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TV drama production should reject “appearance worship” and adhere to the principle of “content first, character-driven storytelling,” according to a report released by a WeChat account of China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) on Thursday night.
 
TV dramas, as a widely popular art form, play an important role in conveying mainstream values, inheriting the fine traditions of Chinese culture, and guiding aesthetic trends. In recent years, a large number of outstanding productions, marked by profound ideas, superb artistry, and high production quality, have demonstrated the industry’s sense of responsibility and commitment, according to an NRTA symposium on promoting healthy aesthetics in TV drama production on Thursday. The meeting was attended by major online audiovisual platforms.

At the same time, the report emphasized that the industry must remain clear-eyed about existing problems. There is still a tendency in some productions to place excessive emphasis on “appearance above all.” In certain dramas, issues such as overly stylized makeup and a disconnect between costumes, makeup, props, and the characters’ personalities or narrative settings have emerged, the report said. 

In the recently hit TV drama Pursuit of Jade, the character of Marquis Wu’an, a general meant to embody battlefield valor and commanding presence, is instead portrayed as a delicately styled, almost fragile idol figure, complete with heavy makeup. This portrayal has drawn ridicule from netizens on social media, who jokingly dubbed him the “foundation-wearing general,” domestic news site People.cn reported. 

The symposium pointed out that fostering a healthy aesthetic outlook is a vital issue concerning the direction of artistic creation, cultural confidence, and the future of the industry. The TV drama sector should adhere to a people-centered creative approach, uphold fundamental principles while pursuing innovation, and stay rooted in the core values of truth, goodness, and beauty, the report said. 

Healthy aesthetic values should be integrated throughout the creative process, ensuring that TV dramas serve as vivid carriers of the Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and China’s strength. Distorted aesthetics must be firmly rejected, and the artistic standards of TV drama production must be upheld. The most basic requirement is that “characters should convincingly resemble what they portray.” Efforts should be made to avoid the tendencies of “appearance above all” and overreliance on traffic-driven popularity, the report said.