A Dream of Splendor

I did not like this drama like all the hyped it was received

I don't know why Douban rated "A Dream of Splendor" 8.8 ratings. WTF. I have watched 30 episodes already, and it was dull, boring, stupid, and dragging, and the plot is suck.

I am unsure if I will finish this drama; aside from having a good-looking cast, the cinematography and coloring of the show are good.

I don't think this drama even deserves 5.5 ratings, and I don't understand what all the raves are about, and disappointed in AvenueX assessments of this drama as well. Grrr.......

The male lead (Chen Xiao) disappears in episodes 30-32, and his on-screen chemistry with Crystal Liu is not great. I don't like the FL character. I like San Niang better.

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Sweet mature Romance

Gorgeous Leads,
Convincing love story,
Off the charts chemistry,
Beautiful female friendships,

Well, It has been a while since a drama captivated me. This story reminds me of good old days of genuine romance and heartaches. I have a major girl crush on the female Lead, Crystal Liu. She is living that character, effortlessly beautiful, elegant and strong. Such a treat to my eyes. The male lead is great as well, the way he steals glances at her is adorable but at the same time his expressions at few other scenes are a bit blank. Anyway there are some lovely, magical moments between the couple that looks like a gorgeous moving painting.

The progression of the story is good, it's exciting, no cliche tropes. Writers have done a wonderful job here, the characters show real human emotions, quite relatable unlike the recent dramas that mock viewers intelligence.

Loving it so far.

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Did I watch the same show as everyone else?

I had a lot of hope for this one, it started out strong, I really like Gu Qian Fan and I thought him and the FL had great chemistry. But as time wore on it got harder and harder to watch. I just didn't find most of the characters or storylines that interesting past about episode 8, when it really started to drag for me. It also started getting annoying that the main characters seemed to just be amazing at everything. Stories aren't very interesting when you're already at the top and there's no real growth to be had.

I've seen numerous times the main couple being referred to as "adults" in a "mature" relationship. For me the reason I watch C-dramas is because they aren't like Western entertainment, which tries to tell people it is depicting love when it is really depicting a toxic and sometimes borderline abusive relationship, with mind games and emotionally manipulative behaviour. C-dramas can be hit or miss but I love their depiction of loyalty, honesty, and unconditional love. The West, by comparison, doesn't even know the meaning of love. Or chemistry. Or empathy. Personally, I watch C-dramas to help alleviate the pain of living in a culture that mimics its entertainment.

This show had a very Western flavour to how the leads were behaving towards each other. They were not acting like emotionally mature adults, who understand and respect differences of opinion. GQF would get angry at Pan'er for the smallest thing and make it out like she was the problem or there was something wrong with how she saw things. He seemed controlling and I was disturbed by how casually the topic of him torturing people was handled. At times they seemed to be belittling each others' perspectives and he blamed Pan'er for how he felt at times. There's a difference between banter and shaming someone, this was the latter and it left a sour taste in my mouth. There's also a difference between honest vulnerability, and using honesty as an excuse to be a jerk and then hiding behind it when it begins to erode the trust in the relationship.

Everyone has different preferences, to some this is a desirable dynamic, for me I've had enough of this kind of dynamic for a lifetime.

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Starts off really great

Since i accidentally stumbled upon this one, i had no expectations or hopes of it. It was my first show of all the main characters. The first few eps really raised the bar so high being captivating and promising, that the later eps failed to keep up with it. The first 10 eps were amazing setting up the plot, ml and fl starting off on the wrong foot, getting the sisters together and everything, the next 10 eps focus on relation building and business, the next 10 eps focus highly on the business, setbacks but midway of these eps the drama starts going downhill, ep 27 onwards it was just pure depressing. The ml and fl get separated due to the cliche trope of i cant face her because my father caused her family's death, the ladies business falls apart, the sisters break apart, the cheater x fiance turns into a mad dog and causes menace by changing color like a freaking chameleon. Only towards the end do the happy vibes come back, and after ep 32 things start getting better plotwise. After ep 20 it did feel kinda draggy and slow till some 32 eps and the last 5 eps was again paced well. Why is pacing always an issue with cdramas!?

