SCENES from several Chinese revolutionary TV series showing people displaying some sort of superpowers have led to expressions of dismay and scorn among domestic viewers.

    A still showing a naked Chinese woman saluting Chinese soldiers during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945) was spread online Monday. Netizens criticized the image, saying that people should not take the war lightly, and that thousands of Chinese soldiers gave their lives for their country.

    “In this absurd TV series, history is distorted, so children will be misled,” Li Qianfa, a China Central Television commentator, said on a news program Wednesday. “This is not patriotism. The directors must think we are fools.”

    Last month, a video clip from another Chinese TV series was also the target of netizens’ criticism and mockery. Set during the same war, a Chinese heroine is gang-raped by several Japanese soldiers. As she is being raped, she discovers a box of arrows nearby. She takes one, stabs the man who is raping her and she is next seen taking down one Japanese soldier after another with a bow and arrow, killing all of the soldiers.

    Other ridiculous scenes include a Japanese soldier being torn in half by a Chinese man using just his two bare hands, and a soldier using a hand grenade to cause a plane to explode in the sky.

    Statistics show there were more than 70 Chinese TV series aired last year that were set during the period of the war against Japan, accounting for 35 percent of the total number of series aired nationwide. Gao Mantang, a screenwriter, said: “If you visit the Hengdian film studio in Zhejiang Province now, you can find 40-50 crews shooting anti-Japanese series.”

    “The anti-Japanese war is a safe topic for many directors because of China’s censorship. But, in the meantime, directors’ lack of topic creativity means that they all shoot similar series,” said Ni Jun, an associate professor of Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. He added that some TV directors create absurd plots or scenes to entertain audiences hoping to increase their ratings.

    “The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a very sad experience for Chinese people. Ridiculous productions are unacceptable, and I think TV stations should aim not to air these kinds of series,” said Ni.(Cao Zhen)