On April 9th, the new drama "Cheng Huan Ji " starring Yang Zi and Xu Kai was launched on cctv-8 and Tencent Video, and will be launched on cctv-1 morning slot on April 18th. On the 8th day after the broadcast of
, "The Story of Cheng Huan" set a new record on Tencent Video as the fastest popular urban drama in 2024 to exceed 30,000 on the site, announcing that it has entered the "hot hit club", and the number of interactions in the discussion area exceeded 10 million. According to Yunhe data, as of press time, "Cheng Huan Ji" ranked first in the screen dominance list with a market share of 20.6%, as well as in the overall public opinion popularity list.
As an urban emotional drama, "The Story of Cheng Huan" captures hot social topics such as intergenerational conflicts, self-worth, and emotional concepts, and breaks away from the blood-splitting route. uses innovative expressions of warmth and tolerance to balance vividness and It is profound and gives people the power to heal.
In fact, this is also the key to "Cheng Huan Ji" breaking out of the circle.
｜The East Asian girls in "The Handsome Girl"
The core of a TV series that is out of the entertainment industry is of course the content.
The story of "Cheng Huan Ji" is very interesting -
The protagonist Mai Chenghuan is an ordinary girl born in a small alley in Shanghai. Her mother is urging her to get married, and her younger brother is employed. What she worries about every day is three meals a day and how to rely on her own efforts to make her family live a good life.
When three extraordinary people appeared in her ordinary life, everything began to go off the rails. The ex-boyfriend Xin Jialiang is a second-generation rich man who hides his identity and falls in love with her; the step-grandmother is a founder of the generation and is rich but hides her identity; the professional hotel manager Yao Zhiming is the step-grandmother's grandson and competes with Mai Chenghuan for the Xing'anli Hotel. I gained a deeper understanding of her during the process of getting along and cooperating with her.
This drama, although it creates a dramatic space for the heroine, it also sets up some difficult problems for her that you and I may face:
Does marriage really need to be well-matched?
Can parents control our lives just because they are "for your own good"?
Can you stick to your original intention when faced with huge temptations?
"Cheng Huan Ji", on the one hand, affects the emotions of the audience with its constantly reversing plot, and on the other hand, it constantly shares the same frequency with hot topics such as marriage, love, work, and family of modern urbanites, arousing the resonance of young people. It is not difficult to understand why "Cheng Huan Ji" set a record for the fastest number of barrage interactions on Tencent Video to exceed 100 million in 2024, and became the first drama in 2024 to have the number of barrage interactions exceed 10 million for three consecutive days in 2024.
"The Story of Cheng Huan" can arouse widespread resonance. The fundamental reason is that it successfully depicts a typical Chinese family map, especially the in-depth portrayal of intergenerational relationships, showing the characteristics of girls in the context of East Asian culture. Common dilemma.
The typical conflict in the drama comes from the relationship between mother and daughter. The mother is strong and controlling, while the daughter is docile and well-behaved. In the daily life of broken thoughts, although there is maternal love, it is also suffocating. Mai Chenghuan is like many East Asian girls. Although she carefully lives within her parents' expectations, she is actually independent and rebellious at heart. Her mother married from a small county town to a big city, changing the trajectory of her life, but she still lived in the past empiricism. The small alley and the three-foot kitchen space were all she had. Her life experience has created her simple wish: her daughter must marry well and live a better life than she does.
Sometimes, that inch of vanity is even stronger than her daughter's joy.
This story is very similar to that of many ordinary families. The conflict between Mai Chenghuan and her mother is a common real dilemma for East Asian daughters - a constant struggle between obedience and self. Many viewers lamented that "Mai Chenghuan looks so much like herself." . The value of "Cheng Huan Ji" is that it not only shows the dilemma itself, but also provides a new idea: Girls insist on being themselves and being responsible for their own lives, which is the greatest filial piety.
Faced with the unequal marriage in the second-generation rich family, Mai Chenghuan dared to say no. Faced with unfair competition in the workplace, she dared to start over. Taking over the management of her step-grandmother's hotel, she dared to take up the responsibility and learn from scratch. Mai Chenghuan relied on practical actions to establish the boundaries of family affection, so that both parties could find the most comfortable way of getting along.
In addition, the diverse female portraits created in "Cheng Huan Ji" are all using their own experiences to teach girls how to be themselves.
