The Sword and the Brocade

I enjoyed this one a lot when it came out in 2021. It's a great slow-burn romance, which might be frustrating to some because the leads do make mistakes initially. Their missteps threaten to undo their relationship altogether, but it's a journey worth watching as they learn to trust and love one another wholeheartedly. Additionally, great chemistry and acting from the leads, bolstered by a wonderful supporting cast and memorable soundtrack, help move the story along.

It's not all about romance - life for a woman in the Ming dynasty is hard. The opening shot of the 1st episode lays out one of these main issues/themes: the difference between the legal wife/children and the "illegitimate". This plays out throughout the whole drama, with some to tragic ends and others with heartwarming journeys of redemption and reconciliation. Highly recommend, also a great one to rewatch.

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Look elsewhere if you are searching for a historical romance drama

The Sword and the Brocade was very high on my to-watch list since the day they released the teaser images. This drama stars two of the better (if not best) category actors in China. I thought there was no way they could go wrong because the synopsis and the BTS clips were all too good for me to expect that this drama would end up not delivering. Heck, I wish I went in with lower expectations and I wouldn't come out with such mixed feelings.

PLOT:
I thought to expect a lot of politics and scheming since the synopsis mentions "a girl with a low birth status". But the promise of the FL reaching up high in the ranks was what caught my interest. The drama reads like a typical harem drama and for most part- it is. The harem politics is what kept me engaged and enjoying uptil ep 30 (with some glitches in the process) or so after which it started going downhill. The drama was absolutely phenomenal upto 30-something episodes and after that I just started getting bored. I would be lying if I don't say at times I struggled or even went to the skip button to get past some irrelevant plots.

WHAT WORKS:
Harem politics might not be everyone's thing but here it wasn't that heavy. I enjoyed the cattiness of the concubines but it became a bit too unrealistic by the end. Qianfeng was annoying but she actually made the drama more fun for me.
The next and main highlight are the leads. I've not seen such amazing brainy, calm and level headed leads in a drama since a long time. The FL is like a modern women who keeps her wits and knows how to survive in a cruel or challenging situations. The ML seems cold but is more tsundere as the story progresses. It was a bit cringey with him having so many women around him but his doting and dedication towards the FL was brilliant. Both leads have issues and go through the misunderstanding trope a few times but it never drags. I loved how they always resolved problems and their romance build up is enjoyable in spite of the age gap between the leads. However, I did wish for it to not lost steam later on. For still making it work, I give kudos to Wallace and Seven because they play their parts pretty well. I admit the slow/lack of romance was disappointing but the maturity of both and their little interactions were enough for me.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
The boring and draggy second-half. I wonder where that enjoyment went. This drama went downhill the moment they got rid of the main "villain". Later it made me realize that until then the harem and romance were the only things that could hold the drama. Unfortunately the drama chose to focus on other plots which I didn't care so much about. The leads getting together was acted well but should have been way earlier. Even the ending was underwhelming at best as the events leading up to it made me lose all my earlier excitement.

OST:
The OST and music of this drama is quite nice. I recommend a listen.

OVERALL:
This drama could have been my absolute favourite but I am sad it didn't work out that way by the end. Nonetheless, it's a good one-time watch with some skipping to make it more bearable. Wallace Chung and Seven Tan do not disappoint but I wish they had better scripts to work with. I still believe this story could have focused on other things and have been more enjoyable. I still don't hesitate to recommend it because I quite enjoyed the good parts of the drama.

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Reputable, Brave & Lovely Main Leads + Severe Polygamy delineation~!

This drama got me so whipped the entire time and put me in quite a few mood swings during its duration.

A well planned, produced and written story that will surely touch you in every corner there is. I expected it to be Good but not THIS 'GOOD'. An example of a Solid drama that surpasses the Great tier and should be lined up along the BEST OF BEST!

I've got so much to say but lemme just summarize it to the best way I can cause this will be endless for sure IF i don't limit myself. Hahaha~

×× Things I LIKE and/or Love.
+ The characters are well-versed and truly showcases different views, situations and emotions that are relatable to probably anyone who would watch it.

+ Smart Story and Plot, It feels so surreal to be able to watch such production who's incorporated with proper planning and thinking after a long time. This drama provided it all beyond my expectation and truly nailed it.

