Chapter 00191: The Era of Martial Heroes Begins (Part 2)
# The Era of Martial Heroes Begins (Part 2)
Chapter 191
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 191: The Era of Martial Heroes Begins (Part 2)
Room 302.
Chen Qi continued to act like a heartless typing machine, churning out scripts.
This one was for the Yuan brothers, titled *Scare People*, following the path of supernatural kung fu films.
Historically, it starred Sammo Hung and Ma Wu, earning ten million at the box office.
No need to elaborate further.
In Hong Kong, he had three names.
For the leftists, he used his real name.
For the Yuan family team, he went by "Dongfang Ren."
For Li Hanxiang, he used "Rainy Night with a Knife but No Umbrella."
*The Miracle Fighters* had done well at the box office, and many were wondering who this "Dongfang Ren" was, but no one could find a trace of him.
Naturally, *Scare People* would also be under this pen name—let them keep guessing.
This was the art of being the shadowy mastermind.
"Little Chen! Little Chen!"
Suddenly, someone shouted from downstairs.
Chen Qi's pen paused, leaving a streak on the paper.
He felt a headache coming on and pushed open the window to ask, "What now?"
"Someone's here to see you! They're at the gate!"
"Do you know who it is?"
"Not sure. Looks like a farmer, calling for you like you're family. Might be a relative!"
"A relative?"
Chen Qi was puzzled.
His ancestors were all minor intellectuals—where did this relative come from?
Reluctantly, he put on his coat and headed downstairs, feeling rather annoyed.
Ever since *Tai Chi* was released in the country, he’d been getting all sorts of odd visitors—martial arts teams, sports committees, reporters, film studios—those were normal.
But the most outrageous were the various "demons and monsters."
For example, there was a young guy who came to challenge Jet Li to a duel.
Since Jet Li wasn’t around, he turned to Chen Qi, saying, "You wrote the story, so you must know kung fu. I’m not particularly talented, but I’ve come to challenge you. Today, we’ll determine who’s superior—and settle life and death!"
Chen Qi had the security team chase him off with their Type 56 rifles.
If he didn’t leave, he’d get a taste of the "American Iaido"!
Then there was a guy who claimed to practice qigong, wanting to see if Tai Chi was stronger than his "Cosmic Center Power."
He said that when he channeled his energy, he could connect with aliens on UFOs, who would then fire laser cannons at Earth at three times the speed of light, targeting specific locations...
What nonsense!
If I could make aliens target Earth for destruction, I’d be a hero for the planet! Do you think I’m a Trisolaran or something?
It couldn’t be helped.
The early 1980s were a time of chaos, with all sorts of bizarre beliefs and practices emerging.
Being a normal person who didn’t practice qigong, didn’t believe in supernatural powers, didn’t act like a hooligan, and stayed impartial was no easy task...
When Chen Qi reached the gate, he saw two men: one in a cadre-style shirt, the other a rustic-looking farmer carrying a heavy cloth bag.
"Who are you two?"
"Family! Finally, we’ve found you!"
"Wait, wait. What do you want?"
Chen Qi grabbed the farmer’s arm, surprised by the man’s strength.
Despite his thin and dark appearance, he looked like he could take on three of Chen Qi.
The middle-aged man quickly explained, "Comrade Chen Qi, don’t misunderstand. We’re just too excited. Let me introduce myself. I’m from Jiaozuo, Henan, responsible for some cultural promotion work. He’s the village secretary of Chenjiagou."
"Oh..."
Chen Qi forced a smile, his face looking constipated.
"Guests are always welcome. Please come in."
He led them into the courtyard and back to Room 302.
The city official looked around cautiously, clearly impressed.
"You’re truly an intellectual. Look at all these books—enough for me to study for a lifetime. We came all the way to Beijing just to thank you. Now, everyone outside the province knows about Wen County and Chenjiagou. You should see it—every day, people come to pay their respects, kowtowing at the village entrance... After discussing it, we decided we had to show our gratitude, so here we are."
"You’re too kind. Making movies is just my job. It’s really no trouble..."
Chen Qi suddenly felt a sense of pride, like he’d done something good and was being rewarded with a banner. *Romance on Lushan Mountain* had made Lushan famous, and *Tai Chi* had done the same for Chenjiagou.
But Lushan never sent anyone to thank him.
"No trouble at all! We share the same surname, Chen. I’ve been going through the family records for days. Although your branch isn’t listed, we must have been related a few hundred years ago."
The village secretary tried to bond, but his words were clumsy.
The city official nudged him and opened the bag himself.
"We brought some local specialties. We don’t have much, but we hope you’ll accept them."
Chen Qi looked inside—sweet potatoes, yams, preserved eggs...
"Hey, what’s that meat?"
"Donkey jerky. It’s the best we have. Not to brag, but most people can’t get their hands on this. If you ever visit, you should try our donkey meat soup—it’s even better."
Chen Qi was intrigued.
