This review may contain spoilers
INTELLECTUAL FEAST WITH MORAL POISON – PART 2/2
Due to the word limit I had to divide the review in two parts. Before reading the following, please get acquainted with Part 1 (published under Season 1).
LOVE AS A NON-LINEAR PROCESS
Many works treat love as fate, or a momentary decision of the heart or the mind, or a steady progress. Here we have a very complex process: turmoil, reversal, denial. An excruciating mixture of soul-searching & risk-calculation, filled with fear of the unknown, with doubt as predominant force.
The relationship between Xiao Yao & Tushan Jing starts with contemptuous indifference, as she throws a stone at him lying wounded in the bush & leaves (though a doctor, she evinces as little empathy as the snake demon would). She acknowledges his humanity only on noticing their similarity, when he reaches for a flower like she did once. She becomes aware of his masculinity when he is able to stand up. Later he would again be supine many times (wounded, unconscious, floating) but she would never cease to respect him as a man, her yearning would grow. Many times she regresses to stoicism or brutality, e.g. she steps on his piece of bread, calls him names, urges him not to follow her etc. Human body has no mysteries for her as a doctor, neither in terms of beauty nor ugliness; thus, for them the experience of gradually discovering each other physically is lost forever. As a compensation from the fate, Tushan Jing receives certainty of the woman’s acceptance of his appearance. Sadly & alarmingly, later her mirror contains “photos” only of Xiang Liu, not a single one of Tushan Jing. Their personalities differ, she is more productive & proactive, has a talent for archery (like Xiang Liu) rather than music. It is much later that they find a passion to share – the medicine encyclopaedia. However, they develop a feeling based on their perseverance to remain non-evil. It is the small gestures, the chores, the furtive smiles that build up with time as an unshakeable edifice of mature love.
The hesitation takes maximum momentum in the relationship between Xiao Yao & Xiang Liu. She is unwilling to own how difficult it is to extricate herself from this introvert’s attention. Apart from a humane wish to help a person in need, she discerns in his mute expression something that makes him worth more goodness than many non-evils. When she decides to free herself from the connecting bug, it is not just out of concern for her safety, but also to spare his integrity. Her desperate act of piercing him with an arrow, then missing the next hit, then deliberately cutting her veins for him thrice – all within one minute – show the state of utmost emotional disarray. Still, no love is possible between them because of the ‘formation’ inflicted to her heart & mind by years of torture.
HUMAN SHORTCOMINGS
Xiao Yao shows an astonishing level of blindness to feelings: with Cang Xuan almost fainting of desire next to her face, towards the end of the series, she still fails to notice & understand the nature & intensity of this feeling. All the love radiating silently from Xiang Liu’s body & face gets lost on her, too. Being healed in his shell, her detached spirit starts acting weirdly childish. It gets worse with the passage of years & her increasing boredom. The barking at the casino is one more example of infantile behaviour.
Cang Xuan fails to recognise his sister, which makes me doubt if he loves her & if he is perceptive enough to be a ruler of people. He also fails to deal with shortage of grains. Another issue is the young king’s susceptibility to intoxication. He takes drugs that would naturally impair his body, soul & intellect. He also keeps drinking before serious events, knowing he would act & speak irresponsibly. Please pay attention to the Grand King’s face, as he hears Cang Xuan’s drunken confessions: an expression of regret for having appointed such a weak man, lacking self-control, as his throne successor.
NEGLECT OF CONTACT
Xiao Yao is open-minded & expressive, longing for interactions & a steady relationship. Though a princess, she never excludes demons, foreign officials or veterans, other clans form being close to her & communicating with her. Surprisingly though, she would not visit her adoptive family till most of them die of age, never inquires about them, has no idea Ye Shi Qi pays them visits every couple of years. She lingers to go to Li Rong Ji, as well as to start a quest for her biological father. Unforgivably, she strengthens A Nian’s complex of inferiority in wit.
Cang Xuan was once a hostage & so was Chenrong Shin Yue. However, they do not get to share their experiences & remain married strangers.
Both cousins have a much too pompous attitude towards themselves & underline their martyrdom in speech, gestures & mimicry, including even an unjust blame towards their parents. Compared to them, Xiang Liu is notorious for concealing his feelings, suffering, merits, unwilling to use it in his rhetoric for any goal. This makes him more trustworthy. Yet also this gets him abandoned, killed & forgotten.
