百里挑一Hamas 'Day of Rage' protests break out in Middle East and beyond_我的网站
一 |  There was no narration explaining the mythology behind palaces rising above an ocean of clouds in the video, nor subtitles identifying the heavenly gates, cranes or tiny figures moving beneath them. Yet viewers outside China quickly began naming the world for themselves. Some called it "paradise." Others saw a "Celestial Palace" or an "Immortal Realm" familiar from Chinese fantasy games and television dramas. One user wrote, "Waiting on Wukong to show up," invoking the Monkey King from the Chinese literary classic "Journey to the West," or the hit game "Black Myth: Wukong." The interpretations differed, but viewers did not seem to need the same cultural knowledge to enter the conversation. Earlier this month, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning shared the 33-second AI-generated video on social media with a question: "What does the Chinese heaven look like?" It opened up a hermeneutic discussion, with responses overseas suggesting a cultural image does not necessarily need to elicit exactly the same interpretation for everyone in order for it to be viewed meaningfully. "The right to interpret ultimately lies with the audience," said Zhang Zheng, deputy dean of Tsinghua University's School of Journalism and Communication. People encountering unfamiliar cultures inevitably draw on what they already know, Zhang said. Rather than fully grasping every cultural reference, what matters is whether audiences can encounter the work, understand it and respond to it emotionally. Before strangers abroad could interpret this particular world, however, it first had to get out of one man's head. Chen Aijun, 34, is an optometrist in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. By day, Chen leads a quiet, down-to-earth life in a neighborhood optical shop. Inside, he worked among eyeglass frames and optometry equipment. On his computer was another landscape entirely: cloud seas, immense palaces, flying cranes and figures in ancient robes. Chen's heaven did not come from any single ancient text. Growing up in the 1990s, he watched "Journey to the West" and later encountered "The Investiture of the Gods," xianxia (immortal heroes) novels and fantasy games. Those stories mixed over time with images of Chinese architecture and landscapes he saw online. He has never visited nearby Mount Emei, and most of what he knows of Mount Huangshan's famous sea of clouds comes from videos. What appeared on his screen was therefore not a reconstruction of one fixed mythological scene, but a world shaped by traditional stories already filtered through television, novels, games, the internet and his own memory. For years, Chen had no way to make that world visible. He never studied painting, design, photography or 3D modeling. After high school, he joined his parents' optical business and eventually took over the shop. Generative AI changed the gap between imagining an image and possessing the technical skills to show it to someone else. More than a year ago, Chen began teaching himself through free online tutorials. In September 2025, he started regularly posting AI videos, and a month later began experimenting with palaces floating above clouds. He has since published more than 200 videos. The process, however, involves far more than entering a few prompts. The technology lowered the technical threshold, but it did not make the choices for him. When creating Nantianmen, the mythical heavenly gate, Chen first defines the spatial rhythm and tonal hierarchy, pairing towering architecture and cloud seas with deliberately miniature figures to amplify the celestial realm's grand scale. If the result does not match the picture in his mind, he tries again. He often generates over 1,000 images a day, revising a single scene repeatedly before moving on to animation, editing, color grading and music. The machine can generate a thousand possible heavens. Chen still has to decide which one is his. "AI-produced images can be soulless, and it takes human inspiration and aesthetic sensibility to endow works with warmth and vitality," he said. Zhang believes Chen's experience reflects a broader shift brought about by generative AI. He said AI is giving people without conventional artistic training access to forms of expression that once required specialized skills. But what they create still depends on what they bring to the tool. "A person's existing knowledge inevitably shapes how they use AI," Zhang said. Chen brought his memories to the machine. Viewers abroad, in turn, brought theirs to the image. "Everyone brings their own associations to these scenes," he said. If his imagined world had to be reduced to three elements, he would keep clouds, architecture and people. The first two should feel immense, he said, while the last should remain small. The details are culturally specific, but the visual effect is more immediate: tiny human figures dwarfed by vast clouds and monumental architecture. The responses suggest that viewers did not need to understand every cultural reference to find a way into the image. Chen has no overseas social media accounts and learned that the video was attracting attention abroad only when friends sent him screenshots. His life at the optical shop has changed little. He still checks eyesight and fits glasses when customers come in, then returns to his computer when the shop grows quiet. He now hopes to make longer AI videos with fuller stories. He also wants to visit Mount Emei and, one day, Mount Huangshan. For years, images of distant mountains and clouds reached Chen through screens. His imagined landscapes later traveled through screens to people he had never met. Now he wants to see the real mountains and clouds for himself.  。 Pro-Palestinian protests broke out across the Middle East and beyond on Friday after a former Hamas leader called on supporters to join in a "Day of Rage" amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.Large protests have been seen in the capitals of Iraq, where a rally drew tens of thousands of people; Iran; and Yemen, with those gathered holding Palestinian flags. In Iran, some protesters could be seen burning the Israeli and American flags.In Beirut, Lebanon, supporters of the political party and militant group Hezbollah held a rally supporting Palestinians and denouncing Israel. "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" chants reverberated across a crowd of at least a couple thousand, as Hezbollah leaders vowed to stand by Hamas.In Jordan, riot police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters who were approaching a border zone with the West Bank, according to Reuters.Elsewhere, protests in support of Palestinians have been held in countries including Japan, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.The protests come after former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal called for a day of "anger" across the Muslim world on Friday in support of the Palestinians and against the Israel strikes in Gaza. Meshaal also urged those in neighboring countries to join the fight against Israel."Deliver a message, through the squares and the streets, a message of anger, that we are with Palestine, that we are with Gaza," Meshaal said, adding, "that we are a part of this battle."Ahead of the anticipated protests, the Israeli government has urged Israelis abroad to take extra caution amid concerns the call for action could turn violent.In France, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin ordered a ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations because they were likely to disrupt public order, the Agence France-Presse reported. Hungary and Germany have also banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations.Cities across the United States have also heightened security due to the protests."We are deeply disturbed by the message of hate. It is not acceptable," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday during a briefing on the city's security plans, which include surging additional police resources to schools and houses of worship "to ensure that they are safe."The "Day of Rage" comes nearly a week after Hamas militants launched a brutal, expansive surprise attack on Israel, firing thousands of rockets toward southern Israel and ambushing kibbutzim near the Gaza border. In response, Israel declared war and vowed to destroy Hamas.At least 1,300 people have died and 3,227 others have been injured in Israel following Hamas' attack, Israeli authorities said. In Gaza, at least 1,799 people have been killed and an estimated 7,388 more injured in retaliatory strikes from Israel, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.With a possible ground incursion into Gaza looming, Israel's military early Friday directed the evacuation of northern Gaza -- home to 1.1 million people -- within 24 hours.。 Current article:http://www.cuancuguanzhongnieqinyazhun.cyou/de7t/sd48x.docx Published on:19:40:52 |
