In recent years, the "going overseas" of domestic dramas has shown a new trend, which has not only changed from "scattered" to "batch" in terms of quantity, but also in terms of subject matter, from "outstanding" of costume dramas to "full blooming" of diverse themes, domestic dramas are becoming more and more attractive A large number of foreign audiences have set off a wave of chasing dramas.
Among the many "going overseas" film and television works, "The Legend of Zhen Huan" can be described as a "divine drama", and its popularity has remained unabated for more than ten years after its launch.
Netizens at home and abroad took out a "magnifying glass" to interpret the episode frame by frame.
Why does "The Legend of Zhen Huan" make audiences at home and abroad watch Changxin often?
What is the reason for the overseas "fans" of Chinese dramas?
How can Chinese dramas boost cultural exchanges?
In this regard, China News Agency's "East-West Questions, Sino-Foreign Youth Dialogue" invited Chinese young actor Lan Yingying, the star of "The Legend of Zhen Huan", and Thai-Chinese youth, Dr. Han Bing from Nanjing University, to have a dialogue.
Lan Yingying believes that as China is getting closer to the center of the world stage, overseas people pay more attention to China. Through film and television dramas, foreign audiences can learn more about the development of Chinese society and the living conditions of the people.
Han Bing said that Chinese film and television dramas have a strong cultural appeal, which has stimulated the enthusiasm of overseas audiences to further learn Chinese culture.
An excerpt from the conversation follows:
Why is "The Legend of Zhen Huan" often watched?
China News Service reporter: "The Legend of Zhen Huan" has been active in the audience's field of vision since its launch 11 years ago. The "Golden Sentences" in the play are often "renovated" and become a hot topic on the Internet. What is the reason for the audience's recognition of this show?
Lan Yingying:
As the main creator, I am very happy to see that "The Legend of Zhen Huan" has been loved by the audience for 11 years.
I think the most important reason for the popularity of "The Legend of Zhen Huan" is that the episodes are well-made.
Each actor goes through several rounds of auditions to get a role, and put their best effort into the character creation process.
Every director, photographer and other main creators strive for perfection, and strive to show traditional Chinese culture through the series.
For example, the props in the play, such as the grate, the hand stove, the Luozidai, the point of the green flag, and the etiquette in the palace, all refer to the historical facts, try to restore the details, make it well-documented, and stand up to the audience's "magnifying glass" consideration. .
"The Legend of Zhen Huan" tells a story with ups and downs, full of contradictions and emotional entanglements, and also created a lot of real, plump, flesh-and-blood characters. Even some small people have their own "golden sentences", which are worthy of repeated taste.
Netizens often say that "there is no unstoppable stalk in "The Legend of Zhen Huan", everyone combines the classic plots or lines in the play with the current social, life, and cultural hotspots, and after the second creation, a new understanding of the plot, It is both suitable and interesting, and it also gives the drama a steady stream of vitality, making the explanatory power of the plot keep pace with the times.
China News Service reporter: "The Legend of Zhen Huan" is not only very popular in China, but also loved by overseas audiences. How did Han Bing become attached to "The Legend of Zhen Huan"? How popular is "The Legend of Zhen Huan" in Thailand?
Han Bing:
When I first came to study in China, my instructor suggested that I understand Chinese traditional culture and recommended "The Legend of Zhen Huan" to me. After watching the whole drama, I became a "harem fan".
"The Legend of Zhen Huan" was the key that opened the door to Chinese culture for me. Since then, I have been learning about relevant knowledge and reading many books introducing Chinese history.
"The Legend of Zhen Huan" restores some historical scenes. Take the scene of the minister meeting the emperor as an example. In "The Legend of Zhen Huan", this scene does not take place in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but outside the Qianqing Gate. A historical interpretation.
Watching this drama will give me the feeling of returning to the historical scene and being there. Every time I watch it again, I can discover different details and deepen my impression of Chinese history and traditional Chinese culture.
"The Legend of Zhen Huan", dubbed in Thai, was broadcast in Thailand, and it also attracted many audiences and formed a group of drama fans.
When "The Legend of Zhen Huan" first aired 11 years ago, I wrote a blog about the history of China's Qing Dynasty on a Thai website, and the number of hits reached several million, which is a very high number in Thailand.
Later, many Thai bloggers introduced relevant history, and Chinese costume dramas are becoming more and more popular in Thailand.
Why are Chinese dramas popular overseas?
China News Service reporter: A few years ago, costume dramas were the main force of Chinese dramas "going overseas". In recent years, suspense, urban, reality and other themes have gained a large number of overseas audiences. Why are these Chinese dramas able to become fans overseas?
