''White Deer Plain'' ( zh, 白鹿原) is a 2017 Chinese television series. It is based on the Chinese literature classic of the same name by

Chen Zhongshi Chen Zhongshi (; 3 August 1942 – 29 April 2016) was a Chinese author. He started writing prose in 1965 and finished his magnum opus ''White Deer Plain'' in 1993 (for which he won the Mao Dun Literature Prize in 1997). In 1979, he became a mem ...

. Its plot revolves around the hardships and spiritual pursuits of several generations living on the White Deer Plain in Shaanxi. The series reportedly took 17 years of preparation and had a production budget of 230 million yuan (US$33.39 million). It mirrors the changes which have taken place in the Chinese countryside over the first half of the 20th century, and the crew spent time in the countryside to experience rural life for a month before filming commenced. The series is directed by Liu Huining and Liu Jin, and stars Zhang Jiayi as the main character. The 85 episode drama premiered on

Anhui TV Anhui Television (AHTV; ), is a television network in the Hefei and Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest c ...

and

Jiangsu TV Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC) () is China's third biggest television network after China Central Television (CCTV) and Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS). The television network is owned by the Jiangsu provincial government. The network is ...

on 16 April 2017. However, the show was taken off air after one episode. It resumed airing on 10 May 2017. The series received positive response on Douban. '' People's Daily'' praise the series for retaining the essence and spirit of the original work while making the story more dramatic and fascinating, and ''

The Beijing News ''The Beijing News'' is a Chinese Communist Party-owned newspaper from Beijing. The Chinese name of the newspaper is ''Xīn Jīng Bào'' (), meaning "New Beijing News", which is a reference to the defunct '' Peking Gazette'' (). The Chinese pub ...

'' say that the series is one of the best produced on television. However, it has low viewership ratings, which has been attributed to the heavier subject matter of the drama. ''White Deer Plain'' received the Outstanding TV Series Golden Angel Award at the 2017 Chinese American Film Festival (CAFF) at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles.

Plot

This is the story of the White Deer Plain, home to the struggles of the Bai and Lu families. Bai Jiaxuan is honest and righteous while Lu Zisen is intelligent and ambitious. Their rivalry lasted for three generations.

Cast

* Zhang Jiayi as Bai Jiaxuan *He Bing as Lu Zisen *

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 ...

as Xiancao *

Liu Peiqi Liu Peiqi (; born 30 November 1957) is a Chinese actor. He started his training in 1979 when he joined Military Art School. He joined Military Drama Group in Xinjiang Province in 1983. In 1985 he starred in his first movie, ''Father and Son'', di ...

as Mister Zhu *Liu Hongtao as Lu San *Ge Zhiyun as Lu Taiheng * Lei Jiayin as Lu Yaopeng *

Zhai Tianlin Zhai Tianlin (, born 15 February 1987) is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the 2006 performance undergraduate class of Beijing Film Academy, and he has acted in films and TV series such as ''Memory of the Youth'', ''Royal Tattoo'', ''Sinful De ...

as Bai Xiaowen * Li Qin as Tian Xiao'e *Ji Ta as Hei Wa *

Deng Lun Deng Lun () also known as Allen Deng, is a Chinese film and television actor, born on October 21, 1992, in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. He graduated from the Performance Department of Shanghai Theatre Academy. He made his acting debut in t ...

as Lu Yaohai *Wang Xiao as Bai Xiaowu *Sun Yi as Bai Ling

Ratings

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

Awards and nominations

References

External links