black bamboo

There are many historical records referencing Han Derang (Yelu Longyun) and his family. HE MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT A FICTIONAL CHARACTER. As a matter of fact, he is, definitely more significant than Emperor Jingzong, and, arguably, equally as important as Xiao Chao. You have to dig a little deeper for his information. I suspect because he was not the emperor ( though he was de facto) so the popular historical records try ro shun him. But he was so prominent for so many years ( he lived longer than Xiao Chao, who died around 56 yrs old). He was revered by Emperor Shengzong (whom he was exempted from greeting and who even reportedly knelt 50 ft from Han Derang's residence- which does make one wonder what their actual relationship was, though there is no proof that he is his son). If Xiao Chao did not marry him formally, they certainly were life partners. What bothers me about this drama is that the bulk of the episodes involve Yelu Xian, when, in fact, Xiao Chuo was only Smith him for 13 years, but she was with Han Derang for 27 years- not counting any involvement they may have had growing up). I would have preferred a drama that gave much more attention to their relationship rather than her and Mingyi. Of course, they have artistic license to do as they please, but I skipped episodes 21-40, and am still waiting for Mingyi to die. There doesn't seem to be enough episodes left to appreciate the depth and breadth of Derang and Yanyan's intimacy. If you're really interested, this article is a good starting point with great citations to primary sources: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43855191?newaccount=true&read-now=1&socuuid=74514096-0c7d-49be-b448-1879fdad03e2&socplat=email