Whether you ask a question such as "Which domestic TV series has the highest rating" in "Today's Headlines" or in places such as "Zhihu" and "Tieba ", presumably the top answer, needless to say, will be "Towards the Republic". Director Zhang Li has high requirements for himself, excellence, and pursuit of perfection, and masterpieces such as "Towards the Republic" and "Daming Dynasty 1566" reflect this quality of his.
▲ Douban score
In the Douban score, "Towards the Republic" and "Daming Dynasty 1566" are both rated at 9.7, but in the most successful domestic TV series rankings in the past years, "Towards the Republic" has always suppressed "Daming Dynasty 1566" and dominated the list for many years. "Towards the Republic" adheres to a fair and realistic attitude, the director's team selects the actors' good intentions, the actors' meticulous interpretation, and the excellence of post-production, all of which can be called bloody, so once broadcast, it has become the most impeccable film and television work.
For various reasons, "Towards the Republic" has not been played much, not to mention its premiere year is special; however, anyone who has watched this drama with their heart will definitely be shocked, and even a little proud.
▲ Douban ranking: No.1.
The historical period involved in the historical drama "Towards the Republic" is only 24 years from about 1894 to 1917, but it covers almost all the major historical events in this historical period.
Beginning with Empress Dowager Cixi's longevity celebration (1894), the Summer Palace Project, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Signing of the Treaty of Maguan (1895) after the defeat. Subsequently, led by Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others, the "letter on the bus" was launched, prompting the Guangxu Emperor to announce the change of law (Wu Shu Change Law, 1898). Then came the Boxer Rebellion (1898), in which the Boxer Rebellion (1900) was instigated by the Qing court, and the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China (The Eight-Nation Alliance's Invasion of China, 1900) on this grounds, and at the same time, Empress Dowager Cixi declared war on the Eight Kingdoms (Eleven).
▲ Empress Dowager Cixi forcibly declared war on behalf of the Guangxu Emperor to the Eleven Kingdoms
However, the southeastern half of the wall, headed by Li Hongzhang and contacted by Sheng Xuanhuai, including Zhang Zhidong, Liu Kunyi, Xu Yingqi, Yuan Shikai, and other local governors, announced that they "refused to obey the edict", known in history as the Southeast Mutual Protection (1900). After the fall of Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Xi'an (1900) with the Guangxu Emperor, and at the same time summoned Li Hongzhang, who had been sent to the governor of Liangguang, to return to Beijing and negotiate peace with the Eight-Nation Alliance, which resulted in the Treaty of Xinugu (1901). The signing of this treaty also accelerated the deterioration of Li Hongzhang's illness, and he died soon after.
The outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War (1904) accelerated the constitution-making of the Qing court, so five ministers were sent to stay in the west (1905) to prepare the constitution by 1909. However, the speed of the revolution was faster, the success of the Wuchang Uprising (1911) led to the rapid collapse of the Qing court, Sun Yat-sen established the Republic of China in Nanjing (1912), and in the process of the North-South Peace Conference (1912), Yuan Shikai exchanged the price of forcing the Qing court to abdicate in exchange for the president of the Republic of China. During Yuan Shikai's presidency, the famous "Assassination of Song Jiaoren" (1913) occurred. Later, Yuan Shikai, at the instigation of Yang Du, Yuan Keding and others, became emperor (1915), abdicated the throne only 83 days later, and died of uremia shortly after. In 1917, Zhang Xun pulled out Puyi, Kang Youwei and others to implement the "restoration" (1917), which was attacked by Duan Qirui, and the restoration was fruitless, and Duan Qirui completed the "three creations of the republic".
▲ Yuan Shikai was proclaimed emperor
This is a fragment of history encapsulated throughout the TV series. However, most of the plot of the "Towards the Republic" drama is almost completely in line with historical reality. In particular, some historical events, such as the mutual protection of the southeast and the three republics, which are not even mentioned in history textbooks, are so vividly interpreted in "Towards the Republic". The high degree of restoration of "Towards the Republic" lies not only in the truth, but also in the extreme fairness. In recent history, because "weak countries have no diplomacy", countries have been forced to sign unequal treaties, resulting in unfair evaluations of many figures. "Towards the Republic" is not constrained by this, but is only interpreted according to the facts, which is not unfair.
