[Chinese Drama 2011] Bu Bu Jing Xin 步步惊心 (Startling by Each Step)

[Immortal_Angel]

Thank you for taking time to explain that, it was very helpful. You mentioned War and Beauty? Is that a drama also?

I wish there were more dramas like BBXJ, I miss it so much already.

Yeah War and Beauty is a TVB drama that stars: Sheren Tang, Maggie Cheung, Gigi Lai and Charmaine Sheh. It involves the concubines fighting for power in the palace also during the Manchurian time period. The drama itself was good and so TVB begin to do multiple dramas like it but failed haha. If you have time you should check it out.

[sparkskey]

Hey guys;

Thanks for the awesome comments Second part of the study of 4th prince's character is up: http://sparkskey.livejournal.com/59168.html

Sorry if it doesn't seem to flow as well as the first. I just stayed up all night working on a report and did this on the side as a form of procrastination. Brain is currently fried

[iledrama]

Yeah War and Beauty is a TVB drama that stars: Sheren Tang, Maggie Cheung, Gigi Lai and Charmaine Sheh. It involves the concubines fighting for power in the palace also during the Manchurian time period. The drama itself was good and so TVB begin to do multiple dramas like it but failed haha. If you have time you should check it out.

thanks, do you know where I can watch War and Beauty with subs. thanks

[Guest l.kyo58]

this drama was really good to begin with but towards the end I felt so bad for the 8th prince ):

[sparkskey]

this drama was really good to begin with but towards the end I felt so bad for the 8th prince ):

The drama did make 8th prince to seem like a nicer person than he was portrayed in the book to be (:

Sorry for the delay guys, 3rd part's finally up http://sparkskey.livejournal.com/59647.html

I'm on holiday now so might take a little longer to translate the 4th part but i promise it'll be up soon

[Guest jyoisu]

I haven't heard a single negative comment on this series, but I was still a bit hesitant to watch this for several reasons... im not a fan of qing dynasty dramas, I always avoid watching tearjerkers, and the two male leads didn't interest me. However, im a fan of Liu Shi Shi.... and Yuan Hong is a definite plus (love seeing these two together!)

But anyway, I decided to give the novel a try first and I was immediately addicted. I've only read up to chapter 8 and need to wait for translations so I thought I might as well start on the drama now. Currently im only on episode 7, but I have to say im very impressed with the entire series. Im not pleased with Kevin's character, he just kind of creeps me out and gives off a pedophile vibe. Nicky Wu isn't very attractive in Qing style, but his acting is top notch and his charisma makes up for it. His character actually makes me very curious as to how he and Ruoxi's relationship will develop. Im rooting for 13th but I know he doesn't have a chance it also seems like he's attracted to the Mongolian girl. Im totally bracing myself for the heartbreaking moments and have to constantly remind myself to not get too addicted to the series (or ill feel that terrible empty depressed feeling after watching the sad ending like the way I did after watching hong gil dong )

I have to say, i really liked Liu Shi Shi's portrayal of Ruoxi (not being bias as a fan), her character is carefree and quirky/cute but she doesn't overdo her expressions or act like an airhead like most actresses would when they try to act 'cute'. I also think her looks are perfect for the role, she has a fresh youthful look, but still manages to look good with most of the older cast. There are many pretty chinese actresses...but very few have that fresh, natural, and down-to-earth look.

[sparkskey]

Finally done with the last and final part of translation: http://sparkskey.livejournal.com/59744.html

It's almost 4000 words long so try not to read it all at one shot

Thanks for reading (:

[iledrama]

Finally done with the last and final part of translation: http://sparkskey.liv....com/59744.html

It's almost 4000 words long so try not to read it all at one shot

Thanks for reading (:

thanks

[Guest cl4ssy]

hi, a bit confused here, I want to ask.....

why after the RX scene kneed at the rain, because she get punished by the emperor from defend 13th, after a few days when 4th visit to her room, he suddenly tell her the he could't  ask ah-ma to marry RX, and then leave her cry alone..........why ??? he love her so much, right ??

[kfreak]

hi, a bit confused here, I want to ask.....

why after the RX scene kneed at the rain, because she get punished by the emperor from defend 13th, after a few days when 4th visit to her room, he suddenly tell her the he could't  ask ah-ma to marry RX, and then leave her cry alone..........why ??? he love her so much, right ??

4th Prince told Rouxi that he can't ask the emperor for marriage because 13th prince was sentenced to house-arrest and the emperor was still suspicious about the 4th prince. Basically it wasn't the right-timing and it would be bad for all three of them.

