In the Name of the People (Chinese: 人民的名义; pinyin: Rénmín de míngyì) is a 2017 Chinese television drama series based on the web novel by Zhou Meisen.[1] Its plot revolves around a prosecutor's efforts to unearth corruption in a present-day fictional Chinese city. It drew large audiences in China, where its release coincided with President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. It is the first broadcast political drama featuring high-level government corruption in China since 2004.
| In the Name of the People | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Traditional Chinese | 人民的名義 |
| Simplified Chinese | 人民的名义 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Rénmín de míngyì |
| Genre | Political drama |
| Based on | In the Name of People by Zhou Meisen |
| Written by | Zhou Meisen Sun Xinyue |
| Directed by | Li Lu |
| Presented by | Fan Ziwen Gao Yalin Chen Jingzhu Li Xuezheng An Xiaofen Li Gong Jiang Hao Li Lu |
| Starring | Lu Yi Zhang Fengyi Wu Gang Xu Yajun Zhang Zhijian Ke Lan Hu Jing Zhang Kaili Ding Haifeng Gao Yalin |
| Narrated by | Xu Tao |
| Ending theme | In the Name of the People (以人民的名义, Yǐ rénmín de míngyì) performed by Han Lei and Vivi Jiang |
| Composer | Dong Dongdong |
| Country of origin | China |
| Original language | Mandarin |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 55 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Meng Shouping Huang Lin Wang Yun Sun Heping Pei Yi Peng Cheng Chen Xunhua |
| Producers | Li Lu Gao Yalin |
| Cinematography | Cui Weidong |
| Editor | Cao Weijie |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Hunan Television |
| Release | 28 March – 28 April 2017 |
The production received significant government funding from the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the highest agency responsible for both investigation and prosecution in China.[2][3] The intervention from censors was much lighter due to the support of the authorities. The series is considered by some western observers as the Chinese version of House of Cards.[4]
The program's stars include Lu Yi as detective Hou Liangping, Xu Yajun as his antagonist Qi Tongwei, and Zhang Fengyi as Sha Ruijin, the provincial Party Committee Secretary.[2][5][6] Zhou Meisen and his wife Sun Xinyue adapted Zhou's book for television.[3][7] It was primarily filmed in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province.[8]
Synopsis
editIn the Name of the People chronicles the internal power struggle of the Chinese Communist Party in the fictional city of Jingzhou, Handong province. The series depicts fictional communist party disciplinary investigators seeking to bring corrupt senior cadre to justice.[9]: 47
Cast
edit- Lu Yi as Hou Liangping
- Zhang Fengyi as Sha Ruijin
- Wu Gang as Li Dakang
- Xu Yajun (许亚军) as Qi Tongwei
- Zhang Zhijian (张志坚) as Gao Yuliang
- Ke Lan (柯蓝) as Lu Yike
- Bai Zhidi (白志迪) as Chen Yanshi
- Li Guangfu (李光复) as Zheng Xipo
- Hu Jing (胡静) as Gao Xiaoqin
- Ding Haifeng (丁海峰) as Zhao Donglai
- Zhang Xilin (张晞临) as Cai Chenggong
- Li Jianyi (李建义) as Ji Changming
- Huang Junpeng (黄俊鹏) as Chen Hai
- Han Benben (阚犇犇) as Zheng Shengli
- Tang Wan (唐菀) as Lin Huahua
- Yue Xiuqing (岳秀清) as Ouyang Jing
- Ji Shuai (纪帅) as Zhou Zheng
- Xu Wenguang as Ding Yizhen
- Xu Guangyu (徐光宇) as Cheng Du
- Li Wei (李威) as Sun Liancheng
- Zhang Kaili (张凯丽) as Wu Huifen
- Li Xinyue (李昕岳) as Zhang Baobao
- Huang Pinyuan (黄品沅) as Yi Xuexi
- Hao Guang (郝光) as Qin Siyuan
- Zhao Ziqi (赵子琪) as Zhong Xiao'ai
- Hou Yong as Zhao Dehan
- Gao Yalin (高亚麟) as Liu Xinjian
Reception
editIn the Name of the People was an instant success in terms of viewership.[9]: 47 The drama also surpassed 7% in ratings, breaking the single day ratings record for a Chinese drama.[10] The series also received the praise from People's Daily, the Communist Party's newspaper.[11]
However, some dissidents, such as cartoonist Rebel Pepper, treated the series as a way for the authorities to manipulate and fool the public.[12] The core of the series is that anti-graft efforts could only be conducted by a strong government rather than democratic elections or a free press, as The New York Times commented.[13]
Ratings
edit| Air date | Episode | CSM52 city network ratings | CSM National Network ratings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rank | Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rank | ||
| 2017.3.28 | 1 | 1.523 | 4.49 | 1 | 2.41 | 7.37 | 1 |
