Comment

Classic remakes should respect original versions

By Wang Tingting (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-30 08:08

Wang Kun, a famous Chinese folk singer said that she hates the Chinese folk singers who perform in the kind of gowns worn by French ladies. My parents, who are both fans of this great singer especially popular in their generation, also expressed similar opinions concerning the evaluation of some currently popular folk song singers.

Like most of the post 1980s, I have different tastes than my parents' generation. Although I studied piano and ballet since childhood, and gradually learnt to appreciate those classics, I have always been a fan of those non-professional singers popular in our generation like Zhang Liangying, the third champion of Supergirl, and Zeng Yike, the controversial contestant in Happy Girls, neither of whom are likely to be appreciated by my parents' generation.

In spite of this, I also can't accept the ways that people are trying to popularize the traditional arts, such as folk singers wearing low-cut gowns, piano players performing like clowns, or traditional Chinese instruments being played to crazy dances. To my mind, these revamped art forms have greatly distorted their classical origins and may mislead the audience.

I once watched a classical ballet Gisellein that had been adapted into a spicy, sultry dance in Paris, only to find it was flakey and nothing was elegant. And I couldn't help wondering at that time what if our Chinese traditional arts like Peking Opera or the classical ballet The Red Detachment of Women were altered into such frivolous and strange styles, and what foreign audiences would make of this.

We have to admit that nowadays, reforming and reinterpreting the traditional arts and classics has become a popular trend, and of course, not every adaptation is annoying or bad. For example, there are some cover versions of traditional or military songs with altered rhymes and flavor, or remakes of some classical TV dramas.

However, in my view, the adaptation of classics is different from that of common works; new adaptations should be faithful to the soul and basic spirit of the original, while incorporating new elements that make it relevant to modern audiences.

Vulgar transformations that seek to appeal to the lowest common denominator, or overwhelm the traditional classics like Chinese folk songs, will not only be strongly opposed by an older audience and respected artists like Wang Kun. They will also arouse the animosity of a younger generation, which have a fondness for the traditional arts instilled during childhood, and severely impact the next generation's evaluation of these of art forms.

People's tastes and society change, and the traditional arts need to need reflect this. But those classics, which have been inherited and appreciated by people from generation to generation, deserve respect when it comes to any new adaptation and not just a cosmetic makeover in an attempt to make them more commercial.