LayarHijau — The drama The Lament of Autumn (玉簟秋) officially began airing on October 12, 2026, on Hunan TV and Mango TV. From the first episodes, viewers picked up on its ties to Love in Flames of War (良辰好景知几何), a popular drama that aired in 2022. Both come from novels by Ling Xi, a novelist and screenwriter based in Changsha, and both are set in China’s Republican era, when rival warlords fought for power.
For viewers wondering whether the timelines continue from one to the other, the answer is no. The two dramas share the same period, but their characters and plots are separate, so they can be watched in any order.
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Three novels, one universe
Ling Xi wrote three Republican-era novels known as the “Republican-era trilogy”: Qing Cheng Zhi Lian (published May 2010), Yu Dian Qiu (August 2010), and Fu Rong Jin (May 2011). All three blend love stories with intrigue inside military families. Qing Cheng Zhi Lian was later retitled Liang Chen Hao Jing Zhi Ji He, the name used by the drama Love in Flames of War. The second novel inspired The Lament of Autumn, while the third was adapted for television earlier, in 2015.
The first novel on screen: Love in Flames of War
The 43-episode drama premiered April 30, 2022, on Zhejiang TV and Youku, directed by Zhong Shujia. Shawn Dou plays Xiao Beichen, the son of a general’s family who falls in love at first sight with Lin Hangjing, the daughter of a family fallen on hard times, played by Chen Duling. Hu Jun plays Xiao Beichen’s father, Xiao Haishan, and Yuan Hao plays Mu Zizheng, a young man who also wins Lin Hangjing’s heart. Zhao Yingzi, Lai Yi, Dong Xuan, and Wang Jinsong round out the cast. The story moves from the warlord wars to the outbreak of the war against Japan.
The second novel on screen: The Lament of Autumn
The story opens in a crisis. Ye Pingjun, a female student working at a meeting hall in western Hunan to pay for her mother’s medical care, is pulled into an assassination attempt on Yu Changxuan, the fifth son of the Yu family, on her first day on the job. Wrongly accused, she bets that Yu Changxuan has ten days to find the real culprit. For the young commander known as a shaoshuai, the bet is a chance to get close to Ye Pingjun while hiding his true intentions.
Cheng Lei plays Yu Changxuan and Xu Ruohan plays Ye Pingjun. Zhang Fengyi and Xu Fan appear as special guests, joined by Zhang Yunlong, Wang Likun, Liu Dongqin, Guo Yuxin, Zhou Jieqiong, and Xu Zhengxi. The 40-episode drama is directed by Ju Jueliang, who also directed Till the End of the Moon. The script is by Ye Yang, who also worked on Love in Flames of War.
The title Yu Dian Qiu comes from the opening line of the poem Yi Jian Mei by Li Qingzhao, a female poet of the Song dynasty. A yu dian is a fine bamboo mat used for sleeping in summer. The line depicts the arrival of autumn, when the scent of lotus fades and the mat turns cold.
According to information circulating on Weibo, the drama logged more than 3 million advance reservations before its premiere and about 16 million views on Mango TV on its first day.
Xiao Beichen’s trace in the second novel
One recorded cross-reference appears in chapter seven of Yu Dian Qiu. Yu Qixuan, Yu Changxuan’s younger sister, scolds her brother by comparing him to a character from the first novel: “Xiao Beichen of the Xiao family is only a year or two older than Fifth Brother.” She adds that Xiao Beichen is already skilled at steering the political situation, while her brother is not.
A similar reference now appears on screen. Xiao Beichen’s name is mentioned in dialogue from the early episodes of The Lament of Autumn. Several reports say Shawn Dou also returns for a few minutes as Xiao Beichen, putting the two shaoshuai in the same frame.
The third novel: Fu Rong Jin
The third novel, Fu Rong Jin (芙蓉锦) — Hibiscus Brocade, centers on He Lan, a woman from Hanping, and the two men who shape her fate: Gao Zhongqi and Qin Chengyu. The novel’s synopsis portrays the two as opposites, one bringing destruction and the other protection. Their fates turn after Yushan Villa is destroyed.
The novel was adapted into a 40-episode drama of the same title that aired in 2015, with Peter Ho as Gao Zhongqi, Yuan Shanshan as He Lan, and Eric Huang as Qin Chengyu. When broadcast on television, the drama was also known as Zhan Huo Fen Fei de Nian Dai.
The drama follows Gao Zhongqi, chief of staff of the Hanping military governor’s office, who hides his identity to avenge his father’s death. He falls for He Lan, a female student who gives him a piece of silk she embroidered with hibiscus flowers as a token of love, the object behind the title. Gao Zhongqi’s revenge plot accidentally costs He Lan’s parents their lives and shatters their relationship. Qin Chengyu, the eldest son of Marshal Qin, is a gentle man who chose to become a university lecturer because he hates the power his father built through bloodshed, and he repeatedly saves He Lan.
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