When it comes to domestic historical dramas, you definitely can't bypass a drama -
"Daming Dynasty 1566".
This serious historical drama is not only about the strategists and people's hearts in the court, but also a history of the Daming Dynasty.
At that time, it was originally a historical drama prepared for CCTV, but it was favored by Hunan Satellite TV, and bought the exclusive broadcast rights for 5 years in one go, and also arranged to broadcast it in the prime time of 2007.
However, this drama with high hopes surprised everyone.
The premiere rating was only 0.5%, setting a record for the ratings of Hunan Satellite TV dramas that year, and some viewers complained that year: I can't understand.
The failure of ratings not only made Hunan Satellite TV no longer touch the theme of historical dramas for many years, but also marked that domestic historical dramas fell directly into the trough from the peak of "Yongzheng Dynasty", "Kangxi Dynasty" and "Hanwu the Great".
The decline of an ace genre, the iconic drama is not a bad drama, but precisely the 9.7 divine drama that represents the peak of the creation of this genre, and the fate of historical dramas is indeed amazing.
In the years since, this imperial drama from the perspective of the court has never recovered, and "Mountains, Rivers and Moonlight" broadcast last year failed again.
Fortunately, another type of historical drama has defended this former national drama trump card.
This is the historical drama of people's livelihood.
In addition to the imperial power, this kind of drama focuses more on the people's livelihood.
For example, "Daqing Salt Merchant" focuses on salt, and "The World's Granary" focuses on granaries.
There is also the hit "The World Has a Long River" at the end of last year, focusing on river management.
But can this breath of historical drama continue? Can a new generation of historical dramas revive historical dramas?
The answer may be in the 12-episode short drama broadcast by iQiyi tonight - "The Silk Case of Daming under the Microscope".
Ma Boyong's original book + personally screenwriter,
Zhang Ruoyun, Wang Yang, and Wu Gang joined forces again.
Seeing this, I believe that many people, like me, admire the boldness and adventure of the main creator.
The first is to dare to gnaw the hard bone of historical dramas, the second is to play the new genre of historical short dramas, and the third is the story dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.
This time, will it repeat the mistake of the ratings failure of "Daming Dynasty 1566"?
Think too much. Less than two hours after the broadcast, it won the first place in the platform soaring list.
On the first day of broadcasting, it has accumulated 106 hot searches on the list.
Not only the ratings and popularity exploded, but the reputation was also good.
The four or five-star evaluations brushed up, some audiences were seen by Wang Yang's performance, and some audiences praised the taste of classic Hong Kong opera public debate.
It seems that this domestic historical drama finally won the "bet".
After brushing 4 episodes in one breath, I boldly asserted: this drama will soon become popular throughout the country and become the king of this year's historical drama.
I know what you're thinking? A historical skit, on what basis?
It is from the "short" that we can truly see the meaning of "grand".
As Ma Boyong said: it is like a microscope, by examining the changes of a drop of blood and a cell, to judge the health of the entire human body.
If this story is "a drop of blood of the Ming Dynasty under the microscope".
Then, the real "play" is,
Behind this drop of blood, what the wind of history blew, and what was left after it blew.
First, the angle is novel, using a public drama to link the court, officials and people's livelihood, each of which hits the point
Audiences familiar with Ma Boyong know that "Daming under the Microscope" is neither a traditional historical novel nor a traditional Ma Boyong novel.
Compared with "Chang'an Twelve Hours", "Fengqi Luoyang" and "Fengqi Longxi", this novel is no longer a fictional story of Prince Ma based on the vague details existing in history, playing his own super brain hole, but a real "adaptation based on real history".
The story originated from a private tax case in Huizhou during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty.
With genius arithmetic and persistent efforts, a small person revealed the truth to the world and completed the grasshopper shaking the tree.
This entry point is indeed ingenious.
From point to point, from a small case, the various group portraits of the Ming Dynasty officialdom and the sufferings of the people are depicted, and finally the entire dynasty under this history is described.
But the most ingenious angle, but also the hardest. How to integrate this multi-angle story into the story?
At the beginning of the story, do not talk about silk, first talk about measurement.
It is rare to see such a solid domestic historical drama.
The male coach Jia Mo, played by Zhang Ruoyun, was busy in the field as soon as he appeared.
A group of Ming Dynasty peasants stupidly watched this stupid brat measure, calculate, and look at the sky back and forth.
What is this kid doing? Zhang Ruoyun made it clear: his profession is actually measuring acres.
