[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] The Story of Ming Lan 庶女明兰传 / 知否？知否？应是绿肥红瘦

[cherubstomato]

Rulan believes she can be happy being with a husband who is lower in status than being with a husband who is higher in status than her. That is where these arrange marriages are flawed. You never really know the real face of your in-laws and husbands until you married to them. Just like when Minglan cousin was wed to a lower status scholar but turned out he and his mother was greedy. Or the big sister with a mean mother in-law.

[tomo74]

52 minutes ago, Don Yu said:

*SIGH*

Sorry if this is annoying, but I am really trying to know but no one is telling me, so I am asking again!

Which episode so far is Zhang LiYing's BEST ACTING episode? I would appreciate it SO MUCH if someone can tell me.

PLEASE ANSWER!!!

Um, I'll say from ep 5 to ep 73.... Zhao Liying is a female lead in this drama, and she is a good actress, so she'll be in every episode and in every episode, she always do her best acting 

[cheekychipmunk_stv]

Ep 31 - the scene with QH n his princess wife. He is totally lifeless and hen pecked by the princess. How can she expects him to love her when he is forced to marry her and she treats  him with no respect at all. He is like a bought dog doing "yes master." I wanted to slap her when she forced QH to pray out loud for blessings with children and only satisfied when he did n said "That should be the way." I cant translate it well but in Chinese is more insulting in its implication at that scene. Temple scene is so sad. ML cried when she saw QH.

 

I do feel that ML orchestrate the whole thing by egging Molan n Concubine Lin to desperately capture 6th Lord. She just lay all the hints for them to react. She did well in getting Da Niang to go temple and catch Molan and 6th Lord.

 

She can really be a badass when situation asked for.

 

CB''s wife threw a question to Molan "have you ever wondered why a high status family like Liang would asked for ML hand in marriage instead?" Molan did hesitated n almost have a heart attack moment that maybe she miscalculated this time... then she quickly brushed it away thinking that they were just simply jealous of her because she will be the main wife of 6th lord and everyone in this household will bow to her. She couldn't believe that 6th lord didn't want her nor ask for her hand in marriage after getting caught. That alone should sound the alarm in her head. She just simply cannot believe that she lost the game.

 

The Dr He seems like a good fit for ML just like QH. They will have a very normal peaceful marriage if he didn't have a cousin crushing on him. Did Dr He reciprocated his cousin's feeling's too? He looks a bit like QH too.

 

The suitor for RL seems a tad too old. He isn't that bad looking if u look at him more. Just that he looks a lot older than any if the main casts and even the 6th lord.

 

 

[leeza77]

8 minutes ago, Maria Brimstone said:

Okay, no idea if this has been asked or answered when I was going through the massive paragraphs debating QH's character and judgement lol.

 

Buuut, I was wondering if the Princess he marries gets any form of retribution? Does QH's mother also suffer in any way in the future? Over bearing daughter-in-law or during the rebellion and so forth

Spoiler

Hi, in the novel she was killed by the relative of the girl who she has committed suicide(the girl was abducted and raped) on order of the princess. 

 

[hello210]

15 minutes ago, Maria Brimstone said:

Okay, no idea if this has been asked or answered when I was going through the massive paragraphs debating QH's character and judgement lol.

 

Buuut, I was wondering if the Princess he marries gets any form of retribution? Does QH's mother also suffer in any way in the future? Over bearing daughter-in-law or during the rebellion and so forth

Spoiler

If they follow the novel, his first wife gets what the kidnapped girl got during the rebellion. Don’t know about his mother.

 

[cheekychipmunk_stv]

30 minutes ago, cherubstomato said:

Ummmmm, you need to watch the show to determine that answer for yourself. 

 

It's hard to answer. That's why no one answered because ever episode is different display of acting skill .. depends on what u are looking for. All is subtle display of emotions sInce she is supposed to be docile, obedient and non existence with her siblings and Da Niang n Concubine Lin. Only RL and grandma knows her spunkiness.

[m0us3y]

9 minutes ago, cheekychipmunk_stv said:

 

The Dr He seems like a good fit for ML just like QH. They will have a very normal peaceful marriage if he didn't have a cousin crushing on him. Did Dr He reciprocated his cousin's feeling's too? He looks a bit like QH too.

 

The suitor for RL seems a tad too old. He isn't that bad looking if u look at him more. Just that he looks a lot older than any if the main casts and even the 6th lord.

 

I don't mind Dr.He too. Like granny said he's very submissive. I like that he just does whatever ML asks him to, including going into the brothel! 

