: Dragon Prince's Appearance - White Dragon or Black Dragon?

June is definitely a great time to visit Kyoto.

Neither hot nor cold.

Not dry or brittle.

A gentle breeze blows, birds sing, and flowers bloom.

Zhou Yan got up around 6 a.m. to get ready, his face full of excitement and his spirits high.

After a quick breakfast, Zhou Yan waited at the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio.

At that time, there weren't many extras at the Beijing Film Studio. Keep in mind that this was 1998, and actors' salaries weren't particularly high. Very few people could make money making movies back then.

Unlike 10 years later, when the entertainment industry experienced a boom, with box office revenue soaring and actors' salaries skyrocketing.

In the era of internet traffic, it has reached an even more terrifying level.

Zhou Yan didn't have to wait long before he saw Yang Jie and his group, and hurriedly went over to greet them.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the group set off for Miyun Reservoir to take photos.

On the bus, Zhou Yan also met Teacher Liu and others.

The crowd wasn't particularly curious about Zhou Yan's appearance, given the large number of people and the many unfamiliar faces.

Zhou Yan didn't go forward to disturb them, and began to conceive martial arts moves in his mind.

Upon arriving at Miyun Reservoir, everyone busied themselves with preparations, some setting up the scene, others applying makeup.

After getting out of the car, Zhou Yan couldn't help but look around.

The Miyun Reservoir is surrounded by mountains, resembling a long dragon lying on the opposite side.

The mountain is covered with green pines and cypresses, lush and verdant like a canopy.

The water glistens, and the banks are covered with lush grass.

Because it was early morning, the rising sun painted the sky with vibrant colors, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Just as Zhou Yan was strolling around, a voice came from outside, "Little Zhou, come here for a second!"

"Director, you're here!" Zhou Yan heard this and jogged over.

"This is our crew's stylist—Yang Yunfei, nicknamed Yaya. She's also my daughter, older than you. You can just call her Sister Yaya," Yang Jie introduced the person next to him to Zhou Yan.

"Hello, Sister Ya Ya," Zhou Yan said, extending her hand immediately.

"Hello," Yang Yunfei extended her hand and gently shook hands with Zhou Yan.

"My mom told me about you last night, but I didn't expect you to be so handsome," Yang Yunfei joked.

Zhou Yan has excellent physical attributes and a refined temperament, which is the kind of "a gentleman as beautiful as jade, unparalleled in the world".

Her appearance was exquisite and three-dimensional, with well-proportioned features, especially her eyes, which were large and bright, as dazzling as gemstones.

His physique is beyond question: 1.85 meters tall with 1.2-meter legs, upright posture like a pine tree, well-proportioned and symmetrical, he is simply a walking clothes rack.

"What nonsense are you talking about, you little brat?" Yang Jie glared at his daughter. "Take Xiao Zhou to try on the clothes first and see how they look."

"I know," Yang Yunfei said with a smile, not angry at being scolded by her mother. "Come with me."

"Okay," Zhou Yan followed Yang Yunfei to the makeup area.

"I'll do your makeup myself in a bit. You can tell me what you think," Yang Yunfei said. Perhaps it was because Zhou Yan was so good-looking, or perhaps it was because Zhou Yan had saved Yang Jie's life, but Yang Yunfei had a very good impression of him.

"I believe in your skills," Zhou Yan said with great anticipation.

Although the costumes in "Journey to the West II" have some flaws, such as the heavy makeup of Guanyin Bodhisattva, they are still quite outstanding overall.

"You're just saying nice things. I'll turn you into an ugly monster later," Yang Yunfei joked with Zhou Yan.

The two quickly arrived at the makeup area. By then, everyone had already left, so no one was competing with Zhou Yan for the makeup room, and the makeup process went very smoothly.

Yang Yunfei has excellent makeup skills, and Zhou Yan's natural features are also quite good.

Before long, a completely new Zhou Yan appeared in front of the mirror.

Her eyebrows resembled distant green peaks, and her eyes were like autumn water reflecting cold stars.

