I just read it and it's wonderful!!! How much time did you spend making that?! Mad respect for your dedication…
Thank you for those details! I have (at last!!) wrapped all I wanted to post about the Princess and the Werewolf, and will announce it in the conversation too, before I go explore other fantasy or real places :) I hope the long feature will be of interest to those who decide to give the drama a try even now that it is completed airing. Have a lovely weekend!
Only the short is available now, it was dated on screen from Dec 9, 2021 showing Wang Ruichang exiting a building in warm sportswear, looking bruised on the face.
I just read it and it's wonderful!!! How much time did you spend making that?! Mad respect for your dedication…
Thanks for all this. I'm adding the funny tidbit about the fandom name into the CCC thing then : still in the works... 1Rmb is not much indeed, esp these days. I still have a few of those coins, notes, even jiao notes and the 1 fen aluminum coin in my souvenir box ! Btw, do you know when Wu Xuanyi cut her hair on stage. I saw the video,of that and assumed it was in August 2021, for the Stage Boom show, but have no more precise date. As the commenters said, this was akin to contemporary performance art, with the almost philosophical meaning... Do you know if things go well for her ? She looked a bit thin and wan, almost emaciated, in the recording of the Live Yuehua Family Concert 2023 : 不爱了 (linked in the CCC). That was in May this year if I am not mistaken ?
yeahh it's wu wenjie 吴文婕 but she's using just her name without the surname more as wenjie i think mdl got…
I also thought mdl had got it wrong when I was checking to add data in the Cast Characters and Crew discussion. :) I haven't put in everything yet... Perhaps tomorrow. If you have something you'd like to mention, you can DM me perhaps. The thing is still in the works, and I have not proofread what I already wrote. It took some time to tailor the appearance with the tools at hand, and look for pix in this interesting photo album. I still think I'll have to go to episodes to get screenshots for the Poison master. Btw I wonder why MDL listed so many unimportant characters in the cast (the Elders, the Momo, and some that I clear don't remember who they were in the drama: Qi,Pa's guard in Daxia?? ) and left out a few that are at least as essential for the story.
General Ma of Da Xia, always ready to sacrifice for the country or for the Princess; He fell in love with Chun'er the twitting kitchen maid of the Beast palace.
Is she He Wenjie 何文婕 , as MDL has it, or Wu Wenjie 何何文婕 , as Baidu and CpopHome have it ? Both are said to be born on February 5, 1997, although CpopHome has a precision that it was in Yueyang, Hunan. The filmography is different for the two names, except for one drama which is credited to both names ! The birthday card above only states "Wen Jie" 文婕 before her character name 蝴蝶 (Hudie or "butterfly")
I love his smile herw with KM apperiance he is more cuter...Ahhh 💘💘💘 ...I just said what we will do on…
You're welcome!
It was nice witnessing your enthusiasm about this drama, and after lamenting that the TT links were down i am glad they are back ! (now why did that sentence get cut in action, puzzling!)
That was a right lovely drama, despite the sour faces who had the cheek to want to scare off audience (and managed to achieve their goal in part : one commenter on Hidden Love answered my recom with "I've not heard good things about it") by writing sour stuff several days BEFORE it even was broadcast. That it still was in the top ten TV dramas of last week is a feat, since that sort of fantasy is not that popular a genre in itself. I am glad so many here liked it. It is probably not the utmost masterpiece, but a nice one so I too, would rate it high, perhaps not 10 though, because of some unresolved things, that are in fact relatively unimportant, and leave the door open to imagination and dreaming up more for this new spin on the fairy tale.
I have added a Cast, Character and Crew Discussion which is still in part in the works, because I lost my first try (a lot of time lost), but which I hope will be useful for those who will watch it now or re watch it, or just look up there for the souvenir in addition to the picture album. Like in the Profile piece, I added also some Gifs which I had fun making. The Profile has been updated and added to, slightly, also, but it should be the very last version. For the CCC piece, I'd like to know where TPATW was shot, if someone knows and has a link? Hengdian? If you can think of other data you'd like to add or have me add, if I can find it, do tell me in answer here. (I'm planning short biographical notes for the members of cast and crew in addition to the longer profile of Wu Xuanyi, some more cast, and photos where they are missing (but that may need me rewatching episodes to find exactly where a good snapshot can be had, that is not already in collection, so, please be patient, I need a day more I believe: check again later?).
