"The Big Dye House" was filmed in 2002.
"Da Ranfang" is directed by Wang Wenjie, written by Chen Jieren, and stars Hou Yong, Sun Li, Sarina, Gao Ming, He Wei, Zhou Yemang, Luo Gang, Wang Kuirong, Wang Siyi and others. The play was produced by Shandong Film and Television Production Center. It was launched at Shanghai Film and Television Park on November 11, 2002, and premiered on CCTV1 comprehensive channel on October 9, 2003.
The play tells the story of a young beggar named Chen Shouting in Zhoucun, Shandong Province at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. He was adopted as the adopted son by Zhou Cuntong and the owner of the dyeing workshop Zhou, and then he learned the craft of dyeing cloth hard. After ten years of hard work, he co-founded Dahua Dyeing Factory with others and embarked on the road of industrial printing and dyeing. Dahua Dyeing Factory eventually developed into the second largest printing and dyeing factory in Qingdao.
"Da Ranfang" won four major awards at the 24th "Flying Awards", including the Outstanding Actor Award, Outstanding Cinematography, Lighting, and Art Awards.
The creative background of "The Big Dye House"
At the end of July 2002, a young man who was delivering TV scripts to his friend suddenly broke into the office of screenwriter Zhang Hongsen and gave him a manuscript. He also asked to read the script within 3 hours and give a clear answer. Zhang Hongsen asked the visitor to take the manuscript away at that time. Unexpectedly, three or four days later, the young man came again and proposed to extend the time for reading the manuscript to a week.
That afternoon, Zhang Hongsen was rarely quiet, so he casually opened the script. Once he did, he couldn't put it down. Zhang Hongsen quickly found Wang Hanping, the leader of the Film and Television Center, and the two hit it off immediately. They both thought it was a rare and good script, so they immediately made a decision, bought the script, and met with the screenwriter. The script is a work written by Chen Jie about his grandfather, named "Qi Shang in Troubled Times", and later renamed "Da Ranfang".