Rather than saying that "Towards the Republic" restores the real history, it is better to say that "Towards the Republic" restores real people. As I mentioned above, "the director's team selects the good intentions of the actors", in the real history, such as Li Hongzhang, Empress Dowager Cixi, Yuan Shikai, Sun Yat-sen, Ito Hirobumi and many other celebrities, have left photos. This gives the crew great restrictions, because the director has to select actors accordingly; compared to "Daming Dynasty 1566", which can use actors indiscriminately, "Towards the Republic" is much more difficult.
However, the result was that "Towards the Republic" became a hit. Director Zhang Li once asked the actors to "resemble gods", and at the same time required that the actors ' auditions " must be recognized by all the members of the crew, so the final actor role and interpretation process have reached the point of impeccable. Let's give a few examples:
▲ Li Hongzhang
In order to select Li Hongzhang's actors, the crew was selected nationwide. Because Li Hongzhang was already 71 years old when he appeared, there was not much room for choice. In the end, Mr. Wang Bing, who is nearly 70 years old, was chosen to play Li Hongzhang. Wang Bing's Li Hongzhang is not only close in age, but also has a completely similar appearance; at the same time, Wang Bing resurrects Li Hongzhang with his excellent acting skills, becoming the biggest attraction in "Towards the Republic".
▲ Empress Dowager Cixi
In order to make the character image close to the true image of Cixi, the crew of "Towards the Republic" invited Teacher Lu Zhong, a retired national first-class actor. The old lady in her sixties was seriously ill in preparation for playing the fierce and greedy Cixi, but the crew patiently waited for the old man to recover and started to start. We only know that the old empress dowager Cixi was "greedy and extravagant" and "sinister and vicious", but she was mortal after all, and only in "Towards the Republic" did Cixi get close to historical reality.
▲ Yuan Shikai
There has been a discussion about "who plays Yuan Shikai best". The answer, however, is the one in Towards the Republic. This point is also determined by the descendants of the Yuan family. The crew of "Towards the Republic" took a fancy to and discovered Sun Chun, and Sun Chun also deliberately "fattened" for this purpose and made a lot of efforts. Therefore, it can be said that "Sun Chun plays Yuan Shikai best" is not just talk.
▲ Sun Yat-sen
Ma Shaohua had a face that was naturally similar to Sun Yat-sen's. Therefore, the "Towards the Republic" crew chose Ma Shaohua smoothly. Ma Shaohua also admitted that he "interpreted Sun Yat-sen with enthusiasm and sincerity", especially admiring Sun Yat-sen's "the world is just". In this comparison picture, the left side is a real photo, and the right side is a still of "Towards the Republic", "two rabbits walking sideways", who can distinguish the true from the false?
▲ Hirobumi Ito
Ito Hirobumi was the prime minister of the Sino-Japanese War and the Treaty of Maguan, and was one of the main figures of the Meiji Restoration; in history, he made many contributions, lofty status, and strong personality, so it was not easy for Ito Hirobumi to play an actor. The crew of "Towards the Republic" ultimately chose Yasuyuki Hirata. In the performance, the actor also has a resolute look, especially the mole on the right cheek, which shows how perfectly the crew handles the details.
▲ Zhang Zhidong
In addition to the full face of the beard, the portrayal of the character of "Zhang Zhidong" is the most accurate is his bright forehead. Although this was necessary during the Qing Dynasty, his "bald head" was particularly obvious on Zhang Zhidong. National first-class actor Liao Bingyan's original hairline is backwards, and when he plays Zhang Zhidong, who shaves his hair, it seems extremely natural. In addition, it has to be said that another obvious feature of Zhang Zhidong is that the eye bags are sagging.
▲ Kang Youwei
Kang Youwei's image is also "similar to god and deeds", especially under his eight-character beard, an arrogant expression, which is almost analogous to a person. In the early stage, Kang Youwei led the "letter on the bus", but in the later period, he became a stubborn royalist, especially in the end, when "Zhang Xun restored", Kang Youwei became a "restoration hero" and performed this farce with Zhang Xun. And actor Sun Ning vividly interpreted Kang Youwei's contradictory and stubborn character.
