General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

South Wind Knows My Mood (南风知我意)

South Wind Knows My Mood (南风知我意, Nan Feng Zhi Wo Yi; English title also rendered South Wind Knows) is a 2023 Chinese urban healing romance television series adapted from Qi Wei's (七微) novel of the same name, directed by Li Ang and starring Cheng Yi, Zhang Yuxi, Fu Xinbo, Li Xinze, Liang Jingxian, and Yan Xiao¹. It was produced by H&R Century Pictures (欢瑞世纪（东阳）影视传媒有限公司) with Youku, and ran for 39 episodes of about 45 minutes each on Youku from September 12 to October 2023¹^•².

Key fact	Detail
Original title	南风知我意 (Nan Feng Zhi Wo Yi), from the Southern Dynasties folk song Xizhou Qu (西洲曲)³
Source	Novel Nan Feng Zhi Wo Yi by Qi Wei (七微); the novel has two volumes, and the drama follows the second, about Fu Yunshen and Zhu Jiu³
Broadcast	39 episodes, Youku exclusive from September 12, 2023; members received 5 episodes at launch, non-members 2¹^•²
Production	H&R Century Pictures (producer and studio); filmed November 12, 2020 to February 10, 2021, 91 days¹
Investment	150 million yuan total, including 55 million yuan for actors and 40 million yuan for sets, costumes, and props⁴
Heat	Youku heat value broke 9500 on September 19, 2023 and 10000 within eight days of launch⁵^•⁶
Overseas release	South Korea from October 18, 2023; Netflix Taiwan from March 10, 2024⁷

Spoilers

Plot

The story follows Fu Yunshen (傅云深, played by Cheng Yi), a drug researcher and botanist from a wealthy pharmaceutical family, and Zhu Jiu (朱旧, played by Zhang Yuxi), a surgeon who travels to underdeveloped regions for medical research and humanitarian aid¹. The two meet while searching for a medicinal plant, move from misunderstanding to mutual commitment after surviving a life-and-death crisis, and are then separated when an accident leaves Fu Yunshen injured and in a personal low point; he cuts off contact¹. A year later Zhu Jiu returns as his family doctor and, enduring his deliberate coldness, gradually heals him¹.

The fuller synopsis adds a family conflict: after returning to China to develop the medicine, Fu Yunshen discovers that his half-brother Fu Xizhou (傅西洲, played by Fu Xinbo) has turned the medicinal plant into a line of herbal cosmetics for profit, and a car crash interrupts the drug's development⁸. Supporting cast include Li Xinze as Chen Le, Liang Jingxian as Zhou Zhizhi, Yan Xiao as Gu Ruanruan, and Cao Cuifen as Zhu Jiu's grandmother¹.

Production and release history

Beijing Boji Tianjuan Pictures licensed the adaptation rights to H&R Century in September 2017, and H&R Century redirected 60 million yuan from a planned post-production facility into the project, budgeting 150 million yuan in total⁴. Filming began on November 12, 2020 and wrapped on February 10, 2021 after 91 days¹. The series then sat unreleased for roughly three years, a delay widely noted in coverage of its premiere⁹.

Anticipation was high by the time it aired: Youku reservations had passed 2 million and cumulative Weibo topic reads exceeded 20 billion before broadcast¹⁰. The premiere was a ratings event in part because it followed Cheng Yi's hit costume drama Mysterious Lotus Casebook (莲花楼) in the summer 2023 slot⁹. Youku's internal heat value passed 9000 soon after launch, 9500 by September 19, and 10000 within eight days¹⁰^•⁵^•⁶. The series also took the Maoyan September 2023 modern-drama heat championship and six Maoyan daily number-one placements, and ranked third on Youku's year-to-date opening-day Yunhe playback figures¹¹.

Reception

Divided reviews. The drama drew both praise and sharp criticism. 1905.com's review credited Zhang Yuxi with a layered performance conveying Zhu Jiu's conflicted feelings, while some viewers praised the drama's mix of elements and faithful adaptation of the novel; other viewers found the plot mediocre and cliched, lacking depth and originality, and noted that despite its popularity the series struggled to break out of its core audience¹. Entertainment coverage of the premiere reported one-star reviews concentrated on dated, Korean-drama-style plotting and dissatisfaction with the lead performances⁹^•¹².

DataTrend's daily popularity index placed the series ninth at 1.049 on its October 18, 2023 finale day, describing a high-open, low-finish trajectory attributed to the shelved content losing freshness, a long broadcast window, and early paid access releasing the ending ahead of schedule¹³. The same analysis credited the drama with authentic emotion, detailed portrayal of the leads, and well-handled family and friendship subplots, while judging its melodramatic style old-fashioned and its reach limited¹³. In a December 2023 industry index of October's hit web dramas, the series ranked sixth overall and first in the netizen-commentary sub-measure at 89.84¹⁴.

Title and related works

The title comes from the line "南风知我意，吹梦到西洲" in Xizhou Qu, a folk song of the Southern Dynasties, meaning roughly "if the south wind knew my feelings, it would blow my dream to Xizhou"³. The source novel was published in two volumes: volume one tells the love story of Fu Xizhou and Gu Ruanruan, and volume two, the basis of this drama, tells the story of Fu Xizhou's younger brother Fu Yunshen and Zhu Jiu³.

Several similarly titled but unrelated Chinese short dramas exist, including a 2024 micro short drama Nan Feng Zhi Jun Yi (南风知君意) about a time-traveling prince and a Hangzhou silk heirloom, and later short-form works reusing the phrase; they are distinct productions¹⁵.

References

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