+ Refreshing character development and world building. Something that is rarely seen these days due to 'recycling-whats-popular' trend nowadays. A breath of fresh air I must say.

+ The EVER reliable Main Leads who're always there to help nonetheless of the situation and is always ready to take charge and resolve things. Both of them are brave and responsible individials whose sense of responsibilty and understanding is beyond and above the normal/standard.

×× Things I Dislike and/or Hate.
+ Terrible presentation of Polygamy. I always hated the Idea of having more than 1 Wife and this show just infuriated me for doing so.

+ This is more like a compliment but I hate the villains here more than I do to other dramas antagonists I've ever watched.

Story - 10, Story & Plot wise it's top notch. No words needed. A story that is highly and worth recommending to almost everyone. This production won't disappoint one way or another.

Acting/Cast - 10, Oh God! Phenomenal set of Actors. 💯 All of them nailed it and it's really rare for a drama to do that. Their way of executing emotions and reaching out to their viewers is something to take note of. One of a kind.

Music - 10, I honestly didn't focused much on the music side cause I was so engrossed on how the story unfolds but simply base on the BGMs and insert music I've listened to, I can say that it's decent, Good even. No complaints at all

Rewatch Value - 9, For me, It is on the level of 'Nirvana in Fire'. A drama I wouldn't get tired watching of no matter how many times I watch it. It will always has that multiple spark that will glued your eyes on the screen gradually and consistently.

Overall - 10, This shouldn't even be a question at this point. This drama deserves more than what it has achieved. The way it's produced and presented to viewers felt so refreshing and relatively new. I can assure anyone that this drama will never disappoint.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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MUST WATCH!

This drama is so beautiful! GIVE IT A TRY! The music and outfits are greatly designed, the storyline is wonderfully written! JUST WATCH! :D

The main couple, side couples, and the kids are so cute! The romance between the main couple comes later but their interactions are so sweet! They understand each other and respect each other... any who I don't like writing long reviews so yeahh... just watch LOL! ................................................................................................................they required 500 characters when writing a review...............................................have a nice day! :D

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Families Fuel !!!

GREAT DRAMA!!!
I 💜love watching Seven T. Her acting skills it’s very natural. She one of my favorite actresses. The Other act well too. Storyline is good. Lots of actions. Basically about Families, Power, Revenge, Tragedy and Concubines fighting for love and attention for the Prince. Typical Historic Dramas. Some of the characters I wonder what happens to them. It needs a little bit more supporting details. I feel it’s a little bit lack in some parts. If you don’t care about the details. The story it’s good all the way through. I finished in 2 weeks 😊. Watch it again…maybe. I still have lots of dramas to watch. Going down the drama list 😀😃

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Survival & empowerment within the husband's harem and politics.

• Contains spoilers, read at your own risk. You can skip to the bullet points if you want a more general review. •

The Sword and The Brocade was nothing like what I expected it to be. When I first heard about this drama, I was a bit skeptical and a bit excited because I wasn't sure how I felt about a concubine's daughter marrying into Marquis Yongping's manor (meaning she'd probably be manipulated and schemed against a lot which came true but less than I thought) but I was excited that it was a Ming Dynasty based drama as they are usually uncommon so it was nice to see something different for a change. Shi Yi Niang proved herself to be quite an independent as well as intelligent woman throughout the entire drama. She married into Marquis Yongping's manor with a motive of investigating her mother's death and ended up catching Xu Lingyi's (Marquis Yongping) attention in the process. She fought through his entire harem (3 concubines) and made them believe that they succeeded in scheming against her when in reality she was the real successful one. She went through constant disapproval of her concubine's daughter status from her mother-in-law as well as her sister-in-law without complaining once about how they were treating her and instead earned their respect from everything she did. She defied the ethics of being a married woman back then when she got involved with Xianling Pavilion with her husband's support rather than approval. I absolutely loved her character because it shows so much female empowerment. It proves that it's not only every successful man has a supportive woman behind him but it shows that it could be vice versa even in ancient times when things like what she was doing were seen as shameful. Most of the drama was focused on family importance, the development of our ML & FL's romance, our FL's intelligent and politics in regards to the sea ban. Some parts of politics were interesting when the scheming was happening but all in all, I try to avoid those as much as possible lol. I would recommend this drama to someone who usually enjoys a slight mix of politics and the scheming tricks of a harem (with an intelligent FL).

