The rating should be higher than 8.2. It should be at least an 8.5 to be honest. I’m loving this drama so much…
I gave this a 9.0 because it is solidly enjoyable as a drama in technical and storytelling aspects including editing. Acting of the cast is also a blast!
Up to ep 8, I admired this FL character’s confident. In this story, we know so far that she is in the 80s era…
I believe it is the same basis as how Xia Xiaolan realised clothing was better than electronics as an interim sales step within episodes 3 and 4, after selling duck's eggs while trying to accumulate capital from duck's eggs. Being from the future means she knows what the future of buildings is like, so she can see real estate increased and changed massively, hence the money will be there. Architecture will give her advantages for insight and networking. She demonstrated being aware of networking and sales pitches, in earlier episodes.
I really like episode 7 where Liu Fen demonstrates how she is changing slowly but surely despite being naive and bullied for at least 20 years living in the Xia household, spending more time living in the Xia household than her own family of Liu household. I also enjoy seeing Xia Xiaolan understand her even though they are not truly mother and daughter due to the transmigration. Divorce is unthinkable in the 70s and 80s, and only in the most extreme cases.
The 1980s is full of reform and opportunities for change, so this is an apt era for our heroine, a 36-year-old modern executive who accidentally and irreversibly improves the life of an 18-year-old countryside gal, thus regaining control of her destiny and finding what she lost.
“重活一次，我不仅要自己痛快，也要让我的家人朋友过得痛快。” - This is her main voice, and the emotional core of the story. Through her determination to help those she loves, various touching stories of neighbours and family are connected, as they support each other to move towards a brighter future.
The struggles of college students, villagers, self-employed, other marginalised groups and their improvements are tied to the progress of the storyline. The positive energy realistically inspiring others to remember: A solution is possible if we are dedicated and willing to take necessary steps for success? It doesn't make the survival theme in this drama too bleak, and the aesthetics help to convey a youthful feel of hope and potential for improvements, in spite of poverty.
One of my all time favorites. I’ve watched from beginning to end numerous times over the years - I’m talking…
There's literally no one else who is the God of War Jiu Chen, save for Chang Chen. To have Ni Ni acting opposite him also makes them one of my top 3 C-drama couples of all time. Their acting, be it individual or as a couple, is so wonderfully nuanced and charismatic.
And the rest of the cast complemented the drama in different ways (I prefer the acting, villains and storyline here over TMOPB). Whoever paired the leads and chose many of the casting characters is a genius.
Liu Lingyan and Hou Ying focus on three main directions for the drama:
Business line eg from duck eggs to clothing, eventually real estate investments, dividends as would occur during the changing era etc
Family line includes Dong Xuan's evolution awakening from traditional forbearance to balancing individual boundaries and a mother's love with self-reliance, to transform and improve upon the traditional female consciousness.
Zhou Cheng (Zhai Xiaowen) breaks the stereotype of the boss as a "comrade-in-arms" partner, using the "five-year college entrance examination" and one other time-related issue to highlight the characteristics of the era while conveying his emotional fondness, reliability and consistency to Xiaolan.
Any knowledge from the future does not determine business success and improve the household's socio-economic situation. Success still requires tenacity plus strategies to adapt to local demands and thinking.
There are spoilers in this article, which I leave here :)
If you want to know more about the production ideas, values and presentation of this drama, this is a helpful article. As to Zhai Xiaowen, we'll have to wait at least 10 episodes while the story gets to a certain point, in order to know :D
So far I think there is a lack of emotion in this story, life isn't just black and white it can be grey too, randomly…
As someone who doesn't like Zhou Ye's acting in previous dramas despite liking "Word Of Honor" (and also dropped "The Untamed" due to multiple reasons of not enjoying aspects of that drama), I am very pleasantly surprised by her here. Also because the filters are not OD, her acting comes through in a realistic manner that demonstrates different subtle shades of emotions and caution. She appears subdued in episode 1 (save for when she speaks up), as she figures out what is happening to her and where she is, as she knows she isn't in a safe position. Fight then flight.
She's met so many unpleasant people previously that for the majority of these episodes, she is now a lot wiser in seeing through intentions that she reacts swiftly instead of allowing herself to be used and bullied. It takes at least four episodes for her to be alright with realising and revealing that she is happy.
This drama is an adaptation of a novel with more than 2300 chapters. So far the pace is appreciated with how the story moves through different events advancing the main narrative while revealing traits and growth of various cast members in a show-to-tell manner rather than trying to tell the viewer what to think, otherwise I'd be bored and drop the drama. I like "This Thriving Land" but it is very heavy on a viewer who isn't prepared for super-harsh reality of rural life in 1930s (and that drama was also significantly diluted from the novel). At least in 1983 and 1984, the realities in this drama are less emotionally depressing, but doesn't hide the fact that progress happens at a snail's pace and she has to adapt to the 80s of rural China.
She gets into dangerous moments where she could be badly wounded, or worse. But she has wits, and she fortunately reaches a family that backs her up unlike the one she flees from. Enjoying how she overcomes obstacles and curious to see how she will deal with the latest setback in episode 6, from episode 7 onwards.
Several episodes and chortling zingers later, warm moments, teeth-gritters and thefoodmakesmesohungry- Hugely enjoyable! I forgot I was watching 6 episodes.
Rooting for Xia Xiaolan, a badly-bullied heroine determined to make the most of life and rise up, which Zhou Ye is relishing with restraint and aplomb. Cui Yi (last seen in "How Dare You!") as Bei Shu is an inspiring cheerleader. Several other supporting cast members include Zhao Da protecting Xiao Lan as her amazing uncle, who always have a knack for making me want them to triumph (he was also in "This Thriving Land"). Dong Xuan as Xiaolan's mother Liu Fen is a woman growing to find her strength while turning in a terrific nuanced portrayal of someone who initially exasperated and then made me happy to understand her. Watching Dong Xuan interact with Zhou Ye is incredibly heart-warming and uplifting. A mother-daughter duo that I want to find out more about, and look forward to future episodes with! Curious to see how Xia Xiaolan's loving family members progress with the rest of the drama :D
Speaking of songs from this drama, 90s J-drama musical vibes are absolutely uplifting eg the sonically vibrant duet《绽放（For my love）》by 银河快递 (Galaxy Express) that I have on repeat :https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ErwQzPEAi/
everything of the Chinese version is even better than the original.
Your question of whether someone watched the original or not (and everything else including lack of assessment capabilities) can be answered by reading this thread: https://kisskh.at/748667-wo-de-da-shu#comment-24805186
Ps. They don't know what tvn Asia is, and they don't agree with the official commercial feature segment for "My Mister" aired by tvn Asia in March 2023.
Wow! What a detailed review, like reading a thorough report for this film. So well written, thanks! I can see…
Finished watching it for the third time in the cinema, so now I can answer you.
IMAX is stunning for action scenes and battle and landscapes but also somewhat overwhelming, whereby the emotional impact of various scenes is better experienced in a more-normal cinema setting.
As to a flaw, I have pointed out flaws above for viewers not-versed in the manhua or animation, which is: [Non-combat scenes could have been increased by eight to ten minutes, for more insight into characters for viewers with no background in the manhua or animated series. This would also aid viewers to gain better insight into motivations of specific characters, to connect better instead of reckoning “Blades of The Guardians” is too packed with characters they barely know.
Essential non-combat footage was edited out, such as a short revealing exchange between Lao Mo and Di Ting involving Dao Ma. ]
The movie should have been lengthened by another 4 to 6 minutes of non-action footage, to strengthen certain connections and relationships for the audience. We are already at 126 minutes, so another 4 to 6 minutes doesn't hurt. Creation of The Gods ran at 148 minutes. Near the end of the movie, one can see how deeply Dao Ma feels for Di Ting, but not having more to their backstory (such as the meeting between Di Ting and Lao Mo which was cut out) meant it is hard for the audience to relate to their relationship and the final impact of what Dao Ma finally does.
Some people might say at least one of the fights could be captured the way Shaw Brothers movies captured fights ie one long continuous sequence between fighters with no cuts. If that is done, there is a good chance the audience will feel as if they are watching but not immersed and it will break the energy and adrenaline fostered in the viewer.
Camerawork chosen for the fights means visceral reactions from the viewer are unavoidable. To also see changing reactive expressions and hear the clash of weapons or impact of blows- The audio-visual aspects of addressing your senses is well-met throughout this movie. Yuen Woo-ping wants the audience to feel A LOT. And in this, I solidly concur. In my third viewing, my eyes got dusty more often than expected.
I'd say if someone wants to watch a wuxia movie and not feel too much, then this is not the movie for them. This is a movie that is strongly designed to enable you to feel, and you will. Because the alliance for one side doesn't always win. And you will feel something for at least one villain, on top of the rest of the team.
And at the ending, I walked out of the cinema feeling pumped, because that ending is too awesome and watching three times (including until the credits are finished) finally has me satisfied!
So many lives ruined. Superb acting from all actors! So underrated - where are the drama awards?!
As you can see from the reviews, those of us with many years of C-Ent experience really enjoyed this drama for the plot, acting, pacing and camerawork.
Definitely one of the better dramas in the IQiyi 'Suspense Theater' (formerly known as Light On) series. "The Long Night", "The Bad Kids" and "Beneath The Undertow" are also in there:
Months ago, Luo Yunxi also spoke in Mandarin about Tang Lici's growth and evolution using certain terms to demonstrate Buddhism is the key philosophy for Tang Lici as episodes progressed, and his answer also affirms Tang Lici's decisions in episodes 39 and 40.
Under the spoiler tag is the combination of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese mythology, Mandarin terms, Luo Yunxi's answer, plus one classical Chinese literature source underpinning episode 40 from 38:55 onwards, to answer one common question about Tang Lici relative to Xue Xianzi which you and others have expressed.
In episode 26, the state of Gu Mo came about on the ruins of what used to be the Celestial Realm, because a certain…
I have made two comments above. The first comment without spoilers is to explain the title of this drama and why understanding the original title is helpful, in which I understand non-mandarin speakers are severely disadvantaged without certain context for the philosophical and creative layering of this drama: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-25416512
The second comment under spoiler tags as a reply to that first comment answers certain questions you and others have about episode 40, specifically its final minutes.
How is episode 40 from 38:55 onwards to be fully understood, if you rely only on subtitles, but don’t understand…
Please read this entire explanation first, before you decide whether to click any links. Here’s a quick chronology of how Buddhism was tackled by some of us when the drama first aired, and then I am getting to the explanation:
Episode 1 already brought in Buddhism fairly strongly, and Azure was the first to explain Buddhism philosophy in a conversation between the Abbot of Gold Leaf Temple and Tang Lici: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-23933494
Episodes 8 to 12 was very heavy on the Buddhist themes for Puzhu due to also adhering to what was in the novel for Buddhism affecting Puzhu’s decisions, so much so that I enjoyed it and created an episode summary while including other light-hearted observations: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24006830
The Buddhism themes have been so strong that I and a few other viewers had been talking about this in generalities during the airing of the drama, and here’s an example: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24107190
The entire Celestial Realm and its various divisions are obviously and entirely based on Buddhist concepts, if you are familiar with Buddhism. The Five Declines of the Celestial Realm are also known as the “Five Signs of Decay for Devas” due to the entities present in the Celestial Realm. Azure wrote about this extensively in-detail for a forum post in December 2025.