That's my view, I'm not sure about what other people thinks.

[Guest AS1AND0LL]

I just started this series not too long ago and so far it's great and it has really opened my mind about the Chinese culture.. such a beautiful culture and the way everything seemed back then was really elegant and sophisticated from speech to just serving tea.

One thing I noticed.. the circle lens are kinda obvious XD

[Guest novemberbaby]

hi, a bit confused here, I want to ask.....

why after the RX scene kneed at the rain, because she get punished by the emperor from defend 13th, after a few days when 4th visit to her room, he suddenly tell her the he could't  ask ah-ma to marry RX, and then leave her cry alone..........why ??? he love her so much, right ??

Actually, she wasn't defending the 13th; she was begging the emperor to allow Lu Wu join 13th.

The reason why 4th couldn't marry RuoXi was because he had already lost favor with the emperor. 13th had defended him in court, taking up all the blame upon himself but the emperor naturally had his suspicions. After all, 4th and 13th grew up together and were very close so it was assumed that 4th was also behind the whole debacle. The smartest move for 4th would be to keep a low profile during this time, hence his decision to live a solitary life while 13th was imprisoned. Since he had already lost favor, asking the emperor to let RuoXi marry him would be out of the question.

[Guest ronibear]

Omg.... one of my new favourite dramas. I recently finished watching the whole series... I LOVE IT.  It's an amazing eye-opener into Chinese culture.... Everything is so dainty and elegant (love it!).... Plus the acting is good (none of that cheesy-cutesy kind).  Liu Shi Shi is perfect for the role of Ruoxi imo .  I have to say though that in the beginning of the drama, Nicky Wu looked odd to me playing a role in a historical drama. Nonetheless, the series is superb. I thought the ending was fantastic (I hate stories with lame endings!). My favourite characters were: Ruoxi (ofc), the 13th prince and the 14th prince (so cute). I really disliked the 8th prince though. He was a sort of odd (creepy) character but I did feel bad for him near the end.  Btw, the OST is really, really good too (esp. this song!).  Overall, I highly recommend this drama... I can't rave about it enough.

[iledrama]

Omg.... one of my new favourite dramas. I recently finished watching the whole series... I LOVE IT.  It's an amazing eye-opener into Chinese culture.... Everything is so dainty and elegant (love it!).... Plus the acting is good (none of that cheesy-cutesy kind).  Liu Shi Shi is perfect for the role of Ruoxi imo .  I have to say though that in the beginning of the drama, Nicky Wu looked odd to me playing a role in a historical drama. Nonetheless, the series is superb. I thought the ending was fantastic (I hate stories with lame endings!). My favourite characters were: Ruoxi (ofc), the 13th prince and the 14th prince (so cute). I really disliked the 8th prince though. He was a sort of odd (creepy) character but I did feel bad for him near the end.  Btw, the OST is really, really good too (esp. this song!).  Overall, I highly recommend this drama... I can't rave about it enough.

couldn't agree more

[raini]

This drama restored my love for Chinese period dramas. Its seriously beautiful and perfect! Love everything about it!!

edit:

ok I just finished this drama today. It's the best thing that ever happened to cdrama (for the while I've been watching of course). I just love it to pieces even though it broke the record for tear-jerking (maybe even cross-culture wise). Half the time, I don't even know why I'm crying. I'm so emotionally drained I don't think I can watch anything else for a while.. BBJX will stay in my heart for a long long time.

I can't believe I had my doubts about this drama in the beginning, but it's seriously too good to pass up. Maybe it's the Qing Dynasty hair (nobody can pull it off okay?) but I have my biases and this drama broke them all, more like pulverized them into tiny tiny pieces

I love RuoXi like I'm her mom

That almost makes no sense, but I honestly do. I think I got too attached to the characters..

[Guest .:daRkwinGs:.]

I love LOVE.

I mean LOVE LOVE this drama....

I finish it in 4 days...

I feel in love with the 13th and 14th prince.

Those are my favorite prince.

Yes, I do like 4th and 8th but not as much as 13th and 14th.

I hate 9th prince...

The whole time watching this drama..I curse the 9th prince...grrrr...

....

the songs are fantastic...

and the ending is well done...

the story was not rush and the clothing and scenery are well done too...

I would recommend this drama to anyone...

JUST be prepare to be suck into the Forbidden City.

