Xiang83

What would you recommend as noteworthy to continue watching, within the first three episodes?

(If you reply, use a spoiler tag)

It was wonderful and hilarious, when he was teaching two of his Pentagon bandmates Mandarin more than 9 years ago XD

He has star presence and when he enjoys himself, he is simply radiant. Just like when he took the Cake Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UlLegPFb9-Q

And when he was having a livestream on Huya with Wooseok, and Wooseok also tried to speak mandarin (Eng subs) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TaV4R4X6VY

Good times. I hope he has recovered from the surgery.

I think the screenwriters are doing a very decent job of walking a very thin line at this point. When I watched 4 episodes, I had mixed feelings about the ML due to knowing the history of the worst tyrant of the Joseon Dynasty he is modelled upon. What has me being able to enjoy it is the fact that at this point, I have decided to let the screenwriters and director show me across the remaining episodes as to whether this character can overcome my mixed feelings in a realistic manner. If they had used the actual name without changing it, I would not be able to get past episode 1 even if Lee Chae-min is doing an admirable job with his role.

That said, I did tell another viewer here that if at some point it is difficult to continue because of knowing this, it is understandable not to do so. Everyone has their red lines and whatever that is, just go with what you can enjoy.

Each dish has meaning, especially the components of at least one dish which our heroine focuses on in episode 4. I'd suggest to give it a go, and see how you feel about the presentation and unveiling of each episode. The expressions of every character who enjoys and is touched by the food is also something to witness XD

Thank you for your continuous efforts to collate and share. I will add to whatever I can, when I have the time.

I found two articles for Ma Qiuyuan that I thought would be helpful, so maybe I will translate some of it for the Ma Qiuyuan watchers. She is known as the "Queen of Micro-Dramas". The 2024 drama "Peach Blossoms Immediately Retrieves Red-Tasselled Spear" achieved more than 130 million views for popularity value and was the only micro-drama to garner more than 100 million views for popularity value in that year.

As 2FL for this drama, I hope her role will be meaty and she gets viewers from the microdrama market to also watch KTTPH. China's microdramas is a significant market.

https://naavik.co/digest/microdramas-chinas-new-craze/

[ In China, the microdrama market is estimated at 38B RMB ($5.3B) in 2023, meaning it is already 70% as large as the country’s century-old film industry, and the market is expected to hit 50B RMB ($7B) in 2024. ]

https://jingdaily.com/posts/china-micro-drama-boom-is-just-getting-started

[ In early February, What a Good Girl, a vertical-format series starring rising actor Ke Chun (柯淳), quickly became a viral sensation. Each episode garnered between 70 million to 80 million views, and according to data from Yunhe, the series now leads the 2025 short-form drama charts with over 3.02 billion effective views.

But what does 3 billion views actually signify? On platforms like Douyin, a single video crossing the 100 million mark is already considered a top-tier hit. For a short drama to sustain tens of millions of views per episode — and ultimately approach 3 billion in total — suggests not just popularity, but national-level cultural saturation. ]

That's the thing about movies which resonate timelessly: Wanting a sequel that sadly never happens XD

Khaana, I don't know why CC is addressing me in such a manner when I have never interacted with her before. You're a nice person. I'll understand if you think you have to take sides based on fandom, which puzzles me. If you don't, thanks :)

You pretend I am invisible and ignore my comments, while targeting me with a long post, when I have never interacted with you before. It seems you want to drive me off this page through targeted harassment.

I don't see you defending the Director or Screenwriter or Producer. Thank you for telling me you have a problem with Ai Mi.

One more thing: I would like the lurkers to know you and two others coincidentally "commented" at me in a certain number of minutes. You can say whatever you want. I will say whatever I want.

The fact that you devoted an entire post to me is touching. The fact that you then pretend I am invisible also says enough about you. What I said to your friend, I say the same to you. I hope you have a good day, and find something healthy to fixate on.

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu#comment-23320516

I am sure the competition is tough. And then there's a matter of wanting that interesting good script to add to a filmography. Perhaps a Riley Wang fan can share more about this, and more about Riley Wang.

