Epic drama honors lives behind

Zhu Jue, or "leading role", executive-produced by Zhang Yimou, premieres on Sunday on CCTV-1 and Tencent Video. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A new Chinese television drama, Zhu Jue, or "leading role", executive-produced by renowned filmmaker Zhang Yimou, traces the sweeping life of Qin Yi'e, a celebrated performer of Qinqiang Opera, one of China's oldest and most intense forms of traditional theater.

Even before its premiere on Sunday on CCTV-1 and Tencent Video, the drama had already gained widespread attention, largely due to its theme song performed by pop diva Faye Wong. For the first time in her career, Wong blends elements of traditional Chinese opera, adopting a distinctive Qinqiang-inspired vocal style. The song captures the vast melancholy and emotional highs and lows of the art form, while paying tribute to the performers who dedicate their lives to preserving it.

Starring actor Zhang Jiayi, actresses Liu Haocun and Qin Hailu, Zhu Jue is adapted from Shaanxi province writer Chen Yan's award-winning novel of the same title. Spanning more than four decades, the story follows Qin Yi'e's journey from a shepherd girl in Shaanxi to a celebrated stage artist whose life unfolds alongside the dramatic changes of modern China.

Director Li Shaofei describes Qin Yi'e's story as "a soul epic, a life of breaking, rebuilding, and finding oneself amid glory and ruin". Her path is shaped by forces beyond her control — from rural poverty to the pressures of fame — yet through it all, she discovers a deep, inescapable bond with Qinqiang Opera. Li sought to capture both the grit of everyday life and the ritualistic beauty of the stage, shifting from naturalistic village scenes to meticulously composed performance sequences.

Scriptwriter Zheng Hua emphasizes that Qin Yi'e is only nominally the protagonist. "Every character is their own main character," he says, highlighting figures like Hu Sanyuan, the unorthodox drummer whose beats echo both the rhythm of Qinqiang Opera and the passage of time, and rival performer Chu Jiahe, whose choices reflect resilience and adaptation amid societal change. Even minor characters are given emotional depth, reflecting the unpredictability, joys, and sorrows of the era.

Zhu Jue, or "leading role", executive-produced by Zhang Yimou, premieres on Sunday on CCTV-1 and Tencent Video. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The opera scenes serve not merely as spectacle, but as emotional mirrors of the characters' inner lives. Li and Zheng describe moments like Qin Yi'e's climactic performance of Touring the West Lake as a reconciliation with her life, a quiet culmination of decades of triumphs and losses. Sound design, particularly the pounding drums of the protagonist Hu Sanyuan, becomes a heartbeat for both the story and the times it spans.

"During the few months of working on this play, I walked through half a lifetime with a group of 'people' who don't actually exist. These experiences aren't my own, yet they live in my mind, like old friends I've known for many years. I've felt sorrow for their grievances, joy for their happiness, and regret for their regrets," adds scriptwriter Jing Yu, who was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

In Zhu Jue, the camera moves seamlessly from the humble backstage of Shaanxi theaters to the brilliance of the stage, capturing a generation of performers striving to preserve their art amid social upheaval. As Li puts it, the drama honors not only the grandeur of Qinqiang Opera but also the ordinary people who sustain it: "Every one of them is a protagonist in their own life, asserting their dignity and humanity even when no one is watching."

Through immersive storytelling, layered performances and reverent visual design, Zhu Jue becomes not only a portrait of cultural heritage, but also a moving meditation on resilience, identity, and the enduring power of art.