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.

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.

Overall thoughts: "Great entertainment, storyline never got me anxious for the female lead since she is witty, out-spoken, and clever. The costume + headset designs and tone throughout the entire production is muted instead of the usual bright, vibrant colors."



Starting this post off with the opening theme. I love how it's unique in comparison to past historical dramas. A humming sequence that's surprisingly addicting and then dialogues from Chinese opera. I didn't know there were actual lyrics until the song was played during a sequence in the drama:

The SARFT is at it again. SARFT stands for State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, notorious for censoring content and setting strict criteria on productions churned out each year such as the limit on ancient dramas that can be aired on TV and strict auditing process on the scripts. This is the reason why many dramas opt to be aired online as a web series; I have a feeling the SARFT will eventually start regulating this channel.

The Story of Yanxi Palace has been faring pretty well until the most recent episode 58. Wei Ying Luo is informed by Fucha Fuheng that a new concubine has entered the palace and she is urged to return to the palace. Fuheng thinks there is something fishy with this new Shun Pin and believe she will cause the downfall of Qianlong.

Anyways, Wei Ying Luo visits Empress Ulanara and learns that the empress wants to cooperate in order to topple Shun Pin. Wei Ying Luo walks out and supposedly sees only the emperor's mesmerized expression. Then, in the next scene, she returns back to the Empress to accept her offer in cooperation.

A huge chunk has been cut out because viewers speculated that the government didn't want to encourage more tensions amongst the minority groups so they ask for those scenes to be cut out. What got cut out are the scenes with Shun Pin dressed in minority tribal clothing and her character has turned into the daughter of an imperial official.

On the other hand, Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, which is also airing simultaneously, also had to be censored. The government wasn't too happy that the script was "twisting" history by flipping the personality of the Empress and Concubine Ling (aka Wei Ying Luo in Yanxi). Therefore, 令妃 became 炩妃, the sound for Ling is the same but it's a different character. As the drama progresses, I am almost certain that there will be more obvious changes made to pacify the SARFT.


My Thoughts on the Ending:
I think the ending is great as it is since it wrapped up almost all the stories completely by letting us viewers know what happened to each character, Empress Ulanara, Prince Heqing, eunuch Yuan Chun Wang, etc. There is no need for a sequel or second season.

Throughout the entire series, I was not aggravated one bit because I know in the end, Wei Ying Luo always has something up her sleeves. Sometimes, she is just going with the flow to catch the bigger fish, which happened a majority of the time. She let Yuan Chun Wang continue to wreak havoc and urges Prince Heqing to rebel since in the end, she hasn't forgotten that Prince Heqing, though not the murderer, was the one who raped her sister and directly led to her death. I also liked how she wasn't perfect, she didn't foresee Yuan Chun Wang's plan to kill her with the poisonous bugs.

I enjoy how some parts are subtle where viewers have to assume based on context clues.

Empress Dowager quickly shot up upon hearing Emperor wants to execute Yuan Chun Wang

1) Is Yuan Chun Wang as Aisin Gioro? Based on the reaction of the Empress Dowager, he is. But it would be a disgrace if people finds out that an Aisin Gioro is an eunuch.

That smile is scary, it looks like a sweet grandmother smile but it's a smile recalling what bad things she might have supposedly done in the past

2) Did Empress Dowager killed the emperor's birth mother? I think this is a yes. She is the victor of the imperial harem during Emperor Yongzheng's reign. The way she countered Empress Ulanara shows that she is still the boss of the imperial harem. There is a saying in Cantonese, 僵越老越辣, literally translated to gingers are spicier the older; this means: the older, the wiser.

3) Is Erqing's son the Emperor's? From a leaked script, it seems like the son is Fuheng's younger brother but those scenes were cut. It seems about right since it doesn't make sense to have such a useless character just standing around in the series and doing nothing if he didn't play a crucial part. He did but it never survived the scissors. Moreover, when the emperor asked Erqing, she denied because that was the truth; there was no need to lie at that point if all she wanted was to rise above others.

4) Did Prince Yongqi died from his injury? In history, he should have been dead 4 years ago, I am assuming it is around 1770 since Fuheng died this year on the battlefield. This would have been the perfect storyline to follow the history and let his character rest in peace. Funny thing is, Empress Ulanara should have died the same year the he died but both survived.

Scenes that were speculatively cut that would have added value:

Er Qing's final moment to shine before she exits

1. Ming Yu forcing the cup of poison into Erqing's mouth would have been a glorious scene to enjoy since Erqing became such a despicable character that she ruined Wei Ying Luo's life and directly caused Empress Fucha' suicide.

2. The affair between Erqing and Fuheng's younger brother would have cleared up some viewer's confusions.

3. Hearing how the servants described Imperial Consort Chun's death, the scene of her death would have been another treat since she did plot to kill Empress Fucha' son. But seeing the bloodied kite strings was sufficient enough to train our imagination and visualize how gruesome that scene would have been.



4. Almost more than half of Shun Pin' scenes have been reduced to pacify the censorship board. It would have been easier to follow if the editing wasn't so disoriented and choppy. The purpose of this character is to push the emperor and Ying Luo's character to a new stage in their relationship. It served its purpose but I believe her original character has so much content that it should have been given a chance to be told properly.

