A small detail that demonstrated the production team's attention to history: the bian'e (name plate) on entrance…
It's so invigorating to watch this series with viewers steeped in Tang history! My formal study of Chinese history was limited to college art history courses in the previous millennium. My uncles in Malaysia are quite knowledgeable about Chinese history and will certainly love this. They'll have to wait for DVDs because their internet connection is dreadful.
Songs are by artist 知更 (John Stoniae). The opening ("Falling") and closing ("You Said") theme songs are from the album "Ting Tso Liu" in iTunes and 劉庭佐 in Spotify.
I've only seen half of those shows and I agree. Other nice MILs that come to mind:> Come & Hug Me> Kill Me, Heal…
I agree that the relationship between FL and MIL in "Marriage, Not Dating" makes Mom a standout amongst drama mamas. I rooted as much for Mom's personal journey as I did for the main leads.
@RSMasterfade—Very good first draft at 197 words and 952 characters. I changed most of the tenses to present…
SCENE FROM MY OFFICE: Peer reading my work: Do you mind? [Reaching for a red Sharpie] Me: No. Please. Go ahead. I LOVE the taste of my own medicine!
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@RSMasterfade—You've definitely enriched it with the addition of "cosmopolitan heart" and juicy words like "vanquished" and "botched." I love it.
However, the editor in me advises you to kill one of your darlings and let go of the unwieldy "a bright but inexperienced 23-year-old aristocrat-cum-Taoist-priest." You're writing a series summary, not an recap. Everything else is thrilling.
Consider: "After a botched attempt to capture the infiltrators, intelligence chief Li Bi turns to death row prisoner and former police officer Zhang Xiao Jing to lead the investigation."
Even better, cut MORE by dropping the first reference to ZXJ being a former cop: "After a botched attempt to capture the infiltrators, intelligence chief Li Bi turns to death row prisoner Zhang Xiao Jing to lead the investigation."
If you're hankering to fit in more background on Li Bi, this might work: "After a botched attempt to capture the infiltrators, the bright but inexperienced intelligence chief Li Bi turns to death row prisoner Zhang Xiao Jing to lead the investigation."
You can drop the reference to his being a former cop because the summary's last sentence lays out a fuller picture of ZXJ's skills and crimes.
Either way, a slightly simpler sentence acts like the white space in a good magazine layout. The rest of the copy has more room to breath.
Hello all!The current synopsis on this page was written before the show's airing. It contains errors and also…
@RSMasterfade—Very good first draft at 197 words and 952 characters. I changed most of the tenses to present tense and tightened it overall. (I work for a local Public Television station and we have a maximum of 400 characters to work within the PBS video portal.) My edit has 142 words, 708 characters.
Thoughts?
744 A.D., Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Empire and largest city in the world. The remnants of a Central Asian kingdom have infiltrated Chang’an with plans to attack the city during the Lantern Festival. After failing to halt the terrorists, Peacekeeper Chief Li Bi desperately turns to Zhang Xiao Jing, a death row prisoner and former police chief to lead the investigation. Meanwhile, the court is fraught with political infighting. The Emperor is expected to announce the regency of the Right Chancellor during the festival and retreat to the mountains. If the ambitious Right Chancellor becomes the regent, the Crown Prince risks being deposed—or worse. Having only 24 hours to save Chang’an and the Crown Prince, Li Bi and his team must rely on Zhang Xiao Jing — a war veteran, beloved police chief, and murderer of his last direct superior.
Friends-to-lovers is one of my ultimate catnips and this series delivers. It's refreshing to see Mitari Yo and Ishida Ren so well-loved by their own and each other's quirky families. I just about fell off my chair when Yo's insect-loving brother slooooowly pointed his finger at Dad as the cause for the computer virus (Ep. 5).
I haven't watched the previous iterations and I enjoy Japanese dramas for being a little ... weird. My only wish is that it were 10 episodes, like many other Jdoramas.
Also, it seems in more recent episodes they decided to stop dubbing over the changed names.
Is that what they've been dubbing over? I noticed dubbing in scenes between the Right Chancellor and his informant. The ambient sound would suddenly drop away ...
Are we hearing all the actors' original speaking voices (save for Djimon Hounsou)? That's great.
