A Dream of Red Mansions (1988–9 film)

A Dream of Red Mansions
Chinese	红楼梦
Directed by	Xie Tieli Zhao Yuan
Written by	Novel: Cao Xueqin Adapted screenplay: Xie Tieli Xie Fensong
Starring	Xia Qin Tao Huimin Fu Yiwei Liu Xiaoqing
Release dates	1988 (Parts 1 & 2) 1989 (Parts 3–6)
Running time	765 minutes (total)
Country	China
Language	Mandarin

A Dream of Red Mansions (红楼梦) is a Chinese serial feature film produced by Beijing Film Studio, released in 6 parts (8 episodes) between 1988 and 1989. Directed by Xie Tieli (谢铁骊) and Zhao Yuan (赵元),^[1] it is a cinematic adaptation of the 18th-century Chinese novel of the same name.^[2] The film took two years to prepare and three years to shoot,^[3]and, at 765 minutes, is still the longest ever made in the People's Republic of China.^[4]

Lead actresses Xia Qin and Tao Huimin were both Shaoxing opera artistes, with Xia Qin taking on the role of the male lead Jia Baoyu. The film won Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Lin Moyu), Best Act Direction and Best Costume Design at the 10th Golden Rooster Awards.

Cast

• Xia Qin (夏钦，原名夏菁) as Jia Baoyu
• Tao Huimin (陶慧敏) as Lin Daiyu
• Fu Yiwei (傅艺伟) as Xue Baochai
• Lin Moyu (林默予) as Grandmother Jia
• Liu Xiaoqing (刘晓庆) as Wang Xifeng
• Ma Xiaoqing (马晓晴) as Shi Xiangyun
• Li Xiuming (李秀明) as Jia Yuanchun
• Yang Shihua (杨世华) as Jia Yingchun
• Zeng Dan (曾丹) as Jia Tanchun
• Ding Lan (丁岚) as Jia Xichun
• Zhang Jie (章杰) as Jia Zheng
• Wang Guangquan (王光权) (early) and Ji Qilin (姬麒麟) (later) as Jia Lian
• Shi Xian (石冼) as Jia Zhen
• Zhou Jieyu (周杰宇) as Jia She
• Wang Zhenrong (王振荣) as Jia Jing
• Zhang Jian (章健) as Jia Rong
• Shan Zenghong (闪增宏) as Jia Rui
• Xing Jinsha (邢金莎) (early) and Zhang Lei (张蕾) (later) as Hua Xiren
• Li Yongyong (李勇勇) as Qingwen
• Xu Jiequn (许杰群) as Yuanyang
• Ni Xuehua (倪雪华) as Ping'er
• Tong Xin (童欣) as Xiangling
• Chen Hong (陈红) as Zijuan
• Zhao Lirong (赵丽蓉) as Granny Liu
• Wang Minyi (王敏宜) as Lady Wang
• Yuan Mei (袁玫) as Aunt Xue
• He Qing (何晴) as Qin Keqing
• Xing Hong (邢红) as Li Wan
• He Saifei (何赛飞) as Miaoyu
• Lin Xiaojie (林小解) as Xue Pan
• Chen Hong (陈虹) as Second Sister You
• Li Lingyu (李玲玉) as Third Sister You
• Fan Weihua (范卫华) as Xia Jin'gui
• Zhang Baoqiu (张葆秋) as Concubine Zhao
• Li Fazeng (李法曾) as Jia Yucun

Plot summary

The film adapts the major events and incidents of the novel. The last part (Part Six) is essentially an abridged adaptation of the Cheng-Gao ending.

References

1. http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79fc91e8
2. Xiao, Zhiwei and Zhang, Yingjin. Encyclopedia of Chinese Film (1998), Routledge: London & New York, p. 378.
3. Perkins, Dorothy, Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture (2013), Routledge: London & New York, p. 134.
4. http://epaper.ynet.com/html/2015-06/20/content_139376.htm

External links

• A Dream of Red Mansions at the Internet Movie Database
• A Dream of Red Mansions, Part 1 at the Chinese Movie Database