Michelle Topham

Gorgeous, isn't it? Both beautifully designed and animated.

First episode is incredibly high quality for a short drama. Stunning visuals, costumes and sets, the cast features some of C-dramaland's best veteran actors, and the plot is intriguing. Feng Shao Feng is also the perfect Di Renjie.

If it continues in this vein, the series will rival Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty for epic story-telling, cast performances and all around fun. 10/10 for Episode 1. Now let's see if that quality remains throughout :)

Literally only 2 minutes into Episode 1 but, Ye Gods, that opening credits segment is absolutely stunning. One of the most beautifully designed I've seen in any Chinese drama.

And now off to watch the episode :)

This is one of the worst C-dramas I've watched in 20 years of watching them.

Jing Tian cannot act, Feng Shao Feng is severely miscast, the chemistry between the two, especially as they become closer, is creepy, the plot is "meh" (I've seen it a thousand times already) and the screenwriter should never work in the industry again.

I mean, how do you write an FL whose every other sentence starts with 'Wang Ye' (王爷)? Jing Tian must have been saying it in her sleep by the time she'd finishing filming this.

And don't get me started on the nonsensical story arcs that drag and drag and drag.

Struggled up until Episode 19, and I absolutely cannot watch another 21 episodes of this .Dropped.

If you want a superb romance drama, watch A Splendid Match. That Ming Dynasty-themed drama's quality is on another level than this drivel.

Couldn't be happier about shorter dramas. YOUKU is seeing the writing on the wall. People are not watching long dramas as much as they used to (only 20% of Chinese viewers finish long dramas), while shorter dramas are much more popular, and so production companies are spending money on long drama episodes few people watch.

Plus, most of the time, the longer dramas (35 episodes plus) have plots that are dragged out just to fill those episodes. Thanks, but I'm sick of them.

I've now struggled through to Ep 18, complaining about the FL all the way :)

Bawled like a baby through most of the episode :), and yep, the cast, director and staff did a superb job with that entire episode.

I'm now in the middle of Ep 10, and the plot has definitely become more interesting. The FL's performance, however, has not. :)

I'm not sure I'll go as far as to avoid her dramas yet (I'll see how much she irritates me by the time I've finished LOZ :), as there is only one Chinese actress I refuse to watch anything she's in, with another who starred in a recent drama I watched I'm considering nixing completely as well :) And Jing Tian isn't quite giving me that level of annoyance of those two - yet!

It's such a shame there is a substantial number of Chinese actors/actresses who don't have the skills to pull off a leading role. It always makes me sad for those who do have the skills but, because they aren't considered "beautiful" enough for the Chinese drama industry (since when did beauty earn anyone acting skills?), they are never given the chance.

I'm trying out The Legend of Zhuohua, which someone said was similar, but I'm still struggling to love it.

The ML, who I still kind of think is miscast (he's in his mid-40s and looks it, while playing a character in his early 30s) IS growing on me, although the FL's acting skills aren't :) I'm going to stick with it for now, but am disappointed that both the drama and the ML don't have the same 'Wow' factor as A Splendid Match. At least up to Ep 8 where I currently am.

Oh absolutely. Some of her day dresses would make gorgeous evening clothes even now -- beautiful colors, stunning embroidery and flowing lines.

I always think that people who come from cultures where the traditional clothing was so beautiful should never have adopted western-style clothing. What they originally wore, in many cases, was not only much more beautiful, but was also often more suitable for the climate/terrain etc. There's usually a reason for how clothing developed the way it did.

I lived in Thailand for many years, where silk was once the fabric of choice, and it's much more compatible with the hot Thai climate than many modern fabrics as it's incredibly breathable and very lightweight.

I wore mainly cotton while in Bangkok, but when I wore traditional Thai dress (once a week, mandated where I worked), I was always FAR cooler and more comfortable. Probably the same with traditional Chinese dress from all eras.

It's hilarious how, every time she has a problem, the ML drops what he's doing and goes rushing off to help her. But then pretends he's just doing it "Because the Gu and Ji families have been so loyal" - hahahaha.

And just wait till they get together. You're in for a treat :) (Best ML and FL ever, IMO)

Some of the prettiest costumes I've seen in any C-drama. Like you said, the costume designer did a beautiful job.

You're the first person I've seen who loved the music. I've been playing the OST on YouTube Music on repeat for about 5 days now. It's so beautiful, isn't it? :)

He is brilliant in the role, isn't he?

I had honestly paid him NO attention in previous dramas I've skimmed through. Just thought "another pretty boy without much talent". He proved me wrong here :)

That's exactly it. Amazed some people missed that. I am absolutely 1,000% convinced some people must be doing something else while watching dramas, as the absolutely obvious, completely spelled out things, seem to go right over their heads. And then they're in here stating things that simply aren't true and didn't happen.

He wasn't mourning his wife, hadn't been mourning his wife for years. He never even mentioned her. Not until his mother pressed him to get married again, and came up with names of a couple of women. By that point, he was in love with GJZ and had NO intention of marrying anyone else :) And THAT's when he used "mourning his wife" as an excuse.

He did not have concubines.

Well said.

I'm about 2 episodes into that and haven't gotten any further. Yet. (I do intend to, as I enjoyed what I watched). But from what I remember from the first couple of episodes, he really inhabited the role. Like he does with every role he plays.

The Blue Whisperer is actually the next older drama on my list to watch (and boy, does that look like an odd one - CGI is so bizarre :) -- an amazing cast though! Really looking forward to it.

As for the Love Beyond the Grave comment section (which I haven't read, btw), it's likely the same people who uprate idol actors even when they appear in the worst dramas and prove they can't act. For those people, what they promote has nothing to do with talent at all, and everything to do with which hot boy of the moment floats their boat.

I always think they must be immature teenagers or wouldn't know talent if it smacked them upside the head :)

They were actually some of the funniest scenes. I laughed out loud several times when Mr Wang was berating his wife for something she had done that had backfired. Brilliantly performed by both actors too :)