Lurk () is a 2008 Chinese television series based on Long Yi's spy novel of the same name. A Republican-era espionage drama directed by Jiang Wei and Fu Wei, starring Sun Honglei, Yao Chen, Zu Feng, Feng Enhe, Shen Aojun, Wu Gang, and others. It mainly tells the story of Yu Zecheng, an officer in the Intelligence Department of the Nationalist Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, who defects to the Communist underground and becomes a spy embedded within the bureau in early 1945.
It premiered on Southern Television on December 20, 2008. At the end of 2008, Lurk was broadcast on local channels in Tianjin, Shandong, Chengdu, and other regions. On April 1, 2009, Lurk was broadcast nationwide on satellite channels including Heilongjiang Satellite TV, Dragon TV (Eastern Satellite TV), Beijing Satellite TV, and Chongqing Satellite TV. On its premiere day, Beijing Satellite TV achieved a viewership rating of 8.01%.
The story takes place after 1946, after the WWII Japanese surrender and a Chinese civil war breaks out.
An underground worker for the Communist Party, Yu Zecheng (Sun Honglei), is an undetected spy within the Kuomintang (KMT) secret service. He has to keep his distance from his true love, Zuo Lan, in order to conceal his real identity and agrees to marry Wang Cuiping (Yao Chen), a quick-tempered but straightforward guerrilla fighter from the countryside. The two collaborate closely to help their organization obtain important information from the KMT that's valuable to the Communist Party. Despite their marriage's false beginning, they eventually grow to love each other.
With Liberation Day impending, Cuiping, threatened by exposure of his secret identity, is asked to be transported somewhere else for security reasons, leaving Yu. When Yu is also about to leave, after successfully obtaining a crucial name list, he is taken away by the KMT secret police on a secret service assignment to Taiwan, where he has to spend the rest of his life, lurking.
The original novel Lurk was less than 20,000 words long. Jiang Wei spent 10 months adapting it into a 30-episode television drama script. During the creation process, Jiang Wei also put a lot of effort into making the drama stand out. He added many lighthearted and humorous elements to the tense and thrilling espionage story, aiming to give the series a unique character.
Lurk was a critical and commercial hit. Viewers praised its storyline and character development, and consider the show a departure from other spy stories seen on Chinese television and movies. The series was rated highly, and was called "a milestone in Chinese television productions".
Lurk is a story about faith, blending elements of humor, romance, suspense, and mental battles. It focuses on portraying the struggles and sacrifices of underground agents during a special historical period, leaving the audience thoroughly satisfied.
Besides the outstanding performance of the main characters, the supporting roles also stood out: the cunning Station Chief Wu, the brave Ma Kui, the sinister and petty Lu Qiaoshan, and the ruthless Li Ya all played important supporting roles.
A museum has been established in Tianjin, where the script was based on. In Da Li Dao 57, guests are welcome to come and see Wang Tian Mu's old residence, which is now a private owned museum as well as a restaurant. Many of the objects used in the TV series can be seen there, and it is possible to have Tianjins local historian to come and talk about the house, the area and the city. Some of the scenes in the TV series were also taken in this place.