Xiang83

I can see why people who are completely oblivious of China's rich history and classical literature can only yammer about negligible romance and no CP being an unsatisfactory part of this drama. This drama will be great at showcasing and introducing the richness of almost 5000 years of China's literary wonders to the world, and helping with cultural ignorance.

I quoted a certain section of 《道德经》 in my main review as the underlying foundation (in traditional mandarin so Pytheos would enjoy my point), which is:

「故有無相生，難易相成，長短相較，高下相傾，音聲相和，前後相隨。」

In our chinese history of 三教 (Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism), the three schools of thought are the foundations of this drama. SLY is heroism-focused and truly wuxia also because the importance of brothers is emphasised, in the four main relationships between Tang Lici and the four characters of Fang Zhou, Liu Yan, Shen Langhun and Chi Yun.《诗经》(Book of Odes) attributed to Confucius holds the worldview that would have applied to the Jianghu of Whispers of Fate.

In my reply to Taraverde above, I quoted from a specific poem of the Book of Odes which states “凡今之人，莫如兄弟” ie there are none closer and more worthy of being cherished than brothers (兄弟), reflected in so many examples of brotherhood being celebrated and cherished throughout this drama. Shen Langhun giving up on his dead wife's body and letting go of his obsession to die for her and to help Tang Lici for the sake of the pugilistic world is an example of brotherhood intertwined with letting go in Buddhism.

There is this anecdote in the Analects of Confucius about how Confucius viewed《诗经》whereby it goes that one day, his son was passing hurriedly through the Court and saw his father standing alone, lost in thought. Upon seeing his son, Confucius said, "Have you read the Odes?"

"Not yet" was his son's reply.

"Then," said Confucius, "if you do not learn the Odes, you will not be fit to converse with."

In other classical literature sources, the masterpiece《溪山琴况》written by 徐上瀛 (Xu Shangying) who is a famous zither master in the late-Ming Dynasty and early-Qing Dynasty is the basis of the sonic techniques for Liu Yan, Tang Lici, Fang Zhou and Hong-guniang. The concept of attaining "道法自然" in playing the qin (zither) has its foundations in《道德经》to fully portray the aesthetic ideas of the qin.

"the string and finger unite, and the finger and tone unite" is the ideal.

"吾复求其和者三，曰弦与指合 ，指与音合，音与意合，而和至矣。"

[ The three ways I seek harmony: strings and fingers are in union, the fingers are in union with the sound, the sound is in union with the meaning, and harmony is perfected. ] - Disparate elements uniting as one in non-duality is grounded in Buddhism here.

Another section of his text goes "指法有重则有轻，如天地之有阴阳也；有迟则有速，如四时之有寒暑也。盖迟为速之 纲，速为迟之纪，当相间错而不离。"

[ In finger techniques if heaviness is present, so too is lightness, just as between heaven and earth exists yin and yang; if there is slowness. so too is quickness, just as in the four seasons there is cold and heat. Slowness is the measure for quickness, quickness is the context for slowness, they must be interspersed and not separated. ] - I'm taking small liberties with translation but it comes out better this way to capture the essence also from an English grammatical POV.

This is the holistic relationship pertaining to co-existence of duality in Taoism, not one to vanquish the other. Add in the Confucian thinking pertaining to 中和 of having a holistic view of all possibilities and balancing disparate and/or diverse elements?

Hence another section of 《溪山琴况》 states:

"不轻不重者，中和之音也。起调当以中和为主，而轻重特损益之，其趣自生也。"

Tang Lici and Liu Yan are not simply fiddling with strings and waving their sleeves. The scenes of their musical battles appear to be framed and shot with all this in mind as per the cinematography and fight choreography, which is also why I mentioned in my review about the camerawork being specific. Understanding this specific literary work is to have a very clear understanding of how richly emotional this drama actually is in literature and philosophy, and the beauty of this work and other literary works is woven into the screenplay and production process.

