Tag: chinese dramas

Weaving a tale of love 风起霓裳: Intro to the drama

Posted on by Karen and Cathy

 风起霓裳 – Weaving a Tale of Love

Intro to the Drama –

 

Welcome back to Chasing Dramas. This is the podcast that discusses Chinese culture and history through historical Chinese dramas. We are your hosts, Karen and Cathy

 

Today we’re going to do an intro to the drama episode for the Tang Dynasty drama Weaving A Tale of Love. We’ll go over at a high level the plot for the drama, introduce the cast and characters, discuss the historical setting for the drama and some key historical counterparts. This won’t be a review of the drama, but rather an introduction to the history portrayed in the drama. I think this will be a good set up since it looks like we’re going to be heading off to the Tang dynasty anyways for our next drama on our podcast!  If you’re interested in watching this drama, it is available on Jubao TV which is available on several platforms in the US. It just launched on Plex TV and is available for free with English subtitles. 

 

Weaving A Tale of Love of 风起霓裳

 

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This drama first aired in January 2021 and stars the beautiful Gu Li Na Zha and Timmy 许魏洲 as the main couple. It is a 40 episode drama. 

 

This podcast is in english with some phrases and certain words spoken in mandarin chinese. We do some of our own translations which won’t match the subtitles found on Jubao

 

[Karen]

Set during the reign of the second Tang Dynasty Emperor, 唐太宗, the drama opens with us meeting a 7 year old 琉璃. She has a gift for sewing but her mother, who works at a dress shop in the Tang capital, forbids her from learning. It so happens that her mother, Madame 安 is a former court seamstress and one of the best seamstresses out there and wants to keep her family safe. However, Madame An’s former student and current seamstress in the palace, 胡锦娘 pays her a visit and requests Madame An’s help in creating an extravagant outfit for Consort Yang who 胡锦娘 and the head seamstress believe to be the next Empress. Under veiled threats by 胡锦娘 that endangered the safety of Madam An’s daughter, Madame An agrees to help finish the outfit. However, Madame An had a feeling something might go awry and sends her young daughter to safety. 琉璃 is sent to help finish an outfit for the young 武才人 who is to be presented to the Emperor. 

 

Madame An’s worst nightmare comes true when the beautiful outfit she completes angers the Emperor who had absolutely no intention of making consort Yang the Empress. 胡锦娘 does not hesitate to push all the blame onto Madame An who is severely punished. 武才人 and also a handsome young boy 裴行俭 who came into the city for the imperial exams, helps 琉璃 escape but ultimately fail. Madame An sacrifices herself to save her young daughter but not before giving her daughter the secrets to her sewing skills. 琉璃 is saved and raised by Madame An’s good friend in the Body Disposal Service of the palace.

 

For the next 11 years, 武才人 is promoted to be a Concubine in the palace. 裴行俭 studies military tactics under General 孙 and 琉璃 changes her name to 小豆子 or Little Bean and is raised as a boy and physician in the palace.

 

When Liu Li turns 18, her world becomes upended once again and her world becomes entwined with the strife happening in the palace. She is also reacquainted with 裴行俭. They work together to help discover the truth about her mother’s death and also help push the crown prince to become the next 

Emperor.

 

[Cathy]

That’s what you can expect to see in the first couple of episodes.  A sequel – 风起西州 has been confirmed. It started filming in late August 2021 and completed in late November of the same year.  

 

The drama itself is based off of a very popular book 大唐明月. This main character, as is all the rage, travels through time and is essentially reincarnated as 库狄琉璃. This was a pretty popular book with a very well liked audiobook version. I haven’t read the book as it’s over 300 chapters but I remember a lot of buzz about the original book when this drama came out. I might pick it up when the sequel drama airs.  The drama also received high viewership when the drama came out in 2021. 

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[Karen]

Gulinazha is an actress born in 乌鲁木齐 Xin Jiang province in 1992. She studied at Beijing film academy and debuted Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky. I could say I’ve watched her career from the beginning because I remember when that drama came out, there was quite an uproar because she was so unknown despite being beautiful compared to the likes of Liu Shi Shi, Hu Ge and Tang Yan. She has since been in numerous dramas since, all with varying success.  

 

Unfortunately for her, her personal life usually eclipses her performance in dramas. This has been the case for years. She dated the actor Zhang Han after he broke up with Zhen Shuang and was hounded for years about that relationship. She was embroiled last year with the whole drama of unknowingly being involved as a third party to 徐开骋 and 张天爱‘s relationship and has since kept a relatively low profile. 

 

In this drama, she plays 库狄琉璃. In the drama, I’m actually most impressed by her dance sequence in episode 11 where she gets to showcase her Xinjiang dancing skills and it’s quite beautiful.  

 

Xu Wei Zhou is an actor from Shanghai born in 1994. He is actually a trained dancer and studied at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts. I think he’s still an up and coming actor. The first time I saw him was in Liu Guang Zhi Cheng last year or City of Streamer. He did come out this year that he married his longterm girlfriend which is a surprise given how we’ve discussed before that many male actors remain hush hush about their relationships in order to gain popularity in the market. 

 

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This drama is set in the Tang dynasty that ruled China from 618年－907年.

 

The drama starts during the reign of 贞观十一年 – so around 638.  The years that the drama cover the adult storyling occurs during the end of the reign of Emperor 唐太宗李世民 贞观22年so 648AD though the reign of 唐高宗李治 during the 永徽 period（公元650年正月—655年十二月). This was 是唐高宗李治 first era period and he used 6 during his 34 year reign。年号 or era names are time periods that Emperor’s set during their reigns. Some Emperor’s only had 1 era name, others multiple. Emperor 唐太宗 李世民 only set 1 era bane 贞观 but that was rather rare before the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty is a little bit different in this regard because Qing Dynasty emperors just used one 年号 or era Period for their entire reign and that is the name that we refer to both the Emperor and the period. So in Chinese, we would say 乾隆 6 year and we would know who that is – 1741. However, for other dynasties, it’s easier to say the full Temple Name AND Regnal Period, so here, I’m referring to 唐高宗 永徽 period and then I can pinpoint that it was 650-655AD.

 

There are a ton of dramas set during the early period of the Tang Dynasty because it is just such a fascinating era in Chinese history. So many dramas also feature Empress Wu Ze Tian and the various time periods of her life. I think this is a rather unique take on her and a relatively positive light on her second husband 李治. 

 

Before we talk about the historical counterparts of our two main characters in the drama, let’s introduce the Emperors and concubines that also drive the plot. 

 

李世民 is the second Emperor in the 唐 dynasty. He ruled from 626AD to 649AD. He is possibly one of the most famous emperors in China. His reign – 贞观 is considered a golden age in Chinese history. In this drama we skip much of his reign and only focus on his later years. Despite having an outsized presence in Chinese history, he died at the age of 51. I always have to remind myself that 李世民 was never really THAT old. Maybe it’s the dramas that I’ve watched over the years and 李世民 is typically portrayed as a old man with white hair but he was a relatively young guy. I bring this up because of course of this next woman.

 

武媚娘 is the woman who will one day become the only female Empress in Chinese History and called 武则天. 

 

Women rarely had names recorded in history. Her name of 媚娘, meaning glamorous, was indeed bestowed to her by Emperor 李世民. She was born in 624 and died in 705 meaning she died at the whopping age of 81. I will cover her early years because we might cover the later years of her life in separate dramas. 

 

She’s the second daughter of Wushiyue, a wealthy man who worked in the timber business, and who, in later years helped fund Li Yuan’s rebellion against the Sui Dynasty. He rose to the rank of Minister of Works of 工部尚书 and was a favored minister at court. Unfortunately he died in 635 shortly after the death of 李渊.  武媚娘 was only 12. 武媚娘’s mother hailed from the Imperial House of Yang. 

 

When her father died, 武媚娘’s half older brothers basically cut them off and so she and her mother moved to the capital city of 长安, which is current day 西安. 

 

In 637, Emperor 唐太宗 李世民 overheard that this Miss Wu was a beauty and thus summoned her to become a concubine in his Imperial harem. She was only 14. She was given the title of 才人 of the 5th rank and the name 媚娘 as we see in the drama. The Emperor at the time was 38. Yes, the age gap is really big but at least it isn’t like 58 to 14. 

 

Anyways, although the Emperor did have sexual relations with 武媚娘, she was not much favored in the imperial harem because she stayed as a 才人 for the remaining 12 years of Emperor 唐太宗’s reign. If she was favored, she probably would have been promoted to at least a 美人 or a 婕妤. I remember reading a biography about 武媚娘 years ago and it recounts that during her years as a 才人, she basically was a glorified secretary, taking notes and cleaning the main palace for the Emperor. There though she could at least continue her education, which was rare for women at the time. 

 

However, it was also during her time as a 才人 that she was able to become close with the 9th prince 李治, who then had the title of the Prince of Jin 晋王, so much so that she began an affair with him. This was extremely scandalous and of course not known by many if at all any at the time, but her relationship with 李治 laid the groundwork for her return to the palace after her expulsion from the palace and to live as a nun after the death of the Emperor 李世民 in 649.

