One of the four most important Chinese classic novels, A Dream of the Red Chamber, always evokes an array of emotions in people - pleasure, pain, even surprise.

There is therefore great interest in a new TV series currently being shot but also great contempt among netizens for the costumes chosen by the producers.

They gave me goose bumps but not because I was excited by them. Like other viewers, I have to confess that the new images look, well, ghostly.

For one thing, the ladies are wrapped rigidly in layers of silk or gauze in pale white, dark purple or ghastly green. The most controversial part is the hair: There are semi-circles on the rim of the hair on the ladies' forehead.

Anyone familiar with Chinese folk opera would recognize the circles from Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera, which the designer, internationally renowned Timmy Yip (Ye Jingtian), has proudly acknowledged.

I couldn't help but wonder how a British audience would respond if they saw Queen Elizabeth and her court dressed the same as ancient Greek performers. The comparison might not be perfect but you get the point. However well the performance might be, a wrong costume can ruin everything.

Those who applaud the chosen design say the novel itself makes no clear definition of historical background and Yip's creation adds much grandeur to the story.

However, take a look at the healthy, lively images of the novel's former TV adaptation made in 1987 and you'll see why so many hate the new faces.

Ever since the novel first appeared in the mid-18th century, people have always speculating over its real author, the fate of the characters in the missing chapters and the hidden mockery at the politics.

Chairman Mao Zedong, founder of New China, ordered a special copy of this novel printed in bigger fonts and kept it by his pillow, filling it with red underlines and remarks.

The public appetite is as great as ever - just a year ago, auditions for the new TV series were aired live every weekend and the ratings were unprecedented, with tens of thousands of young men and women glued to their TVs.

Soon the event became a headline-making beauty pageant; quarrels broke out about who should have final say - the voting netizens, the director or the investor.

It came to a head one day when Hu Mei, a veteran director with many serious historical dramas under her belt, stormed out. For months, the dust seemed to have settled but those involved say this was too lucrative a deal to be allowed to fade away, so another crew was formed, this time with Li Shaohong behind the wheel.

Li has worked with Yip in several dramas about court life and love struggles. A spokesman for the crew has called the leaking of the costume photos "illegal" and stressed that many of the original ideas had been discarded or improved.

The new TV adaptation is set to be aired in two years' time. What will my favorite characters look like by that time? I'm not too optimistic but one thing is sure: There will be more surprises and fun.

(China Daily July 17,2008)