The king of Xiyan does not read crucial letters or reports prior to making a decision that affects future generations. Having spoken with Cang Xuan only few times, he makes him new king without delay. Later, as a retired king, he presents himself as a perfectly communicative individual, sharing wisdom abundantly.
The village storyteller takes great care to deliver accurate information, but as it is with old legends, much of it gets warped with time.
OBJECTIFICATION OF MEN
This omnipresent C-drama flaw is also here. The impressive number of suitors is a well-known tool to present the heroine as an exceptionally worthy individual. So is Tushan Jing’s attitude or the face-painting challenge.
QUALITY OF ACTING
The invaded sitting together with invaders, victims commiserating with harassers, love rivals helping each other, fated siblings consuming poisoned flowers in unison – the pace slows down to make us believe we also belong to the realm of deities with thousands of years at disposal. The conflicts between sentient beings are never wild. They are like negotiations.
Performance is proficient with no exceptions. The actors have even managed to soften the Freudian air to make their characters more lifelike & lovable, to mention Xiang Liu’s soft song as well. Praiseworthy are support roles too, such as the epic one-to-one battle between A Nian & Yu Jiang, or Li Rong Chang’s picturesque 'phew!'s.
This C-drama excels in conveying messages in a subtle way, e.g. when Chishui Feng Long visits Xiao Yao, he seems reluctant to leave the Go game, afraid to face her lest he gets rejected. Equally subtle is Grand King’s reaction: he stops playing, as if he wanted to encourage him to stand up & approach her.
Deng Wei seems to be taking deeply into consideration viewers’ feedback. Once he got reproached for outshining main actors & in the next drama we saw him modestly withdrawn. He got praised for that & in the next series (the present one) he moved even more to the shadow, for which he received the heaviest backlash. Then he would reappear in a 2025 drama “Love of the Divine Tree” and behold – he is a churning rocket furnace there, earning viewers’ applause.
In China, there is a culture of self-improvement & a demand to know one’s own place, to contribute to the society just the right amount & quality. Therefore we, non-Asians, must be extra cautious with evaluation. If it is not perfectly honest or precisely formulated, it may unnecessarily hurt & misguide.
Let me submit my evaluation of Deng Wei’s acting skills. It will be my first review entirely in Chinese. Here it goes: 好.
GLITCHES & FLAWS
As Cang Xuan admits metaphorically regarding his harem, he has brought too many flowers to the garden, but the one he needs is absent. Yet also literally, there are superfluous references to many flower species:
- flower of Ruomu, a tree on which the sun rests every evening, symbol of balance between heavenly order & human intervention, meant to be given by Cang Xuan to his future love,
- pointiana tree (mistaken for phoenix tree), symbolic of female royal power, present in all places where Cang Xuan expects his sister to root in,
- tree peony or Rejuvenating Flower on Xiao Yao’s forehead, corresponding to the one planted & given to her by Tushan Jing, stands for female beauty, love, wealth & status,
- plum vs mulberry wine, i.e. Tushan Jing & Cang Xuan competing for Xiao Yao’s favour,
- peach tree, planted by Chi Chen whenever he missed Xiling Heng, grows abundantly on Mount Jade,
- divine tree on Mount Dushuo, used in tea for realistic karma hallucinations,
- reef flowers opening at Xiang Liu’s touch,
- recurring proverbs about trees,
- Xiao Yao’s flower-eating habit – sweet memory of childhood, but also ability to make do in hard times before fruit is available.
Haoling supposedly did not participate in wars for ten thousand years, but in the same episode we learn that it joined the battle between Xiyang & Chenrong. The daughter of the king has never heard.
Xiao Yao is in excruciating pain after her husband has been killed, but Xiang Liu does not feel it in spite of the connecting bug.
The demon who imprisoned Xiao Yao in childhood was a face-changing children-devouring nine-tailed fox. I was actually expecting Tushan Jing to confess he were the one.
Some curtains & fabrics are machine-embroidered.
APPEAL
This drama should make us realise how important it is for the soul to keep the face intact. As usual, let me implore everyone who can turn the direction in which C-drama as a genre evolves to discourage unnecessary permanent or harmful interference in actor’s and actresses’ faces: plastic surgery, tweakments, toxic substances in make-up. Let the Western culture promote insincerity if it must, while the Eastern may serve as a refuge for authenticity-seekers.
Written by a nationless spirit confined in the decaying Mid-Europe.
