Chinanews.com, Beijing, February 27th (Reporter Shangguan Yun) The hit drama "The Silk Case of the Ming Dynasty under the Microscope" has recently come to an end.
The play is not too long, but the content is full of ups and downs. It tells a story about the genius of mathematics and the human silk tax in the Ming Dynasty.
The writer Ma Boyong is the screenwriter of the play and the author of the original work.
A few years ago, he finished writing "Da Ming under the Microscope", in which there are a total of six stories, which he unearthed from a series of folk archives of the Ming Dynasty.
The currently broadcast "Silk Case" is adapted from the first story.
Now looking back on his experience in writing scripts, Ma Boyong found that being a screenwriter is very difficult. "From the story to the script, there is a long way to go. Screenwriting and novel writing are two completely different ways of thinking."
Writer Ma Boyong.
Photo provided by the interviewee
Accidental inspiration
The source of inspiration for the original work of "The Silk Case of the Ming Dynasty under the Microscope" is actually very accidental.
While surfing the Internet, Ma Boyong found that a friend introduced a case on Weibo, namely the Huizhou silk tax case in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty.
Due to space limitations, my friend's introduction to this case cannot be exhaustive.
He couldn't get enough of it, so he went to look through the original historical materials and found that a participant in the Huizhou silk tax case collected hundreds of government documents, letters, notices, memorials, notes, etc. usurped into a collection.
The name of the collection is called "The Complete Book of Silk and Silk", and the details are extremely rich, and the cause and effect are explained in great detail.
But after he started writing, he realized that simply translating "The Complete Book of Silk Silk" was far from enough to explain the case clearly.
"Almost every detailed record will lead to many background problems. How is the taxation subject of Huizhou government classified? Why is it classified in this way?" Ma Boyong said. If you want to explain things clearly to others, you must know what is happening and why. .
Therefore, when writing, he spent a lot of time to understand the economic form, customs and customs of the entire Ming Dynasty, as well as the writing of official documents, etc., and even down to the writing method of calligraphy. "It gave me an inspiration, 'small' and 'big', and No contradiction."
Ma Boyong believes that the so-called "big" in history is composed of countless "small".
It is like a microscope, which can judge the health of the whole human body by examining the changes of a drop of blood and a cell.
"Mathematical Genius" Shuai Jiamo
In "The Silk Case of the Ming Dynasty under the Microscope", Shuai Jiamo is a genius in mathematics, and others call him "an idiot".
He accidentally discovered a surprising loophole in local taxation from the county government tax book, and the story unfolded from there.
"The character Shuai Jiamo is not a typical person who appeared in ancient China. We will see many people like him now. Their pursuit is very simple, very pure, and the word 'true'." Ma Boyong said .
Stills of "The Silk Case of the Ming Dynasty under the Microscope".
Photo courtesy of the play party
He originally wanted to write Shuai Jiamo as a "fool", but soon found that such a character was not plump enough.
For readers and viewers, everyone can understand a person who only pursues mathematics, but they may not find him amiable.
After careful consideration, Ma Boyong added a bit of "history" to Shuai Jiamo, including emotions, emotional changes, etc. His father's teachings to Shuai Jiamo, and Shuai Jiamo's various memories of his father, all deepened Shuai Jiamo's understanding of mathematics. understand.
When this emotional impulse is combined with his own natural skills, people can see the life trajectory of Shuai Jiamo: his pursuit of mathematics, his obsession with investigating cases, etc., are all derived from his childhood, his father, etc. teaching.
from story to screenplay
When talking about "Da Ming under the Microscope" with others, Ma Boyong always explained a few words habitually, "It is not a novel, but a work that can be classified as documentary literature, or non-fictional historical prose."
The reason is that the relationship and drama of the characters in the novel are guaranteed, while "Da Ming under the Microscope" is more about retelling historical events. The development of events and the structure of characters are supported by historical data, and the motivation behind the characters is not discussed much. with emotion.
This also created a problem for its film and television adaptation, which Ma Boyong described as "almost developed from scratch".
In the original work, there are a lot of meeting records and debates, complicated numbers and calculation formulas. It is very difficult to turn it into a visual, audible and sensible work, which is also vivid and interesting. It requires screenwriters, directors, actors and crews The collective wisdom and efforts of various departments.
As for the "Silk Case", he didn't want to be a screenwriter at first, so he proposed to train screenwriters from the beginning, and told them what he knew, but later found that he had to talk too much, "This time is special. I think, this time It’s so difficult, why don’t I try it first.”
After the script was written, Ma Boyong’s respect and awe for the screenwriter deepened, “I found it very difficult. From the story to the script, there is a long way to go. Screenwriting and novel writing are two completely different ways of thinking. Ways. One is to express in words, and the other is to use visuals to present, and the conversion between the two is a test of skill.”
Writer Ma Boyong.
Photo provided by the interviewee
"A real screenwriter has to consider not only the story itself. He also needs to consider the status of the actors, the shooting situation, etc.." He feels that the responsibility of the screenwriter is relatively heavy, and he is only an amateur guest star this time. .
I hope to write about the joys and sorrows of little people
As far as the "silk silk case" is concerned, in the play Shuai Jiamo, Feng Baoyu and many other small characters get together to outline a picture of human relations in the Ming Dynasty.
In recent years, Ma Boyong has been more and more interested in writing these transactional content and writing about small people, "some of the problems we encounter now may also be confused by ancient people, so what kind of attitude should we face? How do you understand it philosophically?"
He tried to find the answer through his own writing, hoping to write about the living conditions, emotions, sorrows and joys of some small people, and analyze and view the changes of a period of time based on this.
He revealed that the remaining five cases in "Da Ming under the Microscope" will be adapted for film and television, but he will not be the screenwriter. "I will start, and the next few cases will be handed over to professional screenwriters."
"I'm quite satisfied with my current state, and I have so many things I want to write, and I'm going back to continue writing novels," he said.
(over)