[Mainland Chinese Drama 2019] Listening Snow Tower 听雪楼: 血薇

[omiki]

On 5/17/2019 at 11:44 AM, Alila N said:

 

Uhm, I’m only up to ep5, and I’m not that thrilled with the action scenes. It’s kinda stock standard, admittedly in high quality. But in a sense of excitements, zero! The only one I appreciate was the kick in ep1 fight scenes between the evil lady (Jessica) and the dad.

 

Like you, I also had some criticism of the fight scenes which I commented on in an earlier post but now that I am at Ep. 15, I see that there are now many more which were done quite well. For example, as mentioned by @bluehibiscus, the fight scene between Ah Jing and XYQ when they met again after three years - beautifully shot, the colours, the flying sequences, the rain, etc ... Many squeal worthy scenes between our leads, as mentioned by @Yui. above - the period when Ah Jing was blinded by poison, and was looked after by a mute doctor, who unknown to her, was actually XYJ. So, I would recommend you press on past Ep. 10, which is a turning point for Ah Jing, when her shifu and Qing Lan are killed by Bai Lian Sect in Sand Valley. She starts to practise the Blood Rose sword and can Attack (instead of just defending herself  which her shifu only taught her previously). 

[Alila Nguyen]

7 minutes ago, omiki said:

Like you, I also had some criticism of the fight scenes which I commented on in an earlier post but now that I am at Ep. 15, I see that there are now many more which were done quite well. For example, as mentioned by @bluehibiscus, the fight scene between Ah Jing and XYQ when they met again after three years - beautifully shot, the colours, the flying sequences, the rain, etc ... Many squeal worthy scenes between our leads, as mentioned by @Yui. above - the period when Ah Jing was blinded by poison, and was looked after by a mute doctor, who unknown to her, was actually XYJ. So, I would recommend you press on past Ep. 10, which is a turning point for Ah Jing, when her shifu and Qing Lan are killed by Bai Lian Sect in Sand Valley. She starts to practise the Blood Rose sword and can Attack (instead of just defending herself  which her shifu only taught her previously). 

 

Yea, I know of the turning point in ep10,  can I skip to it? Or do I have to get there lol? (In a really busy period atm, barely have enough time for princess silver). A youtuber who seems to have similar taste as I do seems to be disinterested in this drama also, though I don’t know how far a long he is, he understands chinese, so it’s hard to figure out where he’s up to when he’s like me, dropping this for princess silver atm.

[caranita]

Having watched up to ep 16, I'm happy to say I'm liking this series so much. It has the old school wuxia feeling, and it's probably the "purest" wuxia drama in recent years that isn't a Jin Yong or Gu Long adaptation. It has all the wuxia elements: the wandering heroine, the different sects and their rivalries,  revenge stories, and even some philosophies.  I'm very happy with the fact that it's being subbed in YouTube and Viki, since I don't speak Mandarin and am not familiar with the story.

 

I like that it has mystery elements too, really remind me to the TVB dramas I watched growing up. The story is actually, IMO, quite well-written and engaging. I didn't read the book, but surprisingly I'm not too eager for spoilers and rather enjoying the mysteries unfolding.

 

3 hours ago, Alila Nguyen said:

I haven’t read the book, and starting to try a series, the least they can do is making it compelling for me to keep watching, which isn’t the case :/ I hate to have to go like 5Eps+ to like something, also I’ve been scarred by legend of qin, which has mile better music, much better acting, and the fight sequence were exhilarating even though very short and far few, and that show was almost a waste of time to watch, so this show is like following it lol.

 

Oh wow, glad to find another Legend of Qin watcher! (We're probably among  5 who did, LOL).  I like Legend of Qin, but I disagree about better acting and better fights. They're about the same level in the acting department (although Lu Yi is charismatic and magnetic), but IMO Listening Snow Tower has better fighting scenes, not to mention there are quite a number of them, making it truly wuxia. I do agree they need to tone down the slow motion. Also, the flashbacks in LoQ are very annoying, since they're all from the same scene being replayed to death -- but the flashbacks in Snow Tower serve as exposition tools. 

 

The leads are not typical wuxia noble, goody two shoes heroes though. Both are cold. Despite their attraction to each other, they are calculated to one another, perhaps best showcased at the end of ep 16 (now I can't wait for ep 17 onward to get subbed!). 

 

While the acting can be improved, I do think the portrayal is decent. Crystal has a perpetual melancholic face, but surprisingly I find her becoming cold and ruthless believable. Xiao Yiqing isn't particularly likeable, but I'm all for a frail but highly skilled martial fighter. He's a cross between Mei Changsu and Gong Zi of Bloody Romance, and I think Qin Junjie plays the role pretty well. 

