After "two years of separation, the return of the naked son", the third season of the large-scale cultural exploration program "National Treasure" of the Central Radio and Television Corporation recently came to an end.
"In the long river of human history, what has Chinese civilization contributed to the world?" The third season of "National Treasure" uses 10 episodes to answer the questions sent at the beginning. From the first season that began airing in 2017 to the third season that has aired today, every appearance of "National Treasure" will trigger a boom from the screen "burning" to the offline. Behind the label of its phenomenal IP is the superb production level, as well as the cultural heritage and social value it carries.
Nandu reporter noted that after the popularity of "National Treasure", it not only aroused wide praise from all walks of life, but also attracted frequent follow-up in the industry, and a series of traditional cultural programs have successively "gone out of the circle". Some scholars pointed out that in similar programs, the transmission of traditional culture, vivid program forms, the application of new technologies, and the addition of performing arts stars are all elements that have become blockbusters.
"National Treasure" debuted at the Spring Festival Gala
The Spring Festival Gala once again witnessed the return of national treasures. In the special program of "National Treasure Homecoming" of the 2021 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, Zhang Guoguo, the docent of "National Treasure" No. 001, showed the 100th lost cultural relics returned to the motherland in 2020- the Buddha Head of the Tianlongshan Grottoes in Shanxi, as well as a high-definition replica of the "Five Bull Map" that has been living overseas for many years, evoking people's memories of "National Treasure".
Since its launch in 2017, "National Treasure" has now entered its third season.
Nandu reporter learned that the idea of "National Treasure" was born in 2015, the original plan was a reality show related to intangible cultural heritage, after many revisions, until a chance trip to the Forbidden City in 2016, the program creators established the direction of the program. In December 2017, this large-scale cultural exploration program was launched on CCTV Variety Channel.
In order to do a good job in this program, Yu Lei, the producer of the CCTV brand variety show "Open the Door", is also the chief writer and overall design of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala for four consecutive years from 2012 to 2015, and the literary chief writer of the 2016 Hangzhou G20 Summit Literary and Art Performance "The Most Memorable is Hangzhou", who served as the producer and general director of the program.
"It's a very simple and complicated show." Yu Lei said that it is simple because it is to tell the past and present lives of national treasures in one museum after another; complex, because its presentation integrates studio variety shows, documentaries, stage plays and other art forms. For what evaluation this exploratory innovation integration will get, the creators are both nervous and looking forward to it.
One by one, the cultural relics in the collection that originally stood above the temple came alive in "National Treasure". Traffic stars, powerful actors, non-genetic inheritors, architects, volunteer interpreters of the Forbidden City, people of different identities and backgrounds gathered together because of a national treasure, and the audience also understood the spiritual connotation of the civilization and the continuation of Chinese culture carried by the cultural relics in laughter and touch.
After the broadcast of "National Treasure", it immediately triggered a warm response.
Nandu reporter learned that after the program began broadcasting, it received a high rating of 9.3 on Douban. While receiving continuous attention from many mainstream media such as People's Daily, it has also attracted a large number of "tap water". "It is precisely because of such a moving story that the cold cultural relics have really come alive"; "CCTV's cultural program is a big move." Some netizens commented.
Nandu reporters noticed that the vivid form of the program is one of the reasons for attracting young audiences.
Yan Jingming, vice chairman of the China Writers Association, believes that "National Treasure" uses a two-point narrative method to connect the "past and present lives" of cultural relics, and at the same time highlights the sense of hierarchy through the highlights of explainers, guardians, experts and characters in this life in terms of character setting, the emotional preparation is fuller, and the dramatic stage presentation effect highlights the sense of the times.
The "Treasure Show" that continues to be popular
The Forbidden City in 600 years, the Forest of Steles in Xi'an in 933, the Classical Gardens in Suzhou in 1000 years, the Potala Palace in 1300 years... The responsible persons of the nine historical and cultural relics took the stage and called on the whole society to pay attention to and support the protection and inheritance of Chinese cultural heritage. This is the day in November 2020, the launching ceremony of the third season of "National Treasures" of China Central Radio and Television Corporation. Soon after, in December 2020, the third season of "National Treasure" returned with a new look and a new form.
In addition to "bringing the museum's artifacts to life", the third season also turns its attention to historical and cultural relics. The program team placed Chinese civilization in the coordinate system of human civilization, selected 9 historical and cultural heritage sites on the land of China, restored the activatable historical scenes as much as possible, and let the original archaeological relics and historical buildings "tell stories".
Yu Lei, the general director of "National Treasures", once introduced that the logic of the choice of nine historical and cultural heritage sites is "hoping to expand the dimensions of our expression to the long river of the entire human civilization and see what Chinese civilization has contributed to the world." It said that the exploration of historical and cultural heritage will be more conducive to awakening memories from multiple angles than individual cultural relics, and restoring the picture of the times behind the ruins.
In the third season, there are more and more technological elements. Yu Lei introduced that the program team has renovated the stage art system and used virtual visual technology to strive to present better visual effects. "The development of science and technology and cultural relics and artworks should be taken into account in an all-round way."
Nandu reporter learned that the new season of "National Treasure" has 3 scenes in each issue, almost all of which are used in virtual reality (VR) technology. In addition, AR (augmented reality) special effects also expand the space for greater expression for theatrical performance.
As a super cultural IP heavily created by the Literary and Art Program Center of the Central Radio and Television Corporation, the third season of "National Treasure" has lived up to the fact of "treasure program" since its inception. CCTV data released on December 17, 2020 shows that the third season of "National Treasure" was 9.9 in station B, and as many as 80,000 bullet screens in one issue alone; Douban opened a score of 9.4, and then quickly rose to 9.5, slightly higher than the previous two seasons, and 76.1% of the audience gave five-star praise.
"Variety + culture" has triggered a follow-up trend
Nandu reporter noted that after the "National Treasure" set off a boom, it also triggered a follow-up trend in the industry. A series of traditional cultural programs on local platforms "out of the circle" have also become blockbusters.
In addition to "National Treasures", CCTV is also constantly innovating, and has simultaneously launched programs such as "I Repair Cultural Relics in the Forbidden City", "Chinese Poetry Conference" and "Classic Poetry Circulation". Among them, "Classic Aria Circulation", which uses the power of poetry to convey poetry, broke through for three consecutive seasons, with a Douban score of 8.7 points, and the total number of official short videos viewed in the first half of 2020 reached 120 million times.
Why can traditional cultural programs set off a boom?
Nandu reporter learned that the program form of "variety show + culture" is sought after by young people, and is closely related to the application of new technologies and the addition of performing arts stars. Zhang Yiwu, a well-known cultural scholar and professor of the Department of Chinese at Peking University, believes that variety shows are a good way to communicate with young people. Taking "National Treasure" as an example, the application of new video technology strengthens the visual impact of cultural relics, and the "legend of past lives" brought by star guardians digs deep into the historical value of cultural relics.
Traditional cultural programs also evoke the common memory of the nation and play a role in maintaining the bond of national feelings. Wang Xiaoying, executive vice president of the National Theatre of China, believes that "National Treasure" has created an emotional communication between cultural relics and viewers, and it has used the characteristics of mass media to pass on the stories behind the characters and today's values to young audiences today.
"Let the broad and profound and vivid docking, let the deep and emotional active dialogue, not overnight." As for how to make full use of emerging media means to make excellent traditional culture more in-depth popular, Zhang Yiwu believes that it is necessary to maintain a high degree of respect for excellent traditional culture, innovate in the variety show model, and also work the integrated media communication.
Written by: Nandu reporter Wu Jialing intern Ouyang Pi