So in a nutshell, you don't want female generals centric dramas, ironic coming from the Country that created Mulan.
Lmao! That's not even my argument. š„“ Try again.
My critique isnāt against female-led stories or generalsāitās about how POJ handled the characters and the script. Xie Zheng, and the story overall, were reduced to eye candy and fan service instead of being developed with depth and narrative purpose. You can have strong female or male leads, but they still need to be written and portrayed in a way that respects the story, the characters, and the context theyāre in.
There are several things happening here. When POJ first aired, it showed so much promise and genuinely beautiful filmmaking. Then it all went downhill. Anyone with a brain and a pair of eyes can see that the script and characters were butchered (pun unintended) to cater to face value and CP fans. So the call for more script- and character-driven storytelling is very welcome.
China is also in a position where it needs to bolster its military image, and POJ sidelining Xie Zheng became problematic in that context. If it had aired several years earlier, it probably wouldnāt have been an issue. But in todayās environment, it simply didnāt pass the āvibe checkā with military officials. Itās not even about the makeup. If Xie Zheng had been portrayed on the battlefield the way the novel originally wrote him, or if the script had given him more combat scenes, this wouldnāt have been a problem.
And while China has made progress in its feminist movement, it is still fundamentally a patriarchal society. Iāve seen plenty of arguments saying itās not about the beautiful faces, but about the portrayalāand thatās exactly the issue. Xie Zheng was reduced to little more than eye candy instead of a fully realized military figure. You could also argue that the character lost narrative authority; instead of driving the story, he was repositioned to support visual appeal and romantic dynamics, which undercuts how male leads are typically framed in more traditional, state-aligned storytelling. In that sense, POJ pushing against those normsāintentionally or notāended up clashing with that structure.
In conclusion, the pushback POJ is a cautionary example: no matter how beautiful the filmmaking or actors, undermining character integrity and narrative purpose, especially in politically or culturally sensitive contexts, will ultimately alienate audiences and officials alike. Story and character must come first, or everything else falls apart.
Yeah, that is just her opinion. I'm surprised she didn't bash PoJ for it's over-the-top lighting. Heck, it's winter…
If anything just watch the village arc, it's a preview into what Chinese drama can be in terms of technical aspects. as for storytelling, POJ definitely failed miserably in the second and third act, but the first act was chef's kiss. LYF also had this same problem, the Qingshui town arc was also the best.
Yeah, that is just her opinion. I'm surprised she didn't bash PoJ for it's over-the-top lighting. Heck, it's winter…
The lighting and cinematography in the village arc was beautiful...and winter can have beautiful days. It's not all grey and depressing lmao. Have you ever woken up to sunny cold day with blue skies and white fallen snow, frost on trees? Because it's a freaking wonderland.
Is it worth a watch? Are chinese dramas as good or better than kdrama? Iām getting a bit tired of kdrama xD
The biggest difference between cdrama and kdrama (aside from the obvious cultural heritage) is that Chinese dramas has two kinds of dramas, and have a somewhat unspoken hiearchy to what's considered good. For example, there a thick line between idol dramas and serious dramas. Many idol actors are considered luiliang...and even Alist idol stars are only taken seriously for thier marketbility and not for thier talents. Kdramas I think the line between idol stars and serious actors are little bit more gray, and because of this idol dramas are taken at the same artistry as serious dramas.
In terms of storytelling, Chinese idol dramas have alot of storytelling issues (lacking thematic or depth), and over the years are being restricted even more.
The more serious and in my opinion better Chinese dramas are less accessible, and also has less international following, and rarely goes viral. But what I find is these dramas becuase are better made and has depth, are less easier to binge. If you would like some good Chinese dramas, I can recommend. As for idol dramas, they come a dime a dozen and usually has high ratings on MDL.
Meh...the criticism wasn't actually directed at ZLH.That's just one of Lily Malice-Phallus's standard, negative,…
It's all over XHS. Many critics and netizens are using ZLH portrayal of Xie Zheng to criticize the beautification of military imagery. It even made the 5'oclock news...I saw a clip.