Thank you for your two comments, so I could understand the parasocial relationship and mindset you are demonstrating in these comments. I put a spoiler tag for a certain comment because of TTL. A spoiler tag is because I know many have not watched that drama. Spoiler tags are for not spoiling details about dramas or movie. This MDL consideration is not limited to KTTPH.

I happened to almost immediately notice the notifications when they popped up hours ago as I was about to go off, which enabled me to observe comments from CC, you and another user coincidentally getting at least five likes in such a short time for each of your individual comments, as all of you decided to coincidentally "comment" at me within a certain number of minutes.

You mentioned 11 years, I mentioned 30 years, then decided to expand on that because I decided we might have a generational gap. However, since I did not apparently explain myself in a way that is acceptable to you, you decided to accuse me of using 30 years to bludgeon someone else with. Yes, I was asking someone to educate me because they were flinging accusations of the Director, Writer and Producer "Groomers" and "pedophiles". I was getting tired of immature rants. The comment and my reply is here:

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu#comment-23165526

[ Pedophile refers to a psychiatric disorder showing a preference for prepubescent children. Hebephile refers to a preference for children between ages 11 to 14. You keep flinging the word "pedophile" around as if you know what it means, but you are obviously misusing the word. ] - You can read the rest for yourself.

If you want to claim to me that the ML carrying the FL in five different ways is part of the original script, I'm glad to let you win. Given your mindset, I'll use the rest of this comment to explain why I'll let you have the last word.

For the record, it is unreasonable to either behave as if one of the two leads doesn't exist, and to minimise them as having no talent, no hard work, and attributing everything to their agency and connections.

I am not an Ai Mi fan or Neo Hou fan. You do not seem to understand how older drama viewers of a certain generation behave. We generally pull everyone onboard together, knowing very well that the success of a project is going to depend significantly on non-fans of the leads. We are fine discussing weaknesses and how they are compensated for. You and I definitely have a generational gap. Had you approached me civilly, saying something along the lines of, "I find your comments to be unreasonable/hurtful/offensive because -----", I would be willing to take you on in good faith. You've basically shown you want to assume the worst of me. I will let you say whatever you want, so lurkers can see what you are like.

As to the original script, there's multiple reasons why I chose to translate two articles for a discussion post in July instead of considering this douban thread: https://www.douban.com/group/topic/324222779/?_spm_id=Njc4MzczMzY&_i=4498667r3utTTg,4498739r3utTTg

I have three personal rules when it comes to engaging on a forum, and one of them pertains to displays of unhealthy parasocial relationships. In your case as clearly displayed by your two comments to me, there is nothing I can convey to effect any reasonable answers from you, because you've twisted or made up whatever I had said to try to make me into a scapegoat to attack.

I am fine allowing my comments and contributions to stand for themselves, so the lurkers will understand the mindsets of those commenting to me. Your comments speak for yourself. You and your other friends will not be able to bully me into compliance using peer pressure in numbers.

For all of you who wanted to gang on me, I quote one section of a 2019 article from Dietrich and Ferguson, pertaining to peer groups engaging in what is known as contempt production:

[First, group members negotiate to decide what types of behaviors, interests, and artifacts are considered cool or uncool. Then, they classify peers into the categories, and bully those branded uncool. Group members who feel most at risk of being reclassified uncool feel the greatest inducement to distinguish themselves by bullying. ]

I hope you have a good day, and find something healthy to fixate on.

You watched for 11 years? Wonderful. I have watched mandarin dramas and movies for almost 30 years. Always glad to know there are other watchers. How did you find The Shadow's Edge, starring Jackie Chan, Tony Leung Ka-fai, and a whole bunch of actors and actresses they wanted to give greater exposure to? Jackie Chan and Tony Leung were the only actors I recognised, and Tony Leung is the reason I watched the movie. Ci Sha was a new find for me. Zhang Zifeng was solid, as usual. It was a great movie despite many flaws. Police Story finally meets 2025, and there's no humour.

By the way, a spoiler tag is for spoilers. So now you want to regulate my usage of spoiler tags and attribute it to whatever you've invented in your mind, because I thought what I said would include a spoiler?

