http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/28/business/28hunan.html?8dpc　　　　Upstart From Chinese Province Masters the Art of TV Titillation 　　　　Sign In to E-Mail This 　　Printer-Friendly 　　Single-Page 　　Reprints 　　Save Article 　　By DAVID BARBOZA　　Published: November 28, 2005　　CHANGSHA, China - They called it "The Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Super Girl Contest," and for much of the year, this "American Idol" knockoff was one of the hottest shows on Chinese television.　　　　Skip to next paragraph 　　 　　Natalie Behring for The New York Times　　The game show "Who's the Hero?" features contestants in weird stunts. 　　　　 　　Natalie Behring for The New York Times　　Game shows like "Grand Ceremony for National Game" and "Who's the Hero?," above, are luring viewers and advertising revenues for Hunan TV. The programming successes have made Hunan TV one of the most powerful television properties in China. 　　By the time it ended in August, more than 400 million viewers had tuned in, making it one of the most-watched shows in China's television history and creating another blockbuster hit for a group of daring television producers here at Hunan TV in south central Hunan Province.　　　　No one really knows why a search for a new female pop star gripped much of the nation. But analysts here say that in addition to capturing the pulse of the nation's increasingly trendy youth, the producers allowed people to do something quite remarkable in China: cast their own vote, albeit for a pop idol.　　　　Here at the headquarters of Hunan TV, on the outskirts of this dusty, provincial capital, the station's producers say their formula for success is simple: creating zany, off-beat and even risqué entertainment programs in a country still dominated by bland and predictable state-run television programming. 　　　　"We do a lot of market research," says Li Hao, director of the chief editing department at Hunan TV, which produces the shows. "We try to find out what people like, what they want to watch."　　　　Hunan TV, which only began broadcasting nationally by satellite in 1997, is now one of the most powerful television properties in China, behind only China Central Television, or CCTV, the country's biggest broadcaster, and the Shanghai Media Group. 　　　　Hunan TV is flourishing at a time when government support for Chinese television is dwindling, creating a burst of commercialism as stations compete for viewers and advertising dollars. The station has found its niche in producing entertaining and rowdy variety shows, and other satellite stations in China are eagerly copying its formulas. 　　　　"They've been at the forefront of making meaningless but entertaining TV for a while, and 'Super Girl' is their climax," says Hung Huang, chief executive of the China Interactive Media Group, or C.I.M.G., a media and publishing company in Beijing. "They're also very good at ripping off American TV shows, like dating shows and game shows, and then reinventing them." 

　　　　Hunan TV is also facing increasing competition from foreign media companies trying to break into a market that already has MTV and Nickelodeon cartoons. The News Corporation, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, came here two years ago and agreed to jointly finance and produce television shows with the Hunan station. But Hunan TV could benefit from new restrictions placed on foreign film and television companies in August by the Chinese government.　　　　Hunan TV's long-running game show, "Citadel of Happiness," is one of the most popular shows on Chinese television. And another hit, "Who's the Hero?" features people doing weird stunts, like biting the caps off beer bottles with their teeth.　　　　These shows resonate with viewers. They have even attracted the likes of multinational corporations, including the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, which are suddenly seeking prime-time advertising slots.　　　　"The huge success of this 'Super Girl' program really woke people up," says Bessie Lee, chief executive at Group M, a media agency that places advertising on Chinese television. "Now, everyone wants to advertise with them."　　　　Like all television stations in China, Hunan TV is owned and controlled by the government. But Hunan provincial officials have allowed producers here to experiment, and test the bounds of what is permissible on television. 　　　　A result has been news programs that cut from today's top news story to old movie clips; variety shows with lively, unconventional hosts who do stand-up comedy, sing, dance and even drag celebrities and audience members on stage to compete in silly games.　　　　Occasionally, however, Hunan TV is reeled in by censors. Two years ago, government officials pulled the plug on a slightly erotic weather show that featured several scantily clad beauty pageant winners cooing the weather forecasts while lying on a sofa or bed.　　　　The station's producers do indeed seem to have an eye for what is popular. They produced an anticorruption drama called "Absolute Power," which was a hit with viewers. They were also quick to purchase the rights to a Korean soap opera that is popular with Chinese viewers.　　　　Still, many are asking how a TV station from the less-developed Hunan Province can produce such a string of national hits.　　　　"Normally, the more economically developed the region, the better the TV station," says Bai Ruoyun, a researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a specialist in the Chinese media. "Hunan TV is an anomaly in this sense. It's puzzling. But they've gone so far in creating titillating programs appealing to the lowest common denominator."　　　　Hunan TV's rise really began in 1997, when the station introduced its satellite channel hoping to reach more remote parts of the province, as well as a national audience. Almost immediately, its dating and game shows were a national sensation. 　　　　"China didn't have many entertainment programs at the time," said Mr. Li at Hunan TV. "And we soon discovered that we had even larger potential nationally, rather than within the province." 

