Subscribe to this account to get it with subs; first episode is now up subbed: https://youtu.be/iCVAqlybDwc?si=G8IJ944LLDn6au4h
Thanks to Wu Lei Galaxy for posting with good English subtitles. The vlog is very enjoyable. Minus real life touch of wind and sun's heat, marketplace and wild area aromas, we still get a feeling of these travels. The woven straw cap was a nice find. The maker of them could open a market to sell them overseas now : "approved by Wu Lei"!
Nice spontaneous play by the FL Li Lulu (Hua Ling) who flashes lovely smiles. Lots of fluff. The story is somewhat convoluted with the off voice of an "NPC" that is supposed to help the heroine unravel the intricacies of a "predestined fate" that turns out to be anything but. Like the tangled red thread of the matchmaking god. The Demon king has a cute and spectacular nine fox-tails that flash out on occasion. The "senior brother Shen Yan" leader of a demon hunting sect, turns out to be different from expected - he is played by Richar Li (Li Fei) who also appears as "Fang Wu Yue" in black and red at the brothel, as is shown in promo clip 2, available on dailymotion. The bullet-time drama (2'+ episodes) glued together in 30' episodes x2 is not available any longer on Youtube, but original episodes can be watched on dailymotion or on myasiantv.
it's not available there any more, so those who want to watch it have to turn to "cool" instead... At least there, it is not cut : all credits feature.
Dang movie made me cry TT_TT I hate itHighly recommend. A range of emotionsAlso, that was the best version 'country…
Yes I like that song too. On Tao's 31st birthday occasion, I was doing a re-watch of his various roles to put in a rating for those items I had missed duty for. Tbh this movie was more interesting to me as an SF thriller, than for Z.Tao who only appeared in a short cameo which was not totally necessary for the story. But I was thrilled to hear that song, in its Chinese adaptation which fit the movie appropriately !
I watched this drama mainly for Ztao and cute pets. Neither of them disappointed in the cuteness department. My…
Actually, Z.Tao did not write the script, so the sob story part is not for him to take blame. I think he did well nonetheless.
Blonde? Tao has gone through all colors of the rainbow, as you well know since you are a long time hailang? Nothing to be rattled about there. He can do conventional hairdo too, but if he likes it in mullet or any other style, and the director likes it too, that's not for me to quibble about.
I am only concerned that he might get in trouble because of his hot love for tattoos, which got hidden well in the drama. Tattoos have caused trouble to people in sports and other business, in China, in the past few years : they are not really viewed kindly by the authorities. Perhaps the fact that Tao has powerful connections, do help with him getting away with it without getting banned. After all, he has no tax problems and is a good contributor to the State, has very conventional high placed friends to gloss over his unconventional streaks.
I have recently completed an illustrated Profile for him housed in Discussion section, in view of Tao's 31st birthday (where he still went to work!!! He only had time to grab a slice of cake and the framed gift that some hailang had prepared for him, before diving into his car to get home for some shuteye. )
You will soon be able to watch the variety show The Detective's Adventures, which he is taking part in. As for next movie or drama project, I have seen some rumors, but will wait and see, just as I do about the XYY rl romance.
I hope you will enjoy them. Salute to fellow hailang from the one up in deep space, fondly wearing the Ace-YKYB dragon themed sweatshirt and YKYB cap, slowly re watching his dramas and movies to give them some more favorable rating - I know: I am positively biased, and besides, I am usually lenient in my ratings, unless it really is a total waste of time. :)
Yesterday, on Tao day (his 31st birthday), I had left a message detailing the Discussion features I had written about this drama and the actor and musician, and giving the direct links to them :
The profile, playlist, and pets lists, were created using the "create a discussion" feature of MDL -- but for mysterious reasons, it appears to have been wired to appear on a namesake Korean drama that I never watched or even looked up the page for. The fact and MDL wiring misdirection were signaled to me by a fellow MDL user, but I can't change it, since the Discussions feature on the "My Precious" drama page remains stubbornly wired to wormhole incongruously to the Korean drama (where people looking at the page may indeed wonder what Z.Tao has to do with it; only good thing there, is they might get curious about the c-drama and the actor and musician, if they were not previous Exo fans and never heard about him...)
