Chapter 239: TV Drama 2

This Weibo post quickly attracted attention. Some netizens supported it: "Even descendants have spoken up, shouldn't the production team reflect?" But drama fans countered: "Artistic creation has the freedom to adapt, why must it completely copy history?" "Maybe it's a fake descendant?"

The production team soon responded, and the producer gave a media interview: "Our original intention in creating 'Wind and Rain, Nian'an' was to use Li Yuxuan's rich emotional world to bring contemporary young people closer to that period of history. Historical records mostly document 'events,' but the TV drama wanted to explore the 'person'—in that great era, a person of flesh and blood, his love, pain, struggle, and perseverance. We respect the historical backbone, but we made artistic treatments in emotional details—that's the rule of film and television creation."

In the interview, the producer also revealed that the crew had consulted historical scholars and studied Li Yuxuan's diary, "'Nian'an' itself contains profound emotion. We just presented that emotion more intuitively."

This explanation did not quell the controversy but instead added fuel to the fire. Historical scholar Zhao Mingyuan—the expert who had presided over the collation and publication of 'The Diary of Li Yuxuan'—published an article on his personal public account titled "When History Becomes a Backdrop: Beware of the Erosion of Collective Memory by Pan-Entertainment." The article did not name 'Wind and Rain, Nian'an,' but the implication between the lines was clear:

"The value of historical figures lies in their choices and actions under specific historical conditions. Overly dramatizing their private lives, especially fabricating their emotional experiences, essentially 'celebrity-fies' and 'fandom-izes' historical figures. When young people talk about a historical figure, if the first thing that comes to mind is their 'CP' and 'torturous deep love' rather than their historical contributions and spiritual legacy, that is a dangerous shift in memory. History is not off-limits for artistic creation, but creation requires reverence for history."

This article spread widely in academic and cultural circles, but in the public opinion arena, it still couldn't compete with trending topics like #ChenMoZhouChuchuGongdeLinReunion#.

In early May, 'Wind and Rain, Nian'an' aired its finale.

The timeline of the last two episodes pulled back to the present. Li Nian completed her doctoral thesis on Li Yuxuan in Germany and finally found clues to Anna's descendants in the archives. She went to a manor on the outskirts of Munich and met Anna's great-granddaughter—a white-haired old woman.

The old woman took out a dust-covered wooden box containing proof that Anna had never married and had raised alone some of the letters and items Li Yuxuan had left behind. The last letter was written in 1972, just before Anna's death: "... My entire life was completely changed by that two-year encounter. I have no regrets. Nian'an, Nian'an—this name is truly wonderful. May the East be well, may he be well."

Parallel editing: In Gongde Lin, an elderly Li Yuxuan sat under a parasol tree, reading a letter from his son in Nanyang. The voiceover was a line from his diary: "In this life, there are many regrets. The only thing I do not regret is resisting the enemy and defending the land; the only thing I do not forget is the name Nian'an; the only thing I hope for is the unification of the mountains and rivers."

The camera slowly panned up, over the high walls of Gongde Lin, over the buildings of Beijing, and finally froze on the vast sky. Subtitles appeared: "This drama is dedicated to all those who, in the torrent of history, loved this country in their own ways."

The finale's ratings hit a new annual high. That night, topics like #WindAndRainNianAnFinale#, #DeYuanLoveSpanningACentury#, and #WhatExactlyIsNianAn# dominated the trending list.

Reviews remained polarized.

CP Fans were in tears: "It truly achieved 'Half a lifetime of wind and rain guarding home and country, a lifetime of Nian'an tied to an old friend'—so perfect!" "The echo in the modern scenes at the end was incredible—love and memory really can transcend time and space!" "This isn't a BE, it's a HE on a higher level—their love, through the name 'Nian'an' and through historical memory, has become eternal."

Historical Fans were still fuming: "Even the finale reinforces the 'love main plot,' glossing over the son's 300,000-strong army going to Nanyang in a single line. The entire drama's war scenes add up to less than five episodes—does this deserve to be called a historical figure biopic?" "It tries to sell 'loving the country' at the end, but the whole drama was about 'loving an individual'—don't you feel the disconnect?"

