Chapter 1 Reborn in America

  "On October 1, 2015 Beijing time, this day was a celebratory day for all of China because it was the 66th birthday of the People's Republic of China. However, this day was also a disaster not only for all of China but also for the whole world, as on this day China's greatest scientist, writer, artist and president of the Chinese Taoist Association, Mr. Song Tang, who was known as the smartest person in the 21st century, passed away due to illness at just twenty-five years old. On that day, countless people sighed for him, and Mr. Song Tang's passing was absolutely a disaster for all of China."

  January 2, 1992, Los Angeles Chinatown, Song family villa bedroom. On the spacious bed lay a young man about ten years old, with a pale face but extraordinary good looks. This young man was called Song Tang, and he was the only son of Song Yuanqiao, the old master of the Song family in Los Angeles Chinatown. Old Master Song Yuanqiao was a famous businessman during the Republic of China era, and after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he went to the United States to make a living because he did not want to see the civil war situation in his hometown again. After half a century of hard work, the Song family had become a symbol of Los Angeles Chinatown, with family businesses covering finance, heavy industry, internet, film and television, and metallurgy. Although the family's assets were not comparable to those of top American families, they were still worth over $10 billion.

  An elderly man stood beside a middle-aged couple who looked sorrowful, they were the old man's son Song Yaohui and his daughter-in-law Liu Ying.

  At this time, the young man lying on the bed struggled to make a sound: "Ah, my head hurts so much, where am I?"

  A middle-aged woman who was heartbroken suddenly heard her son's voice from the bed, and she was overjoyed. She rushed to the bedside and grabbed Song Tang's hand, shouting: "Tang Er, you finally woke up, Mom was worried to death!"

  The middle-aged woman next to Old Man Song Yuanqiao and Liu Ying's husband, Song Yaohui, also looked tense. The two of them opened their mouths but didn't say a word, however, the deep concern on their faces betrayed their inner emotions.

  Song Tang, who was lying on the bed, struggled to open his eyes and found that he was not in his familiar bedroom or hospital, but rather in a Western-style villa. He suddenly felt confused and wondered if someone had moved him to a Western country.

  In a daze, Song Tang seemed to hear someone calling his name, somewhat familiar yet somewhat strange. Opening his eyes, Song Tang looked around and saw an old man and a middle-aged man standing beside his bed. There was also a woman in her 40s sitting on the bedside, her eyes shining with tears as she tightly grasped Song Tang's hand.

  Seeing the beautiful woman holding his hand by the bedside, Song Tang suddenly felt a warm current flowing through his heart, and he involuntarily shouted: "Mom, don't worry, I'm fine!" It wasn't until then that Song Tang realized something was off, and he tensely looked at Liu Ying.

  Liu Ying heard her son's voice, and suddenly turned from crying to laughing, holding Song Tang's hand and rubbing it: "Puff, it's okay if nothing's wrong, but you've worried me to death."

  Song Tang adjusted his mood quickly and said, "Mom, I want to rest quietly for a while."

  "Alright, as long as Tanger is awake and okay, you rest quietly for now. I'll go out with your dad." Although Liu Ying really hoped to spend some time with her son, she chose to respect his wishes and took Liu Yaohui and the old man out of the bedroom.

  After seeing the three people off, Song Tang carefully looked around and found that he was indeed not in a familiar place. Just then, a large amount of information suddenly flooded into his mind.

  It wasn't until then that Song Tang discovered he had encountered a dogshit plot, and he had actually crossed over to a Chinese-American family in 1990s Los Angeles. Moreover, it was a soul crossover, but fortunately, the young man's name was also Song Tang, and he still retained his previous memories.

  Even if it was the previous life of Song Tang, who was highly talented and all-knowing, he couldn't find the reason for this at that time. After accepting his past memories, Song Tang discovered that his body in this life had a lot in common with his previous one, sharing similar interests and hobbies, and being extremely intelligent. At 18 years old, Song Tang already held multiple doctoral degrees and was an outstanding graduate of the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. He independently produced several short films at a young age, all of which achieved good box office results. However, unlike before, the current Song Tang is no longer like his previous life; he is now a leukemia patient and an unloved orphan with no one to care for him.