Her ink-black hair, like clouds, cascaded down her jade crown; her noble character is beyond the reach of any painting.

At this moment, Zhou Yan was like a banished immortal who had stepped out of a painting, exuding an ethereal aura and possessing a natural heroic spirit.

Yang Yunfei was also a little stunned. She knew that Zhou Yan's styling would be good, but she didn't expect it to be this good.

"Zhou Yan, it's a pity you're not acting in period dramas with your looks," Yang Yunfei exclaimed sincerely.

"Thank you for the compliment, Sister Ya Ya. It's mainly because of your excellent skills," Zhou Yan said, very satisfied with her makeup and styling, constantly admiring herself in the mirror.

She wore a jade crown and her hair cascaded down her back.

He possessed a handsome and refined appearance, with an air of otherworldly grace.

He's getting more and more handsome the more you look at him.

"I almost forgot," Yang Yunfei said, looking at Zhou Yan as if she had remembered something, and quickly took out a box.

Zhou Yan was taken aback when he saw what was inside the box.

"Sister Ya Ya, what's this?"

"Apply cinnabar to the space between your eyebrows."

"No, please!" Zhou Yan hurriedly stopped Ya Ya when she saw her sister about to take it out.

"What's wrong?" Sister Ya Ya looked at Zhou Yan with great confusion.

"Sister, I'm playing the Dragon Prince, not Red Boy; I'm a celestial being from Heaven, not a Bodhisattva from Mount Ling. Giving me this cinnabar is less appealing than giving me a pair of dragon horns," Zhou Yan said, not wanting a "red bean" on his forehead, as it felt rather incongruous.

"Wouldn't that be a bit out of place?" Yang Yunfei asked hesitantly.

"You'll know once you try it!"

"Alright," Yang Yunfei immediately went to the props department and found a few pairs of dragon horns.

There are red ones, white ones, gold ones, and cyan ones.

Zhou Yan chose white.

Yang Yunfei didn't say much, and immediately put the dragon horn on the other person's forehead.

After the dragon horns were attached, Zhou Yan's demeanor changed again, transforming him from a noble young master into a dragon prince!

"Good, good, good!" Yang Yunfei looked at Zhou Yan and exclaimed "good" three times.

"This look is great!" Yang Yunfei was also very happy. She didn't expect that the dragon horns and Zhou Yan would match so well. It looked much better than the red cinnabar.

"Right? I think it's pretty good too," Zhou Yan said, looking at herself in the mirror with satisfaction.

"I'll take you to choose clothes," Yang Yunfei said, already eager to see all of Zhou Yan's outfits.

Unlike the original Journey to the West, the sequel to Journey to the West had a much larger budget, and its costumes and props were much more elaborate and luxurious.

Yang Yunfei chose a black brocade robe and long boots.

"Try this," Yang Yunfei said, taking the black brocade robe from her hand and handing it to Zhou Yan.

"Okay," Zhou Yan said, taking the clothes to the fitting room.

Not long after, Zhou Yan came out dressed in black brocade.

Seeing Zhou Yan walk out, Yang Yunfei couldn't help but clap her hands softly.

"Not bad, not bad," Yang Yunfei thought with boundless admiration for Yang Jie. "Mom's judgment is truly sharp; this Zhou Yan is a born dragon prince."

"The sleeves are a bit short," Zhou Yan said, holding out his hand for Yang Yunfei to see, noting that the sleeves were a bit too short.

"Indeed," Yang Yunfei nodded. The length of the hem didn't matter, but the sleeves were too unsightly.

"Wang Jie, Wang Jie," Yang Yunfei called out, turning her head to the south.

"Coming, coming," only the voice could be heard, but the person could not be seen.

But soon, a middle-aged man ran over, wearing a baseball cap, with a full beard, a round face, and a chubby appearance, somewhat resembling Xiu Rui from later generations.

"Brother Jie, do you still have Prince Moang's clothes in a larger size?" Yang Yunfei asked.

Wang Jie is in charge of managing costumes and props; you can't go wrong with him.