After measuring it, he began to settle accounts with the villagers: "On our family's land deed, it clearly says four acres. "What about the four points?"
Shuai Jiamo said in one sentence: Numerical sincerity, I have not miscalculated and will not lie.
The camera turns.
The field acre surveyor appeared in the gambling house, a group of people gambled hotly, only he was in the corner, his eyes wandered, there were words in his mouth, and he was calculating in his mind.
Casino owner Lu Feilong directly ordered the battle book: I want to bet with you.
The handsome brothers sat down happily: Okay, come on.
"Not with you, you." Who, count the nerd handsome family mo.
Why, of course, is to see the trick: there is an arithmetic genius, counting cards. Sure enough, after one round, the Supreme kills.
But was broken by the casino owner: You are cheating! In the next second, the two were directly pressed on the gaming table, and immediately asked for casino rules and chop their hands.
At the critical moment, the heroine played by Qi Wei appeared, and a bench flung over, killing a bloody road in the casino - run!
Good guy, just such a dumbfounded nerd, can poke such a big hole in the sky?
It really can.
Because of the beams made in the casino before, when the male protagonist was forced to help Lu Feilong count the accounts, he found that the land deeds they collected were not the same as the actual amount they were looking for.
If you want to find out this, you have to go to the Jia Ge Library in Renhua County.
It was here that this nerd found that the amount of "human silk tax" in Renhua County was wrong from the tax account book of Renhua County, and the local government paid an extra tax, which was 3530 taels of silk tax.
This silk should be shared by the seven counties in the state, and for some reason, all of it fell on Renhua County. It was also here that the nerd recalled a fire when he was a child, as if the death of his parents was related to this incident.
Shuai Jiamo, who determined that the accounts were wrong, went to the Renhua County Office to report the problem, hoping that the other party could correct it as soon as possible.
The other party glanced at him and said that the problem of money and food was one level at a time, so let him look upwards.
So he found the prefect Yamen in the prefecture, and before he could finish speaking, he sent him back to the county and asked Renhua County to write an official document.
Shuai Jiamo had to find the Renhua County Office again with a confused look.
This time, the other party let people "fork" him out, and went up to the board.
Who knows, the more so, the more this nerd will bite to death.
But the county and the state don't care, how can they file a complaint?
Handsome Jiamo's method is very wonderful, do not let me reflect the problem, can you still not let me fight a lawsuit with someone?
So he ran directly into the county with the casino loss friend, and said all the doubts in his heart under the public.
After listening to the county grandmaster played by Hou Yansong, he directly spewed out a sip of tea.
The ordinary people who were watching did not do it: What, we helped the next counties pay an extra few thousand taels a year? This must not be explained?
This plot reversal is played, and it is really enough for Ma Boyong.
The plot comes here, and through a lawsuit, the story is presented in a panoramic manner.
From the historical background, to the points of contradiction and conflict, to the officialdom, the court, the people, and the people's livelihood, they are closely connected in this way.
The audience was also brought into empathy by the fast-paced story and strong suspense moments, and followed the director into the story.
What is the truth? Can Shuai Jiamo settle this account with the government? Will it get into trouble?
Many questions are curious. At this point, I also entered the play.
And the most important meaning of this opening is: the microscope, put up.
It is not only aimed at the "game of good and evil", but also aimed at the Daming Dynasty refracted through the story.
Second, all the acting skills, three scenes stand the whole story, and the three details are simply magical
No matter what the drama, the story and characters are the most important.
In terms of casting, "Daming under the Microscope" follows the law of historical drama selection and gathers many powerful actors.
Therefore, there are many scenes of racing at the beginning of the series, which is very enjoyable to watch.
But the most admirable thing is the control of details and foreshadowing in the series, when these details are blended with the superb interpretation of the powerful, it is refreshing.
Here, let's take three detailed examples of the meaning of "layer by layer" to help you see through the twists and turns between characters, officialdom and the Ming Dynasty system in this historical suspense drama.
Detail 1: Fan Yuan's "caretake", confusing bureau
"Daming under the Microscope" reveals the cold texture of a suspense drama everywhere.
Soon after the beginning of the story, two scenes were foreshadowed.
One is the prefect Huang Ningdao, played by Gao Yalin, in the face of this very noisy storm, not only did he not play off, but smiled slightly, and said, "Then let the handsome family silently investigate."
Met a good official? How is it that easy?
Huang Ningdao is a careerist who has failed in the officialdom, who has been sent from Beijing to the local government, and his only purpose in doing things is to return himself to the center, for which both enemies and friends can be used.
