This review may contain spoilers
VIEWERS CHALLENGED TO RETHINK & REFEEL THEIR ATTITUDE TO SCAPEGOATING
Below is my evaluation of themes & techniques found at a closer observation in the C-drama “The Journey of Chong Zi.”
TEST ON AUDIENCE
The main theme is the condemnation of scapegoating of an innocent girl who grows into a femme fatale by force of her environment’s warped perception of who she potentially is.
There are countless works on this subject-matter. Here, however, the authors manage to… split the audience. The tool is the creation of a beautiful heroine endowed with weaknesses & provoking viewers to utilise these. Just like the candidates for the sect have to jump from rock to rock to reach the shore or fall into the abyss, we also pass or fail a test of humanity.
Viewers who have had similar life experience and/or empathy, relate to Chong Zi, treating her shortcomings as a secondary matter. Having experienced or envisioned fight for survival & loneliness among the crowd, you are prone to understand her quirks are either scars or self-defence responses. Her appetite is the reflex to years of hunger. The habit of tugging at clothes is despair to keep someone engaged. Even the fact that she is not eager to learn is related to thwarted hopes for any investment in herself to start paying off. She has not quit the survival mode, her PTSD. Her persistence in honesty is proof of a strong will. She even avoids white lies & thus deserves a better love than Luo Yin Fan’s, who keeps her misinformed. Her resilience at the difficult age of puberty is simply astounding.
Viewers who fail to see these psychological mechanisms see a troubled & troublesome individual, with underdeveloped social skills & unsteady emotionality. Some will stop at this. Some will find her defencelessness as an opportunity to project their atavistic deficiencies (easy target). Earnestly, do they not resemble Sima Miao Yuan, Ting Xue, Min Yun Zhong or the baozi thief lyncher?
FLATNESS VS ROUNDNESS + VACILLATION
For disambiguation: a flat character is one who remains unchanged; a round character evolves. Main characters tend to be round, but it is not a prerequisite. Flatness is not inferiority: it can denote a timely selection of the right path. Flat ones serve as points of reference, but can be fully-fledged too.
Most characters entrench themselves in obsessions, incl. Luo Yin Fan. He undergoes improvements as the master of the reincarnated Chong Zi, responding to her desire to start eating well, granting her more freedom. However, he clings to insincerity. The first & only radical change happens in the last episode, as he decides to revoke his overprotection & sacrifice himself. Worth noting is the way he accumulates thoughts before a short utterance & how decisive his protective movements are. Zhuo Hao & Qin Ke soon pick up this feature.
The most solid personality is Qin Ke’s. He seeks to appease every conflict; if mediation has no effect, he takes the blame on himself. He exudes doubtless pureness, unlike the volatile Mu Yu or the mercurial Zhuo Hao. Qin Ke’s exaggerated modesty might partly result from Deng Wei’s awareness of viewers’ reception of an earlier drama, “Miss the Dragon,” where his vivid rendering of a supporting role outshone the whole cast: here, he seems to be restricting himself, leaving room for Xu Zheng Xi’s character to bloom. Thus a modest, self-restrained character emerges, serving others & refraining from being served. His reincarnation in the extra episode might be a tribute to his pillar-like consistency.
The roundest characters are Wan Jie & Zhuo Hao. Life forces them into attitudes foreign to their natures. Also Dragon King, Leng Wan Li & Yin Shui Xian are round. Wang Yue turns out to be exceptionally responsive for a villain.
Chong Zi goes beyond the flat-round paradigm. A frantic pendulum, lost between the opposite forces, trying to adopt but rejecting. This vacillation accelerates to disorientation & exasperation. It deliberately gives us a taste of pain such friction must cause.
POTENCY OF MORAL CONCESSION
Moral concession is commendable, its improper use is destructive. Observing Luo Yin Fan’s adamant protection of Chong Zi with an inherent demon element, our heart feels right, but our logic cries for caution.
Instances of misdirected or excessive concession abound. The authors display special tenderness towards Demons’ world, except Wang Yue’s attendant.
Demon agents among Immortals, Yan Zhen Zhu & Mu Yu, repetitively seek to expose Chong Zi to the contact with the demonic objects, murder an innocent person to frame the heroine & force her environment to break the last bond with her. Yet she keeps treating them with trust.
Immortal Min Yun Zhong crowns his lifetime of hypocrisy with a heroic death. Yu Du’s blind loyalty calls for punishment – instead, he survives to usher next generations into the new order.
Being or becoming a mortal is viewed as more meritorious & enhancing chances of survival. When Chong Zi & her master meet the notorious village bully, they talk generously to him, show support. Ting Xue is allowed to survive. Sima Miao Yuan gets violently mutilated in a way C-drama generals do. She is granted a possibility to execute herself & earns Qin Ke’s compassion.