The only thing I might do would be to move the playlist and the profile to a discussion page about one of Tao's other dramas : TBITS would seem appropriate since it is heavily built around the music of Z.Tao, but it is dating to a few years back. Therefore, I prefer to wait for upcoming dramas and leave it like that, only signaling here that users of MDL should not hesitate to press "create a discussion" to discover the hidden (MDL misdirected) existing ones, for dramas.
I have added a box "Warning" for those who went to check the MDL Korean drama page, so they will not be confused...
It is May 2 already, so happy birthday to Huang Zitao! 🐼🐼🐼❤️❤️❤️💙💙💙 On the occasion…
btw, the profile, playlist, and pets lists were created using the "create a discussion" feature of MDL -- but for mysterious reasons, it appears to have been wired to appear on a namesake Korean drama that I never watched or even looked up the page for. The fact and MDL wiring misdirection were signaled to me by a fellow MDL user, but I can't change it, since the Discussions feature on the "My Precious" drama page remains stubbornly wired to wormhole incongruously to the Korean drama (where people looking at the page may indeed wonder wth Z.Tao has to do with it; only good thing there is they might get curious about the c-drama and the actor and musician, if they were not previous Exo fans and nevr heard about him...)
The only thing I might do would be to move the playlist and the profile to a discussion page about one of Tao's other dramas : TBITS would seem appropriate since it is heavily built around the music of Z.Tao, but it is dating to a few years back. Therefore, I prefer to wait for upcoming dramas and leave it like that, only signaling here that users of MDL should not hesitate to press "create a discussion" to discover the hidden (MDL misdirected) existing ones, for dramas.
I have added a box "Warning" for those who went to check the MDL Korean drama page, so they will not be confused...
There is also a short playlist to listen to the music. In the Profile all movies and dramas are directly linked to where you can watch them, with a short comment from me. The variety shows are grouped by theme and also,for some, directly linked to where they can be watched. But there's much more data about "our hero". I also added a copy of the birthday cake and of the best wishes sent by hailang from overseas (edit: the cake was locally produced of course, not sent from overseas, lol).
Well it is very very short, about idols of decades ago, that are remembered by some, who have mostly moved on (sometimes to heaven). If you came to check where Z.Tao appears, it's in a guest role that has him only standing among the EXO group, not even moving much, not speaking a line, in "ep.3" (if episodes can be described :they are so short, less than 10 minutes each!) So I'd say he did not even have a real cameo part. He was part of the band, but the boys just moved in and out of screen. The only one recognizable who had some lines among those was Luhan. Now Tao has moved on to do more interesting things in China. On this his 31st birthday, salute to him and to the hailang.
My view after the end clap : Food for thought, Dear spiky mommy, darling daughter who doesn't lose her aims in life
As most audience noticing in headlines Yang Zi and Xu Kai, I had got sold on an office romance when indeed it is a family drama about, at center, the conflicted relationship between a mom and daughter. But there's more than just that, it's a dark cuisine take on sustenance and food for thought.
That mom was to start with extremely grating on the nerves : a character one loves to hate ? As episodes went by, it looked like it, but of course, lack of reason and shrewish behavior had to run their course until spent.
From the moment the mom realized how important it was for all to be more appeased, she became what everyone hopes for, a caring and doting person, who wraps the worst heartaches in warmth and nourishment. Could she get the same when she needed it? It was not easy: she did not wish to have roles reversed. What she was faced with is ultimately what many women fear, not divorce, not sudden death...
Redemption does not always bring sweet rewards as we also saw. Although it was rather expected, it was very well performed and logical.
It was a roller coaster of an emotional journey. "Liu Wan Yu", the alley queen mom, will certainly be a memorable role for He Saifei, who showed so many sides of what moms can be. She indeed should have been billed among the main roles.
Yang Zi and Xu Kai were, as expected, good leads, in an almost too reasonable adult relationship (so those who crave hot fire will be disappointed, but those who like it more down to earth will feel the warmth of realistic human touch). Their Huan Huan and Ming Ming were sometimes very funny, scaling walls and catching all sorts of fish although the returnee initially preferred raw sashimi (and raw treatment of peccadilloes) and the "alley princess" looked less for pearls and fairy tale frogs, more to the fabled crucian carp white soup with tofu. One image of simply, lovingly held in hand, half peeled soft skinned immaculate hard boiled egg struck me. Breakfasts should never be skipped...
