The television drama The Lark Calling to Heaven premieres on September 14 on Hunan Television and Mango TV. Directed by Zheng Dasheng and written by Wang Yao, the production chronicles the journey of a humble apprentice rising to legendary status.
The cultural release arrives backed by major state and municipal backing. The television series is a key guidance project of the National Radio and Television Administration, a key funded project of the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, and a key literary and artistic project of Beijing Greater Audiovisual.
Behind the 12-Year Development of the Project
Chronicling the life of protagonist Meng Jinfu from the bottom apprentice all the way to growing into a renowned star, the narrative uses the growth and choices of performers to reflect the inheritance and changes of the opera industry in the wave of the times. It interprets the unswerving belief of Pear Garden artists in sticking to their original aspirations and pursuing artistic ideals in the world of Pear Garden and worldly affairs.
Beijing Peking Opera Theater first-class actor and sixth-generation Tan family direct descendant of the Chinese Peking Opera Tan school Tan Xiaozeng serves as the artistic consultant for the production.
The script for The Lark Calling to Heaven was polished over twelve years. Using a contemporary approach that audiences find engaging to present the ethos of older generations of artists, the ecosystem of the opera world, and the changes of the times is a powerful dissemination of Peking Opera and the best comfort to Mr. Tan Xinpei. Tan Xiaozeng, artistic consultant, first-class actor at the Beijing Peking Opera Theater, and sixth-generation direct descendant of the Chinese Peking Opera Tan school
The production also features the involvement of Tan Zhengyan, the seventh-generation direct descendant of the Chinese Peking Opera Tan school and the opera director for the series, who brought a presentation titled Inheriting Dingjun Mountain.
Official Perspectives on Cultural Roots and Innovation
Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau Party Secretary and Director Wang Jiequn believes that the drama displays three realms with thick Beijing flavor, vivid opera flavor, and high-spirited rhyme:
First is having achievements in guarding the roots—guarding the Beijing flavor and the opera soul from tones, moves, costumes, and stage rules and customs to pursue truth and accuracy, giving the entire series the foundation of old Beijing and the taste of real Peking Opera. Second is having a degree in transforming the new—on the basis of respecting tradition, the series brings the national essence into the public in a more perceptible and approachable way, allowing audiences to gain new feelings on top of the original foundation. Third is being forceful in casting the soul—portraying actors who do not bend their integrity in troubled times, do not lose their ambitions in poverty, and do not forget the country in crisis, interpreting with their lives that opera is greater than heaven and people are heavier than opera, a spiritual energy that is of one pulse with the currently advocated fighting spirit and patriotic sentiments, and which also embodies the Chinese spirit of unremitting struggle and relentless effort by the Chinese people.
Setting a Benchmark for Traditional Culture in Television
National Radio and Television Administration Drama Department Director Feng Shengyong expanded on the broader institutional importance of the release, pointing to its ability to merge historical narratives with regional culture.
The Lark Calling to Heaven is a traditional culture-themed television drama with lofty ideals, profound foundations, and both artistic beauty and contemporary value. Feng Shengyong, Director of the Drama Department at the National Radio and Television Administration
Feng Shengyong stated that the series focuses on the inheritance and continuation as well as innovative breakthrough of Peking Opera art, reflecting the artistic persistence, cultural responsibility, and family-country sentiments of the grand era through the small characters’ opera paths, psychological paths, and life paths. It realizes the deep integration and organic unity of traditional art narration, contemporary historical narration, and regional culture narration, vividly answering the era proposition of traditional opera regarding how to guard, how to pass down, and how to innovate, and providing a vivid practice and excellent paradigm for traditional culture-themed television drama creation. On this basis, television drama creation should further achieve three things: first, deeply cultivate the Chinese cultural lineage and promote the boutique creation of traditional culture-themed television dramas; second, strengthen the television + integration業态, empowering the living inheritance of excellent traditional culture; third, sound the industry governance system and cultivate a clear and upright ecosystem for boutique creation.
The production features a leading cast that includes Zhang Yishan and Yang Lixin. With its broadcast debut on Hunan Television and Mango TV starting on September 14, the series captures the life journey of protagonist Meng Jinfu growing from a bottom-tier apprentice into a renowned master.
