The Dream of Red Mansions (2010 TV series)

The Dream of Red Mansions
The Dream of Red Mansions' intertitle
Also known as	红楼梦
Genre	Drama
Written by	Cao Xueqin (original novel)
Directed by	Li Shaohong
Creative director(s)	Ye Jintian
Starring	Yang Yang Jiang Mengjie Li Qin Michelle Bai Yao Di Zhou Caiqin Gua Ah-leh Ma Xiaocan
Country of origin	China
Original language(s)	Mandarin
No. of episodes	50
Production
Producer(s)	Han Sanping
Running time	45 minutes per episode
Release
Picture format	16:9 HD
Original release	July 6, 2010

The Dream of Red Mansions
Promotional poster
Simplified Chinese	红楼梦
Traditional Chinese	紅樓夢
Hanyu Pinyin	Hónglóu Mèng
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hónglóu Mèng

The Dream of Red Mansions is a 2010 Chinese television series, produced by Han Sanping and directed by Fifth Generation director Li Shaohong. One of the most expensive Chinese TV series ever made at RMB118 million (US$17.55 million), it is a new adaptation of the classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber. The series, comprising 50 episodes, made its debut on July 6, 2010 on 9 terrestrial networks across China.

The director was originally slated to be Hu Mei, but Hu clashed with the producers over the cast selection, and was replaced by Li Shaohong in October 2007. The 2010 TV series faced controversy over its cast, the stylized, kunqu-inspired hairdo, as well as a generally negative press after its July 6 debut.Yang Yang and Jiang Mengjie got praised for their performance and won Best Newcomer at the BQ Celebrity Score Awards. Yu Xiaotong won popular actor award at Seoul International Drama Awards.

Unlike the 1987 version, this series adapts the Cheng-Gao version. The 2010 series reproduces large segments of the book's pre-modern Beijing dialogue, often in full. Another feature is its heavy use of a male voice-over reciting much of the book's narrative.

The 2010 remake was controversial from the start, since the 1987 version was highly acclaimed and few critics were convinced a modern version will match its predecessor. Following a highly publicized casting call, director Hu Mei was replaced by Li Shaohong in 2007. Li courted more controversy by adopting a stylized kunqu-inspired hairstyle (dubbed "coined heads" 铜钱头/銅錢頭 (Tóngqián tóu) by netizens) for her female cast members, as advised by Hong Kong art director Ye Jintian. Many viewers find the hairstyle grotesquely unrealistic.

Response to the series after its debut was mixed, but was largely negative. It was panned by some newspapers, with one referring to it as a pre-modern version of the pop idol drama Meteor Garden. Audience expressed dismay over its use of music, and the use of make-up was also criticized. Some Redologist scholars voiced their disappointment with the somewhat juvenile acting and script adaptation. Director Li was under enormous pressure owing to the negative feedback and broke down during a Beijing press conference held on 7 July 2010, her birthday.