Chinese internet users suggest The Early Spring hero is linked to singer Liu Lian
In China, internet users have suggested that the character Luan Nian from the series The Early Spring, played by Jing Boran, may have been inspired by the biography of Chinese singer Liu Lian. The theory emerged because of several similarities between the hero of the office romance drama and the performer’s career path, Channel NewsAsia reports.
According to the plot, Luan Nian works as a senior creative specialist at the fictional advertising agency Lime Advertising. He has a secret romantic relationship with new employee Shang Zhitiao, played by Sun Qian.
Work in advertising
Before her music career, Liu Lian worked in the advertising industry. A 2012 graduate of Peking University, she became an intern at Ogilvy’s Beijing office, turning down the opportunity to continue her studies in a master’s programme through direct admission.
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Her starting salary was 3,500 yuan per month, or US$521. Liu Lian later became a creative director and worked at Ogilvy until 2022. Internet users also noted that she, like Luan Nian, is connected to Peking University.
The name Taotao
Another reason for the speculation was the name of Liu Lian’s Samoyed, Taotao. In The Early Spring, Taotao is Shang Zhitiao’s nickname. At the same time, the heroine also has a Samoyed named Luke.
During a conversation with actress Wang Gege on a podcast, Liu Lian jokingly said that she would like to ask the author of the work whether she had really been the inspiration for the character. After the series became popular, her old group chat with former Ogilvy colleagues also became active: they began sharing old photographs from their time working in advertising. There is no confirmation that Liu Lian was the prototype for Luan Nian.
