Joy of Life (), also known as Thankful for the Remaining Years, is a 2019 Chinese television series that is based on the novel Qing Yunian () by Mao Ni. It stars Zhang Ruoyun, Li Qin and Chen Daoming. The series premiered on Tencent Video and iQiyi on November 26, 2019. It garnered high viewership and mostly positive reviews, and won two awards at the Shanghai Television Festival, including Best Adapted Screenplay. Series 1 and 2 are currently available via Rakuten Viki. Series 3 has not yet been filmed but was announced to air in 2026.
Fan Xian is born in the ancient empire of Southern Qing with memories of the 21st century. He is raised by his grandmother in the rural town, Danzhou as the illegitimate son of the Minister of Finance. His mother, Ye Qingmei was once a celebrated inventor who founded the Inspection and Control Bureau, the country's spy network and the Royal Treasury but was killed shortly after her son was born. Fan Xian has been protected since birth by a blind martial arts expert, Wu Zhu, his mother's bodyguard. He learns martial arts and the art of poison as a child, also assisted by his knowledge from the 21st century. After an assassination attempt, he decides to venture into the capital to find out more about his mysterious mother and why anyone would want to kill him, as he perceives himself to be an unimportant person. He also wants to know why he has memories of an obviously different era. In the capital, he accidentally meets Lin Wan'er, the sickly, illegitimate daughter of the Princess Royal and falls in love with her. Unbeknownst to him, she is the woman the Emperor chose for him to marry so that he could take over the Royal Treasury, an institute Fan Xian's mother established in the palace and currently handled by the Princess Royal. In the capital, however, he gets entangled in the relationship between the Emperor and the two Princes, as well as the Inspection and Control Bureau, leading to him questioning his whole identity and motivating him to find his true life goals, abandoning his original intention to just "enjoy life". In the 46th (and final) episode of season 1 Fan Xian, choosing loyalty to friends and family over loyalty to the state, is apparently killed.
In Season 2, Fan Xian returns to the capital, having faked his own death. Because he deceived the emperor, he is due to be punished but manages to twist his story cleverly so he escapes the death penalty. He gets further entangled in court politics as the emperor puts even more official responsibilities on his shoulders and the two princes continue to scheme against him and each other. Fan Xian decides to do away with evil and corrupt officials and sets a plan in motion to be able to realize his mother's dream of a fair society. During the season the emperor tells Fan Xian that he is his son.
The third season will center around Fan Xian finding the secret of the Temple and it will reveal how he is able to have 21st century memories.
Principal photography commenced in January 2018 and the entire filming wrapped up in August 2018. A second season was announced in 2020, while Tencent Pictures, Xinli Media and China Reading Film and Television later announced the project would go live in the fourth quarter of 2021. In October 2021, Disney announced that they would be involved in producing the second season of Joy of Life with New Classics Media, and referred to it as a "prequel" although the second season actually follows directly on from the first.
The second season premiered in 2024. Most of the original cast returned, but some key roles such as Yan Bingyun and Ye Ling'er were re-cast. In total, three seasons are planned.
The third season was announced to air in 2026, where most of the main cast will reappear, except for the actress portraying Ye Ling'er, as the production team decided to bring back the original actress from season 1. The production budget was increased to build an original set for the temple, which will have mirrored surfaces. Certain scenes will be shot using VR long takes. Zhang Ruoyun has undertaken special martial arts training for a new double sword fighting style. The third season will reportedly have 36 episodes.
The first series was shot at several locations, including Hengdian World Studios, Duyun Qin and Han Studio City, the Stone Forest in Yunnan, and other scenic locations in Yunnan province. The second season was partially filmed at Xiangyang.
The drama received positive reviews for its skillful adaptation of the original novel, comedic elements and logical story flow. It also received praise for its cinematography, acting performance, special effects and action scenes; as well as its tight plot and interesting storyline. It achieved more than 13 billion combined views on Tencent Video and iQiyi, and received 8 out of 10 stars on Douban. International streaming site Viki users gave it a 9.5 rating out of 10 with over 5000 reviews in 2021.
When Joy of Life 2 aired in May 2024, it achieved remarkable success, setting several records on Tencent Video, including the highest-ever popularity score. The series also became the most-watched drama from mainland China on Disney+, and it gained considerable attention on platforms like YouTube and Viki, drawing two to three times the viewership of other highly regarded Chinese dramas.
Internationally, Viki and Disney+ also acquired streaming rights.