The screenwriters replaced the space-time rift causation and details in the novel, thereby ensuring Buddhist lore was continuous as per the Three Schools of Thought plus the extent of Buddhism around Puzhu's character whereby in the novel, Puzhu is well-versed in the concepts of Mahāyāna Buddhism within Buddhism and had strict adherences, even though he did not fully obey the precepts of Chan Buddhism but demonstrated his capability to be the next Abbot of Shaolin Temple.
Shaolin Temple is a revered monastic institution of Mahāyāna Buddhism and also the birthplace of Chan Buddhism. "Whispers Of Fate" focuses on the most important themes for a mandarin-speaking audience, and there are many obvious clues and references in Mandarin throughout the entire drama (not possible to convey via subtitles) that are completely invisible to the non-mandarin-speaker.
In the novel, Tang Lici, Liu Yan and others such as Fu Zhumei belong to a boy band from the future that gets thrown into a space-time rift, hence going back in time to where they are. This would not pass the censors and furthermore, would detract from the philosophical themes and focus of a drama that the creative team wanted to showcase China's traditional arts, artistic cultures and philosophy as per the original title of this drama.
Please note: If you want to best-grasp the extent of Buddhist philosophy in the novel for a character such as Puzhu to understand why the screenwriters also continued it for the drama and Tang Lici, you need to read the novel in Mandarin and not in any other language.
After the drama finished airing, viewers such as Taraverde and Mizuhira-san touched on Buddhism and more in their reviews. Before posting their review, Taraverde had previously created three extensive posts on Reddit which reached Chinese fans on Weibo, due to covering Buddhism, Taoism and the historical Chinese arts being used here.
Episode 40 at 38:55 onwards is the amalgamation of all themes and philosophy transforming into a beautiful melody of wish fulfilment and happiness in family, love, reunions, peace and harmony in second chances, because Fang Zhou’s belief that everybody is born good is fulfilled by Tang Lici’s great benevolence in a heroic act of love and sacrifice emulating heartfelt peace and unconditional love from his mother.
Why does Xue Xianzi remember Tang Lici? How can Xue Xianzi not be affected by the Inverted Dream? What is the relationship between Xue Xianzi and Tang Lici?
In episode 8 at 10:38, Tang Lici said, “是老朋友又来了” (an old friend has come again) as Xue Xianzi approached his Ship of Ten Thousand Apertures. Throughout the drama, Xue Xianzi does not call Tang Lici by name, but always uses “小狐狸” (little fox). Xue Xianzi and Shui Duopo telling Chi Yun in episode 27 that “Xue Fu is not a chicken, Xue Fu is Xue Fu” is not just for comedy, but to anchor what Tang Lici formerly was to the Taoist sage Xue Xianzi.
In Mahāyāna Buddhism, an animal can be reborn to a higher realm of consciousness such as being human after accumulating enough positive merit, though this is rare and difficult. Animals are believed to possess Buddha nature and are sentient beings. Transcending 31 planes of existence to attain Nirvana is the highest form of liberation. To succeed as an animal, it is doable and fastest with the aid of another who understands how to accumulate merit, such as with the help of a sage.
There is no self or soul in Buddhism, and this is also true of Mahāyāna Buddhism. What reincarnates is a consciousness. This consciousness is akin to an energy that can carry tendencies, mental habits and karmic imprints from one rebirth to the next.
Tang Lici had been first and foremost a fox, which eventually accumulated enough merit to be reborn in the consciousness of human form ie as the son of the Dragon Goddess that Bai Nanzhu used the energy of the Celestial Realm to enable. Xue Xianzi must have helped Tang Lici accumulate merit, so to him Tang Lici is always a “little fox” even when Xue Xianzi recognises the fox again in a different form.
More than 50 years ago, when Ye Mo was discarded by Bai Nanzhu and broke through the Void to fall with many wounds inflicted by a Tuo dragon into the kingdom of Gumo in Shenzhou, his emotions became irreversibly corrupted in the kingdom of Gumo by malice and he named himself Yique YinYang. He failed to obtain the perfect Celestial body no matter how he tried or which point he retreated backwards in time to alter certain events, despite possessing power to rival gods. Because of these failures, Ye Mo then realises there is a point of no return with certain events based on his goals.
Ye Mo also realises how to obtain the perfect Celestial body for himself to attain godhood, which necessitates the next Holy Son succeeding where he failed. The Celestial Realm still matters to him. He decides to create certain events to trap Tang Lici in what he thinks is a perfect closed loop that will enable Tang Lici to understand the seven emotions without being emotionally corrupted, and also force Tang Lici to do what he wants. This is what Tang Lici also realises and recounts in a different manner to Gui Mudan, near the end of episode 33.
From 36:15 onwards in episode 33, Tang Lici shares what he realised about Ye Mo. From 39:07 onwards, Tang Lici speaks primarily about Fang Zhou. For Tang Lici and the seven emotions, his greatest emotional tortures are related to Zhoudi Lou. Fang Zhou’s death is an insurmountable nightmare in his heart. This is what he tells Gui Mudan, while also explaining to Gui Mudan why Gui Mudan is bad at acting and the details of this insurmountable nightmare.
Birth, pain and death happened in Zhoudi Lou, causing suffering. Hatred brings suffering. Parting from what you love brings suffering. Not obtaining what you desire brings suffering. All his suffering is related to Fang Zhou: Hate creating suffering due to Liu Yan hating him for supposedly killing Fang Zhou and at the point of beating up Liu Yan was a Tang Lici who felt something not love but quite the opposite for Liu Yan which Tang Lici never wanted to experience. Being parted from Fang Zhou whom Tang Lici loves brings Tang Lici suffering. Being unable to restore Fang Zhou back to life is suffering (hence Tang Lici says “not being able to obtain what you desire brings suffering”). In his speech, he does not waver from speaking about Fang Zhou.
Tang Lici’s continuous devotion to Fang Zhou merely follows the Book of Odes by Confucius, pertaining to brotherhood. Paternal shixiong trope is also common in jianghu stories that international viewers may not be aware of, which another viewer mentioned months ago on this page as to why Fang Zhou is Tang Lici's most important person (at least until Tang Lici meets his mother): https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24122218
What isn’t reversible for Tang Lici from episodes 1 to 39 is how events happen as per Ye Mo's plans, because of Ye Mo’s existence and powers as a Holy Son. Tang Lici is taken in by Zhoudi Lou, and Tang Lici attempts to save Fang Zhou through a specific technique. Due to Gui Mudan’s scheming, Liu Yan returns early to Zhoudi Lou, interrupts the process, and absorbs half the Rebirth Sutra/Scroll by accident, which also eventually drives Liu Yan partially mad. Things go wrong and hence Fang Zhou dies, as seen in the flashbacks. Just like Ye Mo, Tang Lici also makes multiple attempts to change what has happened.
What we see in episodes 1 to 39 are Tang Lici’s attempts to fully rectify everything. What changes permanently this time to succeed is Tang Lici realising how far back he needs to go to alter time and the fact that he and Ye Mo should not exist as Holy Sons, upon seeing the difference in presence and absence of markings on Ye Mo's forehead (near the end of episode 39). He also realises what he needs, to achieve that. You get clarity via two flashbacks in episode 40.
At the Sea of Reincarnation exists a Time Crack (the boundary where space and time is weakest). Before heading there, Tang Lici modified the Inverted Dream/Inversion of Reality to become 无劫天寰 ie "Calamity-free Cosmos".
This choice and the name Tang Lici chose to speak is monumentally significant. "无劫" for this device is a Buddhist term referring to being free from karma, temporal limitations and being safe from karmic cycles of destruction. Tang Lici consciously uses a philosophy to create a solution of a cosmos that can fulfil his goals, but doing this needs enough energy whereby he will also destroy the two trees connected to each other, since Ye Mo's plans enabled the Bronze Tree in Shenzhou to grow high enough to reach the Xuan tree of the Celestial Realm. Without the trees and without the Celestial Realm ascending, everyone stays mortal.
Tang Lici defeats Ye Mo in their duel. Tang Lici then finally succeeds in using the Calamity-Free Cosmos to go back thousands of years to ensure what became known as the Celestial Realm never ascended and the trees are destroyed, so everyone stays human, and he and Ye Mo do not become Holy Sons. Ye Mo’s words to him before and during their duel further cemented his belief that this was the only solution. This is also why Tang Lici told a dying Ye Mo that Ye Mo will be human in a next life, because he fully understood and had decided what he needed to accomplish.
When I speak of going back thousands of years, it refers to reversing space and time to enable this new cosmos up until that point. Including all this as the explanation of what I mean as “going back thousands of years” is much more understandable than if I just said “reversing space and time” without explaining certain terms in Mandarin while referencing sections of the drama.
Everything is reset from that point in time which Tang Lici altered, giving everything a clean slate. What happens? Liu Yan grew up to be a TCM doctor living in peace, not needing to be taken in and sheltered at Zhoudi Lou. Liu Yan will not know the pain and tortures of cultivating a Gu needle, having almost all his meridians destroyed by Gui Mudan, and will not wrongly torture himself with guilt and hate about Tang Lici. Fang Zhou and Fang Ci (previously known as A-Shui when she could not recall her name, after agreeing to Gui Mudan’s machinations and losing her memories) happily eat together, radiating contentment in joy and love as siblings without being separated which they had previously suffered.
Fang Ci (方慈) never becomes A-Shui who accepted Gui Mudan's help for revenge on Tang Lici due to misunderstanding Tang Lici and wanting to hurt Tang Lici whom she thought had killed her most-important and most-loved person in her life ie Fang Zhou, so Fang Ci will never misunderstand Tang Lici. Fang Zhou and Fang Ci's love for Fang Zhou is the white light that brought Fang Ci back to regain herself. In episode 30 at 26:34, A-Shui saw the wooden carving of Fang Zhou and began to remember what Fang Zhou had told her, and that is when A-Shui's true name of Fang Ci is remembered.
Because of Tang Lici, there is no heart affliction, there is no divine stone, and Fang Ci never suffers what A-Shui had to endure, including the horrible desperation and duty to filial piety resulting in marrying herself off to a strange man to be able to obtain enough money to bury a parent (as per episode 1).
In all the scenes of the drama, A-Shui is happiest as Fang Ci, someone who remembers all of herself and did not lose her memories, undergo emotional traumas because of wrongly wanting revenge on Tang Lici, and wrongly betray friends. A-Shui betraying Tang Lici is a violation of jianghu code because her revenge is not righteous for misunderstanding everything about Fang Zhou's death, and she had inflicted more harm on Tang Lici than was inflicted upon her by Tang Lici (and this was rectified by what she did to restore him, including leaving him and going away). If Gui Mudan had succeeded because of A-Shui collaborating with Gui Mudan and Gui Mudan had obtained Tang Lici's body, A-Shui would bear the karma of any consequent deaths and/or suffering befalling anybody in Shenzhou or the Celestial Realm because of Gui Mudan. A-Shui does not have to be ashamed of herself for being misguided and foolish about initially wanting to harm Tang Lici. A-Shui who never suffers all the above as Fang Ci is lively, energetic, glowing and impish with Fang Zhou.
