The children’s version of the Dream of the Red Chamber adaptation captiv

APD NEWS

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By APD Writer Zhao Huiran

With a cast of all children aged 6-12 years old, a nine-episode TV adaptation of Chinese literature classic, the Dream of the Red Chamber, is well received from the audience during the past National Day holiday.

Written in the middle of the 18th century, The Dream of Red Chamber is a story about the tragic love of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, and the prosperity and decline of the four notable feudal ruling-class families of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue, while vividly depicting the hidden crises and various kinds of intricate social conflicts of the feudal society. The story has been adapted to numerous forms but a television series, released in 1987, was imprinted on audience’s mind.

This small screen production coincides with the 30th anniversary of the TV series shot in 1987, the latest version performed by all children actors is a fitting tribute to the premiered one for the main actors’ age exactly meets the age of the characters in the original novel, which makes up for the ‘only regret' of the 1987 version.

This children’s version TV drama have become a hot topic on social media since it released. It scored 9.3 points out of 10 on Douban, a popular movie rating platform in China.

Successful adaptation of the Dream of the Red Chamber can not only evoke the audience’s nostalgia, but also change the traditional production pattern in an unfamiliar way. In the combination of small production, elaborate costumes and skillful performance, the children’s version of the Dream of Red Chamber nearly won the audience’s unanimous praise when it broadcast. Users on China’s social media platform Weibo commented “these children actors’ performance is much better than some well-known celebrities.”

In terms of their age, these children’s performance was impressive. But some doubts appeared on the social media. "A child should behave like a child, rather than speaking like an adult," one netizen criticized.

The director Pan Liping expressed different opinion. From his perspective, this does not mean that children should behave like adults. “He is acting, it is hard for a kid to do professional performances” he said. In addition, the Dream of the Red Chamber is excellent classics. The characters and story gave children positive influence. The director hopes his work contribute positively to the current interest in Chinese traditional culture.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)