Cover News Reporter Zhang Jie
At present, the TV series "Flowers" produced and directed by Wong Kar-wai is currently on the air, and the attention and discussion on the Internet are increasing. There are many literary and artistic works about Shanghai, but lively cases like "Flowers" are still rare in recent years. In the words of senior film critic, East China Normal University professor, and writer Mao Jian, this is a "cultural event" at the end of 2023.
Maojian
"A Bao is ten years old, and his neighbor Beidi is six years old. The two of them climbed up from the false third floor to the roof. The tiles were warm, and they saw half of Luwan District... The southeast wind blew strong, and they heard the roar of boats on the Huangpu River. "The noisy alley epic, the layers of fireworks legend. The TV series "Flowers" is adapted from the novel of the same name by Shanghai writer Jin Yucheng.
The story in the novel "Flowers" is very long, and the time switches between the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s. In different time periods, the growth and experiences of three Shanghai teenagers from different family backgrounds, Hu Sheng, A Bao and Xiao Mao, are told in fragments. Readers need to read slowly to piece together a complete picture of Shanghainese life. What is more prominent is that this novel incorporates Shanghainese thinking into the novel, and the whole book is written in the improved Wu dialect. Therefore, it is also called "the spiritual history of Shanghai citizens in the 20th century" by literary critics. Yongxin, the chief programmer of "Harvest", once commented on "Flowers": "It is a museum of literature. How many years later, if you want to look back at Shanghai, just look for it in novels."
was born in Shanghai and has a strong Shanghai complex. The famous film director Wong Kar-wai loved "Flowers" very much after reading it. At the Hong Kong Book Fair in 2014, Wong Kar-wai described his feeling about "Flowers" as "feeling like old friends at first sight" and reading it in one sitting, "as if he had experienced a lifetime", which complemented his imagination of the life in Shanghai after going to Hong Kong, "looking for It brought back memory clues from my childhood." He bought the copyright and planned to create a movie and a TV series. He also said that he would try to respect the dialect of the novel and emphasized that the characters in the play all speak Shanghainese. These promises were finally fulfilled at the end of 2023.
"Flowers" began on the Internet
original post "Going up to the attic alone, preferably at night"
In 2012, "Flowers" was published in "Harvest" magazine and published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House in 2013. By 2023, this book has gone through a "flower road" of ten years. It has been reprinted many times and has become a million-level best-seller and best-seller. It has also received high praise in the literary professional circle, including winning the "No. 1 novel in the Chinese Novel Rankings" in 2012 by the Chinese Novel Society, and in 2015 Won the 9th Mao Dun Literature Award, etc.
This "flowering" road starts from the Internet.
One day in 2011, Jin Yucheng, who had been the editor of "Shanghai Literature" for most of his life, passed by the Jing'an wet market and recalled some people and things he had experienced and witnessed. He suddenly thought of registering an account and writing something on "Nongtang.com", a website that specializes in talking about current affairs and entertainment in dialect. He named it "Going to the Attic Alone, Best at Night" and started recording stories in Shanghainese, updating a thousand words every day. Unexpectedly, I couldn't stop it. There were always people in the comment column who kept commenting: "What happened next?" So the situation developed into a crab boss and Shanghai students gossiping in an open-air market. After going back and forth, more characters were drawn out, and it grew into a novel, which was named "Flowers" when it was released on paper and published.
Nowadays, the main website of "Nongtang.com" has been cancelled, but the WeChat public account of the same name still has a link to this novel. Many people still leave messages to express their gratitude for reading this novel. For example, some readers commented on the scene in the novel where A Bao, Hu Sheng, and Xiao Mao sent greeting cards during the New Year when they were teenagers. "The friendship between young people is like a new leaf bud, delicate and clean, which is touching."
In March 2018, "Flowers" was on the list of "20 Outstanding Works of Chinese Internet Literature in 20 Years" jointly recommended by the Internet Literature Committee of the Chinese Writers Association, Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau, Shanghai Writers Association, and China Literature Group , others also selected include "First Intimate Contact", "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty", etc.
Although "Flowers" came from the Internet, it is not considered Internet literature in the general sense. Jin Yucheng once said in an interview with reporters that "Flowers" won the "20 Outstanding Works of Chinese Internet Literature in 20 Years", "Strictly speaking, the 'net' of online literature and my 'net' are definitely two different things. These are Large articles are generally not published on small citizen websites such as "Alley". I guess in this selection, as long as it is published online, whether it is a professional novel website or a citizen website, it belongs to online literature, and it is all written online. ."
Cover of the novel "Flowers"
In 2012, "Going Alone to the Attic, Best at Night" was renamed "Flowers" and was published in the "Novel Issue" of "Harvest" magazine (equipped with two 10,000-word professional reviews). When published in a paper magazine, he maintained the structure and chapters of the original online version, but he also made extensive revisions to the language and character names. "Until now, many Shanghai netizens on the Nongtang.com still feel that the first draft has the best sense of language and has a stronger flavor of Shanghainese. But I have been a literary editor at "Shanghai Literature" for thirty years, and I want to give my next door neighbor the most authoritative full-length novel. If you submit to the novel magazine "Harvest", you must accept professional requirements, including publishing a single volume in Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House in the future." Jin Chengyu said, at the same time, "Flowers" also maintains the special sentence structure of Shanghainese to the greatest extent - this is also the charm of the dialect. , "In literary works, language always comes first. When reading a novel, the first thing readers come into contact with is not the content, but the charm of language."