Lan Yingying:
For a long time, Chinese costume dramas have been very popular in overseas markets. From "The Legend of Zhen Huan", "Langya Bang" to "Twelve Hours in Chang'an", these dramas have a common feature, that is, they have a common feature of opera paintings and poetry dictionaries. , etiquette costumes, Chinese food and other Chinese cultural elements are involved, and are deeply loved by overseas audiences.
Nowadays, the situation of "doing the best" in costume dramas has been broken. The national dramas that go out show the characteristics of diversified themes, especially the works with realistic themes, such as "The World" and "Shan Hai Qing", etc. These realistic themes focus on Issues that are of common concern to audiences at home and abroad, such as social development, family relations, children's education, and family love, can easily arouse emotional resonance.
In the past, most people who watched domestic dramas overseas were overseas Chinese audiences. Now, as China is getting closer to the center of the world stage, overseas people are paying more attention to China. Many foreigners will also learn about the development and development of Chinese society through realistic film and television dramas. people's living conditions.
Suspense dramas are also domestic dramas that have emerged overseas in the past two years. Dramas such as "Chasing the Murderer in the White Night", "The Hidden Corner", and "The Beginning" have won praises at home and abroad for their careful thinking, brain-burning plots and unexpected reversals. .
China News Agency reporter: What is the situation of the national drama "Going to the Sea" in Thailand, and what are the reasons for its acceptance by Thai audiences?
Han Bing:
Chinese film and television dramas have always been very popular in Thailand. Thai TV station has continuously introduced various Chinese film and television dramas. In the early days, costume dramas were the main ones. Movies and TV dramas have become popular in Thailand.
The "going out" of film and television works ultimately depends on the country's cultural soft power.
If the audience has a prior understanding of the culture of a certain country or region, it will be easier to accept film and television works under this cultural background.
Taking Thailand as an example, I think the reason why Thai audiences like Chinese film and television dramas is that there are similarities and commonalities in the cultures of the two countries. Thai audiences can easily understand the cultural meaning when watching Chinese film and television works. Word of mouth is easier to spread.
The picture shows on November 3, 2021, in a cultural and creative industrial park in Kunming, Yunnan, the person in charge of a translation team is introducing the film and television dramas that have been translated and exported.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Jiaxian
How can film and television works promote cultural exchanges?
China News Service reporter: Popular cultural products have the potential for cross-cultural communication. As popular products that the public likes to see, what role does film and television play in promoting exchanges between Chinese and foreign civilizations and enhancing people-to-people bonds?
Han Bing:
Compared with other cultural products, film and television dramas are easier to achieve cross-cultural communication, which can promote the exchanges between Chinese and foreign civilizations.
Through the film and television drama, the audience can experience the life of the Chinese people on the spot, and can also understand China's cultural history, customs, folk customs, ethics, language and culture, and ways of thinking.
In particular, well-made and common film and television dramas are more likely to be understood by audiences in different countries and with different cultural backgrounds.
Movies and TV dramas have strong cultural appeal, and many overseas audiences became interested in Chinese history and culture through watching dramas, which inspired their enthusiasm for further learning Chinese culture.
In recent years, with the rapid development of the mobile Internet, many Chinese film and television dramas are broadcast on overseas streaming media. The broadcasting mechanism of streaming media is more flexible and the content is more diverse, which also enables foreign audiences to watch film and television dramas in a more convenient and personalized way. to understand Chinese culture.
China News Service reporter: How should Chinese film and television dramas go overseas to explore the integration of Chinese and foreign values, so that global audiences can find more common languages?
Lan Yingying:
Domestic film and television dramas are becoming more and more popular overseas, but there is still a lack of global blockbuster dramas. The emergence of blockbuster film and television works is not an accident, and it is necessary to continue to spread high-quality works of the same type overseas. Base.
Therefore, it is necessary to maintain a stable and high level of creation.
National dramas should further improve in quality, and improve the production level in the whole process of script polishing, picture quality, character modeling, actor performances, and post-production.
In recent years, the division of labor in China's film and television industry has become more refined, film and television talents have continued to emerge, and the application of new technologies and intelligent production has become more mature.
Authenticity is an important element of reality-themed TV dramas. National dramas need to be based on reality to discover creative materials and tell real and perceptible stories in order to break through different cultural contexts and gain resonance.
The values of Chinese and foreign audiences are different, but they are emotionally common. A successful national drama "going out" also needs to convey the common human emotions through familiar life scenes, so as to be able to communicate with overseas audiences.