Culture is the soul of a country and a nation. Since 2012, the field of cultural variety shows has continued to show new trends. Over the past ten years, literary and art workers have taken the responsibility of inheriting and carrying forward the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and have been working hard in the field of cultural programs, constantly exploring the development path of program innovation, and trying to dedicate the best spiritual food to the people. The unity of artistry and entertainment.

The prosperity of Chinese culture is an important part of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Literature and art are the horns for the advancement of the times, which can best represent the style of an era, and can best lead the atmosphere of an era. To promote the prosperity and development of literature and art, the most fundamental thing is to create excellent works worthy of our great nation and great era. In 2013, programs such as "Chinese Characters Dictation Conference", "Heroes of Chinese Characters", "Idioms Heroes", "Chinese Good Poetry" and "Chinese Lantern Riddles Conference" were popular, setting off a wave of TV original cultural programs. In the same year, the former State Administration of Press, Publication, and Broadcasting issued the "Notice on Actively Launching Original Cultural Programs to Promote and Inherit Excellent Traditional Culture", calling on all radio and television organizations, especially TV-star integrated channels, to dig deep into traditional cultural resources and learn from "Chinese Characters". Dictation Conference” and other programs, constantly burst into creative wisdom, actively launched original cultural programs with the purpose of promoting and inheriting excellent traditional culture, and put forward requirements and expectations for creation to adhere to the correct orientation and reflect cultural taste. The spirit of the notice has become an important driving force and guidance to promote the vigorous development of cultural TV variety shows.

"China in the Story" stills

In 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the symposium on literary and art work, which further pointed out the direction for the improvement of the level of cultural variety shows. The speech pointed out that we must take the creation and production of excellent works as the central part of literary and artistic work, and strive to create and produce more excellent works that disseminate contemporary Chinese values, reflect the spirit of Chinese culture, reflect the aesthetic pursuit of Chinese people, and are organically unified in ideology, artistry, and viewing. , forming the trend of "Longwen Baishuding, the pen power can be carried alone". Under the guidance of the spirit of the speech, a large number of excellent cultural variety shows emerged. In 2016, "China Poetry Conference" (the first season) had the highest viewership rate of 1.95%, surpassing many prime TV dramas. In 2017, programs such as "The Reader" (Season 1), "National Treasure" (Season 1), "Seeing Words Like Faces" and other programs brought a large number of young audiences back to the TV, immersed in the charm of knowledge and deep thinking. In 2018, CCTV continued to launch "Classic Chanting" (Season 1) and "Letter to China", boldly using many well-known performers who are loved by young people to participate in the production, and using younger elements to interpret the deep meaning of Chinese civilization, In these programs, the excellent traditional culture is continuously accepted by the audience in a new way. After 2019, a number of TV variety shows focusing on the excellent traditional Chinese culture, such as "China in Stories", "China in Classics", "Chinese Rites and Chinese Music", and "The Great Wall", have been determined to reform and continue to make efforts, and have won wide acclaim from the audience. . These cultural works are not only the publicity, promotion and transformation of my country's "ancient civilization theory" and the research results of the Chinese civilization exploration project, but also lead the dissemination of artistic creation to the history of Chinese civilization. More and more cultural relics and cultural heritage Three-dimensionally "live". So, what is the secret to the continuous growth and development of cultural variety shows?

The long history of Chinese civilization provides rich creative resources for cultural programs, and the development of contemporary fusion media provides a good program ecology and production technology. The long historical accumulation has precipitated the extensive and profound Chinese culture, and the latest technological development of frontier disciplines such as biology, geography, and physics has made it possible to study ancient remains, provided a solid scientific and technological analysis basis for the exploration of the origin of Chinese civilization, and expanded our understanding of Knowledge of China's 5,000-year history of civilization. However, many excellent traditional Chinese cultural heritages are "distanced" from modern life because of their long history. Solving the problem of how to "make books and cultural relics alive" has become the focus of cultural variety shows in this regard. In recent years, cultural variety shows have strengthened exploration, maintained integrity and innovation, and have been positively affirmed by the society.

