ChiefdirectorofculturalvarietyshowEveryTreasureTellsaStoryXuHuan(secondleft)attendsthelaunchceremonyoftheshow’ssecondseasoninBeijingonJuly13XINHUA
CCTVpresenterOuyangXiadanhoststhelaunchceremonyforthesecondseasonofEveryTreasureTellsaStoryXINHUAThesecondseasonoftheculturalvarietyshowEveryTreasureTellsaStoryrecentlyairedonChinaCentralTelevision(CCTV)andvideostreamingwebsitesIqiyi,V.qqandBilibili.
Comparedwiththefirstseasonwhichhitscreensatthebeginningoftheyearandprimarilyfocusedonpottery,jadewareandbronzevessels,thelatestofferingincorporatesawidervarietyoftreasuressuchasbambooandwoodenslips,lacquerware,andstonecarvingstoreflectthedevelopmentofproductionfromtheWarringStatesperiod(453-221B.C.)totheQinandHandynasties(221B.C.-A.D.220).
Livelypresentation
Theshowconsistsof25five-minuteepisodes,witheachinstallmentfeaturinganindividualitemofsuchhistoricalimportthatitisconsideredanationaltreasure.Incontrasttotraditionallystaidandprotractedhistory-themeddocumentaries,EveryTreasureTellsaStoryadoptsadirectandlight-heartedapproachtodepictinghistoricalartifacts.
Eachepisodestartswithavoiceoverdeclaringthat“Youhaveamessagefromnationaltreasure,pleasecheck.”
Onvideostreamingsites,hundredsofaudienceresponsespepperthebulletscreen—aphenomenonwherebyreal-timecommentsfromviewersflyacrossthescreenlikebullets—withthesamemissive:“Messagereceived.”
AccordingtoXuHuan,chiefdirectoroftheshow,inthepastbeforetheadventofstreamingsites,itwasimpossibletounderstandthereceptiontoashowinsuchanimmediateway.
Inthesecondepisode,whichlooksatabronzevesseloftheWarringStatesperiod,digitalanimationisusedtorestoretheagedbottletoitsoriginalstateandtoreenactthescenesofwarinscribedonitssurface.Thewarisbroughttolifeinvividdetail,portrayingone-on-onecombatbetweentwosoldiers,whileothersfallfromcitywalls,andanothersceneofdecapitation.
Thethirdepisodefocusesonafamoussetofchimebellsfrom433B.C.,unearthedfromthetombofMarquisYiincentralChina’sHubeiProvincein1978,andshowcasesapieceofmusicplayedusingtheancientinstrumentandrecordedin1986.
Awedbythemusic,onenetizen’spostshootsacrossthebulletscreenonIqiyi,“Thisismarvelous!Iamalmostmovedtotears.”
EveryTreasureTellsaStoryhasascoreof9.7outof10onpopularreviewsiteDouban,surpassingthe9.5ratingforitsfirstseason.Theseriesisco-producedbyCCTVandtheStateAdministrationofCulturalHeritage(SACH).
“Wewanttoprovethatinadditiontobeingserious,culturecanalsobelivelyandinteresting,”saidXu.“AlthoughInternetusersnowadaysareeasilyattractedbyamusingandsuperficialcontent,theyarealsowillingtolearnaboutcultureifitispresentedinanentertainingway,”sheadded.
“Theshowrevolutionizesagenrepreviouslydominatedbylengthydocumentariesandisverysuitablefornewmediaplatformsandmobileterminals,”saidGuYucai,DeputyDirectorofSACH.
Thefive-minuteformatsuitsthepaceofmodernlifeandsatisfiesthepreferenceofmodernaudiencesforfragmentedcontent.However,itchallengedtheproductionteamtocompleteacomprehensiveintroductiontosuchillustriousobjectsinjustfiveminutes.
AccordingtoXu,alotofresearchneededtobeundertakenfirstinordertomakeasingleepisode.
“Ourteamconsultedanumberofhistoricaldocuments,”saidXu.“WealsoinvitedexpertsfromtheSchoolofArchaeologyandMuseologyatPekingUniversityandotherinstitutionstogiveusadvice.Wewroteseveralversionsforeachepisodeandchosethebestonetouse,whichisoneofthereasonswhyourscriptshavebeenwell-receivedbyouraudience.”
Herteamconsistsofover20scriptwriters,producers,directorsandexpertsinarchaeology,museologyandanthropology.
Theshowwilltakefourseasonstoshowcaseatotalof100artifactsselectedfromover3millionnationaltreasuresinmorethan100museumsacrossthecountry.
Inordertoensuretheauthenticityoftheshow,alltheobjectsoncameraareoriginalsinsteadofreplicas.However,theartifactsareoftenfragile,asmanyofthemaremorethan2,000yearsold.Andtheproductionteamhastofindwaystoovercomemanifoldproblemsinordertopresenttheoriginaltreasureswhileguaranteeingtheirpreservation.
“TheobjectsthatappearintheserieshaveeachhadanimportantroletoplayintheformationandspreadofChinesecivilization,orreflecttheproductionandcreativityoftheirtime,”saidXu.
“Asthepublic’sculturalappreciationimproves,theyarepayingmoreandmoreattentiontoculturalartifacts.Satisfyingtheirneedsbybringingculturalartifactsclosertoordinarypeoplehasbecomeoneofourtoppriorities.Thatiswhytheshowwascreated,”saidGu.
AuseraccountfortheshowwassetuponsocialnetworkingplatformSinaWeibo,andtheobjectsfeaturedintheshowwerepromotedonshortvideoappDouyin,soastoenableInternetuserstointeractmorecloselywiththem.
Singingscrolls
EveryTreasureTellsaStoryisnottheonlyattemptbyChinesecreatorstospreadtraditionalcultureinamoreentertainingway.ArecentcompetitiontitledPaintingsCanSingwaslaunchedbythePalaceMuseum,TencentNEXTIDEAandQQMusictoencouragemusicloversaged17-35tosubmitsongsbasedonancientpaintings.
ThePalaceMuseumhasauthorizedtheuseof10famouspaintingsfromitscollectionasthesourceofinspirationforcontestants,includingthefamousSongDynasty(960-1279)paintingsAlongtheRiverDuringtheQingmingFestivalandAThousandMilesofRiversandMountainsbyartistsZhangZeduanandWangXimeng,respectively.
Thetop10entrantswillgettheopportunitytocooperatewithfamoussingersandmusicianstoperforminconcertatthePalaceMuseum.
“It’satotallynovelattemptbythePalaceMuseumandTencentatculturalinnovation.Theeventcombinespainting,musicandtechnologyandaimstoenableyoungpeopletofeelthebeautyoftraditionalcultureandrepresentclassicpaintingsinacreativeway,”saidShanJixiang,CuratorofthePalaceMuseum.
ThethememusicfortheeventisbasedonAThousandMilesofRiversandMountains,oneofChina’smostcelebratedworksofart,andissungbyJacksonYee,amemberofthepopularChineseboybandtrioTFBOYS.
“Thebestwaytospreadtraditionalcultureistobringitbacktoordinarypeople,especiallytoyoungpeople’sdailylives,”saidChengWu,VicePresidentofTencentGroup.
CopyeditedbyLaurenceCoultonCommentsto
AbooktitledTheChimeBellsofMarquisYiisreleasedinBeijingonAugust24,2015XINHUA