 

My issues initially was the styling, the slow motion, and bad editing. Also can I say plot holes? 

[Alila Nguyen]

11 minutes ago, caranita said:

Having watched up to ep 16, I'm happy to say I'm liking this series so much. It has the old school wuxia feeling, and it's probably the "purest" wuxia drama in recent years that isn't a Jin Yong or Gu Long adaptation. It has all the wuxia elements: the wandering heroine, the different sects and their rivalries,  revenge stories, and even some philosophies.  I'm very happy with the fact that it's being subbed in YouTube and Viki, since I don't speak Mandarin and am not familiar with the story.

 

I like that it has mystery elements too, really remind me to the TVB dramas I watched growing up. The story is actually, IMO, quite well-written and engaging. I didn't read the book, but surprisingly I'm not too eager for spoilers and rather enjoying the mysteries unfolding.

 

 

Oh wow, glad to find another Legend of Qin watcher! (We're probably among  5 who did, LOL).  I like Legend of Qin, but I disagree about better acting and better fights. They're about the same level in the acting department (although Lu Yi is charismatic and magnetic), but IMO Listening Snow Tower has better fighting scenes, not to mention there are quite a number of them, making it truly wuxia. I do agree they need to tone down the slow motion. Also, the flashbacks in LoQ are very annoying, since they're all from the same scene being replayed to death -- but the flashbacks in Snow Tower serve as exposition tools. 

 

The leads are not typical wuxia noble, goody two shoes heroes though. Both are cold. Despite their attraction to each other, they are calculated to one another, perhaps best showcased at the end of ep 16 (now I can't wait for ep 17 onward to get subbed!). 

 

While the acting can be improved, I do think the portrayal is decent. Crystal has a perpetual melancholic face, but surprisingly I find her becoming cold and ruthless believable. Xiao Yiqing isn't particularly likeable, but I'm all for a frail but highly skilled martial fighter. He's a cross between Mei Changsu and Gong Zi of Bloody Romance, and I think Qin Junjie plays the role pretty well. 

 

My issues initially was the styling, the slow motion, and bad editing. Also can I say plot holes? 

 

Haha, when I said the acting is better because mainly of Lu Yi, but also the support cast, his evil (or not so evil sect brother), basically LoQ has all the great support cast, so for that I say better acting, because I was drawn by the support cast’s acting. For the main cast, HQB is great, though her character is pretty bland, male lead was annoying so there’s that.

 

uhm, since I’m only up to 5, maybe too harsh on listening snow, but I remember the fight in LoQ do emote exhilarating which is what TVB series used to give me. I grew up watching them as well. So far, the fight in listening snow isn’t even making me excited 1 bit, and I saw the trailer for the beautiful fight you guys described, and I question that umbrella vs umbrella very much. But I’ll get back to this series then comment more

[Yui.]

On 5/17/2019 at 1:35 PM, bluehibiscus said:

Mon to Thu, 2 episodes each (VIP members get a headstart of 8 episodes). The official YT channel is now at Ep16. So far, there are 25 episodes released.

 
Do we know why it's 25 instead of 26 if it's 2 episodes per day?

 

1 hour ago, omiki said:

Like you, I also had some criticism of the fight scenes which I commented on in an earlier post but now that I am at Ep. 15, I see that there are now many more which were done quite well. For example, as mentioned by @bluehibiscus, the fight scene between Ah Jing and XYQ when they met again after three years - beautifully shot, the colours, the flying sequences, the rain, etc ... Many squeal worthy scenes between our leads, as mentioned by @Yui. above - the period when Ah Jing was blinded by poison, and was looked after by a mute doctor, who unknown to her, was actually XYJ. So, I would recommend you press on past Ep. 10, which is a turning point for Ah Jing, when her shifu and Qing Lan are killed by Bai Lian Sect in Sand Valley. She starts to practise the Blood Rose sword and can Attack (instead of just defending herself  which her shifu only taught her previously). 

 

The fight sequence during the reunion so far is still my favorite of the series thus far!  
 

Spoiler

God dying for QM/Ah Jing to find out her Martial brother Qing Lan is alive. T^T I want to see them reunite already.
xD Jessica (Bai Yue Sec leader) died real quick in the series.....I thought she could have lasted more haha.

The Long family arc got a bit draggy for me..... It doesn't bother me too much because I am really liking how the actors/actresses portray the characters and it's the character interactions that make me really like the series and their character developments. 

 

I am really liking this song (Reincarnate) aside from "Blood Rose".