"National Treasure" stills

First of all, the exploration path of the integration of history and modernity is wider and wider, and the historical axis is extended to the era familiar to today's audience by artistic means, dispelling the strangeness of the audience. For example, at the beginning of each issue of "National Treasure", Zhang Guoli, the interpreter of No. 001, said a line that quickly shortened the distance between the audience and the national treasure: "We are a young show, how young are we?" "Up and down five thousand years!" The program uses the stage setting of "Past and Present" to explain and interpret cultural relics, not only to introduce its long historical background, but also to explain its contemporary value, so that the audience can perceive the pulse of art from the pulse of the times. "Letter China" selects letters one by one to show a more three-dimensional image of heroes and sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. In these letters, we realize that the heroes with strong bones are actually ordinary people who have the same feelings of homesickness and homesickness as us. . When the audience is moved, they will see the possibility of becoming a hero themselves. The first phase of the Chinese Ritual and Music Innovation Program "Chinese Rites, Chinese Music" created by Shandong TV took the beauty of Chinese wedding ceremony as the topic. The Book of Rites", at the same time, the wedding scene was constructed with the story of "Poems in the Robe" of the Tang Dynasty, vividly restoring a series of traditional wedding etiquettes, such as doing but fan ceremony, doing but fan poetry, eating millet, and combining swastika, with a cotton robe. The beautiful encounter of Chinese wedding ceremony to interpret the "unique Chinese-style romance" and "the flowing oriental charm" of Chinese wedding ceremony. The audience can experience the "change" and "unchanged" in Chinese wedding culture from ancient times to the present, and have a deeper understanding of the tradition. The essence of culture, recalling respect for etiquette. In the first issue of "China in Classics", it selected "Shangshu", which has the status of "the ancestor of political books and the source of historical books". Through "Dunhuang", a place familiar to contemporary audiences, the unfamiliarity of the long history is resolved, and through diachronic excavation, the ancient books and books written by Confucius, Fu Sheng's life-long protection of books, love of books, and biography of books have been protected and inherited by successive dynasties. s story. This progressive and interlocking rhythm allows the spirit of the classics and the cultural context connected behind them to slowly spread out in this story line, conveying the excellent traditional Chinese culture in a way of "moistening things in a silent way" to the audience.

Stills of "China in the Classics"

Secondly, the empowerment of modern art and the ingenuity of meticulous craftsmanship make the long-sleeping cultural relics and classics rejuvenate the vitality of the times. "Relics and classics come alive" is to revitalize their inherent existence and complement contemporary civilization. "Chinese Poetry Conference" has gone through seven seasons so far. In the past seven years, the production team has always maintained refinement and innovation. From the stage to the competition system, from the theme to the keywords, it has been constantly in line with the current social hot words, so that contemporary audiences can feel the poetry of life in one poem. In the visual presentation of "Classic Chant", a large number of virtual productions are used, and XR technology is integrated into the stage presentation, creating a multi-dimensional and immersive stage visual space for the classic creation and performance, allowing the audience to feel a cultural A fantasy world of poetry based on the limit extension of the imagination. The beautiful stage design and ubiquitous elements of ritual and music in "Chinese Ritual Chinese Music" add artistic conception to the audience's experience of traditional Chinese ritual and music culture. The opening uses technology to design a gorgeous phoenix high-flying animation. The main stage is set with Bihe and the jade Huang shape of the guest seat. The ancient atmosphere of the audience's ringing bells not only matches the theme of the program, but also creates an immersive atmosphere for the audience. Audio-visual feast; "China in Painting and Calligraphy" (seasons 1 and 2) invites guests to "walk" into history and become people in books and paintings; and "China in Classics" program selects "drama + film and television" +Interview" combined with the innovative form to complete the transformation of the form of classics. The production team brings together the three-party resources of China National Theatre, CCTV Integrated Channel of China Central Radio and Television Station and CCTV Creation Media. At the same time, each episode of the program blends different text media, complementing each other to show the content of classics and revitalize historical scenes. The overall structure is composed of foreground introduction, host monologue, stage drama performance, interviewers, and expert explanations, and uses cross-media technology to show the eternal charm of classics. The stage design is also uniquely divided into three stages and four performance spaces are delineated. Multiple stages complement each other, so that the audience can watch the three-dimensional narrative of different scenes from the same historical perspective at the same time. The centers of different stage spaces connect time and space. At the same time, when the stage switches scenes, the seats in the auditorium will automatically rotate, so that the audience is always facing the stage, which greatly enhances the audience's immersive experience; the film crew of Inner Mongolia TV Station "The Great Wall" is to ensure the presentation of the knowledge of the Great Wall. Accuracy and authority, he has traveled to 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities along the National Great Wall, and visited Jiayuguan in Gansu, Yanmenguan in Shanxi, Beitai in Shaanxi, and Qi Great Wall in Shandong. At the same time, experts are invited to present questions on the site, so that this long wall, which stretches for more than 20,000 kilometers on the land of the motherland, can be activated into a "spiritual Great Wall", which interprets the core spirit of Chinese civilization that has accumulated over thousands of years.

