# Bleached (漂白_)

**Bleached** (漂白; international title *Bleaching*) is a 2025 Chinese crime and suspense web series directed by Cao Kai, written by Chen Ping, and starring Guo Jingfei, Wang Qianyuan, and Zhao Jinmai. Adapted from Chen Ping's 2022 novel of the same name, it premiered on January 17, 2025 on iQIYI as the opening title of the platform's [Mist Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/mist-theatre) (迷雾剧场) suspense strand, running 14 episodes of about 40 minutes each.<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD%E3%80%8B/64016969?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/entertainment/story20250204-5789530)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | January 17, 2025, on iQIYI (Mist Theatre); 14 episodes, about 40 minutes each<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD%E3%80%8B/64016969?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> |
| Director / writer | Cao Kai (director); Chen Ping (writer and co-supervisor), adapting her own 2022 novel<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD%E3%80%8B/64016969?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29985812)</sup> |
| Lead cast | Guo Jingfei as Peng Zhaolin, Wang Qianyuan as Deng Ligang, Zhao Jinmai as Zhen Zhen, Ren Zhong as Shi Bi, Wang Jiajia as Song Hongyu, Zong Juntao as Ji Dashun<sup>[4](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_wbxpcd0dcx.html)</sup> |
| Real-case basis | Loosely based on the Yang Shubin gang "911" murder-dismemberment case<sup>[3](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29985812)</sup> |
| Production dates | Officially began filming February 27, 2024; wrapped April 18, 2024<sup>[5](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD/64016969)</sup> |
| Platform performance | First-day heat 6067; above 9500 within three days; first Mist Theatre series to break heat 10,000, reached in six days<sup>[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30005496)</sup> |
| Douban rating | 6.0 at opening on January 23, 2025, with 15.1% of ratings at one star; 5.6 in a later Zaobao report<sup>[7](https://www.shobserver.cn/staticsg/res/html/web/newsDetail.html?id=850221)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/entertainment/story20250204-5789530)</sup> |

## Spoilers

### Plot

The story opens in 2002 in the fictional snow-bound city of Xuecheng, where a dismemberment case is discovered when a blocked sewer in a residential building releases human remains. Detective captain Peng Zhaolin (Guo Jingfei) passes the long-haired suspect Deng Ligang (Wang Qianyuan) on a stairwell without realizing it, and the four-member gang, Deng Ligang, Shi Bi (Ren Zhong), Song Hongyu (Wang Jiajia), and Ji Dashun (Zong Juntao), escapes a highway checkpoint and goes underground.<sup>[8](https://www.iq.com/play/%E5%B7%A5%E4%BD%9C%E6%9C%89%E4%BA%86%E6%88%B7%E5%8F%A3%E6%9C%89%E4%BA%86-%E6%94%BE%E4%B8%8B%E5%B1%A0%E5%88%80%E7%9A%84%E9%82%A3%E4%B8%80%E5%88%BB%E4%BB%96%E4%BB%AC%E6%B3%A8%E5%AE%9A%E8%A2%AB%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB%E6%AE%B4%E6%89%93-%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD-2025-9v5qvmbyqk?lang=zh_cn)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://www.tvmao.com/kanju/cCBeZF5h)</sup>

The gang targets women working in nightlife venues, kidnapping, extorting, and killing them, then uses illegal means to "bleach" (漂白) their identities and live under new names. A would-be victim, the high school student Zhen Zhen (Zhao Jinmai), escapes during a 2003 kidnapping, later enters the police academy, and as an officer joins Peng Zhaolin in reopening the cold case. The two finally track the four fugitives down in 2011 and bring them to justice; the final episodes depict the arrest of all four and death sentences for Deng Ligang, Song Hongyu, and [Shi Bi](https://www.edgepedia.org/shi-bi).<sup>[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30005496)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://www.tvmao.com/kanju/cCBeZF5h)</sup>

Unlike mystery dramas built around solving a whodunit, the series shows the perpetrators openly from the start, a structure Chinese coverage called "open-card manhunt" (明牌追凶), and follows both the police investigation and the criminals' concealment in parallel storylines.<sup>[5](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD/64016969)</sup>

## Production

The series was produced by iQIYI together with Jiangsu Straw Bear Pictures, Nanjing Haopengyou Pictures, and Shanghai Paihaoxi Pictures, with Ma Hao as chief producer.<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD%E3%80%8B/64016969?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> According to Chen Ping's account, she was invited in 2016 by a film producer to write a screenplay based on the Yang Shubin gang case, interviewed police officers and the perpetrators' families, published the novel in March 2022, and transferred the screenplay rights to a production company at the end of 2023; filming began in February 2024.<sup>[3](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29985812)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD/64016969)</sup>