Meanwhile the happy co-watching party here will probably be on its way to new fun elsewhere. I've started on Lost You Forever, liked the first episodes as said, which I watched the other day in the lull while waiting for a vegan burger and for doors opening to a double feature of Barbenheimer (that's vicious, I know lol, but I had promised a family member we would see that. So it's done.) Yet, because or not of the finishing touches to the discussion pieces projects, I think I will also be re-watching parts of episodes that I particularly liked.
Yes the two kids.... China would like to promote such families now the population trend is taking a nose dive in spite of deregulation of family planning. Not only China : Japan, many other dveloped countries. If there was a message it is that one : despite all odds, find your best partner in life and love, keep smiling confidently and optimistically on your way towards a radiant future, and ... do increase the birth rate!! 🤣 Those laughs we had were so good against the gloom and doom of the Barbenheimer stuff - and now to compound viciousness, that family member wants to drag me to watch that series .... Черно́быль - : What a world we live in ! If only we could have a portal to escape to a nice Beast kingdom like in this drama, eh ?
I love his smile herw with KM apperiance he is more cuter...Ahhh 💘💘💘 ...I just said what we will do on…
Yes but without interaction, this will not work well. Try to find real Chinese friends who speak the language you want to learn (putonghua or other) ? Language exchange purpose is a valid approach anywhere, and there are also clubs that promote it, or in some universities, the "language corners" where budding linguists congregate to make friends and hone their language and culture skills. Learning to read characters is actually different, since sinographs are embedding meaning in a visual way. For foreigners, it is easier to start with simplified characters, and slowly learn to spot the corresponding classic ones, studying their evolution to make sense of why they are built the way they are. Next, assemble them into sentences needs some grammar learning, but it is no that hard. I too, recommend the Pleco app on the phone, when you know the basics about the syntax of character drawing with finger or stylus pen. To start from scratch, follow some models where the strokes are numbered, and "paint" them on an erasable board until the gesture is so well in your hand that you even can flow it into shortened style handwriting. (For Pleco, though, you need to follow the stroke order without too much flow). Pleco has some set phrase suggestions that can inspire your "feel" of the language. Bot don't hesitate to find someone to point out corrections, give explanations, and boost your knowledge and courage : one needs a certain amount of boldness to learn languages. What's nice as an instructive relaxation time is to learn some well-known poems, chengyus, and songs. + drama watching of course. So do try karaoke if your voice is at least as good as Chen Zheyuan's (he is half tone deaf, clearly, but that doesn't prevent him from delivering adequately when he wants, so if he can, why couldn't others follow suit? 🤣) I recommend to start with some classic (not too fast) songs, whatever style you like.
Aaah here comes a blue eyed babe perking head up to screen ! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 (how did you not know? Did you sleep through the drama, exhausted by your day job, or just wandered in here to take a virtual selfie of your sense of wonder?) Maybe it'd help if you just (re-)watched the drama from the start. If you don't know where to look, try Viki or Youku (original platform) ; the cool site has episodes missing, but these are to the end. You could "kiss" that drama hello too. You might feel happy for the experience.
I regret starting this. 🙆🏽♀️🙆🏽♀️🙆🏽♀️ I swear CZY can wear a sack of potatoes…
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Curse of the c-drama addicts. Although Sing my crush is Korean and modern day youth gay love, so not exactly in same category and not an attraction to me, within the tsunami of other entertainment offers. I also listen to music. Have you listened to the Dao Lang Raksha Haishi and, polar opposite, the new Zhang Zhehan songs ?
We get to see great team work of kui mulang and qi pa in these two episodes. Qi pa has started writing a novel…
Does anyone else think that this Su He slightly reminds of the Suihe Bird Realm character in Ashes of Love? Do you think the similarity in names was intentional, as an insiders joke to C drama watchers?
