Red Chamber AI drama removed amid actors’ likeness dispute

A familiar Lin Daiyu face had been given a revenge story. The AI short drama Meng Hui Hong Lou was removed on the evening of November 12, Beijing Daily reporter Qiu Wei reported the following day. It used actors’ imagery from the 1987 Dream of the Red Chamber adaptation to generate characters. Interviewed lawyer Wang Jun said the production raised suspected violations of likeness rights and deceased performers’ protected interests.

A literary character can be played by different actors. A face audiences associate with that character belongs to a particular person. Generative production can blur those layers: a creator chooses material and a plot, a system produces imagery, and the result activates memories of an earlier performer. Think of adding new dialogue beneath an old photograph. The words may be new, but readers still associate them with the person they recognize. The stronger that recognition, the more consequential the decision to borrow the appearance becomes.

Platforms are also facing closer scrutiny. On November 6, China’s National Radio and Television Administration announced a campaign running through December that includes unauthorized use of faces and voices in short dramas. Its scope also covers the same shows circulating under changed titles and repetitive recommendations. Publication therefore has a life beyond the generated clip: names, distribution and repeated uploads matter too. For audiences, a dispute can spread across that whole chain rather than staying attached to one synthetic image.

China’s Civil Code defines a likeness around the recognizable external appearance of a particular person and prohibits violations involving technological forgery. The protection follows the identifiable person across media. The code also provides specific permitted uses, including necessary uses for study and news reporting, and allows qualifying relatives to pursue liability when a deceased person’s likeness is infringed. These provisions give creators concrete questions to consider alongside image quality: whose appearance is being used, in what setting and with what permission?

The broader production problem is easy to see. A generator can recombine a face, while people decide which story it enters. For teams making nostalgic entertainment, source selection, character design and permissions belong together at the beginning. Otherwise, the recognizable face that attracts an audience can become the reason a production’s future is in doubt. For performers and viewers, authorship also needs to remain visible: who decided that this person should appear to give this new performance? Familiarity can make a synthetic scene compelling, but it also gives that creative choice consequences beyond the screen.

Original report published: Beijing Daily’s official Weibo, November 13, 2026, 12:59 Beijing time / November 12, 23:59 EST.