The case in the story spans roughly a decade and nearly ten provinces; the screenplay's first draft ran to nearly 60,000 characters and was cut to a final 15,000 over a month of work.<sup>[5](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD/64016969)</sup>

## Reception and performance

**Commercial performance.** The series premiered without a long promotional run and became an early-2025 hit. Its first-day iQIYI heat value was 6067, the highest first-day figure for Mist Theatre in three years; heat passed 9500 within three days, making it iQIYI's historical ratings champion among series under 20 episodes, and on the sixth day it became the first Mist Theatre title to break heat 10,000.<sup>[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30005496)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[10](https://www.hk01.com/%E5%8D%B3%E6%99%82%E5%A8%9B%E6%A8%82/1097288/%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD%E5%8A%87%E8%A9%95-%E8%B6%99%E4%BB%8A%E9%BA%A5%E5%89%B5%E6%84%9B%E5%A5%87%E8%97%9D%E5%88%91%E5%81%B5%E5%8A%87%E6%94%B6%E8%A6%96%E7%B4%80%E9%8C%84-%E7%8E%A9%E5%80%92%E6%95%98-%E6%AD%A3%E6%95%98%E5%90%B8%E5%A5%BD%E8%A9%95)</sup> It ranked first on Cloud Data's 2025 Q1 list for average 30-day effective plays of new series, first on Beacon's first-half 2025 list for average per-episode plays, and first in Maoyan's first-half 2025 rankings for both average effective plays and single-day peak effective plays.<sup>[11](https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0825/2025082500755_c.pdf)</sup> A mid-2025 industry tally placed it first among 2025 first-half series by average per-episode play volume.<sup>[12](https://www.newworldtimes.us/newspaperfiles/20250620/441_NWTA_21_C.pdf)</sup>

**Critical reception.** The audience score was much lower than the traffic: Douban opened at 6.0 on January 23, 2025, with 15.1% of raters giving one star, and a February 4 report recorded 5.6.<sup>[7](https://www.shobserver.cn/staticsg/res/html/web/newsDetail.html?id=850221)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/entertainment/story20250204-5789530)</sup> Reviewers praised the cast's performances and the tension of the kidnapping sequences, while criticizing plot logic, thin characterization of the police side, and the series' focus on the criminals' violence at the expense of examining the identity-laundering behavior that gives the story its title.<sup>[10](https://www.hk01.com/%E5%8D%B3%E6%99%82%E5%A8%9B%E6%A8%82/1097288/%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD%E5%8A%87%E8%A9%95-%E8%B6%99%E4%BB%8A%E9%BA%A5%E5%89%B5%E6%84%9B%E5%A5%87%E8%97%9D%E5%88%91%E5%81%B5%E5%8A%87%E6%94%B6%E8%A6%96%E7%B4%80%E9%8C%84-%E7%8E%A9%E5%80%92%E6%95%98-%E6%AD%A3%E6%95%98%E5%90%B8%E5%A5%BD%E8%A9%95)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30005496)</sup> Wang Jiajia received a nomination for Best Actor in Realistic-Themed Drama at the 5th New Era International Television Festival's Banluo Award in May 2025.<sup>[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD%E3%80%8B/64016969?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup>

## Plagiarism controversy

On January 20, 2025, three days after the premiere, former *Southern Metropolis Daily* reporter Wang Meng published a post accusing the series of "bleaching" his 2012 investigative report of the same title, saying both the title and the plot were taken from it.<sup>[13](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1737526499168375.html)</sup> The report in question covered the same real case, the Yang Shubin gang murders, and centered on how the perpetrators assumed clean new identities.<sup>[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30005496)</sup>

Screenwriter Chen Ping issued a statement on January 20 denying plagiarism, saying the work originated in a 2016 screenplay commission, that she had conducted her own interviews with retained evidence, that "bleaching" is a common police term rather than an original coinage, and that works about the same case each hold independent copyright.<sup>[3](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29985812)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1737526499168375.html)</sup> Wang Meng responded the next day that parts four and five of the novel's main content were rewrites of his report, with some classic dialogue reproduced word for word, and published a list of 17 similar passages.<sup>[3](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29985812)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1737526499168375.html)</sup> The production company stated on January 22 that it had bought the adaptation rights from Chen Ping's novel with a complete rights chain and that Chen Ping was contractually responsible for the work's legality.<sup>[7](https://www.shobserver.cn/staticsg/res/html/web/newsDetail.html?id=850221)</sup>

