Popular Mini-documentary - the Great Shokunin returns for second season

After a hugely successful first season, the Great Shokunin, the mini-documentary series which tells the stories of crafts people across Asia, is returning by popular demand.

China Radio International (CRI) and Youku sign a strategic partnership agreement at a news conference for the launch of the second season of the Mini-documentary - the Great Shokunin, April 7, 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

Launched in June last year, the first season of 20 episodes received 70 million page views on Youku and was the winner of several domestic and international awards such as the Effies.

It also garnered a score of 8.5/10 on Douban, a popular Chinese fan-rating site, prompting heated discussion online about the "the spirit of craftsmen".

Chinese superstar Lin Chi-ling will continue as narrator on the documentary for the new season which is a co-production of Cicada, a Chinese media company based in Changsha and Youku, the country's largest video site.

Cicada's CEO, Li Wuwang, who has a degree in fine art and an abiding interest in traditional Chinese culture, said programs about traditional Chinese culture are usually presented in a way that cannot interest people, especially young people.

Li Wuwang, CEO of Cicada, the producer of the Mini-documentary - the Great Shokunin. [Photo: China Plus]

It's the main reason he set up his own business in 2015 and started work on the project.

Li said the key to success is understanding "the spirit" of the craftsmen and women, that they are doing what they love and do not treat it as a mere job.

People tend to chase "fast fashion" these days, he says, "people are very anxious, but deep down, they do want to slow down and put their heart and soul into something they are passionate about."

Li said the audience feedback boosted his team's confidence and made them feel that what they were doing was meaningful.

"The whole team was very nervous before the launch of the first season; we worried that no one would be interested in this kind of topic," Li said.

Each episode of the documentary has English and Chinese subtitles, and is available to watch on Youku, Cicada's Youtube channel and Facebook pages.

There is also a special function on Youku that enables audiences to purchase products such as the pottery or scarves that are featured in the documentary for both seasons.

Hu Defu, a folk singer from Taiwan, performs at a news conference for the launch of the second season of the Mini-documentary - the Great Shokunin, April 7, 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

Li said compared with the first season which focused on craftsmanship, the second season would be more about "oriental beauty".

"There is a lack of 'beauty education' in China, about what is beauty, we want to convey the idea of beauty by telling these craft people's stories," he said.

A live streaming function is also available for the new season to help bridge the gap between the crafts people and the audience, and give people an opportunity to communicate with them.

With each episode lasting from 12 to 15 minutes, the 12 episodes of the second season will tell stories of Asian craftsmen and women such as Japanese masters of Lacquerware, and Chinese Han clothing makers and ceramic artists.

China Radio International (CRI) and Youku signed a strategic partnership agreement at a news conference for the launch of the new season on Friday.

Under the agreement, CRI will help Youku promote the documentary, especially in overseas markets through its multilingual platforms.

The second season will be premiered by Youku on April 18.