 

However I can't agree that QH is a good fit for ML. The Qi family will try to eat her alive. While I reckon the He family adores her...

[cheekychipmunk_stv]

1 hour ago, Don Yu said:

*SIGH*

Sorry if this is annoying, but I am really trying to know but no one is telling me, so I am asking again!

Which episode so far is Zhang LiYing's BEST ACTING episode? I would appreciate it SO MUCH if someone can tell me.

PLEASE ANSWER!!!

 

 

It's hard to answer. That's why no one answered because ever episode is different display of acting skill .. depends on what u are looking for. All is subtle display of emotions sInce she is supposed to be docile, obedient and non existence with her siblings and Da Niang n Concubine Lin. Only RL and grandma knows her spunkiness.

[leeza77]

5 minutes ago, cheekychipmunk_stv said:

 

It's hard to answer. That's why no one answered because ever episode is different display of acting skill .. depends on what u are looking for. All is subtle display of emotions sInce she is supposed to be docile, obedient and non existence with her siblings and Da Niang n Concubine Lin. Only RL and grandma knows her spunkiness.

Totally agreed with u. Her characters are multifaceted she nailed all of them. Giving the best of hers in every scene. Even the director highly praised her saying that her performance is very real. The highest point of performance. And this was concurred by his fellow directors. 

[cheekychipmunk_stv]

5 minutes ago, m0us3y said:

I don't mind Dr.He too. Like granny said he's very submissive. I like that he just does whatever ML asks him to, including going into the brothel! 

 

However I can't agree that QH is a good fit for ML. The Qi family will try to eat her alive. While I reckon the He family adores her...

 

Seriously?  In which ep did ML asked Dr He to go to brothel? I must have missed it.

 

QH & ML will be happy together without the interfering n over controlling mother in law. She is pure black heart. QH will be like Dr He ... do everything ML asked of him.   GTY will too but within reasons. He will be putty in ML hands just like Dr He & QH.

[Golden Flower]

8 hours ago, linhlinh111 said:

I don't know but I have a feeling that the drama is buffing ML too much. From being in charge of the Sheng family (did not happen i the book and very unreasonable, ML was just a shu daughter) to proposing the divorce of her cousin (did not happen in the book and very unappropriate bc ML was not yet married and just a relative, Shulan grandma was the one who proposed that) and now helping the emperor? She did things that were very unfit to her position and it made everyone around her look useless, thus destroy the logic of the story. But I think maybe bc she is the main lead so the drama has to make things more about her somehow.

I concurred and that’s what I have been commenting in my previous posts (even wrote long pointing out out of logic scenes) that I was a bit disappointed in drama writing for being inconsistent with main theme/ logic of the story of “how tough the life of the women those days and worse if they’re are Shu daughter”. Although I knew drama won’t follow the novel exactly, ML and GTY are main leads but it was my fault in hoping that it will try to be as close to historically and culturally accurate in potraying the life of women of Song Dynasty as they kept the Chinese name which came from poem lamenting tough life of women. I was my ideal thinking the drama won’t be fantasy idol drama with overachieving heroine and male lead as they chose this novel with realistically flawed leads but they will subtly potray ML’s achievements, GTY’s changes and their fated meetings (GTY rescuing ML 3 times from bandits a bit much coincidental and there will be 4th time rescuing her from Assassins) within the context allowable of that time period like in the book. After watching epi 32 and previews, I decided to change my mindset and won’t be focusing on being logical with the time period or drama being as a literary piece or compare it with the book. I will just watch it like entertainment drama like others with super heroine and her knight in shining armor. I know the book is also novel and not history book but from reading history books and other historical novels, I just think the characters and the logic of the story reflect more closely to difficult lives of women in Song, Ming and Qing society due to widespread belief of Neo-Confucianism and men restricting lives of women.

Note: I do not dislike any actors in the drama or particularly dislike any characters in the book except Lin Yiniang and Jiachen princess and her mon (now drama changed it to her mom YW Fei only). I also like ZLY acting in Legend of Luzhen, Shen Shen and princess agent as I watched those drama as just fantasy idol drama. 

Spoiler

I guess that was another reason I dropped Yanxi Palace as unrealistic heroine and storylines not reflecting palace rules of Qing dynasty.

 

[cherubstomato]

12 minutes ago, cheekychipmunk_stv said:

 

It's hard to answer. That's why no one answered because ever episode is different display of acting skill .. depends on what u are looking for. All is subtle display of emotions sInce she is supposed to be docile, obedient and non existence with her siblings and Da Niang n Concubine Lin. Only RL and grandma knows her spunkiness.

