jasmine's drama blog

We've often read and watch stories about the Empresses and Four Beauties of China but have you heard about the well-accomplished female warriors in Chinese history. Perhaps, the most well-known among the list of female warriors is certainly Hua Mulan, popularized by Disney's animated film Mulan.

1. Hua Mulan (花木兰)


Popularized by multiple film adaptations, Hua Mulan is perhaps the most well-known female warrior amongst this list. She is characterized as the daughter who took her father's place to fight in the war against the Hun invaders. Her existence in actual Chinese history had been an ongoing dispute but since the evidence are still lacking, she can only be viewed as a legendary figure.




2. Liang Hongyu (梁红玉)

It is rumored that she is the daughter of an army commander during the Song Dynasty who was punished after losing a battle. As a result, she was sold into slavery and became a female wrestler since she learned martial arts at a young age. It was also said that she lived like a geisha, singing and performing with the drums. While performing in front of troops, she met her future husband Han Shizhong, a comrade of the well-known patriot Yue Fei. She noticed Han Shizhong was upset and after striking a conversation with him, she realized he was upset that his superior took credit for his military accomplishment. She saw him different from the other rowdy soldiers while he saw her with class. They maintained contact with each other and after she freed herself from slavery, he married her as his second wife.


3. Qin Liangyu (秦良玉)


A female warrior known during the Ming Dynasty as a defender against the Manchus. She was fortunate enough to receive an education since her father believed in gender equality in education. Besides literature and poetry, she also learned archery and horseback riding. Later on in life, she was married to an official Ma Qiancheng and the power couple was able to triumph in battles against local warlords. As her husband was fighting on the battlefield, she was able to send back up, which led to their victory. Unfortunately, her husband dies after offending a higher ranked official and she surprisingly assumes his position. Due to her military prowess, she is often praised by Emperor Chongming in his poetry for defending the Ming territories.


4. Fan Lihua 樊梨花

Fan Lihua is another well-known female warrior popularized by Chinese remakes. I personally love watching the love story between her and her husband because I get to witness how they fall in love despite their union was the result of a political truce.

Fan Lihua is a female warrior from the Western Turks during the Tang Dynasty and her father Fan Hong is a general assigned to defend the borders of the Western Turks. After his ascension to the throne, the new Emperor Tang Taizhong greatly pursued territorial expansions and wanted to take control of surrounding territories, which led to continuous unrest and war.

At a very young age, Fan Lihua was trained by the Holy Mother of the Pear Mountains. Towards the end of her training, she was told by the Holy Mother that she was destined to marry Tang's Xue Ding Shan in order to unite Tang and Western Turks. As a result, Fan Lihua pursued Xue Dingshan and eventually met on the battlefield. Xue Dingshan was forced to marry Fan Lihua and it wasn't through ups and downs did they actually learn to love each other.

Even though Xue Dingshan and Fan Lihua are both military fighters, Fan Li Hua's medicinal knowledge and strategic thinking far exceeds those of Xue Dingshan. In fact when Xue Dingshan was trapped by a fire battle array and a water battle array, Fan Lihua appeared just in time to help him escape from danger.





5. Mu Guiying 穆桂英

Mu Guiying is one of my fave after watching Legendary Fighters: The Yang Heroines. Not only do I enjoy her love story with Yang Zongbao but I also love how strong her character is. Even though her father is the leader of the Mu Ke Fortress, she is actually the real leader since she is a talented tactician. Yang Zongbao travels to the Mu Clan to borrow the magical item Dragon-Taming Wood but is met with resistance. They engaged in a fight which results in Yang Zongbao losing since Mu Guiying's martial arts is superior than his. Even though he lost, Mu Guiying fell for his upright and charming personality that she offered marriage with the Dragon-Taming Wood as her dowry.

After joining the Yang family, she was met with resentment from her father-in-law Yang Yanzhao since he viewed his son as a traitor for marrying during this war-stricken period. Luckily, the conflict resolves and she becomes a valuable asset to the Yang family. With her extensive knowledge in military tactics and highly-skilled martial arts, she was given the opportunity by the Yang matriarch She Caihua to lead the Yangs to victory against the Liao Dynasty.

