[Explanation] Recently, "I was in the Forbidden City for 600 Years" was broadcast online. The film tells the history of the Forbidden City for 600 years and the unique story passed down from generation to generation by the protectors of the old, middle and young people in the 70 years since the founding of New China.
Liang Junjian, director of the documentary "Six Hundred Years in the Forbidden City" and associate professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University, was interviewed by a reporter from China News Agency in Beijing.
[Explanation] Shooting a documentary about the Forbidden City in a special year like 2020, Liang Junjian expressed more insight.
[Concurrent] Liang Junjian, director of the documentary "I was in the Forbidden City for six hundred years"
The Forbidden City is a place where it stays quietly no matter what changes outside.
It has been in these six hundred years, six hundred years of wind and sun, six hundred years of vicissitudes of life, six hundred years of various historical changes, it is still there.
So I think it will bring us a kind of quiet and calm power.
[Commentary] Following the 2015 documentary "I repaired cultural relics in the Forbidden City", the sequel "I was in the Forbidden City for six hundred years" started with the exhibition "Dan Chen Yonggu" held last year. Time clues for 600 years of the Forbidden City.
Liang Junjian said that, unlike the previous film, the new film will jump out of the capital and make a special trip to Fengyang, Suzhou, Linqing and other places to shoot, looking forward to telling a story of the Forbidden City that transcends Beijing and beyond.
[Concurrent] Liang Junjian, director of the documentary "I was in the Forbidden City for six hundred years"
When Ming Cheng Zu Zhu Di built the Forbidden City, artisans came from all over the country, and the building materials, bricks, stones, tiles, and wood also came from different places.
It is hoped that the broader traditional Chinese culture and the unique local products represented behind the Forbidden City will be included in this film.
[Commentary] Liang Junjian introduced that last year was the six hundred years since the completion of the Forbidden City, and the team got the opportunity to shoot new projects in the Forbidden City.
In order to continue the style of the first documentary, topics such as "I repaired the Forbidden City in the Forbidden City" and "I repaired the house in the Forbidden City" first came into view.
It was finally determined as "I have been in the Forbidden City for six hundred years", and the main creative team changed the protagonist of the new work from a craftsman to an ancient building.
[Commentary] In the second episode, the Palace of Yangxin Palace, which has been "isolated" for five years, welcomed consultation experts.
When replacing the supporting spine of the main hall, a color painting of the Ming Dynasty "showed out."
[Concurrent] Liang Junjian, director of the documentary "I was in the Forbidden City for six hundred years"
The last time this colorful painting was revealed was probably hundreds of years ago. After it was repaired and closed this time, it was "lost to see the sun" again. The next time I can see the sun, it may take more than 100 years and 200 years. Years passed.
[Explanation] Liang Junjian said that China has very important historical traditions, such as the novels and operas of the Ming and Qing dynasties, which give people a yearning for ancient times.
In the second episode, he unloaded the wall tiles and accidentally found a playbook from a hundred years ago. Such a legendary story left the viewers and creators with reveries.
[Concurrent] Liang Junjian, director of the documentary "I was in the Forbidden City for six hundred years"
We often joke, Americans will travel to the future when they want to cross, and Chinese people will cross to history when they want to cross.
I think this is the influence of national cultural genes. We are people who naturally like to look into history. We hope to learn wisdom from past history and find life experience. This kind of culture.
[Explanation] In 2019, the number of visitors to the Palace Museum exceeded 19 million for the first time. Last year, the number of visitors dropped sharply due to the epidemic.
But even so, the attraction of the Forbidden City to the outside world has not diminished in the slightest. The first live broadcast in 2020 was watched by nearly 35 million people.
The staff of the Palace Museum told Liang Junjian that in the past, only a few dozen people signed up when recruiting, but now tens of thousands of people flock in every year.
[Concurrent] Liang Junjian, director of the documentary "I was in the Forbidden City for six hundred years"
After the filming of "I repaired cultural relics in the Forbidden City", everyone really became enthusiastic about such a career.
I think the greater strength lies in the Forbidden City’s own strength, and also because our country has continuously emphasized cultural self-confidence in recent years. The reason why we have paid more and more attention to this kind of cultural heritage and cultural innovation has made everyone realize its value. Let everyone feel that something as old as the original can be very trendy.
(Reporting by Jean Baokui and Dong Zeyu from Beijing)
Editor in charge: 【Luo Pan】