The closing ceremony of the 21th Summer Olympic Games opened grandly at 15: that evening at the Athens Olympic Stadium amid great anticipation.

At that time, the night sky was as dark as ink, and a bright full moon hung high in the sky, casting a silvery light, adding a touch of tranquility and beauty to the closing ceremony night.

The atmosphere in the entire stadium was extremely warm, as if a grand carnival was about to take place, and this gorgeous carnival ball also became the final farewell of this Olympics to the world.

25 colorful balls dotted the enthusiastic main stadium like stars. The colorful colors intertwined with each other, creating a dreamy atmosphere.

The colorful fireworks bloomed one after another in the night sky. The brilliant light instantly lit up half of the night sky of Athens red, pushing the atmosphere of the entire closing ceremony to one climax after another.

The closing ceremony performance lasted for 2 hours, showing the culture of “Dionysus”, the god of wine in Greek mythology, and recreating the joyful scenes of traditional Greek celebrations and banquets.

The most famous singers in Greece appeared on the same stage and sang loudly. This was also the first time that the top popular singers in Greece gathered together.

After all the performances were over, the appearance of athletes from various countries brought the closing ceremony to a climax.

As the host of the next Olympic Games, Liu Xiang walked in the first place holding the Chinese flag high. His steps were firm and powerful, and his eyes revealed confidence and pride, as if he was announcing to the world: China is ready and will welcome the next Olympic Games with the greatest enthusiasm.

At this time, the percussion band played exciting music, and the strong rhythm seemed to be the rhythm of a heartbeat. The audience was also infected by the warm atmosphere, and wave after wave of people were set off in an orderly manner. The whole stadium was boiling.

When IOC President Jacques Rogge solemnly handed the flag to the leader, the audience burst into thunderous applause. This handover ceremony marked that the organization of the Yanjing Olympic Games officially entered a new stage, and it also meant that the world’s attention would gradually focus on China and Yanjing.

Then, an 8-minute artistic performance from Yenching began, with the themes of “From Olympia to the Great Wall” and “Welcome Everyone to Yenching”.

At the beginning of the performance, 14 beautiful Olympic babes wearing modified ultra-short cheongsams appeared lightly on the stage with Chinese traditional musical instruments such as pipa and erhu in their hands.

Their cheongsams are brightly colored, combining traditional and modern elements, showcasing the charm of Chinese clothing culture while highlighting their youthful and beautiful aura.

To the melodious tune of “Jasmine Flower”, their performance was like flowing clouds and running water. The beautiful notes floated over the stadium, instantly grabbing the attention of the audience, as if bringing people into a poetic oriental world.

The dancer in white clothes danced gracefully with red silk in her hands. The red silk flew up and down in her hands, full of vitality, and fully displayed the enthusiasm and joy implied in the emblem of the Yanjing Olympic Games “Chinese Seal Dancing Yanjing”.

Then, the thrilling “Chinese Kung Fu” segment was performed. 28 students from Tagou Martial Arts School, who were over 1 meters tall, walked on stilts and carried lanterns as the background behind the stage. Their steady steps and swaying lanterns created a festive atmosphere with lights and decorations, expressing the enthusiasm of the Chinese people in welcoming the Olympic Games to China.

At the same time, rhythmic music sounded, and Shen Lang and nine martial arts actors appeared in the center of the stage.

Shen Lang was wearing a simple yet elegant modern Hanfu. The fluttering sleeves of his clothes had both traditional charm and fashionable elements. The black fabric was embroidered with ancient patterns in delicate silver thread, which swayed gently with his movements, as if there was a flash of light.

At this moment, his eyes were firm and confident, like a hero roaming the world, with an aura so strong that it could not be ignored.

His appearance instantly ignited the atmosphere of the entire venue, and the audience’s cheers and applause surged like a tide.

“There are several rounds of scary rings waiting for you
What did you win in the life and death lawsuit? You sneered
Who is the best in the world?

To stop the war, we value martial virtues…”

Shen Lang’s magnetic and penetrating voice rang out, shaking people’s hearts like a huge bell. His unique voice, with a hint of heroism and freedom, fully displayed the lofty sentiments and ambitions in the song.

The nine martial arts actors also quickly got into the state. They had agile postures and vigorous movements. Following the rhythm of the music, they sometimes punched as swiftly as a tiger descending from a mountain, and sometimes turned flexibly like dragons playing in the water. Every move was precise and full of power.

“It’s been over, it’s been over, it’s been over
Faults and weaknesses never belong to me
Me me me me, me me me me

No one can dodge our martial arts…”

At this moment, the audience watching in front of the TV were deeply attracted.

