从英国到中国：《见字如面》节目让大众重温写信时光

From UK to China: Letters Brought Back to Life

Letters as a way of communication have long given way to phone calls and WeChat messages in China.But a TV show called Letters Alive, is helping bring this old way to keep in touch back into the present.

Letters Alive took its idea from a UK program with a similar name, Letters Live, which premiered in 2013. Both shows feature famous actors and actresses, but there is no gossip, no eye-catching visual effects or any regular showbiz activities. Instead, it’s just one person walking up to a microphone and reading a letter.

But these are not just any letters. They are selected from a wide time span and a diverse range of subjects. There is, for example, a passionate letter that famous painter Huang Yongyu wrote to playwright Cao Yu 30 years ago to criticize his lack of creativity. There is also a heartfelt note from Spring and Autumn Period written by two ordinary young soldiers to their elder brother to report their lives in the war zone.

Every letter is like a small piece of history. By hearing them being read, it’s as if we are being sent back in time to experience a moment that we would otherwise never have had the chance to.

“Letters Live makes us pause and imagine the lives behind the letters,” UK actor Benedict Cumberbatch, one of the readers on the UK show, told The Guardian. “It allows people from all ages and all walks of life to experience a moment of time in someone else’s life for a brief moment.”

Compared to published texts, letters also come with a personal touch.

One example from Letters Live was a note of thanks from the mother of a dying child to JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books. It read: “Mrs Rowling, Cancer threatened to take everything from my daughter, and your books turned out to be the fortress we so desperately needed to hide in.”

According to Guan Zhengwen, the director of Letters Alive, it is this kind of humanity behind every letter that strikes a chord with the audience. It is also what made the show a big hit in China ever since its fi rst episode aired on Dec 5, 2016.

在中国，信件这种沟通方式早已被电话和微信所取代。但《见字如面》这档电视节目正将这一保持联系的老方式带回到现代人的视野。

《见字如面》的想法源于一档类似的英国节目Letters Live，该节目于2013年首播。两档节目没有八卦、没有抓人眼球的视觉效果或是任何常规的演艺活动。仅仅邀请一些著名演员，走到麦克风前朗读信件。

但这些信并非随机选择的。被筛选出来的信件涵盖了很长的时间跨度，主题也十分多样化。例如，节目里有一封30年前著名画家黄永玉写给剧作家曹禺的充满激情的信件，批评他缺乏创造力。还有一封春秋时代两名普通年轻战士为兄长讲述战地生活的家书。

每封信就像一片小小的历史碎片。听信时，我们仿佛回到过去，身临其境。

“Letters Live让我们停下来，想象信件背后的生活，”该英国节目的朗读者之一，英国演员本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇在接受《卫报》采访时表示，“它让不同年龄、各行各业的人们在短暂的时间中经历了其他人生活的片刻时光。”

与其他出版文字相比，信件带有一种个人感触。

Letters Live节目中就有个例子，一个生命垂危的儿童的母亲给《哈利·波特》作者J·K·罗琳写了一封感谢信。信中，她这样写道：“罗琳女士，癌症威胁着要带走我女儿的一切，但是你的书籍却像一座堡垒，让我们迫切地想要藏身其中。”

中文版《见字如面》节目的导演关正文表示，正是这种隐藏在每封书信背后的人性光辉，引发了观众的共鸣。这也是节目从2016年12月5日首播后就在中国大热的原因。 (China Daily供稿)