Fang Zhou gives his younger sister Fang Ci love and protection unlike the past 39 episodes because this is a role and duty he should have borne in the first place instead of Tang Lici and others protecting A-Shui. Fang Zhou supports both of them through his skills performing on the guqin and also getting tips whereby they can eat well at an inn, which Fang Ci happily alludes to. Fu Zhumei is a famous chef at an inn cooking what he likes and what people want to eat, such as the sweet and sour pork ribs which Fang Zhou wants his beloved sister to try.
Chi Yun pursues Bai Suche to persuade her to be his wife despite her objections, since they are officially engaged. Shen Langhun is happy with his wife Hui-niang, and does not suffer being deliberately harmed by Liu Yan and never has to be an assassin to kill people. Yu Furen is the young City Lord of Sword King City happily heading back to his father, and he is no longer an illegitimate son. Cheng Yunpao and Gu Xitan are the same hilarious duo ie my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in C-Ent historical costume drama history.
Puzhu and Fang Pingzhai are happy royal princes. Puzhu remains Crown Prince Chai Zongxun and does not make wrong decisions that ends so many innocent lives. Fang Pingzhai remains the Sixth Prince Chai Xijin and does not want to invent devices or have any other schemes, outside of being a prince and brother to Puzhu. Puzhu and Xifang Tao are drawn to each other at first sight, feeling a connection they cannot explain. Xifang Tao grows up without being raised by a puppet and does not have distorted values, to live a normal life.
Zhong Chunji is back to her confident self but even more so, contented and glowingly happy as the beloved disciple of Shao Yanping. This is her at her happiest! Her tears and growing agony over what she remembered about her Shifu at the beginning of episode 40 is one of many moments that had my eyes being affected by a lot of emotional watery sand. She will never have to suffer horrendous PTSD, after what Liu Yan did to her. She will not watch her beloved master kill himself to stop her from being tainted with the crime of killing him. She will not have to pretend to be a princess, and will not make decisions that harm Tang Lici. Shao Yanping is reunited with his beloved disciple. He does not have to suffer the burdens of dealing with Fengliu Dian.
Xue Xianzi has been alive for many years, looking unchanged. This time, who is the leader of Zhoudi Lou?
"At the foot of Mount Li, there lived a white fox who had been startling the villagers. In Zhoudi Lou resided an individual of great kindness who moved it with compassion and taught it music. And so, seven years passed." – [ 骊山之下有一白狐，惊扰山下人。周睇楼中有大善者，感之以情，授之以乐，如是七载。]
The narration is from volume 455 of “Records of the Taiping Era” ie 《太平广记:奇事记》, which has been mentioned by RBF in 2023 and Azure in 2025 in their respective forum posts, when covering different issues.
At this point of the narration, Xue Xianzi’s preoccupied serious expression brightens, and he calls the little fox he recognises. He has waited for this little fox to return. In this lifetime where everyone is shown to have happy realities, Tang Lici did not accumulate merit to be reborn with the consciousness of a human. He is a little white fox, whereby this little white fox is likely the result of the righteousness that has been accumulated in the West. In Chinese mythology, a normal fox having cultivated for at least 1000 years can also become white or golden.
Mahāyāna Buddhism emphasises that the path to liberation is open to all beings, allowing for extraordinary transformations. Xue Xianzi is a Taoist Sage. Are Taoist Sages affected by concepts such as non-linear timelines?
According to religious Taoism, Taoist Sages are perceived as being in harmony with the non-linear flow of the universe. In mythology, they can handle time differently and thus appear in different dimensions or timeframes, due to how they perceive time or have abilities in harmony with non-linear time. “八仙过海” is a well-known Taoist legend in Chinese mythology, which I became aware of in my early teens because that’s part of normal chinese literature and media exposure. Zhang Guolao is one of the eight revered Taoist sages in that saga, who rides on a magical white donkey.
Xue Xianzi is able to perceive time in accordance with religious Taoism, and will not lose sight or memory of what happened to a little fox which he once helped with cultivating to achieve merit.
Unlike “Records of the Taiping Era”, the narration in this ending has some differences, being transformed by Tang Lici’s choices. In the original story, a ten-thousand-year-old celestial fox can finally transform into a fox-dragon due to meeting and mating with a female dragon, but the story has a sad ending for the fox-dragon.
“In Zhoudi Lou resided an individual of great kindness who moved it with compassion and taught it music. And so, seven years passed" – is a transformation of the original literary source.
Xue Xianzi then says “Little Fox” with affection.
The rest of the narration continues with, “One day, clouds rose and mist gathered, and a white dragon soared into the sky. Four years later, when calamity struck the world, the fox-dragon remembering the kindness it was offered, offered itself as the way, and reversed the fate of heaven and earth. Then it vanished among the common people.”
The white dragon soars into the sky, lingers, and finally vanishes into the distance.
A white dragon is an auspicious potent legendary celestial creature that symbolises pure Yang energy which has been purified, and its colour is indicative of wisdom, purity and virtue. They are divine and enlightened. They protect the path of the Dharma, have overcome earthly obstacles, and restore balance to bring peace. You can find this in Chinese mythology, Taoism and Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Showing different characters sharing different sorts of happiness and different sorts of love in this ending is because everyone defines happiness and contentment differently. In Tang Lici’s case, he too has achieved what makes him happy and contented.
In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a dragon can be reborn as a human due to its karmic merit, as a protector of the Dharma. One day, Tang Lici can be reunited with his friends in another lifetime. This will happen one day. Each of his friends wear tiny fox ornamentations.
Luo Yunxi also spoke in an interview months ago about the ending whereby he acknowledges Tang Lici's decision in Buddhism growing over the entire drama to culminate in episode 40, which the fan club translated a short summary as:
[ #LuoYunxi summarises Tang Lici as someone who goes through the phases of "self-fulfilling (focused on his own goal), transcending self (letting go of his obsession & taking on responsibility), and selflessness (saving the world)." ]
Megumi-H translated Luo Yunxi's words in more detail as, “A transcend beyond self, to no-self. Yes, I believe Tang LiCi’s whole life started with an attitude with growth and change. From the beginning, he was self centred, all his action and behaviors were driven by one goal. Then he let go of his obsession/attachment, he let go of his perceived goals, and then move towards his beliefs of responsibility. And till the end, he completes his tasks / responsibility, I believe he has move from self-oriented to beyond self to a stage of no-self. Thank you.”
At 36:10 of episode 40 onwards, Tang Lici still hesitates despite fully knowing what must be done. In a flashback, we see his understanding and hesitation, and he recalls his wish by the river where he was with A-Shui and saw many lanterns. His voiced-out thoughts while recalling that occasion (not the fireworks or any other part of that night) is as such: "No matter how the world changes, no matter the shift of years- I hope those people I care about -the friends who once fought by my side- can live peaceful and happy lives.”
At 37:40, the Calamity-Free Cosmos is summoned. Tang Lici then remembers Fang Zhou. Precious unforgettable advice and insight, Fang Zhou speaking of the Seven Emotions. The Calamity-Free Cosmos is now almost at its strongest in maximum energy, to carry out the necessary. Tang Lici is still serious, and slightly hesitant. The words of his mother come to him. And then he finally smiles, because he remembers his mother and her gracious noble wisdom. This smile stays. Completed. Fulfilled. Contented. At peace.
His thoughts are a reply to his mother in agreement with her, as he falls backwards, body starting to dissipate, an answer she will never hear. Whoops. My eyes got watery again.
And you get what unfolds for everyone in a new life of second chances.
What makes me a bit sad is that I have always wished Tang Lici could be remembered in a poem. That is partially because only a poem in Classical Chinese poetry could encapsulate the essence of evolving compassion finally being fully embodied as a triumph of life over despair and death, his love noble and hard-won through lessons, to want for everyone including his mother a beautiful second chance of living a wonderful mortal life.
The ending is a triumph: Tang Lici’s ultimate victory and triumph is enabling everyone to triumph over their past tragedies and circumstances, for a new life of happiness and love and peace of self that each individual needs. Love wins. Duty, trust, perseverance- These are individual values in 武德 (martial ethics) and part of an individual pugilist's personal code of honour, to respect the jianghu (a realm outside of imperial institutions and mainstream society, where spirit of jianghu is to understand freedom and courage and brotherhood of wuxia is boundless while upholding 武德).
Morality of mind and morality of deeds must match.
Tang Lici went from being arrogant, to understanding and embodying what he needed to be, becoming greater than his limitations and saving humanity. Freedom in compassion with all of himself.
As I said in my review, but more poignantly in the forum thread during November 2025 about "The Meaning Of Life":
Shūnyatā and compassion are strongly connected in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Understanding Shūnyatā leads to karuna, and is essential to the Bodhisattva path demanding a commitment to karuna (natural expression of compassion due to understanding shūnyatā) as an active response to the understanding that everything is connected. A bodhisattva in Mahāyāna Buddhism is one who can reach nirvana but can delay doing so due to compassion for those who suffer.
To actively understand Shūnyatā is to come to realise the totality of not-self, to realise the boundaries between living beings such as you and I are illusions, in order to transcend rigid self-concepts of self, and nurture true compassion for all beings.
The journey of Tang Lici throughout this drama to gain full understanding of the seven emotions (of which he only grasped its most-basic foundations during his time at Zhoudi Lou) is also the path of gaining insights to actively understand Shūnyatā. It is the journey of actively learning and enriching oneself in the interplay of not-self and karuna, which naturally enables Tang Lici to gain a perfect body and fulfil his full potential in breaking more than the cycle of rebirth, to leave the sea of suffering behind and embody the opening song of the drama.
How is episode 40 from 38:55 onwards to be fully understood, if you rely only on subtitles, but don’t understand Mandarin and the Three Schools of Thought (三教) ie Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism? What is the relationship between Tang Lici and Xue Xianzi, based on what is shown in the drama?
How did《水龙吟》manage to gross more than 1 billion views in Thailand via Monomax (Buddhism being the core culture of that country), setting a new record for C-dramas? Why is《水龙吟》the only C-drama of 2025 to be nominated for CPOPwave 2026, alongside titanic contenders such as the domestic box office movie champion “Nezha 2” that stands at least two leagues above all other C-movies in China’s box office history?
“Whispers of Fate” is the official English title, but it is not the original name of 《水龙吟》and you miss out on important fundamental context right from the start if you do not understand the original title. Mandarin C-drama titles can give very strong hints about endings and/or themes of a drama.
For those who have a certain fluency in mandarin, are versed in Chinese literature, and if you play a Chinese musical instrument: WoF is a uniquely wonderful C-drama championing a vibrantly strong combination of ancient Chinese classical literature, Chinese traditional artistic techniques, cultural arts, and philosophical layering from the three Schools of Thought throughout the entire drama, which the screenplay respectably incorporates and is also strongly demonstrated by certain individuals such as Tang Lici and Puzhu. Recognising the references for the original title already cements what is to come.
