A discussion on the conflict between the aesthetic of costume romance dramas and historical realism, as well as the logic behind such creative choices.

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Chinese Listening | 중국어 리스닝 | 中国語リスニング | Аудирование по китайскому языку | Nghe tiếng Trung | Mendengarkan bahasa Mandarin | Escucha en chino | การฟังภาษาจีน | Chinesisches Hören | Écoute du chinois | Ascolto cinese | Audição em chinês | चीनी सुनना | الاستماع إلى اللغة الصينية

刘娜: Have you watched “Zhu Yu” recently? The male lead nicknamed the “Foundation General” has sparked a lot of discussion.
陈花: Yes, I have. At first I thought it looked pretty good, but later I also felt something was a bit off. How could a general on the battlefield be so refined?
刘娜: Right, this actually reflects the difference between costume romance dramas and historical dramas. Costume romance is more like a romantic fantasy and doesn’t fully pursue realism.
陈花: But the audience’s criticism makes sense too, right? After all, generals in Chinese history, like Xiang Yu and Yue Fei, all have a strong and powerful image.
刘娜: Exactly. Ancient poetry also often describes scenes like “iron horses and icy rivers” or “troops assembling on the autumn battlefield,” emphasizing the harshness of war rather than beauty.
陈花: But many viewers nowadays just want to see characters who are ‘beautiful, strong, and tragic’—handsome yet pitiful, which easily evokes sympathy.
刘娜: This is a kind of formulaic creation. As long as characters meet audience expectations, it’s easy to succeed, but the content may become hollow.
陈花: Hearing you say that, I think the “Foundation General” is both unfairly criticized and not. Unfair because of genre limitations, but not unfair because the creation does feel a bit lazy.

小美 and 小宝 see many beautiful natural sights in the park.

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Chinese Listening | 중국어 리스닝 | 中国語リスニング | Аудирование по китайскому языку | Nghe tiếng Trung | Mendengarkan bahasa Mandarin | Escucha en chino | การฟังภาษาจีน | Chinesisches Hören | Écoute du chinois | Ascolto cinese | Audição em chinês | चीनी सुनना | الاستماع إلى اللغة الصينية

小宝: 小美, look! The sky is very blue today.
小美: Yes, the sky looks great. Look at the mountains over there.
小宝: The mountains are very tall! There are many trees on them.
小美: These trees are very green. There are also flowers under the trees.
小宝: The flowers are very beautiful! Some are red, and some are yellow.
小美: Look, there is water over there.
小宝: The water is very clear. I can see little fish!
小美: The little fish are swimming in the water. They look very happy.
小宝: I like the sky, mountains, trees, flowers, and water here.
小美: I like it too! Let’s play here.
小宝: Okay! We can look at the flowers and also watch the fish in the water.
小美: The park is really beautiful! Let’s come here often!

People feel that strawberries today are less fragrant than before, possibly due to both changes in varieties and the influence of memory.

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Chinese Listening | 중국어 리스닝 | 中国語リスニング | Аудирование по китайскому языку | Nghe tiếng Trung | Mendengarkan bahasa Mandarin | Escucha en chino | การฟังภาษาจีน | Chinesisches Hören | Écoute du chinois | Ascolto cinese | Audição em chinês | चीनी सुनना | الاستماع إلى اللغة الصينية

陈花: Honey, have you noticed that strawberries nowadays are getting bigger and redder, but they don’t seem as fragrant as when we were kids?
黄刚: I feel the same way. But I read an article a couple of days ago saying it might not just be about the strawberries—it could also be related to our memory.
陈花: Memory? Does that mean strawberries in the past weren’t actually that tasty either?
黄刚: That’s possible. Older strawberry varieties were indeed more fragrant, but they were smaller and harder to transport. Nowadays, many new varieties focus on size and appearance, so the flavor is sometimes ‘diluted.’
陈花: I see. No wonder strawberries today look like the ones in ads, but taste kind of ordinary.
黄刚: Another reason is that we ourselves have changed. When we were kids, strawberries were rare, so they tasted especially sweet and fragrant. Now there are so many fruits, and our taste standards have been ‘raised.’
陈花: Hearing you say that, I suddenly feel that what we miss might not just be the taste of strawberries, but the feeling of childhood.
黄刚: Yeah. But the good news is that scientists are now developing new varieties that are both good-looking and tasty. Maybe we’ll find a new ‘strawberry surprise’ in the future.