Chapter 238: Television Drama

On Friday, March 15 2019, at 8 p. m., the fifty‑two‑episode television series "Wind and Rain Nian'an" premiered simultaneously on the Four Major Satellite TV Stations and the Three Major Video Platforms.

The opening consists of a rapid montage of black‑and‑white historical footage—Berlin streets, Huangpu playground, the smoke of the Shanghai–Wusong battle, and the phoenix trees of Gongde Lin—culminating in a faded double portrait: a young Li Yuxuan beside a half‑body portrait of a blonde woman. A lilting piano melody begins, and the four brush‑stroke characters of the title "Wind and Rain Nian'an" slowly appear, with a subtitle below: "Dedicated to all who uphold love and belief amid the torrent of history."

The first episode opens with a contemporary setting in 2019. Li Nian, a history graduate student studying in Germany (the female lead, portrayed by the rising star Zhao Qingyun), accidentally discovers a 1914 German diary in a Berlin second‑hand bookshop, its front page bearing the Chinese characters "Nian An". As she flips through the diary, the scene flashes back to autumn 1908 in Heidelberg, Germany.

The handsome young Li Yuxuan (played by the capable young actor Chen Mo) meets the blonde‑eyed German aristocrat Anna (guest‑starring German actress Liya Muller) for the first time at an academic salon of the Philosophy Department. The two engage in a heated debate over Kant's "Permanent Peace Theory", then later stroll together at sunset along the Danube River. The cinematography is utterly romantic—backlit hair, eyes poised between speaking and silence, fingertips barely touching.

"Is this definitely a historical drama and not an idol drama?" History Enthusiast Wang Kai furrowed his brow while stationed before the TV. At the same time, his sister Wang Xiaoyu was already clutching a tablet, flooding the bullet comments: "Ahhh, the German first love is so beautiful!" "Chen Mo's suit is flawless!" "The Philosophy Department genius girl × Eastern exchange student pairing makes me swoon!"

The first episode ends on the eve of the 1914 European war, at Berlin railway station. Anna, cradling a swaddled infant, slips a letter to the Li Yuxuan about to board a ship home: "His name is 'Nian An'. Wherever you are, please let him know that half of him comes from here." A long whistle blows, the train departs, and Anna's figure shrinks on the platform. The scene cuts back to the present, where Li Nian gently touches the diary's tear‑blurred characters and whispers: "Going a thousand miles, I only think of your peace."

When the ending theme plays, #WindAndRainNian'anPremiere# and #GermanFirstLoveUnsettled# have already surged into the top five of Weibo's hot searches.

"Wind and Rain Nian'an" spreads like a wildfire. Within three days of its debut, total online views exceed one billion. A week later, its ratings consistently rank first for the period. On social media, cumulative reads of related topics surpass ten billion.

However, in stark contrast to its viewership hype, the reception is extremely polarized.

On Douban, "Wind and Rain Nian'an" shows a rare "C‑shaped" rating distribution—five‑star and one‑star votes are the highest, accounting for 42 % and 38 % respectively, while middle ratings are scarce. The five‑star comment section is a CP Fans' revelry:

"A love epic of the year, guaranteed! Each of the three romance arcs has its own charm: the German first love is the white moonlight, the Republican era beauty is the cinnabar mole, the late‑life confidant is the shared white hair. Love in chaotic times is so moving!" (32,000 likes)

"Chen Mo's acting is god‑like! From the naïve exchange student to the iron‑blooded general to the twilight elder, every stage's gaze is flawless. Especially the scene in Gongde Lin reading his son's letter—silent tears, I soaked a pack of tissues." (28,000 likes)

"Costume, makeup, and props are exquisite! The German segment's classical elegance, the Huangpu era's heroic dashing, the Anti‑Japanese War stage's rugged perseverance, the Gongde Lin period's serene openness. Every outfit feels story‑laden." (21,000 likes)

In the one‑star section, history enthusiasts vent their anger:

"This is a desecration of history! Li Yuxuan's life was grand and turbulent, yet it's turned into a love‑obsessed drama. The Anti‑Japanese War achievements are brushed over, the Liberation War is lightly sketched, the focus is entirely on romance—does the screenwriter think viewers only love that?" (29,000 likes)

"The revision has no limits! Historically, Li Yuxuan did have a romance with a German woman and fathered a son, but it was merely a life episode. The drama forces it into a 'lifelong true love', attributing all later choices to it, completely distorting the historical figure's spiritual core." (27,000 likes)

"What's most intolerable is the Huangpu Military Academy part. Historically, Li Yuxuan was a stern educator and military organizer, yet the drama makes him a gentle senior who flirts with a fictional female trainee. Turning the cradle of revolution into a youthful idol drama is disgusting!" (25,000 likes)

The controversy reaches its first peak in episode 20. This episode mainly recounts the 1937 Shanghai–Wusong Battle. Viewers expected grand war scenes and a tragic national narrative, but the drama's focus is on, amid the raging fire, Li Yuxuan gently handling Anna's old photograph in the command post, and his emotional interaction with war‑zone reporter Su Jingwen (a fictional character, portrayed by popular actress Zhou Chuchu) inside an air‑raid shelter.

"Seventy days of the Wusongkou blood battle, hundreds of thousands of soldiers sacrificed, and the camera all goes to the male lead's romance?" Prominent history blogger Shi Haijunchen posted a lengthy critique: "The Shanghai–Wusong Battle is filmed like an idol‑drama backdrop; the soldiers' sacrifice becomes a catalyst for the leads' romance, which is a gross disrespect to history and the martyrs!"

The post quickly amassed one hundred thousand reposts. Yet under the drama's official Weibo, a different scene unfolds: "Love amid the flames of war is all the more precious!" "Sister Jingwen braving artillery to report is so brave, and General Li is her soul‑mate!" "Historical Fans, can you stop being so rigid? It's just a drama!"

As the plot progresses, the public discourse gradually splits into three main camps.

The CP Fans camp is the largest and most active. They produce abundant fan‑art, illustrations, and edited videos, labeling the three romance arcs as "De Yuan Old Dream" (Li Yuxuan × Anna), "Huangpu Kindred Spirit" (Li Yuxuan × Su Jingwen), and "Gongde Mutual Guard" (Li Yuxuan × the fictional elderly caretaker Shen Qiuyun). On Douyin, under the #WindAndRainNian'anIconicScenes# topic, nine of the top ten most‑viewed clips are romance edits. Scenes titled "De Yuan Rain Cuts the Love Thread", "Huangpu Moonlit Confession", and "Gongde Lin Red Leaves Send Longing"—the respective love, confession, and twilight scenes—are repeatedly shared, interpreted, and remixed.

The Historical Fans camp appears angry and isolated. They compile a chronological biography of the real Li Yuxuan, lists of his Anti‑Japanese War achievements, historical photographs, and comparative charts with the drama's plot, attempting to "set the record straight." Yet their voice is especially faint in the entertainment‑driven discourse. A scholarly article titled "Differences Between the Real Li Yuxuan and the Drama's Portrayal" garnered thousands of replies on a history forum, but received fewer than five hundred reposts on Weibo.

More complex is the emergence of the "Family Descendants" camp. When the series was more than halfway aired, a netizen claiming to be Li Nian'an's grandson, "@Nanyang Li", posted on social media that the family feels "deep regret and unease" about the television adaptation.

"My grandfather General Li Nian'an was rigorous and resolute all his life. He never thought his son's life was merely a 'love story.' His father's teaching to him was 'Serve the country and the people; a true man should be so.' The television drama reduces complex historical choices to personal romance, which is a misunderstanding of the ancestors and a disrespect to history."