The Dawn of the Republic

In the late Qing Dynasty, a 100,000-tael bounty issued by the Forbidden City puts revolutionary leader Sun Wen in the eye of the storm. The merchant Song Yaoru risks everything to help him flee to Japan, allowing the small spark of revolution to survive overseas. Tokyo at the time draws China's earliest awakened young people. Chen Qiming, who dreams of a career in music; Lin Xiaoman, devoted to the visual arts; Zhao Shijun, a believer in the Three Principles of the People; and Zhou Yuqing, exploring Marxism, are four young people from different backgrounds. They meet during a debate about saving China at a foreign school's campus, amid falling cherry blossoms. Their shared concern for their country and youthful fervor forge a deep friendship as they listen to "The Internationale" and pledge to revitalize China.

When news of the Xinhai Revolution reaches them, all four resolutely return to China and throw themselves into the tide of history. Chen Qiming uses music as his weapon, composing the stirring "Roar of the Yellow River." Lin Xiaoman wields her paintbrush like a sword, creating "Bloodstained Youth," a record of the era's suffering and tears. Zhao Shijun joins the Kuomintang, determined to reform China from within, but becomes torn between his ideals and loyalty as power taints him and reality forces him to compromise. Zhou Yuqing, meanwhile, remains steadfast in her communist faith, ventures into factories and rural villages, and eventually goes underground to fight in secret on the razor's edge between life and death.