Frost_edelweiss

Fun! 😂 I thought about that too : LLTG as fanfiction of fanfiction going back to Dracula via Twilight and 50SoG. Popular fiction blockbusters. Not high literature ; but try also to read Mauprat by George Sand and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights for the thrills and message that love is pain... LLTG feels quite in line with these concepts of romanticism.

(Putting a spoiler tag on because this is not related to LLTG per se but to what commenters have about it)

Ah yes CloudA : Corriander, you are so right. --- Such a selfless and dedicated person to go and make such excellent videos for us to gain better perspective.
I think she really does her research carefully. I had a few exchanges withe her about the differences between concubines and consorts and she went digging in the novel and history to decide that yes, Yuan was a consort in LLTG just as Yin was in the historical model. We also had some exchanges about the use and concept of courtesy names vs infancy names and other given names and misc details. So I signed up to her channel. She is one great asset for MDL.

I think AvX is also trustworthy for the poetry and history or costume notes.

But perhaps she watched too many different things and did not dig deep to unearth Guangwu. She did not mention him in her two videos about LLTG although being aware that Wen was a founding father of a dynasty and the setting was in the first 2 decades of his reign. So she went talking in her latest "final" video comparing him to ... Liu Bang (Han Dynasty 1st emperor - yes she got it wrong, she did not unearth Xin and Eastern Han dynasties...🙄), Tang Tai Zong, Li Yuan (Tang dynasty, wth? 😮) and Zhu Yuanzhang (Ming 😆)

I really cannot say that historical Guangwu was not like the founding emperors she described "ruthless... cruel", but one thing's sure, Liu Xiu did marry a sweetheart as first wife when he was still not aware he'd become an emperor. He did not repudiate Yin or demote her to concubine when he married Guo for politics, he treated both ladies well enough to have a thriving brood, and when he decided to demote Guo and give the empress title back to Yin . He'd created it for her in the first place, but Guo had a son, Yin still had not, so it was better to assure the line at the time by making Guo empress which she remained for 16 years. After demoting her, emperor LiuXiu/Wenshu endowed Guo with a title and a fief and a feudal king title for her youngest son (shrewdly keeping the elder son of Yin as potential Crown Prince if something happened to Guo's son. The latter was not in a feud with the Yin line princes and preferred to make way for Yin's elder son so eventually all this ended up rather peacefully and amicably while Wenshu and his new empress were on speaking and visiting terms with the former empress, and the new Crown prince did not feel compelled to wipe out his predecessor and the Guo line princes. (Info gathered from Wikipedia, English and Chinese versions, Baidu and a couple other encyclopedias that don't contradict each other)

I also take exception with Wu Lei described as "wooden" (with those sizzling gazes ?? He reminded me of Clark Gable as Rhett Butler from Gone with the wind!) Plus he certainly was not only seen facing front. There are plenty of moments when we see him from the side or even from the back. Looking up to the stars, down to the little lady pinned under him in the self defense lesson 😂

As for Zhao LuSi : keeping mentioning her comedic character and fleshy face made me scrunch my eyebrows. She certainly did not play the happy child in the first part, when CSS was severely beaten and discriminated against. She's even shed tears there already. That she acted more reflectively in the second part is in line with her having been before a reckless adolescent, and I admired that I could feel a difference between the two.

AvX criticism of costume and color in LLTG also made me puzzle : If the producers had been as lavish and creative as she suggested they could be, I am sure it would have warranted even harsher comments from the mean lady. But in the drama, it is clearly said from the start that the population was to obey regulations about frugality, because the country was still poor. It was recovering from decades of civil wars (modeled on those at the end of Han dynasty and the short lived Xin from which Liu Xiu had carved and created Eastern Han, capital Luoyang : not the thriving one that was the refuge of Wu Zetian later, but a smaller size city, nestled in a bend of the Jianhe river, that flows to Luohe river, south of which is the city we know better - I visited once, in search of the famed peonies. Today the site of Eastern Han Luoyang is in a spot called Wangcheng park. )

