Opinion | What a historical smash hit tells us about China’s strategic focus
Swords into Ploughshares can tell us a lot about Beijing’s approach to the crisis in Iran, cross-strait relations and this year’s ‘two sessions’
As the world watches in horror at death raining from the skies in the Middle East, millions of Chinese are glued to the television watching a turbulent drama that unfolded in their own country, albeit some eleven centuries ago.
Swords into Ploughshares, a historical TV drama set during the chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, has emerged as an unexpected smash hit coming into China’s festive season.
Yet it is more than just a television phenomenon. In some ways, it sheds light on the public perception of today’s China and the world, as well as Beijing’s strategy on Taiwan, its stand-offish attitude towards global chaos and the focus of the coming “two sessions”.
The success of Swords into Ploughshares is therefore a surprise. Since its release, it has hit a five-year high in state broadcaster viewership for series premieres and garnered hundreds of millions of views on China’s streaming platforms.
Not only has the series become a trending search term, it has also got the stamp of approval from official media, with the People’s Daily praising its (relatively) accurate, poetic and epic narrative of history.