Most of the other actors and actresses were good in their supporting roles. The father, who can shout but prefers to play the role of peace maker. The son, who looks to find his own way with the best friend, helping her and himself ultimately. The ironic but faithful male secretary. The insufferable in law hicks with their fat bully offspring. The scheming colleagues and bosses, those who care more for money than for honesty. The queen bee grandmother who provided the fairy honeyed glue to bind the leads. The repentant father who strayed like a cat craving for a family. These ingredients formed a rich dark cuisine of varied tastes, some disgusting, some wholesome, and some surprising in their changeability.
The music score and songs was very appropriate, especially the episode end song sung by the two stars, Yang Zi and He Saifei: "It’s mother, it’s daughter" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcljQOCYmg4 with translation and pinyin). This is a simple, but gripping song that resonates for all who are or have been mothers... It also embodies well the struggles of the generational gap the characters faced.
The last handful episodes were very good and healing --ok, I know : as expected, but so well performed, with beautiful cinematography, and a snippet of performance of a favorite Huangmei opera (The Female Consort), that Zhou Shen a few years back included in one of his endearing songs titled Huangmei Opera, where he weaves in his song the nostalgy of attending those performances and a short snippet, that is easy to recognize for those who reach episode 37 of BCE, warts and all. Here is the link to the Zhou Shen song : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z325SnsDIU
By the way, the dishes featured in BCE are not bad either, I was relishing the gamut from raw fish sashimi bringing in the foreign taste with the returnee, to crucian carp white soup with tofu, and of course that mandarin fish dish which gave me a literal craving to up and storm the stores to get ingredients and start cooking!! These were some of my best take away from the roller coaster of emotions that audience were subjected to, in the mother-daughter relentless sparring. Now why do I come back to that... Just finished it, so digesting.
Don't look down on that drama because of its tepid Douban opening rating; it is worth much more, in the end.
I just finished this drama, and the 6+ last episodes were very good and satisfactory despite the expected small and big heartaches the family faced. I thought it was endearing to see and hear an excerpt of one of the most famous Huangmei operas. Remembering the nostalgic song Zhou Shen sang a few years back to celebrate the style. There was one video with pinyin and subtitles, but it looks like it is not available anymore ; anyway, here is the Chinese only version in which you can easily recognize the excerpt sung and performed in the last episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z325SnsDIU Enjoy!
Airing as of April 20, 2024, on Yo Yo English channel as a 10 x 11'30" episode mini drama re-titled "The Cute Girl of the Prince's Mansion ", double subtitled in Chinese and in English. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os6DMEcofQA Synopsis: "After the war ended, the emperor arranged a marriage between the unmarried female general Hua Bingyu and the seventh prince Qi Ruizhan. Despite initial resistance from Qi Ruizhan, who was displeased with the match, he eventually realized Hua Bingyu’s value. She not only supported him personally but also helped resolve political crises, leading him to become a respected prince. In the end, he came to appreciate the marriage as one of the best things to happen in his life." Cast : Ye Zhenghao 叶铮豪 (Qi Ruizhan), Ling Zimo 凌紫沫 (Hua Bing Yu), Liu Yutong 刘昱彤 (Qin Peizhen), Li Tianqi 李天琪 (An Shaohe), Zheng Liwei 郑力伟 (Qinshan), Mo Xie莫茜 (Miao Lan). Source: Baidu.
Even if you throw out all the 1* ratings on Douban and take the average again the Douban score is actually lower,…
I agree with you on the historical inconsistencies. Indeed, if this was a mirror of History, this would make one raise eyebrows from the start, quit, and wonder why it is shown, making kids less sure about what they learned in school and books about the way emperors behaved, the way punishment was meted out on courtiers, the way women were considered, etc. So yes, a lot of suspension of disbelief and perhaps transporting this as a mirror of present day attitude towards rulers and women is needed, on top of simply admiring the pretty faces, colorful sets and costumes, and nice acting by the whole cast who each stand out recognizably as characters with own individuality.
