A 30-part television miniseries about soldiers has dominated primetime slots on various TV networks for the past few months. The series lacks the usual trappings of hit shows; the cast features no big name actors and women are conspicuously absent. Yet viewing audiences are hooked. Discussions about the miniseries have gone far beyond the actual content; many claim the show functions as a textbook on human behavior. Our reporter Wang Jing investigates the fascination surrounding the miniseries Shi Bing Tu Ji, or The Ace.
Reporter: The plot itself is simple: It follows rural youth Xu Sanduo as he becomes the ace, or hero.
But it takes an unusual approach by creating in Xu Sandao an antihero: He is not intelligent and is unaware of the spirit of heroism, but he earnestly pursues goals he considers meaningful. His experiences in the army temper him, and he trumps all the others in the end.
"It tells an interesting story, very Eastern, so it struck a responsive chord in the hearts of audiences."
Kang Honglei is the director of the series.
"This story is about what is happening around us now. We can find images of ourselves in the play, and the little things that we've experienced and struggled with in life. I was very confident before the shooting; I knew people would love it, and many do - because I consider myself to be an ordinary audience member, and I like it."
The miniseries is adapted from an award-winning dramatic script by writer Lan Xiaolong, who also wrote the screenplay for the series.
Aside from the hero, the show depicts a number of soldiers and military officers who embody strong yet diverse characters.
Shi Jin, played by actor Zhang Yi, is the squad leader in the series who recruits Xu Sanduo in the army and scrambles to cover the stupid mistakes Xu Sanduo has made.
"The character Shi Jin has a great mind. He could sacrifice his own future only for a promise and for the future of his friends. He is extremely endurant and persevering."
Although most of the actors in the series were previously unknown, they have served up a thoroughly believable set of men.
Wang Qiang, a Web editor, started watching the series after his friends told him about it.
"Some scenes gave me a great shock. One set that I was most impressed with was when Xu Sanduo was required to do 50 rotations on a horizontal bar - he broke his physical limit and finished 333 rotations in the end. I have had exactly the same feeling before, so in that moment, I truly understood him."
The all-male military-themed series has also won the hearts of female audiences. Twenty-six-year-old Yang Ming is one of the millions of female fans who cried and laughed along with the characters.
"Girls like the show, largely because the men in the series are really manly. But it's hard to find these characters in men around me. I think girls, for me at least, find they are the perfect type in their mind."
Yang Ming's idea of masculine perfection topples the traditional definition of 'charming,' but maybe that is just another part of the show's appeal.
Wang Baoqiang, who plays the leading role Xu Sanduo, is by no means a good-looking man. Like his character, he comes from a rural area, and had been acting in extra roles in Beijing for many years before he was discovered by director Li Yang.
"I'm playing a role who is similar to me in nature. His growth, his merits and shortcomings are exactly the same as mine. I am sometimes weak, and want to run away from difficulties as Xu Sanduo does, but I'm as preserving as him, and take every piece of work seriously."
Director Kang Honglei says the actor's identification with his role makes his interpretation all the more special.
"Wang Baoqiang plays the role very well. Sometimes you cannot tell whether he is acting a role or narrating his own experiences. When an actor reaches a standard like this, you will find this is something interesting, and what he plays will be more convincing."
The show first aired last December on Shaanxi TV station and was rerun by TV networks across China in the following months.
Fans established a special forum on China's leading search engine, Baidu.com. As of publication time, it has collected over 1.9 million posts.
The search engine even created a small cartoon figure based on Xu Sanduo for its homepage.
The huge success of the series has changed the lives of its actors. Wang Baoqiang has become a household name overnight, but he enjoys it and claims he has been transformed as a result.
"It has brought lots of changes to me, and I have begun to comprehend many things. For instance, I have a better understanding of the oft-repeated line in the series: 'We live to do meaningful things.' I used to be quite timid, but I am very confident now. And I'm looking forward to shooting more plays."
Fans' perspectives have also been altered.
Zhao Linlin is a computer engineer. He has watched the show several times, and has taken Xu Sanduo as his new role model.
"I've been frustrated because of slow progress at work, and I couldn't find answers. After watching the series, I know my problem is I didn't make enough effort. I think I'm a slow dummy bird, flying slowly."
"I just had lunch with my students. They are all young people under 30 years old. They said, 'Wow, cool, this TV series is so cool, it's so interesting.'"
Fifty-seven-year-old Zheng Huaiyu is an acupuncture teacher. She got caught up in the show the first time she saw it.
"Most of the TV series nowadays are boring, or simply make you laugh, but they won't make you think. But this TV series portrays many characters with shining characteristics of human beings. It shows the essence of how to be a man. What people miss now is they've no idea what they should do."
As discussion about the TV series grew deeper and more profound, media and critics started to pay attention.
Columnist Wang Xiaofeng wrote an article in one of China's most prestigious news magazines, Lifeweek, analyzing the simplicity reflected from the TV series.
He says the impact of the series lies in the discussion of life principles. 'Love others before yourself.' 'What goes around comes around.' But it is important to note the interpretations of its director and screenwriter when considering these. Director Kang Honglei says he intended to show that people should abandon techniques and live a life based on honest human nature. Screenwriter Lan Xiaolong says people will find ultimate freedom unconfined to environment when they reach the ideal state.
As a military-themed TV series, Shi Bing Tu Ji's impact is unprecedented. TV program researcher Bian Guoli says the success lies in its grassroots approach.
"The playwright looks into the grassroots life and extracts the things that are of common concern to the society. We live in an age of fast economic growth, with a prevailing mood of anxiety. How can we prevent our minds from becoming materialistic? The seemingly simple lines such as 'Live to do meaningful things' could hit us, because they have come out at the right time."