EDIT 19.03.26. Tried singing the OST. High vixen howlability factor. Raised the grade to 9.5.
LOVE AS A NON-LINEAR PROCESS
Many works treat love as fate, or a momentary decision of the heart or the mind, or a steady progress. Here we have a very complex process: turmoil, reversal, denial. An excruciating mixture of soul-searching & risk-calculation, filled with fear of the unknown, with doubt as predominant force.
The relationship between Xiao Yao & Tushan Jing starts with contemptuous indifference, as she throws a stone at him lying wounded in the bush & leaves (though a doctor, she evinces as little empathy as the snake demon would). She acknowledges his humanity only on noticing their similarity, when he reaches for a flower like she did once. She becomes aware of his masculinity when he is able to stand up. Later he would again be supine many times (wounded, unconscious, floating) but she would never cease to respect him as a man, her yearning would grow. Many times she regresses to stoicism or brutality, e.g. she steps on his piece of bread, calls him names, urges him not to follow her etc. Human body has no mysteries for her as a doctor, neither in terms of beauty nor ugliness; thus, for them the experience of gradually discovering each other physically is lost forever. As a compensation from the fate, Tushan Jing receives certainty of the woman’s acceptance of his appearance. Sadly & alarmingly, later her mirror contains “photos” only of Xiang Liu, not a single one of Tushan Jing. Their personalities differ, she is more productive & proactive, has a talent for archery (like Xiang Liu) rather than music. It is much later that they find a passion to share – the medicine encyclopaedia. However, they develop a feeling based on their perseverance to remain non-evil. It is the small gestures, the chores, the furtive smiles that build up with time as an unshakeable edifice of mature love.
The hesitation takes maximum momentum in the relationship between Xiao Yao & Xiang Liu. She is unwilling to own how difficult it is to extricate herself from this introvert’s attention. Apart from a humane wish to help a person in need, she discerns in his mute expression something that makes him worth more goodness than many non-evils. When she decides to free herself from the connecting bug, it is not just out of concern for her safety, but also to spare his integrity. Her desperate act of piercing him with an arrow, then missing the next hit, then deliberately cutting her veins for him thrice – all within one minute – show the state of utmost emotional disarray. Still, no love is possible between them because of the ‘formation’ inflicted to her heart & mind by years of torture.
HUMAN SHORTCOMINGS
Xiao Yao shows an astonishing level of blindness to feelings: with Cang Xuan almost fainting of desire next to her face, towards the end of the series, she still fails to notice & understand the nature & intensity of this feeling. All the love radiating silently from Xiang Liu’s body & face gets lost on her, too. Being healed in his shell, her detached spirit starts acting weirdly childish. It gets worse with the passage of years & her increasing boredom. The barking at the casino is one more example of infantile behaviour.
Cang Xuan fails to recognise his sister, which makes me doubt if he loves her & if he is perceptive enough to be a ruler of people. He also fails to deal with shortage of grains. Another issue is the young king’s susceptibility to intoxication. He takes drugs that would naturally impair his body, soul & intellect. He also keeps drinking before serious events, knowing he would act & speak irresponsibly. Please pay attention to the Grand King’s face, as he hears Cang Xuan’s drunken confessions: an expression of regret for having appointed such a weak man, lacking self-control, as his throne successor.
NEGLECT OF CONTACT
Xiao Yao is open-minded & expressive, longing for interactions & a steady relationship. Though a princess, she never excludes demons, foreign officials or veterans, other clans form being close to her & communicating with her. Surprisingly though, she would not visit her adoptive family till most of them die of age, never inquires about them, has no idea Ye Shi Qi pays them visits every couple of years. She lingers to go to Li Rong Ji, as well as to start a quest for her biological father. Unforgivably, she strengthens A Nian’s complex of inferiority in wit.
Cang Xuan was once a hostage & so was Chenrong Shin Yue. However, they do not get to share their experiences & remain married strangers.
Both cousins have a much too pompous attitude towards themselves & underline their martyrdom in speech, gestures & mimicry, including even an unjust blame towards their parents. Compared to them, Xiang Liu is notorious for concealing his feelings, suffering, merits, unwilling to use it in his rhetoric for any goal. This makes him more trustworthy. Yet also this gets him abandoned, killed & forgotten.
The king of Xiyan does not read crucial letters or reports prior to making a decision that affects future generations. Having spoken with Cang Xuan only few times, he makes him new king without delay. Later, as a retired king, he presents himself as a perfectly communicative individual, sharing wisdom abundantly.