Yeah, I might not be thinking of CP and romance when I'm admiring how everything is beautifully presented and awed by how well this has been carried out.

I like your cover of "Bloom" by EXY of WJSN (sorry about the late reply, trying to find your specific older comment in a ton of older notifications is terrible): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmyKBnNGZag

I contrasted your version with the original (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St4uLSpHd4o). There are differences between each of you for basic vocals, so you need to play to your strengths. One thing you need to do is increase the contrast of enunciation, and this primarily stems from knowing when to make your delivery gentler/softer before switching it up.

From 0:44 when she goes "Don't let it hide you-" ->Your line is fine.

The next line is "I leave my confined self behind" -> Soften your delivery compared to the previous line, so it sounds quieter

And then "Dark night blues" - This is where you hit a slightly higher note, still soft on the delivery.

At "Riding out the storm, I bloom" - Your delivery must be different from hers. I would advise you let your voice revert to original and soar strongly. This resonates when people hear you literally riding out the storm and bloom, in your vocals.

"When my season comes again" -- Go Soft.

"Oh--" - Keep your original intonation.

Hope this helps, as an example. Jungkook of BTS has perfect pitch so when I hear him sing even if I don't like the song, his voice is very aurally soothing to my ears.

No worries. Wait till you finish the drama because you are very close to the end, and kwanto's comment is sharing spoilers about the ending for those who have not finished the drama.

[ FoF has a great OST, and FMVs for some of these songs are exceptional. There are some songs I really like in FoF, such as Li Lun's theme song that already told me what would happen to him the first time I heard it, and Zhao Yuanzhou's theme song that also reflects his journey and what would happen to him. Many FoF songs are great on a guzheng (speeding them up also gives a different feel):

Li Lun's character song 《天地无仑》: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1N3qHYiEFt/

Zhao Yuanzhou's character song 《远舟的少年》: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1HAzzYQEet/)

Guo Cai Jie's《春风不问》: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1hUUrYwEPD

YiyanMeng who watched Whispers of Fate did a vocal cover for an FoF song too! ]

Technically we need more than 40 episodes, if we are keeping all the current characters. It would still be possible to keep this story well-told within 40 episodes with strong characterisation connecting well, but some restructuring would have to happen. IMHO, the biggest fundamental issue of this drama is having too many characters so when I finished watching this drama for the second time, this is the discussion thread which ensued after I summarised what I would alter (including two characters I would remove):

https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24390346

Teng Ping abandoned this novel for more than 10 years and left it unfinished because she didn't like it, and then picked it up again to finish after the novel was adapted for the drama. Here's a summary of what happened, according to Azure:

https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24292802

There's certain vibes that more than one viewer picked up on as per Tang Lici's behaviour, so I helpfully provided a section of a chapter from the unfinished novel (unlike the novel, the drama wonderfully fulfils Tang Lici's yearning to know a certain someone):

https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24289410

This drama is very helpful in majorly cementing for the future in C-Ent that heroism-focused dramas (including Immortal Ascension) don't need romance to succeed, if one goes by all the domestic statistics during the airing of this drama.

Luo Yunxi is the principal leading actor and character (领衔主演), and certain actors and actresses are part of the main cast (主要演员) not on the same level of importance as him such as Bao Shang En and Ao Ziyi, but MDL has its limitations. Luo Yunxi is the actor that resulted in the massive funding for this project, not any of the other cast.

That said, even with limited screentime, the likes of Chen Yao and Xiao Shunyao gave memorable performances (he couldn't have more scenes, because he was injured during filming for a stunt). Jeremy Tsu had even more limited screentime, and he was amazing. I wish they had stuck to the original listing and billing of Luo Yunxi as the only main actor, and the rest as supporting cast. It is easy to misunderstand "Whispers of Fate" having a FL because from its conception, there is no FL.