I do enjoy that show a lot, after initially thinking, in first episodes, that this was going to be just showcase for main actors and maybe too predictable, too average - I have not read the novel. Now, I just love it and go with the flow. Whatever improbable plot twist is ahead, I am still happy with it. I even like the music, and that so funny tea-picking song at end of episodes. I think this is one I would like to rewatch, like the impossible Chinese mermaid stories (watching an old one starring Zhao Liying!), xianxia, or sword and fairy stories! So, I will put in a good rating from me, even if it's just a drop and too many rely on Douban opening rating or other ones. Your observation is probably accurate that it may not move up a lot, now; sigh, and the reasons you give are valid. So I prefer to watch the popularity through the lens of audience measure : it is forecast to remain #1 among web dramas watched for this week.
It is not wuxia, it is not xianxia, it is not really historical, it is not xuanhuan, it is just costume romance, but who can deny the appeal of those flowing "Hanfu" ones, with their pleasing hairdo, hairpin, and jewelry, furniture, interior and garden designs ? It is removing the most unpleasant aspects of History to keep just enough "cruelty" from outdated feudal but fictional "Da Qing" ruler and treacherousness from the greedy, to keep us glued to screen. This drama struck me as having less unlikely flowing loose hair than in most "historical" or costume dramas. (The platforms where i watch don't have ads, but i assume these soap operas come with a lot of push for shampoo and creams and beauty masks, when shown with the sponsored commercials).
And yes, it's been a while now that I enjoy Hu Yitian and Zhang Jingyi separately in the few dramas I watched that featured them. I thought it would be improbable that they could achieve chemistry together, but well, they do look sweet together with those eye and slight movements of head to communicate wordlessly, the hand holding, leaning against each other when they can... Those who shout they can't act are just biased against them, I don't know why : they have never offended anybody, have they ?
2 
4 
1 
Wondering whether he wore such on the PEAK of the volcano in Ride now in Vanuatu, ep. 1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCVAqlybDwc&pp=ygUTcmlkZSBub3cgaW4gdmFudWF0dQ%3D%3D (subtitled)
Here are the latest and nicest : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUvB_A8pLik&pp=ygUKd3UgbGVpIHRlYQ%3D%3D (Wu Lei for Master Kong Green tea from April 30)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vMo_sa8ORk (So sexy in red utility shirt/overshirt; from April 26)
And about the Dwelling movie, there was that interview posted April 23 with subtitles by Wu Lei Galaxy on her YouTube channel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=325T0W-c68k
The story is somewhat convoluted with the off voice of an "NPC" that is supposed to help the heroine unravel the intricacies of a "predestined fate" that turns out to be anything but. Like the tangled red thread of the matchmaking god. The Demon king has a cute and spectacular nine fox-tails that flash out on occasion. The "senior brother Shen Yan" leader of a demon hunting sect, turns out to be different from expected - he is played by Richar Li (Li Fei) who also appears as "Fang Wu Yue" in black and red at the brothel, as is shown in promo clip 2, available on dailymotion.
The bullet-time drama (2'+ episodes) glued together in 30' episodes x2 is not available any longer on Youtube, but original episodes can be watched on dailymotion or on myasiantv.
On Tao's 31st birthday occasion, I was doing a re-watch of his various roles to put in a rating for those items I had missed duty for. Tbh this movie was more interesting to me as an SF thriller, than for Z.Tao who only appeared in a short cameo which was not totally necessary for the story.
But I was thrilled to hear that song, in its Chinese adaptation which fit the movie appropriately !
Blonde? Tao has gone through all colors of the rainbow, as you well know since you are a long time hailang? Nothing to be rattled about there. He can do conventional hairdo too, but if he likes it in mullet or any other style, and the director likes it too, that's not for me to quibble about.
I am only concerned that he might get in trouble because of his hot love for tattoos, which got hidden well in the drama. Tattoos have caused trouble to people in sports and other business, in China, in the past few years : they are not really viewed kindly by the authorities. Perhaps the fact that Tao has powerful connections, do help with him getting away with it without getting banned. After all, he has no tax problems and is a good contributor to the State, has very conventional high placed friends to gloss over his unconventional streaks.