The story is different from other cdramas, focuses greatly on women empowerment and social discrimination. 3 ladies, each of whom have suffered setbacks in life due to love, start their lives afresh and find love in the course. I really loved the character dynamics between Zhao Paner and Sun Sanniang. I did not like Song Yinzhang at all, she didn't deserve the selfless and generous treatment from the other two sisters, she was extremely proud, arrogant and jealous and greedy as well. Not everything can be pardoned because she was young, well she wasn't even that young considering she eloped TWICE, so she deserved whatever she got. She sort of did redeem herself in the last few eps. I rather liked Zhaodi. Gu Qianfan was very sweet, gentle and loving but he came off as rather weak willed and too kind and gullible to me. It was too easy to convince him and he even bother to verify things. The maturity in their relationship disappeared suddenly after ep 25. Zhao Paner was a consistent character, gu qianfan was not. Onto others, Chen lian was very cute, chi pan was a clown but i liked him very much, i didnt like Du Changfeng at first, later he grew on me. Ouyang Xu was trash throughout and he got what he deserved. And that son of Sanniang, was absolute piece of shit. For a change i expected to have a kind empress here because her bg is different from usual empresses, so I wanted her to get some kinda punishment after everything she did.
Ml and fl had really amazing chemistry. The acting of all the 4 mains was commendable, others did very well too.

Production was great, didn't really pay attention to the non existent music though.

I guess i would recommend watching it once. The first 15 eps can be addictive but then the effect wears off. The ending is satisfactory. Would've rated it 8.2 if possible.

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A Dream of Splendor" tells the story of four individuals. The narrative centers around a girl whose family has been wrongly accused of a crime, forcing her to live as a pariah. As she grows up, she leaves the place to start her own tea house. Along her journey, she makes two supportive friends who stand by her side.

In her life, there is also a man who represents her love interest. They enjoy happy moments together until he departs to complete his studies and secure an officer position. He promises to return and marry her after finishing his education and finding a job. However he nevers return.

Another man enters the scene, arriving at her tea house to investigate a painting. The story unfolds as the lives of all four characters become entangled, filled with challenges and confrontations. Ultimately, the plot leads to a happy ending.

However, the story lacks spark and intrigue. While the chemistry between the leads is commendable, the overall narrative feels predictable and uninspired.


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Romance done right

I loved the romance in this drama as it didn’t overdo the misunderstandings or have overly dramatic jealousy or other love interests. It was realistic, sweet and hit all the right notes with me.

The conversations between them flowed so naturally, be it when they were lovey dovey, supporting each other or even taking potshots at each other. Watching them fall in love was the best part.

Costumes were top notch and I just loved the gorgeous flowy dresses that the FL wore. Sets were outstanding and I loved the aerial views and how the camera just pans down in one long take and follows the characters around - wonderful cinematography!

Storyline was good overall with some minor plot holes, some characters didn’t sit well with me but I easily overlooked this as everything else was done well. It has been a while since I’ve watched a Chinese costume drama which has good romance and this one delivered beautifully!

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Love love love the chemistry between the leads

Love love love the chemistry between the leads. Compared to other cdramas, their love is more mature. No need for fancy effects on scenes and unecessary slowmos to show chemistry because their banters and interactions are enough. Sweet gestures like looking into each others eyes, small touches, and body movements will make you question if they are still acting. They did so well in portraying a couple in love. The buildup to their romance is realistic compared to other cdramas where the leads already professed their undying love for each other after a few encounters. Also loved the supporting leads and how they've grown so much throughout the series.

The setting of the drama, the costumes, the makeups, the cinematography, and the actors are so prettyyyy. This might be the prettiest drama I watched.

The reason why I gave this show 8.5 is because the plot got dragged on at the last part so I found myself skipping some scenes a few times. There are also so many misunderstandings that took a long time to get resolved. It was a bummer.

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Full of Splendor Indeed

Let's start with how beautiful Liu Yi Fei is in this drama. And the whole production basks in beauty and elegance that you'd want to visit this particular period of the Song Dynasty if you ever get a hold of a time machine. I've read that the original story was written by a person who used to live in the thriving capital before becoming a refugee. He then recalls in this memoir the splendor of the life in the capital and the drama show us that. The pipa and the tea are cultural details I enjoyed learning about from this drama.

I didn't think Chen Xiao would measure up to Pan Er's beauty but it didn't take long for me to wait in anticipation for Gu Xian Fan to appear. I love the characters surrounding the leads, especially Chi Ya Nei and Chen Lian. Sun San Niang was strong and steady. Ou Yang Xu was the antagonist we didn't know we'd hate and pity. Son Yin Zhang, albeit the abrupt change in attitude towards the end, was pretty solid as well. Gu Xiao Fan's father could have been explored more, I thought he was a promising character.

The only thing I wasn't too happy about was the fact that Gu Xiao Fan was mostly side-lined in the last climactic moments. The drama started out with him so I thought they were setting up a predominantly romantic story but his role dissipated and the story tried to be grander than it started out to be. Anyway, I'll still rewatch this because it was simply delectable.

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It's important to fight for your right!

