After watching a recent episode of The Awakening Age， a TV series on the founding of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， Yang Meng， a program engineer in Beijing， has plans to visit the Red Building in the capital during the Tomb-Sweeping Festival， which falls on April 4 this year.
　　Built with red bricks and red tiles， from which it gets its name， the Red Building was the main location of Peking University in 1918. Since the university’s founding in 1898， its main campus had to be moved several times due to the internal conflicts in the country at that time.
　　The Red Building was a major cradle of political development in China. Between 1915 and 1923， prominent Chinese scholars and college students initiated the New Culture Movement， which rejected traditional Chinese ideas and conventional gender inequality and aimed at political， social and educational reform. The Red Building was one of the bastions from where the concepts of science， democracy and Marxism spread.
　　The Awakening Age revives the history of the movement and the figures leading it. A tribute to the centenary of the CPC this year， it focuses on the fight against imperialism and feudalism by intellectuals and college students.

　　“As a fan of the drama， I am interested in the place where the characters worked，”Yang told Beijing Review. “I am also a CPC member， and I want to see the cradle of the stirring and inspiring history when visionary men and women explored ways to save the country and the people.”
　　The 29-year-old thinks the series is a good channel to learn about the birth of modern China. To better understand the historical background， as well as learn more about some of the unfamiliar characters and developments， she browses the Internet or goes through history books.
　　On Youku， a streaming website， The Awakening Age has received unexpected praise， unexpected because its viewers are mostly young people aged below 30， many of whom are regarded as not being very keen on past history.
　　“Earlier， I too didn’t like TV series on such subjects， but some recent ones have changed my mind，” Yang said. “They have dispelled my stereotype notion that nationalism is too serious and such works tend to follow a formula. I have realized they showcase stories that evoke empathy and characters who are touching.”

Restoring an era

　　A thread running through the series is New Youth， the magazine founded in 1915 by author， socialist and philosopher Chen Duxiu， who in 1921 would become one of the founders of the CPC. Chen started the magazine， which eventually became aligned with the CPC， to promote reform and scientific and democratic ideas.
　　To ensure the authenticity of the era and its characters， the series has entailed extensive research， including checking documents， articles and even the diaries of the people portrayed.
　　“At the beginning， I told my colleagues that we should objectively reflect history，” Zhang Yongxin， director of the drama， told China Youth Daily. Besides ideals and reforms， the work also reflects the hard life of the majority of the people at that time and the widespread poverty and ignorance.
　　“Those scenes [of acute poverty] show why it was so urgent to change people’s lives and society and make me think about the pioneers’ efforts，” Yang said.
　　Zhang also insisted on three-dimensional characters. In addition to their contributions， he wanted other aspects of their personality to be portrayed as well， including weaknesses. For example， Chen， while a great political activist， was not good at communicating with his sons. However， what overrode the relationship was his sense of responsibility to the country and the people.
　　The details are Yang’s favorite part in the series. For instance， Chen is shown to be living in a narrow lane in Beijing. When the area was flooded， he placed bricks in the water so that people could walk on them and not get their feet wet. It foreshadowed that his life would be hard due to the path he had chosen， but he was ready to make sacrifices for others.
　　“We wanted to show history with an artistic conception that viewers find credible，” Zhang said.

People-centric story

　　In the past， TV dramas on historical events and social development usually fared badly till Like a Flowing River came up in 2018. The series followed three men who became pioneer entrepreneurs after economic reforms started in the late 1970s. Its sequel also continued to top the weekly popularity chart for Chinese-language TV series on review platform Douban.
　　“We want to talk about those unknown heroes during reform and opening up，” Tang Yao， the scriptwriter， said at a conference in January. Moving away from the popular trend of creating conflict between characters， the series connects significant events and individuals’ fates. 　　Another series bucking the trend is Minning Town， also known as Shanhaiqing， produced by the Shandong Film and TV Media Group， the creator of several hit series. Released this year， it focuses on the elimination of absolute poverty.
　　Set in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in the northwest， it shows how villagers in Xihaigu， once one of the poorest areas in China， triumphed over destitution with creative poverty alleviation policies and financial and personnel assistance from the better developed coastal province of Fujian in the southeast， which is over 2，000 km away.
　　The 9.4 rating out of 10 it enjoyed on Douban was also due to the participation of local farmers. Before shooting， the team conducted a series of interviews in the village to find the true stories that would vividly bring out the success of the poverty elimination policy. The local people’s experience helped in creating the characters and the storyline.
　　Yang， who is a city woman， had never realized the extent of absolute poverty in rural areas before. When she watched the series and realized that some rural impoverished families used to possess only one pair of trousers， which they would wear by turn， it drove home the extent of hardship. It also made her realize the necessity of the government’s poverty reduction and environmental governance efforts and their efficiency.
　　In the past， TV series couldn’t imagine focusing on labor forces， Liu Haibo， a professor at Shanghai University， told Shangguan Observer. But today， realistic series like Minning Town are making people see real life at the grassroots and signaling a change in public aesthetics.

Recording reality

　　Yin Li， Vice Chairman of China Film Association， told China News Week it was the right way to create main-melody works.
　　The criticism that TV series on historic and serious topics may not be as appealing as pure entertainment actually reflects poor production， Yin said， adding that all TV series should be a true record of their times. Thanks to recent series like The Awakening Age and Minning Town， the thinking that serious subjects would not be liked by viewers has been proved wrong， he said.
　　For industry insiders who worry that this trend might result in viewers’ fatigue， Yin thinks today， viewers evaluate and think diversely. As long as main melody dramas retain their special characteristics and values and offer high quality， they will continue to be viewed. BR