Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

The pre-show livestream for "Giving Birth to All Things" has successfully concluded, and its popularity continues to grow across the internet.

Yang Mi and Bao Shangen did not return immediately, but chose to stay with the crew of "Give Me Your Light" for a few more days, and now they are in a break.

The two of them came to wait up close for the official premiere of "All Things Are Born" and to witness the broadcast effect of the finished product together with Gu Zhiyan.

Secondly, she naturally wanted to spend more time with Gu Zhiyan.

All the pre-release promotional activities, including dialect collaborations, behind-the-scenes footage sharing, and cross-industry live streaming, were successfully implemented. The pre-release buzz and audience anticipation for "All Things Are Born" had already reached their peak.

After several days of anticipation, the highly anticipated period drama "The Birth of All Things" has officially premiered on CCTV's prime time slot and three major online platforms.

As soon as the series premiered, its viewership on both television and online platforms skyrocketed, setting a new high for period dramas this year.

The show topped the ratings charts across all television stations. Its premiere on CCTV's prime time slot was an instant hit, with a peak real-time rating of 3.18% nationwide. The average rating for the two episodes was a solid 2.76%, and the market share broke through 11.9%.

On its first day of broadcast, it overwhelmingly surpassed all other satellite TV dramas airing at the same time, winning the overall ratings champion among all provincial satellite TV channels and CCTV in the same time slot.

With nearly 120% of the total online viewership, it means that one in ten viewers who turned on their TV that night was watching "The Creation of All Things".

Industry data platforms issued an overnight statement confirming that "The Creation of All Things" broke the record for the highest viewership rating for a prime-time period drama premiere on CCTV in the past three years, with its premiere volume directly comparable to that of a year's finale drama.

The online streaming data was equally explosive, achieving a clear number one position across the three charts of popularity, viewership, and market share.

Within an hour of its release on iQiyi, the show's market share across all online platforms surged to 19.2%, topping the Yunhe daily market share chart, and its popularity on the platform exceeded 10000.

Within 24 hours of its premiere, the show garnered over 380 million views across the entire network, and related topics on short video platforms exceeded 18 billion views in a single day, setting a new record for the highest first-day viewership for a period drama in 2025.

Once the series aired, it completely shed the stereotype of period dramas being "dull and dragging." It received a high score of 8.9 on Douban, and within a short period of time, more than 200,000 netizens rated it. The number of ratings and the percentage of five-star ratings continued to surge, and its reputation steadily improved.

The entire internet is full of positive reviews. There are no awkward scenes, no padding, no clichéd filters, and the real scenes, real people, real farming, and real rural life make the audience call it the most down-to-earth, most principled, and most down-to-earth period drama.

Major official media outlets, mainstream media, and film critics all rushed to praise it overnight.

"The film 'Birth of All Things' is rooted in the land and inspired by the human heart, capturing the resilience and growth inherent in the Chinese people."

"Without deliberately sensationalizing or forcing melodrama, it uses the simplest rural daily life to tell the story of a generation's suffering and roots."

"Filmed on location, with real farming and animal husbandry, and featuring all actors using their own voices, it is a rare benchmark for sincere period dramas in recent years."

The bullet comments, comment sections, and trending topics were completely overwhelmed, with various hot comments, character discussions, and detailed analyses flooding the screen.

"Yang Mi has undergone a complete transformation! Ning Xiuxiu has gone from a wealthy heiress to a rural woman, and the changes in her eyes from pampered to resilient and determined are absolutely amazing!"

"These two top stars are down-to-earth and have no idol baggage. They filmed the entire movie with minimal makeup and covered in dirt, showing true acting talent!"

"Now I understand why the production team raised chickens, ducks, and sheep on location and actually farmed! Every frame is a true depiction of rural life in Shandong!"

"Inverted sentences, pancakes, daily farm life, spring plowing and autumn harvest—the details are 100% accurate, and Shandong viewers were completely blown away!"

"Without skin smoothing filters or elaborate makeup, it's genuinely rustic, yet undeniably captivating."