Machine translations can be unexpectedly funny. While waiting for more English translations on Amazon Prime, I used my phone’s Google Translate app to read a couple Youku captions in a later episode. Zhang Xiao Jing and someone else are talking about Tan Qi and I caught the word TACHYCARDIA. My brain thought: “Rapid heartbeat?!” Only the rarest of women can make his resting heart beat more than 100 bpm.
I was unable to find that word again today. Using Google Translate is a surreal experience, like reading something tossed in a blender.
In short: Chattel slavery was only for non-Chinese. Chinese could only be kept in bonded servitude, limited time…
Thanks very much. I’ve wondered at the accuracy of the English translations in Amazon Prime because it didn’t seem like “slave” and “servant” were really synonyms.
Anyone just wish Zhang and Tan qi would fk already? The tension between the two is killing me, Zhang is literally…
Ep. 20 | Deacon Isse: "You are such a matching pair. You make me so ... envious."
I savor the scenes with Tan Qi and Zhang Xiao Jing. The air is damn good between them! I haven't read the book so given the action-y promotion posters, I expected a bromance—not a conventional romance. Not there's anything conventional about those two. Their mutual admiration, playful banter, and general awesomeness when they're together makes their nascent connection too beautiful for words.
For someone who was a "grunt" his whole adult life, ZXJ is astonishingly skillful and economic at courtship. Tan Qi's "pervert" admonishments are growing increasingly faint as her feelings come to the fore. *sigh*
I have to say that the mini-previews at the end of each episode are the among most intelligent I have ever seen.…
Agreed! The codas enhance the *visceral* quality of this production. I love them all but some of my favorites include:
(1) A glimpse of concurrent action from alternative point of views—with zero context (Long Bo setting up a booby trap; Xu Bin retrieving something precious from his beloved archives; supplicants desperately fanning themselves in Right Chancellor's hot house anteroom) .
(2) A glimpse into Chang-an culture (lantern-making; waterwheel technology; metal smithing; an artist applying makeup before her performance).
Can any of the enthusiasts here help us understand the nuances of SLAVERY and BONDED SERVITUDE during this period of the Tang Dynasty? Was CHATTEL SLAVERY practiced as well?
TAN QI is variably described (by others and herself) as a “servant” and “slave.” Her responsibilities and relative autonomy reflect Li Bi’s absolute trust but she is still enslaved. She declines Li Bi’s offer of freedom earlier in the day; will she change her mind if she survives the day? I hope we’ll learn the “fall” that lead to her being enslaved.
In Ep. 4, CAO PO YAN seems to be bonded in some fashion to You Cha, the Wolven Squad leader who forcefully cut CPY’s hair. “My father has spent 10 qian to buy your grandfather. Your life belongs to me. You don’t have any rights to make your own decisions.” Despite TAN QI’s assertion that “nobody is born a slave” (Ep. 19), CAO PO YAN is not free. Is CPY trying to protect his child from chattel slavery?
Ep. 6 introduces GE LAO (played by Benin-born actor Djimon Hounsou), a former enslaved person-cum-human trafficker and drug dealer. The courtesan Tong’er was brutally punished for trying to run away with her lover (Ep. 6-7).
YU CHANG owes Long Bo for saving her life. I’m still waiting for English caps to understand how she got tangled with Long Bo and why she owes him a fixed number of tasks.
whats up with women just being alone with famous ppl?, i was like oh no ,then i read that part where they decided…
1) This is classic victim blaming. Whether you're strangers or acquaintances, sexual assault is unacceptable behavior. 2) Statistically, women are more likely to be hurt by people they know. In this case, the two victims were work colleagues of Kang Ji Hwan.
"Fall" original music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SiZ018qIm0
The gorgeous "You said" official lyrics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDJ3u8TKT8Y
"You said" over closing credits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_adPQx6MIM&list=PLCxJ1ALR2fF6rq75IPCX6cyGI4ISRW6yv&index=39&t=11s
Full album on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1VBDHu5ohpm9p49DJb7JbJ
Full "official lyrics edition" album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DvjOD523UY&list=PLadpa_xY6Oo-AAGoDe5SALdwnuNqd9esK
Peer reading my work: Do you mind? [Reaching for a red Sharpie]
Me: No. Please. Go ahead. I LOVE the taste of my own medicine!
------------
@RSMasterfade—You've definitely enriched it with the addition of "cosmopolitan heart" and juicy words like "vanquished" and "botched." I love it.
