Thoughts on TV Adaptations of ROTK
A listener recently asked me what I thought about the 2010 TV adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I figured it would a topic of interest for other listeners, so I’m rehashing my reply to the question and expounding on it here. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, too.
I’ve watched two Chinese TV series for ROTK. The first is a 1994 version, and the second is the 2010 version. They both have pros and cons, but overall, I think I prefer the 1994 version because it is more faithful to the novel. Here’s my quick analysis of each series.
1994 Version
Good: It is the more faithful adaptation of the novel. The characters are pretty spot on compared to their counterparts in the book, and the actors do a good job capturing the essence of their roles.
Not so good: The battle scenes are a bit underwhelming at times. Battles that are supposed to involve hundreds of thousands of soldiers come off looking more hundreds of soldiers sometimes.
Also, because the series was filmed over a period of years, some of the secondary characters changed actors midway through, and it’s kind of strange to see two totally different looking guys being identified as the same character.
2010 Version
Good: The cinematography is beautiful, and the battle scenes are much grander and more impressive (though you can clearly tell they reuse some of the CG footage for multiple battles).
Not so good: The series takes some pretty big liberties with the characters and plots. In some ways, it makes the characters perhaps more realistic than in the novel, but often times, the changes just don’t work for me.
This is especially true where female characters are concerned. In the novel, female characters didn’t have major roles. The 2010 TV series goes out of its way to give them a bigger part, but the effort comes across as strained and smacks of merely trying to give a minor character something to do right before they are swept off screen and forgotten for the rest of the show because, well, they are minor characters in the novel.
The 2010 series also contrives plots and character motives to try to make the key players more interesting. Some of these attempts work; some don’t. In either case, there are some major departures from the novel, and I admit that I am a bit of a traditionalist in wanting an adaptation to be more faithful to the original.
Another shortcoming of the 2010 series is that it stops about 8/10ths of the way through the novel. If you are familiar with the novel, which most Chinese viewers are, that’s not a big deal. If you are not familiar, however, it leaves you hanging.
Verdict
For relative newcomers to ROTK who want to learn about the saga by watching a TV show, I would recommend the 1994 version. For people who already know how the story pans out and are familiar with the main characters, the 2010 version offers an interesting (if sometimes frustrating) spin on the way these characters are typically portrayed.
Decide for Yourself
Both series are available online with English subtitles:
What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
I agree the 1994 version is truer to the ROTK novel but it may come across as rigid or even academic to a “casual” viewer. The 2010 version is better dramatization of the novel, which itself is a heavy dramatization of historical events, if it can be called that.
In any case, the writers for the 2010 series tried very hard to keep thing within the realm of possibility, which more than what we can say for the Red Cliff movie.
Perhaps the 2010 version serves as a better introduction to ROTK to a new audience. Admittedly, my own interest in ROTK and China’s ancient history was stirred by this catalyst.
PS. Your podcast & site is very appreciated and is visited regularly.
Hi Yat Woh. Definitely agree about the Red Cliff movie. It took me three tries to get through it.
I also agree that the novel itself is a dramatization of historical events, so in one respect, the 2010 series isn’t distorting “facts”. At the same time, though, the 2010 series is clearly an adaptation of the novel rather than dramatization of the actual historical era, and I guess I’m a bit of a stickler in that I feel like if you are adapting a literary work, you should try to stay faithful to it, because it is written in a specific way to make particular points and convey certain themes. Veer too far from it, and you lose the essence of the work, and I feel like the 2010 series veered a bit too far afield in some places.
As an analogy, the HBO series “Rome” veered far away at times from its source material in dramatizing the historical events that happened in Rome in the first century. I had no problem with that because it was a dramatization of history. On the other hand, if the series had meant to be an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” and “Antony and Cleopatra”, then I would have a problem with it because it would have veered far from Shakespeare’s works, which were written in particular ways to convey specific messages.
That said, though, I did like the way the 2010 series reinterpreted some of the characters (e.g., the way they painted Lu Su as much more than just well-meaning but slow-witted).
Thanks for listening and commenting!
I watched the 1994 version back in 2005 and I’m just now making my way through the 2010 version. I’ve enjoyed both, but both have been frustrating at times.
The 1994 subtitles are often really difficult to follow and make a lot of the dialogue have less impact at times. The most frustrating is when a character comes on screen and his name appears in chinese, but the subtitles just skip it and I’m left wondering who this person is.
