44 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 1, 2019 http://www.bjreview.comTelling the
Chinese Story
CULTURE
Resonating period drama breaks barriers to find
a rapt audience outside China By Sherry Qin
race against time sets itself apart from the often
dragging and romance-centered Chinese cos-
tume dramas. This new mode of story-telling,
akin to the Hollywood style, has received wide
acclaim both domestically and internationally.
However, the director strives to not make
a Chinese version of 24 , a popular
U.S. action drama, which also uses
the same time span of 24 hours. “ We
embedded Chinese philosophy, tradi-
tional poetry and historical inventions
into the plot. These elements make
it distinct from the American show,”
Cao said.
The setting of diversified civiliza-
tion in the Tang Dynasty and the
tension maintained throughout the
thriller together produce an interest-
ing chemistry, making the series
stand out in a stream of Chinese cos-
tume dramas that are being shown
abroad this year, including Legend of
Yunxi and The Rise of Phoenixes, two
Chinese TV shows based on popular
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However, Cao admits that the
cinematography is still not compa-
rable to the more mature productions
in the West. “TV series in the West,
always streamed in different seasons,
give the production team more time
to refine the details,” he told Beijing
Review. “The success of The Longest
Day in Chang’an despite that shows
that beauty is a universal language
crossing borders.”A day in Chang’an
When two floats of performers com-
pete against each other and the most
celebrated diva in Chang’an steps outthe other is an anti-hero prisoner and former
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to fight against a planned terrorist attack on
the emperor and the whole city on the Lantern
Festival. Fast-paced and weaving plots, this thrill-
ing TV series with action-packed shots and a‘A^
new milestone for Chinese drama, this
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works,” wrote a fan on U.S.-based
video streaming website Viki after watching the
Chinese historical drama The Longest Day in
Chang’an.
The TV series, which was launched
on Chinese online platform Youku on
June 27, became a hit this summer.
From July 1, it has been put on part-
nering streaming platforms and TV
networks in Japan, Malaysia, Viet Nam
and Brunei. YouTube, Amazon and
Viki are also offering the program to
their paid subscribers based in North
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time a Chinese series was released as
paid content abroad simultaneously.
“I was amazed by the overseas
audience’s passion for this show,” Cao
Dun, director of The Longest Day in
Chang’an, told Beijing Review. “I was
worried that they wouldn’t understand
the complicated political structure of
the Tang Dynasty (618-907).”
In reality, the show is prompting
foreign audiences to research Tang
history to better understand the plot.Ancient version of 24?
The Longest Day in Chang’an is set
in Chang’an, the most prosperous
and diverse city in the world during
the Tang Dynasty, today known as
Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province in
northwest China. It tells the story of a
pair of detectives cracking a terrorist
conspiracy within 24 hours.
One of them is a 23-year-old
prodigy in charge of the anti-terror
bureau directly under the emperor, A poster of The Longest Day in Chang’anFILE