It was fun to write, once I got into the groove :D

Non-mandarin speakers who focus only on CP and romance from a modern perspective will definitely miss the key Confucian theme of brotherhood as one of the foundations for "Whispers of Fate", which is the emphasis of the relationships between Tang Lici and the other four characters of Fang Zhou, Liu Yan, Shen Langhun and Chi Yun. Back in those days, brotherhood was one of the Five Bonds as per the infamous Book of Odes attributed to Confucius, who used that to teach morality and politics.

The poem《小雅·常棣》in《诗经》(Book of Odes) illustrates the fundamental importance of brotherhood, as per how the likes of Tang Lici, Shen Langhun and others in the pugilistic world would have viewed brotherhood as per the Five Bonds.

(Link with further expansions here: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/503346409)

Within the first two lines of that poem, it is stated “凡今之人，莫如兄弟” which means in this world, there are none closer and more worthy of being cherished than brothers (兄弟), and we see so many examples of brotherhood being celebrated and cherished throughout this drama. Virtues tied to brotherhood in various acts (such as Zhong Chunji saving A-Shui) are the underlying themes for the Jianghu of this drama. I couldn't see how to squeeze all this into my review, hence I listed "brotherhood" as the first key theme in my review.

SLY is definitely geared primarily for the Mandarin-speaking audience, domestically and internationally. There's a lot of literature and art references embedded within this drama, but it'll all be completely lost on a non-Mandarin speaker.

For example, I left a reply to someone who was trying to explain "Whispers of Fate" to a reviewer who obviously doesn't understand mandarin, shows zero understanding of technicalities, has zero understanding of the philosophies underpinning this drama, and has zero understanding of theatre (both western and eastern) plus history of HK movies: https://kisskh.at/profile/anitfa/review/507800#comment-24505392

I speak at least four languages, three of which I use every day in my work (mandarin being absolutely necessary). If I watch a movie in a language I'm not fluent in, I want to understand the cultural nuances and hence I would ask someone else who understands those.

To speak as if one knows everything but clearly knows nothing is the epitome of cultural ignorance and massive lack of self-awareness, and such viewers on MDL are common. One can watch C-dramas for more than ten years without understanding mandarin, but there will always be a significant difference between the mandarin-speaker versus the non-mandarin speaker.

My friends who watched at least 20 years of C-Ent and celebrate traditions while working for global companies will not be taking any cues or opinions from a non-mandarin speaker on C-Ent, unless they want an international perspective that they hope is sensible otherwise to them, it's impossible to connect well with someone over a drama that a viewer cannot understand the culture and language of. They've met enough arrogant foreigners offline who sound exactly like the reviewer above.

Simultaneously if I don't speak a language, I would try to reduce my cultural ignorance before I decide to speak as if I knew everything about a movie/drama whose language and culture is not my own.

And I'm happy to add that the likes of the phenomenal "Knockout" and this year's heralded dark horse "This Thriving Land" are massive domestic hits, but on MDL these amazing dramas barely make a blip due to a larger group of C-drama viewers who are fixated on romance and insist on happy couple-y endings otherwise they downrate a drama. Another example is "The Guardian" that I very much enjoyed and wrote a review for, but it is history-heavy and for a spy espionage thriller, at least understanding the backdrop of World War II on Southeast Asian countries plus KMT plus CCP makes the drama understandably realistic.

Great to hear you are enjoying the drama! Which episode are you on?

Whispers of Fate is a heroism-focused drama with a well-formed protagonist ready to level the chessboard of his foes akin to a chess master while deciding whether to become a hero and save countless lives and has to weigh up world issues, hence romance is barely a blip on the radar unless you use your imagination. In this drama, you're unpeeling multiples onions with a solid emotional core delicately-woven with the philosophical webs of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

TTEOM is heavy on romance, relationships, and how one compelling demon god can fundamentally change because of the efforts of others, especially due to someone who loves him. In that drama, you follow the protagonist on his journey as he evolves and develops.