 

The adult 武媚娘 is played by 施诗, who if listeners look closely, is the girl we loved to hate 墨兰 from the Story of Ming Lan. 

 

Now that we’ve introduced 武媚娘, let’s introduce 李治, the man who would become her second husband and was the 3rd emperor of the Tang Dynasty. 

 

李治 was born in 628. He was 李世明’s 9th son and the  youngest son of Empress 长孙, with older brothers including the Crown Prince 李承乾 and the 魏王李泰。In 631, he was bequethed the title, the Prince of Jin. Growing up, he was never meant to inherit the throne and honestly, he was quite happy about it. He was very sincere and, to put it bluntly, a nice young man. Literally no one thought that he was going to inherit the throne. He was just going to be a prince chilling wherever he found himself. Unfortunately, that all came crashing down with his two older brothers went head to head in an intense rivalry for the throne. Both of them plotted for the throne and both lost. Disappointed at these two sons, Emperor 李世民, with some egging from the prime minister 长孙无忌 turned their attention towards the young 李治 and crowned him as crown prince in 643 when he was only 15. 李治 ascended the throne upon his father’s death in 649.

 

Let’s now discuss his relationship with 武媚娘. She was a woman who was 4 years 李治’s senior. He also had a wife and several concubines. However, during the last years of 李世明’s reign, he was perpetually bedridden. That meant, that 武媚娘 spent a lot of time near the Emperor’s bedside to care for him. Who else might be by the Emperor’s bedside? Why, the Crown Prince of course. It was during this time, right around the death of Emperor 李世民 that the two began an affair, literally right under the Emperor’s nose. 李治 was in his early 20s and 武媚娘 was in her mid 20s. 

 

During the Tang dynasty, the rule was that when the EMperor died, for concubines who had children, they could live out their days in the palace. For those women who weren’t lucky enough to bore children, they were sent to a buddhist temple to live as nuns. That was the fate that 武媚娘 met. She did indeed become a nun and was sent to 感业寺. 

 

One year later though, 李治 went to 感业寺 to pray to his father. Who did he meet there? The now nun 武媚娘. Well, what was he to do? She was a woman of his father but he wanted her as his own concubine. Just as he was struggling to find a solution, his own wife, Empress Wang came to the rescue and successfully brought 武媚娘 back into the palace. 

 

I will stop here with our history discussion on the relationship between 李治 and 武媚娘 to give you guys a hint and flavor of the Tang Dynasty. Like I said, there are plenty of books and dramas that depict this era and story. I do want to give more credence to 武媚娘 though. She knew what she wanted and what she needed to survive and she seized every opportunity to do so. From her interactions with 李世民 and 李治, we can see that she was a calculating, yet intelligent woman to be able to find her way back to the palace. 

 

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裴行俭（619年－682年6月9日）

 

Let’s now of course discuss the historical counterpart of our male lead! 

裴行俭（619年－682年6月9日) and hailed from the prominent 裴 family from Hedong. Why was this a prestigious clan? Well – his great grandfather, grandfather all served the Northern Zhou Dynasty. His father and older brother both served the Sui Dynasty. 

 

During the reign of Emperor 唐太宗, he did indeed come to the capital to take his imperial entrance exams, of which he was then sent into the military. The famed general 苏定方, who is the general we see in the drama was quoted in saying that 裴行俭 was the only person deemed worthy to learn his military tactics and strategy. Thus General 苏定方 taught 裴行俭 all of his skills, stratagems, and learnings. 裴行俭 was soon promoted to the equivalent of the Chang An Magistrate. 

 

When Emperor 唐高宗李治 was preparing to promote 武媚娘 as Empress, however 裴行俭 was not in favor of the move. He, along with other military officials, were secretly plotting alternatives. Unfortunately, were discovered by 武媚娘 and he was subsequently banished to the western areas of the empires. This was probably a boon for him though because while he was out in the west, he made his biggest contributions to the Empire.

 

In 665, Pei was appointed the general of Anxi Protectorate.  I believe this is where he became familiar with the Turkic ethnic groups and convinced many to surrender to Tang troops. 

 

He returned back to 长安 where he was appointed a member of the ministry of personnel. It wasn’t until the late 670s, where he faced several turkick groups headon in either military battles or negotiations. The drama doesn’t cover this time frame and I hope we get to see that in the sequel. 

 

It is recorded that 裴行俭 had two wives. His first was the daughter of 陆爽, who was in the ministry of war. After she died, he remarried a woman of the 库狄 clan. When Empress Wu came to power, 库狄氏 was granted many titles include Madame of the State of Jin. 

 

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Now let’s discuss his wife! Unfortunately historical documents about this 库狄氏 are relatively sparse. What we do know come from the epitaphs of her husband and son, but we can glean quite a lot! I read an article dissecting this 库狄氏 and it seems most probably that she was significantly younger than 裴行俭. One because she was his second wife and two because their son, 裴光庭, was born in 678, only 5 years before the death of 裴行俭 at the age of 64, so it probably wasn’t likely that 库狄氏 was of similar age. There probably was like a 15 year age gap. 

 

库狄 rose to favor with Empress Wu and later Emperor Wu quite frankly after the death of her husband. In 689, the newly crowned Emperor Wu summoned educated widowed women to essentially create her own group of female court ministers or 女官. 库狄 was one of them. She served 武则天 for over 20 years, basically acting as a favored court official. This spoke to her intellect and political acumen. 

 

When Emperor Wu was forced to abdicate, unfortunately 库狄 was also dismissed from her position, but her capabilities were still remembered by court, so much so that a future emperor requested her abilities at court. She, however, rejected the offer. She died around 717.

 

库狄

This is the first time I’m hearing of this last name. 

 

What is quite intriguing about this drama is that it actually puts emphasis on 琉璃’s non han Chinese background. In the book and the drama, she is called a 胡女 which is a historical term generally for people from nomadic tribes to the west of mainland China. The drama translates this to tatar ethnicity which are different Turkic ethnic groups. Different dynasties have different definitions for what kind of person falls in the category of 胡女 but you get the general sense that they don’t look like your common Han chinese person. So, it’s interesting that liu li, her mother, and young liu li are all acted by women from XinJiang province. I don’t know if they would exactly be considered 胡女 back in the day but still. It’s good to see recognition that they are not Han chinese. Generally in other dramas featuring 娜扎 or say 迪丽热巴 they just gloss over that fact or ignore that fact altogether.  

 

Indeed, 裴行俭’s second wife in history did come from the 库狄 family which is a last name that originated from the 鲜卑 people, a tribe of people in the mongolia, inner mongolian regions of China which created separate kingdoms throughout the years and did engage in merges during the Tang dynasty. 

 

We’ve stated this before, but it’s quite rare to have actors and actresses from ethnic minorities in China portray characters who are also ethnic minorities in a drama. 

 

Let me showcase the additional two actresses who have limited screen time as Madame An and Little Liu Li.

 

Madame An is portrayed by 迪娜（Madina) who was born in the city Urmuqi in the XinJiang province in 1987. She is of the Uighur ethnic minority and grew up dancing in Urmuqi. She got her big break in the 2011 remake of Pearl Princess or 新还珠格格 as the new 香妃, a princess from the Hui minority. She then continued to act in several dramas and movies over the past decade. However, she hasn’t really broken out as an actress. I think this might have to do with the fact that she spent more time focusing on family in recent years. 

 

爱克达, she’s super cute young girl also from the Xin Jiang province. She caught a lot of attention with this role as the very cute young Liu Li. She’s since released a few songs.

 

Thank you so much for listening to this intro to the drama episode!

 

If you’re interested in watching this drama, it is available on Jubao TV which is available on several platforms in the US. It just launched on Plex TV and is available for free with English subtitles.

 

We will catch you in the next podcast episode! 

Review: Meet Yourself (2022) 去有风的地方

Posted on by Karen and Cathy

 

Meet Yourself (2022) 去有风的地方 – Review in Progress

Summary:  Luxury hotel manager Xu Hong Dou 许红豆 ft Liu Yi Fei 刘亦菲 worked nonstop over the last 10+yrs in Beijing to climb the corporate ladder. But when her best friend suddenly dies of cancer, she realizes that there is more to life than just work. She resigns her position and heads to a beautiful village in Yunnan, a place her best friend always wanted to visit, for an extended stay.

There, the pace of life slows down as she meets handsome local Xie Zhi Yao 谢之遥 ft Li Xian 李现 and many other adorable inhabitants and visitors of the village. 

 

 

Total Episode Count: 40

Initial Airing Date: January 3, 2022

Platform: MangoTV

 

Initial Score: 7/10 – A calming modern day drama that could double as a Yunnan province tourism ad. Meet Yourself is sure to bring a smile to your face as you relax with Hong Dou during her stay while also learn some of the challenges of living in these villages.

Initial Thoughts:

In Liu Yi Fei’s first modern drama, Meet Yourself is the perfect drama to stave off the winter blues as we join Hong Dou in the lush green and colorful Yunnan province.

This drama will likely resonate more with millennials and older rather than younger viewers; those who have worked hard in their careers for several years but struggled to achieve work life balance. Xu Hong Dou is never “off” work due to the nature of her role nor does she take vacation or have time to cook. Her fridge is filled with expired foods she never cleared out.  (Is she me?) This brings a realism to her character and it makes sense why her best friend’s death hit her so hard. Many of the plans her friend made with her never came to fruition because Xu Hong Dou was always working.

