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On September 21, the upcoming historical war action drama War and People made its official announcement, releasing a teaser and stills of the lead cast. The series is adapted from "War and People", the award-winning work by renowned author Wang Huo, which received the Mao Dun Literature Prize.
The drama is a key project supported by the National Radio and Television Administration. Yu He Wei and Bai Jing Ting lead the cast. The series offers a panoramic portrayal of the living conditions and moral choices of people from different social classes in China during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
When war begins, no one can escape history; everyone must make a choice. War and People follows the family upheavals and life experiences of Tong Jia Ting, a progressive young man, and his father, Tong Shuang Wei. By focusing on the history of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression through the experiences of one family and one individual, the series allows us to see the war and the resilience, fearlessness, and enduring spirit of the Chinese.
The drama's teaser opens with the voice-over, “The moon is bright, and the stars are few; crows fly south.” Tong Jia Ting stands on a rooftop, whistling and waving a red flag to summon a flock of pigeons.
A peaceful and tranquil life is suddenly shattered by war. In 1937, when Nanjing falls, Tong Jia Ting (Bai Jing Ting), a law student at National Central University, follows his father, Tong Shuang Wei (Yu He Wei), a member of the Kuomintang Central Committee, on a perilous journey. Over the course of eight years, they move from Nanjing to Wuhan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Chongqing.
Under his uncle Liu Zhong Hua (Zhang Tian Yang), Tong Jia Ting matures quickly. He joins the Communist Party of China and devotes himself to the revolutionary cause. Meanwhile, Tong Shuang Wei gradually recognizes the darkness and corruption of the Kuomintang government, ultimately becoming disillusioned with his ideals.
Human destiny is inextricably intertwined with the times, and war becomes a touchstone, forcing people to choose between loyalty and betrayal, courage and cowardice, light and darkness.
The original novel War and People is a trilogy. It was written by Wang Huo after he personally witnessed the war and flames, blood, and tears during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. To create this work, Wang Huo even tied his legs to the table while writing.
While on his way to a publishing house, Wang Huo once tried to rescue a young girl who had fallen into a ditch in heavy rain. He hit his head on a steel pipe in the process, suffering intracranial bleeding and an injury to the retina of his left eye.
As a result, he completed the last two installments of the War and People trilogy with great difficulty after losing sight in his left eye.
In an interview conducted during his lifetime, Wang Huo told a Hongxing News reporter that he chose the pen name "Wang Huo" (his real name was Wang Hong Bo) because of a quote attributed to Maxim Gorky: "Use fire to destroy the old world and build a new world." He explained that the character for "fire" was simple and bright, evoking something grand and resounding.
He said, "At the time, I just wanted to write faster. I was afraid that I would grow old and run out of time. What if I were gone and the book still hadn't been published?"
Source: Red Star News