Don't be deterred by some sour faces who started deriding it days BEFORE it had actually aired. This is not Chen Zheyuan's last drama incarnation, it was actually filmed in 2021 before the success of Hidden Love which had all the haters creeping up through the woodwork, and of course spilling over to criticize the awaited drama that had still not aired. In fact, I was quite nonplussed at the strange synopsis that seemed to refer to something else than the actual drama, until it got somewhat corrected.
Knowing the power of negative or positive hype, I am not following those fashions too closely, but since I already had watched a handful of Chen Zheyuan's previous dramas and enjoyed them, I thought wth and clicked as soon as YOUKU started to air this one. I did say how pleasant it felt to find this story that engaged with lots of funny moments and pretty actors, actresses, and costumes. Watching Chen Zheyuan act in two "incarnations" as (not too) fearsome King of the Beasts and handsome "guard" Li Xiong, was a treat. There's even an instance of cross dressing where CZY looks more beautiful than many ladies, to please his sassy Princess!
The story is indeed a new take on the age old fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, that initially was not meant for children, like in the Disney take on the story. Not that it would be a copy, after all, don't we know that Cinderella had its counterpart in China long before the tale was told in the West ? (that other fairy tale is called Ye Xuan and it is well known to folklorists and literature nerds, in addition to the vast Asian community). China has its own set of models for tales, so this modern retelling was as interesting to me as reading T.Kingfisher's recent novel Bryony And Roses, which is yet another delightful variation on the theme, and re watching the artful nostalgic 1946 Cocteau movie, that remains a milestone for the live action screen version of the tale. The Princess and the Werewolf is a comedic spin on the tale, where the wolf king wants to marry a sassy princess who accidentally swallowed the pearl that holds his power, and it is more light hearted than the dark versions, although some dramatic episodes show the other side of that fantasy world too.
I find it well-made and am awaiting final episode tomorrow, together with all those who hopped on the bandwagon and enjoyed it. 30 episodes went by like a charm despite the pesky two days wait a week because of the schedule. I'd say it can be binge watched, have even started re watching in the lulls, while idly making my first Profile of the C actor, which you can browse in Discussions section above, if you are curious. TPATW is not torrid but sweet, and not too childish, let's say PG 12+, not too dependent on knowledge of Chinese culture either, and with some funny nods to European culture (with a David sculpture sent by the absent parents, and high heels that must have been crafted by the Devil to risk break the dainty feet of a lovely cat, although the Princess accurately reflects that these finally found another usefulness there...). The subtitling is not bad, and it is available on Youku original platform (which slowly releases the episodes : 16 are free now, the 14 next are on subscription), Viki, and youku English channel on Youtube. You can also watch it on the usual "kiss and cool" options in lesser definition, but beware that on D...cool episodes 23 and 24 are missing, as I just checked. Skipping whole episodes is not cool, esp those ones which build up the almost tragic part. But fear not, it is forecast to be a happy end.
2 
5 
1 
1 
1 
I hope the long feature will be of interest to those who decide to give the drama a try even now that it is completed airing.
Have a lovely weekend!
Btw, do you know when Wu Xuanyi cut her hair on stage. I saw the video,of that and assumed it was in August 2021, for the Stage Boom show, but have no more precise date. As the commenters said, this was akin to contemporary performance art, with the almost philosophical meaning...
Do you know if things go well for her ? She looked a bit thin and wan, almost emaciated, in the recording of the Live Yuehua Family Concert 2023 : 不爱了 (linked in the CCC). That was in May this year if I am not mistaken ?
It took some time to tailor the appearance with the tools at hand, and look for pix in this interesting photo album. I still think I'll have to go to episodes to get screenshots for the Poison master. Btw I wonder why MDL listed so many unimportant characters in the cast (the Elders, the Momo, and some that I clear don't remember who they were in the drama: Qi,Pa's guard in Daxia?? ) and left out a few that are at least as essential for the story.