To sum it up in bullet points:
• Mix of politics and harem schemes.
• Ming dynasty based drama which is uncommon so it was exciting to see all the different costumes.
• FL is very intelligent and independent which she proves throughout the drama.
• Small but interesting harem schemes.
• Defied societal standards of women in ancient times with her involvement in Xianling Pavilion.
• Message of female empowerment.
• Gained respect from mother-in-law and sister-in-law despite her concubine's daughter status.
• Would recommend to someone who enjoys a bit of politics and harem/family schemes.

OST: Personally I didn't find anything catchy about the OSTs in the drama but I thought they were very suitable to the drama. I have yet to find a drama where the OST doesn't match the development of the drama. It gives calm but slight powerful tunes. I mainly remember the ending song because the beginning of it was the catchiest to me.

Acting: I had actually never watched Wallace Chung in a drama before this one and I can safely say, he was worth the watch lol. I personally think he was a bit too emotionless and could've fixed his facial expressions better when he was upset but overall he did pretty well in his role. I loved Seven Tan's acting in this. She played her young lady role amazingly and her body language/expressions were outstanding. The one thing I think that wasn't that believable was her at the end when she had become an more developed woman (after she had a kid). I think that is due to her sort of baby face though so that may be why.

Ending: It was a happy ending. It fulfilled what the drama wanted to fulfill throughout and it showed one big happy family together. I do wish that Shi Yi Niang had more children with Xu Lingyi because I believe they could've but for the purpose of protecting the eldest son's importance, I think the screenwriter/direction settled with just giving them one child. Overall it was cute though seeing how everyone was happy and the scheming was over.

Rewatch Value: I would definitely rewatch but I don't see it in the near future. I think I'll find myself coming back to this drama when I need a less intense drama to watch that still includes politics and scheming.

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most horrible cdrama

okay I wanted to rate a 0 but I couldn’t. fl is 15 ml has 3 concubines a dying wife and 2 kids. fl is sisters with the ml dying wife.
treating this man like a baby that needs a 15 year old to care for him. the age gap is so so bad. just so degrading bro he has 3 concubines and 2 kids like WTF! this is so so bad who made this??? how is this popular? what kinda ml and he only wants her bc she can look after his kids….. wtf! it made me think all historical dramas where full of this pure crapppppppp!!! till I watched blossom and the prisoner of a beauty right after and oh boy do I recommend. if u see this review please do not watch this show. it’s so bad. the ml is so bad like so so bad.

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Watchable,, amazing ost, amazing acting, i enjoy the story

## ABOUT ACTING ##

I really admire Tan Songyun's acting skills！！ When she was filming "under the power", I felt a little weird because I havent watch her historical dramas, but when watch it i feel it was not bad ,

but this time it made me admire her! Omaigot! Tan song yun acting is very good! And the othes artists aren't bad either ,, sometimes there are only a few that are annoying, im not sure is too deep in acting or not



##ABOUT EDITING, STORY, PLOT##

at the beginning of the story, in my opinion, the words used are quite complicated and require subtitles, but when it is at the end of the story, as long as you can listeningb Chinese and read the chinese subtittle is easier to understand(i need the chinese sub even i use english sub or my country sub)

### at first there are also scenes that are missed but still acceptable because they are not too important, but hence foward,, the more important and awaited scenes are not shown, very frustrating!!!

Detail good enough ,but sometimes i feel the flashback for explaining how that thing happen a little bit unimportant (not related),,, good enough, but the annoying is when there is a scene that happens directly or i expected to know how its happen,,but is not shown how it happened ,, or the flashback is not related to the scene (ep 19 opening scene ) (ep 45 how shiyiniang can get free?! Omaigot! Frustrated! Im waiting for this but!


