[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] Story of Yan Xi’s Palace 延禧攻略

[Alila Nguyen]

What Cedric gave you possibly the most detailed answer you would ever get lol. I said what I said based on this news website I followed. Before Yanxi, all it posted was Fuyao, now, every day all it posted is about Yanxi, Fuyao get an article once every 3 days lol. 

 

It also posted things like douban score, netizens’s most popular comments, pro and con of the latest developments etc.

 

i didn’t think sweet romance or whatever of Lu Han was that good based on the trailer, plus his acting is so terrible, but hey, whatever float their boats I guess.

 

thanks Cedric for the additional info on the drama, I just thought Yu Mama is both the director and the script writer again! He seems to have this ego that he couldn’t let other write or direct! No wonder this is actually decent lol! Didn’t know it was based on a book, strangely the website I followed mention nothing of that, it does said that it seems to be ripping off Story of Ruyi though, which is having troubles getting air time. And YU mama’s drama are often so bad, that it can’t be compared to the king of palace drama, legend of zhen huan. Put it in perspective, the last famous, decent palace drama YU mama made was scheme of a beauty!

 

on another news, it’s said that YU Mama is now hurrying making a drama for the Qin’s dynasty to compete with Fan Bing Bing’s also having trouble to get air time drama lol. And at this rate, he will hit the audiences before hers as well, and get another hit lawl

[Cedric Ong]

5 hours ago, Alila Nguyen said:

Didn’t know it was based on a book, strangely the website I followed mention nothing of that, it does said that it seems to be ripping off Story of Ruyi though, which is having troubles getting air time. And YU mama’s drama are often so bad, that it can’t be compared to the king of palace drama, legend of zhen huan. Put it in perspective, the last famous, decent palace drama YU mama made was scheme of a beauty!

No. I dont think this is not ripping off Ruyi. Yanxi is based on novel of same name...and i read that there is no plagiarism rumor. On the other hand, instead Ruyi original novel has plagiarism rumor. It was by same author of Zhenhuan...which also has plagiarism issue. People didnt realise it until the dramas become popular. Not sure if Ruyi drama is delayed due to this rumor or not.

 

Spoiler

And talking about same storylines, actually some said Yanxi copy recent HK drama Gong Xin Ji 2 "Deep In The Realm Of Conscience"...also same, it is female lead's sister that led to her entering the palace. But here is investigate her death. The HK one is her sister is missing. But think the novel appeared 1st before the HK drama.

 

Then as more palace dramas appear, u can't avoid the usual plots eg poison pregnant consorts, use dancing, singing to attract the Emperor, consorts having pets etc. As long as fine details, the dialogue, sequence of events aren't the same...can't say who copy who. 

 

About inaccurate potrayal of chars... read that the FuCha empress in Ruyi drama would be potrayed as evil one. The version in Yanxi should be the accurate one according to history books...she is really so gentle and kind.

 

But in Yanxi...the way Gao Consort is potrayed is exaggerated. She was known in history to like to perform opera...but doesnt necessary mean she would speak like one..haha. And is she so arrogant? No mention in history.

 

Guess such novels and dramas would take liberties in potraying chars compared to history.

 

 

[Alila Nguyen]

9 minutes ago, Cedric Ong said:

No. I dont think this is not ripping off Ruyi. Yanxi is based on novel of same name...and i read that there is no plagiarism rumor. On the other hand, instead Ruyi original novel has plagiarism rumor. It was by same author of Zhenhuan...which also has plagiarism issue. People didnt realise it until the dramas become popular. Not sure if Ruyi drama is delayed due to this rumor or not.

 

  Hide contents

And talking about same storylines, actually some said Yanxi copy recent HK drama Gong Xin Ji 2 "Deep In The Realm Of Conscience"...also same, it is female lead's sister that led to her entering the palace. But here is investigate her death. The HK one is her sister is missing. But think the novel appeared 1st before the HK drama.

 

Then as more palace dramas appear, u can't avoid the usual plots eg poison pregnant consorts, use dancing, singing to attract the Emperor, consorts having pets etc. As long as fine details, the dialogue, sequence of events aren't the same...can't say who copy who. 

 

About inaccurate potrayal of chars... read that the FuCha empress in Ruyi drama would be potrayed as evil one. The version in Yanxi should be the accurate one according to history books...she is really so gentle and kind.

 

But in Yanxi...the way Gao Consort is potrayed is exaggerated. She was known in history to like to perform opera...but doesnt necessary mean she would speak like one..haha. And is she so arrogant? No mention in history.

 

Guess such novels and dramas would take liberties in potraying chars compared to history.

