feeling that hes doing it for attention but maybe im becoming partly biased towards chaowen :)

Lol the fact that they focus so much on xzx and how hes favored by gjm but feels like it's unfair to be treated uncomfortably by other trainees as a result... all i can say is, what do u expect, of course the other kids will be salty, their lives are on the line and theyre getting nothing close to the attention you are, so unfortunately u cant win everything :(

Lol I see why everyone on twitter is annoyed at gjm... Jackson is literally trying to say something meaningful and mentor-like to su er and gjm literally interrupts with his own opinion.... jackson is like unable to finish his thought. and then when Cheng xiao is actually trying to give ma haowen advice, gjm just goes WELL I DISAGREE, THIS IS RENYU'S FAULT and everyone's like wtffffff???? And then he starts saying people can help Xinhai with his terrible dance (ouch) but renyu didnt help haowen sing and Huang enyu MY CHILD just goes: but dancing and singing are different....... and I'm just smh.... gjm really shouldnt act like he knows everything when hes the only mentor with zero actual relevant experience :( Poor renyu literally looks like hes about to burst into tears, ma haowen looks so sorry and appalled renyu's getting yelled at and none of the other mentors seem to agree with gjm lol

lets appreciate renyu’s song, its really good!!!

Lol this whole mentor segment is a mess but man chaowen and renyu won a lotta votesss ayyy

I think xue en seeing hwh as a pro rapper shows him humbling himself, since hes technically a more seasoned and popular idol performer

Cheng xiao fangirling over xue en I mean SAME hahahahahahaha awwwwww yzx being soooo genuinely happy for xue en is the cutest!!! Aw cto friendship and xue en crying :’) actually one thing ive noticed i feel like yzx seems like a genuinely kind and cheerful friend, maybe people are bashing him bc he pushed off some leaderly responsibilities to lin mo in the last round but maybe hes just not someone to take on a strict leader role (looks at aj from afo...) and realized that since lin mo has such experience and is really good at it, it makes sense to respect his experience and skill and let him take on that role. of course its unfortunate that means lin mo worked extra for less recognition, but i think it seems like yzx really respected and admired him so im hopeful what happened wasnt due to mean intentions

watching chen junhao feeling lost oh man :/ maybe he hadnt fully prepared himself for the idol life when first coming on this show. its unfortunate reality that in this kind of idol survival show, the focus is more on stage presence and face and performance, rather than the music itself. Hopefully he really feels that hes found a path forward through this performance. This is a really real way to present him but I'm sad theres not as much focus on li chenxu when this is hissss song

Man both the self composed songs are really good!! Mann them making this song a dance song is really hard to watch for li chenxu bc its makes it hard for him to shine at his own song which is sad :( also lzx's rap is questionable lol but cjh's vocal part in the middle part is so emotional, I hope he felt like he was able to express himself fully there

Lol does gjm not realize they didnt have a choice to not dance. Lollllll cheng xiao literally said they had too much to do and tried very hard but he didnt listen.

Aww jackson teaching them about team work :') o gosh I have PTSD about jin fan getting classified as a vocal now after uuu..... also not surprised the entire segment was about sxl and even the judging portion lol....

Oof Jin fan's voiceeee I love

Man why does Jin fan always get stuck in not dance songs ><

more appreciation for xu zhaohao vocals pls!!! imo sxl has a poor attitude :/ he doesnt perform calmly under pressure and isnt doing well at making a good atmosphere for practice

LOL why do i feel like lin mo is always saying "song" things hahahah hes really a kid

but mannn yan an just walking into the elevator is so oof

Aw duan xuyu is too nice... but I guess this is the leader in him coming out

Aw yan an immediately encouraging xikan when he lost the center to him

Lolll xikans little “heheh” when he won

Mannnn ngl even tho yan an leaves the show, I kinda wish he had a bigger role in this perf bc it's literally like his jam.... chinese style influenced dance.... I wish he had at least 1 memorable dance move, like I feel like Luo Joe already had one in the last perf and he has one again here (and hes very talented and he deserves recognition!) but yan an has yet to really show anything and im scared hes gonna just disappear soon :/

They all did so well tho!!! Truly a group of dancers. Really made me want to rewatch the whole thing immediately. altho the beginning I cant unsee the lin mo meme LOL

and xikan did really well!! His stage presence is real. And hes put effort into his facial expressions

Luo Joe being cute is iconic

Aw yan an cheering on lin mo when revealing his votes!!

