In the 1990s, China's film and television industry was just getting started, and its themes were relatively simple. In order to meet people's growing spiritual and cultural needs, we introduced many film and television dramas from abroad.
The first film and television drama to be introduced into our country was not from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and later Japan and South Korea, but from Singapore.
Singaporean film and television dramas have an advantage, and that is language. Coupled with its various stories, diversified characters, and its unique geographical advantages, business war dramas and emotional dramas are very popular with mainland audiences.
Moreover, Singaporean film and television dramas have the biggest trump card: martial arts dramas.
Lotus Fight for Hegemony: The Beautiful Young Master in White
If we look at it from the current perspective, we can immediately recognize that Lotus Fight for Hegemony is a TV series that combines two works of Jin Yong"Swordsman" and Gu Long"Meteor and Butterfly Sword".
Stills of "Lotus Struggle", pictures from the Internet
Therefore, after this TV series was released in Singapore, it was pointed out that it was patchwork, and there were many criticisms.
However, after it was broadcast in mainland China, the response was very enthusiastic and received rave reviews.
This TV series was co-produced by Singapore and Shanxi TV, so Mount Wutai, Yungang Grottoes, and Hanging Temple are often used in the filming locations.
Xiantong Temple in "Lotus Struggle", the picture comes from the Internet
The desolate and empty temple perfectly fits the epic image style, which not only depicts the dragons and tigers in the martial arts of the Central Plains, but also highlights the sad beauty of the fighting in the rivers and lakes.
Moreover, the plot design is not procrastinating, but has ups and downs. The martial arts instructor is Liu Zhihao. As a disciple of Cheng Xiaodong, many clips are still classics to this day.
The naval battle sequence in the play lasts for ten minutes. The continuous fighting in the sky was particularly rare in the 1980s, and the final scene where the strong man breaks his arm and the hero becomes lonely is also unconventional.
In addition to its excellent production and elegant graphics, the characters in the play have distinct personalities, and the overall style is strange and solemn.
Although the number one male lead is Shen Chong played by Li Nanxing, the more impressive one is probably Bai Yuchuan played by Tarin Toya.
Bai Yuchuan in "Lotus Contest", the picture comes from the Internet
This character should be a combination of Oriental Unbeaten and Lu Xiangchuan . On the one hand, he is very handsome, dressed in white, elegant and graceful, especially when playing with a fan, which is even more popular; on the other hand, he is very ambitious and can bear humiliation and bear heavy burdens in order to achieve his goals.
However, such a character is also a character with true and deep feelings. After being crazy about love, he hurt the one he loved and pushed his lover to the male protagonist Shen Chong.
Talintoya's facial features are exquisite, but from the perspective of traditional beauty, they don't seem to have three-dimensional beauty, but he has a cold temperament.
When he appeared in the play, many people could definitely tell that she was an actress at a glance, but because she was dubbed by a male actor, it perfectly matched his acting skills, so we would think that a handsome man should look like this.
Bai Yuchuan in "Lotus Contest", the picture comes from the Internet
As for Nangong Die in the play, why did he choose Shen Chong instead of Bai Yuchuan? It may be that although they are both killers, they have different expectations for the future.
Bai Yuchuan is obsessed with fame and fortune, while Shen Chong, who combines the characteristics of two characters, Linghu Chong and Meng Xinghun, is more indifferent. The life that Nangongdie longs for is not the intrigue in the world of rivers and lakes, but the world of two people in the countryside.
What makes Bai Yuchuan's character feel a little gratified is that although he did not get true love in the play, he captured the hearts of countless girls in front of the screen.
Shen Chong in "Lotus Struggle", the picture comes from the Internet
Also, the song "Jianghu Road" written by the gold medal lyricist Lin Xi and sung by the powerful singer Luo Wen, with majestic lyrics and soul-stirring melody, almost everyone born in the 70s and 80s can catch it.
"I will go my own way without any regrets, and I will never end my journey." The song sounded, along with the sound of horse hooves in the prologue, and the action scenes. It truly deserves to be a classic film and television drama that has not faded for a long time.
Journey to the East: The Three Beauties of Singapore's Struggle for Beauty
There is also a familiar actor in "Lotus Struggle for Hegemony", he is Xie Shaoguang.
However, compared with the less obvious drama in "Lotus Struggle", the pangolin played by Xie Shaoguang in "Journey to the East" is more impressive.
Xie Shaoguang also appeared in "Lotus Contest". The picture comes from the Internet
"Journey to the East" should be the originator of the fairy tale drama. Because the filming location was chosen in the beautiful Jiuzhaigou Valley, people once mistakenly thought that this TV series was domestically produced. In fact, "Journey to the East" was also co-produced by Singapore and China.
The leading male lead in the play was Ma Jingtao, the popular male star of Qiong Yao at that time. In order to show sincerity, Singapore recruited three of the four beauties in the Lion City: Guo Feili, Zheng Xiuzhen, and Lin Xiangping.
Three beauties of Singapore, pictures from the Internet
At that time, Ma Jingtao's acting skills became more and more mature, and he was no longer as green as in "The Legend of Heaven and Sword of the Dragon", and he did not roar loudly at all times.
Compared with the bearded and serious Donghua Shangxian, his role as Lu Dongbin is more popular.
