Season 1 – Ep 45

We’re rounding down season 1. In episode 45, Fan Xian and company head to the palace because it is now time for the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebrations. The entire reason why Fan Xian is still IN the Qi kingdom is because of this birthday. As expected for this type of event, everyone is in attendance – the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, Hai Tang Duo Duo, Shang Shan Hu, Shen Zhong, the rest of court and then Fan Xian plus his men.

When the event starts, Lang Tao, the best fighter in all the land, appears and requests a battle with Fan Xian. He wants to test Fan Xian’s mettle. Of course, it’s to push Fan Xian down a couple of notches and make Fan Xian lose face on behalf of the Qing kingdom because it’s obvious that Lang Tao is a better fighter. 

It was only tense for a hot second because Hai Tang Duo Duo, the saintess, steps in and says she wants the opportunity to fight Fan Xian after his inappropriate comments towards her. The Empress Dowager approves and then we get a super weird sword dance fighting scene. I honestly have no idea what’s happening for this scene and don’t really understand why it was filmed that way. But the two basically just phone it in. They’re even called out for it by an official but in the end, they end the match in a draw. That really is the best outcome for all sides.

Now here is where the fun starts. Shang Shan Hu steps forward to accuse Shen Zhong of betraying vital secrets from the Qi kingdom to the Qing kingdom. The Empress Dowager initially thought this was preposterous because Shen Zhong is a devoted and loyal member of the court. Yes that’s true, BUT, as Shang Shan Hu points out, his sister may not be as fool proof. He exposes that Shen Zhong’s sister is romantically linked with Yan Bing Yun and may have leaked crucial secrets to the Qing kingdom. After all, she was involved in Yan Bing Yun’s rescue.

This is not a good look for Shen Zhong, especially with SHang Shan Hu really hammering for Shen Zhong’s sister to be locked up and interrogated. Sadly, neither the Empress Dowager nor the Emperor step in to save him. The Empress Dowager keeps Shen Zhong’s position, but orders that the python embroidery on his robes be removed. We’ll talk about that later in the podcast episode as to why that is a big slap in the face. It signals that he has lost favor from the Empress Dowager and unlikely to come back from it.

With that, the Empress Dowager agrees to a trade deal between the 2 kingdoms and that concludes Fan XIan’s diplomatic trip. Everything he set out to do? Done. Good for him.

Now it’s just about tying up loose ends. First is telling Shang Shan Hu where his adoptive father is buried. Second, is setting up the key contact for the spy network in the Qi kingdom. On the surface, it’s the bumbling idiot Guo Bao Kun but the true key man is actually He Dao Ren. Interestingly enough, this information is fully known to the Emperor of the Qi kingdom. Looks like Lang Tao was actually in league with the Emperor all along even though he was working for Shen Zhong to kill Xiao En. They know everything that’s going it looks like that fan xian is trying to set up. I want to point out here that once again, this Qi Emperor is much more savvy that meets the eye. He has powerful allies in the form of Hai Tang Duo Duo and Lang Tao. At the same time, the Empress Dowager did not hesitate to essentially dispatch Shen Zhong. Was this all really due to Fan Xian’s actions or did the Emperor and Empress Dowager silently push for these events?

The last person he sees is Zhuang Mo Han. It’s to have a parting conversation to inform him that his brother, Xiao En has passed. The last time the 2 met, Zhuang Mo Han tried to humiliate Fan Xian in front of court but that backfired as Fan Xian recited more than a hundred poems which garnered him the poet saint. Rather than be upset at Fan Xian, Zhuang mo han has spent his remaining time trying to decipher and explain the poetry. The two have a rather open chat where Fan Xian felt comfortable sharing that his information came from another era. These are phrases that Zhuang Mo Han doesn’t understand but that doesn’t matter. In one brief moment, Fan Xian felt like he could share his truth. 

THe episode ends with Fan XIan and company heading out on their long journey home. It’s not going to be simple as Shen Zhong rallies his loyal men for one last suicidal mission to take Fan Xian down. 

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There’s a decent amount of history discussed in this episode so let’s start.

First is when the Empress Dowager commands the stripping of Shen Zhong’s python robe. The phrase the Empress Dowager uses is 蟒纹. That translates to Python pattern.

During the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China from the 14th century to 17th centuries CE, different officials wore different patterns according to their rank. The highest and most powerful officials were gifted the Python robe. That was only one step below the Emperor who wore the dragon robe. In Chinese culture, the Python pattern is very similar to the Dragon pattern with the main difference being that the Python had 4 claws on each of its 4 legs while the Dragon had 5 claws on its 4 legs. Yes yes, I know pythons don’t have legs but let’s just go with it for Chinese culture. The Python pattern was typically only granted to men at court of the 1st rank or other 1st rank princes. It was a status symbol that men wore proudly at court. If we look at Shen Zhong in the drama, it’s tough to spot but I think the only place where he’s wearing the Python Pattern is his sleeves. If you look at replicas of the Python robe during the Ming Dynasty, it’s front and center on the chest so it’s very in your face. 

