There might be some confusion about this era. As someone who reads way too many transmigration novels set in this period (with space/system 🤣), I thought I’d share a few quick context notes that might help

Ps: (Not 100% historical analysis — just general context often reflected in dramas/novels 😅)

1. Who are the “black categories”?

These were social groups labeled politically “bad” in Mao-era China (like landlords, rightists, etc.). If your family was placed in this category, you could face discrimination, limited opportunities, and even be sent for re-education. The label often affected children too. That's why Ml's sister wanted to cut ties but still got kicked out of the school's project,so she marrying her husband is considered a safe move. 

2. Why were the ML’s parents sent for re-education?

This actually fits the period. Intellectuals and artists were heavily targeted. A lecturer + painter couple would easily be seen as politically suspect, even without a specific crime. Many people like them were sent to rural areas for labor “reform.” (this part I don't get myself because they still had people teaching at universities) also if you guys noticed their teacher is now a cleaner and she lives in a dingy room . 

3. Then why can the ML still paint for a news agency? 

Because in that era, art itself wasn’t banned  only “bourgeois” or non-political art. Painting for a state news/propaganda unit was considered loyal, approved work. Probably,  the father being punished as an intellectual artist and the son working as a state illustrator can both be true.

4. Why does the city feel less harsh than the countryside?

Urban life was usually better back then. City residents had jobs, wages, food rations, housing, and services. Rural areas depended on collective farming and were much harsher. So compared to re-education in the countryside, normal city life could look relatively comfortable. They had famine in 1960-70 so it was horrible everywhere but since it's late around 1975 it was  better than before that's why it seems prosperous . Still you can't eat anything you want because you will be broke 🤣he's really breaking her wallet.

Another free fact😉 the college exams will be reinstated in 1976/77 . It's currently 1975 ,so she'll go to uni anyways. 

Honestly ,that's what it was  and there was no individualism. Being  too opinionated could get you in trouble.  

So cool he's a meteorologist. Honestly speaking it made no sense for them to put intellectuals through  reform labour regardless of background.  Anytime I read  novels regarding  this era I feel sad. I am glad you liked my post.   

 marguerite blakeney:

thanks for this information :)

I take re-education to mean, "communist indoctrination" and forced labor etc. 🤷‍♀️

What it really means is a concentration camp, though the severity of the punishment could get you into a “nicer” or worse one in terms of location and type of forced labour. People generally didn’t come back from those unless they could kiss up to whoever was in charge of that place.

For example, one of my family neighbours including a mother, father, and their eight sons literally disappeared in the 70s overnight and were never seen again. Some tried to find them post-USSR collapse but in vain.

 SandGirl_Nicky:

What it really means is a concentration camp, though the severity of the punishment could get you into a “nicer” or worse one in terms of location and type of forced labour. People generally didn’t come back from those unless they could kiss up to whoever was in charge of that place.

For example, one of my family neighbours including a mother, father, and their eight sons literally disappeared in the 70s overnight and were never seen again. Some tried to find them post-USSR collapse but in vain.

I'm so sorry that happened to your family's neighbors. My dad lost a lot of friends during re-education. He said he never expected to be able to leave. Just like Fang Mu Yang's parents, he was only able to leave after Gang of Four went down. 

Is the era romanticised? My opinion 

 The reason it seems romanticized is because the story focuses on upper- and lower-middle-class families of that time. If it were set in the countryside, where farming and the work-point system were the only means of survival, the story would be very different. Back then, factory workers generally had an easier life compared to farmers—still difficult, but slightly more stable.

That was part of the reason the “education tour” (or educated youth movement) was implemented. It was meant to create fairness for farmers and to ensure that those who were better off could understand the hardships faced in rural areas. If you had finished high school and had no job, you would be sent there. I believe that at the beginning of the movement, each family was required to send one child. That’s why Fei Ni  felt indebted to her brother—he went in her place.

Many people never returned; some settled there through marriage. For women especially, life there was extremely harsh and not something one would recommend. The series does not fully address the severe realities of that era; they are only briefly mentioned.

It’s also important to note that the series is based on the later years of the movement, which, as far as I understand (though I’m not entirely sure), had rules that were less strictly enforced. You might have been reprimanded, but the enforcement was not as severe as in earlier years.

Lastly, the northern regions were considered the harshest and had labor camps. However, the male lead was sent as an educated youth and chose to go to that harsh region.