Ｈｉｇｈ　Ｎｕｍｂｅｒｓ，Ｌｏｗ　Ｑｕａｌｉｔｙ：Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ　ＴＶ　Ｄｒａｍａｓ.docVIP

Ｈｉｇｈ　Ｎｕｍｂｅｒｓ，Ｌｏｗ　Ｑｕａｌｉｔｙ：Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ　ＴＶ　Ｄｒａｍａｓ 　　 　　LIKE Prison Break’s Michael Scofield in the United States, the character Xu Sanduo has become something of a household name in China since the top-rating Chinese drama Soldier’s Sortie debuted in 2007. The 30-episode series follows Xu’s travails as an ordinary soldier from rural China. In 2007, an average of 40 episodes of TV drama were produced per day in the country. “China has become the world’s largest producer and broadcaster of drama for television,” said Hu Zhanfan, deputy director general of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. 　　Currently, about 1,764 of China’s 1,974 TV channels broadcast drama series. Last year alone saw 529 domestic TV dramas certified for release, representing 14,670 episodes ?C double the figure of 2000. However, these apparently healthy figures hide some fundamental structural problems plaguing Chinese television drama production ?C problems which are curtailing quality and driving audiences away. 　　 　　Paltry Fees for Productions 　　 　　“Usually there’s nothing worth watching, even after browsing 60 TV channels,?complained Li Fen, a 33-year-old Beijinger. Her sentiments are echoed by China抯 advertising agencies who foot the bill for the nation抯 on,TV drama production. While advertising costs are growing year after year, series ratings keep dropping sharply. 　　“Quality is the key to promoting the development of domestic TV drama under conditions of overproduction,” said Yang Weiguang, president of the China Television Artists Association. Su Xiao, deputy director of the Film and TV Drama Center, Shanghai Media Group, concurs. “Plot is the key factor in generating ratings,” he said. “Currently the biggest problem in China’s TV drama market is the severe shortage of good scripts.” Most drama production investment goes on hiring stars, limiting what can be put into scriptwriting. But funds generally are spread thin across all areas of production, due to the vast numb