That’s why I suggested they watch the show and see for themselves. ZLY is a good actor but to know which is her best performance can differ in opinions as we all have different views on what is best. 

She really becomes the characters she plays. She studies and gets to know it and reads the novel. That’s why I always believe I am watching the character and not ZLY. I love that they also used their real voice... Over all I think the cast is very good. Some say some actors are not good looking or some look too old or support class look better than male lead etc etc... This is why I prefer C-drama over K-drama. Because a lot of good shows is not just baiting people with good looking young actors... J-drama have a lot of good slice of life dramas which I appreciate but the acting is a hit or miss. I only watch C dramas nowadays and glad more shows are being subbed.

[leeza77]

9 minutes ago, Golden Flower said:

I concurred and that’s what I have been commenting in my previous posts (even wrote long pointing out out of logic scenes) that I was a bit disappointed in drama writing for being inconsistent with main theme/ logic of the story of “how tough the life of the women those days and worse if they’re are Shu daughter”. Although I knew drama won’t follow the novel exactly, ML and GTY are main leads but it was my fault in hoping that it will try to be as close to historically and culturally accurate in potraying the life of women of Song Dynasty as they kept the Chinese name which came from poem lamenting tough life of women. I was my ideal thinking the drama won’t be fantasy idol drama with overachieving heroine and male lead as they chose this novel with realistically flawed leads but they will subtly potray ML’s achievements, GTY’s changes and their fated meetings (GTY rescuing ML 3 times from bandits a bit much coincidental and there will be 4th time rescuing her from Assassins) within the context allowable of that time period like in the book. After watching epi 32 and previews, I decided to change my mindset and won’t be focusing on being logical with the time period or drama being as a literary piece or compare it with the book. I will just watch it like entertainment drama like others with super heroine and her knight in shining armor. I know the book is also novel and not history book but from reading history books and other historical novels, I just think the characters and the logic of the story reflect more closely to difficult lives of women in Song, Ming and Qing society due to widespread belief of Neo-Confucianism and men restricting lives of women.

Note: I do not dislike any actors in the drama or particularly dislike any characters in the book except Lin Yiniang and Jiachen princess and her mon (now drama changed it to her mom YW Fei only). I also like ZLY acting in Legend of Luzhen, Shen Shen and princess agent as I watched those drama as just fantasy idol drama. 

  Reveal hidden contents

I guess that was another reason I dropped Yanxi Palace as unrealistic heroine and storylines not reflecting palace rules of Qing dynasty.

 

I read the novel because of the drama. And it's very difficult, skipping to the part of zly and gty. If the drama strictly follow the novel, it's quite boring. Just my opinion. 

[kadie]

Has anyone seen this trailer subbed below:

 

https://www.viki.com/videos/1142287v-trailer-4

 

It seems to contain several scenes that take place after ML's marriage.  I especially want to know what they are saying in the second half of it. 

 

I can't reset my password for my original Soompi account.  All I get is a 404 # error.

[leeza77]

40 minutes ago, cheekychipmunk_stv said:

Ep 31 - the scene with QH n his princess wife. He is totally lifeless and hen pecked by the princess. How can she expects him to love her when he is forced to marry her and she treats  him with no respect at all. He is like a bought dog doing "yes master." I wanted to slap her when she forced QH to pray out loud for blessings with children and only satisfied when he did n said "That should be the way." I cant translate it well but in Chinese is more insulting in its implication at that scene. Temple scene is so sad. ML cried when she saw QH.

 

I do feel that ML orchestrate the whole thing by egging Molan n Concubine Lin to desperately capture 6th Lord. She just lay all the hints for them to react. She did well in getting Da Niang to go temple and catch Molan and 6th Lord.

 

She can really be a badass when situation asked for.

 

CB''s wife threw a question to Molan "have you ever wondered why a high status family like Liang would asked for ML hand in marriage instead?" Molan did hesitated n almost have a heart attack moment that maybe she miscalculated this time... then she quickly brushed it away thinking that they were just simply jealous of her because she will be the main wife of 6th lord and everyone in this household will bow to her. She couldn't believe that 6th lord didn't want her nor ask for her hand in marriage after getting caught. That alone should sound the alarm in her head. She just simply cannot believe that she lost the game.

