Streaming tale of ties

On a Peking Opera stage decorated as a second-century noble woman's bedroom, a general's widow, played by Yin Zheng, nibbles an exquisitely embroidered handkerchief, murmuring about loneliness and yearning for affection.

The scene from the period drama, Winter Begonia, has gone viral on Chinese social media, arousing youth interest in Peking Opera, one of China's most influential traditional arts for two centuries.

On Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like platform, hashtags about the 48-episode series, which has run on the streaming service iQiyi since March 20, have received 480 million clicks, generating nearly 1.2 million reviews.

The show, adapted from the popular online novel Winter Begonia, chronicles the yearslong friendship between Cheng Fengtai, an overseas-educated businessman who is also a big fan of Peking Opera, and Shang Xirui, a Peking Opera master, in the turbulent World War II era when Chinese were combating invading Japanese.

Aside from Yin starring as Shang, who is known for his performances of dan (female Peking Opera roles played by men), the series casts A-list actor Huang Xiaoming as the tycoon Cheng and veteran Hong Kong actress Charmaine Sheh as his wife.

Huang has impressed audiences over more than two decades with the diversity of roles he has played, including emperor, swordsman and English teacher.

But it is the 43-year-old's first time to play an enthusiast of Peking Opera.

Huang, who is self-isolating in a hotel in Chengdu, Sichuan province, since his new TV series' shooting was suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, tells China Daily that Peking Opera's charm drew him to the role.

"Although Peking Opera is one of China's most representative traditional arts, it has a relatively small fan base. I hope the drama will promote the art form among a wider viewership and attract attention from more young people," says Huang.

Huang recalls one of his greatest challenges throughout shooting was to follow a tough diet as his character is described as a slim Shanghai gentleman.

"I felt a little 'tortured' when watching the crew eat since I could only have a few vegetables," he says.

Shang is depicted as a gourmet in the series. So, Huang often felt hungry while acting alongside Yin in the restaurant scenes.

In the series, the artist Yin performs in more than 20 Peking Opera shows from at least eight schools, most of which are classics of the likes of The Drunken Concubine, about the bittersweet romance between a Tang Dynasty (618-907) emperor and a woman in the royal court.

"Yin's appearance as a heavily made-up Peking Opera performer is amazing each time. I believe even people who don't know much about the opera will become fans, thanks to Yin's striking performance," says Huang.

Director Hui Kaidong says he was stunned when he first saw Yin in makeup and lavish outfits for a show about Zhao Feiyan, the queen of emperor Cheng during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).

"Yin (as the queen onstage) is gorgeous, creating the illusion that he actually is an ancient figure who'd traveled across time to the film set," says Hui, who's best known for the 2018 smash hit, Story of Yanxi Palace.

Zhao's opera was the first stage show shot by the crew, who took around five months to film all the 48 episodes in several locations, covering over 20,000 square meters in Hengdian World Studios in central Zhejiang province. It's China's largest film and television production and shooting base.

During eight months of preparation, they invited Peking Opera stars, including prestigious artist Bi Guyun and rising star Yin Jun, to coach the cast members in the history, culture and performance skills of the two-century-old art form.

Shooting required around 200 Peking Opera costumes, each of which took about three months to make. The most luxurious is for the title role of The Drunken Concubine. The colorful dress is adorned with over 40 ribbons, and its sleeves are interwoven with seven-color silk threads.

"I was quite excited when I received producer Yu Zheng's call to ask me to direct Winter Begonia. Few films and television series have featured such a theme in recent years, making it a fresh and interesting job for me," recalls Hui.

Yin Zheng, who is also a singer and graduated from the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangdong province, says his favorite opera show performed in the series is Zhan Wan Cheng (The Battle of Wan City). It's about an ancient ruler who forces a widow to marry him. Yin Zheng says he is captivated by the tension and conflict conveyed through the tragedy.

Although Yin Zheng underwent intensive training with Peking Opera masters while wearing heavy head accessories for over 10 hours a day, he says he has only obtained a "shallow understanding" of the performance art.

"The opera masters are like floating museums. Most began to study at a young age and have practiced for over a decade," Yin Zheng says.

Industry insiders have predicted the COVID-19 pandemic would bring unprecedented changes to the country's film and television industry.

Streaming sites have experienced a surge in viewers since most of China's cinemas are still shut and most people are advised to stay home.

Winter Begonia has been listed as the most popular content since it started streaming on iQiyi on March 20.

Huang, who reveals he and his team have purchased masks from South Africa to support Chinese medical staff, predicts China's online content industry will expand in the next few years.