However, the editor in me advises you to kill one of your darlings and let go of the unwieldy "a bright but inexperienced 23-year-old aristocrat-cum-Taoist-priest." You're writing a series summary, not an recap. Everything else is thrilling.
Consider: "After a botched attempt to capture the infiltrators, intelligence chief Li Bi turns to death row prisoner and former police officer Zhang Xiao Jing to lead the investigation."
Even better, cut MORE by dropping the first reference to ZXJ being a former cop: "After a botched attempt to capture the infiltrators, intelligence chief Li Bi turns to death row prisoner Zhang Xiao Jing to lead the investigation."
If you're hankering to fit in more background on Li Bi, this might work: "After a botched attempt to capture the infiltrators, the bright but inexperienced intelligence chief Li Bi turns to death row prisoner Zhang Xiao Jing to lead the investigation."
You can drop the reference to his being a former cop because the summary's last sentence lays out a fuller picture of ZXJ's skills and crimes.
Either way, a slightly simpler sentence acts like the white space in a good magazine layout. The rest of the copy has more room to breath.
Thoughts?
744 A.D., Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Empire and largest city in the world. The remnants of a Central Asian kingdom have infiltrated Chang’an with plans to attack the city during the Lantern Festival. After failing to halt the terrorists, Peacekeeper Chief Li Bi desperately turns to Zhang Xiao Jing, a death row prisoner and former police chief to lead the investigation. Meanwhile, the court is fraught with political infighting. The Emperor is expected to announce the regency of the Right Chancellor during the festival and retreat to the mountains. If the ambitious Right Chancellor becomes the regent, the Crown Prince risks being deposed—or worse. Having only 24 hours to save Chang’an and the Crown Prince, Li Bi and his team must rely on Zhang Xiao Jing — a war veteran, beloved police chief, and murderer of his last direct superior.
I haven't watched the previous iterations and I enjoy Japanese dramas for being a little ... weird. My only wish is that it were 10 episodes, like many other Jdoramas.
Are we hearing all the actors' original speaking voices (save for Djimon Hounsou)? That's great.
I was unable to find that word again today. Using Google Translate is a surreal experience, like reading something tossed in a blender.
I savor the scenes with Tan Qi and Zhang Xiao Jing. The air is damn good between them! I haven't read the book so given the action-y promotion posters, I expected a bromance—not a conventional romance. Not there's anything conventional about those two. Their mutual admiration, playful banter, and general awesomeness when they're together makes their nascent connection too beautiful for words.
For someone who was a "grunt" his whole adult life, ZXJ is astonishingly skillful and economic at courtship. Tan Qi's "pervert" admonishments are growing increasingly faint as her feelings come to the fore. *sigh*
(1) A glimpse of concurrent action from alternative point of views—with zero context (Long Bo setting up a booby trap; Xu Bin retrieving something precious from his beloved archives; supplicants desperately fanning themselves in Right Chancellor's hot house anteroom) .
(2) A glimpse into Chang-an culture (lantern-making; waterwheel technology; metal smithing; an artist applying makeup before her performance).
(3) Close-ups of the giant temple sculptures
TAN QI is variably described (by others and herself) as a “servant” and “slave.” Her responsibilities and relative autonomy reflect Li Bi’s absolute trust but she is still enslaved. She declines Li Bi’s offer of freedom earlier in the day; will she change her mind if she survives the day? I hope we’ll learn the “fall” that lead to her being enslaved.
In Ep. 4, CAO PO YAN seems to be bonded in some fashion to You Cha, the Wolven Squad leader who forcefully cut CPY’s hair. “My father has spent 10 qian to buy your grandfather. Your life belongs to me. You don’t have any rights to make your own decisions.” Despite TAN QI’s assertion that “nobody is born a slave” (Ep. 19), CAO PO YAN is not free. Is CPY trying to protect his child from chattel slavery?
Ep. 6 introduces GE LAO (played by Benin-born actor Djimon Hounsou), a former enslaved person-cum-human trafficker and drug dealer. The courtesan Tong’er was brutally punished for trying to run away with her lover (Ep. 6-7).
YU CHANG owes Long Bo for saving her life. I’m still waiting for English caps to understand how she got tangled with Long Bo and why she owes him a fixed number of tasks.
2) Statistically, women are more likely to be hurt by people they know. In this case, the two victims were work colleagues of Kang Ji Hwan.