But he soon found that the officials here were like monoliths, needles could not be pierced, and water could not be splashed.
Then use the handsome Jiamo to be a nerd and break through the copper wall and iron wall of this officialdom for him.
In another scene, Wu Gang plays Fan Yuan, a former imperial historian who returned to his hometown after retirement and became the eldest of the rich squires, and now summoned Cheng Renqing, a teacher played by Wang Yang, late at night and told him: This handsome family has some connections with me, and I hope that Mr. Cheng will take care of him more.
Really caregiver? First of all, let's talk about what the Ming Dynasty squires are - they hide their private fields in the decay of the people's livelihood, and let the people help them pay their taxes, no wonder the acres in the county are always not right.
Is Shuai Jiamo, a stunned blue who dares to touch their interests, really being taken care of? It's better to look at the move.
At this point, the drama has not yet begun, one smiles, the other cares, and the mountain rain is about to come.
Detail 2: Huang Ningdao's smile, a "public-private debate competition"
Soon, the storm arrived.
Huang Ningdao ordered the three levels of the county government to review the silk tax, and before the trial began, officials from the three counties outside Renhua County arrived, two county orders and one main book, saying that it was a debriefing, but in fact, the target was obviously Shuai Jiamo's case.
Who leaked the secret? Huang Ningdao, played by Gao Yalin, smiled at Renhuazhixian, played by Hou Yansong.
Officialdom fights, everything is silent.
And the officials of the three counties arrived apparently to make this silk case impossible.
The county commander played by Zhang Fan held chopsticks at lunch and said lightly: Shuai Jiamo's set of statements seems reasonable, but it is actually absurd, and it can be overturned with a gentle refutation in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, he really raised the "foot fee" flaw, trying to make Shuai Jiamo's statement become rootless grass, which is not worth the first trial.
The county officials on the side took advantage of the situation to say a word, some reprimanded, some laughed, some were funny, and they were about to suppress the handsome family silently.
Who knew that Shuai Jia Mo lowered his head and calculated, and the allusions to the whip law were said one by one, pointing out that the Ming Dynasty's tax burden tax calculation method changed, and the so-called foot fee flaws were self-defeating.
The officials of several counties who had just thought they had won the victory were instantly stunned.
A good public-private debate competition, on the surface, the key to winning is the silent calculation of the handsome family, but there is also a key force behind it, which is the fighting method between the officials of the Ming Dynasty and counties.
The best thing about this play is not only the story, but also the fighting between the county officials played by Zhai Xiaoxing, Qian Yi, Zhang Fan, Wang Tonghui, Fang Bin and other acting schools, and the prefects played by Gao Yalin.
Qian Yi has shown his face in many big dramas, participated in "Ideal City", and played an old policeman in the hit suspense drama "Daughter Back" some time ago.
Zhang Fan played Lei Zhicheng in "The Three-Body Problem", there are not many scenes, and it is very outstanding.
Fang Bin played Gong Weize in "The World" and played Chief Li in "County Party Committee Compound", and his acting skills are quite good.
Wang Tonghui and Zhang Ruoyun collaborated in "Sword in the Snow".
These acting schools compete on the same field, and the literary opera is alive to show the tension of martial arts.
It's enjoyable.
Detail 3: Cheng Renqing's "clever tongue", the upside down victory and defeat
But many counties and counties made the war marshal silent, and the official family lost?
Don't forget, Wu Gang's phrase "take more care".
Shuai Jiamo has another strongest opponent in this debate competition - Cheng Renqing played by Wang Yang.
On the surface, it is impossible to argue, and the county masters made a conspiracy on the spot: For what purpose did Shuai Jiamo have to provoke this case of human silk tax?
It's time for Cheng Renqing to appear.
Unexpectedly, in this game, Shuai Jiamo lost cleanly.
As soon as Cheng Renqing appeared, he said the tragedy of his parents' death, and pointed out that he was the seven-year-old child who survived the fraud case that year, and the reason why he provoked the case was because his parents died in the silk tax case that year, and now they are taking revenge for personal gain.
Geng Zhi's handsome Jiamo, on arithmetic, there may be few people who are his opponents, and when it comes to quibbling, how he is the opponent of the articulate Cheng Renqing.
If the defeat in front of the stage is only clear, then a closed-door meeting between Huang Ningdao and several county officials behind the scenes is the real key - to maintain the unfair silk tax, everyone is peaceful, and if the existing pattern is broken, no one knows.
