Against the Current Reopens the Debate Over Divorced Male Leads

Debate over how Chinese romance dramas treat divorced men has flared around Against the Current (兰香如故), a Ming dynasty (1368–1644) period romance that premiered on Sept. 11 on Tencent Video, its international platform WeTV and Disney+, according to Sixth Tone.

In the story, Tan Songyun (谭松韵) plays Shen Jialan (沈嘉兰), whose grandfather, a renowned academician, is falsely accused of treason. To escape execution, she takes the name of a couple's late daughter, Xu Lanxiang (许兰香), and goes to work as a maid for her former fiancé, Lin Jinqi (林锦岐), played by Liu Xueyi (刘学义). Lin has since married another woman, but he eventually divorces her to marry Shen.

The drama is a hit. Sixth Tone reports it became the most popular series on Disney+ in markets including North America and Spain, and topped WeTV charts in the U.S. and at least seven Asian countries outside China. At home, it leads the long-drama viewing list of analytics platform Yunhe Data, with more than a third of market viewership on Oct. 12.

Many viewers praise its storytelling and character depth. Others object to Lin: he divorces his wife after she cheats on him, then curries favor with the King and asks him to force Shen into marriage against her will. Critics say this romanticizes an unequal relationship, helped along by his status as a divorced man.

The argument has spread to other recent romances with divorced or remarried male leads, among them The Story of Minglan (知否知否应是绿肥红瘦, 2018), The Glory (雁回时, 2025), and this year's A Splendid Match (良陈美锦) and Irreplaceable (无可替代). Viewers say these shows pair wealthy, powerful divorcés with younger, naive heroines of lower social standing, offering them protection and guidance. By contrast, when the divorced lead is a woman, the man is often single or younger, and the story follows him as he tries to "catch up" professionally. Sixth Tone cites the modern drama Sniper Butterfly (狙击蝴蝶), in which divorced Cen Jin (岑矜, played by Michelle Chen 陈妍希) reunites with a younger man, Li Wu (李雾, played by Zhou Keyu 周柯宇), who has since become a successful professional and her business partner.

For overseas readers, the backdrop is shuangjie (双洁, "purity on both sides"), a long-running convention in Chinese romance in which both leads have no prior romantic or sexual experience. Social media users tie the move away from it to rising divorce rates and the growing visibility of second marriages. Others call it a cheap route to dramatic twists that risks making the divorced man a symbol of maturity and status.

Source: Sixth Tone (https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1019121) - October 14, 2026