"There's also a white outfit, which should suit him," Wang Jie said after looking Zhou Yan up and down.

"White?" Yang Yunfei frowned slightly. "No black ones?"

"This young man is a bit tall, and the black clothes are all a bit small," Wang Jie shook his head. It wasn't that there weren't any black clothes available, but rather that none of the black clothes suited him.

"Yaya, where did you find this actress? She has a great look," Wang Jie couldn't help but praise.

"This role was chosen by my mother," Yang Yunfei replied.

"Do you have any suitable clothes for the other characters? I can help her put together outfits," Yang Yunfei said, still somewhat unwilling to give up.

"Ya Ya, let me tell you the truth, none of the costumes for Prince Moang are suitable for him. The white costume I was talking about was actually for Wang Weiguo, who plays the White Elephant Spirit."

"Our crew prepared two sets of clothes for the White Elephant Spirit. The first set was a bit too thin and didn't fit the image of the White Elephant Spirit, so we didn't use it."

"I think this young man is quite tall, probably over 1.8 meters," Wang Jie said, looking at Zhou Yan.

"One meter eighty-five," Zhou Yan nodded.

"That's perfect. Wang Weiguo is 1.8 meters tall, and you're only 5 centimeters apart in height. Since you're both on the thinner side, it won't look too tight on you. It'll fit you just right."

"But, it's a white dress," Yang Yunfei sighed.

"Sister Ya Ya, what's wrong with the white clothes?" Zhou Yan pretended not to understand.

"The Dragon King of the West Sea in Journey to the West is a black dragon, so Prince Moang should also be a black dragon," Yang Yunfei explained, thinking that Zhou Yan hadn't noticed this detail.

"That's not right," Zhou Yan said, his face showing confusion. "In mythology, isn't the Dragon King of the West Sea white? And the little white dragon is also white. They are father and son, shouldn't they be the same?"

According to mythology, the Dragon King of the West Sea is a white dragon. Since the west is associated with metal, and metal is associated with white, the guardian beast of the west is the "White Tiger".

The Dragon King of the North Sea is a black dragon because the north belongs to water, and water is associated with black. In ancient times, black was associated with the character "玄" (xuan), so the guardian beast of the north is "玄武" (xuanwu).

"Hmm?" Zhou Yan's sudden question startled Yang Yunfei, who didn't know how to answer.

"Is it possible that the White Dragon's mother was the White Dragon, and the White Dragon inherited his mother's good qualities?"

"Prince Moang and the White Dragon are siblings from the same mother, so it's possible that the White Dragon is the White Dragon."

Yang Yunfei nodded blankly, "That makes sense."

"The original work does not describe Prince Moang as a black dragon, so whether he is black or white is up to us."

Upon hearing Yang Yunfei's words, Wang Jie immediately ran off, saying, "I'll go get the clothes."

"You try on the clothes first, and I'll check my appearance first," Yang Yunfei said, not dwelling on the matter too much.

Their filming of "Journey to the West" wasn't so rigid. What does adaptation mean?

It definitely needs to be changed.

For example, in the original novel "Journey to the West", Ao Moang is described as using a golden mace, while in the sequel to "Journey to the West", Ao Moang is depicted using a long spear.

For example, the original text of "Journey to the West" describes Sun Wukong as "less than four feet tall," which is definitely not the case with Liu Laoshi.

Their casting choices don't necessarily respect the original work entirely; everything is for the sake of artistic effect.

Wang Jie quickly came in with the clothes.

"Try it on," Wang Jie said, handing the clothes to Zhou Yan.

"Okay," Zhou Yan took the clothes and went into the fitting room.

Zhou Yan took off his clothes and put on a white brocade robe.

This white brocade robe is made of very fine material, with a bright luster and a very smooth texture; the materials used are also extremely exquisite.

The clothes are adorned with golden patterns, making them exquisite.

Zhou Yan came out after changing her clothes.

Wang Jie and Yang Yunfei, who were chatting, both turned their heads to look over.

Both of them were somewhat surprised when they saw Zhou Yan dressed in white.