I was very scared to hear that some ambitious directors were preparing to adapt the four classical Chinese novels (i.e. A Dream of Red Mansions, The Three Kingdoms, All Men Are Brothers and Journey to the West). Actually, I was more than scared, perhaps agitated. They have finally reached this point!

Nowadays, rampant adaptations of movies and TV series are driving me crazy. Anything successful or popular is followed by more and more adaptations or sequels until you feel like swallowing flies while watching them. At first, I suspected that something was wrong with my memory, as I couldn’t find any connection between the adaptations and the originals except the names of the characters. I read the originals again and again to make sure that I didn’t have amnesia. Then I thought the directors were such devoted artists that they sought perfection in arts, and were worth respecting. But so far every adaptation and sequel has failed me. Far from being loyal to the original works, they have just sold horse-meat as beef-steak, showing nothing but vulgarity, absurdity and commercialism.

Any person lacking ideas is hereby advised to watch such adaptations, which, I am sure, are far beyond the wildest imagination of both the authors and the audience. They have covered every subject, from love to war, horror to comics, history to fashion, politics to business, legend to cartoons. The pop stars in them have become so familiar that it always takes me some time to get used to their new roles, and I’ve found it more and more difficult to concentrate. For example, I cannot bear to see actors who frequently appear in soap operas wearing army uniforms, fighting as if playing games. They never remind me of the anti-Japanese heroes from classic movies.

Now I have accumulated enough experience to direct any adaptation or sequel. As a matter of fact, anybody could do it: Equip frail scholars with unequalled kungfu and change them into masters of martial arts. Get simple bachelors involved in the most complicated affairs. Provide as many twists and turns as possible for the heroes or heroines so that they are not only sexually attractive, but also feast the eyes of the audience with their miraculous abilities to turn calamities into blessings and ill luck into good. Bear in mind that whatever the movie or TV series, it must be enriched with the mixed flavours of love, suspense, kungfu, and high-tech, of course.

The only thing confusing me is why the directors prefer to use classic or popular names rather than give new names to their stars. They show great talent in creating new plots, so making up new names would be a piece of cake. So why not?

They made a deliberate choice. From the very beginning, their purpose was not to present a classic, but to seek instant profit and reputation, no matter how good or bad the production. Based on this, they have taken advantage of the reputation of the original works and fed on the fruits of others?labour. What’s worse, they fool the audience with such rubbish and pollute the culture of a whole generation.

Are there any authorities or departments who could take some preventative measures?

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