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Banning something won't stop it from happening. That's like covering the sun with your hand and expecting it to disappear.

I could ban coffee tomorrow, but that won't stop people from drinking it. I can ban rebirth dramas, but that won't stop people with mental health issues or young children from attempting against their lives.

Political context is very important because it is the reason for all the bans.

Banning things protects no one. Education, compassionate transformation of ideologies and critical thinking do. You may try to stop the apple from going down, but gravity will always exist.

I do not, thankfully, nor am I Chinese. However, I have had the privilege to be exposed to many cultures, many of my closest friends are Chinese, I have studied the language and their history, so I understand why China works like that.


Everything about your responses is immature, it lacks critical thinking. You simply say “it is what it is”, but you don’t take a moment to think why, what’s behind it, how does it affect the people in China and the way the outside perceives them, their relationships with the rest of the world, etc.


It’s not about who’s more knowledgeable, it’s simply that you’re not thinking about the implications of all of this. Censorship is wrong, it will always be, and no one should support it or remain ignorant about its effect because it perpetuates the damages.


If you like to read, that I hope you do, I recommend 1984 by George Orwell. It’s a fantastic classic and its central theme is relevant to our conversation. It’s explores the negative impact of censorship and government control. You can probably find it online for free as classics are often widely available.

The LGBTQ+ ban began in December of 2015.


I never mentioned xianxia as it also roots deeply in Chinese folklore. But they have indeed banned many elements of it. Fantasy doesn’t equal xianxia, it’s a subgenre, not the entire genre.


Remember that the communist party heavily promotes the idea that everyone should work to benefit society. As you probably know, they have many social credit systems to grant benefits to “good” citizens. Portraying a ruler that is corrupt and incompetent, specially those who have to be taken down by the people, shouldn’t be the main plot as people could draw parallels with their current political leaders. That’s why they demand stories that portray history in good light and align with their socialist values. As an example of this, you can find many republican era dramas that go heavy on their communist propaganda, and they have to, because that part of their history was decisive to establish the foundations of the communist party.


China is indeed not perfect, but if you think censorship of any kind, in any country, is ok, then I think you have to reflect on why you think like that. Censorship is a way to control people, it discourages critical thinking.

Yes, use reputable sources to learn the facts and then you can dive deeper into the role of their ideology in their entertainment industry. It will help you understand why they tell their stories the way they do.

I can only assume you are an adolescent or perhaps even younger, the lack of critical thinking you display, this juvenile behavior, I can only imagine it from someone young and naive. I would like to say you’re not uneducated because if you have access to this website, you can also access Google to learn about these things, but you do come out as ignorant and proud.


No, I don’t think you know how China works, or maybe you have not developed skills to interpret it yet.



I say this with kind intentions, please go pick up a book, it will do wonders for you.

Confucianism is a mix of many principles that have shaped China’s way of thinking for centuries.

You may go and learn Chinese history as I don’t want another ignorant person discredit me, go and confirm what I will tell you.

Let’s use what they said, shallow and superficial, to reason why they actually banned rebirth plots.

One of the biggest teachings of Confucianism and one of the foundations of the chinese society is filial piety. Therefore, if someone committed suicide back then, it was a disgrace if it was done for personal reasons, while it would be praised if it was for moral righteousness, loyalty or, again, filial pity.

Then, in the 20th centuries when the communist party (which still governs China) was established, the political and social narrative was that suicide was an act of cowardly and selfish in the face of struggle when fighting against the opposition. Confucianism was once again used in their propaganda to keep the revolutionary spirit up.

In modern times, it’s secret to no one that mental health is heavily stigmatized, specially in Asian countries like China, again, because of their long history, which I invite you to learn, it’s very interesting.

Do you really think that banning rebirth plots and everything else they have banned was to protect the youth? Of course not. Banning these stories won’t make the problem magically disappear, it won’t improve mental health, it will simply cover it. “If you can see it, it doesn’t exist”

If China wanted to protect the youth like that person said, and not keep the population aligned with their ideology, they would create public health campaigns to de-stigmatize mental health, they would encourage critical thinking beyond their ancient foundations, they would invest in mental health programs and use the entertainment industry as an opportunity to reach more people.

So no, China doesn’t ban things like this to “protect the youth”. Thinking that way only shows lack of critical thinking skills.

Again, I invite you to confirm what I said yourself, as the facts are there for you to learn.