Spoiler

 

 

[impoppies]

On 5/15/2019 at 10:41 AM, bluehibiscus said:

 

Are you a fan of the novel? If you are watching on a clean slate, you probably won't be affected by the discrepancies between the novel and the drama.

 

This has me intrigued. I've gone ahead and ordered the book but I think I'm going to hold off reading it till the show has concluded. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

Still at Ep 23. Bit distracted this past week, what with all the BTS excitement and appearances.

I enjoyed the fight between the male lead and Jia Ruo

Spoiler

 

/Qing Lan. This was a fight where the outcome was not a given for me and the bit of suspense added to the fun (and for some reason, I'd expected Qing Lan to be stronger). 

 

So it was a clear defeat for the latter then, who lost both the flower and his mask and might well have had his throat slit as well had Xiao Yi Qing not been taken aback by his true identity and forgot to attack (mid-flight, no less).

 

 

Anyway, back to the show. But first, Nole vs Rafa.

[bluehibiscus]

@Yui. There was a technical hiccup at Tencent recently so they released one more episode to make up for the inconvenience caused.

[impoppies]

Finally caught up to Ep 25. I liked that even in his ailing state, the male lead could still have Xiao Yin sussed out and spot her vulnerabilities. 

 

Spoiler

 

Funny show. The poor chap. Better-skilled and could have won fully yet ended up getting injured by Qing Lan and triggering a relapse of his illness. And the female lead just rushed off to look for a doctor and left him defenseless and unconscious in the room. All alone. Anyone could have gone in to harm him. Which they did. Dude could, should, have died many times over. 

 

And now even his bracelet is gone.

 

 

Hopefully something intelligent will happen soon. I want to see more manipulations and hidden agendas disguised as acts of kindness. I want to see supposedly brilliant characters act brilliantly. Not inexplicably stupidly, which has been the case of late, unfortunately.

 

Ok, on to Ep 26.

[Yui.]

Caught up to 31, it's getting kind of draggy. I feel like it's lacking once Hua Lian dies. I like the actress that plays Ming He, but she lacks in Jessica's presence. xD Interesting that mascara was not used for her makeup in the drama. 

 

Spoiler

Dying for Qing Lan and Qing Ming reunion already >_<

 

Spoiler

 

 

[vietgurl4ever206]

that little su mui of his is killing me, that girl need to grow the hell up and understanding what is going on. the rest of the drama was decent.

[celebrianna]

4 hours ago, vietgurl4ever206 said:

that little su mui of his is killing me, that girl need to grow the hell up and understanding what is going on. the rest of the drama was decent.

Omo, I tolerated her by giving her the excuse that it was not her fault that she lost the map of Sand Valley but now I’m hating her for 

Spoiler

forcing Yi Qing to rescue her by drinking what seems like poison. (I can only guess that’s what happened because it’s a RAW episode without English subs) The guy is already suffering from his severe illness and then he still had to clean up her mess by adding to his terminal health issues. I guess he feels that he should drink the cup in her place because her father gave his power to him to help him live a little longer. I keep vacillating between preparing myself for his death and hoping he lives a few more years but things get bleaker by the episode.

 

I don’t find Yi Qing unlikeable one bit. He’s my favorite character by far. He’s intelligent, practical, decisive and a great fighter. All his scenes interest me unlike the scenes at the Moon Sect though they’re a necessary part of the story.

 

As to the elder brother, I can’t wait for him to find out the truth. The Moon Sect girl has it coming to her in spades. How dare she even keep him by her side? I hope he doesn’t let me down by feeling torn about her. He seemed to be affected by her even after he learned that she was behind the invasion of Sand Valley and his master was already dead. I would have killed her on the spot. What bargaining chip? Please. Since he brought her into the valley he should have killed her even if it meant sacrificing himself. I don’t believe in revenge but since these characters do, why didn’t he just avenge his master right there? 

 

@caranita, ITA about Legend of Qin. The draw for me in that was, as you so succinctly described, the charismatic and magnetic portrayal of the legendary swordsman by Lu Yi. I must say that while I wasn’t too fond of Qin Junjie’s character in that drama as well as Legend of Chusen, I absolutely adore him here. This is the first time I have seen him as male lead and I’m falling for his portrayal quite hard. He reminds me a lot of Mei Chang Su. I particularly like that he has no qualms about turning his enemies into useful ties for him. I always remember watching a Japanese anime where an intelligent character told this prince that a great leader can turn his enemies into his friends. I’m often reminded of that quote when I observe the way Yi Qing operates.  The bonus for me here outside of the pugilist world struggles is the way he seem to love the female lead. I like the way he looks at her because his eyes says so much. And yet he doesn’t hesitate to be tough with her and vice versa.