Chapter 109: Intriguing Identity

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Li Wei Yang nodded and said nothing. She wanted to comfort him, but he would not simply accept anything she said.

He smiled softly, revealing a dimple like a sweet, gentle spring. He said: “After I was born, the Princess went insane. I don’t know if she actually became crazy or if someone else drove her insane. She didn’t remember who she was or that the child was her own son and never looked at it once. The Emperor was worried that she would hurt herself and had her under close watch day and night, but no matter how well-protected she was, there was oversight. One day, they found her in the lotus pond, floating on the water surface. She died very strangely… The Emperor could not hold back. He killed many people in succession. He suspected everyone around him, thinking they killed the Princess, but no matter how many people he killed, the Princess could not come back to life. He became paranoid and felt nowhere was safe anymore. Moreover, he wanted to give the child a righteous identity, so he ordered the child to be handed over to a loyal subject. He ordered them to take the child to a remote village and sent many guards to wait until the child grew up and could be brought back. They went to the countryside to a village by the name of Dou Yi. The subject with the child stayed there and lived in that place for four years. In the end, that subject was killed, and only a single person out of all the original guards escaped. Everyone else was killed. Not only that, but in one night, all four year old children in the village were killed. Everyone, including the Emperor, thought the child was dead.”

Li Wei Yang said: “But you’re not dead, and you even reached Da Li. The moment I saw that man in gray uniform, I began to suspect your identity. This certainly wasn’t the first time they came looking for you. They already looked for you before, isn’t that right? They wanted you to come with them and return to Yue Xi, but you didn't want to. Why?”

Li Min De said: “If I said it was because I didn’t want to leave you, would you believe it?”

Li Wei Yang chuckled and said: “I believe… At first, I thought you deliberately kept this from me, but now I see it differently—you’re just foolish! You think saying this will make me soft-hearted?”

Li Min De said: “I never thought about wanting to make you soft-hearted.”

Indeed. He had always hidden his identity away, not because he wanted to evoke sympathy, but because he could not face it himself.

Li Wei Yang said: “You care very much about it? You’re concerned about your identity?”

Li Min De’s eyes immediately darkened, losing their cheerfulness: “No one in this world has such an unusual identity. I know it wasn’t their fault, but they weren’t normal, that kind of feeling wasn’t normal! I resent them, why did they have to give birth to someone abnormal like them…”


Li Wei Yang said: “Anyone can say that, but you can’t, because they are your parents.”

Li Min De lifted his head and looked up at Li Wei Yang. She smiled: “I used to hate my mother. I felt that she was incompetent and weak. If she couldn’t protect her daughter, then why would she let me be born to suffer? But later on, I realized that we cannot choose our parents, and although she could not even protect herself, she put in the last of her strength to protect me. How could I resent her? You’re no different.”

Li Min De looked to her, taken aback: “You aren’t disgusted by me? You know what I am—” A monster…

Li Wei Yang smiled: “No one reveals their scars to others, and no one wants their reputations tainted. I also have many secrets. Everyone in this world does. They have made a habit of hiding them, so no one else knows. You are just like me, a normal person. Why would I be disgusted by you? Aren’t you doing well right now? So let’s just leave the pitiful past behind us.”

Li Min De was dumbfounded at first, then he felt overjoyed. She wasn’t disgusted by him. It made him feel as if he was suddenly revived by a cooling spring amidst the dry desert. He gently put his head down in Li Wei Yang’s lap and whispered: “Thank you..” Not despising me for this, belittling me…

However, very quickly, his happiness and rejoicing mood was completely shattered by Li Wei Yang’s words: “But when the Third Furen adopted you, you were about a year old. Yet you said the child in the village was four years old… So, how old are you exactly? I remember once a traveling merchant said the Emperor of Yue Xi had a younger sister, but she died fifteen years ago, so you are sure you’re really her son…?” Li Wei Yang had a strange look on her face. If this rumor was true, then Li Min De’s actual age was not what she originally thought? She was a bit confused.