At this point, the fate of the male protagonist has been decided - he is obviously a hero who petitions for the people's life, but he was detained on the spot and handed over to the torture room to discuss the crime.
So, a strong wind rose and fell in a hurry.
The wind and grass are blowing, and it is the small people who are in trouble.
And the follow-up drama conflict of this play also stands!
Where does Shuai Jiamo's fate go? Is this the end of the silk tax case?
Cheng Renqing, who has worked for the official family all the way and mentioned handsome family words everywhere, is it black or white?
A few details, three layers of deep meaning, stand up the story, and also explain the essence of the story - the Daming under the microscope is actually another grassroots version of the Daming Dynasty.
Behind a silk case, there are quack officials, squires, officialdom ecology, dynastic systems, and official checks and balances and internal strife throughout the history of the Ming Dynasty.
How difficult can a silk case be to investigate? But the real difficulty behind this is the accumulation of a feudal dynasty.
A small case, in fact, is like a microscope, enlarging the people in the story one by one, which is the real good show.
Third, the group portraits are rich, Zhang Ruoyun's "stay", Wang Yang's wisdom, Gao Yalin's clothing, all of them are impressive
As far as the plot currently aired, there are already many rich and delicate characters portrayed in the play.
First of all, Zhang Ruoyun plays Shuai Jiamo.
Zhang Ruoyun can kill from this wave of students, relying on acting skills, from Zhang Xianzong in "Heartless Mage", to Tang Shanhai in "Sparrow", and then to Qin Ming in "Forensic Qin Ming", all of them are impressive.
A hundred poems about a wine fight in "Qing Yu Nian" can be described as the pinnacle of his performance.
But there are also fears that his performance will be stereotyped.
For now, this worry is superfluous.
In "Daming under the Microscope", he played the handsome Jiamo is a persistent "arithmetic nerd", proficient in arithmetic, never forgetting, and at the same time not understanding the world, straightforward and frank, more true in death, recognizing death, and correcting mistakes.
Zhang Ruoyun himself concluded: "Shuai Jiamo is not in other people's channels, he is a person who has no emotional attitude towards the world."
In the first four episodes, he played this nerd to the fullest, especially the eyes.
As long as the camera cuts to him, you can see that he is calculating and thinking, a public debate scene, and showing the character's courage and courage without turning back.
Small people, there are also wind bones.
Secondly, Cheng Renqing, played by Wang Yang, is also very outstanding.
From "Qing Yu Nian", Wang Yang's good dramas have continued, from the drag king of "Rebel", to the affectionate man of "The World", to the justice prosecutor of "Punishment", no role stumped him, but it is hard to imagine that he will play a big gesture like a river.
In the opening ten minutes of this play, Cheng Daxiang fought three lawsuits, proficient in the law, logical and eloquent. Wang Yang speaks extremely fast, but his words are clear, and his line skills are really solid.
It was his war of words that made Shuai Jiamo lose the case and go to prison, but it was also he who was gradually moved by Shuai Jiamo's naked heart, and finally changed his position and joined forces with Shuai Jiamo to plead for the people.
It can be said that if this contest between officials and the people, only Shuai Jiamo is alone, and there is absolutely no chance of victory, and Cheng Renqing is the key variable that determines the victory or defeat.
Wang Yang is also a very wonderful actor, this time, the role has the words and swords in the public court, the arrogance of "give me as much justice, I will give you as much justice", and there is also the true temperament under the surface of recognizing money and not recognizing people.
Not only is he bold and courageous, but he can also retreat all over, and this role was performed by Wang Yang again.
Also, Gao Yalin, who amazes me.
As a villain, his humility is like an umbrella.
In the first four episodes, his face changes so quickly that it can be said that every look is a play.
The audience almost missed a powerhouse.
Finally, there is Wu Gang.
Wu Gang did not appear much in the first four episodes, but the performance state recalls Lu Qiaoshan in "Lurking" and Li Dakang in "In the Name of the People".
Performing this sinister and cruel squire, Wu Gang's performance can be described as weightless, but it always makes people feel his weight, just look at Wang Yang's expression.
Even if this role is not considered Wu Gang's acting turnaround after "Crazy", it is at least a return blood in performance.
In addition to the four characters, there are many vivid and full characters in the play.
For example, Fang Xianling, played by Hou Yansong, pretends to be confused, the city government, knows how to tolerate, and is proficient in games.
The main bookkeeper played by Qian Yi is public-minded, tired, forbearing, and well-intentioned.