In addition to the main plot of Demon Guard, the emotional drama between Lu Dongbin, Bai Mudan and He Xiangu also takes up a lot of space.
White Peony stars Guo Feili. Her eyes are filled with affection, and she portrays Peony's fragility and steadfastness so deeply that I feel pity for her.
Although after thousands of years of love, he still has a deep love for Lu Dongbin, but when many people watched the drama at the time, they did not like to watch the emotional drama between Lu Dongbin and her.
Bai Mudan is a bit in love, but the key is that during the interaction with Lu Dongbin, there will always be other people involved.
Lu Dongbin & Bai Mudan in "Journey to the East", the picture comes from the Internet
I believe that in many people's minds, Lu Dongbin and He Xiangu should be CP.
Zheng Xiuzhen's own beauty is a kind of heroic beauty. The biggest characteristic of the He Xiangu she plays is that she is not a virgin or a white lotus. She can be said to be sober in the world.
It is impossible to say that Lu Dongbin and He Xiangu have no feelings for each other. In Lu Dongbin's Huangliang dream, Xiangu played the role of his wife.
Lu Dongbin's treatment of Bai Mudan was more like making up for past debts, but he had endless things to say to He Xiangu. In order to save He Xiangu, he also treated Chun Shujing.
When Lu Dongbin was cursed, He Xiangu, in order to save him, dared to take Lu Dongbin with him to the "extreme ends of heaven and earth", a place where the souls of immortals are driven away.
The two of them are at the extremes of heaven and earth, and there is still a rivalry scene.
Lu Dongbin & He Xiangu in "Journey to the East", the picture comes from the Internet
Lu Dongbin asked Xiangu: "There is a sentence that makes me unhappy. Does He Xiangu like Lu Dongbin?"
He Xiangu asked back: "But Lu Dongbin, have you ever liked He Xiangu?"
Finally, it ends with the sentence: "Why can there only be love between men and women, but not righteousness?" The comradeship between the two sides has been sublimated, surpassing the love between men and women.
Each of the Eight Immortals has its own shortcomings, such as Han Zhongli who likes to bet with others, Zhang Guolao gluttony, Lan Cai and lazy. In the process of their practice, they not only correct themselves, but also better save the world.
The Eight Immortals in "Journey to the East", the picture comes from the Internet
They sacrifice themselves for the common people, but the current fairy tale dramas sacrifice the common people for the pursuit of self. How innocent are the common people?
What’s more, they are playing love triangles and love triangles in the name of cultivating immortals. Times are progressing, but the best era of fairy tale dramas will always remain in the era when the queen mother was not allowed to fall in love.
Like "Lotus Struggle for Hegemony", "Journey to the East" has also become a popular song: "Xiaoyaoyou".
The melody of this song is very nice, catchy, and has a free and easy feeling. Now that I taste it carefully, I found that this song is written with great depth, citing classics, and vividly expressing the word "xia".
The title of "Journey to the East", the picture comes from the Internet
The whole song does not mention love, but is full of Zhuangzi philosophy of "Why not compete with heaven to be free". It is free and unrestrained, integrating chivalry and morality, and interprets for us a free and carefree world of immortals.
Why Singapore’s film and television dramas fell into decline
There are many film and television dramas produced in Singapore that have been very successful in the mainland, such as "Kunlun Slave" and "The Iron-Blooded Man".
Although many actors cannot be named, we will feel that they look familiar.
For example, Chen Tianwen has appeared in "Lotus Contest" and "Journey to the East". He also played Zheng He in "The Iron-Blooded Man". His most famous role is undoubtedly Cao Jun's uncle Tie Tong in "The Little Monk".
Uncle Tietong played by Chen Tianwen in "The Little Monk", the picture comes from the Internet
Weng Qinghai, the actor who plays Sun Wukong in "Journey to the East" Weng Qinghai, now also appears in domestic dramas from time to time.
Sun Wukong played by Ong Ching Hai in "Journey to the East", picture from the Internet
But overall, the glory of Singaporean film and television dramas in mainland China is like a flash in the pan.
Many Singaporean actors have even begun to film directly in mainland China, such as Huang Feihu's actors in "The Legend of the Gods" Zheng Binhui and Shen Qingsong .
The reason for this is not only due to the economic development of the motherland, which has the ability to produce high-quality movies and TV series on its own, but also related to Singapore itself.
There is only one company in the TV market in Singapore - New Media . In the long-term monopoly of the market and the absence of competition, the quality of programs cannot be improved, and the series produced are unchanged. Singapore TV can only go downhill.
Nowadays, compared to the rapidly changing Asian film and television industry, Singaporean dramas that once made outstanding achievements are now little known and have little impact.
Zheng Binhui even admitted that Singapore's film and television production is decades behind the motherland.
Huang Feihu, played by Zheng Binhui in "Fengshenbang: Fengming Qishan", the picture comes from the online Singaporean drama
, as gorgeous as fireworks, the beautiful but short-lived blooming illuminated the entire 1990s, and amazed countless mainland audiences in their youth. Nowadays, it is lonelier than fireworks. The reason why
is still remembered by us is actually because we are all - old.
would like to dedicate this article to the youth in our memories.
The creative team of this article is
author | Zhao Xiyi
planner | Zhao Xiyi
editor | Zhao Xiyi
*The pictures are from the Internet. If you have any questions, please contact
