Text/Wu Ziniu People often have misunderstandings about some seemingly familiar history, such as the impression of the Zhenguan era. The Zhenguan Dynasty has always made Chinese descendants extremely proud. Many people think that it was the most powerful period in Chinese history, but it was not, or not quite accurate.Scientifically speaking, Zhenguan was ruled by one generation. In the 23 years under Li Shimin's rule, the national power was far from reaching the peak of the entire Tang Dynasty, and many economic indicators were even far behind the early Sui Dynasty when the famous tyrant Emperor Yangdi was born.After Li Shimin, through the efforts of Gaozong, Empress Wu and Xuanzong and other brilliant rulers, the material and spiritual civilization of the Tang Empire advanced to a world-admired level in the "Kaiyuan" period before the "Anshi Rebellion".

However, Zhenguan's political civilization has reached a level that has never been seen before or since in feudal China.During this period, the clear political atmosphere, the efficient government mechanism, the popularization of the spirit of the legal system, and the harmony between the monarch and his subjects, officials and the people were all highly praised by later feudal rulers and historians.It can be said that Zhenguan’s historic contribution to a powerful dynasty lies in the fact that it established, perfected and determined a set of the most advanced political system in the world at that time in 23 years. After centuries, Tang finally became the most powerful country in that era.

Therefore, in the creation of the novel, the author did not devote more brushstrokes to the nostalgia for the prosperity of the past, but turned his attention to the hardships of creating a state of governance, which I agree with. Li Shimin is not the eldest son of Li Yuan, but an elder brother who was established as the prince before him. Although Li Shimin achieved military exploits beyond the reach of others in the founding war, according to feudal orthodoxy, the way he gained power through the Xuanwumen Incident was criticized by people.The elder brother Li Jiancheng and younger brother Li Yuanji who were killed by him were both quite politically powerful, and the father Li Yuan who was forced to retreat by him also had a group of veterans and important officials. This was something Li Shimin had to face after he came to power. Therefore, in the early years of Zhenguan, He could always feel the pressure from inside Tang.

What is even more frightening is the smoke of wolves rising in the north.Li Shimin is a legendary hero who rises in the war, but his war with Jieli Khan, the ruler of the grassland, is completely different from the war against the Sui army and those powerful inside the Great Wall.Xieli had a powerful cavalry, at least in Asia at the time.In the era of cold weapons, the cavalry, which has advantages in mobility and assault capabilities, is often the key force that determines the outcome of a war.Because of this, Jieli was able to march straight into Chang'an a few days after Li Shimin ascended the throne, shaking the entire Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin's administration began in a crisis-ridden summer, and the story of the novel unfolds from such a thrilling and tense environment.Since then, various crises have always accompanied the emperor, and the novel also extends various tense and tortuous suspense and ups and downs of conflicts along the veins of Li Shimin's personal fate, until his life came to an end, and a game that had already been opened was completed. The game of chess is left to the successor. The story of the novel should not be further narrated by me. The book is placed at the back, and readers can savor it carefully.I just want to share my deepest feelings. From the perspective of literature and art, Zhenguan is indeed a rich mine. When you gently brush off the dust of history, you can see bright gems one by one.The greatest charm of this era lies in the countless hardships and hardships that create opportunities for the birth of heroes.Through reading, you will find that the author is not only writing about a ruler with mixed Han and Xianbei blood in the novel, but also about a great ancient Chinese hero.It can be seen that the author has a deep heroic complex in his heart, and it is precisely because of this that he portrays Li Shimin so heroically and wisely, while tailoring or even avoiding many of his shortcomings.I don’t know how the critics will judge this, but in the process of filming the TV series, I almost adopted the same creative attitude, showing the touch of history everywhere in the play, and now looking back, maybe it’s because I There must be a similar hero complex hidden in my heart.

Film and television art is an art about time.Audiences who appreciate film and television works must float in the river of time in order to experience the ups and downs in the work, and thus be infected by the plot and achieve the "pleasure" of empathy that Aristotle said thousands of years ago.Because of this, Tarkovsky, the film master of the former Soviet Union, named his commentary collection "Sculpting Time". The spatial sense of the picture shows stronger expressiveness and penetrating power. Novels, or more generally speaking, stories, are also the art of time.You must read it from the beginning, even if it is a classic, if you do not want to appreciate the poems in it, but to see the joys, sorrows, sorrows and joys of the children in the Grand View Garden, then you have to read it from the beginning.Of course, such a situation is not ruled out, that is, you are already familiar with the book, and you can read it at any page you turn to.But even in such a situation, your reading is constantly checking the antecedents and anticipating the consequences, so you are still floating on the river of time.

In this regard, film and television art and novels are similar, but there is still a huge difference in the appreciation effect between the two. Some things can be appreciated in film and television works, while other things may be more suitable for reading. The true meaning of the words and phrases in the novel can only be felt by the audience and readers through comparison. The 82-episode TV series is the most difficult TV series I have ever filmed since I was engaged in film and television art practice, but at the same time, I have also gained unprecedented creative joy.This artistic creation process of walking through the thorns and finally climbing to the top of the mountain is something that my collaborators and I will never forget.Through this work, I became good friends with screenwriter Zhifang.When the TV series is about to start broadcasting, his long historical novel of the same name will also be published. I would like to express my sincere congratulations and sincerely look forward to Zhifang's continuous success. I also hope that we will have more opportunities to work together in the future to serve the audience Present excellent works, especially Wen Yizhi.