Fang Bin plays Song Ren, low-key, modest, kind and wall-to-wall.
Deng Xianling, played by Zhang Fan, is pretentious, and also has a sense of words and appearances.
It can be said that in "Daming under the Microscope", every character who appears has its own brilliance, full and vivid.
What moves the audience in the whole drama is no longer those "big heroes" who call for wind and rain in historical imperial dramas.
It is every "little person" who can't help himself, hanging in the air.
Fourth, the elements are rich, both true, witty, and moving, and this drama has made a new way of historical drama
Once upon a time, historical dramas shined in the field of film and television.
"Hanwu the Great", "Yongzheng Dynasty" and other works, one classic after another, are also the ratings of the year.
However, with the changes in the film and television drama industry, under the sweep of various idols, palace fights and fairy tale dramas, historical dramas have gradually retreated to the margins.
It was hard to come out with one or two historical dramas, and they also lost their charm of the year. "Great Qin Fu" was filmed into a drama of old age pretending to be young, and "Great Song Palace Words" became an ancient middle-aged Mary Sue.
On the contrary, the costume suspense universe opened by Ma Boyong's overhead novels such as "Chang'an Twelve Hours" and "Feng Qi Longxi" gave the audience a bit of the feeling of a traditional historical drama.
Looking at the temperament of this "Daming under the Microscope" that is really adapted from history, it seems to return to the texture of the historical drama 20 years ago.
What's so good about the episodes? First of all, one word, true.
For a historical drama, the most important and basic thing is truth.
Compared with those historical dramas that are under the banner of formal drama and act in the air, this drama has achieved the ultimate in truth.
For example, serving the Taojin.
From the official costumes of the Ming Dynasty to the shapes of grass people, from the decorations of the warehouses to the toothbrushes used in Zhixian, they all restore the appearance in real history.
Secondly, the details are true.
Ma Boyong's novel was originally adapted from the rich and complete historical facts of that year, including the official documents, notices, recitals, notes, and some comments at the time, etc., and the story of his personal screenwriter will naturally not be out of shape.
What's more, the series also tells us about the governance structure of the grassroots level of Ming Dynasty society.
The bureaucracy will only reach the county level, and further down it will rely on the squires and eunuchs for management, so Wu Gang's role is so calm and arrogant.
And the local officials of the Ming Dynasty were not as dignified as we thought, they also needed to be careful and balance the interests of all parties, and in many cases they could not help themselves.
Second, it is good to be on the right path.
"Daming under the Microscope" does not blindly cater to the audience and does not add popular costume elements such as ancient puppet love, but it does not mean that it is not good-looking.
The play is full of many witty and funny plots, and there is no lack of suspense elements.
The picture shots of the whole drama are very similar to the taste of Mango TV's high-scoring historical documentary "China", which is that rich historical texture.
More importantly, the drama has made the style of a historical drama.
The whole drama does not have a grand narrative from a high place, no candle illuminating the world, and the style of the big people in thousands of miles is clear, only the atmosphere of the small characters.
Shuai Jiamo is a nerd, Cheng Renqing, a master who has seen money, why is he involved in this thankless silk case?
What is behind the persistence of small individuals floating in the torrent when facing grand history?
Two words: right or wrong.
In the play, Shuai Jia Mo has a line that is loud: What is wrong must be corrected.
When many costume suspense dramas focus on "there is only one truth", the high energy that finally comes out.
But this drama does the opposite, telling you: the truth that the people expect, why is it difficult to find out to the end.
Heaven's Dao is clear, in the final analysis, it is not possible to solve it one person and one place for a while.
The world is cloudy, even if one person picks up a microscope.
But what is wrong must be corrected.
At that moment, looking at the determined nerd in my eyes, I recalled the finale of "The Great Song Ti Criminal Officer", and I suddenly had some tears.
It also found the meaning of the existence of historical dramas.
On the surface, historical skits are thankless.
Drag the short and concise story into 50 episodes, so that the cost can be evenly distributed, and the profit is small.
Striving to make such a costume historical drama in the countercurrent is to go against the current. It's easiest to pat sweet pets easily.
But what is wrong must be corrected.
China's 5,000-year history, every paragraph, many characters are enough to make an excellent historical drama.
The question is, does anyone insist on "being stupid" and rise to the challenge?
Looking at it with a microscope, "Daming under the Microscope" is not perfect, but it allows me to see a good story from history, a group of attentive acting skills, and an obsession with making historical dramas with heart.
That's enough.