 

 

 

Haha, yup, after a while, the old tricks/plots will just gonna be reused! Yea, I know about the issue of portraying the empress, this is actually the real reason why Ruyi and wins the world are having trouble getting air date, as they tried to create a different personality for a historical figure that is well known for being otherwise. With wins the world, it’s Qin Shi Huang! With Ruyi, though I didn’t have any article saying why, I would not doubt the portrayal of the empress gives them troubles with Sarft! This is also why China is trying to limit these sort of drama, where historical events and figures get twisted to fit a narrative.

 

As much as the novel for Yanxi might come out first, TVB tends to be very good in their script, as in when it’s creative, it’s creative, they write the plot well, etc. I don’t think I ever watch TVB series and feel like it’s a copy cat of something else  but then I have stopped watching TVB for a few years now, so maybe I’m out of date

[karened]

Owing to the bad reputation Yu Zheng has amassed in the past years, I have always hesitated when it comes to his works, notwithstanding that Gong was probably the drama which pulled me into the cdrama sphere (but it's a drama I am not keen to rewatch,  as with all his other dramas). But given the draught of good dramas after finishing Yun Xi Zhuan, I decided to give it a go.

 

Surprisingly, the colours were muted! The lead female is scheming and sometimes pure spiteful! The Empress is the kindest ever seen! The Emperor is actually aware of what his women are up to! The Emperor and the Empress love each other! 

Gasp.

 

Yet I wouldn't call it top quality, benchmarking against Zhen Huan Zhuan. One bug which is really annoying is the whole thing about the 3 earrings on one ear thing. This is usually only worn when the concubines/Empress are in their court attire (formal wear), and not on daily basis. Furthermore, this is limited to ladies of high ranking, as a status ofsymbol. So everytime i see a maid with 3 earrings on each ear, it just reads overkill. Also, if it's such a common practice amongst the maids even, why was the Emperor so impressed by the 秀女in episode 1 when she was spotted with three earrings - so much so she got a place in the harem for this?

 

I'm quite enjoying the watch, and dreading the eventual heartache - no spoilers here. As the Mainland viewers said, 现在有多甜后面就有多虐.

 

There has been a trend of bittersweet endings, so I'm hoping that for all the heartbreaks, the ending for this will be a big sweet one. Stop adding sugar to the current CPs when they won't be the end game! :( 

 

I'm still looking forward to Ruyi Zhuan and hoping it will live up to the standards of Zhen Huan Zhuan. I read that it is having difficulties airing because the production company want to air it on tv, and not just on online platforms as Yunxi Gong Lue is. And we all know the limited slots tv stations are given for period dramas these days..keeping fingers crossed!

[Cedric Ong]

1 hour ago, karened said:

 One bug which is really annoying is the whole thing about the 3 earrings on one ear thing. This is usually only worn when the concubines/Empress are in their court attire (formal wear), and not on daily basis. Furthermore, this is limited to ladies of high ranking, as a status ofsymbol. So everytime i see a maid with 3 earrings on each ear, it just reads overkill.

I am not expert in this. But i came across these in chinese.
 

Spoiler

The 1st paragraph mention...triple earrings can seen from old paintings of ladies in 朝服 (official wear) to 常服 (normal wear?). Maybe official wear is a must but normal wear can wear too.

http://www.bavlo.com/Education/Article_19662.html

Perhaps bcos outside the palace...less Manchu women wore them (as they gradually follow Han culture) so the Emperor was impressed.

As for being worn only by ladies of higher status...not true....it was tradition by all manchu. If one is poor, they will use copper.

https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/一耳三钳/3490979

 

So the doubt is how frequent do they wear....not they (lower status and in non-official clothes) don't wear. But this detail (of how frequent they wear) is missing in the articles i googled. 

 

And another doubt...the maids...mostly are Han...so by right not necessary to wear??unless it is due to palace rules?

 

As for why in other dramas we dont see this...perhaps due to cost...and visually it look awkward compared to one earring. 

 

I saw Ruyi drama screenshots...i think the ladies also wear triple earrings. Whether the maids too...will have to see later.

https://kuaibao.qq.com/s/20180722A1APTZ00?refer=spider

 

And we also know how the female lead in Ruyi will end...if they follow the history. Sad. For me i would look forward to Zhou xun's acting and portrayal of  the char.