Goodness or neutrality do not pay off – we witness the tragedy of the benevolent Zhuo Yun Zhi, the ‘converted’ Wan Jie, the withdrawn Dragon King & his spouse. Unmerited concession is granted to men’s possessiveness in courting: Luo Yin Fan, Mu Yu & the early Zhuo Hao.
In this unfair world, Chong Zi is equipped late (upon her desperate request) with rudimentary knowledge & a blunt weapon, victim to her inborn disposition, difficult childhood, overprotection, abuse, her inconsistency & inaptitude to learn.
TESTING THE DOOM’S LIMITS
Both main characters recklessly flirt with doom. Luo Yin Fan naively leaves his beloved one in prison & even lets her experience twice the same ordeal with hooks. He gives the reincarnated apprentice the same name. He welcomes the unknown red snake. He does nothing to trace agents.
Chong Zi shifts between the opposite camps, believing each time to be accepted. She disregards signs, e.g. Wang Yue’s repeated assertions of being a good man. She discards orders & friendly advice by Luo Yin Fan, Wan Jie & Zhuo Hao. She forgets to check on Hong Dou, then on Qin Ke. She takes oaths too lightly: ‘pinky swear’ with Qin Ke, assertions to stay home, even public declaration to fight on the Demon side. Wang Yue’s incredible leniency lets her break this promise & elope from the altar; no punishment comes from other Demons.
VARIOUS WAYS TO MATURITY
Two sets of modes of adolescence can be detected. Chong Zi gains hard lesson as an orphan, then takes a step back under an overpotective master. Reincarnated & introduced into a decent Wen family, she grows more ladylike, but the ‘demon scent’ makes her reach the same quicksand as an earlier uncouth findling.
As an opposite, Zhuo Hao sets off at a great advantage. He disrespects his father & will not share his aunt’s considerate disposition. Little does he realise how hurtful his behaviour must be to Chong Zi, for whom human wilfulness used to be daily bane. His maturity comes with unrequited love, loss of his father & the vicissitudes of the universe indifferent to his splendid self.
The 9th princess Sima Miao Yuan is prepossessed with the snobbish assertion of her alleged experience & moral qualifications – but proves locked in a state of conceited puerility so intense as to pose danger to herself & others.
As an opposite, the prince Qin Ke evades his parents’ support, relying on his own development. When Sima Miao Yuan’s parents lose power, he provides solace. Though not enjoying her presence, he acts brotherly & discreetly.
THE ESSENCE OF HOME
An interior is an important home-making factor. Chong Zi’s first home ever is exquisitely furnished, with bright woodwork, sunlight, comfy bed & rich library. There is no kitchen, but the resolute girl turns an incense burner into a stove to prepare a koi fish.
The Demon home is surprisingly liveable, with elevated aesthetics & functionality, flowers, figurines & fancy bed. This reflects the oddly welcoming nature of this realm: even intruders are treated like guests, given kind directions.
An ambivalent interaction between Chong Zi & her kidnapper ‘uncle’ turns the arid, crushing Land of Tribulation into home.
OBJECTIFICATION OF MEN… & MORE
This inherent flaw of C-dramas is also here. A crowd of suitors serves as proof of the heroine’s value. But also of her master, chosen among such valiant rivals.
Women are also targets: the allegedly upright sect leaders make use of Gong Ke Ran as a living bait (her uncle among them), like hunters do to female birds.
Chong Zi keeps hearing 3rd-person remarks from the Immortals, meant to question her capability of thinking, feeling, deciding for herself. Though at times they seem to accept her cleverness, charm & sharp tongue, it is a patronising attitude. Let us add the suitors’ careless language: ‘silly girl,’ ‘ugly girl.’
GLITCHES & FLAWS
- Mortals scarcely shown. The motive of a promising mortal sect Fusheng drops.
- Disregard for countrymen. Two negative comparisons by main characters.
- Forgotten demon creatures (cat, snake) or objects (Kunlun incense, fruit lantern).
- Convention taken for granted. Viewers expected to know that C-drama Immortals are generally hypocrites. That postpones their understanding of the discrepancy between the sect rules (no violence, even revenge) & their behaviour (scheming, human sacrifice, judging a priori, no intention evaluation, little use of Yu Du’s predicting capabilities).
- Selecting a young actor for the ‘uncle’ (Gao Han should urgently be cast in a major protagonist role soon).
APPEAL
The world is not likely to shake off its obsession with questionable beauty standards soon. Believing that Asian cultures attach importance to the ‘face’ as an ultimate value, please keep C-drama free from the unnecessary plastic surgery and tweakments.