### And and the timing was pass very absurd ,, it could shuddenly already passed 1 month and sometimes when flashback how the thing happen the timing is unclear, like when they plan that, and whether the flashback is the 2nd meeting or the same meeting (it is unclear because their clothes are the same, but impossible at the same meeting) like oulixing and xu family spy meeting,, wheb the first meeting xu family spy not knowing about HUPO

and sometimes they seem to plan something but immediately do the plan , and not told out , so didnt know whan the plan is , when ouyanxing help shiyiniang for cure erniang ,,and the most is when oulixing planning something for framing marquis ! not said at all







## the scene that I think happened suddenly (spoiler) ##

1. When yuanniang know the next xu mistress candidate is shiyiniang? ,,, even though it has been changed to erniang,, and change back at the same day when yuanniang be in agony
2. ‎When Shiyiniang was thrown back to Luo manor when investigated yuanniang death
3. ‎when marquis know that erniang hand was injured? And he warn wangyu
4. ‎how can the woman who provoked xianling pavilion worker escaped?
5. ‎when madam luo know about the real cause of yuanniang death
6. ‎when marquis stuck at shandong (It doesn't make sense, suddenly 1 month and Madam Xu just found a clue about what hurt the marquis,and then marquis plan a trap then come back like that)
7. ‎how shiyiniang escape from death?! Omaigot they skip the scene! Frustrating me!

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On how to be the 'perfect' daughter, wife, mother . .

If you want to sit through hours of lessons on how to be the perfect woman centuries ago, then this drama is for you. It was not for me. Shiyi, our main female lead, may gently lose her way but she is always selfless, looking out for others and willing to take blame. Ever patient, she uses her intelligence and skills only in the service of the causes of others.

Everyone around her, from her husband, to her own family, to her inlaws, is frustrating, narrow-minded and stubborn, though there is a nice growth and bond that forms between Shiyi and the Marquis Yongping over time. There's a fair amount of overacting from the side characters.

The music is nice, there really is nothing to rewatch. I grade on other criteria as well:

Complex Themes: 5.0
Be selfless and center others, your family, and your country and you will be rewarded with a contentful, joyful life.

Character Growth: 6.5
Shiyi becomes a more mature character, and her husband loosens up over time, but there isn't much character growth.

Relationships between Women/Complex Women characters: 7.0
On one hand, there's a lot of women, they interact a lot, and the discussion is not quite all about men. On the other hand, they are all stereotypes with very little depth.

Cinematography/Production Values: 8.0
For a smaller period drama, the costume, set and jewelry design is all excellent, really beautiful and creative with interesting flourishes and color combinations. The sets are a bit small and claustrophobic (almost nothing is shot in the 'real world' all on 4 or so established sets). There's very little action or complex scenes. The camera shoots straight on with very little creativity.

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Promising but Fizzled Out

This drama had the potential to be really good with a promising start but fizzling out towards the third quarter. The story has 2 main plots- the FL being a ranking official's main wife managing the harem and the ML surviving political conflicts with his quest for the emperor to end the sea trading ban. Even though the writers connected the plots together, the political scenes gave me a detached feel making me use the fast forward buttons for those. In contrast, I found the harem plot to be rather unique as it shows how the harem/polygamy practice causes pain and suffering not only to the women involved but also to the men. Although the harem premise of this drama is a huge turn-off to many, the redeeming aspect is that the ML realizes he loves only FL/his main wife and fights the system/elders refusing to accept any more concubines. The story became tiring and draggy as the episodes progressed no matter how clever some of the arcs were. I am quite disappointed at how the main characters were written does not show the acting depth of Wallace and Seven. Anyone expecting good romance vibes from Wallace will be disappointed, despite his good acting the chemistry with Seven was off in my opinion. Regarding technicals, production quality is high- location, sets, costumes, makeup, cinematography were excellent. Sadly, the happy ending is lackluster. In summary this drama is an okay one-time watch.

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One of the best C drama I have watched.

I am a really big fan of costume historical-based C drama and this drama is one of the tops on my favorite list.
I like dramas with her emotions and this drama conveys it the best. The male and lead female leads did the best job through their acting.
I never felt any boring moment throughout the whole drama. The whole cast did a wonderful job. The story itself is worth watching. The drama is like something you have watched but haven't felt that thing till you watch this drama. It is worth watching I think you should all watch this. If you like drama that has a smart female lead and the supporting male lead who every time supports the female lead(even if he likes her he doesn't try to ruin male lead's relationship) then you must watch this drama!

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