The rest of your comment reflects completely on you. Name-calling, labelling, etc If I'm wrong about the details of "This Thriving Land" being a domestic hit, let me know.

I'm not going to repeat myself. What I told CC, I'll simply put the link here and say the same thing to you:

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu#comment-23313254

How do I offend a ML I have never met? I'm glad you find his acting superlative. I hate to break this to you: There's a lot of people out there who don't like Neo Hou's acting.

Since you, CC and Xu Yi seem to want to tell me things all around the same time in a manner that appears to be co-ordinated given how the likes seem to appear on all your comments, I'll start by sharing my comment to CC:

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu#comment-23313254

CC, which part of my takes are you putting in place? My attempt to share information and hence created a discussion post about both leads and this story and also highlighted the importance of the Director and Screenwriter, in July?

My encouragement of the watcher who said they are here for Ma Qiuyuan who nobody else cared to engage, and invited that person to share more about Ma Qiuyuan?

My attempts to help NostalgicType find clips that boost the exposure of this drama, including set pieces and a lot of Neo Hou-focused clips? If you have indeed been keeping tabs on me as you have been claiming, you can see all that for yourself over many days since July and August.

Where do you get Ai Mi the veteran actress from? I spoke of Ai Mi's potential. I praised her for working hard. I also praised her careful collation of roles. Of course she needs an acting coach. She isn't at the stage to be without one, and I have been impressed with her performances plus what she added to her filmography. I also praised Neo Hou for working hard and looking forward to him shining in this drama. Too bad you can't check my DMs, because I recently told someone I want Neo Hou to break the generational barrier (referring to viewers age 40 and above) and this director should be able to help this happen, because Neo Hou deserves it. However, I recently pointed out disadvantages perceived about Neo Hou from the perspective of people who are not Neo Hou fans, and where the Director has worked very hard to elevate him as much as possible into being convincing for this role.

For the record, every mandarin-speaker I know offline is the opposite of a Neo Hou fan. I have told them they should at least watch FoF and give the drama a go, because Neo Hou did a good job in that drama (he actually had to help save the many plotholes of that drama). These people don't need subtitles to understand a drama, and they don't care for the opinions of people who can't explain why they should watch someone whom they previously dismissed. And I'm not going to share their opinion of Neo Hou because it's brutal. That said, we all don't have to like the same actors or actresses.

is it alright for people to go around accusing the director of KTTPH being a pedophile? It's alright for people to just rag on Ai Mi's age and bash her, as if she knows nothing and cannot decide anything and everyone else is to blame? It's alright for her to be dismissed as the FL who doesn't deserve this role? Do you think Ai Mi and the director deserve to be defended on this page or elsewhere, or are you the type who is ok to let others get whacked as long as it isn't your idol?

I have heard comments about Ai Mi and Neo Hou all being pushed by their agencies from people who are not fans of any of them, and not deserving of what they get. Not once have I put this here, because I have said they both worked hard. Had you actually engaged me, you might have found out that I believe Dashing Youth was not good for Neo Hou because of the script and director, but you never bothered.

Your ability to take what I say to be completely out of context is impressive, as impressive as you attributing so many assumptions to me including what you think I'm not aware of. Your tirade would be impressive, if you didn't resort to painting me in your assumptions to "win" at- What is your big announcement meant to do? If you found my opinions to be so offensively wrong (key word being "wrong"), why didn't you actually engage me and say something previously? For example, dhila ahmad in late July pointed out where I had gotten something wrong, and I publicly credited that user after making the necessary corrections.

But you have never engaged me. Why is that? Do you need a large number of people to back you up, after you make comment despite never having once engaged the person you claim to be correcting?

For someone who wants to put me in my place, here's a reality check: I thought this was the KTTPH page for MDL where people can have conversations (meaning using more than one paragraph) about the drama or actors/actresses. I believe the Do-Not-Say-Anything-a-Neo-Hou-Fan-Will-Dislike is the other page called the Neo Hou MDL profile page. I also believe this isn't a popularity playground. If a large number of likes makes you feel better, go ahead.

Thank you for letting me know you read what I write, although you might have to work on the reading comprehension. I presume I am allowed to praise other actors including Luo Yunxi, or should I run my opinions by you for approval? You write a long comment, then others can also write a long comment. Please consider growing up. Thanks.

