Director Zheng Xiaolong is often credited as the man behind the surging popularity of Chinese 鈥渉arem dramas,鈥� a genre that depicts the catfights of royal concubines in ancient Chinese palaces.

His 78-episode epic, 鈥淓mpresses in the Palace,鈥� first aired on TV in 2011 and has been rerun every year since. It is also among the most watched series on Internet platforms.

Its success prompted dozens of copycat dramas, but few have approached the acclaim of Zheng鈥檚 work, which enjoys a rating of 9.1 out of 10 on Chinese movie review site Douban.com.

The series has been sold and shown around the world, including on Netflix, which acquired the show in 2015. Lead actress Sun Li, known in China as the 鈥渜ueen of television,鈥� was nominated as best actress in the 2013 International Emmy Awards. She didn鈥檛 win, but she has taken home scores of other prestigious acting awards.

鈥淵ou all consider it a 鈥榟arem drama?鈥� No wonder,鈥� Zheng told Shanghai Daily at the Shanghai TV Festival this week, where Zheng serves as jury president in the best drama category.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a classic example of criticizing the marriage system in feudal societies,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is a costume drama with cinematic realism. The 鈥榗atfights鈥� are the result of such a system. They are filled with tragedy. But now, most 鈥榟arem dramas鈥� convey the attitude of enjoying or praising such fights, encouraging people to travel back to the past to fight with other women.鈥�

Despite the show鈥檚 enduring popularity, Zheng remains somewhat low-profile outside TV circles. He is certainly one of the top Chinese TV directors, but many associate his name only with the 鈥淓mpresses in the Palace鈥� series. That鈥檚 a pity since his body of work spanning more than 40 years is so impressive.

His name actually shows up in the screenwriting, directorial and production credits of many highly acclaimed TV series that Chinese grew up watching. Those works include China鈥檚 first sitcom, 鈥淪tories from the Editorial Board鈥� (1992); 鈥淏eijinger in New York鈥� (1994), shot almost entirely in the United States; and 鈥淩ed Sorghum鈥� (2015), which was adapted from the novel by Mo Yan, winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Zheng, 67, has won every prestigious Chinese TV award multiple times, including best director twice at the Shanghai TV Festival. His work has been acclaimed by professionals for its cinematic realism in reflecting various aspects of Chinese society.

鈥淓mpresses in the Palace,鈥� at first glance, seems to be the oddity in his long list of accomplishments. It remains the only 鈥渉arem drama鈥� ever to win a best director TV award.

鈥淚 have never diverted from my pursuit of cinematic realism,鈥� Zheng said, rebuking the idea that 鈥淓mpresses鈥� is an oddity. 鈥淵ou can certainly have cinematic realism in costume dramas. There is a difference, often mixed nowadays, between works with cinematic realism and those depicting contemporary life.鈥�

So realistic was Zheng鈥檚 direction in the 2016 production of 鈥淓mergency Room Doctors鈥� that it went viral on the Internet when the coronavirus epidemic broke out.

One episode, depicting a virus outbreak, was deemed to be prophetic, down to the use of the phrase 鈥渘ovel coronavirus.鈥� Its detailed scenes of front-line responders bore an eerie similarity to what was happening in real life.

Zheng鈥檚 early career as a journalist focused on reporting farm life in the late 1970s. That may help explain his attention to lifelike details and his constant rebuking or rephrasing of media questions, though always done with politeness and a soft voice.

Shanghai Daily sat down with Zheng to discuss his career and his views on cinematic realism, the boom in Internet-produced TV dramas and technological changes in film and TV production.

Q: The Shanghai TV Festival for the first time includes Internet-produced dramas in competition. How do you feel about that?

A: The so-called Internet dramas are essentially the same as TV series produced in television stations. The only difference lies in the distribution platform. They are shown only online instead of on TV channels. Internet series may have bigger budgets. I think we ought to do better in terms of storytelling and the exploration of human nature.

But so far, there is no revolutionary change in production or content or viewing habits because of the new technology.

Q: Some would argue that viewing habits have changed because of audience fragmentation? On the Internet, a show can be produced that targets only a fragment of viewers rather than for everyone when aired on TV? You can also receive online feedback about shows on the Internet.

A: I鈥檓 not interested in audience fragmentation. I still want to make TV series for the general public.

The emotions of ordinary people are very intriguing, equally their values. Certainly, film and TV makers want their works to be seen by larger audiences. But individualized feedback under the idea of 鈥渁udience fragmentation鈥� may just accelerate the divisions in society and cause a lack of exposure for ideas different from your own. That is horrifying.

Q: What鈥檚 a real revolutionary Internet drama then? Have you seen any, domestically or abroad? Are you exploring that potential?

A: I haven鈥檛 seen any.

Revolutionary Internet drama should be completely distinct from a traditional TV series and more interactive, where viewers can participate directly, thanks to new technologies.

For example, when the protagonist leaves a house, maybe the audience can choose whether he turns left or right. If he turns right, he gets into a car accident. If he turns left, he spots a bag on the street. They can have choices of multiple clues and perspectives that lead to different story lines. That way, you bring the audience into the show, quite literally.

That is something you cannot do with shows aired on TV channels. There are some intriguing ideas I鈥檓 exploring.

Q: You seem to imply that new technologies may change content creation?

A: When a new technology appears, film and TV makers experiment with it. In the short term, it may bring down the quality of content, due to an obsession with the technology. But that will change once technology becomes more commonly applied, and many new ideas can technically help film and TV makers find new ways of making content, of addressing human nature and of reflecting on the relationships between people.

Q: In recent years, there has been talk of a returning boom in realistic TV series 鈥� some well-acclaimed and quite popular with audiences. As a director famed in this realm, do you agree?

A: I鈥檝e often talked about the fact that there is difference between cinematic realism and works depicting contemporary life.

A drama with content about what鈥檚 going on now doesn鈥檛 make it a realistic drama. Many people in the industry and in the media confuse the two. In fact, many such dramas are not realistic, for example, a teenybopper show.

You can apply realism to works about current society, and you can also apply it to costume works. It is important not to get them mixed up, otherwise we can never figure out what is important in a production.