“The Long Night Ends, Mountains and Rivers Shine in Moonlight” — Henan ‘Rebel Poem’ Reportedly Angers CCP

On February 14, 2026, during the live broadcast of Henan TV’s Spring Festival Gala, the stream was suddenly cut off. After the interruption, eight characters appeared on screen:“The long night ends, mountains and rivers shine in moonlight.”
Some netizens pointed out: This is a “rebel poem” — and it angered the CCP! (Video screenshot)

[People News]  On the evening of February 14, 2026, Henan TV’s Spring Festival Gala was abruptly halted mid-broadcast. At the time, 8 million viewers were watching live on Douyin, and 40 million had followed the stream. The sudden termination left audiences stunned.

According to viewers, the program did not air in full, with numerous advertisements inserted throughout, and ultimately ended before completion. After the livestream concluded, replays of the gala were quickly removed from major platforms (such as Douyin, Bilibili, and Weibo), leaving netizens temporarily unable to watch it through official channels.

Political commentator Du Wen stated that shortly after the Henan “Spring Gala” aired, large-scale reports were filed claiming the program was spreading “feudal superstition,” such as the phrase “Yongle Unending” (interpreted by some viewers as “the return of the gods”). The segment titled “The Long Night Ends · Mountains and Rivers Shine” was interpreted as implying that “the long dark night will eventually pass, and the homeland will welcome the light — now is a time of occupation.” He said the gala was accused of “alluding to reality and endangering national security,” describing it as “low-level red, high-level black.”

He concluded that the primary reason for the gala’s removal was that the entire event allegedly alluded to the current political situation and implied that China had fully returned to a “feudal” society, leading to its removal from all platforms.

However, most viewers did not understand why the Henan Spring Gala was suddenly cut off and taken down.

On X (formerly Twitter), many users analyzed possible reasons for the interruption.

User “Overseas Whistleblower” stated that the gala’s theme was “Horse Hooves Rising Before the Tide,” and it innovatively eliminated live hosts and a physical stage, instead using AI-generated virtual scenes to connect performances. The program incorporated extensive traditional Chinese cultural elements, intangible cultural heritage, and mythological motifs — including Hanfu dance and backdrops inspired by Yongle Palace murals. About one hour into the broadcast, it was abruptly cut off. The event quickly became known as the “2/14 Broadcast Interruption Incident,” sparking widespread online debate and political interpretation.

Programs included titles such as “Mountains and Rivers Shine,” “Yongle Unending,” “The Long Night Ends,” “Sudden Dark Night Assault,” “Where Is the Road?”, “Ballad of Mulan,” and “Dark Zone Long Night,” which some suspected carried allegorical meanings.

Some pointed out that the show heavily featured traditional Chinese culture, including flying apsaras and Tong Liya portraying a peony fairy. “Why are they afraid?” one user asked. “They’re afraid that when you wear Hanfu, you rediscover your roots; they’re afraid that when you read poetry, you regain moral backbone.”

User “New Highland” posted: “Did Henan’s Spring Gala scare Xi Jinping?” The theme “The long night ends, mountains and rivers shine in moonlight” was interpreted by some as an allegory for current political turbulence. This coincided with the January 24 announcement that Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia was under investigation for serious disciplinary violations. The purge of military leadership drew widespread attention. Some linked the gala’s interruption to this event, speculating that the content struck a nerve among top leaders and even “frightened” Xi Jinping.

The performance “The Long Night Ends” featured traditional battle armor and intangible cultural elements, incorporating Northern Song-era Kaifeng settings from “Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun,” along with lines such as “Calling upon the generals to rise and restore our rivers and mountains.” While culturally promoting Central Plains heritage, some netizens interpreted it as an allegory for “unstable military morale” and “political turmoil.” References to divine culture (such as flying deities and horned gods) and the complete absence of references to Party leadership were said to conflict with the official atheist aesthetic, leading to mass reporting and interruption.

Many netizens posted comments such as:

• “Unite — the revival of Chinese culture is imminent.”

• “Darkness before dawn must be reckoned with.”

• “They fear slaves awakening and returning to their humanity.”

• “Emergency shutdown to prevent a wave of cultural revival.”

Some bluntly stated: “Because it contained elements of traditional Chinese culture, it was urgently cut off by the CCP — rulers imposed by foreign Marxist forces.” Others questioned: “What exactly is the Communist Party afraid of?”

User “News Investigation” noted that two Henan Spring Gala programs surpassed decades of repetitive CCTV galas: “Yongle Unending, the Gods Return to Their Positions” and another reportedly recreating the Fanlou Flying Apsaras dance. Officially, the broadcast was cut due to excessive advertisements and audience complaints. But, they suggested, the real reason might be that Henan TV aired its gala before CCTV, stealing the spotlight — and that Henan’s program was far superior in quality, humiliating the long-declining CCTV Gala. Therefore, it had to be banned. “Henan’s ban,” they said, “is a microcosm of how bad money drives out good in China for decades.”

User “Ding Zhong” commented: “This shows just how hypersensitive the CCP has become — trembling at the slightest disturbance.”

Another netizen wrote: “This foreign Marxist specter of the CCP can never truly embody Chinese orthodoxy. No matter how Xi pretends to embrace tradition, at critical moments they only know how to protect their own rule.”

User “Wall Nation Commoner” stated: “The gala promoted Central Plains traditional culture and did not mention the Party’s wise leadership even once. After the broadcast was cut, the eight characters appeared: ‘The long night ends, mountains and rivers shine in moonlight.’”

Some interpretations of the phrase included:

• “The long night will eventually pass; the land of China will welcome the dawn — is that the meaning?”

• “What seems like an innocent blessing often becomes prophecy — perhaps the days ahead will now be counted by months.”

• A wordplay reading: “The long night ends (‘extinguished’), mountains and rivers shine — ‘Xi extinguished.’”

One user concluded:
“The long night ends, mountains and rivers shine in moonlight! Henan has offered a rebel poem — the court is enraged.”△