When she ultimately decides to leave, she comes to a charming little Miao minority ethnic group village in Yunnan province to stay for 3 months. It is an absolutely lovely place and we are brought along for the ride as Xu Hong Dou sees what life is like once she stops hustling.  She meets Xie Zhi Yao, a local entrepreneur, raised in the village. As Hong Dou explores the village, we see the kindness of both the villagers and visitors on full display.  And there’s plenty of adorable animals around too!

Xu Hong Dou

许红豆 ft Liu Yi Fei 刘亦菲. A former front desk manager at a high-end hotel, she quits her job to travel and enjoy life following the death of her best friend

 

 

Xie Zhi Yao

谢之遥 ft Li Xian 李现. Born and raised in Yun Miao Village, he gave up his high paying investment job in Beijing to help build up his hometown.

 

Grandma Xie

谢阿奶 ft Wu Yan Shu 吴彦姝. The adorable grandma to Xie Zhi Yao. She dotes on her grandchildren (and Hong Dou) with a firm but loving hand.

Na Na

A visiting resident in Yun Miao Village, Na Na helps run the local cafe and becomes fast friends with Hong Dou. She harbors a secret but has enmeshed herself for now in the village

Xie Xiao Chun

谢晓春 ft Dong Qing 董晴. Distant relative to Xie Zhi Yao, she runs the residence that Hong Dou stays in. Short tempered but capable, she works with A Yao to build up the village

 

 

Hu You Yu

胡有鱼 ft Niu Jun Feng 牛俊峰. Aspiring musician and another resident of the complex, he makes his living singing his songs at local bars. 

 

Da Mai

大麦 ft Ma Meng Wei 马梦唯 An introvert and night owl, she lives in You Feng complex where she spends her evenings trying to combat writers block as a detective writer

Ma Qiu Shan

马丘山 ft Tu Song Yan 涂松岩. At first mysterious and subdued, he spent much of his time meditating in the complex only to reveal he has more ambition than meets the eye

Liu Yi Fei is once again captivating in this drama. I’m guessing Liu Yi Fei chose to film this role just so that she could enjoy Yunnan as well and it shows on screen. She gets to eat interesting foods, visit beautiful villages and learn Miao crafts! I guarantee that there will be an explosion of tourists hoping to visit such locales in Yunnan after this drama airs. Her chemistry with Li Xian is also quite sweet as well. Similar to A Dream of Splendor, you’re watching two adults build a strong foundation for a relationship and it is such an easy watch. 

What IS notable is that the drama does highlight the challenges of living in this type of village. Money can be tight for the locals and healthcare access a challenge. This causes many villagers to leave to the big cities for a better life.  The exact juxtaposition of Xu Hong Dou who left the big city. I’ll be interested to see how these storylines intertwine because they are social commentaries that are extremely relevant.

However, some of these side stories due to a diverse cast are not as intriguing as the main couple. The leisurely pace of the drama, thus far, also means it will not be one of the most gripping dramas out there. It’s a great drama to have on in the background but perhaps its not necessary to be fully immersed.

 

Full review in progress

Karen

 

Review: The Blood of Youth (2022) 少年歌行

Posted on by Karen and Cathy

 

The Blood of Youth (2022) 少年歌行

Summary: An aspiring young wanderer Lei Wu Jie 雷无桀 ft Ao Rui Peng 敖瑞鹏 from the House of Lei is traveling to the great Snow Moon City but finds himself accidentally at an the Falling Snow Inn instead. He accidentally destroys much of the inn after an encounter that turns rough and falls into debt with the mysterious owner of the Inn, Xiao Se 萧瑟 ft Li Hong Yi 李宏毅. 

Lei Wu Jie reluctantly brings Xiao Se along on his journey to pay off his debts. They meet another young man Tang Lian 唐莲 ft Li Xin Ze 李欣泽 who is traveling with and protecting a golden coffin.  They encounter many members of various martial arts houses, sects, and factions all fighting to obtain the contents of the coffin. This is a story of brotherhood, loyalty, and love as the young generation takes up the new Jiang Hu.

 

This is based off of the book 少年歌行 by 周木楠 and an animated series of the same name

 

Total Episode Count: 40

Initial Airing Date: Dec 26, 2022

Platform: Youku

 

Initial Score: 6.8/10 – An ambitious martial arts drama adaptation, the story moves at a brisk pace and weaves together multiple storylines of different martial arts factions, houses, and sects. The young leads are somewhat overshadowed by the star studded supporting cast but the solid story, impressive CGI, and intriguing mysteries make this an pleasant watch.

Final Score: 7.7/10 – An entertaining martial arts drama that largely succeeds on the strength of the source material and brisk storytelling. The intricate storylines, impressive CGI, and sprawling cast all coalesce to a satisfying and touching conclusion. If you want an engaging action / adventure series, this is one to watch

 

 

 

Initial Thoughts – through episode 12

The plot moves extremely fast, which is both a positive and negative. The positive is that we don’t waste time deliberating on pointless arguments or conflicts. The story moves quickly to the next location or the characters need to reach the next martial arts level. It’s kind of like a video game. You beat the quest, then move to the next quest, with some side quests thrown in the mix.

The negative is that the world building is also extremely fast in this drama and requires a lot of commonly known martial arts tropes that might make it difficult to follow for non-martial arts fans. For example, the House of Tang, which is where Tang Lian hails from, typically is proficient in poisons and hidden weapons (think hidden daggers or needles). This is known in Chinese culture and authors / dramas typically adopt this but we don’t get that explanation in the drama. This also means that a lot of it is done through talking, like “oh, this character just reached the next level” or “oh, here’s so and so, the best master of the spear”, which typically just means that someone shows up in a flashy manner. 

This also isn’t the type of martial arts drama that I grew up with, with a lot of hand-to-hand combat. It’s very CGI heavy, which seems to be the trend these days. To me, it doesn’t really feel like a martial arts drama but a fantasy drama mixed with some martial arts in it.  It just doesn’t seem like the characters are in danger at any given point. At first, I was critical of the CGI because in the beginning it didn’t seem very good but it definitely improves as the drama moves along. The acting from some of the younger leads leave much to be desired, but the presence of the older actors and the intriguing storyline allows me to ignore some of the acting misses. 21

Xiao Se 萧瑟 – Li Hong Yi 李宏毅

The stingy owner of the Falling Snow Inn with a mysterious past. He encounters the young and eager Lei Wu Jie who is on his way to Snow Moon City. After the Lei Wu Jie accidentally destroys his inn, Xiao Se decides to travel with Lei Wu Jie to ensure the latter pays for the damages. As the drama progresses, his past is slowly revealed and with it, another whirlwind in both Jiang Hu and the royal court

Wu Xin 无心 – Liu Xue Yi 刘学义

The son of the leader of the Demon Clan, Ye Ding Zhi, and the apprentice of Master Wang You, he grew up as a Buddhist monk and learned many martial arts skills. After the 12 years were up for him to stay in Bei Li as a hostage, he hid himself in a golden coffin to travel out west to become the next leader. Along the way, he met new travelers such as Xiao Se, Lei Wu Jie, and Tang Lian

Lei Wu Jie 雷无桀 – Ao Rui Peng 敖瑞鹏

A young traveler itching to become a new martial arts master. He encounters other travelers, each with hidden abilities. After entering Snow Moon City, he continues his studies in swordsmanship. With an earnest nature and innocent personality, he gains the trust of his friend and in turn, is loyal to them. He has a very cute crush on Ye Ruo Yi.

Si Kong Qian Luo 司空千落 – Lin Bo Yang 林博洋 

Daughter of the Spear Saint Si Kong Chang Feng, she has a straightforward and optimistic disposition. She loves and hates easily and soon falls in love with the mysterious Xiao Se. She is willing to die for her friends and family and uses her Silver Moon Spear to do so.

Ye Ruo Yi 叶若依 – Dai Yan Ni 戴燕妮

Daughter of General Ye Xiao Ying, she suffers from congenital heart defects. She and Xiao Se grew up together and has lived in Snow Moon City for several years for medical treatment. She is intelligent, cunning, and wise. As the advisor of the group, she aids Xiao Se in his ambitions.

Tang Lian 唐莲 – Li Xin Ze 李欣泽

The most senior apprentice of the Tang sect, he also learned from Master Bai Li Dong Jun from Snow Moon City. He is calm, righteous, and powerful. When faced with choosing between competing loyalties, he will always choose what is right.

Plot Overview

Lei Wu Jie is a young martial arts student who accidently finds himself at the Falling Snow Inn while on his way to Snow Moon City. The owner of the Inn, Xiao Se, begrudgingly agrees to travel with Lei Wu Jie to ensure the latter pays for his damages.  Tang Lian, a pupil of Snow Moon City, has been tasked with delivering a golden coffin. However, along the way, he is being hunted by killers. Lei Wu Jie and Xiao Se stumble upon Tang Lian’s hiding place and have to face the killers together. Shortly after, another pupil from Snow Moon City, Si Kong Qian Luo, arrives and the four of them successfully escape from the attackers.