Poster of "Chinese Poetry Conference"

Again, Bacon casts the soul and extracts the ideological essence of Chinese civilization. The exploration of cultural foundations and the contemporary dissemination of historical wisdom have enhanced the national pride and self-confidence of Chinese sons and daughters. Excellent works of art integrate ideology and artistry, and strive to reveal "knowing where our lives originate and where our steps are heading". In recent years, cultural programs have sought to find answers from thousands of years of rich history and presented them in film and television, forming the moral foundation of culture and enhancing national identity and cohesion. For example, the series of programs such as "Chinese Character Dictation Conference", "Chinese Idioms Conference" and "Chinese Poetry Conference" are the sorting out and contemporary interpretation of the treasures of Chinese culture. In these programs, the audience can feel the origin and inheritance of Chinese civilization. In "Classic Chanting" (Season 5), four immigration policewomen from the borders of the motherland, southeast and northwest sang the classic poem "Bodhisattva Man Dabaidi" by Comrade Mao Zedong. It is deeply moving, and it also reflects that it comes from the people, for the people, and belongs to the people. It is the fundamental position of socialist literature and art, and it is also the driving force for the prosperity and development of socialist literature and art. In 2022, Dragon TV's cultural program "Sven Jiangnan" will invite famous performers and cultural scholars to read and interpret the classic texts of cultural celebrities from all over the world, paying tribute to Chinese cultural celebrities, and interpreting them through vivid historical figures. Chinese civilization emphasizes benevolence, valuing the people, keeping integrity, advocating justice, advocating harmony, and seeking great harmony. The spiritual characteristics and development patterns illustrate the profound cultural heritage of the Chinese way. The program "Walking Alone - China in the Heritage" was initiated by Shan Jixiang, who was a witness to the application for the World Heritage. He led three members of the "Cloth Shoes Men's Team" to visit 12 world heritage sites in the country, where they interacted with local humanities scholars, In-depth exchanges with experts on the application of the World Heritage Site will reproduce the historical picture behind China's World Heritage for the audience, while presenting the new wonders, new landmarks, new sights and new humanities of the cultural heritage. "There are Poetry and the Distance: Poetry and Painting Zhejiang Chapter" (Season 3) is composed of 3 guests of different ages to form a "Poetry and Distant Travel Group". To explore the beautiful scenery in the poems, feel the local culture, find the "poetry and distance" in eight dimensions, and lead the audience to feel the enthusiasm of the life behind the Chinese civilization.

"Classic Chant" poster

Without a high degree of cultural self-confidence, it is difficult for a culture to flourish. In the past ten years, TV cultural variety shows have been committed to breaking the boundary between ancient and modern art forms, breaking the gap between ancient people and modern people with the integration of contemporary media, and showing us one by one how the ancients and ancestors built their persistence and belief. This treasure house of Chinese cultural genes, how Chinese civilization has been in the long river of historical civilization, and has influenced it to this day. As General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during the 39th collective study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, "Chinese civilization has a long history, is extensive and profound, and is the unique spiritual symbol of the Chinese nation, the foundation of contemporary Chinese culture, and the spiritual bond that maintains the Chinese people all over the world. The Treasure of Chinese Cultural Innovation".

Chinese culture has always advocated the principle of "collecting the queer texts of a hundred generations and capturing the rhythms of thousands of years". It is necessary to explore the ideological concepts, humanistic spirit and moral norms of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, integrate artistic creativity with the value of Chinese culture, and integrate Chinese aesthetics. The combination of spirit and contemporary aesthetic pursuits will activate the vitality of Chinese culture; it is necessary to learn from the ancients without obscuring the ancients, and break the law without violating the law, so that the excellent traditional Chinese culture becomes an important source of literary innovation. Looking forward to more literary and artistic works continue to emerge, so that the splendid civilization will glow with brilliance.

(The author Yang Jie is a professor at the Art Institute of Communication University of China, and Zhao Zichen is a master student of the Art Institute of Communication University of China. This article was originally published in the third edition of China Art News on September 21, 2022. The original title is: Let the splendid civilization Glowing with brilliance - An Analysis of Cultural Variety Shows in the New Era)