For me, Tantai Jin and Tang Lici are fundamentally different MLs but as kwanto points out, they also have similarities (spoilers at https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24470836). The screenplays and focus of each drama is completely different, hence I encourage watching both dramas :D

I look forward to your songs analysis! And I would be happy to add an analysis of songs to our Group Collective Contributions: Details, trivia, insights across 40 episodes of "Whispers of Fate":

https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146454-group-collective-contributions-details-trivia-insights-across-40-episodes-of-whispers-of-fate

Whether it is RBF’s informative 2023 forum post about the poster for Whispers of Fate, underthestars dispersing interesting episode minutiae across 40 episodes, Taraverde’s highly-recommended amazing review in three acts of aesthetics/art/philosophy, Azure’s phenomenal insight and details for Worldview and Timelines and nuances, Mizuhira-san’s compassionate attention to culture and the unseen in trivia comments and her review, or kwanto’s skilful dissection of statistics and viewpoints~ Happy watching and listening!

This is a xuanxia drama and it was marketed as such, whereby the target audience is first and foremost a mandarin-speaking audience (both domestic and internationally). The drama is strongly immersive in Chinese history and art, philosophically focused on Buddhism and Taoism with Confucian elements (one fundamental element is strongly present which is what you'd expect in good wuxia movies or dramas), and geared specifically towards a well-formed protagonist taking on a complex conspiracy as a chess master and best martial artist of the world. In short, this is a heroism-focused drama also geared towards the older pickier audiences who have at least 25 years or more of C-Ent experience and are bored of typical xianxia dramas.

The non-mandarin-speaking international viewer who knows nothing about chinese theatre and chinese opera, nothing about the philosophies of Taoism or Buddhism and Confucian elements, nothing about history of various dynasties plus nothing about the classical literature behind designs of weapons, sets and posters will miss all this and isn't the target audience, especially if one insists on zero interest in educating oneself about any of the aspects I have pointed out here and demonstrates zero interest in why and how extensive depth in chinese culture shapes the best C-dramas.

The likes of the phenomenal "Knockout" and this year's heralded dark horse "This Thriving Land" are massive domestic hits, but on MDL for C-dramas these amazing dramas barely make a blip due to a larger group of young international non-mandarin-speaking viewers fixated on romance and insist on happy couple-y endings without realising how they might ruin quality productions by speaking out as authority on C-dramas, especially when they ignorantly downrate a drama. It is because of such reviewers that I and others are very happy about MDL users having zero power and zero influence over dramas produced in Mandarin-speaking countries, even if there are also sensible international MDL viewers who appreciate C-dramas for plot and characterisation and philosophy.

All current achievements point to 'Whispers of Fate" being #1 or #2 drama of 2025 within China.

Currently ranked #4 on Maoyan’s annual chart after garnering more than 1.8 billion views within 39 days of broadcasting makes “Whispers of Fate” the fastest-moving entry of 2025 to move up the Maoyan chart. As of 6 December, exceeded 4.9 billion views on MangoTV’s front-end broadcast statistics. According to CSM data, 2.838 billion views were reached across all platforms. Despite having aired only recently, "Whispers of Fate" received nomination for CPOP 2026 (only other two dramas within these 3 years to be recognised and nominated were “Joy of Life” and “Till The End Of The Moon”).

CPOP nomination is significant, which more than 99% of C-dramas never qualify for. if you're not sure what is CPOP: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24449484

Fellow mandarin-speakers can point out many achievements, such as in the footsteps of Mango & Migu’s big satisfaction thank-you ads weeks past the SLY finale, SLY peripheral brand KOOCI is giving SLY a big “thank you” ad at Beijing Airport for 31 straight days, spotlighting Tang Lici. First time ever for a drama peripheral brand. SLY merchandise has already hit nearly 19M in sales by Dec 12.