Aw I'm surprised 100 ways kids didnt get more votes.... lol ngl i feel like this show is just randomly adding vote bonuses in for random reasons not prespecified for kids they like.... cough gjm yet again

but oo the next ep looks fun hahahha im excited for a happier ep thats not as stressful.

Ycw keeping it real 2020: "im not good at controlling emotions.... i hope if you want to cry or laugh do it loudly, dont care about what other people think"

ok so maybe im liking more new kids than i expected, but i think thats a good thing that the show is making them likable and some kids are able to stand out! honestly i realized I kinda can see why they eliminated so many to begin with. It's sad but also kinda nice tbh (ouch, i know) bc if they really got rid of the ones who have less skill, it makes it easier for the others who dont have to teach from zero (cough lin mo) And then those with skill get to have at least 3(?) stages, unlike qcyn where jin fan got eliminated after only doing 1 silly stage lol The skill level of the stages is also raised, like there's multiple groups of almost all people who are well qualified. im sure the kids are happy that they get to do more stages, im sure that means a lot to them.

At least on snzm they attempt to give most trainees a positive light and give screentime to more than just the top 10 trainees. and they allow someee time for vocals, dancers and rappers to get appreciation (even tho dancers are still dominating lol)

but yea honestly I disliked the judging on pdc2019 too tho so at least the judges here can be supportive... at times. it is SUPER biased and gjm is very vocal despite his lack of knowledge tho lol

it's so bad bc I feel like my standards for shows are so low at this point. my standards get lowered with every show I watch. It's like I guess the snzm songs are okay bc I hated the ones on afo more so at least the stages aren't thattt bad lol At least the rules/general setup aren't as terrible as they were on afo..... at least the camera time isnt as biased as it was on qcyn.... sigh the show isnt doing great, and itd be best if the show would help the tygers get more popular, but I guess its prob better than just doing nothing at star master lol.

qcyn was just painful to watch from "spirit of the knight" onward bc momo literally was buried, mistreated, disrespected and taken advantage of. at least on snzm he gets some screentime and positive recognition.....

tbh i like snzm, maybe thats an unpopular opinion, but at least there have been some really great stages, where the kids really get to shine. at least i can confidently say that bc of snzm, i have met some new kids who i will be sure to follow for new music moving forward :)

#rants

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hawopro · 4 years

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Niche Content Masterlist

bc I’m getting a bit out of control with niche obsession on this multifandom blog LOL

History3: Trapped #trapped stuff

Video

Trapped Appreciation Week Day 7: Action

PoT’s Chinapuri (2019) #pot stuff

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Meme fill

The difference b/w Jiale and Dachi

Golden pair HC

Things I love about Chinapuri 2019

JJW to MSY in canon

Incorrect quotes

Imperial crack

MSY has no fear

HXL is a smooth fuc–

MSY is so done with ZZ

JJW channeling Jin Zixuan’s vibe

Obligatory Golden Pair

ZZ just wants someone to take him out

LX & HXL rare pair hell

QY wants to kiss MSY

Gif

QC & ZZ brotp

King’s Birthday

HXL & LX

Hua Chenyu’s biggest fans

Ponta Pair being adorable

Iconic imperial pair moment

MSY whump

Rival Pair was gayer than Golden Pair

QC & ZBY don’t actually hate each other

Rival Pair being friends with lots of UST

Ouyang Zhizhen plays tennis

Video

JJW being thirsty for 1 minute

Power Rangers Ninja Storm #prns stuff

Gif

Cam Watanabe & Huo Daofu

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Fic: Thicker than blood

Dekaranger & BanHoji #deka stuff

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Fic: We are nothing but the space between us

