“Brave Heart” is a 76-episode large-scale wartime legendary drama by Guo Jingyu and Bai Shan as the general director. It is also directed by Liu Ye and stars Yang Zhigang, Yu Yi, Zhang Shaohua, and Du Ruoxi. It is jointly produced by the Hebei Provincial Advertising Department, Chengde Committee Government, Tianshi Satellite Media Co., Ltd, Jiangsu Provincial Radio and Television Station, Beijing iQiyi Technology Co., Ltd, Heilongjiang Dragon Cultural Arts and Media Co., Ltd, Beijing Perfect Jianxin Television Culture Co., Ltd, Beijing Perfect Television Co., Ltd, Beijing Century Partners Cultural Media Co., Ltd, Tianjin Radio and Television Station, Shandong Radio and Television Station, Jiangsu Provincial Radio and Television General Station, Beijing TV Station, Chengde Perfect Jianxin Television Culture Co., Ltd, and Chengde City Cultural Bureau.

The drama premiered on Shandong Satellite TV, Beijing Satellite TV, Tianjin Satellite TV, and Jiangsu Satellite TV in August 2014. It was broadcasted simultaneously on iQiyi, Sohu Video, and Tencent. In November 2014, it was broadcast the second round on CCTV ’s domestic channel.

Similar to Guo Jingyu’s other legendary films such as “Iron Pear”, “Red Lady”, and “Dog Stick”, “Brave Heart” portrays the heart and soul of the citizens of the Republic of China. In comparison, however, “Brave Heart” has a softer side compared to other Guo Jingyu’s films. In this series, the two “brothers” stumbles from the juvenile stage to become the pillars of society.

Huo Xiaolin (acted by Yang Zhigang) offends security commander Zhao Jinhu (acted by Shen Junyi) and escapes from Xiyang, a province in China. Zhao Jinhu dresses up as a bandit and kills Huo Xiaolin’s family. Huo Xiaolin pays homage to Xi Wu as a teacher and assassinates Zhao Jinhu with the cooperation of Mei Mei (Duo Ruoxi). Huo Xiaolin and Mei Mei are likes each other but cannot escape together. Huo Xiaolin struggles in society and becomes a gangster in Hankou who would kill anyone at any time in order to survive. Lady Mei appears like a phantom and disappears in a dream. Only when Huo Xiaolin encounters difficulties can he discover the existence of Lady Mei. After meeting the Communist Han Qinren (acted by Jiang Tao), Huo Xiaolin finally realizes that he has gone astray, and he decides to leave Hankou with his family to return to his hometown of Rehe. In 1933, the Anti-Japanese War breaks out in Rehe, Huo Xiaolin who cannot bear to watch the Chinese land be tragically trampled by the invaders, sets up the Rehe Volunteer Army, which is later known to the world. Han Qinren and Mei Mei both come to Rehe to support the Anti-Japanese Volunteers in various forms. The Japanese invaders especially transfer troops from Tokyo to deal with Huo Xiaolin, whom they could never defeat. In order to let the world know there is someone who will also be there to defend the nation from the invaders, Huo Xiaolin leaves his wife and son and decides to sacrifice one’s life for one’s country.

The drama “Brave Heart” sets its background in the period of the Anti-Japanese Resistance War. Continuing the legendary line of works on legendary heroes, “Brave Heart” is produced as director Guo Jingyu’s sixth similar-themed series that also has elements of periodic turbulence, loyalty, and story of ordinary people. “Brave Heart” continues the emotional and touching elements of “Dog Stick” in protecting the family and country during difficult times. Te plot is full of ups and downs and a breakthrough is achieved with characters’ makeup and image portrayal. Instead of just fighting the enemies, the narratives focus instead on the inner transformation process of the protagonist after a change of fateful events. Especially for Huo Xiaolin, the main character of the show was designed to be a timid and cowardly person to a cold gangster, who after transformative fateful events becomes a brave man that steps on the journey to protect the country.

Since its launch in August 2014, Brave Hearts has hit records. According to CCTV ’s CSM50 City Provincial Satellite TV Golden Theater TV show rankings, the drama series has been broadcast from August 21 to September 17 and has won the viewership rating champion for 18 days. “Brave Heart” has become the longest TV show on all broadcast platforms. “Brave Heart” has been achieving the championship position in all 4 Satellite TV. On September 14th, 15th and 16th, Jiangsu Satellite TV, and Shandong Satellite TV follow to break 2% in ratings.

This continued all the way to the broadcast of the final episode which brought all 4 Satellite TV Channels to break records hand-in-hand. According to central CSM rating data on shows from 1900 to 2400 hours, all four Satellite TV Channels occupy the Top 4 of the lists, with all ratings breaking 2%, and a cumulative rating of 8.466%. The national network data shows that the rating of Shandong Satellite TV was as high as 3.5%. In addition, according to central CSM, the ranking data for prime time across all provincial satellite TV shows the cumulative ratings of the four TV stations were as high as 8.492%, and the market share was as high as 23.24%.

