"Hong lou meng" (1987) TV series

Director:

Fulin Wang

Writer:

Xueqin Cao (novel)

Release Date:

1987 (China)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Love | Male Female Relationship | Based On Novel

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Feiqiang Ouyang	...	Jia Baoyu
Xiaoxu Chen	...	Lin Daiyu
Li Zhang	...	Xuebao Chai
Jie Deng	...	Wang Xifeng
Zheng Zheng	...	Yuanyang
Xiaozhen Guo	...	Shi Xiangyun
Wenying Dongfang	...	Jia Tanchun
Xianzhen Zhou	...	Mrs. Wang
Peijie Ji	...	Miaoyu
Lei Zhang	...	Qin Keqing
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Zhong Lü	...	Grandma Jia (voice)
Yuhua Wu	...	You Er-jie

Also Known As:

A Dream in Red Mansions (International: English title)

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

China Central Television (CCTV)

The best Dream of the Red Chamber ever - unlikely to be surpassed

Many people who have read the classic Chinese novel "Dream of the Red Chamber" will know that it is the definitive Chinese classical novel. Cao Xueqin's 18th-century novel was written in blood and tears, and even though the book was never completed, what remains is enough for most scholars to call it China's greatest novel ever. It has given rise to numerous opera adaptations and films, and here, a Mainland Chinese TV series.

Granted, the book is extremely long, and no film except the longest can do its story justice. However, a TV series is something different. This 1987 TV version can lay claim, after more than two decades, as perhaps (in my honest opinion) still the finest TV series ever produced by Mainland China. It really lifts TV series (usually the domain of soap operas and clichéd dramas) to the realm of art. The authenticity and the precision the producers, set decorators, art designers and the director have in realizing the classic novel is simply astonishing. The entire Prospect Garden was built from scratch and actresses were handpicked from thousands of applicants to choose the ones deemed most suitable for the roles. The actresses lived together for a year in a cloistered environment, underwent extensive training to learn how to walk and conduct themselves, to laugh, drink tea and to read the novel. The hairstyles, the make-up, the clothing and the sets were all meticulously researched. The result is a Dream of the Red Chamber series that will unlikely ever to be surpassed, let alone matched.

Are there any flaws to this TV series? Yes, but they are almost all technical. Back in 1987, the best broadcast recordings were still a far cry from what HD can do nowadays. Some might cavil at the fact the adaptation is in 4:3 rather than 16:9. Another more likely criticism (the only probable shortcoming of the series) is that it really is still too short - at 36 episodes, it adapts almost all the major incidents in the earlier 80 chapters of Cao Xueqin's novel, but for the later (probably 28 chapters), it does not use the Gao E and Cheng Weiyuan version. The screenwriters extrapolate the story's ending, but do so in only 6 episodes or so. Considering it takes about 30 episodes to cover 80 chapters, it should take about 11 episodes instead of the 6 to cover the remaining 28 chapters.

But still, this is a minor quibble. I believe there are English subtitled DVDs of this marvellous adaptation to be found. Buy them, and enjoy this first-rate adaptation of a classic Chinese novel.