Li Min De’s face reddened right away. He hesitated for a while before saying: “I asked them about this. They said it was because of this reason that it took a long time to find me. That year, the assassins missed me because they were only looking to kill children about four years old.”

Li Wei Yang frowned: “Then, what kind of magical pills did you eat to stop growing for a while?”

Li Min De was startled: “How could there be such a thing in this world? This is how I was born… I don’t know why, maybe it’s because those two’s bloodlines are too close, so I am not normal at all, is that it?” He had a tense look on his face. Was it because of his biological parents caused him to be abnormal? His growth and maturity was notably much slower than normal people. The assassins killed all the children around four years old in the village, but at the time, he had the appearance of a one year old… So he escaped, perhaps even before he came to Da Li, he had never once called out “mother.”

Li Wei Yang felt this was rather strange. Perhaps the Heavens had decided Min De’s fate, letting him survive. Otherwise, he would have already died at the hands of those assassins…

“So, you aren’t really a child?” Li Wei Yang’s face slowly fell.

Li Min De did not expect to end up discussing this issue. He quietly said: “Around your age then…”

“Around how much?” Li Wei Yang unexpectedly insisted.

“More than...a month? Two months…at most!” Li Min De did not know his precise birthdate either. His old birthday was the day Third Furen adopted him.

In the blink of an eye, Li Wei Yang wanted to go crazy and demand how he could be that old but pretend to be innocent, weak and naive—pretending to be a kid, running over to see her every few days like no one was there. There were even several times when she was changing her outer robe, he also did not bother… He… He… How could he be so shameless! Unfortunately, the carriage suddenly stopped, and Li Min De quickly leapt down from the carriage and said: “We’ve arrived!”

At the Palace gates, Li Wei Yang silently glared at Li Min De. He did not look over as if he had not seen anything. Li Wei Yang sighed to herself in relief. As long as he wasn’t obsessing with his identity, it was good enough. As for other things, there was no need to overthink them. So what if his parents were brother and sister? He was not missing any arms or legs or was born with any deformities. Well, although he developed more slowly than the average person in his childhood, even not being able to speak until he was four years old… In any case, he was still born better looking than anyone else. That is something to be proud of. Well, Li Wei Yang thought so. She quickly went over and greeted Sun Yan Jun with a face full of smiles: “I brought books you might like in the carriage. Have your servant come over and pick it up later.”

Sun Yan Jun smiled and said: “Good, good. Right, didn’t your Eldest Sister have some allergic reaction on her face? How did she recover so quickly?”

Li Wei Yang looked in the direction she was pointing in. Li Chang Le stood beside Jiang Yue Lan and with her makeup done, she seemed even more gentle and pitiful. Her clothes audibly rustled when the wind picked up, and the jade ornaments hanging from her waist occasionally touched. Every sound that was made added to her charm in a way that was difficult to describe. Everyone could not help but hold their breath, fearing the slightest breath will make this delicate jade beauty fly away.

Sun Yan Jun frowned and quietly said: “I don’t know why, but I keep feeling that there’s a strange smell on her.”

Li Min De, who just came over, lightly said: “It’s a rotting smell.”

“Right right! It smells like rotten meat! What’s wrong with her? What are all the powders made of? That smell is sickening, I’m even afraid to be near her!” Sun Yan Jun said with exaggerated gestures.

“An unpleasant smell?” Li Wei Yang was confused, then took two steps forward when the wind blew past, and she caught the dizzying smell of the cosmetic powders on Li Chang Le. Beneath the smell of powder and rouge was an undeniable rotting smell. That smell was hard to describe, simply unimaginable. Although not as exaggerated as Sun Yan Jun made it out to be, it was not enough to make others avoid her, but the smell was there if they came close to her.

How could this be?

Li Wei Yang was suddenly startled. It was not just her that was surprised, but Li Min De too. She only heard Li Min De say: “Her face recovered very quickly! Have to wonder what magical pills could have this sort of effect.”

Hearing Li Min De’s voice, Sun Yan Jun shifted her gaze to him and was stunned. She immediately blushed and quietly tugged Li Wei Yang’s sleeve as if to say something.

Li Min De smiled slightly and looked at Li Wei Yang: “I will go first.” Li Xiao Ran had noticed him, so he had to go over and greet him.