The step-grandmother is the soul character of "Cheng Huan Ji", and the core of her life wisdom is to be herself. When you were young, you married the wrong person, and you ended the wrong marriage decisively. In your later years, you never gave up looking for true love, you dared to love, you dared to hate, and you could afford to let go. Even if it is not favored by others, it relies on its own efforts to build Xing'anli Hotel into a unique landmark in Shanghai.
When her step-grandmother passed away, her rich identity was exposed. She left to Mai Chenghuan a hotel worth hundreds of millions and a lot of savings. Many people believe that the huge inheritance is the key to Mak Chenghuan's counterattack, which is undeniable. But the greatest value of her step-grandmother to Mai Chenghuan is actually helping her to establish a spiritual core of independence and no internal friction.
Mai Chenghuan's best friend Maomao entered marriage prematurely because of love. But after discovering a mispayment, he chose to divorce and start his own business. From a housewife who was trapped by her family and whose creativity was stolen by her husband, she cut her losses in time and finally lived out her life.
's independent and sober female image reflects the "her power" that has been rising in recent years. Only when content and reality are on the same frequency can the user's emotional map be unlocked, breathing the same breath and sharing the same destiny.
｜Reinterpreting the "Equation of Love"
"I used to be a daughter, and now I am a mother. There is unspeakable love hidden in my mother's thoughts..."
"In Mai Chenghuan's eyes, parental love, brotherly love The most important thing, and love is just a side story, she is a smart new-era woman..."
"There is a contrast between Shanghai alleys and metropolitan life. It is quite realistic and worth watching..."
In addition to young people, "The Story of Cheng Huan" has also gained a reputation among the general public, and everyone can always see their own shadow in different aspects. The fireworks of "Cheng Huan Ji" found an outlet for everyone's emotions.
"The Story of Cheng Huan" is a microcosm of thousands of families in China. Mai's father is a "hep-controller", but he is down-to-earth and warm. When his daughter met her in-laws, he had the courage to speak a lot and even drank several glasses of wine. This scene moved Mai Chenghuan and made the screen We have a great sense of presence in front of you, because he is so much like your father and I, ordinary but still a mountain to our children.
Chenghuan’s mother, Liu Wanyu, is a typical dedicated mother. She lives frugally and spends money at home. In order to raise a dowry for her daughter, she would consider selling her house and jewelry, or she would put down her face and seek help from her step-grandmother. Her concern for her children is truly selfless, and Mai Chenghuan can feel her mother's love in every detail of her life. Therefore, she said to her boyfriend, "With my mother, I feel that as long as the bottom line is above the bottom line, it is not a conflict, and it can be balanced with hard work."
But this maternal love lacks a sense of boundaries and is deceiving Cheng Huan into getting engaged. At that moment, Cheng Huan's bottom line was completely broken. Perhaps from the moment the relationship broke down, Liu Wanyu realized for the first time that her docile and well-behaved daughter had grown up long ago.
"Learning to let go" is a required course for parents.
"The Story of Cheng Huan" not only outlines the true feelings and warmth of ordinary people's families, but also allows us to take a step back and look at the positive value of family affection and love for personal growth.
The Mai family has no house to live in and is staying at their step-grandmother's house. Yao Zhiming wants to use Xing'anli as an investment certificate for promotion and salary increase. It seems that the Mai family needs a bungalow more, and Yao Zhiming needs a hotel more, but the step-grandmother's will was unexpected, leaving the hotel to Mai Chenghuan and the bungalow to Yao Zhiming. The step-grandmother looked past the superficial needs and saw the desires deep in the souls of the two young men. Mai Chenghuan needs a chance to prove himself, while Yao Zhiming needs a family.
"Everything should be long-term and long-term." Grandma's life wisdom is to make up for the inner shortcomings of the younger generation and slowly grow into a better version of themselves. The love between her and Cheng Huan's mother complements each other and is the most powerful spiritual force.
Many viewers left messages in the comment area - they also want such a grandma.What is reflected behind this is actually the most missing link in traditional Chinese families: how allows children to have strong spiritual power and eventually grow into an adult with a positive outlook on life, a stable core, and sufficient stamina. This is what "The Story of Cheng Huan" is about The best annotation of family affection.
Mai Chenghuan's love is not always smooth sailing. From simply liking someone to facing the family behind them is a required life course for many girls. The marriage negotiation stage was full of twists and turns, the intervention of elders, mismatched social status, and the involvement of interests... After experiencing all of this, she truly saw the true nature of her boyfriend - a playful and irresponsible "baby" "Mom's Boy", and finally understood that his needs for relationships are mutual respect and mutual growth.