水龙吟literally means “Water Dragon Intonation” or “Water Dragon Chant”, typically used as a pattern in the important genre of ci poetry (classical Chinese lyric poetry) that first arose in the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty as a mature form, the two contrasting predominant schools of ci poetry used by different poets were (婉約) wanyue [delicately graceful and restrained] or (豪放) haofang [heroically bold and unconstrained and emotional pertaining to visions or major social issues], and these two different approaches can also be seen in Tang Lici’s ways of expressing himself on different matters. Su Shi is an important figure in Song Dynasty politics, and is known for many different achievements including as a famous poet. Under him, ci poetry transformed from bearing a musical background to becoming primarily a literary creation. Su Shi’s “Water Dragon Chant-Rhyming Zhang Zhifu’s poem on willow catkins” ie《水龙吟·次韵章质夫杨花词》in response to his friend Zhang Zhifu’s poem and “Water Dragon Chant-Climbing Shangxin Pavilion“ by military leader, poet and patriot Xin Qiji ie《水龙吟·登建康赏心亭》are two examples of such poetry.
水龙吟 is also famous as a qupai ie a melody within Northern Chinese opera. That is also why the styles of numerous villains demonstrate strong influences from Chinese opera in costumes and speech patterns and portrayal, Gui Mudan being the most obvious homage to Chinese opera. His recital of certain lines from Wang Shifu’s “Romance Of The Western Chamber” is apt. Yuan Zaju is the pinnacle of ancient Chinese operatic literature in all the dynasties, also from Northern China.
I mentioned Yuan Zaju in my review accordingly as a tribute to the original title of this drama, simplifying the structure of the drama, including the positions of Tang Lici and Liu Yan relative to key antagonists [That part is not quoted here due to being a subtle spoiler]:
{ This drama can be divided into a prologue with four acts of an innovative groundbreaking zaju (杂剧) altered from a modern perspective to correspond with Western theatrical arcs of a five-act structure, akin to pivotal significance of Gui Mudan in episode 14 blending Peking Opera with Sichuan Opera while performing certain lines of Cui Yingying from a Yuan zaju. Of all dynasties within Chinese civilisation, Yuan drama reached the profound pinnacle of elevating ancient narratives in Chinese literature to a distinct matured brilliance while emphasising cultural significance, where music melding with unique storytelling by scholars produced numerous talented playwrights.
Wang Shifu studied and adapted successful traits of different art forms, broke the rules of usual zaju and modified artistic means to more-effectively convey dramatic conflicts while refining delicateness of characterisations. “Romance of the Western Chamber” by Wang Shifu is one of the most iconic representative works of Yuan Opera literature in linguistics, lessons and narrative performance.
The creative team behind Whispers of Fate has employed similar fundamental traits of the best Yuan Dynasty dramatists and their individual trademarks, aptly-exemplified in Wang Shifu’s talents when evaluating this drama…. }
The novel "Enduring A Thousand Tribulations" was abandoned by the author and left unfinished for years when finally adapted for this drama, and the novel is far from easy to adapt despite the screenwriters loosely adapting it when creating a screenplay for this drama. I say this when one considers the Buddhism in the novel about Puzhu in Mandarin as one example, not in English or any other languages.
RBF did a spectacular job in translating the novel into English until chapter 47 at this point, which I recommend for a translation because RBF can translate a Lin Bu poem in the novel wonderfully: https://qianjiemei.wordpress.com
水龙吟 also has other meanings which can be applied, such as an evaluation of a personal journey, and this is apt for the protagonist Tang Lici. Buddhism is a growing theme in his decision-making ever since episode 1, as the episodes unfold. In episode 40, he makes a conscious choice and uses a specific term from Buddhism that demonstrates the full extent of his understanding about Buddhism and what he needs to do, but this term in Mandarin cannot be conveyed in subtitles.
Buddhism first entered China via the Han Dynasty, and the branch of Buddhism that entered via the Silk Road was Mahāyāna Buddhism. Developments with Mahāyāna Buddhism within China also led to the likes of branches of Mahāyāna Buddhism such as Chan Buddhism. The unfinished novel when loosely adapted for the drama has characters such as Puzhu, who may not be a monk in the novel but has certain strict adherences and awareness of Chan Buddhism.
“天龙八部” is an important Buddhist concept with certain specific details, which the entire Celestial Realm is based upon.
Without understanding Buddhism (and within it, Mahāyāna Buddhism), Mandarin, plus certain classical Chinese literature sources as the references for why the wuxia themes in this xuanxia drama are strong and defines relationships between Tang Lici and four men->>>>>>>>>>>
At least 70% of context underpinning “Whispers of Fate” will be lost on a viewer, especially the strength of Buddhism as a theme in this drama. I have used the original title of this drama as an example of how less than 0.5% of the drama's themes and meanings is inferenced from a foreign title. The original Mandarin title gives much-better insight. Certain mandarin words have meanings and context that cannot be conveyed through subtitles.
Without being mentioned, here are some of the classical Chinese literature references heavily-utilised for this drama that Mandarin-speakers can identify easily or less so, simply by seeing certain phrases, names, or the usage of certain themes or descriptions for world-building in 《水龙吟》that cannot be seen in a title such as “Whispers of Fate”:
Analects of Confucius, 《诗经》ie Book of Odes, 《溪山琴况》ie Zither Theory of Mountain Streams, and《道德经》(the foundational text of Taoism attributed to Lao Zi) are the easiest.
This drama caters first and foremost to a mandarin-speaking audience because of all the literary references and philosophies and artistic heritage in mandarin, and I can understand how some non-mandarin-speaking viewers feel left out because they are self-aware that they are missing a lot of details and context. Hence I created a forum post gathering contributions from fellow viewers such as RBF, underthestars, Azure, Mizuhira-san and kwanto:
I have gotten thanks via DMs and on this page for explanations that I expanded on, be it this drama or the novel relative to the drama, so I am glad to help further :)
Months ago, Luo Yunxi also spoke in Mandarin about Tang Lici's growth and evolution using certain terms to demonstrate Buddhism is the key philosophy affecting Tang Lici as episodes progressed as per the screenplay, and his answer affirms Tang Lici's decisions in episodes 39 and 40.
Under the spoiler tag is the combination of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese mythology, Mandarin terms, Luo Yunxi's answer, plus one classical Chinese literature source underpinning episode 40 from 38:55 onwards, to answer one common question about Tang Lici relative to Xue Xianzi:
In episode 26, the state of Gu Mo came about on the ruins of what used to be the Celestial Realm, because a certain…
During the time reversal, Tang Lici's body dissipated so yes, he passed away.
I realised nobody has fully explained the ending of Episode 40 because to easily grasp it would require understanding Mahāyāna Buddhism in Buddhism (which at least one character in the novel heavily observes whereby Puzhu's Buddhist devotion was carried over from the unfinished novel into this drama which is a loose adaptation of the novel), understanding Mandarin, and being able to explain how "Taiping Guangji" (Extensive Records of the Taiping Era) combines with Mahāyāna Buddhism to enable the ending and what the ending was about, especially why Xue Xianzi can remember Tang Lici and the white fox being able to become a dragon.
Throughout the airing of this drama, a few of us were lightly discussing Buddhism:
WoF is a drama very heavy in the Three Schools of Thought ie Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. A certain amount of that knowledge is essential to understanding the classical literature works referenced for this drama. Unlike other historical costume C-dramas, this particular drama is unusual for being so heavily Chinese in the literary lore and philosophies that some international viewers know they are missing a lot of context and are asking for answers, but cannot find them in another language outside of Mandarin.
Three key literary references for Whispers of Fate might be interesting, if you want to understand the strong wuxia themes plus the sonic techniques basis for Tang Lici, Fang Zhou, Liu Yan and Hong-guniang: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24569086
I explained to another viewer why Tang Lici's mother in the novel versus the drama is very significant. They at first had certain preliminary conclusions because they didn't understand certain details while ignorant of other details:
I then decided to be specific about the novel including context, because the viewer had certain misconceptions after hearing wrong details from another viewer, which I had to clear up: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24268676
You don't need to know the novel to understand why Tang Lici's mother is the most precious female to him, but reading that specific section of the novel demonstrates how the screenwriters had a good grasp of the source material and changed many things to give many characters in the drama a better journey as a character and a happy ending, while respecting Teng Ping's initial pause when she abandoned the novel, which Teng Ping also continued to uphold upon finally finishing the novel. The initial source material is actually quite difficult to adapt, because it is a very fascinating novel in a very different manner and plot.
But Tang Lici, Liu Yan and others being in a boy band from the future named "Bronze Flute" getting thrown into a space-time rift and going back in time would not be as poignant and resonant as the concept of the Celestial Realm. Had this drama aired this year instead of last year, there would not be a 40-episode limit. "River Sunset" aired in January this year, with all 44 episodes.
In short, the screen-writers and Teng Ping at all times maintained:
1) No CP.
2) The love of a mother or lack of such a love is fundamentally transformational or fundamentally damaging.
That is why there has never been any romance tags for this drama, the ML has chemistry with everyone, and he takes what some of us consider to be exasperating risks based on certain beliefs because he would rather risk his life countless times than allow those he values to perish.
TaraVerde and Mizuhira-san are two of several friends who wrote reviews for Whispers of Fate, and you can see in their reviews the effects of Buddhism and Taoism on this drama and/or certain characters.
I will make a comment that explains the details and ending for episode 40 and then update you about it :)
Yu Baimei said yesterday this movie is close to breaking even, which means the final costs were still quite high, but not as bad as predicted. Jet Li thought the ceiling for a wuxia film is 1.2 billion RMB as a maximum, before this film aired. I'm glad he is wrong.
Comic artists are cheering online, because this figure means IP works based on manhua now have a significantly-higher likelihood of being approved as movies. Roadshows have been planned. Zhengzhou on 14 March. Chongqing on 15 March.
The reshoot has turned out to be an advantage, because Chen Lijun's emoting is a huge draw!
A lot of people are now eating their hats with this milestone, previously-wrong projections in articles and all XD
It's impossible to detract from the fact of making history plus enabling livelihoods while helping cinemas, so the mood is jubilant! Have a great weekend!
I don't understand the ending? If TLC reverses time to before the sky realm existed, wouldn't the sky realm still…
In episode 26, the state of Gu Mo came about on the ruins of what used to be the Celestial Realm, because a certain leader of Tang Lici's clan at the time wanted to be a god and attempted to defy the laws of nature and heaven. Everyone in Tang Lici's clan back then were cultivators who had obtained great merit. Promising everyone in the clan eternal life, that leader used techniques to physically lift the entire Celestial Realm but his actions resulted in their entire clan vanishing into the Void. Thousands of years later, after experiencing the Five Declines, Bai Nanzhu wanted to ensure the continuation of the Celestial Realm as it is and avert disaster, and the idea of godhood had never faded. The plan to do so is heinous as per Ye Mo's ideas, because it requires sacrificing everyone in Shenzhou.
