Beijing conference spotlights small-screen adaptation of literary works

Li Eryun, deputy general manager of Tencent's Film and Television Content Production Department, and Dai Ying, senior vice-president of iQIYI, shared Cao's opinion.

All three veteran producers emphasized that gaining sound audience insights is important in ensuring that TV series, which are essentially entertainment products, strike a chord with the present-day audience.

Qin Wen, a screenwriter of many hit series, including Blossoms Shanghai and The First Half of My Life, shared that adapting a novel into a compelling screenplay requires the screenwriter to master the art of addition and subtraction.

"There are dozens of stories and hundreds of characters in the novel Fan Hua (Blossoms), yet we had to select the most representative stories and characters and present them to the TV audience," she said.

Screenwriter Peng Yining said she practiced the art of addition when creating the screenplay for the miniseries To the Wonder because Li Juan's original work is an essay collection devoid of protagonists, consistent plots and dramatic tension.

The Conference on Creation of High-Quality-Product in Radio and Television of China was co-hosted by the National Radio and Television Administration and the Beijing Municipal People's Government.