You can see many other statistics here: https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146888-shui-long-yin-whispers-of-fate-3weeks-post-svip-finale-achievements

We don't use Douban and Yunhe for multiple reasons, because Yunhe has multiple issues as a company and this drama also proves Yunhe has no access to real data. Douban is usually attacked by trolls (see Vendetta of An as an example). When the official accolades far outweigh such dubious sources (BTW, anybody who is aware of how statistics works for C-dramas in China will not be referencing Douban or Yunhe as sole reliable markers), it's clear as day to mandarin-speakers within China and outside China how groundbreaking and successful SLY is as a drama :)

Only the clueless or haters of this drama will be referencing Douban or Yunhe at this point. The first episode is already strongly immersed in Buddhist philosophy, such as this seemingly-simple conversation between Tang Lici and the Abbot: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-23933494

Also see Tang Lici and Zhong Chunji in episode 37: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24245644

In episode 14, two chinese literary references within five minutes and not understanding certain cues means completely having no clues about the villain Gui Mudan, who is reciting lines from a famous Yuan zaju and the Sichuan opera influences also help to convey what he is.《西厢记》ie "Romance of The Western Chamber" is by the famous playwright Wang Shifu of the Yuan Dynasty. This work consisting of 5 books and twenty acts is most representative of Yuan Opera literature while considered one of the greatest northern Chinese plays. You'd have to be fluent in Mandarin plus grasp these references while watching to immediately understand how and why Gui Mudan has no respect and is mocking the person he is speaking to, despite using honorary titles towards the other person.

Jeremy Tsu's outstanding performance as Gui Mudan revealing what he is in episode 14 is impossible for a non-mandarin speaker to understand and grasp if one relies on subtitles, because all the cues require fluent mandarin plus understanding of traditions in chinese culture (in which one of the traits is not translatable in any other language).

"Whispers of Fate" had to compete with at least 4 traffic actor dramas when airing. "Till The End Of The Moon" had no traffic drama to fight with, when airing. This illustrates the strength and appeal in "Whispers of Fate", especially when Migu (primarily male subscribers) have also massively smashed their own heat index. MangoTV has broken their records in all aspects with this drama.

TTEOM is romance-focused with a simpler screenplay. "Whispers of Fate" is more complex and far more enjoyable for those of us who want works reminding us of directors such as Tsui Hark and Zhang Yimou in a drama form. How often do we get marvellous storytelling involving true wuxia focus of brotherhood and the foundations in Chinese philosophy pertaining to Three Schools of Thought so deeply fleshed out in a C-drama? This drama's four main relationships for Tang Lici shaping his journey throughout this drama are with Fang Zhou, Liu Yan, Shen Langhun and Chi Yun.

"Mysterious Lotus Casebook" is strong on brotherhood, but is not as strong on the brotherhood theme as "Whispers of Fate". MLC and WoF have different aims and use very different approaches to achieve their success. I'm glad for both to exist, because MLC and WoF and all other dramas such as "Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty" give us so much more to enjoy across different genres for variety and focus.

This is an innovative drama melding xuanhuan and wuxia genres catering to the adults who like classical literature heavily underlining actual wuxia brotherhood, not the CP-romance fans in wuxia and xianxia genres who once in a while, attempt to watch something different, think they know everything based on appreciating one or two non-romance C-dramas, but would not be able to appreciate dramas like "Whispers of Fate", "The Knockout" and "This Thriving Land". Nothing wrong with different preferences.

I suggest reading reviews from viewers who demonstrate understanding of technicalities, respect for chinese culture and the nuances of a drama geared towards well-formed mature protagonists bearing world-saving responsibilities, for C-dramas. If you're looking for reviews on Sherlock Holmes or Lord Of The Rings or any movie in the Golden Age of Hollywood ("Whispers of Fate" is in this category), those who demonstrate that their understanding in reviews is best suited for Sweet Valley High books or the movie "Legally Blonde" are not going to be your cup of tea. I hope this helps more clearly about how to vet future reviews on MDL.

"Whispers of Fate" is fundamentally different from the typical cultivate-to-become-strong storylines of many wuxia and xianxia dramas that are also typically heavy on romance, given this drama has no CP hence hugely satisfying for non-romance viewers as per the producers saying way before the drama aired that it would be heroism-focused.