It depends on where and to what extent Tang Lici is going back in time. This does not appear to be the first time he is attempting to go back in time, which is why Xue Xianzi the Taoist Sage remembers him.
In this ending, Tang Lici wanted to allow his friends to live peaceably. This means he went back thousands of years in time to ensure the Celestial Realm never ascended into the Void and the state of Gu Mo never came into being as a state by itself on the ruins of the Celestial Realm, and everyone remained a normal human in this new reality. That is why everyone could have second chances, from Xifang Tao to Bai Suche to Chi Yun.
Even if you’re not satisfied with Ah Shui’s character arc, the harsh truth is her acting range and her billing…
Reality will not get through to edit-fu and goalpost-shifting word salad. But kudos to you for trying. The account doesn't care for spoiler tags. They want everyone to know about A-Shui and focus on A-Shui, while trying to avoid the fact that their initial comment was primarily using A-Shui to diss the screenwriters. There's only been one account so persistently carrying the torch for A-Shui.
Since Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei are doing so well together in currently-airing Zhu Yu ie "Pursuit of Jade", more people will be watching his dramas after PoJ. Someone should focus on that great opportunity for the actress they like as FL in a not-yet-aired drama with him.
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I really like episode 7 where Liu Fen demonstrates how she is changing slowly but surely despite being naive and bullied for at least 20 years living in the Xia household, spending more time living in the Xia household than her own family of Liu household. I also enjoy seeing Xia Xiaolan understand her even though they are not truly mother and daughter due to the transmigration. Divorce is unthinkable in the 70s and 80s, and only in the most extreme cases.
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5277790519691698
“重活一次，我不仅要自己痛快，也要让我的家人朋友过得痛快。” - This is her main voice, and the emotional core of the story. Through her determination to help those she loves, various touching stories of neighbours and family are connected, as they support each other to move towards a brighter future.
The struggles of college students, villagers, self-employed, other marginalised groups and their improvements are tied to the progress of the storyline. The positive energy realistically inspiring others to remember: A solution is possible if we are dedicated and willing to take necessary steps for success? It doesn't make the survival theme in this drama too bleak, and the aesthetics help to convey a youthful feel of hope and potential for improvements, in spite of poverty.
Too bad this isn't on CCTV.
And the rest of the cast complemented the drama in different ways (I prefer the acting, villains and storyline here over TMOPB). Whoever paired the leads and chose many of the casting characters is a genius.
Liu Lingyan and Hou Ying focus on three main directions for the drama:
Business line eg from duck eggs to clothing, eventually real estate investments, dividends as would occur during the changing era etc
Family line includes Dong Xuan's evolution awakening from traditional forbearance to balancing individual boundaries and a mother's love with self-reliance, to transform and improve upon the traditional female consciousness.
Zhou Cheng (Zhai Xiaowen) breaks the stereotype of the boss as a "comrade-in-arms" partner, using the "five-year college entrance examination" and one other time-related issue to highlight the characteristics of the era while conveying his emotional fondness, reliability and consistency to Xiaolan.
Any knowledge from the future does not determine business success and improve the household's socio-economic situation. Success still requires tenacity plus strategies to adapt to local demands and thinking.
https://cj.sina.com.cn/articles/view/7879776328/1d5abd84806801cgz0
There are spoilers in this article, which I leave here :)
If you want to know more about the production ideas, values and presentation of this drama, this is a helpful article. As to Zhai Xiaowen, we'll have to wait at least 10 episodes while the story gets to a certain point, in order to know :D
She's met so many unpleasant people previously that for the majority of these episodes, she is now a lot wiser in seeing through intentions that she reacts swiftly instead of allowing herself to be used and bullied. It takes at least four episodes for her to be alright with realising and revealing that she is happy.
This drama is an adaptation of a novel with more than 2300 chapters. So far the pace is appreciated with how the story moves through different events advancing the main narrative while revealing traits and growth of various cast members in a show-to-tell manner rather than trying to tell the viewer what to think, otherwise I'd be bored and drop the drama. I like "This Thriving Land" but it is very heavy on a viewer who isn't prepared for super-harsh reality of rural life in 1930s (and that drama was also significantly diluted from the novel). At least in 1983 and 1984, the realities in this drama are less emotionally depressing, but doesn't hide the fact that progress happens at a snail's pace and she has to adapt to the 80s of rural China.
She gets into dangerous moments where she could be badly wounded, or worse. But she has wits, and she fortunately reaches a family that backs her up unlike the one she flees from. Enjoying how she overcomes obstacles and curious to see how she will deal with the latest setback in episode 6, from episode 7 onwards.
Our Bei Shu is happy here!
Several episodes and chortling zingers later, warm moments, teeth-gritters and thefoodmakesmesohungry- Hugely enjoyable! I forgot I was watching 6 episodes.
Rooting for Xia Xiaolan, a badly-bullied heroine determined to make the most of life and rise up, which Zhou Ye is relishing with restraint and aplomb. Cui Yi (last seen in "How Dare You!") as Bei Shu is an inspiring cheerleader. Several other supporting cast members include Zhao Da protecting Xiao Lan as her amazing uncle, who always have a knack for making me want them to triumph (he was also in "This Thriving Land"). Dong Xuan as Xiaolan's mother Liu Fen is a woman growing to find her strength while turning in a terrific nuanced portrayal of someone who initially exasperated and then made me happy to understand her. Watching Dong Xuan interact with Zhou Ye is incredibly heart-warming and uplifting. A mother-daughter duo that I want to find out more about, and look forward to future episodes with! Curious to see how Xia Xiaolan's loving family members progress with the rest of the drama :D
Speaking of songs from this drama, 90s J-drama musical vibes are absolutely uplifting eg the sonically vibrant duet《绽放（For my love）》by 银河快递 (Galaxy Express) that I have on repeat :https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ErwQzPEAi/
Then there's《呼唤》 by Zhang Liyin: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1JBwQzKET5/
ED song 《白日炽梦》 by Liu Lian: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1KpwQzjEDr/
Ps. They don't know what tvn Asia is, and they don't agree with the official commercial feature segment for "My Mister" aired by tvn Asia in March 2023.
IMAX is stunning for action scenes and battle and landscapes but also somewhat overwhelming, whereby the emotional impact of various scenes is better experienced in a more-normal cinema setting.
As to a flaw, I have pointed out flaws above for viewers not-versed in the manhua or animation, which is: [Non-combat scenes could have been increased by eight to ten minutes, for more insight into characters for viewers with no background in the manhua or animated series. This would also aid viewers to gain better insight into motivations of specific characters, to connect better instead of reckoning “Blades of The Guardians” is too packed with characters they barely know.
Essential non-combat footage was edited out, such as a short revealing exchange between Lao Mo and Di Ting involving Dao Ma. ]
The movie should have been lengthened by another 4 to 6 minutes of non-action footage, to strengthen certain connections and relationships for the audience. We are already at 126 minutes, so another 4 to 6 minutes doesn't hurt. Creation of The Gods ran at 148 minutes. Near the end of the movie, one can see how deeply Dao Ma feels for Di Ting, but not having more to their backstory (such as the meeting between Di Ting and Lao Mo which was cut out) meant it is hard for the audience to relate to their relationship and the final impact of what Dao Ma finally does.
Some people might say at least one of the fights could be captured the way Shaw Brothers movies captured fights ie one long continuous sequence between fighters with no cuts. If that is done, there is a good chance the audience will feel as if they are watching but not immersed and it will break the energy and adrenaline fostered in the viewer.
Camerawork chosen for the fights means visceral reactions from the viewer are unavoidable. To also see changing reactive expressions and hear the clash of weapons or impact of blows- The audio-visual aspects of addressing your senses is well-met throughout this movie. Yuen Woo-ping wants the audience to feel A LOT. And in this, I solidly concur. In my third viewing, my eyes got dusty more often than expected.
I'd say if someone wants to watch a wuxia movie and not feel too much, then this is not the movie for them. This is a movie that is strongly designed to enable you to feel, and you will. Because the alliance for one side doesn't always win. And you will feel something for at least one villain, on top of the rest of the team.
And at the ending, I walked out of the cinema feeling pumped, because that ending is too awesome and watching three times (including until the credits are finished) finally has me satisfied!
Definitely one of the better dramas in the IQiyi 'Suspense Theater' (formerly known as Light On) series. "The Long Night", "The Bad Kids" and "Beneath The Undertow" are also in there:
https://kisskh.at/775587-iqiyi-light-on
Consider writing a review!
I have just made two comments, to aid the non-mandarin-speaker and answer this question including why.
Original title of Drama and why this matters, for the explanation of the ending: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-25416512
Months ago, Luo Yunxi also spoke in Mandarin about Tang Lici's growth and evolution using certain terms to demonstrate Buddhism is the key philosophy for Tang Lici as episodes progressed, and his answer also affirms Tang Lici's decisions in episodes 39 and 40.
Under the spoiler tag is the combination of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese mythology, Mandarin terms, Luo Yunxi's answer, plus one classical Chinese literature source underpinning episode 40 from 38:55 onwards, to answer one common question about Tang Lici relative to Xue Xianzi which you and others have expressed.
The second comment under spoiler tags as a reply to that first comment answers certain questions you and others have about episode 40, specifically its final minutes.
Episode 1 already brought in Buddhism fairly strongly, and Azure was the first to explain Buddhism philosophy in a conversation between the Abbot of Gold Leaf Temple and Tang Lici: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-23933494
Episodes 8 to 12 was very heavy on the Buddhist themes for Puzhu due to also adhering to what was in the novel for Buddhism affecting Puzhu’s decisions, so much so that I enjoyed it and created an episode summary while including other light-hearted observations: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24006830
The Buddhism themes have been so strong that I and a few other viewers had been talking about this in generalities during the airing of the drama, and here’s an example: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24107190
We also went into more depth about Buddhism, in a forum thread: https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146562-whispers-of-fate-what-is-the-meaning-of-life
The entire Celestial Realm and its various divisions are obviously and entirely based on Buddhist concepts, if you are familiar with Buddhism. The Five Declines of the Celestial Realm are also known as the “Five Signs of Decay for Devas” due to the entities present in the Celestial Realm. Azure wrote about this extensively in-detail for a forum post in December 2025.
The screenwriters replaced the space-time rift causation and details in the novel, thereby ensuring Buddhist lore was continuous as per the Three Schools of Thought plus the extent of Buddhism around Puzhu's character whereby in the novel, Puzhu is well-versed in the concepts of Mahāyāna Buddhism within Buddhism and had strict adherences, even though he did not fully obey the precepts of Chan Buddhism but demonstrated his capability to be the next Abbot of Shaolin Temple.
Shaolin Temple is a revered monastic institution of Mahāyāna Buddhism and also the birthplace of Chan Buddhism. "Whispers Of Fate" focuses on the most important themes for a mandarin-speaking audience, and there are many obvious clues and references in Mandarin throughout the entire drama (not possible to convey via subtitles) that are completely invisible to the non-mandarin-speaker.