Here is a completely different angle showing Ma Qiuyuan's character talking to Neo Hou's character in the same scene, where I previously shared a link for Ma Qiuyuan emoting:

https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5204085349024228

TTL is undoubtedly a domestic winner, and will probably reach a wider international audience at some point even if the drama made some changes from the novel to fit the PG-13 rating instead of an NC-16 rating (the novel is quite brutally realistic and bleak, which has to be diluted otherwise I believe it would be hard for an audience to finish). Some international viewers do not understand the drama ending for what it is. When you get there, you can ask me.

Even the most talented stars cannot create a smash hit without a capable director and at least an above-average main screenwriter. The 1994 movie "The Dragon Chronicles: The Maidens of Heavenly Mountain" starring Gong Li and Lin Ching-hsia wasn't a hit, even if two of my favourite chinese actresses together were first-billed and absolutely breath-taking. Wrong main director (he was mostly in comedies), great martial arts director.

Go Yik-Chun took over from Liu Jiang for "The Empress of China". That was a commercial success in East Asia.

If you look at the posters for KTTPH, do you know why the art direction has the ML smeared with blood, grime and at various angles in shadows? Because he has to look older, ruthless, authoritative, battle-weary and emotionally intriguing at least in the posters and overall, to fit his role.

It's a fact Neo Hou's face is too unblemished and pretty and doesn't fit that criteria, so the main Director basically came up with every single thing possible to make his features become a natural part of such a general. From at least five different ways of carrying Ai Mi, to a goatee, to a battle mask being wholly functional and forbidding- On top of that, teach Neo Hou how to emote like he has never done before.

This drama is banking on the Director's reputation and achievements with the older audiences, and the Director knows if he cannot compensate for the necessary, he can forget about crossing that barrier. That's literally everybody else I know offline. The FL must look significantly younger and more vulnerable than Neo Hou, who signed on first much earlier. Picking Huangyang Tian Tian was an understandable choice, but she will overpower him. Go watch the Rebirth trailer, if you're not sure what I am referring to.

Neo Hou is not a Li Yunrui. He's not a Wu Jing. He's not a Chang Chen. He's not an Ou Hao. He's not any of the two Tony Leungs of HK cinema. His archetype needs someone who can act very well in nuances to complement him, look significantly younger and more delicate than him, and not overpower him if he is going to carry off the role of a ruthless battle-weary hedonistic general who is actually the opposite inside. That excludes a lot of actresses which I'm sure are being suggested without actually understanding what kind of FL Neo Hou needs, to break out significantly in a drama.

BTW, I would never pair any male actor in Fangs of Fortune or Dashing Youth or the Princess Royal with Zhang Zifeng. It would be a complete mismatch. Zhang Zifeng as FL already acting comfortably with the likes of Jackie Chan, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Mark Chao is where she is at. She's that rare actress who makes no-romance films and dramas attractive, because she will deliver a solid compelling performance. She needs others as solid to act with her. I would like Ai Mi and Zhang Zifeng to be in a female-centric drama... Maybe as a bunch of detectives running an agency.

In this situation whereby there is a romance element while considering the primary demands for the leads to excel (and this means they each have to be compelling enough for their individual roles), Ai Mi is a much better choice than Huangyang Tian Tian to pair with Neo Hou for this drama. On top of that, the Director cannot pick a 2ML who will overpower the ML in acting. That factor immediately excludes all the actors I watch.

Can KTTPH have a significant portion of that success seen for "This Thriving Land"? It will depend on how many non-fans of the two leads are willing to watch and stay with the drama, when it airs. The posters are a good start.

This Director is going for a domestic winner and the likes of Ai Mi plus Ma Qiuyuan will want KTTPH to be a domestic winner, because that is what resonates most. IQiyi knows the beneficial impact of "This Thriving Land".

