Yu Xiaotong plays the young version of Jia Baoyu (left), Jiang Mengjie as Lin Daiyu (center), and Li Qin as Xue Baochai in the 2010 A Dream of Red Mansions. Photo: Courtesy of East Movie Channel

By Huang Xi

The recently released television series A Dream of Red Mansions on the Shanghai East Movie Channel, adapted from the 18th century novel written by Cao Xueqin, is seeing a great deal of criticism from some very disappointed viewers.

This is the second time the classic novel has been made into a television series; the first was in 1987 and is now considered a TV classic.

And in that shadow, the new version is taking serious heat from critics and from fans of the previous version.

Audiences are complaining that the plot follows too closely to the novel, that the makeup and costumes are just plain odd, and that the music is corny.

But Li Shaohong, the director of Mansions, seems quite calm facing the negative reviews: "The ratings say it all."

Even with some bad reactions, the ratings for Mansions hit three-year highs among the throngs of vapid costume dramas on the East Movie Channel, even with the World Cup siphoning off large audience numbers.

"The data analysis says that 34 percent of the audience are college-educated, which is much higher than the previous television series," said Chen Jiayong, the channel's marketing director.

The supporters

Literary experts are praising the new version of Mansions and largely support the drama because of its close relationship to the book.

Based on the 120-chapter book, more commonly known as A Dream of Red Mansions, the new version of television series is considered a near complete adaptation of the novel.

"It maintains a lot of original dialogue, keeping the language alive and similar to the 18th century," said Sun Xun, an expert on A Dream of Red Mansions at Shanghai Normal University.

The narration in the new version is another fault according to many critics and viewers, but literary expert Ma Ruifang disagrees: "I think it is the highlight of the series, which expresses subtext that cannot be shown in images."

She also praised the performance of 16-year-old actor Yu Xiaotong, who plays the young version of the central character Jia Baoyu in the television series.

"He shows the mischievous nature of Jia," commented Ma.

The opponents

The 1987 version was an important part of growing up for many Chinese viewers, and it is difficult to abandon the music, characters and settings of the original in exchange for this new, and many believe, inferior production.

But the new show is letting down the traditionalists in some very superficial ways, from the unusual soundtrack to the costumes.

Some complain that the young version of another major character Lin Daiyu, played by Jiang Mengjie, has a baby face, which is too far removed from the sad and sickly character in the book. Her copper-coin bangs have also caused a stir.

Other complaints involve the music, which some say is indicative of Dark Tales, a famous Chinese novel of ghost stories, accusing the new version's soundtrack of being too dark and brooding.

Plagued by constant comparisons to the original 1987 series, Li Shaohong said that she quite understands viewers' concerns but also insisted that the two shows completely different.

"The two versions are not comparable. Times are changing and there should be new elements and forms added into the show." She also said that no one could make a complete and perfect copy of the novel. "At least we are carrying on the cultural heritage."

Everyone's a critic: Viewers weigh in on upstart show

He Lin

28, Radio DJ

"I have watched it from the very beginning, and I really like it. The costumes and the props have improved a lot since the 1987 version, but I did very much enjoy the older version as well. Yu Xiaotong shows another side of Jia Baoyu, one that perfectly defines the character - a trickster who always creates chaos but is mostly kindhearted. However, there are also flaws in the new version. The animation makes the scenes look cheap and fake, but I still think highly of this new version."

Chen Jiaojiao

34, Designer

"The gloomy color and images of this series are similar to other series directed by Li Shaohong, and should not be used for such a magnificent story. The actors and actresses do not show the essence of the characters in the novel, and their performances are amateurish. The 1987 version was fantastic, especially Chen Xiaoxu (who played Lin Daiyu). She defined Lin, in manner and appearance."

Zhou Yangyang

29, TV Editor

"Li Qin's (who plays the young version of Xue Baochai) dialogue is unbearable. I doubt if Li Shaohong really understands the novel or the characters in it. The makeup and costumes for Qin Keqin (played by Tang Yifei) are far from the original characters and is unacceptable. I already stopped watching it because it doesn't follow the rules of television adaptation. I'd rather watch the old one again if they would broadcast it. But I do want to say that the performance from Yu Xiaotong is quite good and that he is the true embodiment of Jia Baoyu, even better than his counterpart Ouyang Fenqiang (who played Jia Baoyu in the 1987 version)."