Do you recommend its novel? + does it have a happy or sad ending?
The novel has a sad ending, just like the drama. It’s different though.
As for recommending: 1) there’s no official or fan translation. So either you can read Chinese or read with automatic translation. 2) it’s different from the drama. The bones are there, but it’s its own thing, so hard to tell whether you’re going to like it 😅
Ep 1I didnt understand anything at all yet!!! LOL I will keep watching and update my comment soon :)Update:I was…
Where did you watch the drama? Because the subs on YouTube are machine translated and therefore not the best (sometimes very confusing...). The subs from gagaoolala are much better.
Country is labelled as Singapoore but all actors are chinese !!!! i think its mislabeled and should change it…
That's a common question. ;) The drama is a Chinese production, however it is registered in Singapore, and with Singaporean sponsoring to bypass censorship.
In appreciation: One Year Since the Filming of Kill to LoveKill to Love — such an unfortunate English title…
Thank you so much for these wonderful words for this exceptional drama. You really captured the beauty of it! Reading reminds me why I love it so much ❤️ ShuHe’s and ZiAng’s love transcends life itself.
I was looking forward to the "black flag" in this and was even more excited for a successful revenge plot…
Your're welcome, I know I am a KTL fan, I just fell in love with these endlessly complicated characters (esp Shuhe), so don't mind me (I can write about them at length). XDD
But it's absolutely fine if you didn't like parts about the drama - you give the drama the rating you think it deserves. Not every drama can appeal to everyone. :)
I was looking forward to the "black flag" in this and was even more excited for a successful revenge plot…
Well, it's just my opinion that the scene where everyone sits together and eats happily is because it's their wedding day... like you know how in weddings sometimes ppl come together who don't get along, but for the sake of the occasion they tolerate the other one's presence? XD
For your second question - it is complicated, and Shuhe loves and hates Zi'ang at the same time. What changes in the end is that Shuhe (by having a final escape/revenge/redemption (aka his own death)), he can now fully embrace his love for Zi'ang - because he knows that his hatred can be satisfied later. At least that is one interpretation. And in death Shuhe and Zi'ang were finally free, no longer burdened by what stood wrong between them. A new beginning, like Shuhe had said in the last episode. "Let's start over..."
In the comment section we have had many lengthy discussions on how much love vs. hate there really was in Shuhe. And that in the end is up to every viewers own interpretation. Some may see it as more of revenge, to others it is closer to redemption. Let me see if I can find the discussions for you to read... Edit: Here it is: https://kisskh.at/788946-shan-he-yong-ji#comment-23942252
Need me a crier like Duan Zi Ang. On some real talk, the acting in this is INCREDIBLE!! Especially the main leads…
Well, other wuxia/xianxia BLs, as in *not* censored,... K2L and MYATB I think are the only ones. Others are bromance/censored adaptations of original danmei works. :( You can check out the recommendations, but likely you've already seen them, such as The Untamed or Word of Honor...?
How Shuhe addresses Zi'ang: First of all, let me say that I am not an expert in Chinese or Chinese naming conventions, (esp. in a historical setting). If you know Chinese, a lot of danmei/wuxia/xianxia – please correct me if I’m wrong. ;)
But I know a little and would like to share that the way Shuhe addresses Zi'ang in the drama is layered and not random.
In episode 1, we learn that Zi'ang and Shuhe were childhood friends but haven't seen each other in 10 years. As a child, Shuhe called Zi'ang "Zi'ang-gege" 子昂哥哥. As adult he doesn't, he switches to "Duan-xiong"段兄.
To address someone as [surname]-xiong is common, it shows respect but also politeness and emotional distance. It shows that even though they were childhood friends, they are no longer that close.
For most of episodes 1-6, Shuhe keeps calling Zi'ang "Duan-xiong".However, there are exceptions:
In episode 4, just after Shuhe and Zi'ang returned from the festival wearing the masks, Shuhe is outside of Zi'ang’s room, just about to enter, asking him to drink some more. He calls him "Zi'ang-Xiong" 子昂兄 – so [first name]-xiong. This shows that he respects Zi'ang, but also feels comfortable with him, and the emotional closeness is reflected in the way he calls Zi'ang.