Bah. AvX's videos there did not bring me much. Perhaps others here observed the same thing as I did in those two videos. If I am the umpteenth to say so, please stay benevolent : I was just venting my dissatisfaction about whatI felt was lukewarm and unwholesome demolition, and I will keep quiet about that, from now on.
LLTG is over, sigh. It is time to move on to do something else.... 😉

I am as expectant as you are. 😂 No mneoows or purrs yet 😸

On YT someone from China replied to a comment of mine that cutting 10 episodes was just rumor, so I actually still wonder about the truth in this matter. It would explain some rushed feeling, inconsistencies etc so I would like to hope there's a treasure trove of cut parts that could be restored sometime, and that it is not just wish-thinking.

About AvX, I do find her videos about costume, accessories making , poetry and History notes, and guqin playing, very interesting. So I still pop over to check if there's anything like that on her channels. But I was disappointed that she proffered a handful of emperors from later dynasties to support her idea that this Wen was too unlikely, without making a mention of Liu Xiu/Wenshu/Guangwu. Maybe she had no time to check about that one, unlike us lucky souls who had commenters on this forum, and watched the interesting companion videos of C-Drama Q&A on YT.

C-Drama Q&A on YT.s sweet lady researcher is clearly in love with LLTG and has read the 179+6 chapters of the original basis novel. I particularly liked her latest video on cultural details, with the part about the jade ornaments hanging "like wind chimes" from the belts. Here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smyZZxfW7-g&lc=Ugxu80-PSVIF1PcVh9J4AaABAg.9f8smsvaS0w9fAzT-vXVuL
Anyway, it's true that this Guangwu, his empresses and his brood, cannot be more than (strong) inspiration and some characters were source modelled (again for inspiration only) from elsewhere or completely made up (our delightful CSS/NiaoNiao and H/LBY/Zisheng/Shiyilang).

Thanks for confirming the heat index characeristics. Do you happen to know what was the items that scored highest, to have a perspective ?

Thank you for liking my idle thoughts 🤗
I was happy to read truly interesting essays and comments in this forum, although I usually (for other dramas) just skim what's in reactions, without adding to the deluge of words. Also because I know that when I get started, I could end up inflicting on unsuspecting readers just too much in too many directions. I therefore also admire those who can remain concise. I do try to restrain myself. 😏

No I think it was CSS coming of age birthday, which would have happened before the empress birthday, but probably that was a case of too many birthdays (after the ones of Yuchang, QiQi's granny; next the one of the empress and finally LingYi's that turned almost GoT red wedding-style.)

AvX grudgingly awarded 1.5 gold mine. But i agree, her taste and mine often differ. To each their own, live and let live...

LLTG merits : 7+ billion views ? 7.6 Douban , 9 MDL ?

LbFaD is perhaps interesting too; different genre. Do you know about the "heat index" they flaunt - over 10 000 this week ? Is it something specific to platform since that one is on iQiyi, and unrelated to Tencent/WeTV users ?

Yes they did : it felt like a living chess game in episode 34 😂

That makes me think of Xing Zhaolin and Liang Jie - 4 dramas together even if there is a 3 versions one included. They were viewed as a couple in real life when they aren't. Then they moved on to other projects, Liang Jie with Steven Zhang before, and now upcoming in another drama ; XZL with other FLs. Somehow, I think they got stuck with the impressions from their biggest success together, though... That's a risk: reaching a peak from which they can only climb down.

Yang Yang and Reba also were a peak in their careers, for romance, and maybe it was a good thing , so as not to regret the real life sorry fate that caught Zheng Shuang, who appeared not only in one drama with YY (Love O2O) but also some smaller sweet movies about tea. I loved YY & ZLS in WRTW for another change, partly in the dream-gameland of imagination, not so removed from YY's former incarnations as master of the e-game. To me, YY seems to be jumping from peak to peak, not climbing down, since I watched Love O2O ; whereas ZLS is definitely reaching higher and higher since she broke out as a lesser star : I thought she peaked with WRTW but no, she is much further up there now with LLTG; hoping her next projects won't have us feeling she's been dragged down.

