In just over half a century, regimes rose and fell in rapid succession, making it one of the most turbulent chapters in Chinese history.

This era, known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960), is recorded in historical archives as a time marked by betrayal, slaughter, and widespread suffering. That fraught climate sets the tone for the opening scene of Swords into Plowshares, one of the country's most popular TV dramas this year.

In the gripping sequence, Zhang Yanze — a general notorious for his ferocity — orders his adopted son to kill civilians for military rations during a severe food shortage within the army. When the young man refuses and pleads for mercy, Zhang executes him without hesitation.

Dong Zhe, the scriptwriter of the drama produced by Huace Film & TV, told China Daily that the period ranks among the darkest in Chinese history.

"It could be reflected in the sharp demographic decline. Numerous people died from unnatural causes. The real history was far more brutal than what is portrayed on screen," he says, sharing that by the early Song Dynasty (960-1279), the country's population had dropped to 30 percent of what it had been at the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).