Lawyers commenting on the dispute noted the governing standard of "access plus substantial similarity," and that while plain factual reporting is not protected, an in-depth report with distinctive narrative structure can qualify as a copyrighted work; the key question is whether the novel's expression, not the underlying facts, is substantially similar to the report.<sup>[14](https://www.jiemian.com/article/12277063.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1737526499168375.html)</sup> Wang Meng also disputed Chen Ping's claim that "bleaching" was a generic term, attributing the coinage to his editor Wu Qian in the 2012 report.<sup>[3](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29985812)</sup>

## Marketing criticism

A separate controversy concerned promotion. Cast member Wang Jiajia posted a photo of the four actors playing the killers captioned "the meat-plant F4," a phrase that trended alongside "bleached group photo," and the marketing of murder implements such as a spatula drew accusations that a real-case tragedy was being turned into entertainment.<sup>[2](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/entertainment/story20250204-5789530)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://www.shobserver.cn/staticsg/res/html/web/newsDetail.html?id=850221)</sup> Victims of the real case spoke out against the portrayal, and commentary in Chinese media argued that adaptations of real crimes should avoid glorifying perpetrators or entertaining audiences with their violence.<sup>[2](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/entertainment/story20250204-5789530)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[15](https://news.sina.com.cn/zx/gj/2025-01-27/doc-inehkiii9094146.shtml)</sup>

## References

1. [漂白（2025年曹凯执导的刑侦悬疑剧）, Baidu Baike](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD%E3%80%8B/64016969?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
2. [犯罪剧改编真实案件 美化反派风波不断, Lianhe Zaobao (2025-02-04)](https://www.zaobao.com.sg/entertainment/story20250204-5789530)
3. [热播剧《漂白》被指抄袭深度调查报道，编剧否认！, The Paper (2025-01-21)](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29985812)
4. [漂白-电视剧-全集高清正版视频在线观看, iQIYI](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_wbxpcd0dcx.html)
5. [漂白（2025年曹凯执导的刑侦悬疑剧）, Baidu Baike (mobile)](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD/64016969)
6. [爆款的《漂白》，是一部好剧吗？, The Paper (2025-01-23)](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_30005496)
7. [《漂白》热播，持续引发争议, 上观新闻 (2025-01-23)](https://www.shobserver.cn/staticsg/res/html/web/newsDetail.html?id=850221)
8. [漂白 (2025) 全集, iQIYI International](https://www.iq.com/play/%E5%B7%A5%E4%BD%9C%E6%9C%89%E4%BA%86%E6%88%B7%E5%8F%A3%E6%9C%89%E4%BA%86-%E6%94%BE%E4%B8%8B%E5%B1%A0%E5%88%80%E7%9A%84%E9%82%A3%E4%B8%80%E5%88%BB%E4%BB%96%E4%BB%AC%E6%B3%A8%E5%AE%9A%E8%A2%AB%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB%E6%AE%B4%E6%89%93-%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD-2025-9v5qvmbyqk?lang=zh_cn)
9. [漂白剧情介绍（1-14全集）大结局, 电视猫](https://www.tvmao.com/kanju/cCBeZF5h)
10. [漂白劇評｜趙今麥創愛奇藝刑偵劇收視紀錄, HK01 (2025-01-26)](https://www.hk01.com/%E5%8D%B3%E6%99%82%E5%A8%9B%E6%A8%82/1097288/%E6%BC%82%E7%99%BD%E5%8A%87%E8%A9%95-%E8%B6%99%E4%BB%8A%E9%BA%A5%E5%89%B5%E6%84%9B%E5%A5%87%E8%97%9D%E5%88%91%E5%81%B5%E5%8A%87%E6%94%B6%E8%A6%96%E7%B4%80%E9%8C%84-%E7%8E%A9%E5%80%92%E6%95%98-%E6%AD%A3%E6%95%98%E5%90%B8%E5%A5%BD%E8%A9%95)
11. [爱奇艺2025年中期报告（剧集公示）, HKEXnews (2025-08-25)](https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0825/2025082500755_c.pdf)
12. [New World Times, 2025-06-20 (2025上半年剧集播放量排行)](https://www.newworldtimes.us/newspaperfiles/20250620/441_NWTA_21_C.pdf)
13. [热播剧《漂白》被指抄袭，剧本创作借鉴边界在哪, 新京报快评 (2025-01-22)](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1737526499168375.html)
14. [爱奇艺热剧《漂白》被指抄袭，律师怎么解读？, 界面新闻](https://www.jiemian.com/article/12277063.html)
15. [彩云网评：戏里戏外，罪恶都不容"漂白", 新浪新闻/云南网 (2025-01-26)](https://news.sina.com.cn/zx/gj/2025-01-27/doc-inehkiii9094146.shtml)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Chinese modern and contemporary drama*

*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license