  Song Tang not only has a healthy body, but also a happy family. His grandfather was an early entrepreneur who went to the United States and his father took over the business after him, making their family company develop rapidly. Song Tang's mother Liu Ying is from a red family in China, her grandfather was a founding contributor of China, although he has passed away for a long time, but Liu Ying's father and several uncles have high power in two sessions of CPPCC.

  As for Song Tang's healthy physique, according to his memory, it was all learned from the family butler Li Bo. What was Li Bo's real name, there was no record in Song Tang's mind, he only heard his mother Liu Ying mention that Li Bo used to be her father's bodyguard and also Song Tang's uncle's bodyguard, who was sent to protect Liu Ying when she studied in the United States, after Liu Ying married Song Tang's father Song Yao Hui, Li Bo became their family butler.

  Li Bo didn't know why he never married and had children, but after Song Tang was born, he treated him like his own grandson and loved him dearly. Li Bo also practiced a skillful Bagua Palm, and when he saw Song Tang again, he taught it to him. Li Bo originally liked Song Tang, and since Song Tang indeed had a good talent, he passed on his Bagua Palm skills to him. Over the past decade or so, Song Tang has developed a great physique, which made him extremely happy.

  According to the memories in his mind, Song Tang knew that the reason he could travel through time and occupy this body was because yesterday was New Year's Day in '92. 18-year-old Song Tang, who was considered an adult, had his first drink, but unexpectedly slept and became someone else.

  The first night after Song Tang's transmigration passed quietly, and he thought to himself that perhaps it was due to the aftereffects of his soul's transmigration. Before long, Song Tang began to fall asleep. In his dream, he experienced a sense of family love and romantic love that he had never felt before. In his dream, he became a film director and shone brightly at the Oscars ceremony. In his dream, he held a grand wedding with over a dozen Hollywood stars, including Jessica Alba, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Sophie Marceau, Monica Bellucci, and Madonna, all of whom were familiar to him from his past life and became one of his brides.

  In short, Song Tang dreamed of his future life that night.

  Perhaps it was God's arrangement to compensate myself for coming into this world.

  No one would have thought that the new generation of Hollywood film emperor started his legendary life in the Song family villa in Los Angeles Chinatown.

  Establishment of Film Art:

  For a while after the invention of film, people saw it as a means of recording reality. The Lumière brothers made some short documentaries: "The Factory Gate", "Baby Drinking Soup" and "Train Entering Station". These films were faithful records of everyday life without any artistic embellishment. For example, in "The Factory Gate", the camera was fixed on the factory gate, faithfully reproducing the scene of workers leaving after a day's work: first men and women workers left on foot or by bicycle one after another, then the factory owner left by car, and finally the gatekeeper came out to close the two large gates.

  The films shot by the Lumiere brothers were, strictly speaking, not yet considering film as an art form, but simply a simple recording of life. The Lumiere brothers themselves also said: "The subjects I choose can prove that what I want to do is just record life." It can be seen that the principle of realism advocated by the Lumiere brothers. This approach almost killed this new art form in its infancy. Because the initial excitement caused by film was due to the audience's curiosity about seeing living people and activities on the screen, they came to watch movies to satisfy their curiosity. After satisfying their curiosity, they began to feel bored with films, thinking that there was nothing new about them. As a result, the number of people watching movies gradually decreased.

  It was Georges Méliès of France who truly broke through the limitations of film's realism and linked it with dramatic art, thus finding a new way out for film.

  Méliès was a French theatre manager specializing in magic and drama. When the Lumière brothers' Cinématographe invention became public, he became very interested. Soon he bought one of their machines and began to experiment with film technology. Between 1897 and 1912, Méliès made over 400 films in his studio, using a combination of stage magic and special effects.

  Unlike the Lumière brothers, Méliès emphasized the narrative and theatrical aspects of film, introducing stories and characters to convey meaning. His works include Cinderella, The Vanishing Lady, A Trip to the Moon (as shown in Figure 1-2: Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon, France, 1902), and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. These films incorporated elements of theater, including scripts, actors, costumes, props, makeup, sets, special effects, and scene changes, into film production. Méliès pioneered the use of artificial scenery in filmmaking, overcoming the limitations of early cinema as a mere recording device and enhancing its artistic value. His experiments ultimately contributed to film becoming an art form. In a sense, his efforts saved cinema, encouraging audiences not only to return to movie theaters but also to appreciate it as an art form.

  The movie, this young art, has since embarked on a new development path.