 

[ForgottenSoulx]

11 hours ago, Alila Nguyen said:

 

Haha, yup, after a while, the old tricks/plots will just gonna be reused! Yea, I know about the issue of portraying the empress, this is actually the real reason why Ruyi and wins the world are having trouble getting air date, as they tried to create a different personality for a historical figure that is well known for being otherwise. With wins the world, it’s Qin Shi Huang! With Ruyi, though I didn’t have any article saying why, I would not doubt the portrayal of the empress gives them troubles with Sarft! This is also why China is trying to limit these sort of drama, where historical events and figures get twisted to fit a narrative.

 

As much as the novel for Yanxi might come out first, TVB tends to be very good in their script, as in when it’s creative, it’s creative, they write the plot well, etc. I don’t think I ever watch TVB series and feel like it’s a copy cat of something else  but then I have stopped watching TVB for a few years now, so maybe I’m out of date

 

I didnt even hear of SUyi getting trouble with Sarft? 

 

Its just delayed due to the changes around limiting the drama's thats it?

 

 

7 hours ago, karened said:

 

 

There has been a trend of bittersweet endings, so I'm hoping that for all the heartbreaks, the ending for this will be a big sweet one. Stop adding sugar to the current CPs when they won't be the end game!  

 

I'm still looking forward to Ruyi Zhuan and hoping it will live up to the standards of Zhen Huan Zhuan. I read that it is having difficulties airing because the production company want to air it on tv, and not just on online platforms as Yunxi Gong Lue is. And we all know the limited slots tv stations are given for period dramas these days..keeping fingers crossed!

 

Im pretty sure this is how the story goes in history its sugar then heartache. 

 

Ruyi Zhuan is definitely airing on tv this show is hyped. 

[ksthrnlghts]

Waiting for this series to be picked-up or subbed.   It's unfortunate that dramafever and viki are both mostly airing the same Chinese drama's currently.  There are too many other good drama's that we are missing out on.

[Alila Nguyen]

14 hours ago, Wotad said:

 

I didnt even hear of SUyi getting trouble with Sarft? 

 

Its just delayed due to the changes around limiting the drama's thats it?

 

I only said having trouble to get air date, I didn’t really say they got into troubles with Sarft lol. And the second part is my speculation only  since I did mention no article really say why Ruyi is having trouble getting air time. If it’s only simply cutting 120ep down to 90, it shouldn’t take that long, right? Obviously cutting 1/4 of a series does pose problem with coherent, but if they really want to push it out fast, I wouldn’t think that need to be delayed over a year.

[Alila Nguyen]

Double posting

Edited July 31, 2018 by Alila Nguyen

[Sobayaki]

I think so far I'm enjoying Yanxi as much as I enjoyed Zhen Huan despite the illogical bits mentioned a few posts above in which the female lead always gets her way somehow. Compared to Zhen Huan, I enjoy the fast pacing of Yanxi and the strong female lead. It's sort of a breath of fresh air to see the lead so smart.

 

It will be interesting to see Ruyi's version of history as there are several characters that will overlap. Charmaine Sheh's character in Yanxi will be the female lead in Ruyi.

 

I read some news that SARFT will only allow a certain allotment/air time each year of TV dramas that are set in historical periods. There was not enough space to fit in all 90 episodes of Ruyi in 2017 as there were already other period dramas signed on to air.

[Cedric Ong]

Too bad nobody is subbing this in english. 

 

This week, iqiyi has increased from originally 4 days (thu-sun) to 6 days (daily except monday), 2 episodes per day. Now is nearly 30 episodes (out of 70 ep) for non-vip viewers.

 

Besides iqiyi, got other sites but i won't mention here.

 

I think HK is showing a cantonese dubbed version.

 

As of 8 Aug, viewership is still highest among both webdrama and tv drama. Esp in webdrama ranking....such big gap.

Spoiler

 

 

Sidetrack abit...some viewers find some actresses not pretty in the drama...but they look better in normal modern wear...esp the female lead and Gao Consort.

Here are some pics. Start from 45secs.

 

My fav song from the drama..Sighs of the Red Walls....end-credit song for 1st half of drama. Not the best audio ver, but got eng subs. 

 

[etelou1]

I'm praying this picks up somewhere with some subs..it took over a year for subs to be added to "nothing gold can stay", so i'm not very hopeful. With so many dramas coming out this season, I just don't know

[sugarplum892]

12 hours ago, Cedric Ong said:

some actresses not pretty in the drama

i disagree, i think the empress is very pretty in the drama actually

[Cedric Ong]

25 minutes ago, sugarplum892 said:

i disagree, i think the empress is very pretty in the drama actually

I mean only "some" chars. And even the few ones....probably b'cos the hairstyle and make-up doesn't suit them that well.