Perhaps a larger story with versions or sequels, like XZL"s Eternal Love 1-2-3 woud appeal to audience/ I might be on board for an LLTG 2 and LLTG 3 😁
But that's unlikely : Wu Lei mentioned in an interview thathe's felt concern that the wig caused him to lose hair ! And also that his carrying the LBY character with him for a long time had caused him some raised eyebrows from friends. Wu Lei did not really like that character, warning about a near split personality.. I'm sure he is glad it's over, even if there were some fun moments BTS with others in castn and fellow Chengdu kid ZLS, and their dogs. ZLS looked transformed in the livestream: she "was" Shaoshang on and off set for a while, and now she will be someone new : so exciting to live (and us too by proxy) , in this way, several lives !

The bulliers should get a taste of their own medicine instead of trying to change and destroy all those who just take pleasure in watching the gifted young actors & actresses performances. But some take their lack of shame to exremes and simply couldn't be "reeducated". I felt under undeserved attack when I was answered by some rabid antifan of ZLS who haunts YT cdrama pages (clearly without having even watched the 10 episodes of LLTG that, say they, were enough to trigger disgust) , I was tempted to answer but a first attempt drew more bile against me and ZLS, so I decided to treat said person's rant through silence. Noticed that said person again threw around bile and aspersion on other people, later. At least now this one is spotted for discourteous and dishonest discourse. Next time I spot that person, if that goes on I'll just signal their rants to be deleted by platform as hate speech or spam.
I am all for freedom of speech and opinion, but sometimes, censoring is also a good option : the world is built on contradiction. 🙄

Some scenes were definitely cut in the slashwork to pare the drama down to 57 episodes. That's what I felt in the last few episodes where pacing changed. One scene that's missing is the birthday ceremony for CSS which was supposedly to be held in the palace in the drama. (Parents complaining about it) And the group marriage of relatives looks like a cameo of something bigger.
Were there really 66 episodes written and in the box but production had to do slashwork in the end to keep to schedules & authorization? I agree we need an extended director's cut (not the further slashed down 45 episodes wished for by Avenu X!)

I thought it was the reverse. Only close friends or select few use courtesy names which function like a more intimate, not widely known name.
Not sure about "given" - it looks like men from aristocratic or learned families would get such a name at 20 (coming of age), but often of their own choice.
General Ling or General Ling Buyi are the public names. It is never impolite to address someone unrelated by his position in hierarchy., even nowadays (ie Director Fei, "Teacher" (Sir) Wu Lei 😁...)
Strangers would not be cognizant with an alternate courtesy name.

both as support. In a minor, silly, popcorn drama like this one looks like, their roles may be insignificant and disappointing. I don't expect much from this one even if it stars Xing Zhaolin who I liked enough to make a note of, for myself not MDL, in some other dramas. Even though I like cats and unlikely tsundere drama CEOs .
Could Zhou Tian pull off a role like Zhao LuSi's in " I Hear You" which I watched while exploring ZLS older filmography, in between the release of episodes from the captivating LLTG ? Perhaps I"ll watch when and if it gets on WeTV.

