Chang An

In today's abundant online world, where diverse opinions and performances are readily available, it's strikingly reminiscent of the Tang Dynasty portrayed by the director Junwei Xie in this movie. Everyone has the opportunity to showcase their talents, express themselves through various means like poetry, music, politics, or dance to gain recognition and success. Particularly, the choice of Li Bai, a figure familiar to every Chinese, serves as a stark contrast in the rise and fall of the great Tang Dynasty.

Li Bai's wild and unrestrained lifestyle, when analyzed through his lines in the film, reveals that he too faced hardships. His quest for enlightenment led him to learn avian magic, and his military pursuits led to an unconventional expertise in wrestling. If we were to compare the other outstanding talents of the Tang Dynasty like Du Fu, Wang Wei, Wu Daozi, and even Li Bai himself, using Gao Shi's down-to-earth and stable approach, it might seem a bit exaggerated and biased. After all, as Gao Shi himself pointed out, serving with utmost dedication doesn't guarantee people's affection because what he solidified was the dynasty, while scholar-officials like Du Fu, Wang Wei, and others aimed to improve the system for the betterment of the people. This parallel can be seen in today's international society, where beloved social media influencers may not necessarily be at the forefront of defending their nation's interests.

This movie tells the story of Gao Shi's life.

One of my favorite part is when Gao Shi and Li Bai help Guo Zi Yi. While Gao Shi was sleeping in a small house. Li Bai suddenly get in. He said that he had found out that An Lu Shan is going to rebel. At this time a strong man come out of another room, he is Guo Zi Yi. Some bad men came to arrest Li Bai, they rushed in the room, but they are stopped by Guo Zi Yi, they failed and run away.

Guo Zi Yi said that some others will come here to arrest me. Li Bai disagreed. Just as Guo Zi Yi and Li Bai are arguing, Gao Shi said, "I had some business with Ge Shu Han before, I will go to ask him for help." In the end Li Bai and Guo She helped Guo Zi Yi.

This story tells a lot about Li Bai and Gao Shi. It also tells about some of the history and literature. I lost myself when watching this movie, and makes me feel excited!

Sofia, 9 years old, Jan. 23. 2024.

Chang An is yet another historical Chinese animated film, and although there is some lionization of the Tang Dynasty, it is refreshingly portrayed as flawed. Not so much for the "Tubo" (Tibetan) army, which are portrayed as cackling villains, but oh well.

The story focuses mostly on the life of Li Bai, which is portrayed as quite exccentric, leading to some levity for the film. We see his rise from merchant's son to one of history's most celebrated poets.

The animation is standard CGI, somewhere between photorealistic and stylized enough that the main characters don't fall into the uncanny valley. In fact, the rather cartoonish designs often clash with the more violent massacre scenes in the movie.

Overall a historical curiosity.

There should definably be more historical movies like this where the overall culture and the mentality and the struggles of a people are portrayed without the gloom and gore where the plot gets lost in sometimes.

I honestly was mesmerized by how involving and meaningful and well rounded the story was. It introduced Chinese culture to me as it was never presented to me before, how poetry is well rooted in Chinese collective lives and the logic set people in that era put together to make decisions, and the hierarchy between the people.

Light chaser animation has been doing great work with keeping a balance between culture, story and character over the past few movies. I just hope they don't sabotage this reputation with adding nudity & adultery, ruining the great Chinese animation vibe they have built.

Chang'an's glow once illuminated the Silk Road, its poetry crystallizing the Tang dynasty's golden age in every brushstroke. The moonlit verses of Li Bai still ripple in scholars' wine cups, while palace dances survive as ink traces on moth-eaten silk.

These echoes persist-not in the phoenix-painted lanterns nor jade hairpins' chime but in the human pulse beneath dynastic dust. Each generation rebuilds Chang'an: Song scholars layered it with philosophical chrysanthemums, and Ming architects crowned it with crimson gates, yet the original melody lingers like a half-remembered tune.

We who parse these fragments-are we restorers of glory, or mere scribes chronicling our displacement? Perhaps to comprehend this longing, one must taste plum wine where nightingales sing Tang quatrains or feel autumn wind slip through a ruined moon gate, carrying Du Fu's sigh across eight centuries.