 

Ya, FuCha Empress is indeed beautiful....and furthermore enhanced by her gentle and kind charm. 

 

Most list her as no 1 or no 2 in some fan-made ranking lists.

[Jackie1048]

For a bit of history, Consort Ling produces the emperor who will take over from Qianlong.

 

She bore 4 sons and 2 daughters for Qian Long making the only consort with the most children.

[Cedric Ong]

Official info is the show wlll be distributed to many countries (eg S. Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, besides the TVB cantonese version to HK, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore) and subbed accordingly.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iqiyi-expands-global-footprint-with-extensive-international-distribution-of-historical-costume-drama-story-of-yanxi-palace-300695345.html

 

So perhaps non-official sources will not sub it now? Can't find any source with eng sub.

[lovecarnation]

i heard this series was very hot in weibo , is this series good? tvb series, right?

[Cedric Ong]

49 minutes ago, lovecarnation said:

i heard this series was very hot in weibo , is this series good? tvb series, right?

Not TVB. It's china mainland production. But TVB bought the rights, dubbed in cantonese and start broadcast it now....even when the original version is halfway through. They acted really quick, probably saw the potential and also they knew HK viewers like this type of palace politics theme.

 

Douban rating is 7.0. It's contributed by netizens. Not the best score but ok. This page list the current shows.

https://movie.douban.com/tv/#!type=tv&tag=热门&sort=recommend&page_limit=20&page_start=0

 

Vlinkage is a service that calculate viewership. As of 10 Aug, still the highest among both webdrama and tv drama but the newer Ashes of Love (or also known as Heavy Sweetness Ash-like Frost) under TV drama is not far behind. 

Spoiler

 

To be honest, some plots/scenes have loopholes and u would have to disregard how the female lead, the Gao Consort, and quite a few lowly maids spoke out of protocol (i mean against someone of higher status than them). So in a way, if i look at it as half serious and half light-hearted (eg even the Emperor act abit like a kid), it is ok. 

 

Ok....i know some maids would speak too much or even talk back to their masters ....but my guess is it's a way to explain things....b'cos another char often the master would refute her and start explaining. It's like a tool in the storytelling.

 

Some ppl don't like the visual of the female lead. For me, I quite like it. At least, she doesn't look similar to other actresses. 

 

Think the main appeal is how the main female lead isn't a softie right from the right, abit refreshing. And how some supporting chars hid their true nature so well right from the start.

 

 

[lovecarnation]

14 minutes ago, Cedric Ong said:

Not TVB. It's china mainland production. But TVB bought the rights, dubbed in cantonese and start broadcast it now....even when the original version is halfway through. They acted really quick, probably saw the potential and also they knew HK viewers like this type of palace politics theme.

 

Douban rating is 7.0. It's contributed by netizens. Not the best score but ok. This page list the current shows.

https://movie.douban.com/tv/#!type=tv&tag=热门&sort=recommend&page_limit=20&page_start=0

 

Vlinkage is a service that calculate viewership. As of 10 Aug, still the highest among both webdrama and tv drama but the newer Ashes of Love (or also known as Heavy Sweetness Ash-like Frost) under TV drama is not far behind. 

  Hide contents

 

To be honest, some plots/scenes have loopholes and u would have to disregard how the female lead, the Gao Consort, and quite a few lowly maids spoke out of protocol (i mean against someone of higher status than them). So in a way, if i look at it as half serious and half light-hearted (eg even the Emperor act abit like a kid), it is ok. 

 

Ok....i know some maids would speak too much or even talk back to their masters ....but my guess is it's a way to explain things....b'cos another char often the master would refute her and start explaining. It's like a tool in the storytelling.

 

Some ppl don't like the visual of the female lead. For me, I quite like it. At least, she doesn't look similar to other actresses. 

 

Think the main appeal is how the main female lead isn't a softie right from the right, abit refreshing. And how some supporting chars hid their true nature so well right from the start.

 

 

thanks alot for your explain..

[Alila Nguyen]

Not to praise it, but just to add on to what Cedric Ong said to give you a context. Douban score, while there is some controversy about it (like any rating system, can be manipulated), if higher than 6, the drama is considered pretty decent. So normally you think 5-6 is quite bad out of the 10 scale, but douban is quite harsh, so anything above 6 is considered worthy of watching. Meanwhile, if you look at viki’s score, which is pure rubbish, a rubbish drama can still score a 7 or and 8.5+ lol. Most of the dramas are rated 9+ making it impossible to tell which one is rubbish lol!

 

currently the drama is still going strong despite being half way through, however it has deviated from the original source, so I guess we have to wait and see how well it actually is!