The village storyteller takes great care to deliver accurate information, but as it is with old legends, much of it gets warped with time.
OBJECTIFICATION OF MEN
This omnipresent C-drama flaw is also here. The impressive number of suitors is a well-known tool to present the heroine as an exceptionally worthy individual. So is Tushan Jing’s attitude or the face-painting challenge.
QUALITY OF ACTING
The invaded sitting together with invaders, victims commiserating with harassers, love rivals helping each other, fated siblings consuming poisoned flowers in unison – the pace slows down to make us believe we also belong to the realm of deities with thousands of years at disposal. The conflicts between sentient beings are never wild. They are like negotiations.
Performance is proficient with no exceptions. The actors have even managed to soften the Freudian air to make their characters more lifelike & lovable, to mention Xiang Liu’s soft song as well. Praiseworthy are support roles too, such as the epic one-to-one battle between A Nian & Yu Jiang, or Li Rong Chang’s picturesque 'phew!'s.
This C-drama excels in conveying messages in a subtle way, e.g. when Chishui Feng Long visits Xiao Yao, he seems reluctant to leave the Go game, afraid to face her lest he gets rejected. Equally subtle is Grand King’s reaction: he stops playing, as if he wanted to encourage him to stand up & approach her.
Deng Wei seems to be taking deeply into consideration viewers’ feedback. Once he got reproached for outshining main actors & in the next drama we saw him modestly withdrawn. He got praised for that & in the next series (the present one) he moved even more to the shadow, for which he received the heaviest backlash. Then he would reappear in a 2025 drama “Love of the Divine Tree” and behold – he is a churning rocket furnace there, earning viewers’ applause.
In China, there is a culture of self-improvement & a demand to know one’s own place, to contribute to the society just the right amount & quality. Therefore we, non-Asians, must be extra cautious with evaluation. If it is not perfectly honest or precisely formulated, it may unnecessarily hurt & misguide.
Let me submit my evaluation of Deng Wei’s acting skills. It will be my first review entirely in Chinese. Here it goes: 好.
GLITCHES & FLAWS
As Cang Xuan admits metaphorically regarding his harem, he has brought too many flowers to the garden, but the one he needs is absent. Yet also literally, there are superfluous references to many flower species:
- flower of Ruomu, a tree on which the sun rests every evening, symbol of balance between heavenly order & human intervention, meant to be given by Cang Xuan to his future love,
- pointiana tree (mistaken for phoenix tree), symbolic of female royal power, present in all places where Cang Xuan expects his sister to root in,
- tree peony or Rejuvenating Flower on Xiao Yao’s forehead, corresponding to the one planted & given to her by Tushan Jing, stands for female beauty, love, wealth & status,
- plum vs mulberry wine, i.e. Tushan Jing & Cang Xuan competing for Xiao Yao’s favour,
- peach tree, planted by Chi Chen whenever he missed Xiling Heng, grows abundantly on Mount Jade,
- divine tree on Mount Dushuo, used in tea for realistic karma hallucinations,
- reef flowers opening at Xiang Liu’s touch,
- recurring proverbs about trees,
- Xiao Yao’s flower-eating habit – sweet memory of childhood, but also ability to make do in hard times before fruit is available.
Haoling supposedly did not participate in wars for ten thousand years, but in the same episode we learn that it joined the battle between Xiyang & Chenrong. The daughter of the king has never heard.
Xiao Yao is in excruciating pain after her husband has been killed, but Xiang Liu does not feel it in spite of the connecting bug.
The demon who imprisoned Xiao Yao in childhood was a face-changing children-devouring nine-tailed fox. I was actually expecting Tushan Jing to confess he were the one.
Some curtains & fabrics are machine-embroidered.
APPEAL
This drama should make us realise how important it is for the soul to keep the face intact. As usual, let me implore everyone who can turn the direction in which C-drama as a genre evolves to discourage unnecessary permanent or harmful interference in actor’s and actresses’ faces: plastic surgery, tweakments, toxic substances in make-up. Let the Western culture promote insincerity if it must, while the Eastern may serve as a refuge for authenticity-seekers.
Written by a nationless spirit confined in the decaying Mid-Europe.
EDIT 19.03.26. Tried singing the OST. High vixen howlability factor. Raised the grade to 9.5.
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