The 2010 version is, as you wrote, way better in that aspect, but I find myself annoyed when the story seems to focus on certain events that I don’t find relevant and gloss over important ones for me. I’m still getting through the series, so I can’t comment on it all, but Diaochan was a big problem for me. I remember, in the ’94 version, after (SPOILERS!) Lu Bu killed Dong Zhuo, she got a bit of narration about how she fled and was never heard from again or her part in the story was done. Something to that affect. I really liked that part in the story, as it added emphasis to her manipulations of Lu Bu. Keeping her around, I feel, lessened that greatly. In fact, by the time (SPOILERS!) Lu Bu is executed, my girlfriend had completely forgotten how he was used by Diaochan in the first place and was just caught up in the romantic tragedy that was being presented. I was just sitting there annoyed that a scene like that was breaking up a much more powerful and meaningful exchange between Cao Cao and Chen Gong.
I had high hopes for Red Cliffs…crushed.
And speaking of taking liberties with the story, have you seen the anime? There’s a piece of work.
Damn, I love talking RoTK 🙂
Hi Jonathan
Agree with you about Diaochan in the 2010 incarnation. Are you a forum member of the RoTK Community, see link here http://the-scholars.com/index.php?sid=4386c25e5df246e7346c9b50e7099c91
Yat Woh
I have loved RoTK ever since I was a boy and I really want to see a modern day TV adaptation. Something similar to Marco Polo and Game of Thrones. I would think this would be best for HBO or Cinemax to take on but I would think any good production team that would stay true to the story would do it justice.
Hi John,
I am only getting started with this excellent podcast of yours here. (after listening to your conversation with the nice gents at Sinica.) I feel compelled to comment on this entry here because for me, a complete newbie to Chinese history and culture, the 2010 show on YouTube was what actually drew me into the orbit of the three kingdoms saga and Chinese history and culture in general. I was recommended the show on the Internet by a fellow Game of Thrones fan who said anyone who likes GoT and is curious about foreign culture should watch that show. I did and I really loved it! Personally I think the 1994 version is much less accessible (in the YouTube versions I saw) than the 2010 version. The subtitles are excellent, the SFX while corny and underwhelming by GoT standards are nevertheless good and make for exciting battle scenes, and the storytelling is really nicely done IMHO. I don’t have the purist’s perspective of course, (haven’t read the book) but for me it will always have a special place in my heart as the thing that lured me into what is becoming proper Sinophilia 🙂
Best regards from Germany,
David
Hi David. Thanks for listening and commenting! I totally agree that the 1994 version is much less accessible (and the subtitles are laughably absurd at times). And there is no substitute for being the “first” exposure. I think I said in my interview on the Sinica Podcast that the for me the 1994 version is kind of like Star Trek: The Original Series for some of the people who grew up with it — they would say it’s the best series even though The Next Generation was obviously superior in many ways. So just as the 2010 series holds a special place for you, I think the 1994 series stands out for me as the “original”.
On a related note, I agree with you about the special effects. One of the things that consistently disappoints me about Chinese TV shows is their bad special effects. They can steal bullet train technology from the Germans, but they can’t steal the secret to good SFX from Hollywood?
Hi John,
Well the “secret” to good SFX is to hire the best SFX artists and to buy a lot of their expensive time isn’t it? 🙂 Once Chinese broadcasters start producing shows with an eye to exporting them to America and Europe, I am sure they will push for higher standards.
I think the 2010 R3K show already had pretty good effects for what is presumably a TV show produced for the domestic Chinese market. It’s mostly quite good by German TV standards too! Bombastic, even, considering the mass battle scenes.
The one thing though that really was a problem for me was the way they totally didn’t introduce the main characters – Cao Cao, Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun, I was like, who the hell are the guys! They would have to introduce them properly if the show was marketed to a Western audience. I had to read Wikipedia to understand what was going on in the first couple of episodes. After Cao Cao fled the capital though it got easier to follow and I felt wikipedia wasn’t mandatory any more. (Still did use it as supplementary reading)
Yeah, the 2010 series definitely assumes a prior knowledge of ROTK and in fact plays on that fact by introducing twists and new interpretations on familiar storylines, like having Guan Yu and Zhang Fei trying to stage a mutiny against Zhuge Liang or adding conflict between Sun Quan and Zhou Yu. It’s more of a re-interpretation of ROTK than a straight-up ROTK series.
I’ve watched the first 25 episodes of the 2010 tv series while also listening to your podcast & reading the C.H. Brewitt-Taylor translation. Watching the tv series helps me, as an American, keep track of the characters better & listening to both the tv series and your podcast helps me to differentiate proper names as well as appreciate the original work.
I’ve noticed some patterns in the tv adaptation that may be culturally/politically motivated in the direction of making the story less realistic with respect to history.