They become curious with the contents of the golden coffin, believing it to contain vast wealth or secrets to martial arts. They are surprised to find a young and beautiful monk, Wu Xin, emerge from the coffin. Wu Xin is a powerful monk with an even more intriguing history. He, along with Lei Wu Jie, and Xiao Se become fast friends as they come to an understanding that none of them want to harm the world despite its imperfections. Wu Xin comes to terms with his identity and gives parting gifts to his friends as he takes up the mantle of leader of Tian Way Tian.

Lei Wu Jie and Xiao Se continue on their journey to Snow Moon City. Lei Wu Jie has to defeat over 14 levels of the Sky Tower to be deemed worthy of admission as a pupil in Snow Moon City. There, he meets the 2nd Master of the City, Li Han Yi, who agrees to accept him as a pupil. Xiao Se catches the eye of the Spear Saint, Si Kong Chang Feng, who accepts him as his pupil. The two of them stay in Snow Moon City to learn the arts. However, Xiao Se’s past comes to haunt him as he must face his true identity and make decisions that will impact the kingdom. 

 

Overall Thoughts

This drama surprised me quite a lot as I was chasing the show in all the best ways possible. I came in with low expectations but am happy to report that this drama exceeded my expectations and is a very compelling and satisfying watch. The intricate storylines that were woven in the beginning were confusing at first, but as I became more and more invested in the characters, the pieces more or less fell into place. 

This is a martial arts drama that focuses on 3 main characters, each with a unique background from different martial arts houses or sects (门派). They each have their mysteries, skills, and goals and it’s fun to follow on the journey as we begin to learn about their backgrounds and how they are connected to the larger Jiang Hu and even royal court. The characters travel to unique cities and locations that have different martial arts specialists and our heroes must defeat or grow with each encounter. It is a refreshing departure from the usual romantic dramas or fantasy dramas that are all the rage.  Each of the main characters have their own colorful history, motivations, loyalties, concerns, and decisions. I could follow the reasoning for most of them and grew to care about each of them in their unique way.

In an age where dramas get immediately panned for their poor adaptations of the source material, this drama succeeded in staying faithful to both the original text AND the animated series. The only problem is that Youku as a platform just doesn’t have as much reach compared to iQiYi or Tencent and I wished that more people saw this drama.

 

 

My observations from the first 12 episodes largely hold, but as I became more comfortable with the cast and the stories, I became more invested in the storylines and was ok in letting some of my reservations go. I’m going to try to avoid spoilers as much as possible because I want you to watch it!

 

What I liked about the drama

Strong Fast paced Storyline: The storyline moves quickly and doesn’t dawdle on superfluous scenes. Each character serves a purpose and helps move the plot forward. It starts of quite small with a simple journey between 2 characters, but then it quickly opens up to a wide world. We learn that everything is intertwined, and I was thoroughly engaged because I didn’t want to miss learning about the motivations of different characters, different settings, and where the story would take us.

Focus on loyalty with romance sprinkled in: The show is very much about loyalty. Loyalty to your sect, house, family, country, lovers, and friends. It’s refreshing because it’s so rare for dramas these days for characters to pride themselves in helping their friends simply because it is the right thing to do. They believe in a cause, or a person, and they will protect that cause, even at the cost of his or her life. These are reciprocal relationships. It never felt that one person was always just receiving loyalty for no reason. Each person had his or her own charm or power that made the relationships understandable.

Politiking: Despite it being a martial arts drama, this is also very much a political drama. There’s battle at court in which the king must balance power amongst his sons. The sons, in turn, vie for the throne. The Martial Arts houses also battle for supremacy to rule Jiang Hu. There’s a lot to keep track and its thrilling to see where the allegiances lie.

Strong supporting cast: There’s a whole myriad of supporting characters in this drama. So much so that I am in awe of how they were able to cast this many people. For those of us who’ve watched years of Chinese dramas, I had a blast pointing out the actors and actresses when they showed up on screen. The surprises kept coming right up to the last couple of episodes. Each character though, also had an intricate role to play in the story and there was a reason why they were there. I particularly loved the romance between Zhao Yu Zhen and Li Han Yi. I personally think that the supporting cast outshone our main characters.

Great characters: There’s a lot of characters in this drama. However, each has his / her unique style which could be seen in their clothing and martial arts. Many are fully fleshed out even though they have limited screen time. Some of my favorites include Ye Ruo Yi, Wu Xin, the young doctor Hua Jin, Mu Chun Feng

Impressive CGI: I was pretty hesitant at first on the CGI but as I kept watching, I became more and more impressed. Apparently the post production team used many of the same scenes from the animated series, which might explain why they were very well thought out and beautiful. It’s a treat for the eyes.

Some negatives:

Acting from the younger leads: Unfortunately, our leads for Xiao Se, Lei Wu Jie, and Si Kong Qian Luo leave a lot to be desired from an acting perspective. This is a pretty attractive cast, but these three really didn’t sell me on their roles. Li Hong Yi (Xiao Se’s actor) basically was just stoic the entire time, showing little to no emotion. Or else, I couldn’t tell when he was showing any emotion. Ao Rui Peng (Lei Wu Jie’s actor) was trying to portray an innocent young man but it often came off as bumbling. Lin Bo Yang (Si Kong Qian Luo’s actress) didn’t show much growth in her acting as she took on the mantle to protect those she loved. She was kind of annoying but at least she had limited screentime.

Vast universe that is hard to follow: The drama places you in this world and just hits the ground running. It might be a turn off at first if you can’t follow everything that’s being discussed. There’s also a lot of names, swords, places, and rules that might be tough to follow if you’re not well-versed on martial arts.

Martial Arts: Speaking of, I wished there was more hand to hand combat. Most of the martial arts was just here’s my fancy CGI sword, which does look impressive, but just doesn’t have that intensity factor. This is just a personal preference though.

 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the drama. It was a gripping story of loyalty, family, and love and I hope more people get to see this.

Cathy

Review: Unchained Love (2022) 浮图缘

Posted on by Karen and Cathy

 

Unchained Love (2022) 浮图缘

Summary: A young concubine Bu Yin Lou 步音楼 ft Chen Yu Qi 陈钰琪 is to be sacrificed as tribute to the recently deceased Emperor. However, she is rescued as she is literally being hanged by the ruthless and powerful eunuch Xiao Duo 肖铎 ft Wang He Di 王鹤棣  from a request from the Emperor’s younger brother the Prince Fu 福王 ft Peter Ho 何润东. Prince Fu desires Bu Yin Lou for himself and tries different tactics to win her heart even though she is technically now a Dowager Concubine. At the same time , Xiao Duo finds himself drawn to the spunky, sassy, and amiable Bu Yin Lou when he finds that she is an observant and gentle woman. However, their current stations in life prevent the relationship from going any further. Xiao Duo also has another mission at the Palace that he must face alone.

 

This is based off of the book 浮图塔 by 尤四姐

 

Total Episode Count: 36

Initial Airing Date: Dec 27, 2022

Platform: iQiyi

 

Initial Score: 7/10 – A lighthearted comedy that shakes up the traditional romantic palace drama premise with a Eunuch falling in love with a Dowager Concubine. The leads of Dylan Wang and Chen Yu Qi make a convincing couple and are supported by a fun cast of characters. The straightforward script makes this an easy watch with little depth.

Final Score: 6.5/10 – A paper thin romantic comedy that wastes away its intriguing premise of a Eunuch falling in love with a Dowager Concubine. The main couple was constantly overshadowed by the supporting cast and overall, there was little the actors could do little to save the crazy storylines and ridiculous ending.

 

 

 

Initial Thoughts – Through episode 12

This is Dylan Wang’s first drama to air after his surprising success from Love Between Fairy and Devil 苍兰决. He’s paired with the lovely Chen Yu Qi, who has had several dramas air over the years but without making much of a splash. 

I was intrigued by the premise of a ruthless and conniving eunuch falling in love with a Dowager Concubine. It is a cute watch because we see Xiao Duo falling in love with Bu Yin Lou but Bu Yin Lou has no clue this is happening because well, he is supposed to be a Eunuch! According to her, eunuch’s aren’t supposed to fall in love! The shenanigans and hijinks between the two when they first meet are quite funny. Xiao Duo finds himself being jealous at other’s attention towards Bu Yin Lou despite himself. 

Xiao Duo is a dark knight in shining armor only to Bu Yin Lou, while Bu Yin Lou is the witty damsel who tries to fight against her fate but often will rely on the power and money of Xiao Duo. This just means that we do fall into some of the same romantic comedy tropes. However, in this drama, you’ll just have to really go along for the ride and not think too carefully on the feasibility on any of the plot points.

The leads do a decent enough job as the main couple of the drama and they play well off each other. However, it is jarring when almost every other character apart from the two leads uses his / her real voice in the drama. This then gives the side characters more gravitas when they’re on screen compared to the leads. This is especially noticeable whenever the Empress played by Zeng Li 曾黎 is on screen. She just commands the attention of the audience (at least for me) that not even the Dylan Wang nor Chen Yu Qi are able to do. 

