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| ‘Tales of the Floating World’ Fanwar Explodes Into Legal Dispute as Chen Zheyuan and Wang Churan Fandoms Clash Over Billing Chaos. (Credits: Weibo) |
The upcoming iQIYI fantasy drama Tales of the Floating World (浮生) has barely started filming, yet the production already looks trapped in a full-scale fandom storm that somehow escalated from a video thumbnail to legal complaints, moderator wars and accusations of management failure. For a drama expected to headline iQIYI’s 2027 slate, this is not exactly the magical promotional rollout investors probably imagined.
The 30-episode S+ production starring Chen Zheyuan and Wang Churan was initially introduced as a “pingfan” project, meaning both stars would supposedly receive equal lead treatment.
In theory, that sounds simple. In practice, C-drama fanwei culture has once again proved that nothing in entertainment causes panic faster than whose face appears first on a poster for 0.7 seconds longer.
The controversy reportedly began after the drama’s official Douyin account uploaded promotional material featuring only Chen Zheyuan on the video cover. Fans of Wang Churan quickly accused the production team of violating previously agreed equal-billing arrangements.
Instead of balancing the situation with matching solo content for Wang Churan, the production team chose to delete the post entirely, a decision many online described as the digital equivalent of dropping a lit match into a fireworks warehouse.
That move immediately angered Chen Zheyuan’s fandom, who argued that approved promotional material featuring their idol was unfairly removed under pressure.
What followed was predictable chaos. Fan communities from both sides flooded drama super-topics, accusing each other of manipulation, selective treatment and organised attacks. Within days, a project intended to promote fantasy romance somehow transformed into a live-action survival game for social media moderators.
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| iQIYI’s S+ Drama ‘Tales of the Floating World’ Faces Major Backlash After Fanwei Row Spirals Out of Control |
The situation became even messier after accusations emerged regarding the management of the drama’s official super-topic community.
Moderators allegedly linked to one side were accused of removing administrators connected to the actress’s fandom, changing group descriptions with insulting language directed at Wang Churan, and allowing the official discussion space to turn into what netizens called a “hate super-topic”.
At that point, many casual viewers appeared less interested in the actual drama plot and more invested in whether the admin panel itself needed emergency intervention.
On 9 May 2026, both sides officially escalated matters into legal territory. Representatives connected to Wang Churan released a formal legal statement through Beijing Hairun Tianrui Law Firm, accusing multiple online users of spreading false rumours and defamatory content dating back to 2023.
The statement referenced repeated accusations targeting the actress’s professionalism and personality, while also condemning manipulated videos and edited images circulating online.
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| Chen Zheyuan and Wang Churan Fan Dispute Turns Ugly as ‘Tales of the Floating World’ Production Team Faces Criticism |
Meanwhile, an account associated with Chen Zheyuan’s side announced that evidence collection involving more than 100 allegedly infringing online posts had already been completed and submitted for further legal handling.
While the statement did not publicly list usernames, discussions online quickly linked the legal action to recent disputes surrounding Tales of the Floating World and wider fandom arguments across Weibo, Douban and other platforms.
The irony has not gone unnoticed among Chinese entertainment observers. Just days earlier, photos from the drama’s opening ceremony showed both actors interacting politely and appearing completely professional with one another.
Yet online fandom spaces rapidly turned that peaceful atmosphere into what some netizens sarcastically called “The Untamed: Fanwar Edition”.
Fans have since pointed fingers at the production team itself, arguing that poor communication and weak promotional strategy worsened the conflict unnecessarily. Many believe the situation could have been avoided entirely if the production had responded with balanced content instead of quietly deleting materials and remaining silent while fandom tensions exploded publicly.
_11zon.jpg "Fanwei Drama Around ‘Tales of the Floating World’ Escalates With Police Reports and Legal Action") |
Although regulators previously encouraged productions to adopt neutral billing systems based on surname stroke counts to reduce conflicts, many projects still rely on alphabetical order or vague “equal lead” marketing language that fans immediately begin dissecting like forensic investigators studying state secrets.
For investors and sponsors, the situation creates another uncomfortable reminder of how quickly online fandom disputes can overshadow expensive productions. S+ dramas rely heavily on public goodwill, stable promotion cycles and advertiser confidence. When headlines focus more on moderator coups and legal evidence collection than storylines or trailers, industry insiders begin worrying about brand damage long before the first episode even airs.
Some users defended Wang Churan’s fandom, arguing that equal billing agreements should be respected clearly from the start instead of adjusted depending on which fandom protests louder. Others sided with Chen Zheyuan’s supporters, claiming the deletion of official promotional material unfairly framed his fandom as the problem.
Despite the growing controversy, neither lead actor has publicly addressed the drama billing dispute directly. The official drama account also remains largely silent, which many observers believe is only fuelling more speculation. In C-drama fandom culture, silence rarely calms people down. Usually, it just gives everyone extra free time to create conspiracy charts.
As Tales of the Floating World continues filming ahead of its planned 2027 iQIYI release, the biggest challenge may no longer be fantasy storytelling or visual production quality. It may simply be surviving its own fandom ecosystem first.
Should production teams stop promising “equal billing” unless they can actually manage it fairly, or has fanwei culture already become too powerful for the industry to control anymore?