Blockbuster drama about scheming concubines heralds growth of Chinese cultural influence abroad
宫斗大戏风靡全球预示着中国文化的影响力在海外提升
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The success of a Chinese historical period drama about scheming imperial concubines in a Qing dynasty palace has been celebrated by China as a breakthrough in the spread of its cultural influence across Asia.
一部关于清朝妃嫔们宫斗的中国历史剧大获成功，中国认为这是其文化影响力在亚洲传播的突破。
The Story of Yanxi Palace, a 70-episode tale of a sharp-witted maidservant investigating the death of her sister in the backdrop of the treacherous royal court, reached a record-topping 530 million viewers on streaming platform iQiyi, sometimes called ‘China’s Netflix’.
《延禧攻略》是一部70集的电视剧，讲述一个机智的婢女在险恶的宫廷背景下调查她姐姐的死因。在流媒体平台爱奇艺（有时被称为“中国的Netflix”）上，这部剧的观众达到了破纪录的5.3亿。
“Huge hit dramas in the Chinese mainland such as The Story of Yanxi Palace and Legend of Fuyao [a period romance] are also seeing great success in other areas of China as well as in overseas markets,” Global Times, said as it boasted amid the soaring viewing figures.
《环球时报》在观众人数激增之际报道：“中国大陆的热门大剧，如《延禧攻略》和《扶摇》（一段罗曼史），在中国其它地区和海外市场也取得了巨大成功。”
“The rise in popularity of Chinese dramas among overseas audiences has been significant, especially over the past two years, which in turn has increased demand for these shows in overseas markets,” it continued.
它继续写道：“中国电视剧在海外观众中越来越受欢迎，特别是过去两年，这反过来又增加了海外市场对这些节目的需求。”
In the absence of English subtitles the paper said fans have been leaving comments under the programme's YouTube trailers begging for translations.
报纸中写到，由于没有英文字幕，剧迷们一直在YouTube《延禧攻略》的预告片下留言求翻译。
Cumulatively, The Story of Yanxi Palace has generated 5.6 billion views since it was released in August, reeling in an average of 130 million views per episode with plot lines including a jealous concubine destroying the emperor’s lychee trees and blaming it on a rival’s Pekinese dog, reported the South China Morning Post.
据《南华早报》报道，《延禧攻略》自从八月上映以来，累计观看次数达56亿次，平均每集观看次数达1.3亿次，剧情包括一位吃醋的妃嫔毁掉了皇帝的荔枝树，并将其嫁祸于情敌的京巴。
By contrast, House of Cards had an average viewership of 4.6 million in September last year on Netflix.
相比之下，去年9月，《纸牌屋》在网飞的平均收视率为460万。
The Story of Yanxi Palace is set in the 18 th century court of Emperor Qianlong, is one of the most widely distributed Chinese productions and available in more than 70 markets globally.
《延禧攻略》以18世纪清朝的乾隆时期为背景，是中国流传最广的作品之一，在全球70多个市场都有售。
Hong Kong’s TVB recently bought its distribution rights for Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. Similar deals have been struck with TV channels and platforms in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
香港的TVB电视台最近购买了香港、澳门、新加坡和马来西亚的发行权。韩国、台湾、日本、泰国、印度尼西亚和越南的电视台和平台也达成了类似的协议。
However, Vietnamese pirates who have got hold of episodes before their official release, will only let viewers watch them if they say Vietnam controls disputed islands.
然而，越南的盗版商在《延禧攻略》正式放映之前已经掌握了一些剧集，要求观众们只有说有争议的岛屿归越南管辖才能观看。
Viewers are given the question “Which country do the Paracels and Spratly Islands belong to?” They must select "Vietnam" - not China - from a list of options .
当观众被问到“西沙群岛和南沙群岛属于哪个国家？”时，他们必须从选项列表中选择“越南”，而不是中国。
A recent editorial in Taiwan’s Taipei Times suggested the popularity of primetime Chinese dramas, with lavish sets and A-list stars, was an extension of Beijing’s “soft power” that was already shifting the public’s perception of China in a more positive direction, despite political tensions between the two countries.
台湾《台北时报》最近的一篇社论指出，尽管中国和越南政治关系紧张，但有着奢华布景和一流明星的中国电视剧在越南黄金时段热播，是北京“软实力”的延伸，这种软实力已经朝着更积极的方向去改变越南公众对中国的看法。
Dr Jonathan Sullivan, director of China Programmes at Nottingham University’s Asia Research Institute, said many Chinese cultural products were “lost in translation,” historical dramas could become more influential, he suggested.
诺丁汉大学亚洲研究所中国项目主任乔纳森·沙利文博士表示，许多中国文化产品都“在翻译中被扭曲失分了”，历史剧可能会变得更有影响力。
“It is plausible that they could resonate across the region, especially if historical distance is able to finesse the differences of opinion China has on lots of things with its North East Asian neighbours,” said Dr Sullivan.
沙利文博士说：“他们可能在整个地区产生共鸣，这是合理的，尤其是如果历史距离能够巧妙地消除中国与东北亚邻国在许多问题上的意见分歧。”
The Global Times reported that there was still a long way to go before China’s dramas could parallel the popularity of South Korean shows.
《环球时报》报道称，中国电视剧的受欢迎程度在与韩国电视剧相提并论之前还有很长的路要走。
One of the major obstacles was length, with viewers giving negative feedback “dragging storylines,” it said, citing Rena Liu, vice president of DramaFever, a division of Warner Bros Digital Labs.
华纳兄弟数字实验室旗下DramaFever的副总裁Rena Liu说：“其中一个主要障碍是篇幅过长，观众给出了 ‘故事情节拖沓’的负面反馈。”
"Chinese dramas typically exceed 50 episodes. This creates a very challenging barrier of entry, since Western audiences who watch with subtitles often prefer more efficient storytelling," said Ms Liu.
她说：“中国电视剧通常超过50集。这形成了一个非常具有挑战性的门槛，因为观看字幕的西方观众往往喜欢更紧凑的故事情节。”
来源 | BBC
编译 | 杨林姗
排版 | 杨林姗
指导老师 | 刘佳