I have recently completed an illustrated Profile for him housed in Discussion section, in view of Tao's 31st birthday (where he still went to work!!! He only had time to grab a slice of cake and the framed gift that some hailang had prepared for him, before diving into his car to get home for some shuteye. )
You will soon be able to watch the variety show The Detective's Adventures, which he is taking part in.
As for next movie or drama project, I have seen some rumors, but will wait and see, just as I do about the XYY rl romance.
Meanwhile, you could look up these direct links to check, if you like, what I wrote about Tao and My Precious :
1. https://kisskh.at/discussions/loving-you/120711-z-tao-playlist-and-some-xu-yiyang-thrown-in (a short playlist as an introduction to Z.Tao's C pop and Xu Yiyang's songs).
2. https://kisskh.at/discussions/loving-you/120711-z-tao-playlist-and-some-xu-yiyang-thrown-in?pid=2847591&page=1#p2847591 (direct link to Profile section)
3. https://kisskh.at/discussions/loving-you/120713-pets-my-precious-ones-and-those-of-c-drama-actors-actresses (two "portrait galleries" about animals in the drama "My Precious" and the c-drama/c-ent celebs who have rescued or raised interesting ones, sometimes with known names.)
I hope you will enjoy them. Salute to fellow hailang from the one up in deep space, fondly wearing the Ace-YKYB dragon themed sweatshirt and YKYB cap, slowly re watching his dramas and movies to give them some more favorable rating - I know: I am positively biased, and besides, I am usually lenient in my ratings, unless it really is a total waste of time. :)
1. https://kisskh.at/discussions/loving-you/120711-z-tao-playlist-and-some-xu-yiyang-thrown-in (a short playlist as an introduction to Z.Tao's C pop and Xu Yiyang's songs).
2. https://kisskh.at/discussions/loving-you/120711-z-tao-playlist-and-some-xu-yiyang-thrown-in?pid=2847591&page=1#p2847591 (direct link to Profile section)
3. https://kisskh.at/discussions/loving-you/120713-pets-my-precious-ones-and-those-of-c-drama-actors-actresses (two "portrait galleries" about animals in the drama "My Precious" and the c-drama/c-ent celebs who have rescued or raised interesting ones, sometimes with known names.)
The profile, playlist, and pets lists, were created using the "create a discussion" feature of MDL -- but for mysterious reasons, it appears to have been wired to appear on a namesake Korean drama that I never watched or even looked up the page for. The fact and MDL wiring misdirection were signaled to me by a fellow MDL user, but I can't change it, since the Discussions feature on the "My Precious" drama page remains stubbornly wired to wormhole incongruously to the Korean drama (where people looking at the page may indeed wonder what Z.Tao has to do with it; only good thing there, is they might get curious about the c-drama and the actor and musician, if they were not previous Exo fans and never heard about him...)
The only thing I might do would be to move the playlist and the profile to a discussion page about one of Tao's other dramas : TBITS would seem appropriate since it is heavily built around the music of Z.Tao, but it is dating to a few years back. Therefore, I prefer to wait for upcoming dramas and leave it like that, only signaling here that users of MDL should not hesitate to press "create a discussion" to discover the hidden (MDL misdirected) existing ones, for dramas.
I have added a box "Warning" for those who went to check the MDL Korean drama page, so they will not be confused...
The only thing I might do would be to move the playlist and the profile to a discussion page about one of Tao's other dramas : TBITS would seem appropriate since it is heavily built around the music of Z.Tao, but it is dating to a few years back. Therefore, I prefer to wait for upcoming dramas and leave it like that, only signaling here that users of MDL should not hesitate to press "create a discussion" to discover the hidden (MDL misdirected) existing ones, for dramas.
I have added a box "Warning" for those who went to check the MDL Korean drama page, so they will not be confused...
On the occasion of his 31st birthday, here is a more detailed Profile about him :
https://kisskh.at/discussions/loving-you/120711-z-tao-playlist-and-some-xu-yiyang-thrown-in?pid=2847591&page=1#p2847591 (direct link to Profile section) There are a lot of illustrations and GIF which I cut or snapshot to add there.
There is also a short playlist to listen to the music.