On the stage, Shen Lang’s singing and the actors’ martial arts performances blended together and complemented each other, as if bringing the audience into a passionate martial arts world and feeling the masculine beauty of Chinese traditional culture.

“Time passes in the small town

Clear Courage

washed memories
I remember you lived with pride!”

When Shen Lang sang the last part in the “female voice” of Peking Opera, a group of twelve or thirteen-year-old Peking Opera actors from Yanjing Opera Arts Vocational College came on stage.

They were dressed in colorful Peking Opera costumes, wearing gorgeous headdresses, with exquisite facial makeup on their faces, and the charm of Peking Opera was revealed in their every move.

With their immature yet earnest performances, they presented the quintessence of Chinese opera, Peking Opera, to audiences around the world. Their every move won applause from the audience, allowing everyone to appreciate the unique charm and profound heritage of Chinese opera culture.

As the performance came to an end, a lovely 5-year-old girl, Chen Tianjia, stood on a big red lantern and sang “Jasmine Flower” with her clear and sweet voice. In the melodious singing, she extended a warm invitation to the world with the words “WELCOME TO BEIJING”.

In an instant, the lights of the main stadium of the Athens Olympic Games were lit up, and 56 actors dressed in costumes of China’s 70 ethnic groups pulled out two pieces of red silk, each 50 meters long and 10 meters wide, on both sides of the runway. The eye-catching Chinese and English words “Yanjing Welcomes You” and the pattern of the Yanjing 2008 Olympic Games emblem came into view, pushing the atmosphere of the whole venue to a climax and showing the world China’s hospitality as the host and its expectations for the Olympics.

The atmosphere in the main stadium of the Athens Olympics reached a boiling point, and everyone was infected by the enthusiasm from China.

Shen Lang stood on the side of the stage, looking at the lively scene in front of him, his heart full of emotion.

He knew very well that this eight-minute performance was not just a show, but also a window for China to show itself to the world.

Although the performance has ended at this moment, the communication between China and the world has just begun a new chapter.

After the show, backstage.

“Xiao Shen, and all the actors, today’s performance was perfect. I am proud of you.” Zhang Yimou’s voice was full of praise.

“Director Zhang, you have given me great guidance. Without your careful planning and strict requirements, we would not have been able to perform so well.” Shen Lang began to flatter each other.

As they were talking, some foreign athletes and staff came forward to express their praise and congratulations.

An athlete from the United States said in not very fluent Chinese: “Shen Lang, I am your fan, and I also like Chinese Kung Fu and Peking Opera, it’s really amazing!”

Shen Lang smiled and responded: “Thank you. I hope you will have the opportunity to visit China in person in the future and experience more of the charm of Chinese culture.”

His popularity is so high that many foreign athletes and staff come to take photos with him.

He always maintained a gentle and humble smile and patiently met every fan’s request. His demeanor and affinity made everyone present like him even more.

The impact of this 8-minute performance has continued to ferment, becoming the focus of major media reports, and related topics on the Internet have also remained hot.

However, in China, the evaluation of this performance is polarized. Some people gave high praise to this performance.

They believe that the performances of Shen Lang and others perfectly demonstrated the profoundness and unique charm of Chinese traditional culture, and integrated the innovative forms of rap and martial arts, which not only retained the traditional charm but also injected modern vitality, giving the ancient Chinese culture new vitality.

Especially Shen Lang’s singing was very infectious, and he interpreted the heroic spirit and ambition in the song very well; and the wonderful performances of the martial arts actors showed the strength, power, agility and elegance of Chinese Kung Fu to the core.

There are also those child Peking Opera actors who, with their immature but serious performances, have inherited and promoted the national quintessence of art, allowing the world to see the hope of the inheritance of Chinese culture.

These people firmly believe that this performance is a successful display of Chinese culture to the world, which has enhanced the international influence of Chinese culture and strengthened national pride.

But others hold a different view.

They felt that although the performance had certain innovations in form, it was not deep enough in exploring the cultural connotations. They believed that the performance focused too much on formal liveliness and visual impact, while neglecting the in-depth interpretation of the core spirit of Chinese traditional culture.

Some people even pointed out that the combination of Shen Lang’s rap style with traditional martial arts and Peking Opera seemed a bit stiff and failed to achieve true perfect integration.

In addition, they also believe that the 8-minute performance did not fully demonstrate the diversity and richness of Chinese culture. Only a limited number of cultural elements were selected, which could not fully represent China’s long history and splendid culture.

Faced with such polarized evaluations in the country, Shen Lang remained calm and was not affected at all.

Firstly, he knew the result, and the original time and space had cursed him a lot, which made Lao Mouzi lose confidence;

Secondly, he understands that the expression and dissemination of culture is a complex process, and it is normal for different people to have different aesthetics and understandings;
Third, some things require time to verify whether they are good or bad.

