Gao Mantang, screenwriter of Old Pub： Give young people something nutritious.

　　The 46-episode drama "Old Tavern", starring Chen Baoguo and Amanda, tells the story of Chen Huaihai, the shopkeeper of the Shandong Old Tavern on Dalian Haoren Street, and what happened in the old Tavern he opened. Since its launch, the drama has won the love of many audiences with its rich chronological texture, solid and excellent plays, rich and full characterization and witty lines.　

　　If "Braving the Kanto" in those days was a comprehensive review of the real population migration in the history of China, today’s "Old Pub" is a multi-dimensional extension and upgrading expression of Gao Mantang’s great feelings of the "post-Braving the Kanto era" with a brand-new story context after ten years of precipitation.　　　

　　"Something nutritious for young people"

　　Today, nearly half of Dalian’s population comes from Shandong. Gao Mantang’s ancestors came to Dalian from his grandfather’s generation, and his father opened a pub on Xinglong Street in Dalian, from which the story of Old Pub originated. Gao Mantang’s deepest memory is the wonderful time after his father drank alcohol when he was a child: "My father always plays his broken erhu after drinking. Singing" Empty City Strategy "is beautiful, and singing" Xu Ce Running the City "is almost enough. If there is another Shandong Lu Opera, it is almost time to sleep." Gao Mantang’s creative desire was inspired by the legendary life stories and chivalrous feelings of his father’s wandering drinkers: "Write the stories of his father’s time with ease, and the more you write, the more energetic you are."

　　"One Lushunkou, half a modern history", with reverence for history, at the centenary of his father’s birthday, Gao Mantang finally set out to write this story that has been in his mind for thousands of times. The Old Pub was written from the national crisis in China in 1928 to 1949. Gao Mantang thought that the history of suffering in it should not be forgotten: "We should not only cherish the future, but also review the history, and remind the young people of today that when they are enjoying their lives, it is necessary for us as artists to bring them something nutritious."

　　The old pub in the play has undergone great changes for half a century, and it has been renamed several times in different years. Finally, in 2013, the name of "Shandong Old Pub" was reused. Such an old name is actually a continuation of tradition, which implies the spiritual inheritance of Do not forget your initiative mind. The Old Pub is a touching letter written by Gao Mantang to his father, a memorial to the city of Dalian, and a long and meaningful romantic poem dedicated to the audience.

　　"Everyone is in my blood."

　　In the play, Chen Huaihai is undoubtedly the most eye-catching: being a father at home and caring for his wife and children; Being a shopkeeper in a pub, caring for brothers; In Haoren Street, it is the backbone, helping the poor; He is the core of The Old Tavern and the backbone of the Chinese nation. As a descendant of the "Go to the East" people, Gao Mantang bluntly said: "I can’t educate the audience, I can only use my artistic image to infect the audience, enrich the modern people with these characteristics of Chen Huaihai, and let the traditional spirit return to our new era."

　　Chen Baoguo, who won the Flying Award for "The Old Farmer" in 2015, expressed deep gratitude to Gao Mantang at the award ceremony: "Mr. Mantang, your play is difficult to perform but long-term, and your play is an actor." For Chen Baoguo, Gao Mantang is a predecessor, a Bole, and a noble person in his artistic career; Similarly, Gao Mantang regarded him as a close friend and a soul mate in his creation. After ten years’ cooperation, they left many excellent works, and this time, The Old Tavern is a tailor-made work by Gao Mantang for Chen Baoguo. In the early stage of script creation, he had confided in Chen Baoguo many times and told him many archetypal characters and real history behind the script, which made this story take root in Chen Baoguo’s heart.

　　On the basis of Chen Huaihai as the core, The Old Tavern closely links personal destiny with feelings of home and country through group narration, and staged a legendary drama of "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world". In Gao Mantang’s view, "Everyone in this room is in my blood. Chen Huaihai is equivalent to a solid main line and hub. The drinkers who come and go are branches that crisscross and merge with each other. These characters can open and close freely. "

　　"Creation should go deep into life"

　　Gao Mantang is a "rough man" born and raised in Northeast China. He has a hard-working nature in his bones. He visited six provinces and interviewed more than 200 talents to complete an old farmer. He is willing to stay in the steel plant for three years for the material of steel workers in The Age of Steel and The Great Craftsman. "Going to the East" lasted for ten years, spanning the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Kyrgyzstan and Liaoning, and reaching Jiaodong and Southwest Shandong, with a journey of tens of thousands of kilometers. In a bitter and cold place, you can only eat tofu with soy sauce to satisfy your hunger. In this regard, Gao Mantang has his own stubborn insistence: "Creation should go deep into life, take off on a solid land, and grab a handful of soil like an eagle."

　　In the pursuit of short and fast experience, creation is becoming more and more fragmented and flowing. Gao Mantang lamented this: "Such a story is too empty, not solid, and it is a suspended story. Life is the source of creation. Only by feeling, touching and experiencing can we have the impulse to create. I am willing to slow down the creative speed. With originality, China’s TV series will have long-term vitality. " (Qilu Evening News Qilu Yidian Special Reporter Tang Poetry)