In the Profile all movies and dramas are directly linked to where you can watch them, with a short comment from me. The variety shows are grouped by theme and also,for some, directly linked to where they can be watched. But there's much more data about "our hero". I also added a copy of the birthday cake and of the best wishes sent by hailang from overseas (edit: the cake was locally produced of course, not sent from overseas, lol).
2: https://kisskh.at/discussions/loving-you/120713-pets-my-precious-ones-and-those-of-c-drama-actors-actresses (two "portrait galleries" about animals in the drama "My Precious" and the c-drama/c-ent celebs who have rescued or raised interesting ones, sometimes with known names. Of course, it includes Z.Tao's Kandy and Ace, and XYY's kitties.)
Have a happy Tao day or evening, everyone, and salute to the hailang !
If you came to check where Z.Tao appears, it's in a guest role that has him only standing among the EXO group, not even moving much, not speaking a line, in "ep.3" (if episodes can be described :they are so short, less than 10 minutes each!) So I'd say he did not even have a real cameo part. He was part of the band, but the boys just moved in and out of screen. The only one recognizable who had some lines among those was Luhan.
Now Tao has moved on to do more interesting things in China. On this his 31st birthday, salute to him and to the hailang.
Food for thought, Dear spiky mommy, darling daughter who doesn't lose her aims in life
As most audience noticing in headlines Yang Zi and Xu Kai, I had got sold on an office romance when indeed it is a family drama about, at center, the conflicted relationship between a mom and daughter. But there's more than just that, it's a dark cuisine take on sustenance and food for thought.
That mom was to start with extremely grating on the nerves : a character one loves to hate ? As episodes went by, it looked like it, but of course, lack of reason and shrewish behavior had to run their course until spent.
From the moment the mom realized how important it was for all to be more appeased, she became what everyone hopes for, a caring and doting person, who wraps the worst heartaches in warmth and nourishment. Could she get the same when she needed it? It was not easy: she did not wish to have roles reversed. What she was faced with is ultimately what many women fear, not divorce, not sudden death...
Redemption does not always bring sweet rewards as we also saw. Although it was rather expected, it was very well performed and logical.
It was a roller coaster of an emotional journey. "Liu Wan Yu", the alley queen mom, will certainly be a memorable role for He Saifei, who showed so many sides of what moms can be. She indeed should have been billed among the main roles.
Yang Zi and Xu Kai were, as expected, good leads, in an almost too reasonable adult relationship (so those who crave hot fire will be disappointed, but those who like it more down to earth will feel the warmth of realistic human touch). Their Huan Huan and Ming Ming were sometimes very funny, scaling walls and catching all sorts of fish although the returnee initially preferred raw sashimi (and raw treatment of peccadilloes) and the "alley princess" looked less for pearls and fairy tale frogs, more to the fabled crucian carp white soup with tofu. One image of simply, lovingly held in hand, half peeled soft skinned immaculate hard boiled egg struck me. Breakfasts should never be skipped...
Most of the other actors and actresses were good in their supporting roles. The father, who can shout but prefers to play the role of peace maker. The son, who looks to find his own way with the best friend, helping her and himself ultimately. The ironic but faithful male secretary. The insufferable in law hicks with their fat bully offspring. The scheming colleagues and bosses, those who care more for money than for honesty. The queen bee grandmother who provided the fairy honeyed glue to bind the leads. The repentant father who strayed like a cat craving for a family. These ingredients formed a rich dark cuisine of varied tastes, some disgusting, some wholesome, and some surprising in their changeability.
The music score and songs was very appropriate, especially the episode end song sung by the two stars, Yang Zi and He Saifei: "It’s mother, it’s daughter" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcljQOCYmg4 with translation and pinyin). This is a simple, but gripping song that resonates for all who are or have been mothers... It also embodies well the struggles of the generational gap the characters faced.