You're welcome :D The entire team behind "Whispers of Fate" should be proud knowing they have made a timeless classic in historical costume dramas blending xuanhuan and wuxia, which is going to be very hard to top in the years to come. It definitely makes the segment of very-experienced C-Ent viewers feel appreciated that such a drama also caters to us ฅ^>⩊<^ ฅ (plus I get to exercise certain backgrounds, which is fun)

I just realised the actress playing Long Nv (Tang Lici's mother) is Zhang Zhi Xi! She was Ran Qing to Cheng Yi's Asura King Xuan Ye in Immortal Samsara, and I adore her as Ni Ni's sworn older sister Qing Yao in "Love and Destiny". She melded comedy, authority, warmth, heartbreak and devotion so beautifully, being a strong individual while embroiled in a love triangle. Completely perfect for the role of most important woman in Tang Lici's life, giving drama-Tang Lici what novel-Tang Lici yearned for most desperately but never attained. Her makeup, clothing and lines for the role of Long Nv is perfect. Well, almost perfect because I wanted her to have more time with Tang Lici! How he gazed at her, tears in his eyes, as she looked at him with such unconditional all-encompassing love, sweet and gentle and absolutely captivating- Like Tang Lici, I wanted their moments to never stop. The way they looked at each other, the chemistry of such amazing strength in an unbreakable bond that possibly became the strongest bond for him, which is why he thought of her when- And then everything faded back into reality.

A second time rewatching this drama really allowed me to appreciate even more of what I like so much. And based on the multiple comments here that I have enjoyed replying to, it's wonderful to see my love for this drama in a review touch a chord with so many different fellow viewers and lovers of this drama!

I can definitely see myself rewatching SLY every year. And I am very grateful to the philosophy, pathos and ethos of the creative team responsible for this drama.

Glad you enjoyed this! I enjoyed writing this review just as much as I enjoyed writing my review for "The Guardians". When I find myself happily immersing in a drama, it just flows.

One of my favourite fight scenes is in episode 24, when Tang Lici fights Hua Wuyan. I found myself naturally immersed within the entire sequencing from 16:31 when Tang Lici goes to save Zhong Chunji, leading to the fight with Hua Wuyan, and then the saving of Zhong Chunji as she is drowning in the water. That underwater scene between Tang Lici and Zhong Chunji being the cherry on the cake until 26:23 had me going ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

(I'm sure my jaw was hanging open slightly throughout that entire sequence of scenes, and I was probably smiling like a loon) And of course, they used two songs there to great effect, one of them being《念水谣》by 吴翊之 which I'll probably play on the guzheng when I can find the score to learn it. Great atmosphere and chemistry between all involved for those scenes. I felt happy for Zhong Chunji that Tang Lici saved her, but also sad for her due to everything Liu Yan subjected her to.

Liu Yuhan as Hua Wuyan is terrific. His interpretation of his character is spot-on. The swordplay between Tang Lici and Hua Wuyan is what I want from a wuxia viewpoint, before Hua Wuyan truly activates his final technique to the maximum. I couldn't squeeze all this gushing into my review (˶ˆᗜˆ˵)

There's currently at least 8 people commenting on this review, and I've shared thoughts and other scenes with them that you might appreciate too :D

Glad to see another fellow viewer who enjoyed it! It's an outstanding costume drama. Have you seen the list of achievements and milestones at this point?