 

The Dr He seems like a good fit for ML just like QH. They will have a very normal peaceful marriage if he didn't have a cousin crushing on him. Did Dr He reciprocated his cousin's feeling's too? He looks a bit like QH too.

 

The suitor for RL seems a tad too old. He isn't that bad looking if u look at him more. Just that he looks a lot older than any if the main casts and even the 6th lord.

 

 

Spoiler

Yes, ml did manipulate molan and linniang as her form of revenge for her mother death. She admitted it to grandma and grandma was so angry and slapped her, but hugged her later on (oww grandma is the best). The one who told molan about mama liang wanted ML and not her wad Hualan, not CB's wife. 

 

[ForgottenSoulx]

21 minutes ago, Golden Flower said:

I concurred and that’s what I have been commenting in my previous posts (even wrote long pointing out out of logic scenes) that I was a bit disappointed in drama writing for being inconsistent with main theme/ logic of the story of “how tough the life of the women those days and worse if they’re are Shu daughter”. Although I knew drama won’t follow the novel exactly, ML and GTY are main leads but it was my fault in hoping that it will try to be as close to historically and culturally accurate in potraying the life of women of Song Dynasty as they kept the Chinese name which came from poem lamenting tough life of women. I was my ideal thinking the drama won’t be fantasy idol drama with overachieving heroine and male lead as they chose this novel with realistically flawed leads but they will subtly potray ML’s achievements, GTY’s changes and their fated meetings (GTY rescuing ML 3 times from bandits a bit much coincidental and there will be 4th time rescuing her from Assassins) within the context allowable of that time period like in the book. After watching epi 32 and previews, I decided to change my mindset and won’t be focusing on being logical with the time period or drama being as a literary piece or compare it with the book. I will just watch it like entertainment drama like others with super heroine and her knight in shining armor. I know the book is also novel and not history book but from reading history books and other historical novels, I just think the characters and the logic of the story reflect more closely to difficult lives of women in Song, Ming and Qing society due to widespread belief of Neo-Confucianism and men restricting lives of women.

Note: I do not dislike any actors in the drama or particularly dislike any characters in the book except Lin Yiniang and Jiachen princess and her mon (now drama changed it to her mom YW Fei only). I also like ZLY acting in Legend of Luzhen, Shen Shen and princess agent as I watched those drama as just fantasy idol drama. 

  Hide contents

I guess that was another reason I dropped Yanxi Palace as unrealistic heroine and storylines not reflecting palace rules of Qing dynasty.

 

 

Yeah cause you knew everything that happened back then? are you a time traveller im sure you know exactly what went on in every household. # If you think this drama is simply a drama with super heroine and knight in shinning armour then that is your ignorance. 

 

So annoying its like you people want to be bored to death if this show followed the book it would be awfully boring and even the book is unrealistic when the female lead is from a different time but lets look at this show and compare it to history?

 

If anyone has actually read the book and think's the book is better then mercy on your soul that is all im saying. 

 

Oh lord. 

[hello210]

20 minutes ago, cheekychipmunk_stv said:

 

Seriously?  In which ep did ML asked Dr He to go to brothel? I must have missed it.

Ep 24 during the Shulan divorce talks with the elders.  he actually helps with a little bit of bribing using medicine. 

[leeza77]

22 minutes ago, cheekychipmunk_stv said:

 

Seriously?  In which ep did ML asked Dr He to go to brothel? I must have missed it.

 

QH & ML will be happy together without the interfering n over controlling mother in law. She is pure black heart. QH will be like Dr He ... do everything ML asked of him.   GTY will too but within reasons. He will be putty in ML hands just like Dr He & QH.

That's in ep 23 if i'm not mistaken. Ml and pinglan seeking the prostitute deed (of xiucai's concubine). It was held by the owner of the brothel. Thus, here it comes the good dr.he went to the brothel to ask the owner to meet ml n pl in a restaurant negotiating on the purchase of the deed. 

[m0us3y]

23 minutes ago, cheekychipmunk_stv said:

 

Seriously?  In which ep did ML asked Dr He to go to brothel? I must have missed it.

 

QH & ML will be happy together without the interfering n over controlling mother in law. She is pure black heart. QH will be like Dr He ... do everything ML asked of him.   GTY will too but within reasons. He will be putty in ML hands just like Dr He & QH.

When they were trying to save ML's couz?

They were trying to get amicable separation while the good for nothing arrogant husband wanted to divorce her. So ML, the sis and they took Dr he to the brothel to get the certificate?

[minoku2209]

Next trailer epi 33-34

Spoiler