Written by a nationless spirit confined in the decaying Mid-Europe.
TEST ON AUDIENCE
The main theme is the condemnation of scapegoating of an innocent girl who grows into a femme fatale by force of her environment’s warped perception of who she potentially is.
There are countless works on this subject-matter. Here, however, the authors manage to… split the audience. The tool is the creation of a beautiful heroine endowed with weaknesses & provoking viewers to utilise these. Just like the candidates for the sect have to jump from rock to rock to reach the shore or fall into the abyss, we also pass or fail a test of humanity.
Viewers who have had similar life experience and/or empathy, relate to Chong Zi, treating her shortcomings as a secondary matter. Having experienced or envisioned fight for survival & loneliness among the crowd, you are prone to understand her quirks are either scars or self-defence responses. Her appetite is the reflex to years of hunger. The habit of tugging at clothes is despair to keep someone engaged. Even the fact that she is not eager to learn is related to thwarted hopes for any investment in herself to start paying off. She has not quit the survival mode, her PTSD. Her persistence in honesty is proof of a strong will. She even avoids white lies & thus deserves a better love than Luo Yin Fan’s, who keeps her misinformed. Her resilience at the difficult age of puberty is simply astounding.
Viewers who fail to see these psychological mechanisms see a troubled & troublesome individual, with underdeveloped social skills & unsteady emotionality. Some will stop at this. Some will find her defencelessness as an opportunity to project their atavistic deficiencies (easy target). Earnestly, do they not resemble Sima Miao Yuan, Ting Xue, Min Yun Zhong or the baozi thief lyncher?
FLATNESS VS ROUNDNESS + VACILLATION
For disambiguation: a flat character is one who remains unchanged; a round character evolves. Main characters tend to be round, but it is not a prerequisite. Flatness is not inferiority: it can denote a timely selection of the right path. Flat ones serve as points of reference, but can be fully-fledged too.
Most characters entrench themselves in obsessions, incl. Luo Yin Fan. He undergoes improvements as the master of the reincarnated Chong Zi, responding to her desire to start eating well, granting her more freedom. However, he clings to insincerity. The first & only radical change happens in the last episode, as he decides to revoke his overprotection & sacrifice himself. Worth noting is the way he accumulates thoughts before a short utterance & how decisive his protective movements are. Zhuo Hao & Qin Ke soon pick up this feature.
The most solid personality is Qin Ke’s. He seeks to appease every conflict; if mediation has no effect, he takes the blame on himself. He exudes doubtless pureness, unlike the volatile Mu Yu or the mercurial Zhuo Hao. Qin Ke’s exaggerated modesty might partly result from Deng Wei’s awareness of viewers’ reception of an earlier drama, “Miss the Dragon,” where his vivid rendering of a supporting role outshone the whole cast: here, he seems to be restricting himself, leaving room for Xu Zheng Xi’s character to bloom. Thus a modest, self-restrained character emerges, serving others & refraining from being served. His reincarnation in the extra episode might be a tribute to his pillar-like consistency.
The roundest characters are Wan Jie & Zhuo Hao. Life forces them into attitudes foreign to their natures. Also Dragon King, Leng Wan Li & Yin Shui Xian are round. Wang Yue turns out to be exceptionally responsive for a villain.
Chong Zi goes beyond the flat-round paradigm. A frantic pendulum, lost between the opposite forces, trying to adopt but rejecting. This vacillation accelerates to disorientation & exasperation. It deliberately gives us a taste of pain such friction must cause.
POTENCY OF MORAL CONCESSION
Moral concession is commendable, its improper use is destructive. Observing Luo Yin Fan’s adamant protection of Chong Zi with an inherent demon element, our heart feels right, but our logic cries for caution.
Instances of misdirected or excessive concession abound. The authors display special tenderness towards Demons’ world, except Wang Yue’s attendant.
Demon agents among Immortals, Yan Zhen Zhu & Mu Yu, repetitively seek to expose Chong Zi to the contact with the demonic objects, murder an innocent person to frame the heroine & force her environment to break the last bond with her. Yet she keeps treating them with trust.
Immortal Min Yun Zhong crowns his lifetime of hypocrisy with a heroic death. Yu Du’s blind loyalty calls for punishment – instead, he survives to usher next generations into the new order.
Being or becoming a mortal is viewed as more meritorious & enhancing chances of survival. When Chong Zi & her master meet the notorious village bully, they talk generously to him, show support. Ting Xue is allowed to survive. Sima Miao Yuan gets violently mutilated in a way C-drama generals do. She is granted a possibility to execute herself & earns Qin Ke’s compassion.