It is just before Shuhe discovers Zi'ang with Consul Wang. Because Zi'ang is inside and Consul Wang of the Red Shadow Guards informed him that the Crown Prince’s men have discovered their hideout. Now this changes things quite a bit, because all of a sudden, Shuhe has real proof that he has been lied to. And again, this is reflected in the way he addresses Zi'ang. It is when they are in the woods, shooting arrows, and Shuhe interrogates and warns Zi'ang not to lie again, Shuhe says: "Zi'ang, trust is a fragile thing." Not "Zi'ang-xiong" or "Duan-xiong", just "Zi'ang", without any suffix. Now this is emotionally quite loaded. Calling someone’s first name, no last name, no suffix, is the most intimate way you can address someone, the most "emotionally naked" form. The typical context is close friends, lovers, or moments of vulnerability or confrontation. In this case, it very much reads like the latter: as confrontational, and it amplifies the charged nature of this sentence.
In episode 7, when Zi'ang and Shuhe are talking about the poem of Zi'ang’s mother, Shuhe calls him just "Zi'ang" again. In this instance, I would say it just shows that they are now lovers and conveys their intimacy.
Crucially, after episode 8, Shuhe NEVER adresses Zi'ang as anything but "Zi'ang" or "Duan Zi'ang". To me, I would say this reads as a) emotional closeness, but b) I think also that the trust / respect Shuhe had for Zi'ang died the moment Zi'ang’s sword cut through Shuqian’s body. Something broke irreparably the night on the bridge. And one more thing about Zi'ang-gege 子昂哥哥 and Shuhe-didi 殊鶴弟弟： They only use it when they are children. As adults they never call each other Zi'ang-gege or Shuhe-didi. The only time in the drama they think of the other as Zi'ang-gege and Shuhe-didi as adults is in their thoughts in episode 2. This is explicitly tied to them thinking about the past. Here it means "I don't know how if this (adult/assassin) Zi'ang is still the same as the boy I used to know"
I am glad that overall you enjoyed the series. I only would like to say that I am an avid viewer of all kind of…
I’ve known MarazulOx since the series came out, and I can tell you she is very moral and correct, so people working for free (or only receiving a meal)didn’t sit right with her. ;) in both our countries this wouldn’t be okay… I guess we’re just baffled that a few seconds of AI made you drop the rating -4 points. Especially when you enjoyed the rest. But you are of course entitled to your opinion. ☮️
I am glad that overall you enjoyed the series. I only would like to say that I am an avid viewer of all kind of…
I think you underestimate what extras would cost. :) Even if they agreed to work for free, I'm not sure this is even legal (I think in my country it wouldn't - because what if someone injures themself during filming?). Secondly, how do the extras get to the set? What if the filming lasts more than one day? Are they supposed to pay for their accommodations and travel expanses themselves? XD What about the costumes, weapons etc? @MarazulOx has some BTS scenes where you can see how little budget they had - on the last days of filming they had no light, and were thrown out from the set.
I am glad that overall you enjoyed the series. I only would like to say that I am an avid viewer of all kind of…
This is a genuine question: What would you have done, if you had such a tight budget to only afford one horse and what seems to be ... 5 main actors and ... idk... maybe 10-20 extras (male + female)? How would you show war, armies clashing, horses riding? One day I went through the credits at the end: North Ji's emperor has a double role, even acted as a guard too... That is how little money they had.
And for that I really think that calling it AI slop is sad. The AI images weren't half bad I thought. Would I have preferred real horses, 50 or more extras to truthfully portray a war scene? Sure. But nowadays, even in big productions, they wouldn't have cast that many extras and actually shot the scene, but would have used CGI.
As for recommending: 1) there’s no official or fan translation. So either you can read Chinese or read with automatic translation.
2) it’s different from the drama. The bones are there, but it’s its own thing, so hard to tell whether you’re going to like it 😅
If you want to know more, I recommend this:
https://kisskh.at/discussions/788946-shan-he-yong-ji/146036-this-series-is-based-on-historical-events-emperor-of-taizu-of-song-and-li-yu-souther-tang-king
Also, if you’re interested, you might want to check out the discussions on MdL, there’s a lot to read … 😉
ShuHe’s and ZiAng’s love transcends life itself.
But it's absolutely fine if you didn't like parts about the drama - you give the drama the rating you think it deserves. Not every drama can appeal to everyone. :)
For your second question - it is complicated, and Shuhe loves and hates Zi'ang at the same time. What changes in the end is that Shuhe (by having a final escape/revenge/redemption (aka his own death)), he can now fully embrace his love for Zi'ang - because he knows that his hatred can be satisfied later. At least that is one interpretation.