In the novel, Tang Lici, Liu Yan and others such as Fu Zhumei belong to a boy band from the future that gets thrown into a space-time rift, hence going back in time to where they are. This would not pass the censors and furthermore, would detract from the philosophical themes and focus of a drama that the creative team wanted to showcase China's traditional arts, artistic cultures and philosophy as per the original title of this drama.
Please note: If you want to best-grasp the extent of Buddhist philosophy in the novel for a character such as Puzhu to understand why the screenwriters also continued it for the drama and Tang Lici, you need to read the novel in Mandarin and not in any other language.
After the drama finished airing, viewers such as Taraverde and Mizuhira-san touched on Buddhism and more in their reviews. Before posting their review, Taraverde had previously created three extensive posts on Reddit which reached Chinese fans on Weibo, due to covering Buddhism, Taoism and the historical Chinese arts being used here.
https://kisskh.at/profile/TiaraBella/review/515614
Mizuhira-san grew up with Theravada Buddhism, and also shares her insights on the drama:
https://kisskh.at/profile/Mizuhira-san/review/516972
Episode 40 at 38:55 onwards is the amalgamation of all themes and philosophy transforming into a beautiful melody of wish fulfilment and happiness in family, love, reunions, peace and harmony in second chances, because Fang Zhou’s belief that everybody is born good is fulfilled by Tang Lici’s great benevolence in a heroic act of love and sacrifice emulating heartfelt peace and unconditional love from his mother.
Why does Xue Xianzi remember Tang Lici? How can Xue Xianzi not be affected by the Inverted Dream? What is the relationship between Xue Xianzi and Tang Lici?
In episode 8 at 10:38, Tang Lici said, “是老朋友又来了” (an old friend has come again) as Xue Xianzi approached his Ship of Ten Thousand Apertures. Throughout the drama, Xue Xianzi does not call Tang Lici by name, but always uses “小狐狸” (little fox). Xue Xianzi and Shui Duopo telling Chi Yun in episode 27 that “Xue Fu is not a chicken, Xue Fu is Xue Fu” is not just for comedy, but to anchor what Tang Lici formerly was to the Taoist sage Xue Xianzi.
In Mahāyāna Buddhism, an animal can be reborn to a higher realm of consciousness such as being human after accumulating enough positive merit, though this is rare and difficult. Animals are believed to possess Buddha nature and are sentient beings. Transcending 31 planes of existence to attain Nirvana is the highest form of liberation. To succeed as an animal, it is doable and fastest with the aid of another who understands how to accumulate merit, such as with the help of a sage.
There is no self or soul in Buddhism, and this is also true of Mahāyāna Buddhism. What reincarnates is a consciousness. This consciousness is akin to an energy that can carry tendencies, mental habits and karmic imprints from one rebirth to the next.
Tang Lici had been first and foremost a fox, which eventually accumulated enough merit to be reborn in the consciousness of human form ie as the son of the Dragon Goddess that Bai Nanzhu used the energy of the Celestial Realm to enable. Xue Xianzi must have helped Tang Lici accumulate merit, so to him Tang Lici is always a “little fox” even when Xue Xianzi recognises the fox again in a different form.
More than 50 years ago, when Ye Mo was discarded by Bai Nanzhu and broke through the Void to fall with many wounds inflicted by a Tuo dragon into the kingdom of Gumo in Shenzhou, his emotions became irreversibly corrupted in the kingdom of Gumo by malice and he named himself Yique YinYang. He failed to obtain the perfect Celestial body no matter how he tried or which point he retreated backwards in time to alter certain events, despite possessing power to rival gods. Because of these failures, Ye Mo then realises there is a point of no return with certain events based on his goals.
Ye Mo also realises how to obtain the perfect Celestial body for himself to attain godhood, which necessitates the next Holy Son succeeding where he failed. The Celestial Realm still matters to him. He decides to create certain events to trap Tang Lici in what he thinks is a perfect closed loop that will enable Tang Lici to understand the seven emotions without being emotionally corrupted, and also force Tang Lici to do what he wants. This is what Tang Lici also realises and recounts in a different manner to Gui Mudan, near the end of episode 33.
From 36:15 onwards in episode 33, Tang Lici shares what he realised about Ye Mo. From 39:07 onwards, Tang Lici speaks primarily about Fang Zhou. For Tang Lici and the seven emotions, his greatest emotional tortures are related to Zhoudi Lou. Fang Zhou’s death is an insurmountable nightmare in his heart. This is what he tells Gui Mudan, while also explaining to Gui Mudan why Gui Mudan is bad at acting and the details of this insurmountable nightmare.
Birth, pain and death happened in Zhoudi Lou, causing suffering. Hatred brings suffering. Parting from what you love brings suffering. Not obtaining what you desire brings suffering. All his suffering is related to Fang Zhou: Hate creating suffering due to Liu Yan hating him for supposedly killing Fang Zhou and at the point of beating up Liu Yan was a Tang Lici who felt something not love but quite the opposite for Liu Yan which Tang Lici never wanted to experience. Being parted from Fang Zhou whom Tang Lici loves brings Tang Lici suffering. Being unable to restore Fang Zhou back to life is suffering (hence Tang Lici says “not being able to obtain what you desire brings suffering”). In his speech, he does not waver from speaking about Fang Zhou.
Tang Lici’s continuous devotion to Fang Zhou merely follows the Book of Odes by Confucius, pertaining to brotherhood. Paternal shixiong trope is also common in jianghu stories that international viewers may not be aware of, which another viewer mentioned months ago on this page as to why Fang Zhou is Tang Lici's most important person (at least until Tang Lici meets his mother): https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24122218
For those who want to explore finer details about the loops and overlapping realities and Buddhism of the Celestial Realm, Azure’s 2025 post is recommended because the Buddhism concepts are very strong for the Celestial Realm: https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146760-whispers-of-fate-worldview-timelines-and-other-details
What isn’t reversible for Tang Lici from episodes 1 to 39 is how events happen as per Ye Mo's plans, because of Ye Mo’s existence and powers as a Holy Son. Tang Lici is taken in by Zhoudi Lou, and Tang Lici attempts to save Fang Zhou through a specific technique. Due to Gui Mudan’s scheming, Liu Yan returns early to Zhoudi Lou, interrupts the process, and absorbs half the Rebirth Sutra/Scroll by accident, which also eventually drives Liu Yan partially mad. Things go wrong and hence Fang Zhou dies, as seen in the flashbacks. Just like Ye Mo, Tang Lici also makes multiple attempts to change what has happened.
What we see in episodes 1 to 39 are Tang Lici’s attempts to fully rectify everything. What changes permanently this time to succeed is Tang Lici realising how far back he needs to go to alter time and the fact that he and Ye Mo should not exist as Holy Sons, upon seeing the difference in presence and absence of markings on Ye Mo's forehead (near the end of episode 39). He also realises what he needs, to achieve that. You get clarity via two flashbacks in episode 40.
At the Sea of Reincarnation exists a Time Crack (the boundary where space and time is weakest). Before heading there, Tang Lici modified the Inverted Dream/Inversion of Reality to become 无劫天寰 ie "Calamity-free Cosmos".
This choice and the name Tang Lici chose to speak is monumentally significant. "无劫" for this device is a Buddhist term referring to being free from karma, temporal limitations and being safe from karmic cycles of destruction. Tang Lici consciously uses a philosophy to create a solution of a cosmos that can fulfil his goals, but doing this needs enough energy whereby he will also destroy the two trees connected to each other, since Ye Mo's plans enabled the Bronze Tree in Shenzhou to grow high enough to reach the Xuan tree of the Celestial Realm. Without the trees and without the Celestial Realm ascending, everyone stays mortal.
Tang Lici defeats Ye Mo in their duel. Tang Lici then finally succeeds in using the Calamity-Free Cosmos to go back thousands of years to ensure what became known as the Celestial Realm never ascended and the trees are destroyed, so everyone stays human, and he and Ye Mo do not become Holy Sons. Ye Mo’s words to him before and during their duel further cemented his belief that this was the only solution. This is also why Tang Lici told a dying Ye Mo that Ye Mo will be human in a next life, because he fully understood and had decided what he needed to accomplish.
When I speak of going back thousands of years, it refers to reversing space and time to enable this new cosmos up until that point. Including all this as the explanation of what I mean as “going back thousands of years” is much more understandable than if I just said “reversing space and time” without explaining certain terms in Mandarin while referencing sections of the drama.
Everything is reset from that point in time which Tang Lici altered, giving everything a clean slate. What happens? Liu Yan grew up to be a TCM doctor living in peace, not needing to be taken in and sheltered at Zhoudi Lou. Liu Yan will not know the pain and tortures of cultivating a Gu needle, having almost all his meridians destroyed by Gui Mudan, and will not wrongly torture himself with guilt and hate about Tang Lici. Fang Zhou and Fang Ci (previously known as A-Shui when she could not recall her name, after agreeing to Gui Mudan’s machinations and losing her memories) happily eat together, radiating contentment in joy and love as siblings without being separated which they had previously suffered.
Fang Ci (方慈) never becomes A-Shui who accepted Gui Mudan's help for revenge on Tang Lici due to misunderstanding Tang Lici and wanting to hurt Tang Lici whom she thought had killed her most-important and most-loved person in her life ie Fang Zhou, so Fang Ci will never misunderstand Tang Lici. Fang Zhou and Fang Ci's love for Fang Zhou is the white light that brought Fang Ci back to regain herself. In episode 30 at 26:34, A-Shui saw the wooden carving of Fang Zhou and began to remember what Fang Zhou had told her, and that is when A-Shui's true name of Fang Ci is remembered.
Because of Tang Lici, there is no heart affliction, there is no divine stone, and Fang Ci never suffers what A-Shui had to endure, including the horrible desperation and duty to filial piety resulting in marrying herself off to a strange man to be able to obtain enough money to bury a parent (as per episode 1).
In all the scenes of the drama, A-Shui is happiest as Fang Ci, someone who remembers all of herself and did not lose her memories, undergo emotional traumas because of wrongly wanting revenge on Tang Lici, and wrongly betray friends. A-Shui betraying Tang Lici is a violation of jianghu code because her revenge is not righteous for misunderstanding everything about Fang Zhou's death, and she had inflicted more harm on Tang Lici than was inflicted upon her by Tang Lici (and this was rectified by what she did to restore him, including leaving him and going away). If Gui Mudan had succeeded because of A-Shui collaborating with Gui Mudan and Gui Mudan had obtained Tang Lici's body, A-Shui would bear the karma of any consequent deaths and/or suffering befalling anybody in Shenzhou or the Celestial Realm because of Gui Mudan. A-Shui does not have to be ashamed of herself for being misguided and foolish about initially wanting to harm Tang Lici. A-Shui who never suffers all the above as Fang Ci is lively, energetic, glowing and impish with Fang Zhou.
Fang Zhou gives his younger sister Fang Ci love and protection unlike the past 39 episodes because this is a role and duty he should have borne in the first place instead of Tang Lici and others protecting A-Shui. Fang Zhou supports both of them through his skills performing on the guqin and also getting tips whereby they can eat well at an inn, which Fang Ci happily alludes to. Fu Zhumei is a famous chef at an inn cooking what he likes and what people want to eat, such as the sweet and sour pork ribs which Fang Zhou wants his beloved sister to try.