Then an unexpected turn occurred. Three days after the finale aired, the netizen claiming to be "Nanyang Li" posted again, this time attaching a black-and-white old photo—a picture of a young Li Nian'an with his father Li Yuxuan in Chongqing. On the back of the photo was Li Yuxuan's handwriting: "Taken with Xuewen in Yuzhou, times are difficult, only hope you children can see peace."

"Nanyang Li" wrote: "After watching the finale, my feelings are complicated. The drama's interpretation of the two characters 'Nian'an,' though not entirely the same as our family's understanding, the longing that transcends time and space is real. Grandfather often said his name was a microcosm of his grandfather's lifelong contradiction—what he longed for was personal peace, what he hoped for was national peace. Perhaps, in its own way, the TV drama made more people remember this name, and the era behind this name. Maybe that counts as a kind of commemoration."

This Weibo post received tens of thousands of reposts, and the comments section saw a rare rational dialogue between viewers from different camps:

"Setting aside the adaptation controversy, this drama at least made more people know the name Li Yuxuan—that's a good thing, right?"

"As a history major, I'm actually quite conflicted. The drama did entertainize things, but it inspired many young people to search for real history. The enrollment for our department's 'Modern Historical Figures' course doubled this semester."

"Can't we stop with the either-or? Can't I both ship the CP and respect history? After watching the drama, I went and bought 'The Diary of Li Yuxuan'—is that a conflict?"

The peak broadcast period of 'Wind and Rain, Nian'an' passed, but the discussions it sparked did not stop.

In June, a well-known video website hosted an online debate: "Where is the boundary for film and television adaptations of historical figures?" The pro and con sides were represented by a drama critic and a historical scholar, respectively. During the debate, the drama critic emphasized the freedom of artistic creation and the value of empathy, while the historical scholar insisted that the spiritual core of historical truth must not be tampered with. The two sides failed to reach a consensus, but both agreed on one point: literary and artistic works on historical themes bear the function of shaping collective memory and require extra caution.

In July, a teaching research institution under the Ministry of Education organized a seminar to explore "Opportunities and Challenges for History Education in the New Media Era." At the meeting, 'Wind and Rain, Nian'an' was analyzed as a typical case. One teacher proposed: "Although this drama has many problems, it did turn 'Li Yuxuan' from a strange name in a textbook into a character students are interested in and will actively look up information about. We can use this interest to guide students in critical viewing, distinguishing artistic fiction from historical truth."

In the new semester in September, at Wang Kai's university, the first lecture of the elective course "Modern Huaxia History" began with the professor mentioning 'Wind and Rain, Nian'an': "Many of you chose this course this year—was it because of that TV drama?" Laughter rippled through the room. "That's fine. But we need to start from this drama and discuss a core question: How do we understand historical figures? Through romanticized love stories, or through their practices and choices under specific historical conditions?"

In the classroom, students argued endlessly. Wang Kai found that, unlike his initial anger, he could now better understand different positions. His younger sister Wang Xiaoyu, once a fervent CP Fan, had actually gone to the library after finishing the drama to borrow 'The Diary of Li Yuxuan' and several books on the War of Resistance history.

"Brother, I finished reading them," Xiaoyu said one day at dinner. "The drama was pretty melodramatic, but... real history is more complex and heavier. I think I kind of understand why you were angry."

Wang Kai was a bit surprised, but in the end just said, "As long as you go and look at real history, that's good."

At the end of 2019, at the annual TV drama awards, 'Wind and Rain, Nian'an' won two major prizes: "Most Influential Drama of the Year" and "Audience's Favorite Character of the Year" (Li Yuxuan played by Chen Mo). At the same time, it was also included in several media outlets' lists of "Most Controversial Works of the Year."

On the award stage, Chen Mo's acceptance speech was quite thought-provoking: "Thank you, Li Yuxuan. His life was so rich that any portrayal can only be like looking at a leopard through a tube. Playing him allowed me to touch a piece of breathtaking history and also made me think, in today's peaceful era, how should we understand the love and pain, the choices and sacrifices of the people of that time?"