It’s not misinformation. I would suggest you do a deep dive into Chinese politics and structure so you will understand.
This isn’t the only thing they have banned, throughout the years, they have also banned: LBGTQ+ stories, time travel, many fantasy elements, supernatural elements (like ghosts and whatever they might consider inappropriate), historical plots depicting wasteful emperors (they even imposed a limit on how much of the story can be about incompetent rulers), western lifestyles (clothing, values, behaviors), promotion of tattoos, extreme violence. No political or military plot can’t stray way from China’s own context, etc.
Why do you think actors are so easily banned for things that wouldn’t even affect their careers in the west or even other Asian countries?
I think that even asking Chat GPT would tell you these things, or just Google it if you don’t believe me. Don’t take someone’s word for it, learn about it yourself.

Please, I invite you to think further. All the bans the government implements are to control people from doing things that don’t align with the communist party’s ideology.
Do you really think the solution to such cases was to ban rebirth stories instead of looking into their systemic issues?
Or do you also think that banning LGBTQ+ stories was to protect the young?
I’m sorry but your way of thinking this is very superficial and naive, makes me think your’re someone either very young or uneducated. I kindly invite you to do your research because you seem to be ignorant about how China really works.

No, it has nothing to do with religion. China is a communist country so religion would never be the driver of the government, quite the opposite.
Because of their political ideologies, the government controls the population, which means they control what they learn, what they have access to online, what they read and what they see. Rebirth stories were banned recently so it’s safe to assume they decided that it would somehow threaten the control they have on the population.

Novel reader here, maybe I can explain that scene to you.
In the novel, she dies. Not like this, but she was killed and then is reborn in another body. However, reborn plots are banned in China so they had to do this, although I agree with you, no one would survive that. They should’ve found another way to “kill” her.

As a novel reader, I disagree.
I don’t fancy the chances and I think the pace does hurt He Yan’s motives, but I don’t think they have erased her pain. The story has just begun, how could one make such asseverations after not even a third of it being aired?
I noticed that, in general with adaptations, many novel readers have high expectations for things that don’t happen most of the time. I have never seen an adaptation that is 100% loyal to the book. I think that more book readers need to understand that no adaptation will ever be the book, and so the expectations should be realistic, otherwise, I would recommend to not watch it at all.

because it’s not out yet

it’s not out yet

They have made many changes that, in my opinion, are not compatible with the original story’s essence, but it’s still enjoyable so far, the acting is good

yes, I think they were dating even before this aired

This is probably because Guo Jing Ming loves sad endings. I’ve been watching his works for years and most of them have a sad ending, which is not bad in itself, but sometimes the execution fails. I do expect this drama to have a sad ending, or at least with most of them dead, but that’s because I know his style, but he could also do something different here, no one knows so we should wait and see.

That’s homophobic. Please stay away from the novel as it does have LOTS of romance and it shouldn’t be read by someone like you.

Not realizing how harmful censorship is to BL stories and the LGBTQ+ community in China and coming here to say you have no “issues with censorship because wouldn’t watch it as a BL” perpetuates that damage. Please leave this place as this is a space for allies and lgbt folks. Censorship already took a lot from us, and it will continue to do so thanks to people like you who don’t have “issues” with it.

This is China we’re talking about, the government controls everything, they strive to show their own people and outsiders that they live in this perfect world where everyone is good and only good things should be produced in this “perfect” country, there’s no way they will show a second of him, even if he is covered and dubbed. There’s always a political agenda because they need to keep people controlled and show others what will happen to criminals who taint their principles with corrupt morals.
Earlier today I saw rumors that the production team is in contact with another actor to reshoot all his scenes.
If you want to watch this story then watch the korean adaptation, Our blooming youth, it’s currently airing.

Yes. For the past two years the restrictions have been reinforced and now it's almost impossible for this or any BL drama to air. At first this drama got a pass to air (around 2 years ago) but then they revoked the broadcasting license, it is rumored that this drama was reedited 8 times and still failed to pass the censorship requirements.
At this point I think it's better that it never airs, we would get a story so different that it wouldn't be recognizable and wouldn't do justice to the book so it's better to bury it and think of it as a dream that never happened.
The same thing will probably happen to TGCF's live adaptation, but that one would face even more scrutinity because of the amount of idols in the cast given the restrictions in cdramaland that killed the idol industry and condemn idol actors and proyects.

His character is actually 19