Monkey King journeys to the West
- By Xiao Lixin
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China Daily, July 21, 2014
Quite naturally then the news of an American Monkey King is generating a lot of buzz on the Internet, with most netizens fearing that it would be another bad adaptation of the classic work. The fact, however, is that film and TV series makers across the world have adapted, extended, altered and/or distorted even the best literary works, Shakespeare's plays, for example. And despite that, we cannot deny filmmakers the liberty of interpreting a work of literature the way they want to.
Journey to the West, written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century, is itself a creative and extended interpretation of the trials and tribulations of Tang Dynasty (618-907) monk Xuanzang during his journey (with his three disciples, including the Monkey King) to India to obtain the sacred Buddhist texts (sutras).
The "original", and by far the most popular TV series on Journey to the West was made almost three decades ago (1986, to be precise). And it owes much of its popularity to Zhang Jinlai, better known as Liuxiao Lingtong, who immortalized the role of the Monkey King. Local TV stations (and even China Central Television) have been re-telecasting the series during summer and winter vacations since then. According to rough estimates, the 1986 Monkey King production has been re-telecast more than 2,000 times - the most for any TV series based on a classic work of literature.
A measure of the popularity of the 1986 series is that the adventures of the Tang Dynasty monk and his three fantastic, and at times quirky, disciples have found their way into eight productions but none has been even half as popular as the "original" one with the Chinese audience.
In contrast, despite the use of advanced American filmmaking equipment and technique, The Lost Empire couldn't attract viewers and folded up with one of the lowest ratings for a miniseries on NBC.
So, instead of reaching hasty conclusions on the outcome of the new TV series based on the Journey to the West, we should wait until it is telecast and let viewers decide whether it's good or just another ridiculous attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the novel.
The author is a writer with China Daily.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)