5. How did Wei Ying Luo kill Prince Heqing's mother? I heard this was purposely left out so viewers wouldn't replicate this at home. And I buy this because once upon a time, a pair of girls committed suicide hoping to time travel back, which happened after the airing of Scarlet Heart or Startling By Each Step. Of course, the government blamed time-travel elements in productions instead of putting blame on the strict parenting method. Thus, no more time-travel. I am not a fan of time-travel since I don't understand why the female lead have to be a modern-age girl in order to be smart and spunky. I am pretty sure there is at least one in a million that had thoughts of a modern-day woman even though it was not the norm back in history.

Some Behind The Scenes and Commentary Videos:

**If anyone is interested in the content, I can translate the videos**

I don't know why but Charmaine never stood out to me when she was filming for TVB. But through this series, I see her professionalism. This video shows how she speaks in Cantonese but ends every line in Mandarin so her coworker understands where they are up to in the scene:



In this one, actor Nie Yuan talks about how he makes Qianlong much more realistic by adding in traits of an ordinary person. For example, when he found out Empress Fucha was pregnant again, he hopped with joy even though we might think it wasn't something an Emperor would do. But in the end, the Emperor is human so it makes sense when he is genuinely joyful upon hearing good news. Or, when he wakes up to look for Wei Ying Luo without fixing his clothes. The script says he wakes up, fixes up his image, and looks for her.




A hilarious commenter:

Yu Zheng's (Produce Yumama) face photoshopped onto Wei Ying Luo's because he sent out a Weibo saying her character was written based on himself LOL okay ...

Fun Facts:

1. Wu Jinyan is a rising star, currently being managed under Yu Zheng's studio. She has two upcoming historical dramas; in one, she stars as the notorious Daji who was cruel and caused the downfall of the Shang dynasty, in the other, she plays the mother of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty. Actors Nie Yuan (Qianlong) and Xu Kai (Fuheng) will also time travel with Wu Jinyan in these dramas.

2. Imperial Consort Ling died at the age of 45 and was posthumously granted the title of empress personally by Qianlong. In the early 1900s, the Qing family's tombs were raided and records indicated that there was a body of a woman that showed no signs of rotting. Based on the age, it seemed like this body belonged to Imperial Consort Ling. I've did a quick Google Search, found nothing about this, but found an article about a well-preserved female body that was discovered and dates back to the Han dynasty. Lady Dai of Western Han

3. Historians have speculated the Fuheng' son Fuk'anggan is actually the emperor's illegitimate child predominantly because he is the only one in Qing history to have been granted a prince title without being an Aisin Gioro.

Status: Currently up to Episode 55, could easily end up as my favorite drama of 2018, quite interested in getting this subbed!

My Thoughts: 
Well, I've joined the craze and sat through 28 episodes of this drama without fast forwarding a single scene. Many doubted this drama since it is a production of the notorious producer Yu Zheng, who has been accused of numerous counts of plagiarism. He also tends to release dramas that attempt to ride on the wave of an upcoming drama, e.g. Startling With Each Step vs. Palace, Legend of Zhen Huan vs. Palace II. This time, it seems like this drama is vaguely similar to the anticipated Ruyi's Royal Love In The Palace, which has a star-studded cast. I do have to give it to him: his dramas are quite entertaining because they can become illogical. That is what makes it entertaining; you can't really guess the plot because anything can happen.

But I have to say, The Story of Yanxi Palace is heading towards the right direction. The scriptwriting is not perfect, neither is the cast but sometimes things just work at the right time. What exactly made this a binge-worthy drama? It is during a time when we, the viewers, don't often see such a cunning and non-Mary Sue female lead. I mean the other shows do have cunning female leads but what makes them unrealistic is always their ability to forgive in the end. I enjoy watching how the female lead Wei Ying Luo, played by Wu Jing Yan, stays consistent throughout and had one goal in mind: to seek justice for her closest kin, her older sister. After that gets resolved, she moves on to avenging the death of another sisterly figure.


Another reason I like this drama is the emperor's character. Unlike Legend of Zhen Huan, where the emperor is portrayed as an untrusting old creep who in the end deserves to be poisoned by his concubines to death, the emperor here is much more intelligent in handling his harem. Many have criticized the portrayal of Emperor Yongzheng in Legend of Zhen Huan since Yongzheng was a prominent, well-respected figure in Chinese history. Therefore, I am content to see the writers didn't write Emperor Qianlong's character similar to Yongzheng's character in TLZH.

However, I am also excited to watch Ruyi's Royal Love In The Palace since it spins a different tale about the second empress during Qianlong's reign. It would be interesting to see what the storyline will offer especially to an audience that has already been exposed to this period in history and when the female lead in Ruyi is the biggest villain in Yanxi.

68 episodes are out now, with 10 being leaked out. Some speculate that it is of the producer's doing since some are saying that he had done something like this before. I am not too concerned since I don't really have time to binge watch the rest this week so going to keep to my original schedule.


Cast:

Music:

The opening theme, part with the humming, is addicting. I just found out a few days ago that there are actually lyrics for this besides the Chinese opera monologue.




The ending theme songs have changed three times. It seems like each song represents a different phase of the storyline. Only one I liked so far is the second one, which has two versions, one sung by Qin Lan (who played Empress Fucha).