Remarkable changes have taken place in China's TV drama programs since the first drama "A Mouthful of Vegetable Cake," which was first aired on June 15, 1958. The production of TV dramas has been growing rapidly since the late 1970s.
In 2000 alone, 22,231 episodes of 1,271 TV drama series have been made and 9,104 episodes of 687 TV drama series have been released. The production volume marks a 21 per cent increase when compared with production in 1999, statistics from the China Central Television Media Research Center show.
At the turn of the new century, Chinese audiences have more and more choice of entertainment but it seems that TV programs, especially TV dramas win hands down.
With China's economic reforms deepening, Chinese TV dramas have become more and more commercialized, and distinctive TV drama features have been taking shape.
The evolution of the Chinese TV drama reflects the ever-changing society in many ways. TV dramas have played an important role in social life and exerted noticeable influence upon the daily lives of ordinary Chinese, media researchers point out.
In the early stages of the development of Chinese TV dramas, they were produced under the planned economy framework and mainly in State-run studios. The TV drama as a cultural commodity for the purpose of entertainment was ignored, said Jia Leilei, a media industry observer and research fellow with the China Arts Research Institute.
Luckily, private investment came in and competition with overseas TV dramas has forced Chinese writers and producers to move on.
Over the past two decades, TV dramas have witnessed multi-faceted aesthetic styles, diverse themes and genres, and sizable improvements in production quality, Jia noted.
According to Jia, most Chinese TV drama genres consist of comedy, action and romance.
Urban comedy and Chinese-style sitcoms have gained popularity among ordinary Chinese audiences, probably because to an extent these dramas reflect real life or at least areas that people can associate with.
"Stories from the Newsroom," a TV drama series adapted from a novel by Beijing writer Wang Shuo, brought a breath of fresh air into Chinese TV dramas.
The TV drama takes reality and uses it in a satirical, humorous way.
"Anecdotes of Qing Emperor Qianlong," a costume TV drama, carved out a new genre which has won sweeping popularity overnight, having maintained its appeal to audiences of different ages for the past few years.
Instead of approaching history with accuracy, this type of TV drama "deconstructs" Chinese ancient history by ridiculing the then powerful royal families, prime ministers and corrupt local officials and applauds the courage, wisdom and honesty of ordinary people.
This type of TV drama reached its climax in 1999 when "Princess Huanzhu" became a smash hit across the country among children and adults alike. It also shot actress Zhao Wei into stardom overnight.
The 30-part costume TV drama and its equal length sequel has made the fictitious "Little Swallow" played by Zhao Wei, a pop idol with a rebellious nature.
Meanwhile, Chinese style sitcoms such as "I Love My Family," "Sister Ma the Idler," and "Psychiatrist's Clinic" were also introduced to audiences by Ying Da, who studied Western drama art in the United States in the 1980s. Most of them were well-received for their true-to-life social backgrounds, fun-poking storylines and wise-cracking conversations .
Another genre is the TV drama based on the Chinese classics.
"In the context of Chinese culture, the adaptation of Chinese classics is favored by the TV drama market and well-received among viewers because stories in the classics are well-known among Chinese people," said Yin Hong, a mass media researcher and professor with Tsinghua University.
This type of TV drama is usually rendered in a serious fashion, with great care being taken to ensure its accuracy in line with the original literary works. Details about conversations, settings, costumes, formalities, events and characters are in accordance with a particular historical period, Jia Leilei noted.
In May 1987, a 36-episode TV drama, adapted from Qing writer Cao Xueqin's "The Dreams of the Red Mansion," was screened simultaneously in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, fuelling an enthusiastic wave of reading and studying of romantic Chinese classics.
In some cities in China and in Southeast Asia, where Confucianism has a deep influence, the TV drama achieved a 70 per cent rating.
Adding to this, other Chinese classics such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," "Outlaws of the Marshes," and "Journey to the West," have also been adapted into popular TV dramas with financial support and guidance from the relevant departments of the government.
This type of TV drama seems to satisfy all sides of Chinese society, including the government which views the TV drama as a new form of national culture. Ardent lovers of indigenous Chinese culture, and TV drama makers and distributors see the huge market potential of the TV drama Yin explained in a new article about the "cultural strategies and tactics of Chinese TV dramas."
Another popular TV drama genre is kungfu.
It is viewed by Jia Leilei as "a visual, superficial and selective reflection of traditional Chinese culture" and "presents the general public with kungfu in a dance-like fashion."
Since the screening of Hong Kong made kungfu TV drama "Kungfu Master Huo Yuanjia," in the early 1980s, this genre has remained much loved among many audiences who find kungfu TV dramas on at least three or four channels out of a total of 50.
This could perhaps explain the poor box office performances on the Chinese mainland of the Oscar-winning "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," which has been widely criticized by kungfu TV and movie fans for being "amateur in storytelling and mediocre in kungfu stunt choreography," said Ma Zhi, a Beijing-based critic.
Romance is also a popular major TV drama genre in China.
TV dramas of this kind in the 1980s were likely to use differences in social status, family background, occupation and fatal diseases as unfailing devices to attract audiences.
But TV romances in recent years have evolved into more trivial, personal, imaginary love stories, said Jia Leilei.
Heart-throbbing actors, pretty actresses, colorful settings, exotic locations, posh sedans and residences, unrealistic affluent, sometimes decaying lifestyles, rather than strong characters and storylines, usually decide the success of a TV romance drama today, Jia observed.
As a form of massive entertainment, Chinese TV dramas have remained active interactions with social reality.
Depicting real life on an upbeat note has always been the main theme for Chinese TV dramas, Jia said.
For instance, "September 18 Criminal Case" in 1999 recaptured the police's efforts to crack the cultural relics theft case; "Wai Lai Mei" (young women as transient labourers) reflects in a subtle way the great cultural, social and economical impact the migration of surplus labourers (from rural areas) have upon their hometowns as well as their destination cities.
Set in ancient Chinese society, some TV costume dramas series have also been narrated in a realistic manner and bear resemblance to contemporary Chinese social problems, such as corruption.
For example, "Hunchback Prime Minister Liu Yong," a costume comedy, won warm responses from both critics, officials and ordinary Chinese for its "anti-corruption" theme.
"Emperor Yongzheng," another costume tragic-comedy TV drama, earned acclaim for its successful portrayal of a feudal emperor who devoted all his energy to improving the strength of his nation and to do good for his people. The emperor serves as a worth character for today's audiences who hope to live in a well-administered, peaceful society.
"Striking the right chord is vital for Chinese TV dramas of any genre and subject matter since the audiences are eager to find spiritual, psychological and cultural satisfaction when viewing a TV drama," Jia pointed out.
With the increasing commercialization of Chinese society, the art of TV drama has begun a tango with TV commercials - the hidden and the conspicuous - which makes TV drama - making a much less riskier business than film-making in China, said Mei Fei, a Beijing Film Academy professor.
A TV drama producer can usually recoup the cost by trading the rights of his products either face to face, or at various TV program fairs with local distributors or local TV station operators, Mei said.
He earns more when TV commercial time slots are sold to advertising companies and various TV stations. Some TV commercials are overt, but some are not.
As early as the shooting stage, TV drama producers may have acquired financial support from investors who prefer to have their advertisements placed within the context of the story - a hotel name, a soft drink, or a trendy cell phone, which is a powerful, influential tool used to persuade audiences to spend, Mei explained.
(China Daily January 11, 2002)