Goodness or neutrality do not pay off – we witness the tragedy of the benevolent Zhuo Yun Zhi, the ‘converted’ Wan Jie, the withdrawn Dragon King & his spouse. Unmerited concession is granted to men’s possessiveness in courting: Luo Yin Fan, Mu Yu & the early Zhuo Hao.
In this unfair world, Chong Zi is equipped late (upon her desperate request) with rudimentary knowledge & a blunt weapon, victim to her inborn disposition, difficult childhood, overprotection, abuse, her inconsistency & inaptitude to learn.
TESTING THE DOOM’S LIMITS
Both main characters recklessly flirt with doom. Luo Yin Fan naively leaves his beloved one in prison & even lets her experience twice the same ordeal with hooks. He gives the reincarnated apprentice the same name. He welcomes the unknown red snake. He does nothing to trace agents.
Chong Zi shifts between the opposite camps, believing each time to be accepted. She disregards signs, e.g. Wang Yue’s repeated assertions of being a good man. She discards orders & friendly advice by Luo Yin Fan, Wan Jie & Zhuo Hao. She forgets to check on Hong Dou, then on Qin Ke. She takes oaths too lightly: ‘pinky swear’ with Qin Ke, assertions to stay home, even public declaration to fight on the Demon side. Wang Yue’s incredible leniency lets her break this promise & elope from the altar; no punishment comes from other Demons.
VARIOUS WAYS TO MATURITY
Two sets of modes of adolescence can be detected. Chong Zi gains hard lesson as an orphan, then takes a step back under an overpotective master. Reincarnated & introduced into a decent Wen family, she grows more ladylike, but the ‘demon scent’ makes her reach the same quicksand as an earlier uncouth findling.
As an opposite, Zhuo Hao sets off at a great advantage. He disrespects his father & will not share his aunt’s considerate disposition. Little does he realise how hurtful his behaviour must be to Chong Zi, for whom human wilfulness used to be daily bane. His maturity comes with unrequited love, loss of his father & the vicissitudes of the universe indifferent to his splendid self.
The 9th princess Sima Miao Yuan is prepossessed with the snobbish assertion of her alleged experience & moral qualifications – but proves locked in a state of conceited puerility so intense as to pose danger to herself & others.
As an opposite, the prince Qin Ke evades his parents’ support, relying on his own development. When Sima Miao Yuan’s parents lose power, he provides solace. Though not enjoying her presence, he acts brotherly & discreetly.
THE ESSENCE OF HOME
An interior is an important home-making factor. Chong Zi’s first home ever is exquisitely furnished, with bright woodwork, sunlight, comfy bed & rich library. There is no kitchen, but the resolute girl turns an incense burner into a stove to prepare a koi fish.
The Demon home is surprisingly liveable, with elevated aesthetics & functionality, flowers, figurines & fancy bed. This reflects the oddly welcoming nature of this realm: even intruders are treated like guests, given kind directions.
An ambivalent interaction between Chong Zi & her kidnapper ‘uncle’ turns the arid, crushing Land of Tribulation into home.
OBJECTIFICATION OF MEN… & MORE
This inherent flaw of C-dramas is also here. A crowd of suitors serves as proof of the heroine’s value. But also of her master, chosen among such valiant rivals.
Women are also targets: the allegedly upright sect leaders make use of Gong Ke Ran as a living bait (her uncle among them), like hunters do to female birds.
Chong Zi keeps hearing 3rd-person remarks from the Immortals, meant to question her capability of thinking, feeling, deciding for herself. Though at times they seem to accept her cleverness, charm & sharp tongue, it is a patronising attitude. Let us add the suitors’ careless language: ‘silly girl,’ ‘ugly girl.’
GLITCHES & FLAWS
- Mortals scarcely shown. The motive of a promising mortal sect Fusheng drops.
- Disregard for countrymen. Two negative comparisons by main characters.
- Forgotten demon creatures (cat, snake) or objects (Kunlun incense, fruit lantern).
- Convention taken for granted. Viewers expected to know that C-drama Immortals are generally hypocrites. That postpones their understanding of the discrepancy between the sect rules (no violence, even revenge) & their behaviour (scheming, human sacrifice, judging a priori, no intention evaluation, little use of Yu Du’s predicting capabilities).
- Selecting a young actor for the ‘uncle’ (Gao Han should urgently be cast in a major protagonist role soon).
APPEAL
The world is not likely to shake off its obsession with questionable beauty standards soon. Believing that Asian cultures attach importance to the ‘face’ as an ultimate value, please keep C-drama free from the unnecessary plastic surgery and tweakments.
Written by a nationless spirit confined in the decaying Mid-Europe.
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