They have dubbed Xie Zheng as the "General foundation."
Okmgad the double standard... at least we get to see Duan Xu prove to us he's worth his title š¤£ I will never…
Okay it looks like you misunderstood my point, I'm saying it's a double standard for Feiyu character, how he's not allowed to be a young general but POJ is. I actually love both novels and both antiheros equally. I'm just sad POJ didn't do the character justice. But I'm happy that LBTG is doing Duan Xu right.
Oh....š¤£ ... it was an enjoyable drama but it wasn't peak cinema. The novel was better but it wasn't deep. I felt the drama budget was appropriate for the adaption. It's not like one of these dramas that require any form of epic storytelling and all the characters were two dimensional...not bland enough but also didn't lift of the page kind of deal. LBTG is much bigger than Destiny in all forms from storytelling to filmmaking technique, with more complex characters...so I am not sure what the OP is talking about.
People keep criticizing Fei yuās acting without even understanding how Duan Xu character is written. Maybe try…
Okmgad the double standard... at least we get to see Duan Xu prove to us he's worth his title š¤£ I will never get over the wasted shennegans happening over at POJ.
When they were still filming this drama, I started reading the novel, and I finished, I think, mostly the first…
the screenwriter choosing to only portray the cannon events is doing good. I do miss some of the details (slice of life ASMR things) but that wouldn't help move the story.
Lmao...who are these 80% percent...it's heartening when pple lump international watchers as low media literates who only care for face cards....this is why we're getting trash dramas all over the place aka POJ.
Jaysus may I never meet those who rate based on face cards only ...
ummmmm NO.... it's cringing watching someone who can't act ... play pretend. Lmao. I've dropped alot of dramas that had beautiful people because thier face card can only take them so far.
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1 
My critique isnāt against female-led stories or generalsāitās about how POJ handled the characters and the script. Xie Zheng, and the story overall, were reduced to eye candy and fan service instead of being developed with depth and narrative purpose. You can have strong female or male leads, but they still need to be written and portrayed in a way that respects the story, the characters, and the context theyāre in.
China is also in a position where it needs to bolster its military image, and POJ sidelining Xie Zheng became problematic in that context. If it had aired several years earlier, it probably wouldnāt have been an issue. But in todayās environment, it simply didnāt pass the āvibe checkā with military officials. Itās not even about the makeup. If Xie Zheng had been portrayed on the battlefield the way the novel originally wrote him, or if the script had given him more combat scenes, this wouldnāt have been a problem.
And while China has made progress in its feminist movement, it is still fundamentally a patriarchal society. Iāve seen plenty of arguments saying itās not about the beautiful faces, but about the portrayalāand thatās exactly the issue. Xie Zheng was reduced to little more than eye candy instead of a fully realized military figure. You could also argue that the character lost narrative authority; instead of driving the story, he was repositioned to support visual appeal and romantic dynamics, which undercuts how male leads are typically framed in more traditional, state-aligned storytelling. In that sense, POJ pushing against those normsāintentionally or notāended up clashing with that structure.
In conclusion, the pushback POJ is a cautionary example: no matter how beautiful the filmmaking or actors, undermining character integrity and narrative purpose, especially in politically or culturally sensitive contexts, will ultimately alienate audiences and officials alike. Story and character must come first, or everything else falls apart.
In terms of storytelling, Chinese idol dramas have alot of storytelling issues (lacking thematic or depth), and over the years are being restricted even more.
The more serious and in my opinion better Chinese dramas are less accessible, and also has less international following, and rarely goes viral. But what I find is these dramas becuase are better made and has depth, are less easier to binge. If you would like some good Chinese dramas, I can recommend. As for idol dramas, they come a dime a dozen and usually has high ratings on MDL.
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They have dubbed Xie Zheng as the "General foundation."
I like the production design of LBTG, it's unique in the cdrama realm.