Fic: Kiss me on the mouth

Fic: Prompt fill; BH + new years party

Ship headcanons for BanHoji

Mariko-azrael’s BanHoji Collection 2005-2011

Neck deep in a fossilized fandom

Fic: Food is our language of love

Gif

Deka & Gavan action appreciation

Ban & Hoji in vs Gavan

Deka in disguises

Sen-chan can’t handle it

Tokkyou level undercover

Boss is so done with Umeko

Life is one-two punch

The scene

Hoji is short

Ultimate boyfriends partners

Soft OTP

Character development

Ban’s heart eyes

Undercover Hoji appreciation

Still

Cinnamon roll meme

Corporate meme

S.C.I Mystery #sci stuff

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Fic: An exercise of self-restraint

Fic: All brain and no brawn

Gif

BYT (muscles) appreciation

DMBJ’s Time Raiders (2016) #dmbj stuff #tr16 stuff

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Thoughts of a rare soul who enjoyed TR 2016 adaptation (½)

Why TR 2016 is a Pingxie movie (2/2)

In TR, they don’t say ‘I love you’

Gif

ZQL vs Pan Zi (Da Kui)

ZQL vs A-Ning

Pingxie & hands

Favorite scene from TR

How to make friends–a guide by Wu Xie

Slo-mo being caught by your bro is cool and all, but

ZQL at Wu Xie

Jing Boran’s ZQL is beautiful

DMBJ’s Tomb of the Sea #dmbj stuff #tots stuff

Gif

LC vs a Wang

WX vs Ga Luo

HDF in Ran Gu

Huo Daofu in Hua Mei

ONEWE #onewe stuff

Gif

3-minute boyfriend

Harin being Harin

The maknae oldest

Ren Yan Kai/ Ming Ren #ryk stuff

Gif

Lu Boyan in Love in Time 2020 ep 1-10

Lu Boyan in Love in Time 2020 ep 6

Lu Boyan in Love in Time 2020 ep 1-9

Hikaru no Go/ Qi Hun #hng stuff

Video

fx fei

Still

punch

shixiong pt.3

shixiong pt.2

shixiong

fxbc faceapp

HFS is a meme

Gif

shixiong 5/5

shixiong 4/5

shixiong 3/5

shixiong 2/5

shixiong 1/5

caring shidi

double date

bar

bc in 1997

breakup

lost

favor

sir stop

sir pls

fx’s bc faces

bc’s fx faces

you’re here too?

sad go pro fx

HMB bts

bf thing

kdrama

grey tie

making history

same goal

the end is a new beginning

let me take you somewhere

bc stares

you can’t back out

slap

right in front of my salad?

hands

hmb and zme being cute

tears

grief

fxbc

hugs

trio hugs

proud

all aboard the fxbc ship

brotp

wink

yl’s ‘sg’ faces

four musketeers

giggle

Han Mubo #hmb stuff

Video

dance practice

Still

210124 update

caa

210119 infinite idol update

210113 update

210109 update

Gif

meow

bday + car

bday + bb lu

gray hair

wink

Mask

HMB in Awaken-f’s The Law of Attraction

Celestial Authority Academy #caa stuff

Video

dsx action compilation

Gif

unusual relationship

grilled fish cp

drinking not allowed

authentic mubo face: dsx ver

(not) women problem

women’s heart

dsx stupid

dsx/syh

engaged to yi

jiejie knows best

duan siblings

slap

lecture

bathhouse beating

qjy + haha

fyq/lz

life before/after sly

dsx and qjy’s fighting prowess

tong tian f4

living without lan zi

swordsman

Ping Pong 2021 #rypp stuff

Gif

Jia you

cuffed sleeves

punch on the chest

lend a hand

lost

don’t sprained legs

Word of Honor #tyk stuff

Gif

cwn

Xiao Zhan #xz stuff

Gif

get low

Bright Time #jzsg stuff

Gif

ljh and second uncle ld

ljh and ld

hfs as lan jinghui

The Imperial Coroner #imc stuff

Gif

xjl jy

lycc lap

lycc protect

lycc 4/4

lycc 3/4

lycc 2/4

lycc 1/4

Chu Tian Yao #cty stuff

Gif

hmb + horses

trailer: lzy cy

trailer: cy

#personal ref #mine #masterlist

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