#i was rewatching a cheng yi interview and suddenly remembered that xsy one as a comparison. so here we are

[qilingxiong]

“整个《莲花楼》大家只是在一个悬疑探案的，这样一个故事情节的大的框架里面，但更多地写的就是这些角色身上的爱恨情仇。我觉得这些是更重要的一点。因为现在的现实世界，没有更多能够感受得到武侠里面的那些情感。但我们反而可以从影视作品中，我们可以从故事里面，从角色身上体会到这种感觉。”

"In Mysterious Lotus Casebook, everyone is wrapped up in this overarching plot of suspense and mystery, but it's also about these characters and the love, hate, and sentiments they bear. I think all of that is a little more important. Because in today's real world, we don't have as many opportunities to feel the emotions we find within wuxia. But instead, we can experience them through film and television, through stories, through putting ourselves in the places of these characters." — Xiao Shunyao

“每个时代的侠都是不一样的，每个人都可以成为侠者。你包括出去，看到有一个老奶奶突然过马路，你去扶她一下，这都是侠。怎么说，就是江湖虽远，侠义永存。这个点我就觉得你自己只要相信有，那肯定就会有。”

"What a xia looks like is different in every era, and everyone has the potential to become a xia. Including, [for example], if you went out and saw an old lady suddenly trying to cross the street, and went to support her. That too, is xia. How do I put it? Although the jianghu is distant, xiayi is eternal. When it comes to this, I think that as long as you believe that it exists, then it will." — Cheng Yi

I adore the contrast in how CY and XSY view xiayi and the jianghu, and their roles acting as a part of it. For XSY, xiayi is experienced through the huge, sweeping emotions of these wuxia stories, while for CY it's about the mundane actions that still stem from a sense of chivalry and righteousness, however small. As well, to XSY wuxia media is a path for one to escape into the jianghu and live vicariously for a while, but for CY it's a way to bring part of the jianghu into one's own everyday life. It's interesting to see how their views differ, and how those understandings of wuxia translated to/shaped their characters (because if you look at DFS and LLH, they absolutely did). These two are such dedicated actors. I could listen to them talk forever about things like this.