While US television viewers await the return of the award-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, about a traditional woman’s transformation into a stand-up comic in the male-dominated America of the 1950s, a Chinese drama set in a similarly patriarchal context has triggered controversy over its portrayal of traditional female virtues.
Mother’s Life, about a Chinese woman’s quest to be reunited with her children in the early 20th century, proved popular among middle-aged and elderly viewers, but younger people have questioned its “twisted values”.