Recently, the National Radio and Television Administration held a seminar on Love Story in the 1970s.
Set in the 1970s, Love Story in the 1970s follows Fei Ni, an ambitious factory worker, who is determined to get into university and change her fate.
Fei Ni's classmate Fang Mu Yang gets injured while saving someone and becomes a hero recognized for his bravery. Fei Ni voluntarily offers to take care of him, hoping that by doing good deeds, she can get recommended for admission to university.
Amid the day-to-day trivialities of their life together, a utilitarian choice quietly gives rise to sincere feelings, and by supporting one another, they go on to carve out a wonderful chapter of their lives.
The C-drama holds a Douban rating of 7.3, making it one of the standout works among recent releases.
Director Chen Chang summarized his creative approach as "a new take on period dramas." In his view, the foundation of this "new take" lies in historical authenticity, while its core is the integration of contemporary audiences' aesthetic preferences. He incorporated new audiovisual language into the drama, for instance, using special effects to visualize the imaginings of "home", and using curtains to film shadow dances — all to convey the idea that "regardless of the era, living a good life depends on mutual understanding and the shared willingness to move forward together."
Arthur Chen plays Fang Mu Yang, and Sun Qian plays Fei Ni.
Sun Qian described the seminar as a kind of farewell to her character Fei Ni. Saying goodbye to a role is not easy for an actor: "Because we have to pretend to forget the things that happened to us, but in real life, many parts of the story become my memories, and often I can't tell them apart."
Regarding Love Story in the 1970s, she believes that although words like "innocence", "era", and "love" are grand, the story is really about small families. "For example, when I take a ride every night and see the passing windows, I feel it very deeply. I think there's a story unfolding behind every window, each with its own hero and heroine."
Speaking about her character Fei Ni, Sun Qian recalled: "In the first episode, she was full of fighting spirit, carrying a big flag and riding her bicycle, charging forward. She didn't care who was coming at her from the opposite side; she just shouted with all her might. She didn't dwell on what the difficulties were — she only knew what her goal was, and that's something I especially want to learn from her. She is very ambitious, and she has clear goals. She never hides what she wants. The words 'find a way' are her way of saving herself, and they have also become a kind of 'flag' [personal motto] I've set for myself this year."
Wang Tian Chen plays Qu Hua, and Cristy Guo plays Fang Mu Jing.
Speaking about his understanding of the character, Wang Tian Chen — whose popularity surged thanks to his role as Qu Hua — said: "Qu Hua is an intellectual of that era. He is very restrained and not good at expressing his emotions. The Qu Hua I understand is not a perfect person but an ordinary person with warmth, inner turmoil, and vulnerabilities."
He shared a scene that left a particularly deep impression on him — it was the moment of parting with Fang Mu Jing. Before filming, the director asked him to treat the scene as his "last meeting" with Fang Mu Jing. "At the time, I probably just thought that after seeing her, I would say I wanted a divorce and leave. But when the director put it that way, my tears suddenly started pouring out. He told me to hold it in, to keep the tears in my eyes."
Carrying this restrained emotion, Wang Tian Chen went into the scene: "When I went in, I still had a smile on my face because I [my character] had finally seen Fang Mu Jing again. But when it came to taking the divorce agreement, the tears began to fall uncontrollably."
Wang Tian Chen believes that the production team of Love Story in the 1970s was extremely dedicated: "From the making of the sets to the arrangement of props, costumes, and lighting, every detail was highly authentic [to that era]. The moment you step onto the set, the sense of the era hits you. Even the shed we used for the earthquake scenes, and later the collapsed buildings and ruins, all felt very real. As an actor, I was instantly immersed. There was no need to act out that sense of the era deliberately; the environment has already done a lot of the work for us."
Fei Ni's emotional trajectory in the drama — starting from pragmatism and ultimately arriving at sincerity — became another focal point of discussion among experts. Li Wei, a member of the editorial board of the Film Channel under the Publicity Department, approached the topic from the perspective of female growth and proposed that Fei Ni represents an "alternative narrative".
She believes that Fei Ni's "calculation", rather than "scheming", reflects a form of survival wisdom for women in a particular era; her journey from a "fake marriage" to "genuine feelings" demonstrates the formation of female emotional subjectivity; and her persistence in pursuing knowledge marks an effective breakthrough toward women's self-realization.
Li Jing Sheng, drawing on the classic discourse from Lu Xun's "Regret for the Past", pointed out that the stories of the three couples in the drama precisely illustrate the real-life philosophy that "a marriage without love is not enough, and a marriage based solely on love cannot be sustained," offering a historical reference for contemporary young people’s views on love and marriage.
Wang Yi Chuan, a specially appointed professor at Beijing Language and Culture University, believes that Fang Mu Jing, as Fang Mu Yang's older sister, realistically portrays the psychological transformation from breaking with her parents to reconciliation, reflecting the scars and healing of that particular era.
He also considered the scene in which Xu Hong Qi smashes and then pieces together a white porcelain cup to be "the most heart-wrenching moment of the entire drama." The words "Serve the People" on the cup, along with the inscription "Beijing Souvenir", and the detail of her persistently pouring water despite it constantly leaking, wordlessly yet powerfully reflect the conflict between ideals and reality. He believes that these two characters, as "mirrors" to the protagonists, enrich the depth and layers of the drama.
Love Story in the 1970s is streaming on WeTV.
Source: The Paper