It was nice witnessing your enthusiasm about this drama, and after lamenting that the TT links were down i am glad they are back ! (now why did that sentence get cut in action, puzzling!)
I have added a Cast, Character and Crew Discussion which is still in part in the works, because I lost my first try (a lot of time lost), but which I hope will be useful for those who will watch it now or re watch it, or just look up there for the souvenir in addition to the picture album. Like in the Profile piece, I added also some Gifs which I had fun making. The Profile has been updated and added to, slightly, also, but it should be the very last version.
For the CCC piece, I'd like to know where TPATW was shot, if someone knows and has a link? Hengdian?
If you can think of other data you'd like to add or have me add, if I can find it, do tell me in answer here. (I'm planning short biographical notes for the members of cast and crew in addition to the longer profile of Wu Xuanyi, some more cast, and photos where they are missing (but that may need me rewatching episodes to find exactly where a good snapshot can be had, that is not already in collection, so, please be patient, I need a day more I believe: check again later?).
Meanwhile the happy co-watching party here will probably be on its way to new fun elsewhere. I've started on Lost You Forever, liked the first episodes as said, which I watched the other day in the lull while waiting for a vegan burger and for doors opening to a double feature of Barbenheimer (that's vicious, I know lol, but I had promised a family member we would see that. So it's done.)
Yet, because or not of the finishing touches to the discussion pieces projects, I think I will also be re-watching parts of episodes that I particularly liked.
Yes the two kids.... China would like to promote such families now the population trend is taking a nose dive in spite of deregulation of family planning. Not only China : Japan, many other dveloped countries. If there was a message it is that one : despite all odds, find your best partner in life and love, keep smiling confidently and optimistically on your way towards a radiant future, and ... do increase the birth rate!! 🤣 Those laughs we had were so good against the gloom and doom of the Barbenheimer stuff - and now to compound viciousness, that family member wants to drag me to watch that series .... Черно́быль - : What a world we live in !
If only we could have a portal to escape to a nice Beast kingdom like in this drama, eh ?
Learning to read characters is actually different, since sinographs are embedding meaning in a visual way. For foreigners, it is easier to start with simplified characters, and slowly learn to spot the corresponding classic ones, studying their evolution to make sense of why they are built the way they are. Next, assemble them into sentences needs some grammar learning, but it is no that hard.
I too, recommend the Pleco app on the phone, when you know the basics about the syntax of character drawing with finger or stylus pen. To start from scratch, follow some models where the strokes are numbered, and "paint" them on an erasable board until the gesture is so well in your hand that you even can flow it into shortened style handwriting. (For Pleco, though, you need to follow the stroke order without too much flow). Pleco has some set phrase suggestions that can inspire your "feel" of the language.
Bot don't hesitate to find someone to point out corrections, give explanations, and boost your knowledge and courage : one needs a certain amount of boldness to learn languages.
What's nice as an instructive relaxation time is to learn some well-known poems, chengyus, and songs. + drama watching of course. So do try karaoke if your voice is at least as good as Chen Zheyuan's (he is half tone deaf, clearly, but that doesn't prevent him from delivering adequately when he wants, so if he can, why couldn't others follow suit? 🤣) I recommend to start with some classic (not too fast) songs, whatever style you like.
Me, it used to be well-known folk songs, Deng Lijun, Cui Jian ... and some patriotic evergreens like ❤️ 我的祖国 My motherland - lyrics here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yEHLZ9a0Pk (sung in flash mob there : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok4j_0qCwpw).
But also ❤️ Jay Chou's Orange Jasmine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FzC5V70eJw before the more challenging rap/gufeng ❤️ Fearless song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al7USRMI6Ug) ;
❤️ JJ Lin's Jiangnan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kjx6U8B0p0 and ❤️ Cao Cao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp05NISVjws
+ ❤️ Sally Yeh's Walk Gracefully Once 潇洒走一回 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDYcGYMMPas (this was the first song I sang in karaoke back in 1993 in a past incarnation of this timeless alien 🤣 !! So fun to hear it belted out almost a capella by Xiao Zhan 🥰🥰🥰 30 yrs later, here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDWOpvHgY4o, I was singing along! )
There are so many to choose from. favorite OST songs are also nice to add to an ever thicker songbook.
