Through the text translation and dubbing production of the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions", he also had many exchanges with Japan's "famous fan" Professor Sohei Ito of the University of Tokyo.

And we learned from it that the spread of "Dream of Red Mansions" in Japan can be described as "ice and fire" - it has received both "favor" and "cold reception".

The so-called "favorable treatment" refers to the prosperity of translation.

Japanese translation of "Dream of Red Mansions" began with the first excerpt of Mori Huainan in 1892.

In the following 125 years, as far as Sohei Itō knows, a total of 12 excerpted versions, 12 compiled versions, 3 abridged versions, 1 transliterated version, and 10 full translations were produced, for a total of 38 kinds of translations.

And because of the strong support of large publishing houses such as Iwanami Shoten and Pingheshasha, a group of loyal "red fans" were born among many Japanese intellectuals who like Chinese culture. Although they are not large in number, they are extremely obsessed with it.

The so-called "cold reception" is that compared to the other three of the Four Great Classics, "A Dream of Red Mansions" is less well-known, has fewer readers, and has a narrower readership.

Most ordinary readers in Japan know "Water Margin", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (called "Three Kingdoms" in Japan), and "Journey to the West", but few know about "A Dream of Red Mansions". Most of those who know it have Chinese learning or research experience.

intellectual class.

Even fewer people continue to study this book.

The ups and downs of the other three masterpieces can easily attract ordinary readers, but "A Dream of Red Mansions" does not win with its plot.

In addition, "A Dream of Red Mansions" takes the beauty of Chinese language and characters to the extreme, with a large number of superb uses of the sounds, shapes, and meanings of Chinese characters such as homophones, puns, and word splits, as well as various styles and styles of rhymes, etc., even the most sophisticated ones.

Even with a good translation, it would be difficult for a Japanese “red chamber master” like Ito Sohei to restore its effect.

The readers' aesthetic enjoyment will be greatly reduced.

But the most important thing is that there is a Japanese classic work "The Tale of Genji" that is very similar to "A Dream of Red Mansions".

This novel describes the aristocratic life of the Heian period, and also alludes to the imperial power and political struggles in Japan at that time. It was written earlier than The Red Chamber.

So just like how many Chinese people watch "A Dream of Red Mansions", they don't have much interest in "The Tale of Genji" which is of a similar type.

In Japan, there are many people who read "The Tale of Genji" but don't know about "A Dream of Red Mansions".

Because of this, although Ito Sohei is responsible for the Japanese translation of Dream of Red Mansions, he also welcomes this TV series to be broadcast on Japan's national television stations.

But from his point of view, he also objectively realized that it was not easy to promote this TV series, and he vaccinated Ning Weimin in advance.

As for what he believes is most easily accepted by Japanese people in "Dream of Red Mansions", it is that the idea of ​​impermanence in "Dream of Red Mansions" is consistent with the aesthetic consciousness deeply rooted in Japanese traditional concepts - the concept of impermanence.

Ning Weimin was not only very grateful for the scholar's advice, but he also finally had time to make some adjustments before the TV station promoted it.

First of all, the advertisement for the "Dream of Red Mansions" trailer had to be changed. It could not use "Four Masterpieces" as a gimmick to promote the Chinese aesthetics in this TV series, as he originally planned.

Instead, we have to pull up "The Tale of Genji" and tell the Japanese that this is China's "The Tale of Genji", a love story about a love triangle.

Try to make it easier for Japanese people to accept it through the similarities between the two works.

Secondly, for the same reason, the ten-minute introductory video that Director Kaga fought for had to be changed in this way. Ning Weimin decided to invite Ito Shuhei as a translator to share the common experience between "The Tale of Genji" and "A Dream of Red Mansions".

, recording a popular science program in different places.

Finally, in order to win more Japanese audiences in a more targeted manner with higher efficiency.

In order to have as many people as possible say good things and write favorable reviews of the drama after it is aired.

Ning Weimin also decided that from now on until the show is finished by the end of the year, in addition to using Sohei Ito's connections, he will organize Japan's "Red Mansions fans" in the name of Ebuntang Bookstore and hold friendships at Dangu.

meeting.

In addition, he also plans to visit Japanese national universities that offer Chinese courses and related history majors to hold cultural exchange activities with the theme of "Dream of Red Mansions".

At that time, in addition to bringing the video tape of "A Dream of Red Mansions" to the university and showing it to interested students, he will also invite professional Japanese "red fans" to comment.

He will also take people from Tan Palace to make sugar paintings, make people's faces, perform folk music, and even give cake gift boxes and cook a few dishes from "Dream of Red Mansions".

He didn't believe it.
Chapter completed!