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Celluloid
DramaHistoryThriller Viki Editor's Pick

Nirvana in Fire

Created by Hai Yan · 2015

Quick Verdict

Nirvana in Fire has a 92% Celluloid Score — our average across critic reviews, audience ratings, Metascore, IMDb, and fan ratings. Celluloid Pick — recommended. Streaming on Viki.

92%
Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick

Averaged from 5 sources

96%Critic Score
95%Audience
84Metascore
8.9IMDb /10
95%Fan Score
Seasons
1 · 54 episodes
Network
Viki
Cast
Hu Ge, Liu Tao, Wang Kai, Chen Long

Is Nirvana in Fire worth watching?

Yes — Nirvana in Fire earns a 92% Celluloid Score. Celluloid Pick, created by Hai Yan and streaming on Viki.

Critics Consensus

Often called China's answer to a great political epic — a meticulously plotted, morally serious historical drama of extraordinary craft and one of the finest Chinese series ever made.

Celluloid Critics Consensus

What is Nirvana in Fire about?

The sole survivor of a massacred army returns to the imperial capital under a new identity as a frail master strategist, orchestrating a patient, intricate campaign to clear his family's name and reshape the throne — a chess match of a period drama widely hailed as a Chinese masterpiece.

Critic Reviews

critic Nirvana in Fire

Nirvana in Fire Review: The Chess-Master Epic That Perfected the Chinese Period Drama

★★★★★ 5/5

China's Nirvana in Fire follows a disgraced army's sole survivor who returns as a frail master strategist to engineer justice from the shadows — an intricately plotted, morally serious historical drama widely regarded as one of the finest ever made.

A masterclass in patient, intelligent storytelling — elegant, devastating and impeccably crafted. Among the greatest of all Chinese dramas.

Founder & Editor

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