Directed by Cao Dun and Gao Xiang, with Ma Boyong as story consultant, the ancient legendary drama "Lychees in Chang'an" starring Lei Jiayin and Yue Yunpeng will be broadcast on CCTV-8's prime time from 19:30 on June 7, and will be exclusively broadcast on Tencent Video. Narnaxi, An Qi, Lü Liang, Gong Lei, Feng Jiayi, Lu Fangsheng, Guo Tao, Han Tongsheng, Dou Xiao, Zhang Tianai, Yin Fang, and Ming Dao will also appear in the drama.
The play is adapted from Ma Boyong's novel of the same name. It is based on "litchi" and tells the story of Li Shande (Lei Jiayin), a petty official in the Tang Dynasty, who was suddenly framed by his colleagues and forced to take on the desperate mission of "litchi envoy". Before the first day of June, he had to transport fresh lychees from Lingnan, 5,000 miles away, to Chang'an. In order to protect his young daughter, he went south alone. In the main plot of transporting lychees over thousands of miles, the game of various interests in the workplace is involved, showing the hardships and difficulties of small people in the workplace.
Lei Jiayin as Li Shande
At the same time, Zheng Pingan (played by Yue Yunpeng), who was ordered by the Left Prime Minister to investigate the evidence of the Right Prime Minister's crime, sneaked into Lingnan undercover. The uncle and the man, who were entrusted with life and death, met unexpectedly.
Yue Yunpeng as Zheng Ping'an
The two leading actors worked together from the movie "Man Jiang Hong" to the TV series "Chang'an's Lychees", and together they are a "laugh-making machine". This time they are facing a challenge of "hell-level" difficulty, encountering many obstacles along the way, with two lines intertwined and crises lurking everywhere. Can they break through the siege?
On May 28, the drama held an advance screening in Shanghai. The original author Ma Boyong and the leading actors Lv Liang, Gong Lei, and Lu Fangsheng all appeared at the "Around the Table and Eating Lychees". Writer Mao Jian also came to the scene as a special guest.
Many of Ma Boyong's novels have been adapted into film and television works, such as "Secrets of the Three Kingdoms", "The Antique Bureau", "The Twelve Hours in Chang'an", "Ming Dynasty under the Microscope", "The Wind Rises in Longxi", etc. The adaptation of "Lychees in Chang'an" has also been the focus of book fans and audiences. In this regard, the original author Ma Boyong said that the drama version made up for many of his regrets about the original work. "The length of the novel limits many characters to appear only as roles, while the TV series version can calmly and orderly turn them from symbols into flesh-and-blood characters." When asked about his satisfaction with the drama version, Ma Boyong said: "I hope it is 99 points, plus a lychee."
The main creative staff took a group photo at the film viewing party
At the film viewing event, the three leading actors Lv Liang, Gong Lei and Lu Fangsheng also shared the design ideas and behind-the-scenes stories of their respective characters.
Lu Liang said that in the process of playing the role of Hu merchant Su Liang, he spent a lot of time on details such as language and etiquette. For example, when greeting people, he would use the forehead salute and the chest salute in different occasions; when speaking, he would unconsciously add a lot of gestures to express himself more clearly.
Gong Lei talked about the fan that Zhao Xinmin often holds in the play, which was a popular accessory among literati in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. He imitated it to show his character's pride in being a scholar.
Lu Fangsheng revealed that Yu Chengen is actually very ambitious. As Li Shande's partner in transporting lychees, the relationship between the two will undergo subtle changes at different stages.