As such, there are many characters in "Towards the Republic", which are finalized after a lot of screening, and as "as good as possible". In addition to the above examples, there are also the Guangxu Emperor Zai Xiang, Sheng Xuanhuai, Liang Qichao, Duan Qirui, Xu Shichang, and even the young Xuantong Emperor Puyi, all of whom have such characteristics, and the crew of "Towards the Republic" can really be described as a good intention.
Whether it is the protagonist, or the supporting role, or even some seemingly inconspicuous mass characters, "Towards the Republic" can grasp it very well. According to statistics, there are as many as 11 national first-class actors invited by "Toward the Republic", including Lü Zhong (as Empress Dowager Cixi), Ma Shaohua (as Sun Yat-sen), Sun Ning (as Kang Youwei), Ge Zhijun (as Rong lu), Han Zaifen (as Shen Yuying), Liao Bingyan (as Zhang Zhidong), Ma Xiaoning (as Xiao Dezi), Jia Zhaoji (as Zhao Qilin), Cai Wei (as Huang Xing), Shang Yinquan (as Yan Jingming), Xu Min (as YiLi) and so on.
▲ Guangxu Emperor
Among them, such as Shen Yuying, Xiao Dezi, Zhao Qilin, Yan Jingming, etc. are relatively less dramatic roles, but "Towards the Republic" still uses these "national first-class actors" level actors to star, which shows that they have worked hard in the end.
In addition, there are wang bing (as Li Hongzhang), Sun Chun (as Yuan Shikai), Li Guangjie (as The Guangxu Emperor), Koji Yano (as Emperor Meiji), Yasuda Yasuyuki (as Itō Hirobumi) and other famous actors, although there is no title of "first-class actor", but his acting skills are still impeccable. Among them, Wang Bing's image of Li Hongzhang and Sun Chun's image of Yuan Shikai have become classics.
At present, few works of Chinese film and television drama dare to use foreign languages, and few works dare to invite foreign actors; in some absurd mythological dramas, the role that should belong to "foreign" personnel is not only played by a Chinese actor, but also a Chinese dialect without any trace of processing, which is ridiculous and shameless. In the drama "Towards the Republic", there is no such absurdity, and everything is interpreted according to the most real and realistic scenes.
▲ Emperor Meiji
As we all know, "Towards the Republic" is a modern historical drama. In recent history, there are many "foreign faces", and these "foreign faces" include Japanese, German, British, French, Russian, etc., such as Ito Hirobumi, Meiji Emperor, Mutsu Munemitsu, Morrison, Heinrich, Junko, Wadsi, ministers of various countries, etc. Therefore, during the filming of the "Towards the Republic" TV series, a large number of foreign actors such as Koji Yano, Yasuyuki Hirata, Hans, and Kuwaminaka were invited, and all foreigners used "hon Chinese", Japanese spoke Japanese, British spoke English, and Russians spoke Russian – which is great in itself for the TV series. According to the historical situation, the script did arrange gu Hongming, Sheng Xuanhuai, Wu Tingfang and others to translate.
The reason why "Towards the Republic" has become a classic is that it adopts a contrasting approach. TV dramas are film and television arts, but all for art, they will definitely use expressive techniques. And "contrast" is used many times in "Towards the Republic".
One of the most classic contrasts is that japan's Meiji Emperor vowed to "eat one meal a day" in order to purchase the "Yoshino" in advance, and this meal was just an ordinary rice ball. However, the camera switches to the Great Qing Dynasty. On Empress Dowager Cixi's sixtieth birthday, the imperial dining room displayed 118 mountain treasures and seafood, and Empress Dowager Cixi was still extremely dissatisfied and opened her mouth to reprimand.
▲ Emperor Meiji swore one meal a day
▲ Empress Dowager Cixi was dissatisfied with the birthday feast
This kind of expression is many in the whole play. All this reflects the contrast between the "new" and "old" forces and the two forces, and also reflects the difficulties faced by this society in moving from "autocracy" to "republic", and also shows that "moving towards republicanism" is a long road and is not achieved overnight.
Memories of the Empire / Fang Ji
The Inside Story of <'s Journey to Republican > / Southern Weekend