We are starting our FIRST episode discussion for Joy of Life Season This is perfect timing because June 23, Tencent just released its upcoming slate of dramas and Joy of Life 3 is officially announced. It’s just a poster for season 3 though Zhang Ruo Yun, actor for Fan Xian also reposted it on his official Weibo account. What is absolutely hilarious and has me dying is that one of the top comments to this trending post is this person saying they want to see less of the 2nd prince and less BARE FEET. I said in the intro to the drama episode that season 2 featured a LOT of the 2nd prince without socks or shoes on. Clearly, at least some parts of the internet had had enough of the foot fetish! Hahahahaha

For today’s podcast episode, we will do an episode recap and then discuss the pop culture and history that appears in the drama. We will then conclude with book differences.

As always this podcast is in English with proper nouns spoken in Mandarin Chinese. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to us on social media or else email us at karenandcathy@chasingdramas.com

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[Karen]

It’s been 5 years since we last saw Fan Xian left bleeding out on the floor. The drama opens with a reminder that the whole story of Joy of Life is nothing but a story that a student named Zhang Qing wrote up in modern day. Professor Ye played by Yuan Quan is getting fed up with students and colleagues alike asking her whether or not Fan Xian is alive which I take as a rather meta joke. Almost everyone in real life is asking the same question so she is just the recipient of that line of questioning. 

Fortunately, Zhang Qing appears with the answer and we are brought in directly to season 2. 

They definitely refilmed this scene with the new Yan Bing Yun. He stabs Fan Xian from the back and a now much thinner Fan Xian spits out blood. News travels fast back to the Qing kingdom capital via carrier pigeon and the various “dads” are distraught. The Emperor sprints forward screaming for Chen Ping Ping while Chen Ping Ping falls out of his wheelchair. The news is that Fan Xian caught a terminal illness and died. His body has already been cremated.

Chen Ping Ping is in shock to hear the news. He orders that everyone in the Overwatch Council gather and ominously states that Fan Xian died. The world may be thrown into turmoil.

Now. MAJOR SPOILERS HERE. Notice how he is holding onto the handles of his wheelchair as he is being wheeled to the Emperor’s study. There are buttons under the handles of his wheelchair and thunderous music plays. This is quite intentional. 

Fan Jian also arrives and shouts at Chen Ping Ping for not knowing where his son is. Aww…we see the dads fight it out as they are worried their son is dead. Chen Ping Ping’s response to Fan Jian’s shouts are also incredibly telling. He is willing to give his life to repay for Fan XIan’s life but he says there is justice to be done. He has other people that he must bring with him. At that point, his fingers close in closely at the hidden buttons underneath his handles. 

[Cathy]

We never saw these buttons in season 1. This already hints at the end game, because again, SPOILERS – there are weapons hidden within the wheelchair. Per the book, so we don’t know how the director will change the drama for season 3, the wheelchair was built with the help of Fan Xian’s mother, Ye Qing Mei. There are firearms hidden in the handles of the wheelchair specifically for Chen Ping Ping. Watch how and who he is readying his weapons for in this very scene.

But tensions ease as the Emperor’s eunuch arrives to say the Emperor no longer wants to see anyone. Why? Another carrier pigeon sent a message which left the Emperor in silence. The message? It states that Yan Bing Yun was the one who killed Fan Xian and he died on the spot. 

As for his body? Yan Bing Yun is cremating it. He actually uses quite a good excuse as to why he had to cremate the body. If Fan Xian’s teacher were to come inspect the body, he would know immediately that Fan Xian died of a sword wound. THis way, there’s no evidence of his injury. 

[Karen]

But, this message that it was Yan Bing Yun that killed Fan Xian triggers a lot of suspicion for the Emperor, Chen Ping Ping, Fan Jian aaand the 2nd prince. Fan Jian and Chen Ping Ping rather quickly piece together than there’s no way that Yan Bing Yun would kill Fan Xian. He would do everything in his power to bring Fan Xian back alive. And even if Yan Bing Yun did kill Fan Xian, Gao Da and the Tiger Guard would arrest Yan Bing Yun immediately. They would not just stand by and watch Fan Xian be killed. The only logical conclusion? Fan Xian faked his death. 

Clearly, with the nonresponse from the EMperor, he figured that out. We see the 2nd prince getting the message with a new character that we didn’t see in season 1, Fan Wu Ji. He does not believe that Fan Xian would die so easily. He must have faked his death to escape from the hairy predicament and escape to the capital.

Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. The tense part of the episode is over and now we’re back to the comedic, humorous tone that is special to the series. Turns out, the sword that Fan Xian was stabbed with was a fake wobbly sword that would go into a belt with chicken blood that splurted out when he was stabbed but not actually be injured. It was given to him by his fellow brothers in the 3rd bureau of the Overwatch Council before he left. This was totally an extra scene that was filmed to round out this plot point. But in any case, a seemingly perfect way for Fan Xian to appear like he was stabbed. 