Li Wei Yang nodded. The moment he left, Sun Yan Jun immediately smiled: “Seeing your household’s Third Young Master, it’s enough to say he’s inarguably the most handsome man.”

Li Wei Yang was stunned: “Really?” She was with him everyday but did not notice his looks. It seems his looks were quite lethal. It could even make Sun Yan Jun, who had always been righteous and heroic, blush.

Jiang Nan managed to cut off his pursuers after much effort. He naturally rushed straight to the Palace gates. He turned around while on horseback and threw the whip to a servant. He saw Li Wei Yang from afar, standing out among the group of people. Seeing her skin, fair as snow, and delicate, youthful face, coupled with her clear, bright eyes, deep as the water in a well, he felt every other Young Miss here had lost their color and shine. Amazing, why did this viciously cruel girl have such a lovely, captivating pair of eyes?

Earlier, he stopped her in the middle of the road to teach her a lesson in advance. Because after today’s banquet, he felt he would no longer have the chance. Who would have thought he would be suddenly confronted with a group of guards in black. Losing ten of his close confidants was simply unbelievable!

As he thought about this, he subconsciously approached, but before he reached Li Wei Yang, someone stopped in front of him. It was Li Chang Le.


Jiang Fourth was taken aback because he had seen Li Chang Le’s face with his own eyes, but she had recovered her former beauty. Jiang Tian clearly said she absolutely could not go back to the way she used to be, what was going on?! It was truly shocking!

Li Chang Le raised her voice and said: “Cousin Nan, I haven’t seen you in a while.” While no one was paying attention, she lowered her voice, “What about what you promised me?”

Jiang Nan subconsciously glanced at Li Wei Yang and found his calm to say, “Everything has already been arranged.” He was prepared to walk over when he stopped.

At that moment, the Seventh Prince Tuoba Yu went to Li Wei Yang’s side with a smile, happily talking to her. That face was one of someone falling in love. Jiang Fourth sneered. Suddenly realizing there was a cold brooding stare on him, he looked down and saw that it was from Li Chang Le. He could not help but frown: “Alright. Rest assured, I won’t disappoint you!” If something really happened to Li Wei Yang, what would he gain? He quickly began to make plans in his head.

“Wei Yang, are you listening to me?” Seventh Prince Tuoba Yu asked gently.

Sun Yan Jun could hardly believe her own eyes. The person gently speaking with Li Wei Yang was really Tuoba Yu? Was it Tuoba Yu? Was it really Tuoba Yu?! She felt she had gravely misheard… Tuoba Yu had always been cold, not wanting to talk to women, but he spoke to Li Wei Yang so warmly. Not just that, he also acknowledged and greeted the people around Li Wei Yang, like Sun Yan Jun herself. People he would have not bothered with previously…

They were not familiar with each other, but he was especially courteous because she and Li Wei Yang were friends… Sun Yan Jun felt like she was losing her mind.

Li Wei Yang looked at Tuoba Yu and said, “I am listening.”

Tuoba Yu looked at her and followed her gaze to the main hall of where the divination dial was being moved. He knew Yin Tian Zhao used his divination dial everyday, combining divination, astrology and various, incredible oracles.

Now that the sky had darkened, only the surreal lights of the hall could be seen from the Palace gates. Li Wei Yang saw it very clearly. The main hall was illuminated, isolated from the darkness with a distinct brilliance. There seemed to be invisible forces engaged in a struggle, clashing. Tonight was destined to be a thrilling night...

A fan of Zanilia Zhao since Female Prime Minister, I always show my support by tuning in to the first few episodes of her dramas. The Story of Ming Lan was not an exception. I've also watched 10 episodes of Our Glamorous Times which ended with indescribable disappointment so I tried not to build much excitement for this new release.

Zanilia Zhao as Lu Zhen

Some viewers felt the story was moving too slowly but I think the pace is perfect because it gives us enough time to watch how the plot unfolds and how the characters develop. Besides, it wouldn't do the production any good if it introduces fifty characters at once and then don't allocate enough time to let them develop and let me become attached to the character.