Overall, it just has a much smaller scope of a drama, so we’re focused squarely on the small cast of characters. It’s enjoyable for what it is, a romantic comedy.

I’m reading the book concurrently. The drama heavily leans into the comedy aspect and avoids some more of the explicit discussions surrounding eunuchs. I’ll discuss a comparison between the drama and the book for my full review. 

Cathy

Main Characters

 

Xiao Duo肖铎 – Dylan Wang / Wang He Di 王鹤棣

The Director of the terrifying Zhao Ding Si, he is feared throughout the Empire for his brutal and ruthless methods. He entered the palace as a lowly palace eunuch who clawed his way up to the top of the food chain, so much so that the royal family feared him. However, he has an agenda for entering the palace. This all gets upended when he unknowingly saved Bu Yin Lou. The two fall in love other but Xiao Duo must decide between her and his own revenge.

Bu Yin Lou 步音楼 – Yukee Chen / Chen Yu Qi 陈钰琪

A lowly daughter born from a concubine, Bu Yin Lou is sent to the palace to be a palace concubine. But before she was summoned for a night with the emperor, he dies. As is customary, Bu Yin Lou was supposed to be sentenced to death to serve the Emperor in the afterlife. She was saved by the Eunuch Xiao Duo on behalf of the Prince of Fu’s orders. Bu Yin Lou and Xiao Duo gradually fall in love, but she is pulled into many conspiracies at court and the imperial harem.

Mu Rong Gao Gong 慕容高巩 Peter Ho / He Run Dong 何润东

The Prince of Fu, mocking known as The Lord of the Lantern, unexpectedly finds himself thrust on the throne after the death of his older brother and only nephew. He has had a crush on Bu Yin Lou since his childhood and vows to have her as his own. As he gets more comfortable on the through, he becomes suspicious of all his subjects and begins to play political games to consolidate power

Empress Rong An 荣安皇后 – Zeng Li 曾黎

The Empress of the late Emperor. She is an ambitious woman who hails from a noble family. Xiao Duo was her confidante. After the death of the her husband, Empress Rong An immediately poisoned a rival concubine and her son to consolidate her power. She forms a secret alliance with Prince of Nan Yuan. However, she is quickly thrown out by the machinations of Xiao Duo

Tong Yun 彤云 – He Nan 鹤男

The cheerful and cute personal maid for Bu Yin Lou, she serves her master faithfully. Although somewhat naïve, she always has her master’s best interests at heart and fully supports Bu Yin Lou’s relationship with Xiao Duo. Tong Yun and Cao Chun Ang gradually develop feelings for each other as they get along.

Cao Chun Ang 曹春盎 – Wang Yue Xin 王栎鑫

A Eunuch in Zhao Ding Si and is both the godson but also confidante of Xiao Duo. As one of the few who knows of Xiao Duo’s agenda, he stays loyal to a fault. As a subordinate, he is quick-witted and capable. Bu Yin Lou’s maid Tong Yun catches his eye.

 

 

Plot Overview:

A young concubine Bu Yin Lou 步音楼 ft Chen Yu Qi 陈钰琪 is to be sacrificed as tribute to the recently deceased Emperor. However, she is rescued as she is literally being hanged by the ruthless and powerful eunuch Xiao Duo 肖铎 ft Wang He Di 王鹤棣 from a request from the Emperor’s younger brother the Prince Fu 福王 ft Peter Ho 何润东. Prince Fu desires Bu Yin Lou for himself because he has had a crush on her since their childhood when he was a student under the tutelage of her father.

There is a power vacuum during the interregnum and Empress Rong An 荣安 tries to seize power by capturing the late Emperor’s only son. She conspires with the Prince of Nan Yuan, a non royal prince, in hopes to make a puppet out of the Emperor’s son as she rules as Empress Dowager. However, her plans are unfortunately botched as the prince accidentally dies at the hand of the Prince of Fu. With no other male heir, the throne now turns to the Prince of Fu. The whole court believes that it was Xiao Duo who killed the prince, but Bu Yin Lou consoles him and tells him that she believes that he didn’t commit the crime.

 

Empress Rong An is banished to a buddhist temple while Bu Yin Lou is also banished to the Imperial Mausoleum to live out her days. She is actually quite happy with this development believing that she could escape the wandering eyes of the new Emperor. The newly installed Emperor constantly tries different tactics to win Bu Yin Lou’s heart even though she is technically now Dowager Concubine and off limits according to normal decorum.

Her life at the Imperial Mausoleum is quite dandy because Xiao Duo has made it clear to everyone that she is under his protection. She sees the plight of the women stuck at the Imperial Mausoleum and realizes what Xiao Duo has done for her.

Bu Yin Lou also befriends the Emperor’s younger sister, Mu Rong Wan Wan慕容婉婉 ft Guan Chang 关畅. The Prince of Nan Yuan’s younger brother Yu Wen Liang Xu 宇文良序  ft Hang Hao Tian 韩浩天 secretly enters the imperial city. After losing a match against Mu Rong Wan Wan, he falls in love with her and decides to stay and win her affection.

The Emperor, intent on having Bu Yin Lou as a concubine for himself, sends a senior maid to teach Bu Yin Lou proper etiquette. Bu Yin Lou believes that the maid was sent by Xiao Duo and, in an act of defiance, goes to learn dancing at basically a brothel. Surprisingly, she finds Yu Wen Liang Xu there as well trying to learn the ways of winning Mu Rong Wan Wan’s heart.

Xiao Duo and Bu Yin Lou finally reconcile but Bu Yin Lou still has to find a way to avoid the Emperor’s clutches. Xiao duo suggests that the two of them head south. He is on a mission of revenge and she hopes to further escape the Emperor and to see her family. During the trip, the two finally confess their love for each other, but they must decide how to face the ever more suspicious Emperor.

 

Overall thoughts:

The drama started out strong with an intriguing premise, a ruthless and conniving eunuch falling in love with a Dowager Concubine. We have a handsome cast with Dylan Wang and Yukee Chen and we followed the two of them trying to navigate the boundaries between a eunuch and a dowager concubine.

During my initial review, I enjoyed that it was a pleasant lighthearted watch. Bu Yin Lou as a character is an easy one to like. She’s optimistic, hopeful, quick-witted, and realistic. Rare for a protagonist these days, she comes from no money or power as the discarded daughter of a court official but that doesn’t stop her from trying to find the best in every situation. She also isn’t naïve. She’ll retaliate when push comes to shove. In this drama, we can see why both Xiao Duo falls hard for her and why the emperor once did too. 

Unfortunately, as the drama moved on, I found my attention wandering. It fell into many familiar tropes of a dark knight in shining armor, not communicating with one another because one person didn’t want to hurt another etc. The plot is paper thin and squanders its intriguing premise without exploring how love between a eunuch and a woman could work. We essentially get the following. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Girl finds out boy isn’t a real eunuch. Problem solved! Now they try to escape under the watchful eye of the emperor. 

It really doesn’t help that the main couple, especially Yukee Chen wastes a pretty good role. Dylan Wang is serviceable in this drama but he doesn’t not reach anywhere near his heights in Love between Fairy and Devil.

Little made sense with the plot towards the latter part of the drama, and we get a mind-boggling ending that isn’t even an ending. Fans went so far as to petition for another ending, which the platform did provide in the end. 

Positives:

  • Dylan Wang and Chen Yu Qi have an easy chemistry that makes for a decent pairing.
  • Zeng Li as Empress Rong An just lights up the screen whenever she appears. Unfortunately, that’s few and far between
  • The supporting characters of Mu Rong Wan Wang, Yu Wen Liang Xu, Tong Yun, and Cao Chun Ang all make for fun and cute couples. Their acting is also quite comforting.

 

Negatives: 

  • Yukee  Chen / Chen Yu Qi’s performance: Every time I see Yukee Chen on screen, I always want to give her a chance. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll surprise me with another great performance like the one she had in The Princess Weiyoung back in 2016. Alas, she has thus far disappointed me and unfortunately, this one is no different. She has been criticized for her over-the-top acting in many scenes and lack of emotion in others. Out of all the actresses in this drama, she is probably the worst. In scenes with Zeng Li, the spotlight instantly shifts towards Zeng Li despite not being the main character
  • Xiao Duo’s role as Director of Zhao Ding Si: We constantly hear of Xiao Duo as the terrifying Director of Zhao Ding Si but we rarely see him or his team in action. When they do act, it’s typically to save someone, namely Bu Yin Lou. It seemed like they were reduced to her personal bodyguards.
  • Random disposal of the bad guys: We essentially have 3 bad guys in this drama. They, however, are dispatched rather anticlimactically. Which leads me to the next point.
  • Poor plot development: Characters are given more screen time in the drama to flesh out a pretty thin source material. However, I didn’t think they added much to the overall plot. Bu Yin Lou spends a lot of time learning “skills” at a brothel but literally nothing comes of it. The Emperor, especially, became extremely creepy towards the end of the drama with his obsession with Bu Yin Lou. There’s also the blatant disregard of rules by Bu Yin Lou and Xiao Duo that I found both amusing and astonishing.
  • Waste of a premise: I truly wished that a Chinese drama would actually dive into this rather unexplored topic of love between a eunuch and woman. The drama gives many reasons as to why it would basically be a wasted life for the woman but they just hint towards the fact that it’s not everything. We do get a eunuch / woman pairing but none of these topics are explored. 
  • Voice Dubbing: This is just a nit pick. It was jarring the 3 main characters all have their voice dubbed while everyone else used their real voice. It kind of gave the impression that they weren’t up to snuff, which is weird, because they’ve all starred dramas using their real voices, so I don’t know why the post-production team decided on this

Lastly, I know I mentioned reading the book. The book itself is only 100 chapters long but it also didn’t really pull me in. The book gives us more information between Bu Yin Lou’s and Xiao Duo’s feelings towards each other but it’s also squarely focused on those two. The drama significantly expands characters roles in the drama, which I think is fine. 

