"AI + Innovative Expression + Ultimate Creation" Revitalizes Traditional Culture with a Youthful Flair, and Oriental Aesthetics Sets Off a Strong "Ch

　　CCTV.com News: In recent years, as one of the "New Three" of Chinese culture, online film and television dramas have flourished. The Oriental aesthetics with rich cultural connotations has set off a strong "Chinese wave" overseas, attracting many young people to participate. They write and direct micro-short dramas by themselves, spreading more vivid Chinese stories overseas.
 

　　On the first day of the New Year's Day in 2026, while many people were still immersed in the leisure of the holiday, Ji Qiaofang, a micro-short drama screenwriter, had already started her busy work. According to the plan, more than a month later, the micro-short drama she created, set against the backdrop of the Northern Song Dynasty culture, will be simultaneously released at home and abroad.
 

　　Ji Qiaofang introduced that the short dramas they want to launch overseas should not only be understandable to overseas audiences but also enable them to understand some of the cultural connotations behind the stories.
 

　　Her obsession with culture stems from her childhood love. Ji Qiaofang, 34 years old this year, was born in the ancient capital of Luoyang. She has been exposed to the long history of her hometown since childhood. After graduating from university, she first became a docent in a museum and later taught herself design and drawing to create cultural and creative products. The more she immersed herself in it, the more she felt the charm of traditional Chinese culture. More than a year ago, she had an idea to create micro-short dramas based on excellent Chinese culture and promote them to the overseas market.
 

　　Ji Qiaofang said that the deeper she delved, the more fulfilling she felt. It was a kind of spiritual gain from the heart. Short dramas are a particularly good carrier. Through the way of the camera, the culture they want to express can be spread.
 

　　Years of research on traditional culture and her major in English in university have given Ji Qiaofang full confidence in launching short dramas overseas. For her first short drama, she deliberately chose the well-known theme of porcelain and gathered a small team of three or five people to work enthusiastically. It took nearly half a year from writing the script, finding actors to starting shooting. However, after the release of the work, the response was mediocre, and it was even difficult to promote it on overseas platforms.
 

　　Ji Qiaofang said that the short dramas of traditional culture they made have a very small audience. Coupled with the difficulty in understanding due to some cultural differences and the translation difficulties of some professional terms, it is definitely difficult for foreign audiences to feel the meaning inside.
 

　　The failure of the first attempt once left Ji Qiaofang in confusion, but the likes from several foreign friends strengthened her confidence. Moreover, many overseas Chinese left messages saying that they were full of pride when seeing the culture of their hometown.
 

　　Learning from the previous experience and lessons, Ji Qiaofang led her team to regroup and set off again. In 2026, for the newly shot drama, they not only strive for localized translation in text creation to make the story have a profound foundation and be down-to-earth but also adhere to on-location shooting. They are more meticulous in every detail of the costumes, props and scenery.
 

　　In order to truly restore history, Ji Qiaofang searched everywhere for suitable ancient costumes, consulted historical documents and visited cultural and museum institutions to verify the styles, patterns and materials of the costumes one by one, and put the "attention to detail" into every piece of clothing.
 

　　Ji Qiaofang introduced that this is the official robe of the Song Dynasty. There are hierarchical distinctions. For example, officials above the third rank wear purple robes and can embroider dark patterns of different colors, which is a symbol of status. Officials from the fourth to the fifth rank wear red robes. They made professional one-to-one PPTs and looked for these costumes according to them.

　　The production of short dramas emphasizes short, flat and fast, with high production efficiency. Ji Qiaofang is always busy on the set.
 

　　From working alone to expanding to more than a dozen people now, many "post-00s" fresh forces have also joined Ji Qiaofang's team. As the curtain of 2026 has just opened, everyone's schedule is already full. They are preparing five new works around themes such as the history of the Song Dynasty and cultural relics of the Northern Wei Dynasty. They will use artificial intelligence technology to create science fiction short dramas more suitable for the taste of overseas audiences and inject a youthful and fashionable expression into traditional culture.

　　Ji Qiaofang said that some stories may not have been discovered and understood by more people. They want to do such a thing, dig out and tell these precious cultures that have not been seen, so that more people can see that we still have so much wonderful culture.
 

　　Zhu Longbin, an operator of micro-short dramas, said that they should find more platforms and conduct multi-channel distribution so that overseas netizens can see and like the drama.

　　Li Xianhui, a director of micro-short dramas, said that he hopes to be more productive in 2026, have a higher box office, and let everyone have new gains from each drama he shoots.
 

  (Source: CCTV.com   Editor: Yang Shujie   Responsible Editor: Liu Liang)