As for the cremation? Funny man Wang Qi Nian apparently had the time to dig a hole beneath the pile of wood that Fan Xian was getting cremated on so he could escape the flames. The bones that the 2nd prince’s swordsman Xie Bi An found on the ground after the cremation? Pig bones.

[Cathy]

This buys Fan Xian some time to save the people that the 2nd prince is blackmailing him with – his brother Fan Si Zhe, his teacher Fei Ji and the wife and son of his deceased friend, Teng Zi Jing. The 2, Fan Xian and Wang Qi Nian peel off from the caravan of people and gallop straight towards the capital – where…everyone except Ruo Ruo believes he’s dead. Fan Jian and Mistress Liu were originally worried that Ruo Ruo would be overly upset with hearing the news that Fan XIan died but nope, she is just going about her day, helping her younger brother dry some books. She does not believe for a second that Fan Xian died. I commend her for her faith. 

Fan Xian and Wang Qi Nian make good time and quickly make it back to the capital. But the scene that they are met with is a hilarious one. News of Fan Xian’s death has spread to the Capital and everyone is trying to make money off of him. His death has gathered many worshippers who want to pray to him but also get everything and anything they can related to him. People pray to him for good luck on the upcoming imperial entrance exams and for romantic relationships. When he hears that, he gets angry. Is he a love saint? Apparently!

Everyone in the city is participating in the Fan Xian craze. It’s largely all just scams and Fan Xian is shocked to see just how many scams popped up in such a short period of time for his death. I did chuckle at a person selling Fan Xian’s fragrance which Wang Qi NIan says is just Wu Xiang duck or 5 spice duck fragrance. IF you recall, Fan XIan did accidentally smell like that 5 spice duck when he visited Wan’Er one time. Not sure how people found out about that or if it was just accidental. 

[Karen]

The 2 make it to Wang Qi Nian’s safe house where there is a secret entrance to his actual home. That’s the smart move because Wang Qi NIan’s home is being closely watched by many of the 2nd prince’s men. They are right in deducing that Fan XIan’s first stop MUST be to Wang Qi Nian’s home but they didn’t realize he had another entrance. Fan Xian and Wang QI NIan sneak into to his home via the secret entrance and we see that it’s well protected with different deadly traps. They get through it and Fan XIan is able to rest for the next.

The next morning, we are greeted with the cutest of little bumpkins. Wang Qi Nian’s adorable little daughter, whom we’ve heard about so much in season 1 finally makes an appearance. She invites Fan Xian to breakfast and we also finally meet Wang Qi Nian’s wife. I feel like the casting director purposefully chose the beautiful Gao Lu to play Mrs Wang as a juxtaposition to everything we’ve heard about in season 1. She’s supposed to be this incredibly scary and controlling woman but at first glance, we see that Gao Lu is beautiful and soft spoken. However, we do see her being exceptionally strict with her daughter that even scares Fan Xian. No matter, little Ba Ba, Wang Qi Nian’s daughter, showers us with a bit more cuteness before we close out the episode.

At the end of episode 1, Yan Bing YUn’s father, Yan Ruo Hai is now in a jail cell. He and Chen Ping Ping are chatting about the current state of affairs. Fan Xian is likely alive given they’ve seen Wang Qi Nian in the CApital. But the only person who can save himself is Fan Xian as faking his death means deceiving the emperor. That is punishable by death. If Fan Xian does die, Chen Ping Ping closes out episode 1 with the grim warning. If Fan Xian does die, many people will die along with him.

–

[Cathy]

This was an action packed episode with Fan Xian’s return to the capital. There’s a TON of pop culture references in this episode so let’s get started. 

First things first! Let’s talk about the library that modern day Professor Ye and Zhang Qing appear in for the first 5 minutes of the episode! I mentioned this when we first introduced Joy of Life last year in season one. This scene was filmed at the Jia Xing Culture and Arts Center. Jia Xing is about 1.5 hours outside of Shanghai and I actually went to visit this place last year! It was surprising that it wasn’t that packed with tourists and was a fun library even though it has since been a destination for folks to take pictures. I went during a holiday and was surprised that the library was rather empty. I guess no one wants to be at the library for a vacation, which is quite understandable. The library itself is 4 floors but the main reading area is the common area that is shown in the drama!

Next, during Fan Xian’s return to the capital, he sees a thriving market that has popped up in response to his death. The first random item he sees in the city is a 对联 or 2 lines of poetry. 

世殊事异诗文未见出其右

千古同悲多情向来空遗恨

This is a wholly original 对联 that the screenwriters wrote. Here’s my translation – The world has changed with oddities that occurred, but no poetry has since surpassed this. The sorrows throughout the ages is shared, affections are often left with regret. 

These lines essentially mean that Fan Xian’s poems are still unparalleled. He, along with many others, died too young.

There is some inspiration from history. The first 4 words 世殊事异 comes from Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion 兰亭集序 by 王羲之 and was written back in 353 CE. The second line is derived from 多情自古空余恨 which was originally written in 1866 during the Qing Dynasty. 

