What defines the cultural spirit of the Chinese people? How do we recognize ourselves as Chinese? When director Yu Le was first confronted with these questions as the guiding theme of a new documentary, he says the task felt like standing before an ocean — vast, deep and difficult to navigate.

"It was like casting a net into the sea. There are so many kinds of fish that it's hard to decide which ones to catch," recalled Yu during an interview with China Daily.

The metaphor captures the challenges he and his team faced while selecting material for the project, Wo Men Zhong Guo Ren (We Chinese).

The 10-episode documentary, which recently aired on China Central Television's documentary channel, CCTV-9, seeks to guide contemporary viewers on a journey back to their cultural roots.

With interviews featuring more than 20 scholars and historians, the documentary took nearly six years to produce and shoot, and enlisted the renowned anchor Chen Duo as its narrator.

Spanning centuries of history, it traces China's intellectual lineage through emblematic figures such as Kong Zi, better known as Confucius, the great philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC); statesman Fan Zhongyan of the Song Dynasty (960-1279); and scholar Wang Yangming of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Through their lives and ideas, the series explores the foundations of Chinese thought — from a longstanding emphasis on the welfare of the people to the enduring pursuit of harmony between humanity and nature. In this way, it reveals the multiple dimensions of a value system that has shaped Chinese civilization for millennia.

Although the documentary features many historical figures familiar to generations of Chinese viewers, Yu says that extensive interviews with scholars and deep dives into academic research helped the team uncover lesser-known aspects of these well-established icons.

Take Tao Yuanming, for example, the celebrated poet and essayist of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). He is widely remembered for abandoning an official career in favor of a rustic, reclusive life, becoming a spiritual symbol of purity, natural living and moral integrity for later generations of scholars.

Yet, interviews with researchers, including Li Bo, a professor of classical literature at Nanjing Normal University, offered a more nuanced portrait. Before turning 41, Tao was in fact highly motivated and ambitious, actively pursuing an official post.