Director Wong Kar-wai entered the TV drama industry from the film field, and completed his first work "Flowers" after ten years of hard work. Once the play was aired, it caused a great response and became a topic of widespread concern and hot discussion. There have been many in-depth discussions and evaluations on the play’s characters, storyline, audio-visual language, film quality, and actors’ performances, and this article will not go into details. The author will focus on the traditional Chinese literary and artistic aesthetic characteristics displayed in "Flowers" and conduct an in-depth discussion from five aspects.
Feature 1: Adaptation
Adaptation is an important tradition in Chinese classical novels and operas, thus forming a major feature of Chinese literature and art that is different from the West. Among the four famous classical novels in my country, except "A Dream of Red Mansions", the other three are adaptations; among the four famous classical dramas in my country, "The Romance of the West Chamber", "The Peony Pavilion", "The Palace of Eternal Life" and "The Peach Blossom Fan", only "The Peach Blossom Fan" The subject matter is original. In the field of modern film and television creation, adaptation has also become a common phenomenon. Among many classic film and television works, adaptation themes account for more than 70%.
The TV series "Flowers" is adapted from the novel of the same name by Shanghai writer Jin Yucheng. The original novel centers on three intersecting characters, A Bao, Hu Sheng and Xiao Mao, and describes the daily life of Shanghai citizens from all walks of life and the historical changes of the city from the 1960s to the 1990s. The writing style of the novel is quite worthy of the samadhi of ancient Chinese story-telling novels and modern Shanghai-style literature. It is delicate and tactful, trivial and expressive. It is a unique masterpiece of contemporary urban literature and worldly affairs novels. The TV series "Flowers" has greatly adapted the original novel, which is mainly reflected in: first, the characters have been simplified and rewritten, and only A Bao is retained as the protagonist, and the main character settings are quite different from the original work; second, the story era has been changed The background is set in the early 1990s; the third is to reduce the location where the story takes place; the fourth is to abandon a large number of plots describing daily life, greatly increasing the proportion of business war legends.
"Flowers" is adapted from a novel, which is not special in itself, but what needs to be emphasized is that this is a very creative adaptation, making it two different texts that are very different from the original novel. Although some readers and viewers have criticized the TV series "Flowers" for not being faithful to the original work, it is undeniable that the adapted "Flowers" is more in line with the inherent requirements of TV drama art, with more distinctive characters and more credible storylines. It's fun to watch and enjoy, so this adaptation is undoubtedly a success.
Feature 2: Narration
China's contemporary drama, film and television creations are deeply influenced by the Western realist literary and artistic concepts and creative methods of the 19th century, pursuing a sense of reality that is infinitely close to real life. This has led to a tendency to give greater credence to representations that appear to be more objective and true, while rejecting narratives with strong subjectivity. As everyone knows, although endorsement is an important feature of the art style of drama, film and television, narration and endorsement are not antagonistic, but can be integrated with each other. This is fully reflected in traditional Chinese opera. Traditional Chinese opera is highly hypothetical and communicative. Not only does it not have the so-called fourth wall in Western drama, it also deliberately breaks the so-called illusion of reality and emphasizes two-way communication between actors and the audience. Among them, the large number of narrative elements in the narration and lyrics assume the main function in this regard.
In terms of its strong narrative, "Flowers" is similar to traditional Chinese opera, but is significantly different from current mainstream TV dramas. What best embodies the narrative character of the play is the frequent narration in the play. Wong Kar-Wai's films have always been good at using narration, and in this TV series creation, he has made full use of this feature. Although the length of the TV series is much larger than that of the movie, this time Wong Kar-wai used his usual film shooting techniques to produce the TV series, making the series different from ordinary TV series. The lens is not mainly used to tell stories, but to express emotions and express feelings. In this way, it is necessary to use narration, subtitles and other means to make up for the lack of narrative in the lens.The narration in the play mainly uses Abao's tone to introduce and comment on the background and plot that are not detailed in the camera. It also has the function of communicating with the audience. The use of a large number of narrations also has an important role. It allows the audience to jump out of the drama situation at the right time and form an appropriate psychological distance, so that they can watch the whole play with an aesthetic attitude rather than a utilitarian mentality, and achieve a higher level of artistic enjoyment.
Characteristic 3: Lyrical
Chinese literature and art have taken a completely different path from Western literature and art from its origin. The West originated from epic poems, while China started from lyric poetry. This difference has laid the foundation for the distinct distinction between Chinese and Western literature and art for more than two thousand years. Style and temperament: The West emphasizes narrative, while China emphasizes lyricism; the West emphasizes representation, while China emphasizes expression; the West emphasizes realism, while China emphasizes freehand brushwork.
Chinese opera, as the crystallization of almost all traditional artistic elements, fully demonstrates its lyrical and freehand characteristics. Although modern Chinese drama, film and television creations are influenced by the West and focus more on narrative, there are still some artists who are committed to drawing nutrients from traditional Chinese art and forming an artistic style rich in lyrical and freehand flavor. For example, Cao Yu's drama creation and Fei Mu's film creation, their successful practice once again proved that in artistic creation, only what is national is global.