　　　　With the station's revenues growing, Hunan TV listed its production arm on the Chinese stock market and then left its dingy headquarters for an enormous 500-acre site north of downtown Changsha.　　　　Today, their campus here has a four-star hotel, luxury villas, a 20,000-seat convention center, a workers' dormitory, a bulky office tower and several studios for live music and entertainment shows.　　　　Yet soon after moving in, competition intensified and the station's ratings soured, putting financial pressure on the fast-growing media conglomerate, executives say. 　　　　Near the end of 2002, the station's toughest year, top executives met and carved out a new direction: they decided to focus almost entirely on entertainment programming and youth. 　　　　The station later adopted the slogan "Happy China," created a bright orange logo and vowed to be hip and to aim at viewers 16 to 24 years old.　　　　Li Jun, a 35-year-old producer, says he was directed to shift from a cultural program to the entertainment show "Who's the Hero?" 　　　　"The only requirement was to change the culture program into a program that had a mass audience and a high rating," he said. "There was no other requirement."　　　　Since then, revenues have soared, from about $35 million in 2002 to an estimated $90 million in 2005. And nothing has succeeded like "Super Girl."　　　　Originally broadcast as "Superboy" on local Hunan TV in 2003, the show was picked up by the satellite station in 2004, and re-cast with new hosts and a format that created more drama.　　　　In this, the second year, the show's fortunes have soared. More than 120,000 women in five provinces participated. And the show got a huge promotional boost from Mengniu, one of China's biggest dairy companies, which sponsored the show (hence the show's full title). 　　　　Mengniu paid $3 million to become the lead sponsor and run television ads during the show. The company then spent another $10 million to $12 million for nationwide promotions of the show - a huge budget by Chinese standards.　　　　The show succeeded, in part, because it allowed viewers to participate, by paying a fee to vote by mobile phone - another source of revenue for the station. 　　　　Much of the success, however, may have also come from the sassy and slightly rebellious nature of some of the women who made it to the finals, particularly Li Yuchun, the lanky, spiky-haired 21-year-old woman from Sichuan who stole the show.　　　　For months, Li danced wildly on stage, and sang with a husky voice, in Spanish, English and Chinese, gyrating her hips. She wore her hair short, and favored jeans and a black shirt. 　　　　She also exuded tremendous confidence on stage. And the fans loved her for her androgynous look, some seeing it as a challenge to traditional ideas about gender and femininity.　　　　During the finals, Hunan TV producers turned up the emotional heat, showing teary-eyed fans on the set. Outside thousands surrounded the Hunan TV campus waiting for the final decision. 　　　　What's next for Hunan TV? A reality show based on a national search for great Ping-Pong players. Who knows? It could be a hit.　　

好长……翻出来很花时间

天啊看的偶头晕

Much of the success, however, may have also come from the sassy and slightly rebellious nature of some of the women who made it to the finals, particularly Li Yuchun, the lanky, spiky-haired 21-year-old woman from Sichuan who stole the show. 　　 　　For months, Li danced wildly on stage, and sang with a husky voice, in Spanish, English and Chinese, gyrating her hips. She wore her hair short, and favored jeans and a black shirt. 　　 　　She also exuded tremendous confidence on stage. And the fans loved her for her androgynous look, some seeing it as a challenge to traditional ideas about gender and femininity. ================the lanky, spiky-haired 21-year-old woman from Sichuan who stole the showShe also exuded tremendous confidence on stage喜欢这两句呵呵 对春评价还不错:)

说HN卫视的嘛~哈哈哈~

天怎么在转啊~~~~~我轰~

And the fans loved her for her androgynous look-------------------------跟Emma JJ观点相同

耐着性子，用偶糟糕滴英文水平看完鸟文章，千万别让偶翻，偶可没那么大精神头，想帮忙翻译滴也8要翻鸟，没什么值得翻译滴，只8过素从体制和电视运作滴角度评论鸟一下在中国滴超级女声现象，咱就别跟着外国人一起8鸟~~~

我一直在想，纽约时报这么关注这个超女，一方面是它的影响真的太大，别一方面的意义是不是也在于它不是YS办出来的

主要是说ＨＮＴＶ，夸为主。例举ＬＹＣ为其成功的果实。但对中国电视运作的整体还是不怎么样。随便看了一下，晕～

Much of the success, however, may have also come from the sassy and slightly rebellious nature of some of the women who made it to the finals, particularly Li Yuchun, the lanky, spiky-haired 21-year-old woman from Sichuan who stole the show. 　　 　　For months, Li danced wildly on stage, and sang with a husky voice, in Spanish, English and Chinese, gyrating her hips. She wore her hair short, and favored jeans and a black shirt. 　　 　　She also exuded tremendous confidence on stage. And the fans loved her for her androgynous look, some seeing it as a challenge to traditional ideas about gender and femininity. 只有这三段是讲春春的，唉，a husky voice（沙哑的嗓音），in Spanish, English and Chinese，春春唱过西班牙文的歌吗？是maria吗？

既说了宗师的一部分特点，也说了她是对传统的挑战，就酱另外说了一大堆关于湖南卫视超级女声节目的冬冬

in Spanish, English and Chinese，春春唱过西班牙文的歌吗？是maria吗？ ==================================================是maria

6楼的，lanky好像不算什么好的形容词还有，它为什么要用woman，超女都是一群girl啊唉，美国人呐……

大致说宗师在超女选秀中获得成功,但也很有争议,提到了宗师的超炫的舞台魅力和低沉的嗓音,演义了西班牙\英语\中文的歌曲,4月前,在海选以拉丁和短发的形象,舞台上极有自信,还说到了玉米,说宗师挑战了传统.拥有很多玉米. 天阿.累死我了,我是按照NS的real heart hero的翻译仿佛来译的

NS的real heart hero的翻译仿佛来译的－－能否说一下这个典故？

恩...NYTIMES不喟是NYTIMES用字都很锋利其实，他讲小老虎那段有些用字有点...不过，这还算是NYTIMES常用词汇啦他们风格就是这样bibi1899