My most anticipated drama of the year, Empires and Tribes: Storm of Prophecy 九州·海上牧云记, released its second trailer today. The cinematography is still jaw-dropping, and the longer trailer gives us a glimpse at the cast. I’m especially impressed by the performance of antagonists Wang Qianyuan and Wan Qian.
Also, I finally finished the book and wrote an actual synopsis for the story!
In the mythical realm of Novoland, a wandering peddler brought a gem to the court of Duan. In it held a world of its own.
RumplestiltskinThe peddler named as a price one’s most valued object. No one took the offer but the young prince Muyun Sheng (Huang Xuan).While his brothers fought for the throne, the whimsical half-spirit prince spent his days seeking the mysteries of the gem. To the outside world, he was declared insane and then dead.
Years later, when the emperor passed away and his brothers past away, the abandoned prince was pushed to the throne. Longing for the world of the gem and the woman he saw in it (Janice Man), he escapes the palace by blowing apart the barrier between it and the River Folks. Along with the palace, he left behind chaos and a country under attack on all sides.
Leading the attack on land is Shuofeng Heye (Zhou Yiwei), a man who has tamed the wolves and seeks to unify the nomadic tribes and finally give them a home of their own.
And then there is Muru Hanjiang (Shawn Dou), the son of the exiled family of generals who once once were equals with the Muyun’s. Returning from the land of giants to seek revenge for the betrayal by the Muyun family, he ends being an unlikely ally to the young Emperor against the new ruler, Muyun Sheng’s uncle (Wang Qianyuan). But it was also he who, years before, was cast off as a baby when prophets told his father that he was destined to become the future ruler of the Empire.
Interwoven among the men are the women who also cannot escape from the storm of prophecies. The woman who was prophesied to become Empress (Xu Lu) but whose heart died with the death of a former prince (Sun Jian), the Princess who lusts for blood (Zhang Jianing), the ruler of the River Folks who wants to build an empire of her own (Kan Qingzi), the treacherous Empress (Jiang Qinqin) and her niece (Wan Qian), and a string of women who are mostly plot devices in the book.
Where can I find the book? I want to buy it. It doesn’t matter if it is in Chinese or English.
I’m late to the party, just watched the trailer after I saw it in Youku 2017 products presentation video, immediately looked for it after. Now it’s one of my most awaited C historical series. For some reason, Su Yuning attracted me. Seems like she’ll be the female char. with most thrilling & dynamic plotlines & a few romantic threads. I love the contrast between when she dressed simple & then when she wore that luxurious red attire for the wedding.
She seems to fulfill my romance kicks too… an unruly & tough general’s son pining over a palace trainee girl who has to marry the shunned future Emperor. And how the married couple build their affections over time even though both loved another. The original novel series stopped before they get married or even meet again, so I’m curious on how the adaptation will develop the pair.
I just happen to come across this post, but damn, that trailer is amazing!! It don’t feel like a drama, but rather like a movie. The cinematography is amazing! Will definitely check this out when it’s released!
Just wondering, the Novoland series is made up of a few series written by different actors? Did someone build the premise and universe and then invite Writers to write stories based in this universe? If so, that’s an interesting concept!
Yep. A group of writers came together to build the universe, and then each of them began writing their own stories set there. The stories were initially published as serials in a magazine, but now people also write outside the magazine.
YAAAAAS. I”m so freaking excited for this drama and finally found a blog that covers it! Just wondering though, is the book any good? Read some reviews on douban, and it doesn’t seem too impressive :/
This series is so under-fangirled about!!!! I was on Weibo and wished I had money to buy hashtag trends for it because too few people have seen the trailer.
I don’t particular recommend the book itself (the last paragraph of the book started with “Men are always fighting for things that women could never understand, like family, glory, and the world.” ) However, most of the script will be original (since the author pretty much set up the world and scenario and then stopped writing), the book had great character profiles and a really good set-up, so it has a lot of potential.