As Fan Xian comments, the two lines in the Duilian aren’t THAT correct in the sense it doesn’t rhyme and the two lines talk about two different things, but hey – that’s why the first line is – nothing is better than Fan Xian’s poems.

The two then hear the name Fan An Zhi and ask – who’s this? this is his courtesy name that he apparently received in between his death. Well…I did some research and it’s apparently an online joke that people called him An Zhi. There’s nothing to it so we’ll move on.

[Karen]

The two enter the city and see the absolutely bonkers wares that are being sold. One of them includes 汉堡. We don’t actually see the 汉堡. Han Bao – do you hear it? That’s Chinese for Hamburger! The chinese characters for Bao is different than what is provided in the drama. 汉饱 – as per the drama is as Wang Qi Nian states – the man is full. Bao means full. But in modern day chinese, bao means fortress. In Chinese no one is calling a hamburger a man fortress. That’s just how Chinese words are used to describe english words.

A person then tries to shove a sachet to sell, to which 王启年 responds with – why does it smell like Five Spice Duck? Well – Five Spice Duck is indeed a delicacy in modern day JiangXi province. It uses way more than five spices although cinnamon, star anise, dried tangerine peels, fennel seeds, and sichuan peppercorns are commonly used. 

The two then pass by a vendor claiming to sell the completed version of Dream of the Red Chamber or 红楼. Fan Xian immediately claims – the book isn’t even finished! This is meta commentary because the original book Dream of the Red Chamber was never completed by the original author.

Ok – moving on, the two see a woman selling rat poison, which Fan Xian immediately says – 不要贩毒. 贩毒 in Chinese mean to deal illegal drugs and has a HARSH punishment so this was just your friendly warning to not sell drugs.

And finally, on this stretch, we have our first product placement with 安慕酸酪 or Anmu yogurt. There’s a whole blue cart and everything with the yogurt placed into little bamboo cups. Anmuxi is a HUGE yogurt brand in China and does all sorts of marketing. Its main colors are blue and white which is every presented IN the drama. Oh, as for those bamboo cups, those were all the rage in China in 2024 for milk tea and desserts. I didn’t see much of them this year so perhaps the fad has died down. Hilariously, the actor Zhang Ruo Yun is not a spokesperson for An Mu Xi and instead did marketing for 纯甄, a competitor of 安慕希 or its parent company 伊利.

[Cathy]

Phew – finally the duo safely arrive at 王启年’s safehouse, which the drama LITERALLY uses the phrase 安全院. This translates directly to safe compounds. In China, there are security institutes but we’ll just use safehouses here.

Later that night, there’s a 打更人 or a night watchman who is making the rounds. We’ve seen these guys before in Season 1 and the drama, the longest day in Chang’An. Their job was to walk the streets and alleys at night striking a gong to help keep time BUT also to keep watch of the surroundings to prevent theft, watch out for fires etc. The man literally says 关门关窗 防火防盗 or close your doors, close your windows, prevent fires, and prevent theft.

The next morning, there’s a funny little joke with Wang Qi Nian’s daughter’s name. 霸 means rule by might. It’s a very powerful name. BUT it sounds exactly like 爸 or Dad. In Chinese, we typically call dad’s 爸爸. SO when Wang Qi Nian’s wife calls 霸霸, Fan Xian is the one who has a weird response because he’s like wait – am I the girl’s father? What’s going on? He could also be taking it as, wait AM I the man of the household? Haha. That’s why he’s sooo uncomfortable. 

[Karen]

Lastly, it’s very obvious that Wang Qi Nian’s wife rules the household with an iron fist. When her daughter starts speaking at the breakfast table, she immediately calls her out, to which her daughter BaBa responds with, 食不言，寝不语. It’s hilarious because Fan Xian has NO idea how to respond. We briefly talked about this way back during our discussion of The Story of Ming Lan but this phrase means that one does not talk while chewing and one does not talk while sleeping. It was a way of how proper men and women should be raised. This was a rite dating all the way to the times of Confucius over 2500 years ago and can be found in 论语 or The Analects. Interestingly, most people now use 食不言，寝不语 but it is written as 食不语，寝不言. They essentially mean the same thing. 

[Cathy]

Wow – that’s a TON of pop culture and history in this episode. I’m going to QUICKLY talk about book differences because it’s quite simple. None of this happens in the book! Fan Xian was never stabbed by 言冰云 so he didn’t have to fake his own death. The drama needed a way to bring Fan Xian back to the capital so this was the best solution. Wang Qi Nian’s wife and daughter never appear in the book as real characters so this is all to expand Wang Qi Nian’s role AND honestly, who can say no to having 高露 on screen? The main takeaways in this episode are that the Second Prince is an enemy to Fan Xian and Chen Ping Ping is VERY invested in Fan Xian, more so than Fan Xian knows. This all doesn’t become explicit in the book until much later.