Chapter 247 - 231: Still Saying You’re Not Tang Bohu 1
emmm.
Yes, it’s that wealthy young man with depression who strongly resonates with “The world laughs at my madness, and I sneer at their blindness.”
After the first watching of the movie, Deng Chi immediately watched it for a second time as he liked it very much.
After the second time, however, Deng Chi unexpectedly noticed some details that many people would probably overlook.
For example, at the beginning of the movie, it is in front of Tang Manor.
A group of elegantly dressed intellectuals are gathered outside the gate of Tang Manor, having been waiting there for three hours. Initially, it seems they are waiting for something; however, all the rubbish thrown out clothes gets snatched up, while the couplets outside the gate of Tang Manor read:
“Five willows shine by the house of the famous, and three old trees stand in front of scholars.”
“In the mortal world, one’s ambition to reach the sky is yet unfulfilled, whereas in heaven, a jade edifice is already established.”
“Both Queen of the Night and Chang’e are afraid of the cold, showing off in the frost in the middle of the moon.”
The horizontal scroll reads: “To become an immortal!
II
Tang Bohu’s Picture of the Phoenix presiding over the assembly of birds is missing a sparrow head, being played as a mahjong tile. The couplet beside it says: “The deep courtyard has scarce dust and his writings are refined; prosperous wealth comes from hard work and being diligent in farming.”
A self-written quatrain of Tang Bohu also appears briefly in the movie.
It is a painting titled “Dream in the Paulownia Shade,” and the poem beside it reads: “A ten-mile paulownia shade covers the purple moss, the elegantly idle scholar enjoys drunken sleep. The pursuit of fame and wealth is already given up in this life, and clear dreams should not reach the old hackberry tree.”
The couplets on the columns of the ancestral shrine in Tang Manor read: “Ancient literature is the hereditary path of humanity; filial piety brings joy to human relationships under one roof.”
The couplet on the post when Qiuxiang is worshipping Buddha read: “Arriving here, one recognizes a clear body of law; engage with the green lion of wisdom, the white elephant of three flavours. Bordering here are the faithful bones of the scaled ridge, observing the peach blossoms in the jade blood, looking up to the red bird in the waves of the tower.”
In Qiuxiang’s room, the pair of couplets reads: “On a sunny day, the carved trusses are adorned with clouds floating over the Yao terrace; green mountains lie at the doorstep with white clouds passing through the courtyard.”
In the Hua Mansion guest room, a couplet reads: “Clouds hang and cranes wander above, groups of wild geese play in the ocean; winter-flowering plum and summertime algae, the scent of harvested wheat welcomes autumn.”
A couplet in the Hua Mansion study says: “Of all things, one should enjoy doing good; a hundred flowers compete against the fragrance of reading.”
The meaning of the couplet is obvious; it advocates doing good deeds and advocating reading more.
Also in Hua Mansion, there is a couplet saying: “In society, one must be cautious; in holding an office, one only needs to be polite and modest.”
Deng Chi doesn’t have a deep understanding of the couplets.
But his strong literary attainment makes him sure that the level of these couplets is very high!
So when Deng Chi identified these details, he was astounded!
What shocked him even more was that in this movie, there were some frames featuring verses:
“The morning rain in Weicheng dampens the light dust, the guest houses are decked with fresh willows. Try another cup of wine, my friend, there is no old friend in the Western Pass.”
“A thousand mountains, no birds in flight; ten thousand paths, no footprints left. A lonely boat, an aged straw hat, one man fishing alone in the cold river snow.”
“Knowledge is gained through diligence; behind the glow-worm window, a myriad of books. Having enough use for three winters, who would laugh at the emptiness inside?”
“A poem of four verses comes out with ease – whom are you comparing to in your own mind? A white head is also ready to wear a flower bud; the bright moon is hard to illuminate the wine. A day of leisure is boundless fortune; a thousand years of fun is viewed as a fool’s laugh; filled with mundane strife all day, ask me why, I don’t know at all?”
“The unforeseeable weather brings much wind and rain; human affairs are hard to measure, full of intrigues. When heaven’s timing and human affairs are not aligned, don’t let the spring light be committed to flowing water.”
That’s insane!
The verses are too brilliant!
You should know that Deng Chi majored in literature in college, so his ability to appreciate poetry is quite high.
So when he noticed these film shots that probably caught nobody’s attention, he was completely shocked!
He could more or less be certain that these were all the works of Xian Yu….
Because only Xian Yu, who wrote “The world laughs at my madness,” could have such caliber!
To thoroughly collect these details, Deng Chi watched “Flirting Scholar” five times!
After five screenings, Deng Chi’s admiration for Xian Yu had reached its peak!
Deng Chi decided that he must let everyone know about the brilliance of Xian Yu!
And so…
He posted an article via his Tribe account and collected all the couplets and poems from the movie.
Unfortunately, Deng Chi is not a star, nor is he a famous film critic.
He published the article, but not many people noticed it.
But Deng Chi was not deterred by this.
It is the digital age, and it’s not difficult to attract attention
Deng Chi promptly contacted several Tribe influencers with millions of followers.
There were even a few influencers with tens of millions of followers.
And he had these influencers share his article!
You ask why?
It’s simply because Deng Chi is a super wealthy young man, bored with sports cars and watches already.
He just needed to give out some pocket money, and the influencers would obediently share his post.
This is called “financial ability.”
Even some influencers who initially didn’t want to share…
But…
He was giving out too much…
Moreover, the couplets and verses mentioned in the article truly were quite excellent.
