''Red Sorghum'' ( zh, c=红高粱) is a 2014 Chinese television series based on Nobel laureate

Mo Yan Guan Moye (; born 17 February 1955), better known by the pen name Mo Yan (, ), is a Chinese novelist and short story writer. Donald Morrison of U.S. news magazine ''TIME'' referred to him as "one of the most famous, oft-banned and widely pirate ...

's 1986

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

of the same name. Directed by

Zheng Xiaolong Zheng Xiaolong (; born November 30, 1953) is a Chinese TV and film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography *''Stories from the Editorial Board'' (1991)—China's first sitcom *''A Native of Beijing in New York'' (1992)—first Chinese TV ...

, it also features the highly anticipated return of actress

Zhou Xun Zhou Xun (, born 18 October 1974) is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China. She gained international fame for her roles in '' Suzhou River'' (2000) and ''Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress'' ...

to television after 10 years. The series chronicles the struggles of the protagonist Jiu'er (played by Zhou) in rural Shandong province in early 1930s. It aired simultaneously on four satellite television channels from 27 October to 17 November 2014 for 60 episodes.

Cast

as Jiu'er / Dai Jiulian *

Zhu Yawen Zhu Yawen (, born April 1984) is a Chinese actor. He appeared in the films '' The Witness'' and ''The Founding of an Army''; and the television series '' Red Sorghum'' and ''Empress of the Ming''. In 2018, he took part in variety show The Sound ...

as Yu Zhan'ao *

Huang Xuan Huang Xuan (, born 3 March 1985) is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Blind Massage'' (2014), ''The Legend of Mi Yue'' (2015), '' The Interpreter'' (2016) and ''Extraordinary Mission'' (2017). Life and career Born and raised ...

as Zhang Junjie *

Yu Rongguang Yu Rongguang (; born 30 August 1958), also known as Ringo Yu, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. He is best known for the title role in '' Iron Monkey'' along with Donnie Yen as well as being featured in films such as '' The East Is Red'', '' ...

as Zhu Haosan *

Qin Hailu Qin Hailu (, born 11 August 1978) is a Chinese actress, screenwriter and singer. She has won Best Actress at the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award and Golden Bauhinia Awards. Early life and education Bo ...

as Shu Xian *

Matt William Knowles Matthew Knowles (born 1985), known professionally as Matt William Knowles or Ma Tai (), is an American actor known for his work in multiple Chinese films and television series such as ''Asura'', '' Love Me If You Dare'', '' Deng Xiao Ping at His ...

as AP Press Reporter

Production

To reproduce the scenes of the novel, the Gaomi local government planted more than 200 hectares of sorghum. The field, now known as "Red Sorghum TV Production Base", became a shooting site for the TV series. More than 500 local residents performed as extras in the TV show.

Reception

The series premiered to rave reviews online on

Weibo Weibo may refer to: * Microblogging in China, or China-based microblogging services (), including: ** NetEase Weibo (), launched by NetEase ** People's Weibo (), launched by ''People's Daily'' ** Phoenix Weibo (), launched by Phoenix Television ** W ...

and has enjoyed good ratings. It topped the ratings on four satellite TV channels for three weeks during its broadcast; and has been viewed more than 1.4 billion times on major streaming site iQiyi. According to ''Qilu Evening Post'', the series also spawned viral greetings. ''

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

'' praised the drama, calling it a "classic in Chinese television history" and ''Hainan Daily'' called Zhou an "impeccable performer". However, the series has been criticized the series as "too commercial" and "losing the touch of authenticity." The casting of Zhou in the role of the 19-year-old protagonist has also sparked a controversy.

Ratings

* Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue

Awards and nominations

International broadcast

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Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

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16:50 (JKT/BKK)
18:55 (HK)

References

External links

Television shows based on Chinese novels 2014 Chinese television series debuts Television shows set in Shandong Chinese period television series Chinese war television series Dragon Television original programming Zhejiang Television original programming Beijing Television original programming Shandong Television original programming {{China-tv-stub