At this moment, Shen Lang was sitting on the plane returning to China, and sitting next to him was Tang Yan.

“By the way, has Sister Du arranged any work for you?” Shen Lang started chatting with Tang Yan.

“Yes, I made guest appearances in several of the company’s film and television dramas.” Tang Yan replied.

“Yeah.” Shen Lang nodded slightly, expressing his approval of Du Ting’s arrangement in his heart.

“The Legend of Sword and Fairy 3” has entered the post-production stage. Tang Yan plays Zi Xuan, a very good role. Whether it is the character’s personality charm or importance in the plot, it is likely to allow her to further enhance her popularity.

However, although Tang Yan’s acting skills have a certain foundation, it is not enough to support her to play the leading female role. After all, to carry the ratings and box office of a work, not only acting skills are needed, but also more experience and popularity.

Du Ting’s idea is undoubtedly wise. She should first let Tang Yan study hard at the Central Academy of Drama and improve his abilities. Then, he should participate in more guest performances in his spare time to accumulate performance experience.

So Shen Lang smiled and encouraged: “Work hard.”

Tang Yan nodded firmly and said in a firm tone, “Yes, I will.”

In the original time and space, Tang Yan was one of the 85 young actresses who developed relatively well, but when you think about it carefully, she did not have many outstanding roles.

Given her current condition, it is indeed not possible for her to star in an important work like “Fang Hua” at this stage. Everything can only be done step by step and slowly.

Thinking of this, Shen Lang started chatting with Tang Yan about some performance techniques and experiences, and Tang Yan listened very carefully.

During this long flight, the two of them communicated like this, and time passed quickly without them noticing.

——

——

The airport hall was bustling with activity, with many media reporters densely packed inside and outside. They were holding cameras, their eyes fixed on the direction of the airport passage, their faces full of concentration and eagerness.

The reason why these media reporters gathered here was because they were attracted by “Olympic Closing Ceremony + Shen Lang + new song”.

Shen Lang’s appearance at the closing ceremony of the Athens Olympics has long become the focus of public opinion. Although the domestic evaluation of this performance is polarized, this has not diminished the public’s attention to Shen Lang and related topics.

For media reporters, being able to get first-hand information about Shen Lang would undoubtedly allow them to make a lot of money.

Therefore, they hope to learn more about the stories behind the Olympic Closing Ceremony performance from Shen Lang, such as the source of inspiration for the creation, the hardships and interesting things during the rehearsal process, the creative concept of the new song, future promotion plans, etc.

A young female reporter kept checking her watch, her eyes revealing a hint of anxiety. Her male colleague next to her comforted her, “Don’t worry, the flight is delayed, they should be coming out soon. We must seize the opportunity this time and ask a few more valuable questions.”

The female reporter nodded, with a burning light in her eyes again: “Yes, it would be great if we could dig up some exclusive news.”

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd, and someone shouted, “They’re coming out! They’re coming out!”

The reporters immediately perked up and raised their cameras and microphones, rushing towards the passage.

Shen Lang and Tang Yan were seen walking out of the passage slowly accompanied by staff.

Shen Lang was wearing a simple yet stylish casual outfit, with a gentle smile on his face and his eyes revealing confidence and composure.

Tang Yan was wearing a light blue dress, looking fresh and refined. She followed Shen Lang closely, looking at the reporters around her nervously.

A reporter was the first to ask, “Mr. Shen, what do you think of the performance at the closing ceremony of the Olympics, facing the polarized evaluations in China?”

Shen Lang stopped and replied with a smile: “I think it is normal to have different voices. The expression and dissemination of culture is complex. It is normal for people to have different aesthetics and understandings. I believe that as time goes by, everyone will have a more objective understanding of this performance.”

Another reporter couldn’t wait to ask: “Mr. Shen, the new song you sang at the closing ceremony was very popular. Can you share with us the inspiration for composing this song?”

Shen Lang explained: “The inspiration for this song mainly comes from China’s traditional culture. I hope to show the charm of Chinese culture to the world through modern music. At the same time, I also want to express a spirit of self-improvement and advocating martial virtues.”

Reporters’ questions came at him one after another like a machine gun. He smiled and calmly selected those valuable questions that he could answer and responded.

Each of his answers was clear and his words were full of humility and grace.

Tang Yan was completely ignored, but she was not disappointed at all. With Shen Lang around, it was normal for her to not receive attention.

In fact, some people recognized her. She played Lin Yueru in “The Legend of Sword and Fairy 1” and was quite famous.

then……

The scandal started again. (End of this chapter)