So, many influencers quickly reposted Deng Chi’s article.
As a result…
Countless internet users who had seen the movie were shocked!
“Damn! I thought the seemingly hilarious yet satirical plots in the movie were already awesome, but I never imagined something more terrifying!”
“Are the couplets and verses… all written by Xian Yu?”
“They must be Xian Yu’s work. Only Xian Yu could have such talent!”
“Should I start addressing him as “Xian Yu-Tang Bohu”?”
“A thousand mountains, no birds in flight; ten thousand paths, no footprints left. A boat, an aged man in a straw rain cape alone, fishing in the cold river snow… I’m moved.”
“What a great line: an old man fishing alone in the cold river in snow! I never knew Xian Yu was so profound!”
“Try another cup of wine, my friend, there is no old friend in the Western Pass! What kind of divine verse is this?!”
“The blogger is amazing, discovering all of this. These details, what a treasure trove!”
“The director is such an idiot. Why didn’t he focus the shots more on these verses!”
“I thought [Others Laugh at Me as a Madman] was impressive, but when I saw the poems in it, I realized that Xian Yu is way more impressive than I could ever imagine!”
“Don’t just stare at the poems, the couplets contained within are also incredibly strong!”
“I thought the couplets in the movie were already strong enough. Turns out, there are hidden gems in some of the most insignificant scenes in the movie?”
“I used to introduce ‘Flirting Scholar’ to people as a comedy with no depth… I’m sorry, the one with no depth was me.”
“This is a screenwriter? No, this is a poet!”
It’s no wonder that netizens were shocked. Indeed, these couplets and poems were mind-blowing.
In the original version, these couplets and poems were borrowed from the works of the ancients.
Such as Liu Zongyuan, Wang Wei, and so on.
However, Blue Star didn’t have great figures like Liu Zongyuan and Wang Wei-
So, having these poems appear in the movie scenes was simply terrifying!
Some of the audience members who have a high level of literary accomplishment even developed goosebumps when they read these lines…
Needless to say?
Share it, share it without hesitation!
Blue Star is a genuine artistic world, where connoisseurs are aplenty!
With this.
As more and more people shared it, some of the big names in the literary world also noticed the article.
They had no choice but to notice.
Many netizens had already posted the couplet and poems from the movie under their online comment section.
Everyone knew how impressive these things were, so they wanted to see how the literary world would evaluate them.
To their surprise, many people in the literary world were also taken aback.
“‘Persuade you to drink more wine, there’s no old friends to bid goodbye when you depart west from Yangguan’… Although I’m not sure about the specific allusion, I can tell it’s a Farewell poem, with very sophisticated imagery.”
“‘Thousand mountains with no birds in flight, Ten thousand paths that mankind does not tread’… This poem has a universal appeal.”
“At least three of these couplets in here can be categorized as unparalleled through the ages. If it were not for the movie providing the second line, I thought 90% of people in the literary world wouldn’t be able to properly match it!”
Starting from the film reviews on Starry Sky Web, many people felt that they had underestimated ‘Flirting Scholar’.
Now, with these couplets and verses being dug out, the fans were thoroughly convinced!
Show!
This film is simply a one-man-show of Xian Yu’s talent!
There are those who see the comedy on the surface layer.
Those who understand the tragedy are on the second layer.
Those who notice these details are on the third layer!
Could there be a fourth layer?
At this moment, no one can be sure.
Indeed, that saying was true…
While I thought Xian Yu was on the first layer, he was actually in the stratosphere…
Whoosh!
Because of this article, Deng Chi’s popularity skyrocketed to over a million in just a short period of time.
Of course, this had something to do with Deng Chi constantly showcasing various sports cars, watches, and different beautiful women in his past posts…
Deng Chi was just a start.
There’s no need to mention Xian Yu’s official Tribe account!
Due to the popularity of ‘Flirting Scholar’, Xian Yu’s Tribe account already had fifteen million followers.
But now.
With the massive success of this film, and various details being dug out little by little, Xian Yu’s fan base, like a rocket, started to rise crazily!
Twenty million…
Twenty-five million…
Thirty-one million…
Five hours after the posting of Deng Chi’s article, Xian Yu’s fan base reached an astonishing thirty-three million!
The comment section of his posts had blown up, with comments reaching eight hundred thousand:
“I’ve come to pay a visit to the master…”
“Can you play the flute too…”
“The man is Xian Yu, proficient in all forms of poetry.”
“And you said you weren’t Tang Bohu!”
“Tang Bohu, stop pretending.”
“I heard that Tang Bohu was unrivaled in poetry and verse…”
“So ‘Flirting Scholar’ is your autobiography, isn’t it!”
In the movie, Tang Bohu knew music and could write poems and couplets.
In reality, Xian Yu is not only the author of the music, but also a scriptwriter, and his ability to write poems and couplets is simply terrifying!
At this point, it was hard for the audience, fans, and netizens not to make connections.
Of course.
There were also those who noticed that Tang Bohu…
Oh, no, sorry, it’s Xian Yu.
Xian Yu was also following Chu Kuang and Shadow.
Chu Kuang’s fan base used to be larger than Xian Yu’s.
But with the success of ‘Flirting Scholar’, Xian Yu’s fan base is now almost as large as Chu Kuang’s!
Even more.
Some fans even made a special trip to comment on Chu Kuang’s Tribe profile, and their comments evidently born out of Chu Kuang’s fame as a writer with literary talent:
“Xian Yu: ‘Little bro, I heard you are quite talented in writing?”‘