Arecentremakeoftheclassicdrama"LadyWhiteSnake"hasnotonlybecomeaheadlineinChinesemedia,buthasalsosparkedafiercediscussionamongtheChinesepublic,mainlyduetothefactthatitsactorsareallagedbetween6and12.
Thelegendofwhitesnake,whichtellsthelovestoryofsnake-turned-womanBaiSuzhenandherhumanhusband,XuXian,isoneofChina'smostfamousancienttales.FirstadaptedasaTVseriesin1992,theshowhasbeenconstantlyrevivedandrebroadcastevenuntiltoday.
Thechildren’sversionoftheTVshowwasproducedbyaprogramcalledXiaoXigu,featuringchildrenintherolesoftheclassiccharactersfromChinesefolkloreandliterature.TheremakehasbeenahottopiceversinceitdebutedinOctober.Onlinediscussionshashtagged“XiaoXiguLadyWhiteSnake”havegarneredover17millionviewsasofpresstime,withmostpostsfocusingontheremarkableperformancesofthechildactors.
SomeInternetusersofferedsupportandaffectionforthesmallactors,withoneWeibousernoting, “Thechildren’sperformancesareremarkable,andtheyhaveofferedusanewanglefromwhichtointerprettheclassicstory.”Othersexpressedadifferentview,criticizingtheshowfor“tarnishingchildren’smindswithadultstories.”
TheshowhasalsogeneratedconsiderableinterestfromChinesemedia,withsomeoutletspublishingarticlesthatcriticizethe“over-consumptionofchildren”andcallforadultsto“returninnocencetothechildren."Atthesametime,othershaveshowngreatinterestinthis“newmethodofrevitalizingtraditionalculture.”
Despitemixedreactionsfromthepublic,theshowhasascoreof8.6outof10onChinesemediareviewsiteDouban.com,andhasgarnered180millionviewsonQQlive,aChinesestreamingvideosite.
Theshowhasalsoturneditschildactorsintoovernightcelebrities.TaoYixi,the10-year-oldLadyWhiteSnake,nowboastsmorethan160,000followersonSinaWeibo.
(PEOPLE'S DAILY ONLINE)