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. 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 Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. It is the first broadcast political drama featuring high-level government corruption in China since 2004.
The production received significant government funding from the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the highest agency responsible for both investigation and prosecution in China. 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.
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. Zhou Meisen and his wife Sun Xinyue adapted Zhou's book for television. It was primarily filmed in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province.
Contents
Synopsis
In 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.
Cast
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
Reception
In the Name of the People was an instant success in terms of viewership. The drama also surpassed 7% in ratings, breaking the single day ratings record for a Chinese drama. The series also received the praise from People's Daily, the Communist Party's newspaper.
However, some dissidents, such as cartoonist Rebel Pepper, treated the series as a way for the authorities to manipulate and fool the public. 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.