“To the Wonder” Production Team and Broadcast Schedule Revealed
It is reported that “To the Wonder” was produced by iQiyi, directed by Teng Cong Cong, and starring Ma Yi Li (Zhang Feng Xia), Zhou Yi Ran (Li Wen Xiu), and Yu Shi (Ba Tai), with Jiang Qi Ming, Alimujiang, and Yan Peilun starring. The drama “To the Wonder” is scheduled to release on Apr 7, 2024.
Many readers are curious about how prose can be made into a TV series. To this end, the Nandu reporters interviewed several friends in the cultural circle and talked with them about the story of “how prose can be turned into drama“.
Good stories come from good experiences
“A good prose is actually a good story itself,” Publisher Aini said. Aini highlights the rich tradition of prose in China, where beautiful language is used to convey profound ideas. This makes prose well-suited for adaptation into film and television, with classic examples like the film “The Border Town” adapted from Shen Congwen’s prose.
I believe many people have read Li Juan’s “To the Wonder“. With her delicate and bright strokes, she has recorded the beautiful moments of the northern frontier: the remote and quiet Akharala Village, the slow and eternal Kagu Tu, and the summer pastures of Shai Hengbulake… All of them are impressive. She tells stories in a poetic way, and writes prose in a storytelling way. She writes about the beauty of nature, the beauty of rhythm, the wandering of people, and the tranquility of life.
Yu Minhong said that when he read Li Juan’s “Winter Pasture”, he happened to see the news that cattle and sheep in the winter pasture were trapped due to snowstorms, which left a deep impression on him. He said: “Precisely because not everyone can experience life, someone must experience it for them and write it out, and Li Juan just did such an interesting thing.”
And the experience that the writer depicts in prose that is beyond the reach of ordinary people has become the original power of film and television adaptation, and it is the original intention of creation for film and television artists.
Aini said, how did prose come about? Looking through Chinese literary history, you will find that it is actually an extension of poetry and a way for contemporary people to express their aspirations. In ancient times, literati used poetry to express their feelings and record their youthful ambitions or unfulfilled ambitions, to express their love for the world, or the fun of traveling in food, clothing, housing and transportation. In fact, the significance of prose to contemporary people is also the same. It starts with the desire to express, and starts with the desire to express one’s aspirations. “Art is the art of the people. We are born as human beings, especially intellectuals or contemporary readers. If we have a burning campfire in our hearts, have ideals and aspirations but cannot find a good way to place them, people are easily filled with the desire to confide and express, and prose comes from this. And when prose becomes a TV series and enters the screen, in fact, the image borrows this kind of ‘expression of aspirations’ emotion. Whether it is literature or film and television, they are actually the same. Everyone hopes to see and experience stories that are different from others and themselves in it, which may also be the significance of ‘To the Wonder’ to the present.”
A good story needs a good foundation
It is also very important to know what kind of soil a good story grows on. People are eager to use short dramas for leisure and relaxation, and naturally they don’t like to watch too heavy stories. They prefer small and fresh stories, as well as pleasing landscape paintings. As everyone knows, Li Juan is a literary flower that blooms in the Xinjiang region. She has always been keen on writing about the simple and unique Xinjiang customs, and has shown readers the beautiful scenery of Xinjiang.