Literature and film and television, working together to open up new horizons (adhere to the "two innovations" to write epics)

Source: People's Daily

Above: The shadow of the novel "The World of Man". Profile picture

Below: Poster of the TV series "The World". Profile picture

Core reading

Paying tribute to literature, paying tribute to realism, paying tribute to ordinary laborers, and paying tribute to generations of down-to-earth, diligent and earnest strivers are the spiritual core of the novel "The World of Man"

The TV series "The World of Man" successfully transforms powerful literature into attractive light and shadow, stemming from the creative team's highly compatible artistic pursuit and professionalism of excellence

If you can accommodate the hills and valleys in your heart, you can only meet the mountains and rivers under the pen. Sticking to the pulse of the times and the heartbeat of the people, literary and artistic creation is high and wide

The TV series "The World of Man" is a hit, bringing a wide range of drama chasing fever and discussion fever.

In the early spring of 2022, many Chinese families spent their time in the company of the TV series "The World of Man". This "whole family loves to watch" TV series, set a record for the CCTV comprehensive channel golden file in the past 5 years of TV drama high ratings, has been accumulated more than 400 million viewers to watch. The popularity of the TV series has triggered a continuous hot discussion about the relevant topics, and the original novel "The World of Man" has also been on the best-seller lists of many book sales platforms several times. "The World of Man" is extended from literary cross-border film and television, from professional reading to social reading, and from literary and artistic works to a remarkable cultural phenomenon.

At the "From Literature to Film and Television - "Human World" Symposium" held by the China Writers Association recently, more than 20 writers, screenwriters, critics, and film and television workers held a heated discussion. How does today's literary and artistic creation match the magnificent changes of the times? How can literary and artistic works that are both ideological, artistic and ornamental be refined? How do literature and film complement each other? How to use fine works to open up a new realm of literature and art? The hit "The World of Man" has brought us many enlightenments.

If you create according to the hearts of the people, you will get the love of the people

As Tie Ning, chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and chairman of the China Writers Association, said: "The popularity of "The World of Man" once again strongly proves the intimate relationship between literature and film and television. "The success of the TV series 'The World' is to stand on the shoulders of literature.

The original novel "The World of Man" won the 10th Mao Dun Literature Award with a high vote, which is not only a thick and warm history of the struggle and life of the people, but also a magnificent history of reform and opening up. Paying tribute to literature, paying tribute to realism, paying tribute to ordinary laborers, and paying tribute to generations of down-to-earth, diligent and earnest strivers are the spiritual core of the novel "The World of Man". Liang Xiaosheng said: "I have never been emotionally disconnected from the working masses and their lives. "We see from this a literary worker's loyalty to life and deep affection for the people.

The TV series "The World of Man" successfully transforms powerful literature into attractive light and shadow, stemming from the creative team's highly compatible artistic pursuit and professionalism of excellence.

The script of "The World of Man" was written for 3 years, and until a month before the TV series was shut down, the screenwriter Wang Haiyu was still revising. Tv dramas and original works are not only in the same vein, but also add color and drama, transforming novel expressions into film and television expressions, with technical creations and conceptual breakthroughs. For Wang Haiyu, who is good at writing family dramas, the life of a reformer and an entrepreneur is a blind spot for creative experience, but she did not return to the "comfort zone" of creation, but faced difficulties. She believes that "limiting the play to the family is bound to reduce the weight of the play, and it is not in line with the original intention of the novel." It is director Li Lu's long-cherished wish to make a TV series with the workers as the protagonist, radiate all groups of people in society, and show the changes in Chinese society in the past 50 years. Li Lu said: "The changes and development of the country are all felt by everyone, and we should not forget the labor and dedication of grass-roots groups. He poured years of thinking into this play. Many powerful actors have used their brains to create good roles, worked hard, and added color to the TV series with the second creation. The crew of "The World of Man" reached thousands of people at the most, traveled to Changchun, Harbin and other places to shoot live, once ran for a scene for a long distance of two or three hundred kilometers, built a studio of more than 30,000 square meters to restore the "light word film" in the novel, and only the light line used more than 70,000 meters.

"Although it is hard work, blowing out the wild sand begins to reach gold." Audiences will not reject piping hot, sincere works. From the 1.15 million-word novel "Human World" to the 58-episode TV series "Human World", the creation of fine works is the greatest common denominator between literature and film and television, and it is also the most effective communication language between works and audiences.