Main Wife

Main Wife's Daughter, Fifth Miss, Sheng Ru Lan

Concubine Lin

Concubine Lin's daughter, Fourth Miss, Sheng Mo Lan

Many characters are developed as foils as one another or the mirror image of another, which makes it easier to remember the character. For example, the First Wife is rash and hot-tempered yet kind-hearted. On the other hand, Concubine Lin is soft and gentle yet vicious. The characterization of the First Wife is a stark contrast to that of Concubine Lin's. Similarly, Fifth Miss (daughter of the First Wife) and Fourth Miss (daughter of Concubine Lin) are replicas of their respective mothers.

As of Episode 11, not much has happened yet but we get to witness how intelligent Ming Lan is compared to her two older sisters. What makes her smart is her ability to tolerate and only attack when it is the right time. From the trailers, I noticed the downfall of Concubine Lin and I believe it is related to Ming Lan avenging for her mother's death.



With the announcement of Zanilia Zhao's pregnancy (and a scene from the series of Ming Lan, Gu Ting Ye (played by William Feng), and their child), I anticipate the start of their story in the series.

You can watch this drama on Viki or YouTube, both are actively providing English subtitles for international audience.

Here is a scene I really enjoyed from Episode 11, starts at ~19:30 minute mark:

What I like about this scene is how it incorporates actual historical figures in Chinese history into the discussion. Often stated by the wise ones, history repeats itself. In this debate, you realized the validity behind this statement. It becomes even much more interesting when the historical figures are used as evident to back the position taken by each individual character.

Gu Ting Ye (William Feng) thinks the older son Prince Yong is fit to become the heir even though he is not well-qualified because he has more children, which is a problem the current emperor is facing right now.

On the other hand, Ming Lan's Third Brother thinks the younger Prince Yan should succeed the throne. Even though he has only one son, both father and son pair are intelligent and capable. He is only younger than Prince Yong by half a year.

However, since everyone at that time loves to regard everyone based on seniority and status, then this discussion should also be this way, as Gu Ting Ye puts it.

Vin Zhang as Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng in The King's Woman

Another character, Ming Lan's Second Brother thinks the legitimate eldest son should be the next heir. Emperor Qin deposed his eldest son Fusu and selected Hu Hai as his heir, which caused the downfall of the Qin dynasty. He continues that many dynasties have been replaced because the emperor selected the younger son as heir.

Raymond Lam as Emperor Wu of Han in Virtuous Queen Wei Zifu

Third Brother defends with Liu Che, Emperor Wu of Han, who was well-known for leading the Han dynasty through a period of stability and prosperity. Gu Ting Ye remarks that before Emperor Jing made Liu Che the crowned prince, Liu Che's mother was created Empress. Therefore, Emperor Wu was the legitimate main heir to the throne.

Wang Wei as Emperor Hui of Jin in Dragon Love

Next is Ming Lan's Fourth Sister, Mo Lan's turn to join the conversation. She brings up Emperor Hui of Jin was not emperor material but since he was the eldest, he became the heir, and eventually led to the rise of Empress of Jia Nanfeng. Emperor Taizong of Tang wasn't the legitimate eldest yet he was able to bring prosperity to the great Tang.

Andy Zhang as Emperor Wen of Sui in The Legend of Dugu

Chen Xiao as Emperor Wen of Sui in Queen Dugu

Gu Ting Ye brings in Emperor Wen of Sui who deposed his first son and made his youngest son his heir. Consequently, the Sui dynasty which flourished under his rule, was destroyed under his youngest son's rule.

Finally, Ming Lan comes into the debate. Her main take is it's better to just be a simple loyal subject to the emperor and avoid these meaningless debates. She makes an example out of Gu Ting Ye and Qi Heng. She states it's hard to determine accurately the character of the brothers but seniority and status are obvious so there's no need to fight here. If the younger one is virtuous, he would not ruin the clan because of his own ambitions and if the oldest one is virtuous, he would be capable of restraining his younger brother's ambitions.

I love how Ming Lan has her own opinions and how her opinions actually helped save her father in future episodes when her Third Brother gets their father imprisoned in the palace by the Emperor.