45 minSeason 1 • Episode 25
LatestSet in the eponymous White Deer Village in Shaanxi Province where the two most important families – Bai and Lu – and their sons have always lived together in peace. But the turmoil leads to a fierce struggle for land ownership. A young woman new to the village soon finds herself caught between the two camps. Director Liu Jin uses the story of these two families as a metaphor for the fate of the Chinese people as first Chinese war lords are overrun by Japanese invaders, then civil war follows hot on the heels of the Second World War and finally the victorious Maoists begin waving their red flags. The drama is based off the novel by Chen Zhong Shi.
Acting
Zhang Jiayi and He Bing's decades-spanning rivalry is masterclass material.
Production
Recreated Shaanxi village so authentic you can taste the dust.
Writing
Chen Zhongshi's novel adapted with brutal fidelity to history's cruelty.
Creator
Chen Zhongshi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Chen Zhongshi's novel won the Mao Dun Literature Prize but was initially banned for its unflinching portrayal of rural sexuality and Communist failures.
The 77-episode cut was actually trimmed down — original production exceeded 90 episodes before censors intervened on political sensitivity.
CN
