''Sinful Debt'' is a 1995 Chinese television drama directed by

Huang Shuqin Huang Shuqin (9 September 1939 – 21 April 2022) was a Chinese film director known for her film ''Woman, Demon, Human'' (1987). Widely considered the first feminist Chinese film by critics and scholars,Kang, Kai. "Beyond New Waves: Gender and S ...

and produced by

Shanghai Television Shanghai Television () was a TV station based in Shanghai, China that was founded in 1958. Its old web site address was www.stv.sh.cn. In 2001, it was merged with Radio Shanghai, Eastern Radio Shanghai, Oriental Television Station and Shanghai Cabl ...

. It was written by Ye Xin, based on his 1992 novel '' Educated Youth''. The series follows five innocent-eyed teens (all portrayed by first-time actors) who travel more than 2000 km from remote

Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture Xishuangbanna, sometimes shortened to Banna, is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of Yunnan Province. The autonomous prefecture for Dai people is in the extreme south of Yunnan province, China, bordering both Myanmar and Laos. Xishuangbanna ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

searching for their unacquainted parents — former sent-down youths who in order to return home (in the late 1970s or early 1980s) abandoned them in the countryside. They teens did not expect, however, that their unannounced arrivals would create myriads of economic and relational problems for their urban parents, many of whom already remarried with new families. ''Sinful Debt'' hit home with a national audience, particularly those affected by the devastating

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

(1966–76) and its

Down to the Countryside Movement The Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement, often known simply as the Down to the Countryside Movement, was a policy instituted in the China, People's Republic of China between the mid-1950s and 1978. As a result of what he p ...

, registering a record-setting 42.62% audience share in Shanghai. According to reporter Yu Liangxin of the ''Shanghai Times'', when more than 20 reporters sat together to watch the drama, most cried their eyes puffy.沪语版《孽债》重播：又到泪流满面时
/ref> The dialogue is mostly in

Shanghainese The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the city of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan langua ...

, and the TV series is generally considered a representative TV drama of '' Haipai'' culture. The series was also shown in Vietnam in 1997 and became a hit as well. A sequel also written by Ye Xin, '' Sinful Debt 2'', was first shown in 2010, returning many of the older actors from the original series.

Cast and characters

*Dong Rongrong as Shen Meixia, 14. Her mother was Dai. *Zhao Youliang as Shen Ruochen, Meixia's father. *Yan Xiaopin as Mei Yunqing, Shen Ruochen's wife. *Shen Guangwei as Shen Guanchen, Shen Ruochen's brother. *Gao Longshu as Yuefang, Shen Guanchen's wife. *Shen Minhua as Shen Ruochen's mother. *Li Ji as Shen Ruochen's father. *Li Yanbo as Liang Sifan, 15. His mother is also Dai. Like many Dai boys, Sifan is a novice Buddhist monk. *Jin Xin as Liang Mancheng, Sifan's father. *Wu Mian as Ling Shanshan, Liang Mancheng's wife. *Luo Zhenhua as An Yonghui, 15. * Wu Jing as Yang Shaoquan, Yonghui's mother. *Wang Huaying as Wu Guanchao, Yonghui's father. *Zhang Xiaoming as Hanping, Wu Guanchao's wife. *Yang Chengyun as Sheng Tianhua, 16. *Tu Ruying as Yu Leyin, Tianhua's mother. *Li Guoliang as Ma Chaojun, Yu Leyin's husband. *Chi Huaqiong as Ma Yumin, Yu Leyin's stepdaughter. *Liu Changwei as Yu Lesheng, Yu Leyin's brother. *Wu Meimei as Yu Leyin's mother. *Hai Jia as Lu Xiaofeng, 15. *Hua Mingwei as Lu Zhengqi, Xiaofeng's father. *Li Jiayao as Lu Pinshan, Lu Zhengqi's father. *Li Ying as Lu Yuqi, Lu Zhengqi's sister. *Shen Wei as Lu Jiaqi, Lu Zhengqi's brother.

References

External links

*{{YouTube, YzYzt3mCuFI, End theme song 1995 Chinese television series debuts 1995 Chinese television series endings Television shows set in Shanghai Television shows based on Chinese novels Wu-language television shows Television shows filmed in Shanghai Television shows filmed in Yunnan Mandarin-language television shows Chinese drama television series Multilingual television series