"Flowers" has more than 1,000 "silences" in the whole book. Jin Yucheng once interpreted that "to be silent" means to be "speechless". From this attitude, we can feel the wisdom of Shanghai people. "You can speak loudly about many things, but you can also be silent. Everything can be seen clearly, but not It must be broken."
The drama version is not only a tribute to the novel
but also a competition with the novel
As a senior drama fan, East China Normal University professor and writer Mao Jian once bluntly admitted that he was addicted to watching dramas, "wasting time on TV dramas" Too much time." Mao Jian also complains in columns from time to time because he "cannot stand" the routines, snobbery and lack of progress of some domestic dramas. For example, in 2021, Mao Jian once stood on a public talk show stage and mercilessly criticized some low-quality domestic dramas, "Film and television dramas are the most feudal place in China. Appearance is distributed according to status and property, and appearance is distributed according to appearance." Morality and the future." But complaints are complaints, Mao Jian still loves domestic TV series. Under the strong trend of "creating" topics in batches in costume idol dramas, Mao Jian couldn't help but express her happiness and excitement when TV series adapted from serious literature such as "In the World" and "Flowers" appeared.
On December 30, 2023, the three leading actors of "Flowers", Hu Ge, Ma Yili, and Chen Long, came to the Shanghai Library to chat with the audience about "Flowers" during the New Year. The conversation was co-hosted by Mao Jian and Li Weichang, vice president of Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House. As a native of Ningbo, I have lived in Shanghai for many years and have completely integrated into Shanghai Maojian. I am particularly passionate about "Flowers". She was one of the earliest readers of the novel "Flowers". "At first, some fragments were posted sporadically on the Internet, and the main part was read in "Harvest". At that time, I felt that Jin Yucheng had re-invented Shanghai."
Li Weichang, Mao Jian (1st and 2nd from left) ) with the starring actors of "Flowers" in the picture above
Someone asked her what attracted her most in the novel "Flowers" and which character was the most interesting? Mao Jian's answer is that "Flowers" is full of treasures, with characters, stories, and eras embedded in each other and explaining each other. "I said I like Xiaomao, but if there is no Po and no Husheng, Xiaomao will be lonely. If there is no Betty Xuezhi and Li Li, and no Miss Wang, Po is not Bao. The original work is so touching that every aspect is as dense as a brocade, even those The details that are not elegant, embarrassing or even messy have the texture of flowers. This is Shanghai, where dragons and tigers are hidden, but also filth and evil. Coupled with Lao Jin’s language, the quality of Maotai, and the quality of Didi’s craft beer So beautiful and so simple, can I use an emoticon to express my intoxication?"
The TV series version shot by Wong Kar-Wai does not fully present the content of the novel, but only focuses on the "Blooming Flowers" part of the 1990s in the novel, telling the story of a person who is not favored by others and is even ridiculed as a "silly baby" "How does the young Abao take advantage of the trend of the times and adhere to his own bottom line in life? Under the guidance of his uncle who is experienced in shopping malls and has become a "human spirit", and with the help of his confidante Lingzi and Miss Wang, from The story of A Bao growing up to become Mr. Bao.
The drama version of "Flowers" uses A Bao as the main plot and omits A Bao's hair, Husheng and Mao. Some people may not understand. But Mao Jian, the "originalist", agrees. "very beautiful. It is definitely the most appropriate to use the 1990s to expand it. Firstly, the 1990s was an era with particularly luxurious tones, which suited Wong Kar-Wai very well. Secondly, the 1990s were particularly rich in sounds and verbs. Wong Kar-wai could express the infinite ambiguity in the novel with sounds, lights, and the bodies and faces of stars. come out. "
Screenshots of the TV series "Flowers"
Someone mentioned that the drama version of "Flowers" is too rich in Shanghai elements and Shanghai characteristics, and the main filming was completed in Shanghai. Is this a TV series produced in Shanghai? Mao Jian said, " I watched the road show several times, and all the actors were deeply moved by the one, two, and three years they spent with Wong Kar-wai in "Flowers." They shed tears and hugged each other in Shanghainese. This was not only is a TV series produced in Shanghai. This is a TV series with Shanghai as the protagonist. And Shanghai is the memory of the great master Wong Kar-wai in the Mood for Love, or in other words, Shanghai is Wong Kar-wai's childhood.
When adapting a novel into a TV series, there is always an unavoidable core question: Is it faithful to the original work? Mao Jian’s view is, “The adaptations of the radio drama, drama and Pingtan of “Flowers” are indeed very faithful to the original work. TV dramas are very different. Firstly, TV dramas are based on verb grammar, which generally require multiple events to occur. Therefore, the word "not ringing" in the original work must be "ringed". You will know after watching the first episode why a quasi-suspense device is set up at the beginning of Fanhua; 2. Wong Kar-wai has never been an adaptor who follows suit. The TV series "Flowers" is both a tribute to the novel and a competition with the novel. In other words, Wong Kar-wai interpreted "Flowers" in his own way. Mao Jian also praised, "Wong Kar-wai is really the best star user in the contemporary era. Every actor has a completely new look after his hands." ”
(Unless otherwise noted, pictures are provided by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House)
