Tuesday, 6 April 2021

A Lifelong Journey

Drama: A Lifelong Journey
Chinese Title: 人世间 / Ren Shi Fang
Broadcast Network: CCTV-1
Broadcast Website: iQIYI

Broadcast Date: January 28, 2022

Genre: Period
Language: Mandarin
Episodes: 60
Director: Li Lu
Screenwriter: Wang Hailing, Wang Da'ou
Origin: China
Source: Adapted from a novel of the same name by Liang Xiaosheng

Love Meter

Synopsis and Plot Summary

A story that details the the lives of ordinary civilians amidst the magnanimous changes in Chinese society over the years.

At the end of the 1970s, the Zhou family lived in a provincial city in the north. The father, Zhu Zhigang (Ding Yongdai), has just participated in the Third Front Movement in Xinan. The eldest son, Zhou Bingyi (Xin Boqing), responds to national call to become part of the first batch of "educated" youths sent to live and work in the rural areas. The eldest daughter, Zhou Rong (Song Jia), follows her poet husband to the countryside of Guizhou. The youngest son, Zhou Bingkun (Lei Jiayin), is the only one left at home with their mother.

In the span of 50 years, the Zhou family is swept with the tides of change in China. Zhou Bingyi enters politics after graduating from university and experiences ups and downs in his career during the drastic reforms. Zhou Rong stays on to teach after receiving her Ph.D. She has a difficult love life and ends up living in France for twelve years. Zhou Bingkun and Zheng Juan (Yin Tao), a beautiful yet misfortunate woman, develop romantic feelings for each other and continue to mature through their own efforts. Relatives and friends in the neighbourhood learn to move forward together. In fulfilling their own missions in life, the Zhou family represents an epic tale about the contemporary Chinese people.

Fun Facts

The two screenwriters Wang Hailing and Wang Da'ou are father and son.
It is set to premiere as a drama to usher in Chinese New Year 2022.
It is from Li Lu who directed In the Name of the People.
It is based on an award-winning novel.
Even before it premiered, it was already announced as part of the Asian films and series too be released on Disney Plus.
Similar to In the Name of the People in 2017, A Lifelong Journey became the biggest hit show in recent years with television ratings surpassing 3%.
It is among the shows with a heat index exceeding 10,000 on iQIYI.

Cast

	Lei Jiayin as Zhou Bingkun
	Xin Baiqing as Zhou Bingyi
	Song Jia as Zhou Rong
	Yin Tao as Zheng Juan
	Ding Yongdai as Zhou Zhigang
	Sa Rina as Li Suhua
	Cheng Taishen as Feng Huacheng
	Song Chunli as Jin Yueji
	Wang Yang as Cai Xiaoguang
	Yu Zhen as Luo Shibin
	Zhang Kaili as Qu Xiuzhen
	Feng Lei as Yao Lisong
	Huang Xiaolei as Qiao Chunyan
	Hu Lianxin as Feng Yue
	Wu Xingjian as Zhou Nan