But goal could be to increase speed pronunciation towards rap, like in these Z.Tao songs :
❤️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2UmLHmeyV8 (One Heart),
❤️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tc80F8Ez_A (Crown),
❤️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUdZvL2SDXo (Yesterday. - If you can rap the part at the end there, then I think you can be confident to attain the correct rhythm in mandarin speech) Or like in this Allen Ren "protest song" : ❤️ Who/Shei? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrZFGcGYjtU
At the moment, I am tackling the 😆 Dao Lang phenomenon song "Raksha Haishi" or "Luochahai shi" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pHqQeMygZg that's making waves beyond China...
(how did you not know? Did you sleep through the drama, exhausted by your day job, or just wandered in here to take a virtual selfie of your sense of wonder?)
Maybe it'd help if you just (re-)watched the drama from the start.
If you don't know where to look, try Viki or Youku (original platform) ; the cool site has episodes missing, but these are to the end. You could "kiss" that drama hello too. You might feel happy for the experience.
Although Sing my crush is Korean and modern day youth gay love, so not exactly in same category and not an attraction to me, within the tsunami of other entertainment offers.
I also listen to music. Have you listened to the Dao Lang Raksha Haishi and, polar opposite, the new Zhang Zhehan songs ?
Knowing the power of negative or positive hype, I am not following those fashions too closely, but since I already had watched a handful of Chen Zheyuan's previous dramas and enjoyed them, I thought wth and clicked as soon as YOUKU started to air this one. I did say how pleasant it felt to find this story that engaged with lots of funny moments and pretty actors, actresses, and costumes. Watching Chen Zheyuan act in two "incarnations" as (not too) fearsome King of the Beasts and handsome "guard" Li Xiong, was a treat. There's even an instance of cross dressing where CZY looks more beautiful than many ladies, to please his sassy Princess!
The story is indeed a new take on the age old fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, that initially was not meant for children, like in the Disney take on the story. Not that it would be a copy, after all, don't we know that Cinderella had its counterpart in China long before the tale was told in the West ? (that other fairy tale is called Ye Xuan and it is well known to folklorists and literature nerds, in addition to the vast Asian community). China has its own set of models for tales, so this modern retelling was as interesting to me as reading T.Kingfisher's recent novel Bryony And Roses, which is yet another delightful variation on the theme, and re watching the artful nostalgic 1946 Cocteau movie, that remains a milestone for the live action screen version of the tale. The Princess and the Werewolf is a comedic spin on the tale, where the wolf king wants to marry a sassy princess who accidentally swallowed the pearl that holds his power, and it is more light hearted than the dark versions, although some dramatic episodes show the other side of that fantasy world too.
I find it well-made and am awaiting final episode tomorrow, together with all those who hopped on the bandwagon and enjoyed it. 30 episodes went by like a charm despite the pesky two days wait a week because of the schedule. I'd say it can be binge watched, have even started re watching in the lulls, while idly making my first Profile of the C actor, which you can browse in Discussions section above, if you are curious. TPATW is not torrid but sweet, and not too childish, let's say PG 12+, not too dependent on knowledge of Chinese culture either, and with some funny nods to European culture (with a David sculpture sent by the absent parents, and high heels that must have been crafted by the Devil to risk break the dainty feet of a lovely cat, although the Princess accurately reflects that these finally found another usefulness there...).
The subtitling is not bad, and it is available on Youku original platform (which slowly releases the episodes : 16 are free now, the 14 next are on subscription), Viki, and youku English channel on Youtube. You can also watch it on the usual "kiss and cool" options in lesser definition, but beware that on D...cool episodes 23 and 24 are missing, as I just checked. Skipping whole episodes is not cool, esp those ones which build up the almost tragic part. But fear not, it is forecast to be a happy end.