TV series The Awakening Age Photos: Courtesy of Yang Yipei

Can red TV dramas awaken a drive in young people to learn about China's revolutionary history?

The answer is yes. Chinese TV drama Awakening Age, which narrates the story of how the Communist Party of China (CPC) was founded in 1921, ended two months ago, but it remains a hot topic on social media, where discussion shows that it has played a positive role in educating young people about China's revolutionary history.

The TV series celebrates this year's 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, has won high praise on Chinese media review platform Douban. It has been rated from 8.3/10 to 9.3/10 on the platform, with over 75 percent of the more than 150,000 reviewers giving it full marks.

According to data from Chinese video platform Youku, the audience for the show has skewed young, with the number of viewers age 30 and under being 1.6 times higher than the average standard for dramas on the platform. 

The stories of the young people in the drama - who gave everything, even their lives, to the revolution - have touched a large number of viewers.

The storytelling in the show has also been hailed by viewers for successfully showing the depth of the CPC's history and spirit, as well as the warmth of China and every family in the country.

Many audiences were inspired to find background information of the series and commented that this is their first time to voluntarily learn the history about the founding of the Party and the country.

"In the drama, I saw that revolutionary martyrs sacrificed their lives at such a young age to rescue the country. I didn't know anything about their heroic actions before. I felt regretful and sorry," one reviewer commented.

Two figures in the drama, Chen Yannian and Chen Qiaonian, the sons of main CPC founder Chen Duxiu, won many tears and applause from audiences. 

"When they left home, they were young and hot-blooded, but when they returned, they had heroic souls," wrote another reviewer, remarking how the stories of these young people have stirred feelings in the youth of today. 

"I read many of Lu Xun's novels such as A Madman's Diary when I was in elementary school, but I couldn't understand why he wrote them or the angry feelings hiding in the characters. After watching the drama, I read these novels again and found that I can now understand what they wanted to convey to readers," Li Lin, 29, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

She added that she thinks the writer wanted to awaken people's spirit to struggle against invaders during that dark time.

Some school teachers have been showing video clips from the series in classes to arouse students' interest in the time period and help them learn more about history.

A junior high school teacher surnamed Tian from Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi Province, said that this has proven effective as some students told her after class that the show had left a deep impression on them. 

The vivid and rich depictions in works of film and television can allow more people to learn about and come to understand the spirit of China's revolutionary pioneers and martyrs. This is an important role that should not be overlooked.