Yang Mi Breaks Free from Her Comfort Zone in a Bold Historical Epic

The Chinese drama All Living Beings, starring Yang Mi and Ou Hao, premiered on August 13 with strong ratings and high online popularity. Adapted from Zhao Defa’s novel Lingering and Severance, it follows Ning Suxiu, the daughter of a wealthy landlord in rural Lunan (1927–1947), whose life collapses on her wedding day after betrayal by her family. Forced into marriage with a poor farmer, she faces hardship but begins a journey of resilience. The series has been praised for its authentic setting, compelling script, and strong performances—especially Yang Mi’s transformation through minimal makeup, dialect training, weight gain, and months of on-location filming. Within hours, it achieved impressive ratings and trended on Weibo, marking one of Yang Mi’s boldest career moves.