I'll quote from two parts of my review, which I just posted today:

[ A set needing 18 months to construct, various scenes comprising seven-thousand square metres over 144 days and 164 outdoor locations results in amazingly detailed grandeur. Be it the Floating Abyss, Tang Lici’s Ship of Ten Thousand Apertures, Sword King City or the Celestial Realm, vibrant textured luminosity with ethereal or eerie haunting loveliness utilising an evocative organic colour palette of specific rock pigments is cemented via Yancai technique from Dunhuang murals of the Tang Dynasty by Art Director Zheng Chen (Lost You Forever), Director Chen Zhoufei (won 55th Golden Horse Award for Best Cinematography of Zhang Yimou’s movie “Shadow”) and Zhang Zhi Bin. Set designs, set arrangements and cinematography is superior to "Till The End Of The Moon", due to technicalities combined with intensive traditional artistic techniques which I have mentioned. ]

and

[ Currently ranked #4 on Maoyan’s annual chart after garnering more than 1.8 billion views within 39 days of broadcasting makes “Whispers of Fate” the fastest-moving entry of 2025 to move up the Maoyan chart. As of 6 December, exceeded 4.9 billion views on MangoTV’s front-end broadcast statistics. According to CSM data, 2.838 billion viewers were reached across all platforms. Despite having aired only recently, "Whispers of Fate" received nomination for CPOP 2026 (only other two dramas within these 3 years to be recognised and nominated were “Joy of Life” and “Till The End Of The Moon”).

16 days ago on 1 December, the statistics were already outstanding enough to make people believe "Whispers of Fate" is the #1 C-Drama of 2025: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24330788 ]

kwanto is the Data Master putting together all relevant statistics, and the results from 7 days ago are here: https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146888-shui-long-yin-whispers-of-fate-3weeks-post-svip-finale-achievements

Glad to see you felt the same way! Anyone who has watched C-dramas for at least twenty years would find "Whispers of Fate" refreshing. Episode 8 literally made me recall two iconic Tsui Hark movies at the same time: 1983's Zu Warriors of the Magic Mountain and 1993's Green Snake.

Tang Lici versus Puzhu and the colour schemes made me think this: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cIsyLPvJqf0

plus this (1:04:34 to 1:07:12 only Tang Lici resemble Bai Suzhen for wisdom rather than Green Snake): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov5Ne2LzL-4

Where Tang Lici was in control of his emotions, he intended to make Puzhu feel emotions during their fight in episode 8. And it worked.

Hence I wrote an episode summary of ideas for episodes 8 to 12 several weeks ago, after watching those episodes XD: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24006830

For this review, I took into account different perspectives of the international non-mandarin-speaking viewers and the mandarin-speakers of different ages, and the end result is what you see :)

One of the screenwriters should be a fan of zaju and have background in that field from what I see, hence I wrote this:

[ Decisively wielding flute and pipa unlike lost music of Yuan zaju, uncompromising clashes of love and hate between Tang Lici and Liu Yan determine the main melody of consequences impacting everyone. Rhythm of time and actions at each destination explored by Tang Lici is stealthily guided by clappers of a puppet master controlled by drumming from a mastermind. ]

No Yuan music for a Yuan zaju survives to this day. What survives is the knowledge of what they used to comprise regarding instrumentation that was usually simple, such as a dizi transverse flute and pipa for the main melody, while the rhythm was retained by the ban clapper and a drum.

I was wondering why Shui Duopo and Xue Xuanzi had Xiao Xue Fu as a focus, which the writers and directors wanted to carry out to a finish and hence the scene with Shen Langhun and Chi Yun in it also adds weight while further revealing different characteristics of all four characters involved (especially Shen Langhun being wisely droll because he got it and also because he knew better than to disagree with these two elders while Chi Yun didn't get it XD). That entire mini-subplot was ingenious, because the significance of a name for multiple aspects also connects to the fundamental significance of Tang Lici acknowledging Xiao Shi and Ye Mo, Liu Yan asking Gui Mudan if he has named the cat and explaining why, and especially Gui Mudan finally naming his cat Xiao Kui.

I would be happy to see a xianxia parody (because we badly need one of those) with Shui Dupo and Xue Xianzi and I would want Caesar Wu to be in it, after his excellent performance in wuxia parody "Egg and Stone" XD

I would enjoy seeing a review from someone with a strong background in the five major opera forms of China, because that would be very illuminating about the villains.

