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16 | Thursday, January 7, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY LIFE Telling tales in fight for gender equality TV series directly relays the experiences of women and reveals how they combat prejudice, face challenges and build confidence, Xu Fan reports. he scourge of gender ine­ the legendary tale looks back on the quality, such as women life of the sexagenarian craftswom­ being paid less than men an, who recites her soliloquy in the for the same work, or hav­ late 1980s. She was raised as a boy Ting their voices ignored, still plagues and was regarded as a “man” in society. There is no doubt that wom­ society. She develops a crush on a en’s social status has improved, albe­ young apprentice, but is forced to it gradually, but many still face marry another woman who has her barriers and unwanted challenges own reasons for playing along with as a direct result of their gender. the charade. A new production is now high­ Speaking of how both ancient lighting these challenges. Hear Her and near­modern China unfairly is China’s first miniseries of its type viewed women’s status as inferior and it uses a format of eight stand­ to men, Li says she wanted to alone monologues. It has made a examine their suffering through a massive impression online. Each epi­ typical tale that some of the audi­ sode stars a well­known actress, ence “may have heard from their including the award­winning Yong grandparents”. Mei and the hugely popular Yang Mi. A renowned director known for Obtaining 8.4 points out of 10 on female­driven movies and TV dra­ the popular review aggregator Dou­ mas like Blush (1995) and Palace of ban, the show touches on some of Desire (1998), Li was shooting the the most common social issues, ran­ TV drama Unbending Will, about ging from domestic violence to mid­ China’s poverty alleviation effort, in life crises and the objectification of East China’s Fujian province, when females. she received the call from producer­ Producer Jin Na tells China Daily director Zhao. that the show’s idea was first con­ Describing the script sent by Zhao ceived in 2018, when she caught the as an “engrossing and challenging occasional episode of the BBC’s task”, Li believes a monologue can monologue series Snatches: create a more convincing effect. “It Moments From Women’s Lives. enables the audience to feel that the Inspired by the series from Brit­ character is confiding in them, ain, Jin then acquired the format speaking about her innermost license from the BBC to shoot a Chi­ Li Shaohong is one of the seven directors of the miniseries Hear secrets in private, which makes the nese version, persuading actress­ Her. To better direct Her Legend, a tale which features the life of a scene more touching and impress­ filmmaker Zhao Wei to take on the veteran craftswoman, she tries her hand at porcelain­glazing ive,” she adds. role of chief executive producer and before instructing the actress. With meticulous preparation, Li one of the series’ seven directors. discussed details of the script with Delivering a monologue is a pow­ actress Xi, purchasing more than erful way to directly display a per­ 2,000 porcelain items to decorate son’s inner pains and struggles, Jin the set representing a glazing studio says, adding that she believes the and inviting a master craftsman to show can help women’s voices get These cliches have limited women’s teach Xi glazing skills. heard by more people. perceptions of their own preferences and Color is used as a pivotal element “Women play various roles in our pursuits. Women need to hear their own to offer clues about the life of the society. They are daughters, wives character. Juxtaposed against the and mothers, so women’s problems voices from their hearts.” bright and splendid colors of the also concern men. If the pains and porcelain plates painted with vivid Li Shaohong, director struggles of women can be under­ flowers or birds, the narrow corner stood by men, I believe the world where Xi’s character sits to recall her will become more open and toler­ miserable tale has a much bleaker ant,” says Jin, who is also a script­ Zhao’s first episode recounts a The episode, shot in Beijing last palette. writer. She won a Silver Bear for woman’s almost morbid pursuit of summer, used a special method to Explaining the metaphorical use Best Script for director Wang “prettiness” whereby she spends create smog to portray a “dis­ of color Li says the contrast in the Quan’an’s film Apart Together at the nearly three hours every day on the tressed” atmosphere. “We pur­ environment is like the character’s Berlin International Film Festival in application of heavy makeup while chased a big bag of coffee beans and life. 2010. considering