All in all – if you just want a light hearted romantic comedy, here’s one for you. But, apart from fans, I doubt this will appeal to mass audiences.

Cathy

Review: Thank You, Doctor (2022) 谢谢你医生

Posted on by Karen and Cathy

 

Thank You, Doctor (2022) 谢谢你医生

Summary: The cool and mysterious Xiao Yan (肖砚) decides to join the EICU team, or Emergency Intensive Care Unit, at the Tong Shan (桐山) hospital. Bai Zhu (白术), a cardiothoracic surgeon, is also sent to the EICU after complaints from patients. Xiao Yan肖砚, Bai Zhu白术, and a few other doctors make up the EICU team, led under team lead Lu Ping An (陆平安). The team are faced with many ethical and medical quandaries on how best to serve their patients. As the drama progresses, Xiao Yan 肖砚 and Bai Zhu 白术 begin to see the similarities and bright spots within each other. The two begin to put away their prejudices and biases against each other. Individual stories, relationships, and trials are told through the patients and doctors of the EICU.

This drama is based off the book ICU48小时 or 48 Hours in the ICU

 

Total Episode Count: 40

Initial Airing Date: November 4, 2022

Platform: CCTV8, iQiYi, Tencent, Youku

 

Final Rating: 6.5/10

A serviceable medical drama that shines when it focuses on medical cases but squanders it’s two leads with meandering plot lines with loose ends and an annoying supporting cast of doctors.

The pacing of the drama moves at a brisk pace with its medical cases, sometimes too fast. For each case, the drama does raise some interesting ethical questions on how to treat the patients which does force the characters, patients, and us the audience to ponder the correct path forward. However, the majority of the cases move by so quickly that we barely get time to digest before we are whisked off to the next case.

The drama was at its best when it gave the cases more breathing room and showed the motivations for the different players involved.

The character that I felt had the biggest growth was actually the head nurse Jiang Shan. Her journey with her husband was a highlight of the drama. I think Yang Mi did a decent job as the outwardly guarded but inwardly altruistic Xiao Yan. I think the overall problem is the script in which it really didn’t give the doctors much depth. The paper-thin script for the characters really did hinder the back half of the drama.

 

Xiao Yan 肖砚– Yang Mi 杨幂

An emergency medicine doctor, she is a mysterious doctor who returns from abroad. She comes from a wealthy medical family that has led her to be very independent and practical. She pursued her studies abroad after high school and joined a Swiss hospital after completing her studies. The death of her fiancé Lin Zhi Yuan was a turning point in her life, leading her to resign from her position in Switzerland to come work at the Tong Shan hospital.

Bai Zhu 白术– Bai Yu 白宇

A very talented cardiothoracic surgeon, he is nevertheless stubborn and arrogant. He believes that only by taking chances, will there be miracles. He strongly believes in pursuing any path forward to save his patients which often puts him at odds against his coworkers. His teacher transfers him to the Emergency department in hopes of changing some of his perspectives

Jiang Shan 姜杉 – Wang Yi Nan 王一楠  

The head nurse for the Emergency department. She is the organized and capable marshal of the department. All of her co-workers respect the warm-hearted and generous head nurse. Her husband suffered an accident right before their marriage, rendering him immobile. Despite all the odds, Jiang Shan, refuses to leave her husband and stays with him until the very end

Lu Ping An 陆平安 – Li Jie李解

The department lead of the Emergency department. Everyone calls him “Mama Lu”. To better serve their patients, he decides to lead the new EICU at Tong Shan Hospital while espousing Safety First. He oftentimes has differing perspectives from Bai Zhu and Xiao Yan but during times of crisis, he does not hesitate to take the mantle of leader to protect everyone in his department.

 

 

Plot Overview:

Xiao Yan (肖砚) is a doctor who’s spent years volunteering with aide organizations such as Doctors Without Borders abroad. On one trip, her fiancé dies while trying to save a patient. Xiao Yan (肖砚) decides to head to Shanghai to learn more about her fiancé’s past. There, she joins the EICU team, or Emergency Intensive Care Unit, at the 桐山 hospital. Bai Zhu (白术), a cardiothoracic surgeon, is a rising star at the 桐山 hospital. However, his arrogance puts him into some trouble, and he’s sent to the EICU instead. Xiao Yan (肖砚), Bai Zhu (白术), and a few other doctors make up the EICU team, led under team lead Lu Ping An (陆平安). The rest of the team comprises of Xu Yi Ran, Bai Zhu’s best friend, Tang Hua, and resident Chen Zhi. They are supported by the head nurse Jiang Shan and fellow nurse Lin Zhi.

The EICU team is surprised at Xiao Yan’s efficiency when she joins the team. Due her past experiences abroad, Xiao Yan spends a lot of time trying to get to know her patients and believing patients have the right to choose. This is very different from Bai Zhu’s approach, who believes that medical research should dictate his diagnoses. The two constantly butt heads on the past forward for patients including whether tell a young girl that she’s terminally ill. This becomes most evident when the two come across a deadly car crash and have to rush to save the victims. Xiao Yan prioritizes saving the greatest number of patients but Bai Zhu focuses on one patient.

 

The Head Nurse’s husband, Mr. Jiang蒋先云 , was involved in a car crash years ago that resulted in him being paralyzed from the waist down. Despite this, Jiang Shan, continues to be his primary caretaker and the breadwinner in the family. The two receive some devastating news when Mr. Jiang finds out that he has late-stage pancreatic cancer. Mr. Jiang doesn’t want to continue to burden his wife but he’s saved by the EICU team. Surprisingly, it is Bai Zhu who tells Mr. Jiang to not give up on life. Xiao Yan, on the other hand, believes that each patient has the choice to choose.

At the same time, Bai Zhu’s son Xiao Guang is rushed to the EICU. Everyone’s surprised to see that Bai Zhu has a son, but are even more shocked to see just how positive and sincere the boy is. He has the rare disease Thalassemia, and despite all odds, has lived to the age of 8. The rest of the team gradually change their attitudes towards Bai Zhu after understanding that it was his perseverance that resulted in Xiao Guang’s life.

In Shanghai, Xiao Yan tries to find the memories of her fiancé’s past but constantly comes up short. Bai Zhu is the one that helps Xiao Yan find her fiancé’s old home. As the drama progresses, Bai Zhu finds himself more and more attracted to the cold yet kind-hearted Xiao Yan. Unfortunately, Xiao Yan needs time to move past her previous relationship.

Throughout the drama, we also see snippets of the lives of the other doctors and nurses in the EICU.

 

Overall thoughts:

Overall, I thought it was a serviceable medical drama that really shone on strength of its cases. The cases move at a brisk pace that gives us the viewers a lens on the difficult choices that patients, loved ones, and doctors need to make.

I don’t want to spoil too many of the cases, and I mentioned a couple during my plot review, but another one that sticks out to me is when a social influencer decides to head to the hospital to get “views”.

This is the second medical drama that I’ve seen this year and what’s interesting is that these dramas tend to put people in a better light than I expected. For example, during car crashes, there is rarely a hit and run, but at-fault party does his / her part to try and solve the problem. Maybe I’m cynical about these things but it is heartwarming to see people to take responsibility. When the drama does show some despicable characters, it just makes it more jarring.

The drama does its best when it does allow the cases shows the motivations of each character, whether it’s the patients or the doctors.

I thought the two main leads of Yang Mi and Bai Zhu did a serviceable job but unfortunately just don’t have much to work with. Yang Mi is this cool and calm motorcycle riding doctor that shows up to work but no one knows anything about her. Yang Mi plays the part well but the problem is that we really don’t get to see or learn anything else about Xiao Yan. Yes, she does find peace with regards to fiancé but her relationship with Bai Zhu was a big question mark to me.

Bai Yu I thought went a little overboard in the arrogant / haughty doctor vibe in the beginning. He does mellow out after the first couple episodes though, especially after we learn more about his personal life and relationship with his son.

 

The supporting cast of characters was…not great. There was like only 1.5 characters that I rooted for – the Head Nurse and the team lead Lu.

Which goes to my overall problem of this drama – it’s too sterile. It’s too clean. This is an EICU unit. It’s supposed to be intense; it’s supposed to be bloody and hectic. I don’t feel like I saw much of that. At the same time, it’s also way to sterile with the characters. No one is really fleshed out except for the Head Nurse and that was because we had to spend time with her and her husband.

I was particularly annoyed at 2 characters – Tang Hua and Chen Zhi.

