Opinion | From Story of Yanxi Palace to Three Body, China’s TV exports could do what Wolf Warrior diplomacy hasn’t
- Although China’s leaders have attached great importance to the role of culture in national rejuvenation, the country lags far behind the US in cultural influence
- A new crop of TV series, and to a lesser extent film productions, ranging from historical dramas to sci-fi, might help change that
This underwhelming result comes despite the fact that Beijing has, since the Hu Jintao administration, accorded great importance to the role of culture in China’s national rejuvenation.
Last July, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and 27 other government departments jointly released a policy road map on establishing China as a global cultural power. Against this backdrop, how does China draw on its past and present to tell its story well? A look at emerging Chinese television and film genres offers some answers.
According to the Global Times, official data showed a 118 per cent year-on-year increase in the export value of Chinese television series in 2021, and that China had exported 714 television dramas with a total value of US$56.83 million that year.
A notable phenomenon is the rise of xianxia (translated literally as “immortal heroes”) television dramas. This genre, which draws heavily on Chinese mythology and early Chinese literature, has gained popularity both at home and abroad.