the benefits of cosmetic recruited a man to stir­fry the beans. “She has dedicated the most col­ Zhao directs two of the eight tales, surgery. All of us breathed in so much coffee orful part of her life to maintain the respectively starring Qi Xi as a “Many Chinese women pursue that we stayed up the whole night family reputation, but isolated her young woman who struggles with the appearance of a slender, fair­ filming,” recalls Jin. own yearning to live like a real the anxiety of her appearance and skinned, youngster. But why should Unlike the original British show, woman in the darkness,” says Li. Yang Mi portraying a robot featur­ women follow these ‘criteria’? We in which each episode employs the Despite the story being set half a ing a supposedly perfect female wish women could be more confi­ same setting, similar to a stage show century ago, when the protagonist shape. dent in their own looks and brave backdrop, Hear Her adopts a com­ performing the monologue is While the latter aims to explore enough to challenge biased aesthet­ paratively more complex filming already in her 60s, director Li says the theme of female objectification, ics,” says Jin. technique, including diversifying the tale has an enlightening mean­ the former relates some of Zhao’s Midlife crises are another major locations for each episode to give the ing for the modern audience. confusion in her early career. topic discussed in one episode content a more movie­like quality, “Societal norms have attached After shooting to fame in the 1998 directed by poet­turned­director Yin says Jin. many labels to women, requiring hit costume drama My Fair Prin­ Lichuan. Yong Mei, a Berlin film fes­ them to be good wives or well­be­ cess, Zhao — then 22 — has achieved tival Golden Bear­winning actress, Finding their voices haved daughters — even today. incredible popularity, captivating translates the stress and trauma of a Of all the eight tales, director Li These cliches have limited women’s numerous fans with her looks and middle­aged woman who sacrifices Shaohong’s Her Legend is hailed as perceptions of their own preferences big eyes. However, she surprisingly her career to support the family as a the closest to a feature­length film. and pursuits. Women need to hear harbored doubts about her appear­ full­time housewife. Despite living a The story exemplifies an extreme their own voices from their hearts,” ance. humble and obedient life, she is case of gender bias that once pre­ says Li. Jin recalls: “Zhao previously abruptly notified that her husband vailed in a heavily patriarchal socie­ The show is now available on the asked: ‘Do you think that my eyes wants a divorce and is then separat­ ty: Many craftsmen kept their Tencent streaming platform, and is are too big and make me look like a ed from her daughter. techniques a secret, and only scheduled to appear on the BBC’s From top: The Miniseries Hear Her highlights challenges women cartoon character?’ For quite a long Jin says the tale attempts to raise divulged them to male offspring. Asian digital platforms in March, face, using the format of eight stand­alone monologues, with time in her early 20s, she was wor­ public awareness about the under­ Starring veteran actress Xi Mei­ according to producer Jin. actresses Xi Meijuan starring as a senior craftswoman, Qi Xi ried that her appearance would see appreciated dedication of house­ juan as the only heir to a prestig­ acting as a young woman obsessed with her looks, and Yong Mei her being typecast and reduce her wives, many of whom are highly ious porcelain­glazing family in Contact the writer at as a housewife facing a midlife divorce. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY chances of receiving quality scripts.” educated. South China’s Guangdong province, [email protected] 5G technology powers urban safety in Shanghai SHANGHAI — As the sky began the ‘physical examination’ of the old ning mechanism using state­of­the­ down to less than two hours. residential compound. to clear up, a drone connected to the buildings can be transmitted to art technologies. Real­time monitoring data The scanning technology is city’s pilot 5G network circled experts far away from the spot via Most of the high­rise residential showed that the 5G network near expected to be applied in the protec­ around the Jingtai Building in the the 5G network. After consultations All of the data buildings in the district were con­ the Jingtai Building had a down­ tion of historical sites and architec­ Hongkou district of Shanghai for a with experts and digital modeling of obtained during structed more than two decades stream rate of about 990 megabits ture by detecting damage or quick screening.

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