Enjoy rewatching, when you do! I found it easier the second time around due to being able to add to what I already absorbed :)

😅😅😅😅😅😅 Does it help that MangoTV has picked up Luo Yunxi's next drama?

The episode which made me laugh until I nearly keeled over at MangoTV subs was episode 12, when the word "husband" kept popping up for Tang Lici addressing Puzhu along with some very disjointed english. That said, the subber was probably picking up on certain vibes because near the end of episode 36, I'm sure a fair number of viewers were going "What was that?" when Puzhu was reminiscing 😂😂😂

The FMVs for these two are hilarious.

"Whispers of Fate" is one of those dramas that I needed to watch again, to truly be able to define what I feel for different scenes and characters :)

I'm happy that Taraverde's three Reddit posts made it to weibo, whereby "Whispers of Fate" fans are also enjoying the details: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24430604

Taraverde's review is magnificent. Mizuhira-san's review is sublime. It's wonderful to see different types of reviews from different viewers, especially for a drama with such a strong specific Chinese identity yet has CGI that wouldn't be out of place in a Marvel movie.

That said, I emphatise with international viewers who sincerely want to absorb this drama in its entirety and nuances but aren't fluent in mandarin and need to rely on subtitles. This is one of those dramas where details will definitely be missed when trying to notice everything plus keep up with subs.

Take your time. Sometimes we are not in the mood or circumstances for some dramas, especially when RL hits. And if you reckon you want to understand several things, you can look at my review (there are some spoilers, but I left out major spoilers and it may give you insight into the structure of this drama): https://kisskh.at/profile/Xiang83/review/519762

Glad you enjoyed my review! I am in love with some scenes of multiple cast members. Seriously replayed them multiple times. Watching it a second time was easier, due to also being able to absorb new details that I missed out with the first viewing.

Will probably watch it a third time in Q1 2026 :D

What are your favourites in the supporting cast? There's a very important scene in one episode involving calligraphy that truly reflects the paths of the four sect brothers of Zhoudi Lou.

BTW, there is a troll user on this drama page with at least eight sockpuppet accounts, who constantly switches between accounts to harass viewers. Previous shining examples of harassment earlier on this page include insults at viewers for praising Chen Yao, Bao Shang En and other supporting cast members plus targeting Luo Yunxi as Tang Lici. Should you experience a sockpuppet account doing this to you, consider ignoring them. Being ignored is never pleasant, but pissing off so many viewers on the TTEOM page until a troll account is completely ignored there is a truly daft achievement only accomplished by insincere mediocrity.

Let us see how things are, when CNY rolls around XD Meanwhile, I am listening to the likes of《念水谣》by 吴翊之 from the WoF OST. So many of the most-memorable moments for me utilised parts of this song: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1J3sozzEKM/

[ A lot of Tang LiCi’s action were also a result of seed of kindness plant from Fang Zhou and ripens TLC’s ultimate nature of compassion for humanity. One will always wonder is human nature inherently good or bad. I am definitively more into the Buddhist view that human are inherently good, but our attachment became our entanglement and probably the ultimate aim of enlightenment is to let go of attachment entanglement to find peace, hence TLC’s ending is such a symbolic portrayal. Human lives are bound by condition of attachment, however the extend of our suffering are also bound by our perception that makes our suffering worsen. So May all gain insightful perspective through watching this drama.😍] - Your insight is a wonderful cap and lining of this drama!

I focus on the 道家 and not 道敎 because philosophical Taoism and religious Taoism are fundamentally at odds when referring to 無為 and in this drama, the philosophies are the drivers.

Ye Mo's karma made me sad, and I am glad that Tang Lici is Xiao Shi's mentor. Bai Nanzhu just makes me shake my head, although I believe the backstories of Bai Nanzhu, Ye Mo and Xifang Tao needed to be fleshed out, so viewers would better understand the karma and connections of these characters relative to Tang Lici, and why they do what they do.