I'm thinking about to watch this drama, but I'm not sure yet.Can someone please let me know, what this drama is…
This is probably more than you ever wanted haha, so feel free to ignore me! Or else buckle up--you may have already watched it or not, but maybe someone else will find this helpful XD
Short answer: YES, I enjoyed this drama, but I'm not sure I could recommend it, for a couple of reasons.
This drama is about a man named Zhang Qishan who is the military defense commander of Changsha in the late 1930s. During this time, historically accurately, the Japanese are invading China and war is coming to Changsha. Zhang Qishan, nicknamed "Fo Ye", or "Lord Buddha", is doing his best to keep the Japanese from taking over. At the beginning of the show, a Japanese train full of mysteriously dead people rolls into Changsha and launches a huge investigation involving an old tomb up in the mountains that everyone and their mother wants to get into--The Chinese, the Japanese, Americans..... Nobody knows what's in there but everybody wants it.
As well as being the leader of the military, Fo Ye is also the leader of the nine criminal families of Changsha, the Mystic Nine, or as they are called in Chinese "The Old Nine Gates"--because if you wanted to do business in the city, you had to go through one of the Gates to get in. The M9 are all variously tomb robbers or grave goods resellers, and not a single one of them is a good person. However, Er Yuehong, the leader of the second family, has retired from graverobbing because his wife is deathly ill and he thinks it's karma for all his bad deeds. However, his apprentice still robs graves and he joins up with the Japanese/Americans to go into the tomb when Er Ye won't because they have promised him a magic cure for Er Ye's wife.
Without spoiling too much, shit goes down, they have to go the Beijing, a woman declares herself Fo Ye's wife, there's going into tombs, there's leaving tombs, there's a military coup and ethnic minority group sidestories--this drama has it all! ......To its detriment, a bit.
So.... did I like it? Yes. I thought it was well-acted and there was really fun and believable chemistry between the characters. If you're a person who likes good characters and you don't need your drama to make a whole lot of SENSE, then this is the show for you.
However, the cons are..... it's pretty horrendously paced. Er Ye's wife's terminal illness is a MAJOR plot point, however the only personality she is given is "I'm dying" and "I make noodles". If you've seen the Untamed, she is the Jiang Yanli of M9, she exists for man pain. But despite existing for man pain, we never get a scene of her and Er Ye that really makes their relationship convincing. I wanted more for her. Another huge problem this drama has is with censorship--a LOT of things are just cut out from episodes, especially at the end, which can make things VERY VERY CONFUSING. It also time-skips and switches to a whole new plot arc with like, four episodes left.
So yes, I enjoyed it! Characters and acting good, plot holes so big you could drive a truck through them.
I really find it complicated to understand1) Bcz the dramas are not released in chronological order it really…
Ahaha, yeah.... That's Daomu Biji for you! In this case, the Mystic Nine is chronologically second in the Lost Tomb series, taking place in the 1930s, during the Japanese Invasion of Changsha. The rest of the Lost Tomb, featuring the later generations of "The Mystic Nine families" are set in.... 2015? Or maybe earlier, like 2005, I can't remember exactly. Before the Mystic Nine drama series there is a prequel movie called "Mystic Nine: Qing Shan Hai Tang", which is about Zhang Qishan and Er Yuehong as young men. However, that movie is considered by a lot of people to not be canon compliant because it contradicts a LOT of what is said in the webnovels and honestly it's kinda bonkers. A fun watch anyway, if you have the time. There are several blog posts you can google around for suggestions on watch order, depending on if you want chronological or vibes or just by people's favorites.
As for Zhang Qishan...... Well. As far as I know, Word of God from the author is that Fo Ye himself doesn't know how that statue arrived at his house. There's some rumor from him that Ba Ye had something to do with it, but nothing's ever been confirmed. As for the deleted clip, at some point, Zhang Qishan transforms into the mystical animal that his tattoo is of, a mix between a bull, tiger, and dragon called a Qiongqi. Qiongqi are considered to be one of the four beasts of destruction and the opposite of the good-fortune Qilin, which is the tattoo that the main Zhang branch, including Zhang Qiling from the main series, has.
As for WHY he can suddenly transform into one, it is never explained as as far as I know beyond the two times it happens in the M9 drama it never happens again, nor does any other Zhang transform into a Qilin or a Qiongqi. So just go with it I guess?
If anyone has questions, you can message me lol and I can do my best XD
Short answer: YES, I enjoyed this drama, but I'm not sure I could recommend it, for a couple of reasons.
This drama is about a man named Zhang Qishan who is the military defense commander of Changsha in the late 1930s. During this time, historically accurately, the Japanese are invading China and war is coming to Changsha. Zhang Qishan, nicknamed "Fo Ye", or "Lord Buddha", is doing his best to keep the Japanese from taking over. At the beginning of the show, a Japanese train full of mysteriously dead people rolls into Changsha and launches a huge investigation involving an old tomb up in the mountains that everyone and their mother wants to get into--The Chinese, the Japanese, Americans..... Nobody knows what's in there but everybody wants it.
As well as being the leader of the military, Fo Ye is also the leader of the nine criminal families of Changsha, the Mystic Nine, or as they are called in Chinese "The Old Nine Gates"--because if you wanted to do business in the city, you had to go through one of the Gates to get in. The M9 are all variously tomb robbers or grave goods resellers, and not a single one of them is a good person. However, Er Yuehong, the leader of the second family, has retired from graverobbing because his wife is deathly ill and he thinks it's karma for all his bad deeds. However, his apprentice still robs graves and he joins up with the Japanese/Americans to go into the tomb when Er Ye won't because they have promised him a magic cure for Er Ye's wife.
Without spoiling too much, shit goes down, they have to go the Beijing, a woman declares herself Fo Ye's wife, there's going into tombs, there's leaving tombs, there's a military coup and ethnic minority group sidestories--this drama has it all! ......To its detriment, a bit.
So.... did I like it? Yes. I thought it was well-acted and there was really fun and believable chemistry between the characters. If you're a person who likes good characters and you don't need your drama to make a whole lot of SENSE, then this is the show for you.
However, the cons are..... it's pretty horrendously paced. Er Ye's wife's terminal illness is a MAJOR plot point, however the only personality she is given is "I'm dying" and "I make noodles". If you've seen the Untamed, she is the Jiang Yanli of M9, she exists for man pain. But despite existing for man pain, we never get a scene of her and Er Ye that really makes their relationship convincing. I wanted more for her. Another huge problem this drama has is with censorship--a LOT of things are just cut out from episodes, especially at the end, which can make things VERY VERY CONFUSING. It also time-skips and switches to a whole new plot arc with like, four episodes left.
So yes, I enjoyed it! Characters and acting good, plot holes so big you could drive a truck through them.
As for Zhang Qishan...... Well. As far as I know, Word of God from the author is that Fo Ye himself doesn't know how that statue arrived at his house. There's some rumor from him that Ba Ye had something to do with it, but nothing's ever been confirmed. As for the deleted clip, at some point, Zhang Qishan transforms into the mystical animal that his tattoo is of, a mix between a bull, tiger, and dragon called a Qiongqi. Qiongqi are considered to be one of the four beasts of destruction and the opposite of the good-fortune Qilin, which is the tattoo that the main Zhang branch, including Zhang Qiling from the main series, has.
As for WHY he can suddenly transform into one, it is never explained as as far as I know beyond the two times it happens in the M9 drama it never happens again, nor does any other Zhang transform into a Qilin or a Qiongqi. So just go with it I guess?
If anyone has questions, you can message me lol and I can do my best XD