The last handful episodes were very good and healing --ok, I know : as expected, but so well performed, with beautiful cinematography, and a snippet of performance of a favorite Huangmei opera (The Female Consort), that Zhou Shen a few years back included in one of his endearing songs titled Huangmei Opera, where he weaves in his song the nostalgy of attending those performances and a short snippet, that is easy to recognize for those who reach episode 37 of BCE, warts and all. Here is the link to the Zhou Shen song : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z325SnsDIU
By the way, the dishes featured in BCE are not bad either, I was relishing the gamut from raw fish sashimi bringing in the foreign taste with the returnee, to crucian carp white soup with tofu, and of course that mandarin fish dish which gave me a literal craving to up and storm the stores to get ingredients and start cooking!! These were some of my best take away from the roller coaster of emotions that audience were subjected to, in the mother-daughter relentless sparring. Now why do I come back to that... Just finished it, so digesting.
Don't look down on that drama because of its tepid Douban opening rating; it is worth much more, in the end.
(I will post this as my review)
I thought it was endearing to see and hear an excerpt of one of the most famous Huangmei operas.
Remembering the nostalgic song Zhou Shen sang a few years back to celebrate the style.
There was one video with pinyin and subtitles, but it looks like it is not available anymore ; anyway, here is the Chinese only version in which you can easily recognize the excerpt sung and performed in the last episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z325SnsDIU Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os6DMEcofQA
Synopsis:
"After the war ended, the emperor arranged a marriage between the unmarried female general Hua Bingyu and the seventh prince Qi Ruizhan. Despite initial resistance from Qi Ruizhan, who was displeased with the match, he eventually realized Hua Bingyu’s value. She not only supported him personally but also helped resolve political crises, leading him to become a respected prince. In the end, he came to appreciate the marriage as one of the best things to happen in his life."
Cast : Ye Zhenghao 叶铮豪 (Qi Ruizhan), Ling Zimo 凌紫沫 (Hua Bing Yu), Liu Yutong 刘昱彤 (Qin Peizhen), Li Tianqi 李天琪 (An Shaohe), Zheng Liwei 郑力伟 (Qinshan), Mo Xie莫茜 (Miao Lan). Source: Baidu.
FL Ling Zimo is as yet unknown to MDL, she is a singer and actress who starred in two movies and this drama. She has a Baidu page with pictures: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%87%8C%E7%B4%AB%E6%B2%AB/59135755?fromModule=lemma_inlink
unfortunately.
So yes, a lot of suspension of disbelief and perhaps transporting this as a mirror of present day attitude towards rulers and women is needed, on top of simply admiring the pretty faces, colorful sets and costumes, and nice acting by the whole cast who each stand out recognizably as characters with own individuality.
I do enjoy that show a lot, after initially thinking, in first episodes, that this was going to be just showcase for main actors and maybe too predictable, too average - I have not read the novel. Now, I just love it and go with the flow. Whatever improbable plot twist is ahead, I am still happy with it. I even like the music, and that so funny tea-picking song at end of episodes. I think this is one I would like to rewatch, like the impossible Chinese mermaid stories (watching an old one starring Zhao Liying!), xianxia, or sword and fairy stories! So, I will put in a good rating from me, even if it's just a drop and too many rely on Douban opening rating or other ones. Your observation is probably accurate that it may not move up a lot, now; sigh, and the reasons you give are valid. So I prefer to watch the popularity through the lens of audience measure : it is forecast to remain #1 among web dramas watched for this week.
It is not wuxia, it is not xianxia, it is not really historical, it is not xuanhuan, it is just costume romance, but who can deny the appeal of those flowing "Hanfu" ones, with their pleasing hairdo, hairpin, and jewelry, furniture, interior and garden designs ? It is removing the most unpleasant aspects of History to keep just enough "cruelty" from outdated feudal but fictional "Da Qing" ruler and treacherousness from the greedy, to keep us glued to screen. This drama struck me as having less unlikely flowing loose hair than in most "historical" or costume dramas. (The platforms where i watch don't have ads, but i assume these soap operas come with a lot of push for shampoo and creams and beauty masks, when shown with the sponsored commercials).
And yes, it's been a while now that I enjoy Hu Yitian and Zhang Jingyi separately in the few dramas I watched that featured them. I thought it would be improbable that they could achieve chemistry together, but well, they do look sweet together with those eye and slight movements of head to communicate wordlessly, the hand holding, leaning against each other when they can... Those who shout they can't act are just biased against them, I don't know why : they have never offended anybody, have they ?