Next, let’s discuss 庄墨韩 the Northern Qi scholar. This is the last time we see the old scholar. His name is very peculiar. 庄墨韩 is an amalgamation of 3 very famous scholars in Chinese history. Zhuang Zi, Mo Zi and Hang Fei Zi. They all lived during the Warring States period which lasted from the 5th Century BCE to the 3rd Century BCE, but not all at the same time. These three men all contributed to the rise of the Hundred Schools of Thought during that time period. They all wrote influential texts that have survived to this day, hence why people still study them and they have influenced countless generations. 

Zhuang Zi 庄子 represented Daoism. He, along with Lao Zi, promoted the natural order of the world which was the Daoist worldview. Zhuang Zi contributed to the writing of the classical text that is now known as Zhuang Zi but it is now widely believed that he did not write the whole text. 

墨子 Mo Zi was the creator of the Mohist school of thought, which became a prominent school alongside Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. Mo Zi and his followers believed in universal love as in treating people equally, frugality, aggression against war, and utilitarianism. 

Then lastly there’s Han Fei Zi, 韩非子. He studied under the Confucian scholar 荀子 but eschewed Confucian thought. He instead contributed to the development of Legalism. He had a much more pessimistic view of human nature and believed humans needed to be governed through rule of law. He promoted power, law, and a centralized state. This was all extremely influential to the Kingdom of Qin who adopted this school of thought. When the first Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the kingdoms and created the Qin Dynasty, he promoted Legalism as the governing philosophy for the dynasty. He enacted strict laws and centralized power, laying the groundwork for all future Chinese imperial governments but this also contributed to the rapid decline of the dynasty.

Coming back to the drama, the character Zhuang Mo Han is a world renown scholar who has studied the works of many before him. His name is a nod to some of the most influential scholars in chinese history.

Next during the last conversation between Zhuang Mo Han and Fan Xian, Zhuang Mo Han asks Fan Xian about two poems as the locations and anecdotes do not exist in his historical archives.

The first lines Zhuang Mo Han inquires about are: 曾经沧海难为水，除却巫山不是云

The full poem goes as such:

曾经沧海难为水，除却巫山不是云

取次花丛懒回顾，半缘修道半缘君

Here’s my translation:

Having once witnessed the vastness of the ocean, all other waters pale in comparison;

Having once beheld the misty clouds over Mount Wu, all other clouds lose their appeal.

Even in the garden of flowers, I cannot be bothered to look at one

Half is due to the taoist path I’m cultivating, the other is because of you

This poem was the 4th of a collection of 5 poems written by the Tang Dynasty poet 元稹zhěn. 离思五首

He wrote them in 809 as a tribute to his deceased wife. Yuan Zhen successfully passed the imperial entrance exams earlier in the decade and married his wife 韦丛. She died after 7 years of marriage at the age of 27. 元稹 dearly loved his wife and wrote several poems to remember her. This is a very famous one. 

As for Mount Wu or 巫山 – there is a Wu Shan in modern day Chong Qing, but the Wu Shan referred to in the poem is a mythical mountain where there was a beautiful goddess who came down from the mountains to have a rendezvous with the King of Chu. 

Lastly, the other line that Zhuang Mo Han inquires about is this”

陈王昔时宴平乐，斗酒十千恣欢谑

Fan Xian gives a brief explanation that this is about a Prince of Chen with the last name Cao who held a banquet. Here’s the translation:

Back in the day, the Prince of Chen, Cao Zhi, held a grand banquet at Ping Le Hall; a single dou of wine was worth ten thousand coins, and the revelers drank to their hearts’ content.

This line comes from the poem 将进酒 – Song of the Immortal by Wine. I talked about the more famous lines in the poem in my discussion of episode 27 part 1. 

This was written by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai who lived in the 8th century CE. As we discussed, he wrote this poem while out drinking with friends, lamenting his marginalization from politics and inability to realize his ideals. These two lines can be found towards end of the poem.

Cao Zhi was the son of Cao Cao, a key figure during the Three Kingdoms period in China. Cao Zhi lived in the later 2nd Century and 3rd Century CE and was known for his written works. In the poem, Li Bai states the Prince spent gold on lavish parties, why is the host stating he does not have enough money? Refill the wine glass for more drink!

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Let us conclude with book differences!

During the Empress Dowager’s banquet, there a few fights between the members of the Qing Kingdom and the officials of the Qi Kingdom. Gao Da wins a fight against a Qi Kingdom warrior who is closely allied against Lang Tao. Lang Tao then asks to fight Fan Xian. That’s where Hai Tang Duo Duo steps in.  The “fight” between Hai Tang Duo Duo and Fan Xian is a subdued fight rather than a dance. The screenwriters really went to town with this scene. In the book, Shen Zhong is just an afterthought, so there’s no confrontation. After the banquet, the Emperor summons Fan Xian where he grills Fan Xian on the rest of the story of Dream of the Red Chamber. Fan Xian is stunned that the Emperor knows but plays along. The rest of the episode with the scene with Zhuang Mo Han plays out more or less the same as in the book.