And in death Shuhe and Zi'ang were finally free, no longer burdened by what stood wrong between them. A new beginning, like Shuhe had said in the last episode. "Let's start over..."
In the comment section we have had many lengthy discussions on how much love vs. hate there really was in Shuhe. And that in the end is up to every viewers own interpretation. Some may see it as more of revenge, to others it is closer to redemption. Let me see if I can find the discussions for you to read...
Edit: Here it is: https://kisskh.at/788946-shan-he-yong-ji#comment-23942252
You can check out the recommendations, but likely you've already seen them, such as The Untamed or Word of Honor...?
It looks like I'm just watching two lovers. If there wasn't a camera, I'd be fooled <3
First of all, let me say that I am not an expert in Chinese or Chinese naming conventions, (esp. in a historical setting).
If you know Chinese, a lot of danmei/wuxia/xianxia – please correct me if I’m wrong. ;)
But I know a little and would like to share that the way Shuhe addresses Zi'ang in the drama is layered and not random.
In episode 1, we learn that Zi'ang and Shuhe were childhood friends but haven't seen each other in 10 years. As a child, Shuhe called Zi'ang "Zi'ang-gege" 子昂哥哥.
As adult he doesn't, he switches to "Duan-xiong"段兄.
To address someone as [surname]-xiong is common, it shows respect but also politeness and emotional distance. It shows that even though they were childhood friends, they are no longer that close.
For most of episodes 1-6, Shuhe keeps calling Zi'ang "Duan-xiong".However, there are exceptions:
In episode 4, just after Shuhe and Zi'ang returned from the festival wearing the masks, Shuhe is outside of Zi'ang’s room, just about to enter, asking him to drink some more. He calls him "Zi'ang-Xiong" 子昂兄 – so [first name]-xiong. This shows that he respects Zi'ang, but also feels comfortable with him, and the emotional closeness is reflected in the way he calls Zi'ang.
It is just before Shuhe discovers Zi'ang with Consul Wang. Because Zi'ang is inside and Consul Wang of the Red Shadow Guards informed him that the Crown Prince’s men have discovered their hideout. Now this changes things quite a bit, because all of a sudden, Shuhe has real proof that he has been lied to.
And again, this is reflected in the way he addresses Zi'ang. It is when they are in the woods, shooting arrows, and Shuhe interrogates and warns Zi'ang not to lie again, Shuhe says: "Zi'ang, trust is a fragile thing."
Not "Zi'ang-xiong" or "Duan-xiong", just "Zi'ang", without any suffix.
Now this is emotionally quite loaded. Calling someone’s first name, no last name, no suffix, is the most intimate way you can address someone, the most "emotionally naked" form. The typical context is close friends, lovers, or moments of vulnerability or confrontation. In this case, it very much reads like the latter: as confrontational, and it amplifies the charged nature of this sentence.
In episode 7, when Zi'ang and Shuhe are talking about the poem of Zi'ang’s mother, Shuhe calls him just "Zi'ang" again. In this instance, I would say it just shows that they are now lovers and conveys their intimacy.
Crucially, after episode 8, Shuhe NEVER adresses Zi'ang as anything but "Zi'ang" or "Duan Zi'ang".
To me, I would say this reads as a) emotional closeness, but b) I think also that the trust / respect Shuhe had for Zi'ang died the moment Zi'ang’s sword cut through Shuqian’s body. Something broke irreparably the night on the bridge.
And one more thing about Zi'ang-gege 子昂哥哥 and Shuhe-didi 殊鶴弟弟：
They only use it when they are children. As adults they never call each other Zi'ang-gege or Shuhe-didi. The only time in the drama they think of the other as Zi'ang-gege and Shuhe-didi as adults is in their thoughts in episode 2. This is explicitly tied to them thinking about the past. Here it means "I don't know how if this (adult/assassin) Zi'ang is still the same as the boy I used to know"
I guess we’re just baffled that a few seconds of AI made you drop the rating -4 points. Especially when you enjoyed the rest. But you are of course entitled to your opinion. ☮️
@MarazulOx has some BTS scenes where you can see how little budget they had - on the last days of filming they had no light, and were thrown out from the set.
One day I went through the credits at the end: North Ji's emperor has a double role, even acted as a guard too... That is how little money they had.
And for that I really think that calling it AI slop is sad. The AI images weren't half bad I thought. Would I have preferred real horses, 50 or more extras to truthfully portray a war scene? Sure. But nowadays, even in big productions, they wouldn't have cast that many extras and actually shot the scene, but would have used CGI.