Chi Yun pursues Bai Suche to persuade her to be his wife despite her objections, since they are officially engaged. Shen Langhun is happy with his wife Hui-niang, and does not suffer being deliberately harmed by Liu Yan and never has to be an assassin to kill people. Yu Furen is the young City Lord of Sword King City happily heading back to his father, and he is no longer an illegitimate son. Cheng Yunpao and Gu Xitan are the same hilarious duo ie my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in C-Ent historical costume drama history.
Puzhu and Fang Pingzhai are happy royal princes. Puzhu remains Crown Prince Chai Zongxun and does not make wrong decisions that ends so many innocent lives. Fang Pingzhai remains the Sixth Prince Chai Xijin and does not want to invent devices or have any other schemes, outside of being a prince and brother to Puzhu. Puzhu and Xifang Tao are drawn to each other at first sight, feeling a connection they cannot explain. Xifang Tao grows up without being raised by a puppet and does not have distorted values, to live a normal life.
Zhong Chunji is back to her confident self but even more so, contented and glowingly happy as the beloved disciple of Shao Yanping. This is her at her happiest! Her tears and growing agony over what she remembered about her Shifu at the beginning of episode 40 is one of many moments that had my eyes being affected by a lot of emotional watery sand. She will never have to suffer horrendous PTSD, after what Liu Yan did to her. She will not watch her beloved master kill himself to stop her from being tainted with the crime of killing him. She will not have to pretend to be a princess, and will not make decisions that harm Tang Lici. Shao Yanping is reunited with his beloved disciple. He does not have to suffer the burdens of dealing with Fengliu Dian.
Xue Xianzi has been alive for many years, looking unchanged. This time, who is the leader of Zhoudi Lou?
“骊山之下有一白狐，惊扰山下人。周睇楼中有大善者，感之以情，授之以乐，如是七载。忽一日，云蒸雾涌，一白龙乘风，扶摇直上。又四年，人间灾殃，狐龙念善以身为法，逆转乾坤，泯于众生之间。”
"At the foot of Mount Li, there lived a white fox who had been startling the villagers. In Zhoudi Lou resided an individual of great kindness who moved it with compassion and taught it music. And so, seven years passed." – [ 骊山之下有一白狐，惊扰山下人。周睇楼中有大善者，感之以情，授之以乐，如是七载。]
The narration is from volume 455 of “Records of the Taiping Era” ie 《太平广记:奇事记》, which has been mentioned by RBF in 2023 and Azure in 2025 in their respective forum posts, when covering different issues.
At this point of the narration, Xue Xianzi’s preoccupied serious expression brightens, and he calls the little fox he recognises. He has waited for this little fox to return. In this lifetime where everyone is shown to have happy realities, Tang Lici did not accumulate merit to be reborn with the consciousness of a human. He is a little white fox, whereby this little white fox is likely the result of the righteousness that has been accumulated in the West. In Chinese mythology, a normal fox having cultivated for at least 1000 years can also become white or golden.
Mahāyāna Buddhism emphasises that the path to liberation is open to all beings, allowing for extraordinary transformations. Xue Xianzi is a Taoist Sage. Are Taoist Sages affected by concepts such as non-linear timelines?
According to religious Taoism, Taoist Sages are perceived as being in harmony with the non-linear flow of the universe. In mythology, they can handle time differently and thus appear in different dimensions or timeframes, due to how they perceive time or have abilities in harmony with non-linear time. “八仙过海” is a well-known Taoist legend in Chinese mythology, which I became aware of in my early teens because that’s part of normal chinese literature and media exposure. Zhang Guolao is one of the eight revered Taoist sages in that saga, who rides on a magical white donkey.
This Youtube video in English refreshingly explains Zhang Guolao’s traits, including time travel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Gzzmj3mKo
Xue Xianzi is able to perceive time in accordance with religious Taoism, and will not lose sight or memory of what happened to a little fox which he once helped with cultivating to achieve merit.
Unlike “Records of the Taiping Era”, the narration in this ending has some differences, being transformed by Tang Lici’s choices. In the original story, a ten-thousand-year-old celestial fox can finally transform into a fox-dragon due to meeting and mating with a female dragon, but the story has a sad ending for the fox-dragon.
“In Zhoudi Lou resided an individual of great kindness who moved it with compassion and taught it music. And so, seven years passed" – is a transformation of the original literary source.
Xue Xianzi then says “Little Fox” with affection.
The rest of the narration continues with, “One day, clouds rose and mist gathered, and a white dragon soared into the sky. Four years later, when calamity struck the world, the fox-dragon remembering the kindness it was offered, offered itself as the way, and reversed the fate of heaven and earth. Then it vanished among the common people.”
The white dragon soars into the sky, lingers, and finally vanishes into the distance.
A white dragon is an auspicious potent legendary celestial creature that symbolises pure Yang energy which has been purified, and its colour is indicative of wisdom, purity and virtue. They are divine and enlightened. They protect the path of the Dharma, have overcome earthly obstacles, and restore balance to bring peace. You can find this in Chinese mythology, Taoism and Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Showing different characters sharing different sorts of happiness and different sorts of love in this ending is because everyone defines happiness and contentment differently. In Tang Lici’s case, he too has achieved what makes him happy and contented.
In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a dragon can be reborn as a human due to its karmic merit, as a protector of the Dharma. One day, Tang Lici can be reunited with his friends in another lifetime. This will happen one day. Each of his friends wear tiny fox ornamentations.
Luo Yunxi also spoke in an interview months ago about the ending whereby he acknowledges Tang Lici's decision in Buddhism growing over the entire drama to culminate in episode 40, which the fan club translated a short summary as:
[ #LuoYunxi summarises Tang Lici as someone who goes through the phases of "self-fulfilling (focused on his own goal), transcending self (letting go of his obsession & taking on responsibility), and selflessness (saving the world)." ]
Megumi-H translated Luo Yunxi's words in more detail as, “A transcend beyond self, to no-self. Yes, I believe Tang LiCi’s whole life started with an attitude with growth and change. From the beginning, he was self centred, all his action and behaviors were driven by one goal. Then he let go of his obsession/attachment, he let go of his perceived goals, and then move towards his beliefs of responsibility. And till the end, he completes his tasks / responsibility, I believe he has move from self-oriented to beyond self to a stage of no-self. Thank you.”
https://x.com/LuoYunxiFanClub/status/1981601924765077971?t=7SxNzO_qulCe-On2_tvBdA&s=19
~*~*~*~
At 36:10 of episode 40 onwards, Tang Lici still hesitates despite fully knowing what must be done. In a flashback, we see his understanding and hesitation, and he recalls his wish by the river where he was with A-Shui and saw many lanterns. His voiced-out thoughts while recalling that occasion (not the fireworks or any other part of that night) is as such: "No matter how the world changes, no matter the shift of years- I hope those people I care about -the friends who once fought by my side- can live peaceful and happy lives.”
At 37:40, the Calamity-Free Cosmos is summoned. Tang Lici then remembers Fang Zhou. Precious unforgettable advice and insight, Fang Zhou speaking of the Seven Emotions. The Calamity-Free Cosmos is now almost at its strongest in maximum energy, to carry out the necessary. Tang Lici is still serious, and slightly hesitant. The words of his mother come to him. And then he finally smiles, because he remembers his mother and her gracious noble wisdom. This smile stays. Completed. Fulfilled. Contented. At peace.
His thoughts are a reply to his mother in agreement with her, as he falls backwards, body starting to dissipate, an answer she will never hear. Whoops. My eyes got watery again.
And you get what unfolds for everyone in a new life of second chances.
What makes me a bit sad is that I have always wished Tang Lici could be remembered in a poem. That is partially because only a poem in Classical Chinese poetry could encapsulate the essence of evolving compassion finally being fully embodied as a triumph of life over despair and death, his love noble and hard-won through lessons, to want for everyone including his mother a beautiful second chance of living a wonderful mortal life.
The ending is a triumph: Tang Lici’s ultimate victory and triumph is enabling everyone to triumph over their past tragedies and circumstances, for a new life of happiness and love and peace of self that each individual needs. Love wins. Duty, trust, perseverance- These are individual values in 武德 (martial ethics) and part of an individual pugilist's personal code of honour, to respect the jianghu (a realm outside of imperial institutions and mainstream society, where spirit of jianghu is to understand freedom and courage and brotherhood of wuxia is boundless while upholding 武德).
Morality of mind and morality of deeds must match.
Tang Lici went from being arrogant, to understanding and embodying what he needed to be, becoming greater than his limitations and saving humanity. Freedom in compassion with all of himself.
As I said in my review, but more poignantly in the forum thread during November 2025 about "The Meaning Of Life":
Shūnyatā and compassion are strongly connected in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Understanding Shūnyatā leads to karuna, and is essential to the Bodhisattva path demanding a commitment to karuna (natural expression of compassion due to understanding shūnyatā) as an active response to the understanding that everything is connected. A bodhisattva in Mahāyāna Buddhism is one who can reach nirvana but can delay doing so due to compassion for those who suffer.
To actively understand Shūnyatā is to come to realise the totality of not-self, to realise the boundaries between living beings such as you and I are illusions, in order to transcend rigid self-concepts of self, and nurture true compassion for all beings.
The journey of Tang Lici throughout this drama to gain full understanding of the seven emotions (of which he only grasped its most-basic foundations during his time at Zhoudi Lou) is also the path of gaining insights to actively understand Shūnyatā. It is the journey of actively learning and enriching oneself in the interplay of not-self and karuna, which naturally enables Tang Lici to gain a perfect body and fulfil his full potential in breaking more than the cycle of rebirth, to leave the sea of suffering behind and embody the opening song of the drama.
How did《水龙吟》manage to gross more than 1 billion views in Thailand via Monomax (Buddhism being the core culture of that country), setting a new record for C-dramas? Why is《水龙吟》the only C-drama of 2025 to be nominated for CPOPwave 2026, alongside titanic contenders such as the domestic box office movie champion “Nezha 2” that stands at least two leagues above all other C-movies in China’s box office history?
“Whispers of Fate” is the official English title, but it is not the original name of 《水龙吟》and you miss out on important fundamental context right from the start if you do not understand the original title. Mandarin C-drama titles can give very strong hints about endings and/or themes of a drama.
For those who have a certain fluency in mandarin, are versed in Chinese literature, and if you play a Chinese musical instrument: WoF is a uniquely wonderful C-drama championing a vibrantly strong combination of ancient Chinese classical literature, Chinese traditional artistic techniques, cultural arts, and philosophical layering from the three Schools of Thought throughout the entire drama, which the screenplay respectably incorporates and is also strongly demonstrated by certain individuals such as Tang Lici and Puzhu. Recognising the references for the original title already cements what is to come.