Tang Hua is a young ICU doctor, who I literally never saw doing any work. All she did was just wander around with Xiao Yan and then loudly comment her disgust towards the actions and attitudes of the patients if they didn’t behave in the “righteous” manner such as paying for all operations or dropping everything to pay attention to a family member in the hospital. I thought it was very unprofessional. I was hoping for growth from this character, but no, she continues to loudly voice her opinions. Even though she apologizes when she realizes her prejudices were wrong, she nonetheless continues to make them.

The next character is Chen Zhi. He’s a MD / PhD who, I think is in residency with the team. He had zero confidence in anything that he was doing and was constantly looking around for approval. He thought he found it with Tang Hua and decided to pursue her. Tang Hua repeatedly tells him that they are not a good fit but he disregards all of her words and continues to barrel through and pursue her despite her protestations. He just came off as creepy the entire time. He always had a sad look on his face and always asking – how can I do better or how can I make her like me? I honestly wanted to punch him in the face towards the end. Dude – you’re a grown man. Own up professionally and take the hint from the girl. Once again, little to no character growth. Every chance he got was given to him by other people and he only stopped pursuing Tang Hua when she forcefully had to tell him.

I wish that the script was able to do service to the cast of doctors like they did with some of the patients. Otherwise, those scenes were a slog. 

As for the ending, it just left me scratching my head because I had no idea what happened.

Overall, it’s fine as a medical drama and something to put on in the background but there are better medical dramas out there.

Let me know what you think!

Cathy

Review: Dr. Tang (2022) 关于唐医生的一切

Posted on by Karen and Cathy

 

Dr. Tang (2022) 关于唐医生的一切

Summary: Tang Jia Yu (唐佳瑜) is a very talented cardiothoracic surgeon who suddenly returns to China after spending years abroad. She is appointed as the director of Cardiology at the An He Hospital where she builds her own critical surgery team. She quickly wins over her team with her experience, skill, and grit. As she settles into her new role, she also begins building relationships with her fellow co-workers. However, a reminder from her past comes back to haunt her. She must find her way through professional and personal struggles as she must navigate the best paths for her patients and her heart.

 

 

Total Episode Count: 36

Initial Airing Date: June 25, 2022

Platform: CCTV8, iQiYi

 

Final Rating: 8/10

I decided to go down a Qin Lan (秦岚) rabbit hole since we’re covering The Story of Yanxi Palace (延禧攻略) for our main podcast. I saw previews and some fan videos of this drama during the summer with Qin Lan 秦岚 and Gao Lu 高露 (of famous Mistress Lin 林小娘 from The Story of Ming Lan 知否知否应是绿肥红瘦) so I thought, hey why not check it out!

I personally really enjoyed it. It was a down to earth drama that I thought did a great job telling individual stories, fleshing out characters, and developing our titular character of Tang Jia Yu 唐佳瑜. The plot moves quickly as Tang Jia Yu and her team diagnose and resolve over 20 cases over the course of this drama. Most of the show was focused on Tang Jia Yu and her relationships with her team and patients. The subplots were neatly connected back to the overall storyline.

This drama doesn’t skirt from the ethical questions that doctors must face when having to choose between the life of their patient and what is medically available, and I thought that really hit home with one of Tang Jia Yu’s patients. The drama also presents a pretty feminist lens as it gives the viewers different choices that different women take. The men, surprisingly, actually reflect on their choices and their goals.
I think 秦岚 really shone here by portraying the hardships of being a doctor, the struggles in her own personal life, and the resentment she feels towards her own family. But in general, I thought the acting from the cast was very comfortable, relaxed, and authentic.

I don’t watch that many medical dramas, so I don’t have much to compare. I’m also not a doctor so I don’t know how accurate any of the cases or the medical procedures are, but nothing really took me out of the experience, so as the casual viewer, it hit its mark.

 

Tang Jia Yu 唐佳瑜 – Qin Lan秦岚

The director of Cardiology at An He Ji Sheng Hospital. She at first seems to be cold-hearted and arrogant, but she’s really a kind-hearted and caring doctor who oftentimes builds personal relationships with her patients. Her patients are her top priority, often to the detriment of her personal life. She escapes back to China to flee from her personal life, but the same troubles come to find her. She finally agrees to support the development of artificial hearts once she sees the future benefits that it could have for her patients.

Ye Yi Ming 叶弈明 – Wei Da Xun 魏大勋

An anesthesiologist at An He Ji Sheng Hospital, he is a very caring and considerate guy. Hailing from a family of doctors, he chose anesthesiology instead of following in his father’s footsteps in surgery. He partners with Tang Jia Yu in several of her operations, and to their surprise, find that they make a great team. The two become closer but Tang Jia Yu needs to fight through her own demons before accepting him.

Liu Feng 刘沣 – Huang Jue 黄觉

Deputy dean of An He Ji Sheng Hospital and a Pulmonology surgeon, he is gunning for the role of Dean and was the one who invited Tang Jia Yu to take up the director position. The two dated some years back and he has always admired her skill and talent. He continues to be one of Tang Jia Yu’s biggest supporters especially in the development of artificial hearts. However, he is experiencing his own marital troubles that has him reassess his own career goals.

Ou Yang Zhen Yu 欧阳真予– Gao Lu 高露

The Medical Director at An He Ji Sheng Hospital and organ transplant coordinator. She is direct, meticulous, and unflinching. Because of her personality, she doesn’t have many friends but is viewed as a great employee. When Tang Jia Yu first arrives at the hospital, Ou Yang Zhen Yu wasn’t very pleased with this new doctor. However, after getting to know each other, they become each other’s best friend as they navigate their journeys at the hospital

 

 

Plot Overview:

Tang Jia Yu (唐佳瑜) is a very talented cardiothoracic surgeon who suddenly returns to China after spending years abroad by invitation of Liu Feng, the current deputy dean of the An He Ji Sheng Hospital, to lead the cardiology department. She quickly forms her own critical illness team. Faced with swirling rumors between herself and Liu Feng because they used to date, she nonetheless wins over her team and the rest of the hospital with her experience, abilities, and perseverance.

As she settles into her new role, Tang Jia Yu (唐佳瑜) finds a great operating partner in the form Ye Yi Ming, a rising star in the anesthesiology department. Tang Jia Yu (唐佳瑜) moves into the unit next door to Ye Yi Ming due to its proximity to the hospital and the two begin to form a closer bond. Ye Yi Ming was warned by Liu Feng that dating Tang Jia Yu will have its own difficulties, but he nevertheless begins to fall for her.

As the new department lead, Tang Jia Yu (唐佳瑜) must also adhere to proper medical practices and procedures. These are overseen by the meticulous and distant Ou Yang Zhen Yu. The two women spar at first but they develop a begrudging respect for one another. The two quickly become friends after Ou Yang Zhen Yu comes to Yang Jia Yu for relationship advice.

 

The hospital believes that the R&D of artificial hearts will bring extra revenue to the hospital and hope that Tang Jia Yu will lead the research. However, she’s hesitant on this project as she believes she doesn’t have the time and energy to make it successful.

With each successful surgery, her team continues to learn from her, but individual team members each face their own personal pressures and must decide whether to continue a career in medicine.

The sudden return of Tang Jia Yu’s husband surprises everyone at the hospital, including Tang Jia Yu. He cheated on her with one of his students but wants to rekindle the relationship. She agrees to give him a chance. Ye Yi Ming is heartbroken at this news. However, Tang Jia Yu’s relationship woes are only compounded when her husband’s former fling also arrives to continue the affair. When the woman is diagnosed with a rare heart condition, Tang Jia Yu has no choice but to save her. After the surgery, Tang Jia Yu finally files for divorce from her husband.

Over the course of the drama, Tang Jia Yu is faced with constant challenges. Some difficult cases include what she must do when one of her friends falls into a coma while waiting for a new heart. Her stepsister has a rare heart condition, and she must decide whether to proceed with a surgery while pregnant.

Tang Jia Yu finally agrees to support the R&D for acritical hearts, but they collaborate with the engineer to agree on a proposal and obtain funding.

As Tang Jia Yu finds peace with her own career and family, she must finally choose the relationship that she wants to have with Ye Yi Ming.

 

Overall thoughts:

I binged watched this show in the summer and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.

To me at least, it wasn’t really a drama that was really a romance drama cloaked under a medical drama, but the opposite. Tang Jia Yu’s team had to solve medical cases and we saw the aftermath of how those cases impacted each of the characters. The focus was on the patients and the cases. The subplots and romances grew organically out of those cases.

I particularly enjoyed the range in cases that Tang Ji Yu and the rest her team had to face. I won’t spoil too much of them here, but many also involved ethical and financial questions. For example, how should a patient decide whether to move forward with a surgery if it will cost $40K but they don’t have the money? What if the patient does have the means to pay but that $40K will only buy a few more days of survival in hopes of finding another donor? What is the risk a patient is willing to take for not fully vetted treatment?

These are questions and cases that the characters in the drama need to choose. I liked that many of the answers were intentionally gray because those are tough choices!