As the model for similarly themed dramas, the tv series “Brave Heart” performed excellently, creating remarkable achievements in viewership ratings. “Brave Heart” won the outstanding TV drama award on the annual National TV Drama Broadcasting Union, becoming the deserving first place of the year. The show has also received the “2014 BTV Gold Award” on the BTV New Year Party for Film and Television Appreciation in the year 2015.

《勇敢的心》是由郭靖宇、柏杉担任总导演，刘礴执导，杨志刚、于毅、张少华和杜若溪等主演的76集大型年代战争传奇剧。由河北省委宣传部、承德市委市政府、天视卫星传媒股份有限公司、江苏省广播电视总台、北京爱奇艺科技有限公司、黑龙江龙视文化传媒集团有限公司、北京完美建信影视文化有限公司、北京完美影视传媒股份有限公司、北京世纪伙伴文化传媒股份有限公司等联合出品，天津广播电视台、山东广播电视台、江苏省广播电视总台、北京电视台、承德市文广新局、承德完美建信影视文化有限公司、北京世纪伙伴文化传媒股份有限公司等联合摄制。

该剧于2014年8月21日登陆山东卫视、北京卫视、天津卫视、江苏卫视首播，爱奇艺、搜狐视频、腾讯视频同步播出，2014年11月8日在中央电视台综合频道（境内版）二轮播出。

与郭靖宇前几部作品《铁梨花》、《红娘子》和《打狗棍》一样，《勇敢的心》循着他所擅长的传奇剧仪轨，凭一腔热血衷肠续书民国的江湖儿女。不同的是，《勇敢的心》多了柔软的一面，两位结义“兄弟”从稚气莽撞的少年郎跌跌撞撞进化成社会中坚，讲的就是奔流的时代背景下由软及刚的成长。

霍啸林（杨志刚饰）得罪了保安司令赵金虎（申军谊饰），逃出西阳。赵金虎化妆成土匪杀了霍啸林全家。霍啸林拜师习武伪装使诈，在梅姑娘（杜若溪饰）的配合下刺杀了赵金虎。霍啸林与梅姑娘有情却无法一起逃走，从此天各一方。霍啸林闯荡江湖，在汉口变成了一个为了生存可以随时杀人的黑帮。梅姑娘如幻影般出现又如在梦境中消失，只有当霍啸林遇到困难的时候，他才能发现梅姑娘的存在。结识了共产党人韩亲仁（江涛饰），霍啸林终于明白自己走上了歧途，他决定带着全家离开汉口回热河老家。1933年热河抗战爆发，霍啸林不忍看着中华大地惨遭侵略者铁蹄践踏，成立热河义勇军，天下闻名。韩亲仁、梅姑娘都来到热河，以不同形式支持着抗日义勇军。日本侵略者专门从东京调来生化部队，对付他们永远无法战胜的霍啸林。为了让全世界都知道面对侵略者的屠刀有人在抵抗，霍啸林决定离开弃子、以身报国。

电视剧《勇敢的心》把故事背景设定在抗日战争时期，延续了英雄传奇的史诗气质，作为郭靖宇传奇大剧系列的第六部，同样具有年代、动荡、忠义的元素，与前五部相较，《勇敢的心》在情感上延续了《打狗棍》家国情怀的主题，在故事情节上更为跌宕起伏，在人物背景的传奇指数上更是再度飙升，人物形象有了本质上的突破，漫山遍野打鬼子的故事被大大弱化，着眼于描述主人公在命运改变后内心的转变历程。而且剧中的霍啸林在人物背景设置上也另辟蹊径，添加了多元化的传奇设计，人物性格从胆小懦弱转变为混世魔王，在人生经历几经辗转之后，开始走上爱国抗日之路，在这个转变的过程中，着重“心灵的历练”。

自2014年8月21日开播以来，《勇敢的心》收视率屡创纪录。据央视索福瑞CSM50城市省级卫视黄金剧场电视剧排行榜显示，该剧自8月21日开播到9月17日播出完毕，累计夺得18日收视冠军，四家卫视连续15天全部破1。《勇敢的心》成为所有播出平台全部破1天数最长的电视剧。

据数据显示，从9月3日开始，《勇敢的心》一直稳坐冠军位置，并且四家卫视一路手拉手、高唱收视凯歌全部同时破1，全部跻身前四。9月14日、15日两天，江苏卫视均以破2的收视打破收视纪录。16日，山东、江苏两家卫视同时破2。

特别是大结局播出当晚，四家播出平台山东、江苏、天津、北京卫视收视率集体爆表，创下全新收视纪录。据央视索福瑞CSM34城市央视和省级卫视19:00-24:00时段收视率数据显示，四家卫视占据榜单前四名，并且收视率全部破2，累计收视率8.466%。全国网测量仪信息显示，山东卫视收视率高达3.5%。另据央视索福瑞CSM50城市省级卫视黄金剧场电视剧排行榜数据表明，四家卫视累计收视率高达8.492%，市场份额高达23.24%。

作为此类传奇剧、战争戏中的翘楚，电视剧《勇敢的心》表现优异，创造了收视神话的同时也刷新了收视率纪录，并荣获全国电视剧播出联盟年度优秀电视剧奖，成为当之无愧的年度剧王。在2015年BTV影视剧新春答谢会上，电视剧《勇敢的心》获得了2014年BTV年度金奖。