Behind the Hit Film "Dear You": Why Writings from the Older Generation Resonate with Today's Youth

From August 27 to 31, the 2026 Southern China Book Fair is being held in Guangzhou. Inside the Thailand Guest of Honor Pavilion, the prop exhibition of the film Dear You has drawn many young visitors to pause and linger—vintage objects rest in quiet stillness, old qiaopi letters yellowed with age, and books documenting the history of overseas Chinese vividly unfold the emotional threads that connect those who journeyed to Southeast Asia a century ago.

After the film Dear You went viral, many young people took to social media to share their own family letters and old correspondence from years past. Across screens, across generations, and across vastly different life experiences, those plain yet tender words never fail to touch the softest corners of young hearts.

This episode of GenZ Pop Quiz steps into the Southern China Book Fair, in conversation with a Thai writer, a scholar of overseas Chinese history, and several young readers, to explore together: What exactly is the power hidden within the writings from the older generation that continues to speak to today's youth?

Chief Producer: Zhao Haijian

Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

Content Producers: Huang Zihao, Wu Wanjie, Liu Shiying (Intern), Liu Yueyao (Intern), Chen Qian (Intern), Chen Zhixin (Intern)

Poster Design: Zheng Jiaqi

Overseas Operations Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

Overseas Content Coordinator: Huang Zihao

Overseas Operations Editors: Zhuang Huan, Wu Wanjie, Long Lihua, Zheng Quanyi

Produced by: Southern Finance Media Corp.