[celebrianna]

I watched up to episode 33 raw episodes and I must admit that one thing I appreciate about this drama is that a person’s deeds eventually come to light. Some spoilers from what I can make out without English subs.

Spoiler

Like Xiao Tai losing the map of Sand valley is revealed in one of the episodes close to 30. Someone sends a coffin with a skeleton to Snow Tower and the note inside the coffin had the map enclosed and a note that must have obviously identified Xiao Tai as the one who lost it and Yi Qian was surprised. Fortunately he didn’t hide it from Jing but faced it head on. 

 

After everybody left them alone in the hall he showed her the note and of course she immediately went to confront Xiao Tai. Yi Qian seemed like he tried to protect Xiao Tai by attempting to reason with Jing but of course as anyone who has seen up to episode 25 on YouTube English subbed, Yi Qian and Jing often clash over actions and beliefs.

 

This leads to a period of obvious falling out between them which is quite painful to watch considering I feel they are wasting precious time hurting each other. After all, Jing and the gang had just rescued Yi Qian who I’m quite positive was near death after getting kidnapped from the Long family island. He’s very ill and yet they’re holding grudges against each other after they had such a heartfelt reunion after he was rescued. They even hugged for a long time in his private quarters and they were crying. How quickly they forgot that experience.

 

Still, I think part of their issue is also the fact that Yi Qian seemed to have drunk poison in Xiao Tai’s place to save her from a guy who was avenging the death of his lover whom Xiao Tai accidentally killed under hallucination. It seemed like  Jing had tried to stop him but he went ahead and took on the challenge in the place of Xiao Tai. I don’t blame Jing for being upset with him for that because she values his life. In any case, I believe this issue plus listening toYi Qian try to dissuade her from avenging her master and senior brother by attacking Xiao Tai just blew up their fallout.

 

Fortunately they seemed to have reconciled their differences by episode 32. 

 

From the preview of episode 40, it seems elder brother is beginning to experience flashes of memory of Jing. In episode 41, Jing finally sees elder brother in a confrontation with her and Yi Qing on one side and Qing Lan and Moon Sect nutty princess on the other. 

 

[bluehibiscus]

 

 

[bluehibiscus]

@celebrianna I recommend the Legend of the Dragon Pearl if you like to see more of Qin Junjie as ML. The show has a cliffhanger ending but is still worth watching. It was supposed to be the first of a 4-part series but if they ever shoot the rest,  the cast will likely change.

[celebrianna]

@bluehibiscus, for the OST videos you posted at the top of page 2, are there any of them that was English subbed on YouTube? I tried to find them with the English sub lyrics but I was unsuccessful. The OST is beautiful. 

[Yui.]

On 5/26/2019 at 7:30 AM, celebrianna said:

Omo, I tolerated her by giving her the excuse that it was not her fault that she lost the map of Sand Valley 

 

I don’t find Yi Qing unlikeable one bit. He’s my favorite character by far. He’s intelligent, practical, decisive and a great fighter. All his scenes interest me unlike the scenes at the Moon Sect though they’re a necessary part of the story.

 

As to the elder brother, I can’t wait for him to find out the truth. The Moon Sect girl has it coming to her in spades. How dare she even keep him by her side? I hope he doesn’t let me down by feeling torn about her. He seemed to be affected by her even after he learned that she was behind the invasion of Sand Valley and his master was already dead. I would have killed her on the spot. What bargaining chip? Please. Since he brought her into the valley he should have killed her even if it meant sacrificing himself. I don’t believe in revenge but since these characters do, why didn’t he just avenge his master right there? 

 

>.< Xiao Tai was starting to get on my nerves too. I'm still at 33 (need to catch up). At first I really like the interactions she had with Qing Yu and they're cute together! But the whole I love martial brother and I can do what I could attitude put me off. Also waiting for Qing Lan to just find out and remember Qing Ming! I'm guessing he has some feelings for Ming He that's why he couldn't kill her despite him devoted/loving just Qing Ming.

[celebrianna]

1 hour ago, Yui. said:

 

>.< Xiao Tai was starting to get on my nerves too. I'm still at 33 (need to catch up). At first I really like the interactions she had with Qing Yu and they're cute together! But the whole I love martial brother and I can do what I could attitude put me off. Also waiting for Qing Lan to just find out and remember Qing Ming! I'm guessing he has some feelings for Ming He that's why he couldn't kill her despite him devoted/loving just Qing Ming.