"Flowers" is a 30-episode TV series, and it must tell a story. But looking at the whole play, we will find that the focus of the play is not on narrative, but on the expression of emotions, the expression of mood, the rendering of atmosphere and the construction of artistic conception. In other words, the narrative of the play serves lyricism. Narration is the surface, lyricism is the core, narrative is the means, and lyricism is the goal. Obviously, this is another important difference between the show and current mainstream TV series. The lyrical and expressive nature of "Flowers" is reflected in all aspects. Here are just three points: First, most of the shots in the play are shot at night, and elements such as light and shadow, angles, composition, depth of field, and camera movement are carefully designed, making the play full of exquisiteness. Beautiful and meaningful pictures; secondly, in the main narrative, the play adds a lot of non-linear narrative techniques such as flashbacks, interludes and flashbacks, highlighting the subjectivity of narrative logic; thirdly, the thoughtfulness of the soundtrack, especially It incorporates more than 50 popular songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan that perfectly fit the plot, allowing the hearts of the audience and the characters in the play to resonate at the same frequency, and their emotions are heartily released, thus achieving excellent artistic effects.
Feature 4: Harlequin
The Chinese nation has always valued harmony, and harmony is the core essence of Chinese culture; Chinese people have always advocated optimism and understanding of fate, and happiness is the background of Chinese people's life emotions. The biggest characteristic of traditional Chinese literature and art formed on this basis is neutrality, which is the so-called gentleness and sincerity. Therefore, literature and art should be happy but not obscene, sad but not sad, and should not go to extremes, which is the so-called excessiveness but not enough. In short, our traditional literature and art pursue harmony, balance, and harmony. As reflected in traditional opera, a very prominent feature is the blending of sorrow and joy, and the interplay of bitterness and joy. There is never a complete tragedy or a complete comedy in our traditional operas. Tragedies must contain comedy elements, and comedies also have tragic elements. Therefore, almost every play of traditional Chinese opera is indispensable for clowns, and there is no shortage of comedy elements. Therefore, there is a saying that if there is no ugliness, it will not be a play.
Although "Flowers" is not a comedy, comic characters, lines, scenes, plots and atmosphere can be seen everywhere in it. This is another important difference between it and most current TV series. The main characters in the play, A Bao, Ling Zi, Miss Wang and Li Li, each have a naughty and humorous side in their characters; even those seemingly serious and stereotyped characters, such as Uncle Ye, Jin Hua, Mr. Qiang, etc., have a playful side to them. It also has a sense of humor and fun; not to mention the comedic roles of Mr. Fan, Mr. Wei, Tao Tao, Ling Hong, Teacher Ge, Lu Meilin and other characters in the play. It is also worth mentioning that Wong Kar-Wai also specially invited many artists and celebrities to play guest roles, such as pianist Kong Xiangdong, painter Chen Yiming, Peking opera master Shi Yihong, football star Fan Zhiyi, acting stars Wan Zhaolun and Zhong Zhentao, etc. Although they don't have many roles, they add a lot of interest to the plot.All in all, Wong Kar-wai has inherited the long and profound tradition of harlequins in Chinese opera very well, and successfully produced an interesting TV series that is both solemn and humorous, with a mixture of sadness and joy.
Feature 5: Blank space
Traditional Chinese literature and art pursue an ethereal artistic conception to a large extent. The so-called fullness means overflowing the empty room. There is no white word, and it is full of romance. At this time, silence is better than sound, so the blank space becomes It has become a basic creative method of traditional Chinese literature and art, and has gradually formed an important aesthetic category. From painting, calligraphy, music, architecture to poetry, prose, novels, and operas, white space can be seen everywhere in our traditional arts. Its biggest advantage is that it gives people space for free imagination, so that the meaning of the artistic work can be infinitely magnified, making it endlessly memorable. The first chapter of the novel "Flowers" says: God's silence is like everything is decided by me. The silence here is just a blank space. According to statistics, the word silent appears in more than 1,300 places in this novel! Buxiang is a very meaningful word. Its literal meaning is not to speak, and the meaning behind it may be that there is really nothing to say, or it may be that even a thousand words cannot explain it. Just like in the play As a line goes, silence is the loudest.
The drama "Flowers" well implements the silent spirit of the original novel and fully embodies the blank aesthetics of traditional Chinese literature and art. There are many situations and methods of blank space in the play, which can be roughly divided into five categories: one is the blank space of the picture, the second is the blank space of the sound, the third is the blank space of the character background, and the fourth is the blank space of the language. , the fifth is the blank space of the plot. Due to space limitations, examples are not given here. These blank spaces are sometimes visual and auditory emptiness and stillness, sometimes psychological and emotional emptiness and nothingness, sometimes omissions, sometimes jumps, sometimes simplifying the complex, and sometimes stopping at words. In short, through Leaving blank space, the play as a whole presents the aesthetic qualities of conciseness, restraint, subtlety, and subtlety, leaving the audience with a broad space for imagination and room for aftertaste.
To sum up, the TV series "Flowers" directed by Wong Kar-wai inherits and promotes traditional Chinese literary and artistic aesthetics in many aspects, making the TV series a work with strong national characteristics and distinctive personal style, which is in line with my country's current mainstream TV series. The sharp contrast makes it look unique. We must admit that "Flowers" is a rare high-quality TV series that has raised the artistic level of Chinese TV series to a new level. Of course, it is not perfect, and its unique style is not acceptable to everyone. The last thing I want to say is that Wong Kar-wai's first TV series is worthy of praise for pioneering the aesthetics of Chinese TV series, but this does not mean that all its practices are completely in line with the artistic laws of TV series. We still have a long way to go to inherit and learn from traditional Chinese literary and artistic aesthetics, represented by traditional opera aesthetics, and promote our country's drama, film and television creations to embark on a modernization path rich in national characteristics. (Author: Tian Guang, associate professor at the Institute of Drama, Film and Television Literature, Lanzhou University)
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