Therefore, the subsequent relationship between Mai Chenghuan and Yao Zhiming became more rational and mature. Only two mature individuals will be attracted to each other's most authentic qualities, and only then will both parties open themselves up and regain the ability to love and be loved.
| New expressions of urban dramas
In recent years, Tencent Video has launched many urban-themed dramas, focusing on the lives of ordinary families. " Good things come in pairs ", which became popular in 2023, and " Fireworks and People " launched in 2024, both use the family as the entry point to explore individual growth. It is not difficult to see from these stories that Tencent Video is exploring new expressions of returning to nature.
From the perspective of the story, is close to life and detail-oriented, which is the core of detonating the circle.
Only 40 minutes. How to get from Pudong to Puxi during rush hour? Mai Chenghuan chose to take Yao Zhiming to take the subway and ride a shared bicycle. A mobile phone scanned a small yellow bicycle and a small blue bicycle, and thoughtfully helped him adjust the seat of the bicycle.
Xin Jialiang is taken care of by Mai Chenghuan on a daily basis, so even if he holds a sun umbrella for her, the umbrella only covers herself; a daughter born in a Shanghai alley, Mai Chenghuan speaks in a low pitch, which matches the tone of Wu Nong's soft language...
"The Story of Cheng Huan" constructs solid life details to establish the characters' sense of belief and the rationality of the story. Although the intergenerational conflict between mother and daughter was very strong in the early stage, after the death of grandma, her mother's active concern and Chenghuan's putting a band-aid on her mother's foot all heralded the breaking of the ice in the relationship between the two. Finding a more comfortable way to get along is undoubtedly a growth for both mother and daughter.
Although there will be conflicts between family members, there is more warmth and affection. This is the most authentic way of life.
From the perspective of character creation, realistic and three-dimensional character design is becoming the mainstream.
The male and female protagonists of "The Story of Cheng Huan" do not fall in love at first sight, nor do they deliberately create the characters of Boss and Cinderella. Their relationship sprouts in the turmoil of reality and grows in their respective transformations.
Mai Chenghuan values love and justice, and Yao Zhiming is decisive in killing in the early stage. The intersection between the two also began due to Yao Zhiming's calculations. After the two experienced various stumbling blocks in the workplace and life together, they began to understand each other. The time spent together with grandma accelerated the relationship between the two. But an inheritance distribution also puts the conflict of interests between the two people, and it also becomes a test of their relationship.
In terms of the narrative mode of the TV series, the emotional direction of the two people belongs to a state of "it comes naturally" - this is a more advanced expression. For two people who are in a semi-familiar state, this mutual healing and complementary relationship is more real and touching.
From a narrative perspective, the topicality + light comedy elements make watching the drama a healing journey.
Although the topic of intergenerational conflict supports the first half, "Cheng Huan Ji" does not choose to use a tense rhythm to promote the development of the plot. Instead, it finds a balance between contradiction and joy, and also Make the character multi-faceted. Although
's mother Liu Wanyu makes people nervous, everyone is always amused by the embarrassing scenes she creates repeatedly, which makes people laugh and cry. Mai Chenghuan is usually a good girl, but after falling out of love, she will get drunk and make some self-deprecating drunken remarks, which makes people see the sadness behind her obedience. "Cheng Huan Ji" attempts to use a more relaxed way to construct a three-dimensional character hierarchy.Let the audience's emotions not be tense all the time. The light comedy style determines that the background of the series is warm and healing.
In the process of linking the audience's emotional map, Tencent Video has explored a new way of expressing urban dramas. It not only achieves the same frequency as reality, but also conducts positive discussions on social issues, allowing the audience to gain the power to move forward positively. This not only enhances the value core of urban dramas, but also explains the direction for the high-quality creation of long video platforms.
Tencent Video has always had a precise insight into user needs and constantly explored profound expressions in popular contexts, from " Asking the Heart ", " Hometown, See You Well " to "Good Things Come in Doubles", "Fireworks Family" and "The Story of Chenghuan" ", Tencent Video continues to delve into the urban emotional track, focusing on individual growth in the family context, and continues to provide high-quality, high-reputation, and high-value positive content.
allows the audience to have a sense of gain in the pyrotechnic story. This is It is the value that urban drama should have.
Liang Xiaosheng wrote in "The World": "If the child is an ordinary person, then let Cheng Huan kneel under his knees; if he is outstanding, then let him fly high."
"The Story of Cheng Huan" lets us see that no matter whether it is Cheng Huan's kneeling, , or spread your wings and fly high, every choice deserves to be respected.