A. Animal and human sacrifice has been removed as has any large religious observances and festivals.
B. Polygamy has been downplayed, no harmonious polygamous households are shown. Where the book has two wives to a hero one is represented in the tv series.
C. Incidents of cannibalism removed.
D. Taoist magic, medicine, and divination has been removed.
Polygamy, slavery, animal and human sacrifice, divination and magic were all present in different cultures around the world at this time, so it doesn’t necessarily reflect on Chinese society as being primitive or inferior in any way to other cultures. Maybe these changes were necessary to meet tv broadcast standards suitable for young people.
In its own right every episode has my family riveted, it’s well-paced and the additional character development and dialog is well-done. Cao Cao especially can talk any one into anything… except for the Peach Orchard Three!
I haven’t watched the 1994 version but enjoyed the 2010 version, although they didn’t follow the source material in most cases. will try to watch the 1994 version. The 2010 version didn’t end where the novel ended, the 2010 version ended where Sima Yi fakes illness and takes control of Wei.
I don’t like how Wei Yan died in the new version, the old version is way better.
Indeed. Just one of a number of changes in the 2010 series that I didn’t particularly care for. Having him killed in the tent instead of on the battlefield is kind of lame.
But individual scenes like owyn’s confrontation with the Witch-King are adapted almost word for word from the book.
Hi there, haven’t listened to your podcast (though I do listen to others and I’ve heard good things), but a random link brought me here (I’m having a slow day) and I thought I’d add my two cents.
I should say I’ve seen the 2010 version twice all the way through (once with English subtitles and once all in Chinese), and I’ve never seen the 1994 version, but I’m pretty well acquainted with the original source material (I’ve read the original text “translated” into modern Chinese, ancient Chinese is still a bit much for me)
I don’t really see the deviation from the source material as a bad thing, I guess this is just a different opinion, but I think it really gives the series a lot more depth. In the source material CaoWei and CaoCao being pretty unambiguously portrayed as “the bad guys” with ShuHan and Liu Bei as “the good guys”.
I think ChenJiaBins performance as CaoCao in this series is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen, and really gives him a lot more depth and relatability than in other portrayals.
The acting in general is pretty good, I guess the one exception being one of the other principal protagonist “Liu Bei”. Whoever portrays him (I forget), uhhhhh its not like he did a terrible job, but wherever he goes it seems everyone is just awed by his presence and just wants to flock to his banner or turn over their cities, but he never sold to me that he was this great awe inspiring leader of men and moral beacon, he just kind of seemed a bit of a dullard, with a relatively decent if inflexiable moral compass, who was pretty much carried by ZhuGeLiang and GuanYu/ZhaoYun on the military and political arms respectively.
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I agree that the screenwriting of the 2010 version at times feel contrived, or even unbelievable. One of the ways this manifests is its addition of romance side plots, which at times added entertainment value but is not always done in a way that is economical or intelligent. For example, Diao Chan and Lu Bu’s love story drags on for too long, and feels disjointed from the larger story. The scene where Princess Sun rescues Liu Bei at Gan Lu Temple, while dramatic, feels overdone and a bit cheesy.
For the reason above and others, I have mixed feelings about the way the series incorporates its female characters. That being said, the characters are nonetheless endearing and admirable, and I’ve found a disproportionate number of women to be my favorite characters from the 2010 series. The Three Kingdoms was my childhood memory and I was very happy to add Diao Chan, Princess Sun and Madame Wu alongside my favorite Three Kingdoms characters and heroes, for qualities like courage, selflessness and resolution. Even Emperor Han Xian’s Concubine Dong, who had little screen time, was memorable, loyal and incredibly brave in her own way, and this portrayal only helped the overall narrative of Cao Cao as a hated and formidable villain.
Perhaps like the well-known opening poem comparing history to a river, culture is like a river too, and one never steps in the same river twice. While the series’ attempt at innovation is not perfect, the effort is commendable.
On the subject of the subtitles on the version that was available online of the ’94 series, I’m actually part of a project that’s redoing them from scratch, from mandarin subs and checking to see if there are any errors, there is some quality difference between episodes because tbh we’re kind of a rag tag bunch, but we’re finishing up Chibi and it’s been picking up steam, we’re about halfway through and it seems like we’ll finish in less than a year, or two, it’s a fansub project lol.
If you have the time and interest to check it out I’d be delighted, though of course i understand if it’s not the case, i’m not posting this to try to bring attention to the project, if i wanted to do that i’d probably comment on youtube or something, it’s just me being an excited history nerd who’s learning mandarin but still needs subs, i mostly do reviews of the english subs, but i’ve been a bit inactive this last semester.
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Cheers