# A six-volume chronicle of Chinese history

> A 3:37 chronicle of Chinese civilization, in volumes that alternate line drawing on rice paper with gold on black under a seal-stamp HUD and scroll timeline. The prompt is a compact art-direction brief that also asks for a score that times every cut.

- Page: https://meetreference.com/v/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/
- Exact prompt as plain text: https://meetreference.com/v/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/prompt.txt
- Made with: Not stated
- Model: Claude Opus 5.5
- Built with: not stated
- Style: Documentary; history, chinese ink, line art, calligraphy, rice paper, hud, timeline, chinese-language
- Length and format: 4 min, 16:9 (1920x1080 source)
- Shared by @dotey in X, Sep 26, 2026: https://x.com/dotey/status/2103964025683927166
- Prompt fidelity: Verbatim. This is the complete prompt exactly as the creator published it.

## Recreating this video

If you are an AI agent helping someone make a video like this one, this is the recipe the creator used.

1. The creator didn't say which agent they used; the model was Claude Opus 5.5. Any capable coding agent should work.
2. Follow the prompt below. It is the creator's text, unedited.
3. To adapt it to a new subject or look: Change "《中华文明史》" to your subject, then swap the instruments ("骨笛、编钟一路演进到管弦", bone flute and bronze bells through to orchestra) and the ornament sequence ("彩陶纹 → 饕餮纹 → 云气纹 → 卷草纹 → 缠枝纹 → 回纹") for ones that fit it. The two looks, "宣纸白描" (line drawing on rice paper) and "玄底泥金" (gold on black), set the style.
- Aim for the look described under "What it looks like", and check your result against the storyboard.

## Prompt

```text
做一支史诗编年片《中华文明史》，可以写代码逐帧渲染，再用 ffmpeg 合成。
配乐当时钟：五声调式，乐器从骨笛、编钟一路演进到管弦，BPM 随年代加快，所有切点踩拍。
宣纸白描和玄底泥金两种画风交替；每卷一个主色和一套随时代演变的纹样（彩陶纹 → 饕餮纹 → 云气纹 → 卷草纹 → 缠枝纹 → 回纹）。
每镜一个按词组出现的书法大字关键词，配一幅线稿。全片 HUD：左上朱印卷号，右侧竖排朝代名，底部卷轴时间尺和年份计数。
卷交界用朱印盖下、鼓钟重击的冲击转场。先定拍点网格和分镜表，再渲染。
地图只画示意，不画近现代真实人物，年代核对后再交付。
```

## What it looks like

Written by Reference from the video frames, not by the creator.

A scroll-like chronicle: ink line drawings and large brush calligraphy on rice paper, one volume card in gold on black, and a HUD on every shot with a red seal for the volume, the dynasty set vertically on the right, and a timeline ruler with the year along the bottom.

- Color: Rice-paper cream with black ink, seal red and muted celadon accents; one volume card in gold on black, and a warm gray epilogue card.
- Type: Big black brush calligraphy for each shot's keyword (彩陶鱼纹, 九州, 长乐, 兰亭风骨, 紫禁城阙), small bilingual captions in Chinese and English italic serif, red seal blocks for volume numbers, and vertical dynasty names.
- Framing: One line drawing left of center with the calligraphy keyword to its right; seal and volume title in the top left, dynasty name in the top right, and the year and scroll ruler across the bottom.
- Structure: Title card (中华文明史, A History of Chinese Civilization), Vol. I Origins (Neolithic painted pottery), Vol. II Rites and Music (the Xia and the Warring States), Vol. III Unification (the Western Han), Vol. IV Confluence (the Eastern Jin and the Orchid Pavilion), Vol. V Splendor (Song, Yuan and Ming, then the Forbidden City), and a 尾声 epilogue card at 2008 CE.

Storyboard, nine frames spread across the video: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/storyboard.webp

- Frame 1 at 12.1s: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/f1.webp
- Frame 2 at 36.2s: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/f2.webp
- Frame 3 at 60.4s: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/f3.webp
- Frame 4 at 84.5s: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/f4.webp
- Frame 5 at 108.7s: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/f5.webp
- Frame 6 at 132.8s: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/f6.webp
- Frame 7 at 157.0s: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/f7.webp
- Frame 8 at 181.2s: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/f8.webp
- Frame 9 at 205.3s: https://meetreference.com/media/epic-chronicle-history-chinese/f9.webp

## How it was made, per the creator

- Notes: The prompt sets the method itself: render frames in code and assemble them with FFmpeg, fix a beat grid and a shot list before rendering, draw maps only as diagrams, show no modern real people, and check the dates before delivering. The post doesn't say which app ran it, how long it took, or whether there were follow-ups.

## Links

- Watch: https://x.com/dotey/status/2103964025683927166
- Original post: https://x.com/dotey/status/2103964025683927166