In general, the whole drama just feels alive. The show doesn’t hesitate to show how tough life is for a doctor. Tang Jia Yu is constantly exhausted. She doesn’t cook. She looks frazzled and when she does have days off, all she wants to do is sleep. Hey, you know what, I totally feel her! I’m not a doctor but when work is really tough, that’s all I want to do as well. But when she is at work, she’s at the top of her game. She’s a badass surgeon who is also a tough but fair boss. That’s so refreshing because oftentimes, we just see female characters in Chinese dramas wearing heels and a full face of makeup performing the most ridiculous tasks that don’t fit their occupation at all.

I literally breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that all of the female doctors were wearing sneakers, had minimal makeup, and just put their hair up in a ponytail when not in the operating room. Based on what I know from my doctor friends, no one has time to get dolled up.

Which brings me to my next point. In the drama, each person has her or his own life and we only get a glimpse of it outside of the hospital. Which is good, because otherwise, it would be a different type of show. People are ambitious and behave as you would expect in the workplace. There isn’t really a “bad” person in the drama. The one “bad” character just has his own agenda, but he doesn’t try to sabotage a patient for the sake of a promotion.

We also find out more about the different characters based on their interactions with patients and hospital staff. Ou Yang Zhen Yu is an avid romance reader. There’s an attendant who is struggling to pay the bills because well, they aren’t paid that much. Another doctor is mourning the death of his fiancée. The Deputy Dean of the Hospital, Liu Feng, is shocked to hear that his wife is depressed but tries to make amends. Each subplot moves forward without bickering and cattiness.

The only person who is a bit of a wet noodle is unfortunately our male lead Ye Yi Ming叶弈明. He’s a nice guy or in Chinese a 暖男 (Warm Guy) that’s there to support Tang Jia Yu  and that’s about it. He’s just nice. Even his sister in the show is more interesting than him. That being said, that’s basically Wei Da Xun’s 魏大勋 M.O. He’s just the nice guy so this character fits the bill.

In general, the acting from the cast was great. As I mentioned, it was comfortable. The interactions between the characters didn’t feel forced and I thought they all did admirably in the surgery scenes.

The cast is filled out with many familiar faces including the aforementioned Gao Lu. The actress for Ming Yu in The Story of Ming Lan also makes an appearance. There’s tons of cameos from other actors and actresses so please do try to see who you recognize in the drama.

I liked that at the end of each episode where this is a case, the drama added doctors or had the cast provide more details about the medical illness or condition that was being treated. Again, I’m not a doctor but it did feel like the drama did its homework with regards to the individual cases.

 

I’ll take some points off due to the prolonged will they / won’t they relationship between Tang Jia Yu and Ye Yi Ming. That whole plotline went for way to long at the end. I totally didn’t understand why Tang Jia Yu just left him hanging for so long.

I also think that maybe the drama was a little too rosy? As in each person was ultimately a nice person or had grand gestures. Perhaps because this is a medical drama and the show wanted to bring out the best in people so that’s why they did it, but there was basically no truly selfish person in the show. Yes, it’s supposed to be a lighthearted drama but I thought it went a little overboard at some points. For example, a patient says that she has no money and another character basically says, don’t worry about it. I’ll pay for your tens of thousands of dollars operation. Uh – I don’t think that’s how it work? If it is, who does that and where can I sign up?

All in all, this was a very comforting watch. It’s nowhere near as dramatic as Grey’s Anatomy but it does tug at your heartstrings at certain points. I was rooting for all of our characters by the end of the drama and I hope you do too.

Let me know what you think!

 

Cathy

Review: A Familiar Stranger (2022) 虚颜

Posted on by Karen and Cathy

 

A Familiar Stranger (2022) 虚颜

Summary: A short drama where each episode is only 10 min, the story revolves around a fateful night where the stunning beauty Shen Qin, daughter of the Chancellor, seeks a painter, a young woman named Seventeen. Using Seventeen’s sister’s life to threaten her, Shen Qin forces Seventeen to take her place and marry the handsome general Xiao Han Sheng. But the catch is, Shen Qin swapped faces with Seventeen. Unbeknownst to Seventeen, this General turns out to be the exact young warrior that saved her life three years ago.

 

Total Episode Count: 18

Initial Airing Date: Sep 23, 2022

Platform: MangoTV

 

Final Rating: 7.5/10

This drama was recommended to us by a fan of Chasing Dramas and because it’s only 18 episodes long and 10 min each, I decided sure, let’s check it out. And I surprisingly really liked it! To me, it is one of the better dramas of the year. Short dramas have become more popular this year with episodes ranging from just 2 min to 20min. A rather different format from the standard 45 min dramas we’re used to but that doesn’t mean there’s no quality content!

My first impression is that this is the equivalent of a steamy romance novel brought to life. Because of its short episode length, the drama is very tightly and well written. The chemistry between the two main leads is palpable and you end up watching this drama with a smile on your face.  It’s cute, romantic and sometimes thrilling. The cast is relatively unknown but I think they did a great job. It is not a drama you can think too much about in terms of setting and cultural restrictions because there are some plot holes and questionable actions by key characters but that does not detract from a breezy and fun watch. The length was perfect for this drama.

 

Seventeen 十七/Shen Qin 沈沁 – Ke Ying 柯颖

Originally just a young painter at a brothel who specialized at portraits, Seventeen is forced to swap faces with the beautiful Shen Qin and takes her place to marry the handsome general, Xiao Han Sheng. However, she is stunned to find that he is the warrior that saved her life three years ago and whom she loved ever since. She is torn on how to behave given that she is threatened by the real Shen Qin to do her bidding in the General’s home.

Xiao Han Sheng 萧寒声 – Cheng Lei 丞磊

A young and kind General forced to marry Shen Qin, the daughter of the chancellor, even though he fell in love with a young woman he saved years ago. After spending time with Shen Qin though, he started to suspect that she is connected to the woman he loved.

Shen Qin 沈沁/Seventeen 十七 – Song Zhao Yi 宋昭艺

A cruel and manipulative woman with stunning beauty, she forces Seventeen to swap faces with her and marry Xiao Han Sheng so that she can stay with her love, the philandering Prince Ning.  

Prince Ning 宁王 – Wang Ze Xuan  王泽轩

A philandering prince with eyes on the throne, he instructs Shen Qin to marry Xiao Han Sheng in order to get intel on the Crown Prince’s death even though he had romantic liaisons with Shen Qin before marriage. But once she’s actually married, he starts becoming jealous of her new attachment to the general.

 

 

Plot Overview:

Young painter Seventeen is simply trying to make a living painting portraits and find her older sister when she is paid an unexpected visit by a mysterious but beautiful Shen Qin. She is the daughter of the Chancellor who must marry the general Xiao Han Sheng the next day. Using Seventeen’s sister as a threat, Shen Qin first forces Seventeen to paint Shen Qin while she’s having an amorous liaison with Prince Ning.  Despite Shen Qin’s protests, Prince Ning forces her to continue with their plan for Shen Qin to marry Xiao Han Sheng in order to gain intel on Xiao Han Sheng and their knowledge on the crown prince’s death. In order to escape the marriage, Shen Qin forces Seventeen to swap faces with her and sends Seventeen in her place.

When Seventeen wakes up, she shrieks in fright at seeing her new face and is shocked at the fact that she is now getting married. But even more surprising is that the man she is married to is precisely the man who saved her life three years ago and who she fell in love with. Xiao Han Sheng is a capable general who at first respects Shen Qin but also starts suspecting something was amiss when Shen Qin starts behaving like the woman he fell in love with.  How will Seventeen, now Shen Qin, act after being caught in between Xiao Han Sheng’s kindness and Shen Qin’s threats?

 

 

Overall thoughts:

This is a drama that falls into familiar tropes but the viewer accepts that because the pace of the show is so fast and the chemistry between the leads is so strong. You’re just happy to be along for the ride and watch the unfolding of the romance before your eyes.  It is a fairytale romance drama that even older viewers would enjoy.  I appreciated that there were more risque themes throughout the show which showcased some of the freedom that the director and writers have for this drama format. It was a refreshing change from the much more conservative turns for the popular romance dramas in recent years.

The best aspect of this drama is that because it is so short, there’s no need for any secondary plot points or storylines. It’s just this one main thread from start to finish. Many dramas nowadays add filler characters which can drag down the drama if not done well (looking at you The Blue Whisper). But here, there’s no concern with that. And because each episode is so short, you’re able to easily consume the entire drama with ease.

The acting for the cast was great, especially the two female leads who portray the different roles with a distinct contrast so you can easily tell when one is Shen Qin vs Seventeen. I also really enjoyed Xiao Han Sheng’s actor. He reminds me so much of Allen Ren with his earnest gaze and kind features. I hope this helps him garner more roles in the future. 

Plus, the cute little bumpkin that is Xiao Han Sheng’s adoptive daughter is just adorable. 

In terms of improvements, this is a drama you cannot spend too much time thinking about the details. You have to just willfully accept that a mysterious person can swap the faces of two people over night with no side effects and certain life-threatening injuries are healed pretty quickly.  And it’s quite obvious that this drama has a smaller budget but again, that does not detract from the quality show. As long as you enjoy the show in it’s little contained world, there’s plenty to enjoy. 

Let me know what you think!

 

Karen