Love, war, and a mother's iron grip — tuberculosis has never been this devastatingly romantic.
Season 1 • Episode 14
LatestWang Wen Xuan is an idealistic and good-natured man living during a tumultuous period in China. He's in love with his classmate Zeng Shu Sheng, but his traditional mother wants him to marry a girl of her choosing. In the midst of war and the inevitable tension of the times, Wen Xuan is frequently torn between Shu Sheng and his mother. To make things worse, his health slowly begins to deteriorate after contracting tuberculosis.
Acting
Winston Chao's consumptive decline is physically devastating.
Production
Wartime Chongqing recreated with suffocating authenticity.
Writing
Ba Jin's source novel adapted with merciless emotional precision.
Creator
Ba Jin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ba Jin wrote the original novel in 1946, drawing from his own family's struggles during the Japanese occupation of Chongqing.
The Chinese Republican era setting (1912-1949) frames the conflict: old Confucian family structures collapsing under modern warfare and individual desire.