"Ning Xiuxiu's life was full of hardships, yet she never accepted her fate. Ordinary people take root and sprout from the mud—this is the true core of 'Giving Birth to All Things'!"

"Who would have thought that Gu Zhiyan could portray Feng Dajiao so realistically! His coarse cloth jacket was covered in dust, his steps were steady, and his speech had the roughness of southern Shandong. He completely shed his usual gentle and refined demeanor. His expressions and movements were like those of a farmer who toils in the fields year-round. His acting was frighteningly realistic!"

"Gu Zhiyan's portrayal of the male lead is both gentle and strong, silently persevering and carrying heavy burdens; his gentle nature is what truly touches the heart!"

"I saw his long list of high academic certificates during a live stream before. In real life, he is a law student, but in the drama, he plays Feng Dajiao, a farmer who faces the loess soil. The contrast is huge."

"Others play peasants with an air of authority, but Gu Zhiyan immerses himself in the soil. He portrays Feng Dajiao's stubbornness, honesty, and forbearance with remarkable depth and nuance."

"Gu Zhiyan truly deserves to be called the ceiling of acting skills in the Chinese entertainment industry. He can play both an elegant scholar and a rough farmer. His range of roles is surprisingly wide."

……

Related topics such as "Gu Zhiyan's portrayal of Feng Dajiao is a complete image overhaul" and "Feng Dajiao's acting is full of detail" quickly became trending topics, and clips of Feng Dajiao's highlights were widely circulated on short video platforms.

Commenters continued to add details, praising Gu Zhiyan for deliberately lowering his posture and changing his usual speaking speed for the role, and even making thorough preparations for details such as the thin calluses on his hands from long-term farm work, in order to create such a realistic and vivid rural character.

Besides the two main characters, Feng Dajiao (played by Gu Zhiyan) and Ning Xiuxiu (played by Yang Mi), who completely ignited the discussion, the ensemble cast of the entire series is also textbook-worthy. All the supporting characters, big and small, delivered outstanding performances, with distinct personalities and their own highlights, and went viral on their own, winning the audience's favor and generating a large number of trending topics and discussions about the supporting characters.

Ni Dahong, who plays Ning Xuexiang, brought to life the stingy richest man in Tianniu Temple. As a "professional daughter-scammer" who refuses to pay the ransom for his kidnapped daughter, this wicked and complex "scumbag father" role made him stand out.

Chi Peng's portrayal of Big-Foot Mother was praised as "full of acting even in her fingernails," and her simple and authentic performance made her one of the most popular characters in the entire series.

Lin Yongjian's portrayal of Feng Er, a man who loves his land dearly and is meticulous in his calculations, perfectly captures the simplicity and shrewdness of a farmer, creating a highly comedic effect with his "stingy showdown" with Ni Dahong.

The other supporting characters also each had their own wonderful moments.

Da Mimi and Bao Shangen scrolled through the comments that were trending online, laughing as they told Gu Zhiyan about the various jokes and banter from netizens.

Da Mimi and Bao Shangen were overjoyed as they watched the ratings, popularity, and reputation soar.

Da Tian Tian leaned over to watch the clips edited by netizens and joked, "Nobody expected you to play a farmer so realistically. The contrast is particularly striking."

Gu Zhiyan scrolled through the various comments from netizens on her phone and laughed, "It's just that it reflects the character's daily life."

On one side, the unconventional ancient costume drama "A Dream of Books" continues to be a long-running hit; on the other side, "Grant Me Your Dazzle" is a second collaboration with nostalgia and has already generated buzz before its release; and on yet another side, the period drama "Born of All Things" is a phenomenal success.

Gu Zhiyan single-handedly carried the three major tracks of ancient romance, modern romance, and mainstream serious drama, dominating the screen with three dramas in parallel, achieving both critical acclaim and popularity.

This once again demonstrated to everyone what a top-tier idol and a true powerhouse in the Chinese entertainment industry looks like!

You, Yan Ge, are still you, Yan Ge!