He’d had beef jerky and pork jerky, but never donkey jerky.
After some casual conversation, the city official sighed.
"Chenjiagou has become so popular. At first, we were thrilled and welcomed everyone. But now, there are so many people coming to learn kung fu that we’ve run out of rooms. Some of them don’t work and just freeload in the village."
"Kick them out!" Chen Qi joked.
"We can’t do that. It would ruin our reputation. We’ve been thinking of doing something, but we’re not sure what. Some suggested tourism, but Jiaozuo has coal and factories—we’re not poor, but tourism is a whole different beast. It’s driving us crazy..."
"It’s simple. Start with competitions and performances."
Chen Qi said casually.
"Why?"
"You don’t have scenic spots. What’s there to see in a mountain village? You need to look outward. Open more martial arts schools, train more talent. Form youth teams and junior teams. Enter every competition you can and win a few championships. That’ll get you noticed. Whether it’s official exchanges or private performances, go wherever you’re invited. You’ll earn some recognition and maybe even some money. If you can go abroad, even better. Foreigners love the philosophy of Tai Chi. Send your masters overseas to teach foreigners. Use that as a starting point to bring prosperity back to the village. Are there any Tai Chi competitions now?"
"No!"
"Then create one. Call it the Henan Tai Chi Push Hands Championship or the International Tai Chi Tournament... Just do it. Building a reputation is key. If you’re lucky, you might even attract some foreigners. Then you’ll really be set."
Chenjiagou wasn’t like Shaolin Temple.
Shaolin was located on Mount Song, one of the Five Great Mountains and a famous tourist spot.
Chenjiagou had nothing around it, so they had to create something from scratch.
But that required government investment, which was a big deal.
What Chen Qi suggested were common tourism promotion strategies from the future, but to the people of this era, it was a revelation.
The city official trembled with excitement.
"Comrade Chen Qi! We’ve been lacking ideas. What you’ve said is brilliant. You’ve shown us the way!"
"Alright, alright. I was just speaking off the cuff."
Chen Qi checked the time, ready to see them off.
"I have things to do. If there’s nothing else..."
"Oh, we just came to see you. As long as you’re doing well, that’s enough!"
After about an hour, they left.
Chen Qi picked up a piece of donkey jerky and chewed on it.
It wasn’t bad.
Chenjiagou might be poor now, but the people were honest.
He didn’t mind pointing them in the right direction.
Who knows? It might come in handy later.
After pacing around the room, he felt that the martial arts craze was in full swing, with excitement brewing everywhere.
It was time to define it.
He went downstairs, hopped on his bike, and headed straight to the *China Youth Daily*, looking for Yu Jiajia.
"Yu, the great reporter! I need you to interview me!"
"Huh?"
Yu Jiajia was caught off guard, but she wasn’t an ordinary person.
"Sure, I was planning to find you anyway."
So, the two of them found a spot and began a proper interview.
After jotting down some material, Chen Qi said, "Ask me about my next movie, and I’ll answer. The next film is *Tai Chi 2*. The script is finished, and we’re planning to start filming in the second half of the year. The original cast will return, with some new additions. The fight scenes will be even more exciting than the first."
Yu Jiajia wrote a few lines and asked, "Is this film also for export?"
"Yes, but it’s a bit different. I’ve segmented the overseas market. Western audiences have limited interest in Chinese period martial arts films. *Tai Chi* sold well because it was fresh, but *Tai Chi 2* might not. I’m targeting *Tai Chi 2* at East and Southeast Asia. We’ll sell what we can in Europe and America. The real export to the U. S. will be a special film I’m preparing just for them."
"What’s a special film?" Yu Jiajia’s eyes lit up.
"A film tailored specifically for American audiences. The content will be bolder, but it’s still in the early stages, so I can’t say much."
After a long discussion, Chen Qi finally said what he really wanted to say:
"For mainland cinema to develop and align with international standards, we first need to define our genres. Right now, our genre classifications are too vague. Take *Romance on Lushan Mountain*—when it first came out, it was labeled a scenic lyrical film. But it’s really just a romance film! We’re just too shy to call it that. Thankfully, we’re committed to openness. Last year was more relaxed than the year before, and this year is even more so. When we can openly categorize films as romance, comedy, thriller, crime, and so on, that’s when we’ll truly take off. Right now, everyone calls *Tai Chi* a martial arts film, but that’s not accurate. Yes, there’s fighting, but I think there’s more to it. For modern settings, we can call them modern action films. For period settings, they’re period kung fu films. But *Tai Chi* isn’t just about martial arts. It’s more about the spirit of chivalry—fighting for the nation and the people, or punishing evil and promoting good. So, I think it deserves a better name. As early as 1903, Liang Qichao first used this term. By the Republican era, it was widely known. Now, it’s time to revive it. Let’s stop calling it just martial arts. It’s called *wuxia*! The films we make should be called *wuxia* films!"
(End of Chapter)