水龙吟literally means “Water Dragon Intonation” or “Water Dragon Chant”, typically used as a pattern in the important genre of ci poetry (classical Chinese lyric poetry) that first arose in the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty as a mature form, the two contrasting predominant schools of ci poetry used by different poets were (婉約) wanyue [delicately graceful and restrained] or (豪放) haofang [heroically bold and unconstrained and emotional pertaining to visions or major social issues], and these two different approaches can also be seen in Tang Lici’s ways of expressing himself on different matters. Su Shi is an important figure in Song Dynasty politics, and is known for many different achievements including as a famous poet. Under him, ci poetry transformed from bearing a musical background to becoming primarily a literary creation. Su Shi’s “Water Dragon Chant-Rhyming Zhang Zhifu’s poem on willow catkins” ie《水龙吟·次韵章质夫杨花词》in response to his friend Zhang Zhifu’s poem and “Water Dragon Chant-Climbing Shangxin Pavilion“ by military leader, poet and patriot Xin Qiji ie《水龙吟·登建康赏心亭》are two examples of such poetry.
水龙吟 is also famous as a qupai ie a melody within Northern Chinese opera. That is also why the styles of numerous villains demonstrate strong influences from Chinese opera in costumes and speech patterns and portrayal, Gui Mudan being the most obvious homage to Chinese opera. His recital of certain lines from Wang Shifu’s “Romance Of The Western Chamber” is apt. Yuan Zaju is the pinnacle of ancient Chinese operatic literature in all the dynasties, also from Northern China.
I mentioned Yuan Zaju in my review accordingly as a tribute to the original title of this drama, simplifying the structure of the drama, including the positions of Tang Lici and Liu Yan relative to key antagonists [That part is not quoted here due to being a subtle spoiler]:
{ This drama can be divided into a prologue with four acts of an innovative groundbreaking zaju (杂剧) altered from a modern perspective to correspond with Western theatrical arcs of a five-act structure, akin to pivotal significance of Gui Mudan in episode 14 blending Peking Opera with Sichuan Opera while performing certain lines of Cui Yingying from a Yuan zaju. Of all dynasties within Chinese civilisation, Yuan drama reached the profound pinnacle of elevating ancient narratives in Chinese literature to a distinct matured brilliance while emphasising cultural significance, where music melding with unique storytelling by scholars produced numerous talented playwrights.
Wang Shifu studied and adapted successful traits of different art forms, broke the rules of usual zaju and modified artistic means to more-effectively convey dramatic conflicts while refining delicateness of characterisations. “Romance of the Western Chamber” by Wang Shifu is one of the most iconic representative works of Yuan Opera literature in linguistics, lessons and narrative performance.
The creative team behind Whispers of Fate has employed similar fundamental traits of the best Yuan Dynasty dramatists and their individual trademarks, aptly-exemplified in Wang Shifu’s talents when evaluating this drama…. }
The novel "Enduring A Thousand Tribulations" was abandoned by the author and left unfinished for years when finally adapted for this drama, and the novel is far from easy to adapt despite the screenwriters loosely adapting it when creating a screenplay for this drama. I say this when one considers the Buddhism in the novel about Puzhu in Mandarin as one example, not in English or any other languages.
RBF did a spectacular job in translating the novel into English until chapter 47 at this point, which I recommend for a translation because RBF can translate a Lin Bu poem in the novel wonderfully: https://qianjiemei.wordpress.com
Mandarin chapters of 《千劫眉》: https://www.kanunu8.com/book5/1000jiemei/
水龙吟 also has other meanings which can be applied, such as an evaluation of a personal journey, and this is apt for the protagonist Tang Lici. Buddhism is a growing theme in his decision-making ever since episode 1, as the episodes unfold. In episode 40, he makes a conscious choice and uses a specific term from Buddhism that demonstrates the full extent of his understanding about Buddhism and what he needs to do, but this term in Mandarin cannot be conveyed in subtitles.
Buddhism first entered China via the Han Dynasty, and the branch of Buddhism that entered via the Silk Road was Mahāyāna Buddhism. Developments with Mahāyāna Buddhism within China also led to the likes of branches of Mahāyāna Buddhism such as Chan Buddhism. The unfinished novel when loosely adapted for the drama has characters such as Puzhu, who may not be a monk in the novel but has certain strict adherences and awareness of Chan Buddhism.
“天龙八部” is an important Buddhist concept with certain specific details, which the entire Celestial Realm is based upon.
Without understanding Buddhism (and within it, Mahāyāna Buddhism), Mandarin, plus certain classical Chinese literature sources as the references for why the wuxia themes in this xuanxia drama are strong and defines relationships between Tang Lici and four men->>>>>>>>>>>
At least 70% of context underpinning “Whispers of Fate” will be lost on a viewer, especially the strength of Buddhism as a theme in this drama. I have used the original title of this drama as an example of how less than 0.5% of the drama's themes and meanings is inferenced from a foreign title. The original Mandarin title gives much-better insight. Certain mandarin words have meanings and context that cannot be conveyed through subtitles.
Without being mentioned, here are some of the classical Chinese literature references heavily-utilised for this drama that Mandarin-speakers can identify easily or less so, simply by seeing certain phrases, names, or the usage of certain themes or descriptions for world-building in 《水龙吟》that cannot be seen in a title such as “Whispers of Fate”:
Analects of Confucius, 《诗经》ie Book of Odes, 《溪山琴况》ie Zither Theory of Mountain Streams, and《道德经》(the foundational text of Taoism attributed to Lao Zi) are the easiest.
An example of three of the above literary sources was previously explained here: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24569086
This drama caters first and foremost to a mandarin-speaking audience because of all the literary references and philosophies and artistic heritage in mandarin, and I can understand how some non-mandarin-speaking viewers feel left out because they are self-aware that they are missing a lot of details and context. Hence I created a forum post gathering contributions from fellow viewers such as RBF, underthestars, Azure, Mizuhira-san and kwanto:
https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146454-group-collective-contributions-details-trivia-insights-across-40-episodes-of-whispers-of-fate
I have gotten thanks via DMs and on this page for explanations that I expanded on, be it this drama or the novel relative to the drama, so I am glad to help further :)
Months ago, Luo Yunxi also spoke in Mandarin about Tang Lici's growth and evolution using certain terms to demonstrate Buddhism is the key philosophy affecting Tang Lici as episodes progressed as per the screenplay, and his answer affirms Tang Lici's decisions in episodes 39 and 40.
Under the spoiler tag is the combination of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese mythology, Mandarin terms, Luo Yunxi's answer, plus one classical Chinese literature source underpinning episode 40 from 38:55 onwards, to answer one common question about Tang Lici relative to Xue Xianzi:
I realised nobody has fully explained the ending of Episode 40 because to easily grasp it would require understanding Mahāyāna Buddhism in Buddhism (which at least one character in the novel heavily observes whereby Puzhu's Buddhist devotion was carried over from the unfinished novel into this drama which is a loose adaptation of the novel), understanding Mandarin, and being able to explain how "Taiping Guangji" (Extensive Records of the Taiping Era) combines with Mahāyāna Buddhism to enable the ending and what the ending was about, especially why Xue Xianzi can remember Tang Lici and the white fox being able to become a dragon.
Throughout the airing of this drama, a few of us were lightly discussing Buddhism:
https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24107190
And we also made a forum thread, when deciding to go into further detail about Buddhism that underlines this drama plus the Tang Lici's journey and decisions for the ending: https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146562-whispers-of-fate-what-is-the-meaning-of-life
WoF is a drama very heavy in the Three Schools of Thought ie Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. A certain amount of that knowledge is essential to understanding the classical literature works referenced for this drama. Unlike other historical costume C-dramas, this particular drama is unusual for being so heavily Chinese in the literary lore and philosophies that some international viewers know they are missing a lot of context and are asking for answers, but cannot find them in another language outside of Mandarin.
Three key literary references for Whispers of Fate might be interesting, if you want to understand the strong wuxia themes plus the sonic techniques basis for Tang Lici, Fang Zhou, Liu Yan and Hong-guniang: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24569086
I explained to another viewer why Tang Lici's mother in the novel versus the drama is very significant. They at first had certain preliminary conclusions because they didn't understand certain details while ignorant of other details:
https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24237354
I then decided to be specific about the novel including context, because the viewer had certain misconceptions after hearing wrong details from another viewer, which I had to clear up: https://kisskh.at/755725-shui-long-yin#comment-24268676
You don't need to know the novel to understand why Tang Lici's mother is the most precious female to him, but reading that specific section of the novel demonstrates how the screenwriters had a good grasp of the source material and changed many things to give many characters in the drama a better journey as a character and a happy ending, while respecting Teng Ping's initial pause when she abandoned the novel, which Teng Ping also continued to uphold upon finally finishing the novel. The initial source material is actually quite difficult to adapt, because it is a very fascinating novel in a very different manner and plot.
But Tang Lici, Liu Yan and others being in a boy band from the future named "Bronze Flute" getting thrown into a space-time rift and going back in time would not be as poignant and resonant as the concept of the Celestial Realm. Had this drama aired this year instead of last year, there would not be a 40-episode limit. "River Sunset" aired in January this year, with all 44 episodes.
In short, the screen-writers and Teng Ping at all times maintained:
1) No CP.
2) The love of a mother or lack of such a love is fundamentally transformational or fundamentally damaging.
That is why there has never been any romance tags for this drama, the ML has chemistry with everyone, and he takes what some of us consider to be exasperating risks based on certain beliefs because he would rather risk his life countless times than allow those he values to perish.
TaraVerde and Mizuhira-san are two of several friends who wrote reviews for Whispers of Fate, and you can see in their reviews the effects of Buddhism and Taoism on this drama and/or certain characters.
I will make a comment that explains the details and ending for episode 40 and then update you about it :)
Comic artists are cheering online, because this figure means IP works based on manhua now have a significantly-higher likelihood of being approved as movies. Roadshows have been planned. Zhengzhou on 14 March. Chongqing on 15 March.
The reshoot has turned out to be an advantage, because Chen Lijun's emoting is a huge draw!
A lot of people are now eating their hats with this milestone, previously-wrong projections in articles and all XD
It's impossible to detract from the fact of making history plus enabling livelihoods while helping cinemas, so the mood is jubilant! Have a great weekend!
It depends on where and to what extent Tang Lici is going back in time. This does not appear to be the first time he is attempting to go back in time, which is why Xue Xianzi the Taoist Sage remembers him.
In this ending, Tang Lici wanted to allow his friends to live peaceably. This means he went back thousands of years in time to ensure the Celestial Realm never ascended into the Void and the state of Gu Mo never came into being as a state by itself on the ruins of the Celestial Realm, and everyone remained a normal human in this new reality. That is why everyone could have second chances, from Xifang Tao to Bai Suche to Chi Yun.
I also recommend two threads, if you want more details than that. One is by Underthestars: https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146048-it-s-all-in-the-detail-whispers-of-fate-explainer-and-hidden-facts-thread
Azure's thread "Whispers Of Fate— Worldview/Timelines and other details" is also recommended for details of time travel: https://kisskh.at/discussions/755725-shui-long-yin/146760-whispers-of-fate-worldview-timelines-and-other-details
Since Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei are doing so well together in currently-airing Zhu Yu ie "Pursuit of Jade", more people will be watching his dramas after PoJ. Someone should focus on that great opportunity for the actress they like as FL in a not-yet-aired drama with him.