I love this Zhousheng Cheng & Shiyi CP so much ! But now come, tearing down the doors : Yu Tu & Qiao JingJing , and Zisheng & NiaoNiao... I expanded my heart to three beats 🥰 Hard to really choose: they're all wonderful. Maybe Wu Lei's muscles and riding with Niao Niao screaming (for real) will have LLTG encroach on the tender courtship bestowed by ZSC on ShiYi with all their shared love of Chinese culture and History. But I was just rewatching a few scenes out of YAMG that also stood out for me ("I'll make it lower", the "spy" scene, the "BDO" scenes... and the out-of-this world wedding scene) while contrasting the white in YAMG to the red in Forever & Ever last episode: so yes, I understand why LLTG fans are clamoring to watch the 10 episodes that reputedly were cut to size LLTG down to 56 eps.

or maybe you are not an adept of e-sports drama ? or dislike Yang Yang or/and Reba ?
After having overdosed on fluff some years ago and rewatched The Eternal Love too many times, I was thrilled for a change to watch the King's Avatar, that did not have any fluff, but had Yang Yang's Ye Xiu. That drew me into e-sports (incl Crossfire starring Wu Lei) and back to romance e-sports with Falling Into Your Smile, Love O2O, Go Go Squid, etc ... and You Are My Glory.
I was glad for the YAMG development in more or less three directions with e-sports but also aerospace and mingxin/star concerns. The "spy" part had me 🤣🤣🤣 YAMG is mostly fluffy ("I'll make it lower", and the out-of-this world wedding scene), comedic ("you're gravitating to BDS" geek joke) and instructive (serious about space stuff in particular) and I enjoyed every episode. I also like to follow the news from Chinese aerospace anyway : watching rocket launches is always a thrill for me.

weeelll time for a pause then 😏
Actually I will have to bc I have some real life drama to tackle next week 😬

to both of you, since to me WRTW is not historical. Or did I miss something ? Btw I have not watched Miss S : will give it a try if I find it 😊 Happy drama watching !

😏🎦

Those ones were good yes. Nothing comes to my tired mind just now.

I am heavilyinto xianxia/wuxia like WRTW but also roam minguo like Arsenal Military Academy , Sparrow... and modern, with a periodical predilection for silly fluff to chase dark moods away, which I will not list here (!) or why not, those ones bordering SF : My girlfriend is an alien, A robot in the orange orchard,.

Or more serious slice-of-life stuff.

I absolutely recommend even if you think this is not your primary cup of tea, to watch the short (15 episodes) RESET with Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai. This one too is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Will go take a nap. Perhaps someone else will add more ?

WRTW : That one's not historical but fantasy ? S
ame for Legend of the Condor heroes and a handful of other ones that are loosely about the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties.
I'd have suggested One and Only (but lots of angst and spectacular bad end)

Still, here's one that could fit if harem stories are ok : The Sword and the Brocade (Ming dynasty).

There's a group wedding at the Cheng's in one episode, to comfort those who craved for a wedding ceremony.
Emperor Wen would like HBY&CSS wedding take place in the capital instead of Hua county where they stayed in the end. But yes, we don't see their wedding.
So perhaps there is a possibility to add a "season 2" loosely based on the epilogue of the novel, exploring the change in emperor etc. We can dream on...

I agree. Mirrors are on the list of things that are taboo to give. "It’s believed that mirrors attract ghosts. Also, mirrors get easily broken, and when they are, it’s a bad omen."

Of course, here it's a large bronze polished mirror, so it won't be easily broken

Still :
mirrors are also used in fengshui in front of the door to catch or repel evil spirits. But they should be tilted to face upwards because "The classical schools tend to recommend against a mirror facing the front door do so because for them, the reflection of a mirror reflects energy back. Therefore, a mirror reflecting the front door pushes away energy, rather than welcomes qi into the home."
Not easy to place a full length mirror to make sure one's clothes and makeup are in good order before going out the door... "Mirrors should always be placed on the eastern and northern walls of the house and never on southern or western walls" "Mirrors are thought to bounce energy around the bedroom, which may result in restlessness and amplify worries. It's especially important not to hang a mirror on the wall opposite your bed"
"Avoid Placing Mirrors Above Beds, Sofas or Chairs... "
As luck has it bathroom mirrors and cosmetics mirrors seem exempted from the superstition, and also the rear view mirrors for vehicles 😂