The large-scale documentary "Literary China" is officially launched, after "Why China"
"The biggest commonality between documentary filmmakers and archaeologists is the search for truth. By finding the truth of cultural relics, exploring the truth of ancient society, and understanding the truth of the origin and development of civilization, the audience can see a more tangible and credible picture of civilization." Gan Chao, chief director of the documentary Why China, said, "The audience will have a deeper understanding of history, more confidence and self-confidence in Chinese culture, and more warmth for the ancestors who have made China what it is today over thousands of generations. This may be the consensus of the times that will be gathered through works like Why China, one after another."
On June 26, the 29th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia TV Forum "Why China" Appreciation Dialogue and "Literary China" Launch Ceremony" was held in Shanghai. Reporters learned that as a major project of Shanghai Radio and Television this year, the large-scale documentary "Literary China" jointly directed by the State Administration of Radio and Television and the Propaganda Department of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and produced by Shanghai Radio and Television and Discovery Channel was officially prepared and launched.
Last December, based on the major research results of the "Chinese Civilization Origin Exploration Project" and "Archaeology of China", the large-scale documentary "Why China" was first broadcast on Dragon TV under the guidance of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Publicity Department of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. The documentary is divided into 8 episodes: "Qin and Han", "Cradle", "Stars", "Ancient Country", "Choose the Middle", "Shang", "Home and Country", and "The World". It starts with the Qin and Han dynasties moving towards integration, and then traces back to the turn of the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age, witnessing the ancestors of the Chinese land moving towards agricultural settlement, forming families and societies, establishing early beliefs and cultural aesthetics, starting exchanges between the five lakes and four seas, forming regional ancient countries and early civilizations, opening the dynasty era of Xia, Shang and Zhou, until the Qin and Han dynasties established a unified multi-ethnic country.
"Why China" not only records the first scene of archaeological excavation with real images, but also uses 5GAR, ultra-high-definition 8K and other shooting methods and film techniques to reproduce important scenes in ancient China and "accurately portray" Chinese civilization. Gan Chao recalled that the creation of the documentary lasted for three years. The creative team of thousands of people visited more than 230 archaeological sites, museums and other locations, with a total journey of more than 40,000 kilometers, sorted out more than 3 million words of academic materials, and the script was written with 400,000 words. Not only exploring the historical China, but also witnessing the real China, and thinking about the connection from history to reality is exactly the connotation of "Why China".
"At least half of the eight episodes of Why China are about the prehistoric period without any documentary records. In terms of constructing historical images, the documentary sets an academic goal belonging to the discipline of archaeology, namely, restoring ancient society." He introduced that 80% of the maps used in the film were created and presented for the first time, and were repeatedly checked and discussed by archaeologists, historical geographers and map editors. The average number of revisions for each map was 32 times, making it not only part of the video, but also academic. At the same time, under the guidance of hundreds of archaeologists, with the ruins and cultural relics as references and combined with relevant historical materials, the crew carried out a large number of complex restoration experiments, including house construction, ritual restoration, bronze smelting, oracle bone drilling, etc. A total of 220 narrative scenes, 2,268 sets of costumes, 1,500 pieces of accessories, and more than 3,600 props were restored in the film, so that "every scene has a source."
Reaching 150 million overseas TV users, achieving both word-of-mouth and ratings success
Zhao Hui, professor of the School of Archaeology and Museum Studies at Peking University and chief expert of the Chinese Civilization Origin Exploration Project, believes that the documentary "Why China" presents the magnificent history of tens of thousands of years in a concise and clear form, which is the social and academic significance of this documentary. "Many archaeologists, including me, were very excited when watching the documentary because it is real." In the view of Ma Xiaolin, director of the Henan Museum, "Why China" is an integration of decades of archaeological achievements and the best way to transform archaeological achievements. "It allows archaeologists, audiences, especially young people, to feel this period of history better. The documentary gives a rough outline of what China is, including geographical China and China in time periods."
The first episode of the documentary, "Qin and Han", begins with a family letter from Tomb No. 4 in "Shuihudi" outside Anlu City, giving people a glimpse of the concerns of ordinary Qin soldiers Heifu and Jing for their families more than 20 centuries ago. Zhou Fanwen, assistant dean of the School of Sociology and Anthropology of Sun Yat-sen University and co-chief writer of "Why China", said that starting with their story can evoke our most direct telepathy for China in the past, which is the concern for family. "Heifu and Jing are brothers living together. Their family is very large. There are greetings to relatives and friends in the letter. We magnified the family to the country to show this kind of family and country feelings." Zhou Fanwen believes that "Why China" contains both historical processes and specific and small stories; there are both kings and generals, as well as people who can cover all social classes, showing the formation process of Chinese civilization in which everyone participates.
Since its broadcast, Why China has achieved a record of 100 million-level dissemination, with cumulative exposure to more than 1 billion people on domestic large-screen terminals and a total dissemination of more than 6 billion times on all terminals of the entire network; it has reached 150 million overseas TV users in 199 countries and regions. At the same time, the film has also broken the "reputation record" of cultural dissemination, and has received high scores and high responses on platforms such as Tencent Video, Youku, and Douban. From the archaeological community to authoritative media, it has given high praise, praising the film for its "depth and credibility", "setting up a model for all-media dissemination", and "being an excellent textbook that proves the diversity and integration of Chinese civilization and its sustainable development, and shows the world the confidence of Chinese culture".
Faced with this achievement, Gan Chao recalled what Yan Wenming, a leading figure in Chinese archaeology, said when he visited him for the third time on July 13, 2023. At that time, the main shooting of "Why China" had been completed, and Yan Wenming served as the chief academic consultant of the project. Mr. Yan, 91 years old at the time, looked thin, but his words were still powerful. "He said that Chinese civilization is diverse and integrated, and it continues to develop. No external force can overthrow Chinese civilization. We Chinese know our own history and should be full of confidence in future development." In Gan Chao's view, this is also the greatest significance of this documentary.
On the day of the event, the preparations for the large-scale documentary "Cultural China" jointly directed by the State Administration of Radio and Television and the Publicity Department of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and produced by Shanghai Radio and Television and Discovery Channel were officially launched. This series of documentaries will uphold the original intention of promoting Xi Jinping's cultural thoughts, follow the footsteps of General Secretary Xi Jinping, visit cultural landmarks, explore the Chinese cultural veins, and explain how the long and splendid Chinese civilization has endowed Chinese-style modernization with a profound humanistic heritage from the perspective of dialogue between China and the West and the integration of ancient and modern times.