| 2017.3.29 | 2 | 1.490 | 4.69 | 1 | 2.30 | 7.31 | 1 |
| 2017.3.30 | 3-4 | 1.270 | 4.02 | 1 | 1.62 | 5.41 | 1 |
| 2017.3.31 | 5 | 1.084 | 3.370 | 1 | 1.61 | 5.66 | 1 |
| 2017.4.1 | 6 | 1.239 | 3.97 | 1 | 1.46 | 4.83 | 1 |
| 2017.4.2 | 7-8 | 1.505 | 4.77 | 1 | 1.60 | 5.30 | 1 |
| 2017.4.3 | 9-10 | 1.820 | 5.89 | 1 | 1.84 | 6.05 | 1 |
| 2017.4.4 | 11-12 | 2.024 | 6.34 | 1 | 2.03 | 6.82 | 1 |
| 2017.4.5 | 13-14 | 2.264 | 7.11 | 1 | 2.16 | 7.33 | 1 |
| 2017.4.6 | 15-16 | 2.444 | 7.70 | 1 | 2.18 | 7.47 | 1 |
| 2017.4.7 | 17 | 2.083 | 6.42 | 1 | 1.93 | 6.36 | 1 |
| 2017.4.8 | 18 | 2.275 | 6.94 | 1 | 2.06 | 6.59 | 1 |
| 2017.4.9 | 19-20 | 3.035 | 9.01 | 1 | 2.57 | 8.31 | 1 |
| 2017.4.10 | 21-22 | 3.287 | 10.30 | 1 | 2.77 | 9.29 | 1 |
| 2017.4.11 | 23-24 | 3.524 | 11.09 | 1 | 2.93 | 9.89 | 1 |
| 2017.4.12 | 25-26 | 3.649 | 11.79 | 1 | 2.87 | 9.91 | 1 |
| 2017.4.13 | 27-28 | 3.711 | 12.05 | 1 | 3.15 | 11.00 | 1 |
| 2017.4.14 | 29 | 3.020 | 9.670 | 1 | 2.41 | 8.19 | 1 |
| 2017.4.15 | 30 | 3.138 | 10.132 | 1 | 2.39 | 8.17 | 1 |
| 2017.4.16 | 31-32 | 4.202 | 12.80 | 1 | 3.20 | 10.50 | 1 |
| 2017.4.17 | 33-34 | 4.793 | 15.44 | 1 | 3.51 | 11.99 | 1 |
| 2017.4.18 | 35-36 | 5.061 | 16.70 | 1 | 3.78 | 13.35 | 1 |
| 2017.4.19 | 37-38 | 5.356 | 17.15 | 1 | 4.02 | 13.72 | 1 |
| 2017.4.20 | 39-40 | 5.465 | 16.97 | 1 | 3.91 | 13.33 | 1 |
| 2017.4.21 | 41 | 4.432 | 13.86 | 1 | 3.51 | 11.42 | 1 |
| 2017.4.22 | 42 | 4.311 | 14.18 | 1 | 3.04 | 10.84 | 1 |
| 2017.4.23 | 43 | 6.069 | 20.14 | 1 | 4.30 | 16.44 | 1 |
| 2017.4.24 | 44-45 | 5.801 | 18.65 | 1 | 4.39 | 15.06 | 1 |
| 2017.4.25 | 46-47 | 6.123 | 18.89 | 1 | 4.78 | 15.97 | 1 |
| 2017.4.26 | 48-49 | 6.682 | 20.78 | 1 | 5.27 | 17.45 | 1 |
| 2017.4.27 | 50-51 | 6.695 | 21.25 | 1 | 5.46 | 18.62 | 1 |
| 2017.4.28 | 52 | 6.666 | 20.13 | 1 | 5.58 | 17.76 | 1 |
| Average ratings | 3.661 | 11.53 | 1 | 3.03 | 10.24 | 1 | |
Awards and nominations
edit| Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23rd Shanghai Television Festival | Best Television Series | In the Name of the People | Nominated | [15][16] |
| Best Director | Li Lu | Nominated | ||
| Best Writing | Zhou Meisen | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Wu Gang | Won | ||
| Zhang Zhijian | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Hu Jing | Nominated | ||
| 22nd Huading Awards | Jury Award | In the Name of the People | Won | |
| 8th Macau International Television Festival | Best Television Series | In the Name of the People | Won | [17][18] |
| Best Director | Li Lu | Nominated | ||
| Best Writing | Zhou Meisen | Won | ||
| Best Actor | Zhang Fengyi | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Gao Yalin | Won |
References
edit- ^ Chow, Vivienne (28 December 2017). "Growing Chinese Online Literature Market Leads to Film, TV, Game Adaptation Boom". Variety. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- ^ a b "China laps up glossy TV corruption drama". BBC News. April 8, 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
- ^ a b Ming, Cheang (March 30, 2017). "China's anti-graft campaign may be headed for a screen near you". CNBC. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ Chinese Corruption Series ‘In The Name Of The People’ Rules On TV And Online.
- ^ Huang, Echo. "China's new TV show about how good it is at fighting corruption has been viewed 350 million times". Quartz. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
- ^ 张行健 (April 11, 2017). "Stills of 'In the Name of People' released". China Daily. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
- ^ 孙馨岳用女性视角丰富剧中人物形象.
- ^ 《人民的名义》中你认出多少南京元素.
- ^ a b Tsang, Steve; Cheung, Olivia (2024). The Political Thought of Xi Jinping. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780197689363.
- ^ 《人民的名义》收视破7 创十年国产剧史最高纪录. 重庆晨报.
- ^ Zhang, Fan (2017-03-31). "人民日报评论员观察：反腐，以"人民的名义"". People's Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 2019-02-02.
- ^ Rebel Pepper: In the name of People?. China Digital Times.
- ^ Greed, injustice and Decadence: What a 5 Scenes from a Hit TV Show Say About China Archived 2017-06-03 at the Wayback Machine. New York Times.
- ^ "电视剧收视率排行榜 | 收视率排行" (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2020-06-07.
- ^ "23届上海电视节入围名单公布 《欢乐颂》获八项提名". ifeng (in Chinese). May 24, 2017.
- ^ "第23届上海电视节白玉兰奖获奖名单". Sina (in Chinese). June 16, 2017.
- ^ "2017第八届澳门国际电视节奖项提名". Weibo (in Chinese). Macau International Television Festival. December 11, 2017.
- ^ "澳门电视节高亚麟三度登台 《人民的名义》成赢家". Sina (in Chinese). December 22, 2017.