To add to my comment below about hits (actual domestic winners such as "The Battle at Lake Changjin" and "This Thriving Land" versus perceived hits by fans): Edits on Wikipedia were very detailed with relevant sources, so I'm going to quote for 'This Thriving Land" this once from Wiki (which I don't usually use)->

Viewership: {The series is regarded as a phenomenal success, achieving both high broadcast ratings and online streaming numbers while reversing the declining viewership trend for long-form dramas. It premiered on CCTV-8 on August 13, 2025, recording a cvb [zh] single-day rating of over 2%, with a peak rating exceeding 4%—breaking CCTV-8’s highest viewership record for 2025[15]—and consistently ranked first in its time slot. After its simultaneous release on streaming platforms, it topped the charts on multiple data platforms including Kuyun, Lighthouse, and Maoyan. According to Yunhe Data, its viewership market share exceeded 41.1%, setting a new industry record for 2025. Its single-day effective playback exceeded 100 million, making it the first Chinese television drama of 2025 to achieve this milestone, and topped the daily playback chart of any series in the recent three years. The "Yunhe Data Character Screen Dominance Index" for Yang Mi’s role as Ning Xiuxiu surpassed 1.2 million on August 21, 2025, making it the first character in 2025 to exceed 1.1 million on the index.[16][17][18] On iQiyi, the series’ popularity index broke 10,000 on August 16, 2025, within 65 hours of release, and reached 10,761 on August 19, becoming the second-highest in the platform’s history.[19][20]}
[21]}

Impact: { Driven by the soaring trend of This Thriving Land, iQiyi's stock price has continued to rise. As of the closing bell on August 20, 2025, it had increased by 17.09%.[25] The series has also fueled a surge in tourism to its filming locations, with Ning Manor—the home of the character Ning Xiuxiu—now experiencing a visitor boom, as crowds swarm to take photographs at the site.[26][27] }

A domestic winner is what ultimately matters, while doing well internationally is a bonus. I am curious to see how well Luo Yunxi's will-flirt-with-everyone non-romance-ML anti-hero male-centric S++ drama will do versus "This Thriving Land", when it airs late this year. The investors pulled out more than the stops for that novel adaptation drama about Tang Lici. You should see the investments and expenditure.

The one-horned cow is actually there.

All the best to this Director and project KTTPH possibly being a domestic winner. Even if he doesn't reach the sky, he should reach the crown of the trees... Which he has done before.

Director for KTTPH has done very well so far, since this is the guy who can make anything but a potato sack emote. He's spotted the weaknesses of various cast members and is doing his best to elevate everyone. I believe he is focusing more on the males than the females in that aspect, rightfully so.

As an aside, "The Battle at Lake Changjin" in 2021 is the second highest-grossing movie in China's box office history, cast crowded with A-Listers of China under the Directors Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam. With Wu Jing and Jackson Lee as the leads, the supporting roles were studded with the likes of critically-acclaimed actors such as Duan Yihong, Elvis Han Dongjun, Zhu Yawen, Li Chen, and Hu Jun.

Ou Hao and Lin Yongjian also managed to get supporting roles in that movie (they were reunited in this year's domestic hit drama "This Thriving Land"), and Ai Mi also managed to act in "The Battle at Lake Changjin".

The Battle at Lake Changjin is at 7.4 on Douban. This Thriving Land is at 7.2 (I'll quote some details in another comment for you to understand this). FoF is at 5.1. The Double is at 6.6. There are many ways to gauge how well a drama or movie does, and it is very smart of Ai Mi to have been able to add this movie to her filmography.

At the end of the day, it is important that any actor or actress going for a glorious critically-acclaimed career expanding into movies with acclaimed directors builds a portfolio that will help them reach their goals. That's clearly Ai Mi's direction, to the point that there are already several articles wondering if she is the next Liu Yifei or how she reminds the writer of Liu Yifei.

I believe she has more potential than Liu Yifei. What she chooses to act in will be important, such as limiting the number of costume dramas that she does for the next two years (maximum being one per year). Between Ai Mi and Ma Qiuyuan, I am looking forward to them crossing paths in KTTPH.

This account will typically have a ginormous collation. 38 links from 29 August pertaining to BTS, some overlapping from different accounts (mostly Neo, but also has Ai Mi): https://m.weibo.cn/status/5205258629546064

He is looking wonderfully radiant!