XD

[Guest jaelyss]

Hey everyone! I'm glad I found a Soompi thread for this drama. It was my favourite of 2011 and probably is my favourite c-drama of all time. It had it all: good writing, costumes, acting, cinematography, and on and on. It has been one of the few in recent memory that made me feel genuinely sad and grieved when it ended. 

hi, a bit confused here, I want to ask.....

why after the RX scene kneed at the rain, because she get punished by the emperor from defend 13th, after a few days when 4th visit to her room, he suddenly tell her the he could't  ask ah-ma to marry RX, and then leave her cry alone..........why ??? he love her so much, right ??

As others have said, he was out of favour with the Emperor. He was really angry, ashamed and sad about it: "I'm sure he'll make a good marriage for you." Even if he dared to ask, the Emperor wouldn't have let her marry him at this time. Even though the Emperor was pissed at RX for being insubordinate, he values her and wouldn't have given her to a son who he didn't trust very much at the time. Basically, a lot of this drama is focussed on how all the characters is wrapped up in the political drama and the system of the Forbidden City. Even when 4th becomes Emperor, he's lonely and unable to escape the plots and threats and politics. 

There is talk of a sequel, but I'm not a fluent Chinese reader so I don't know the details of it yet. 

But did anyone see Nicky and LSS perform at the Hunan TV 2012 celebration? They sang one of the theme songs and I don't care if she lip synched, they are cute beyond words.  

[Guest severus]

The drama did make 8th prince to seem like a nicer person than he was portrayed in the book to be (:

The drama made 8th a nicer person than history deems him to be... although he had the title of "八贤王” he was a lot more conniving and scheming than the drama portrayed. This is one of the very few things that bugged me about this drama... we pity 8th in the drama, but in reality, he brought his doom upon himself.

I love how despite depicting the Forbidden City as a dark place where even the liveliest souls are destroyed, the drama makes me wanna be a part of that mess.

[raini]

The drama made 8th a nicer person than history deems him to be... although he had the title of "八贤王” he was a lot more conniving and scheming than the drama portrayed. This is one of the very few things that bugged me about this drama... we pity 8th in the drama, but in reality, he brought his doom upon himself.

I love how despite depicting the Forbidden City as a dark place where even the liveliest souls are destroyed, the drama makes me wanna be a part of that mess.

haha I never gonna be able to read the book (I'd love to read an eng translation though!) but throughout the drama 8th had always come off more shady than 4th to me. I don't remember which episode, but 8th had a line where he said he 'put in a lot of effort into my brothers' although he probably does treat them from the bottom of his heart to some extent, I just didn't like that line and that's where my good impression of him start spinning downward.

I think 14th had a little crush on RuoXi too. Does anyone have more solid evidence though? I hope it's not just my wishful thinking and they're just very chummy friends although I don't really mind. It's a pity I had do cut off my hopes for a 13th-Ruoxi loveline since he's my fav.

@ .:daRkwinGs:. I am right with you on 9th

[Guest jaelyss]

haha I never gonna be able to read the book (I'd love to read an eng translation though!) but throughout the drama 8th had always come off more shady than 4th to me. I don't remember which episode, but 8th had a line where he said he 'put in a lot of effort into my brothers' although he probably does treat them from the bottom of his heart to some extent, I just didn't like that line and that's where my good impression of him start spinning downward.

I think 14th had a little crush on RuoXi too. Does anyone have more solid evidence though? I hope it's not just my wishful thinking and they're just very chummy friends although I don't really mind. It's a pity I had do cut off my hopes for a 13th-Ruoxi loveline since he's my fav.  

@ .:daRkwinGs:. I am right with you on 9th  

8th was always shady to me too. It is true in BBJX that he always set out to be king because he was overly ambitious. I also did not like the line about how he had put so much effort into getting 9, 10 and 14 on his side. He saw them as political allies more than brothers. Furthermore, he allowed 9 to be corrupt more than once! There was this big aspect of corruption in the drama where 4th was constantly worried about it and 8th didn't care.

I like that 8th is seen as complex because in most cases, a lot of people in the world even in politics is not clear-cut evil. None of us will never know the real 8th and history is written by the winners and he did lose a lot in the end. He probably deserved it, but we can't judge completely either.

Also, at least the BBJX 8th is not like the Gong 8th. That really irked me!

I liked that in BBJX most of the characters were grey or more realistic. It made it easier to understand them. 9th was probably the biggest jerk though.

I definitely think 14th cared very much for RX. He wouldn't pursue her outright because he knew his favourite bro 8th loved her. He wanted to marry her and when she died, he was distraught. He was a bit of a jerk about her and 4th at times, but I think it's because he was projecting. He really wanted her for himself or 8th and he didn't like his blood brother very much. 

raini, you can read the first few chapters of BBJX in English here. I don't know if it'll they'll ever finish fantranslating it, but there are some up.