Something interesting is going on. Not only am I watching historical events in this drama, something historical might also be happening relating to its broadcast.
This drama follows a group of students from top universities in China who witnessed their schools being bombed or occupied by the Japanese during the second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945. They followed their teachers south to establish the Changsha Temporary University and eventually the National Southwestern Associated University in Kunming.
I'm not a fan of war movies/dramas but this completely engaged my attention with its well-recreated historical events and interesting characters, including famous historical figures like poet Wen Yi Duo and Tsinghua University president Mei Yiqi.
This drama can foster patriotism from Chinese citizens and expatriates. Might the intended audience just be the Chinese community then? Might this be the reason no official subtitles are provided, no matter how much international viewers have been clamoring for them? The timing is curious, considering what's going on in the world today.
What makes it doubly interesting is the reception from its intended audience.
As an international viewer struggling to understand the Youtube auto-translation of the drama, I've been deeply moved by the powerful historical portrayals like the bombings of Nankai University and Changsha, the passion of the teachers and students to serve their country and the depiction of how much residents' lives changed during the war. I've been crying since the second episode.
Yet, comments on Chinese social media are more concerned about the airtime the male lead is getting compared to other characters, the love triangle, deleted scenes, and other gripes about the production that, considering the subject matter, are petty and nit-picky.
Nitpicking is a common strategy to sabotage a show. Or, might this be reflecting the Chinese people's low interest in being dragged into a war at present? It seems like they are more interested in fantasy dramas and other forms of escapism than having their patriotism stoked.