Xiao Tai is definitely now unlikeable to me because

Spoiler

she seemed quite willing to agree with Ming He’s deal to kill the warrior’s lover and Ming He would ensure that Jing Rong dies while rescuing Yi Qian from the Flower Palace. I couldn’t believe Xiao Tai sank that low. When she did kill the warrior’s lover, it almost seems like she wasn’t actually hallucinating. 

 

But the gravity of her actions didn’t just end there since the warrior Bai Lu came to avenge his lover and Yi Qian drank the incurable Love Sickness Tears poison in her place. Now Yi Qian keep having chest pains because of the poison combined with his existing love for Jing Rong. It seems like even when he kissed Jing Rong in episode 32 he started feeling the chest pain from the Love Sickness Tears.

 

Still, as if that wasn’t enough to make me dislike Xiao Tai, she then admitted to Qing Yu that she pierced herself on Jing Rong’s sword to gain Yi Qian’s sympathy and ruin his trust in Jing Rong. This is right after she finally found out that Yi Qian did drink the cup of poison instead of the cup of wine. Rather than repenting earnestly for the painful symptoms that Yi Qian were enduring, she then realized that the symptoms affect him because he is in fact in love with Jing Rong. I guess the Love Sickness Tears would only affect people who are in love and it makes it physically painful for them through what seems like heart attack like symptoms. Anyway, after she realizes this, she then starts to whine to Yi Qian about her unrequited love for him. I mean, shouldn’t she feel sorry for making Yi Qian suffer such terrible pains because her actions of killing the warrior’s lover? At this point I can’t even support Qing Yu’s feelings for her. I wish he would find another love.

 

About Qing Lan, I feel like he’s wishy washy. To me he seemed torn between Qing Ming and Ming He. During the bat attack scene where jealous Ming He targeted Qing Ming, he seemed too eager to defend her and run after her. Every time I watch his scenes in the sand village with Ming He on one hand and Ming Er on the other, I can’t understand his feelings at all. I know he kept talking about Ming Er to Ming He but nothing about his behavior, when the two ladies were present, seemed consistent. This is why I don’t even know if I should hope that he deals with Ming He when he gets his memories back. 

 

[bluehibiscus]

Trailer with Eng subtitles

 

[bluehibiscus]

@celebrianna I haven't seen any. The lyrics of Jin Se are quite challenging to translate as they make many references to a Tang Dynasty poem of the same name.

 

[bluehibiscus]

Here's my translation for 夕影 Xi Ying （Pls credit me if anyone wants to use the translation):

 

听雪 的声音
Hear the sound of snow
刚靠近 又分离
It got close only to separate
如何落地 不由得自己
The manner in which it falls to the ground is not within its control
误解 在累积
Misunderstandings are building up
太冷漠 的眼睛
Eyes that are too cold,
云淡风轻却又暗藏着杀意
Seemingly calm and carefree, belie the intent to kill
我的世界结了冰
My world has frozen over
决绝无比 不见天晴
Resolutely and I can't see clear skies
习惯 藏起来的武器
Hiding weapons out of habit
从未坦白过 真心
Never cofessing my true feelings
藏起了动心 藏起了你
Concealing the desire in my heart, concealing you
藏起了温情 藏起了憧憬
Concealing tender feelings, concealing hopes for the future
假装很无情
Pretending to be heartless
其实早已离不开你
When in truth I can no longer leave you
藏起了曾经 藏起了清醒
Concealing the past, concealing rationality
任由故事这样走到结局
Allowing this story to move on to its conclusion
轻轻 呼唤你的名
Softly calling your name
误解 在累积
Misunderstandings are building up
太冷漠 的眼睛
Eyes that are too cold,
云淡风轻却又暗藏着杀意
Seemingly calm and carefree, belie the intent to kill
也许 太久的紧绷
Perhaps being repressed for too long
寂寞 都变成了本能
Has turned loneliness into a basic instinct
藏起来的怜惜心疼
Concealing feelings of protectiveness for you
不过只是一场梦
It's only just a dream
藏起了动心 藏起了你
Concealing the desire in my heart, concealing you
藏起了温情 藏起了憧憬
Concealing tender feelings, concealing hopes for the future
假装很无情
Pretending to be heartless
其实早已离不开你
When in truth I can no longer leave you
回忆的朝夕 都变成幻影
The memories of days and nights have turned into illusory shadows
任由故事这样走到结局
Allowing this story to move on to its conclusion
如此 随彼此 凋零
And fade together with both of us
藏起了动心 藏起了你
Concealing the desire in my heart, concealing you
藏起了温情 藏起了憧憬
Concealing tender feelings, concealing hopes for the future
假装很无情
Pretending to be heartless
其实早已离不开你
When in truth I can no longer leave you