Chinese TV series on revolutionary history popular with young people

Recently, Chinese TV series that talk about China’s revolutionary stories have been warmly welcomed by young people in the country.

A poster of The Awakening Age (Photo/Beijing Daily)

“The Awakening Age,” a TV show depicting China’s journey from 1915 to 1921, or from the country’s New Culture Movement to the establishment of the Communist Party of China, has been viewed over 300 million times, winning favor with a large number of young netizens who talk about the figures and plots of the show online.

“The Rebel,” a TV show with a similar theme, has also registered high ratings.

“The Awakening Age” has vividly portrayed historical figures in China’s revolutionary history, which Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, considers one of the factors behind the show’s success.

These revolutionary stories are breaking the mould used for depicting historical figures, and are infusing individuality into characters, thus becoming more interesting and watchable to young people, Rao said.

Netizens find the discussions in “The Awakening Age” about what kind of country China should become and what kind of spirit Chinese people should pursue make them feel proud of and excited about the nation’s development.

By forging emotional bonds with viewers and adopting an artistic narrative and expression, these revolutionary TV series have helped young people more closely connect with national historical events and figures.