Vividly writing the life of the times, writing the spirit of an era

Li Jingze, vice chairman of the China Writers Association, believes that the popularity of "The World of Man" is "the power of the people's epic and the victory of the people's aesthetics." Between the lines of the novel "The World of Man", "in the clutch of sorrow and joy, I express my feelings and ardent hopes, and show morality and responsibility in the fireworks of the world.". The TV series "The World of Man" contains deep historical awareness and cultural self-confidence, expressing the unique spiritual world and values of Chinese. In China's excellent traditional culture, the ideological concepts of "Tianxingjian, gentlemen with self-improvement" and "old people and the old, young and young and young" in China's excellent traditional culture have emancipated the mind and forged ahead in the reform and opening up, Chinese the pursuit of a better life and the inheritance and adherence to good character, which have been shown through the fate story of ordinary people.

In the play, the character image is real, realistic, and simple, and the tenacity and responsibility in their bones have touched the heartstrings of many audiences. Zhou Father and Zhou Mother's affinity, Zhou Bingyi's just and righteous deeds, Zhou Bingkun's honesty and righteousness, Zheng Juan's bitter tenacity, Cai Xiaoguang's thoughtfulness and transparency... One by one, the real people and emotional people who "walk" out of life have become people with typical characteristics of art, people with aesthetic meaning, and people who carry value guidance through artistic processing.

The depth of the history of half a century gives "The World of Man" an epic thickness. Through the experiences and stories of the three generations of the Zhou family, the audience, especially the young people, relive the path that China has taken in the past half century, understand where these changes and achievements come from, and understand the internal dynamics of social change. When looking back on this extraordinary journey, the answers the audience gets are powerful. What is even more valuable is that the narration of "The World of Man" does not avoid ups and downs, and dares to face and overcome difficulties. Through vividly writing the life of an era, it has vividly written the spirit of an era, and written the qi and soul of the development and progress of the country and the nation. This pursuit of the principle of realistic creation makes the creation of realistic themes show vitality and artistic charm.

If you can accommodate the hills and valleys in your heart, you can only meet the mountains and rivers under the pen. From novels to TV dramas, the popularity of "The World of Man" reiterates a "common sense" for current literary and art workers: sticking to the pulse of the times and the heartbeat of the people, the sky of literary and artistic creation is high.

Literature and film and television are empowered in both directions to jointly open up a new realm of literature and art

Excellent literary works are the cultural wealth shared by the whole society. "In the territory of cultural life in the new era and the pattern of modern communication, literature magnifies its own value in a more three-dimensional way, takes the initiative to exchange and learn from many art disciplines and literary and artistic forms, integrates and integrates, constantly sows the seeds of literature, and opens up a new realm of literature and art," Zhang Hongsen, secretary of the party group of the China Writers Association, suggested starting from a higher position and a broader perspective, constantly thinking about the vitality and diverse possibilities of opening up the abundant literature in the new era.

The marriage of literature and film and television is a fine tradition. From the adaptation of the four famous works of "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Journey to the West", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin" to the film and television dramas adapted from classic masterpieces such as Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Ba Jin and Lao She, in the course of the development of Chinese literature and film and television, literature and film and television have profoundly reflected the changes of the times and real life in the two-way empowerment and two-way drive, and have also built the brilliant prosperity of Chinese literature and art.

Since the new era, film and television works adapted from national award-winning works such as the Mao Dun Literature Award have become a grand view. Statistics show that since 1982, mao dun literature award a total of 48 award-winning novels, from "Furong Town", "Bell and Drum Tower", "Ordinary World" to "Historical Sky", 31 works have been adapted into movies, TV series, Peking Opera, dramas. Literature has always been present, and excellent literary works have constructed today's literary and artistic picture in a more diversified way.

The China Writers Association will implement the "New Era Mountain and Countryside Great Change Creation Plan" and the "New Era Literary Climbing Plan" for the whole country, a number of high-level and weighty literary masterpieces, which are expected to send more and better literary resources to film and television and other cultural fields.

"An outstanding work depends on a great era, on the choice of everyone in the era. Reading Group has been vigorously supporting the creation of realistic theme online literature, and we hope to promote the film and television development of more excellent reality theme literature IP, so as to effectively carry forward the main theme and transmit greater positive energy. Cheng Wu, the producer of "In the World", said.

Taking "The World of Man" as an example, we look forward to the near future, the fertile soil of literary and artistic creation is thickly planted, and the fine works are flourishing. (Ren Shanshan)

Layout design: Zhao Kairu

People's Daily (20th edition, March 17, 2022)