I really enjoyed watching this drama. I was curious because it was about three ladies that ran a teahouse and then upgraded to a restaurant in ancient times. This drama was about the three women's friendships, trust and determination to live their lives to the fullest by doing what they love. Ofc the emphasis was on FL and ML. How they were fated to fall in love with each other although it was their backgrounds that lead them to each other.

ML, Gu Qianfan, was a skillful commander that devoted to his duty, smart, never lose his composure and ofc ruthless. We never saw his smiles unless it was to ridicule or when he looked at the woman he loved. He started to has feelings for FL bcs of her selflessness even though earlier he was being quite unpleasant to her. He loved teasing her bcs he knew she cld take it. Qianfan fell in love with FL after spending few times together, she was understanding of his pains and encouraged him when needed. He was so nice and affectionate with FL like taking her out to go on dates together. He was so supportive of her being a businesswoman and ready to help with anything.

FL, Zhao Pan'er was a clever, calm, generous and bold lady. She was also shrewd and resourceful for a businesswoman and skillful in Tea Art. Toward those who were closed to her, she had strong sense of loyalty, caring and very forgiving. Pan'er had a hard time growing up bcs of the circumstances that lead to her being reduced to lower class but luckily she was a bright kid that took advice by her friend's kind elder sister. At first, she was quite wary of ML hvg feelings for her bcs of their different social standings so she was straightforward with him about this to put him off but ML didn't care about all of that bcs he sincerely love her, to him, she was his light after all those dark years. Then, she decided to hv faith in him and love him with all her heart. After her journey of up and down being a teahouse owner and then a restaurant manager, she decided to fight for the right of ppl that had same circumstances as her to be given opportunity to be a normal civilian that is free.

I love that we got to see the life of other two best friends of Pan'er: Sun Sanniang and Song Yinzhang. Their character developments just amazing. Also the not so expected 2ndML :Head of important guilds but very childish-like Chi Pan. The other supporting characters such as ML's loyal amazing subordinate Chen Lian, the unexpected Changfeng and the determined Zhaodi.

I didn't expect to see palace struggles in this drama but I'm not surprised. Also shout out to helpful He Si, the loyal customers Mr Yuan and Mr Zhuoshi, they were so entertaining to watch.

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Nice drama on female friendship

The show deserves praise for shining a light on female friendship—something I feel still remains lacking and underexplored in Cdramas. I like that it focuses more on character growth, maturity, camaraderie than petty competition. Considering how the show is made by a female production is also a big thumbs up. The set is beautiful to look at, but the story itself gets quite draggy in the middle, and found myself fast forwarding these extra scenes, the acting nothing outstanding, the comedy is also over the top. All in all, it is a good show, but I wouldn’t watch it again.

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A Summer Romance Novel -- you will LIKE the story, LOVE the cast

My wife and I really enjoyed this series as a 'happy place' to visit twice a week. The sets and cinematography are gorgeous, the story arcs mostly gentle, and I guess what is the shortcoming of this story is really its strength: SPLENDOR is a place to chill.

The story focuses upon 3 (and eventually 4) (and eventually 5) female leads who light up the screen with their humanity. Although a fantasy depiction of women in historic patriarchy, enough of it rings true today. Female viewers will enjoy how strong ladies can but, but compassionate male viewers will swoon for their beauty as much as their predicaments.

Most of this cast were new to me. Only Jenny Lin & Guan Yun Peng were familiar, because we knew them from the director's next project, the must see and incredible IMPERFECT VICTIM. I had heard that people felt Jenny was weak in this piece, but I thought she was fine... especially since her character was weak anyway.

The lead couple were interesting. I've left the series a Crystal Liu fan for lead performance as Pan'er. This is an actress of gentle nuance, and the more you watch her the more you want to watch her. They paired her with new to me Chen Xiao, who was good but perhaps not as riveting as a Wallace Huo or Huang Xuan type which I feel the roll demanded. The roll was nicknamed The Living Devil, so really a more macho offering (like Yuan Hong, the General from REBEL PRINCESS who stole the Princess from her Kingdom). As AvenueX points out on YouTube, though, the leads chemistry was quite real.

On this issue of 'gentle'men, this female written/directed production did a lot of that. We had three men who were constantly swooning over the ladies. Chi the Whiny Child, Du Chang Feng the 'substitute' teacher terrified by bullying boys, and Chen Lian who simply melts at each moment of romance. Normally I'd kinda frown at this Wimp Squadron but it was crazy charming. And Chi was hilarious. So funny I suspect they started giving him extra scenes towards the end.

Our lead ladies? Sigh. They were all terrific. San'Niang definitely grows on you as we roll along, all the imperial supporting actresses were solid, but I must confess our ZhaoDi (Daisy Li) was fantastic and eventually under-used.

Don't overthink this series. Go in and relax and it wraps up like a lovely summer sunset.

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