Reshooting TV series has been a common topic in China in recent years. Overshadowed by the glamour of original TV productions, new versions of classic works, more often than not, have had audiences complaining about nonsensical plot points, poor acting skills and ubiquitous embedded marketing.

A case in point is the never-ending reshooting of Lady White Snake, also known as the Legend of the White Snake, which mainly tells the love story between the White-Snake-turned Bai Suzhen, and Xu Xian.

During the past two decades, new versions have constantly emerged. With the help of state-of-the art technology and good-looking performers, the updated Lady White Snake has indeed offered a visual feast to audiences. But when it comes to love from the public, no version can hold a candle to the original.

The legend was first adapted into a TV series in 1992 and performed by Hong Kong actresses Angie Chiu and Cecilia Yip. The Taiwan-produced TV shows achieved huge success, leading to the constant reruns by domestic TV stations every year until now.

But this time, a group of young post-00s artists seem to receive more praises than doubts and criticism.

“They are just incredible. When I see the little Xu Xian crying for the loss of Bai Suzhen, my heart broke,” said Weibo user Xraindays.

“Those so-called little-fresh-meat actors charging so much for their performances should really examine themselves. Look at these children, they are not second to anyone,” another Weibo user Quiesrter added.

The children’s version of Lady White Snake was produced by a programme called Xiao Xigu, which literally means small artists in English, and features children in the roles of classic characters from Chinese literature and folklore.

Embracing the idea of “Learning from Classics, Acting in Practice”, the programme Xiao Xigu was released at the TV Play Channel of Hunan Satellite TV in October, 2015.

Promoting Traditional Culture

According to Pan Liping, general director of Xiao Xigu, all the performers are selected within an age range between 6 and 12 years old.

“Enhancing children’s interest in traditional Chinese culture and letting young artists set an example for a majority of children are the original intentions of setting up the programme,” said Pan.

“We always say that art must not be a slave to the market but few people actually do it. Instead of fighting for high audience ratings, we avoid devoting big budgets and inviting renowned child stars. All we want is to inherit and promote the essence of our culture and make more people truly appreciate them from the bottom of their hearts,” added Pan.

Meng Yu, the Chinese actress who starred in The White-haired Girl, said, “Nowadays, it is a pity to see many children are totally addicted to pop culture and ignore our fine traditions. And children at this stage are accepters not makers. Xiao Xigu, to some extent, shoulders the responsibility of passing on fine traditional culture to children.”

Creating A New TV Show Model

Since its release, the programme has successfully reshot many patriotic TV series including Liu Sanjie, Jiao Yulu, Red Guards on Honghu Lake and The White-haired Girl before triggering widespread concerns and praises on the internet. The film Liu Sanjie has already received more than 100 million hits online so far.

Many people are curious about the classic TV series reshooting process, but there is more to Xiao Xigu than that. According to People’s Daily, the programme consists of four parts, including open audition, TV shooting, professional teaching and behind-the-scenes.

The selection process for performers follows the strict rule to provide the exact person for the exact role.

“When shooting Liu Sanjie, we organised for over 150 children with little performing experience to go back and forth between Jiangxi province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region for over a month,” Pan Liping recalled.

“It takes time for these little kids to learn performing skills, to adapt to the environment and to acquire the characteristics of a role. Without the help of experienced actors, they cannot perform well,” added Pan.

“The first lesson I learnt in my performing career was to perform like a child because they are the symbol of innocence and purity. So I repeatedly told them to be who they are and not pretend to be a mature performer,” said Tao Lingyu, an actress famous for starring in the movie The Story of Liubao Village.

“To enhance the quality of the programme, the TV producing team frequently communicates with young children on the background and the significance of the story in real life. With the principle of paying respect to the classic movies, the little artists have been required to be alike not only in appearance but also in spirit,” Mo Zhiying, director of movie Jiao Yulu.

Meanwhile, in contrast with the large budgets in TV, low production cost is a worthwhile aspect to be mentioned. According to Pan Liping, it only costs thousands of yuan (1000 yuan = S$205) to film each episode. But a small budget doesn’t mean poor quality. In terms of shooting scenes and props, careful research is done and the crew tries their best to restore the familiar scenes in the original version.

“I have seen the Lady White Snake four times and I am totally fond of watching it. To be honest, it brought back good memories of the 1990s. At that time, the whole family sat together to watch TV, which is rarely seen in today’s world, ” Weibo user Xiao Choujiaoya said.

The Burden of Popularity

Given the tremendous popularity of Lady White Snake, this group of little artists has led their lives in the spotlight.

Ten-year-old Tao Yixi, the female lead in Lady White Snake, now boasts more than 50,000 followers in Sina Weibo. Each time she releases a message on her personal account, she receives many comments and likes.

Many parents express their concern for these children as they are too involved in entertainment and think early fame may exert some negative influences on their growth.

“It really surprises me that the average age of these children is 7. Indeed, they have done a good job in the performance. But I wonder if they can really understand the complex emotions between a snake and a person,” commenter Chen Qiulin wrote in a passage online.

Also, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, China’s top watchdog on media, released an announcement On Further Strengthening Management of Programs on Satellite TVs on February this year with a focus on young people.

According to the announcement, young celebrities are under tight control when attending various TV shows. And this kind of reality shows should be decreased gradually and cannot be broadcasted in the evening. Also, the contents of such programs should be upgraded towards promoting positive social energy instead of vulgarity.

But the distressing aspects of shows like Xiao Xigu on parenting are likely to continue given its success.

Will other shows follow suit and stir up another round of the child show craze? Questions like this are yet to be answered.

Disney announced plans on Tuesday to release the new version of Mulan in fall 2018, this time as a live-action film, as it looks to balance competing expectations of Chinese and US audiences.

The 1998 Mulan, an animated musical, was an international hit – except in China, where it underperformed at the box office and was criticised for its character portrayals.

Mulan is the story of Hua Mulan, a young woman who lived during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-581) in China.

During an invasion, one male from every household is drafted into the army. The then-teenage Hua Mulan takes her elderly father’s place to fight in the army by disguising herself as a man. After demonstrating martial skill and valour for 12 years, she is recognised and rewarded.

Disney will have to balance between appealing to US tastes and making sure the movie isn’t “whitewashed”, said Nancy Yuen, professor of media studies at Biola University in Los Angeles.

Whitewashing refers to the Hollywood practice of casting white actors in historically non-white character roles.

“I think that, given the current climate of whitewashing and white-saviour-centred Asian films, casting Asian-American actors in Mulan is an absolute need,” Yuen said.

She cautioned that “if the only representations of Asians are set in Asia, they contribute to a perpetual foreigner stereotype that plagues Asian-Americans”.

Long Bui, professor of American studies at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, said: “Having an Asian face is not good enough, as we saw with Memoirs of a Geisha, casting Chinese actresses for Japanese characters.”

Stanley Rosen, a political-science professor at the University of Southern California, said: “When the animated Mulan played in China, there were a number of critiques, including one that she looked Vietnamese.”

Bui said that “when the Mulan cartoon was shown in China, some Chinese complained Mulan acted too American, with Western expressions”.

Rosen said: “I assume that the audience in China will not be happy about an Asian-American citizen actress (in the role of the new Mulan) since it will not likely be someone well-known to them”.

The difficulty of adapting an animated movie to live action also could pose technical challenges.