OMG. IKR. The trailer is beyond amazing and all the c-netz comments have been highly favourable. I just don’t understand why it isn’t getting the virality it deserves, ugh. It didn’t even trend on Weibo >:(
I’m still so tempted to get the book, only because the show doesn’t even have an air date yet, bah. Such a pity that there was no follow up :( But thanks for letting me know! Now we’ll just have to wait for updates and hopefully a date, soon.
I have a lot of issue with their promos. For one, if it weren’t for potentially blogging on it on Cfensi, I wouldn’t have even watched the trailer after seeing the posters and stills that came with it. …
from what I read on online is that this series has not been sold to a distributor yet, which will happen this spring. So promo is aimed at distributors than the general public, and publicity we see is just create hype for their internal promotion. Once the series is sold, expect distributors to promote is heavily. But this probably mean we won’t see it air until very late this year or perhaps sometime next year.
But it WAS trending on Weibo, even if for a relatively short time. It was number one yesterday or two days ago. It dropped down, but still in “Top 20” Weibo trend, I think.
You’re right. I just did a search, and it seems like this time they’ve brought a couple of ad weibo’s, too, and this round of ads are so much better than the last ones. They even used the NIF comparison, which is what I was secretly they’ll do since it’s the easiest way for them to grab attention, and they actually can compare to if not beat NIF. It also reached the bilibili trailer charts today, which is always good because bilibili attracts fans who can sell dramas.
Ooh, strange. I haven’t seen it at all. But I was just looking at the number of comments and shares, it’s still pretty low for such an epic trailer. (As compared to some other shows headlined by idols) Hopefully they’ll manage to increase their following!
I finished the book too, yeah, I don’t like that line. I can see what the author to trying to say. **spoiler alert** The paragraph preceding it is quite confusing too. So I guess 牧云笙 time traveled toward the beginning of the novel, inside 牧云珠 and fused his soul with Panxi, which how Panxi was able to get out in the first place? Yes, the author left us all hanging, I’m very interested in what happened in those 7 years, and how humanity survived the flood and era of the dark moon. **end spoiler**
I guess that’s the probably with Novoland series, it seems the authors just don’t like to finish their stories. Since fantasy adoptions is the norm these days, perhaps 云荒 seires will be adopted as well. it would interest how that goes, since the setting is very similar to Novoland, but has most female authors rather than mostly male authors.
The 镜 series has actually been picked up for a film adaptation. The scriptwriter is John Collee (Happy Feet, Wolf Totem). I hope it doesn’t turn out to be like Ice Fantasy where the world is essentially a hand-me-down Western fantasy world .
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2015-05-20/doc-iavxeafs7808732.shtml
I actually reading 镜·双城 right now, hope they don’t mess it up. Out of his movies, I probably enjoyed Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, though I’m worried how much Chinese elements will remain in the movie.
I love Happy Feet XD But I doubt this script will be anything like it. The news article did indicate they won’t limit their roles to Chinese actors since it’s a fantasy world anyways.
I’ve never read any of the series, and only followed her briefly because she was a Wang Kai fan … Are the stories mostly romance or war?
I am so excited !! love the epic fantasy feeling the trailer gives out. I am definitely watching this, though I hope not to be disappointed.
Is there any way for a non-Chinese speaker to learn more about the novel and the characters? I really want to understand everything more in detail if possible >.<
Wow again with the trailer. I seriously hope this does not flop in terms of storyline. The costumes, sets, scenes and cinematography are done so well. It helps that Novoland has so much material available from all the books in terms of world building.
This is definately something that I will be watching not for the cast (because I don’t know who most of them are) but just for awesome fantasy.
Is the book worth reading? It sounds like it isn’t finished yet.
I’m trying to not look forward to this, only because it feels like every drama I anticipate ends up being not that great – whilst my fav dramas tend to be those I discover unexpectedly.
But having said that..this trailer and the previous teaser LOOKS EPIC! I love complex storylines and ensemble casts. And I’ve always wanted to see a Chinese Game of Thrones-like drama.
Hope this drama delivers!
Nicee. Still trying my best to keep my expectation non-existent tho, so I can appreciate whatever the show will offer, in case it turns out to be nothing like the trailer. How’s the book? Like, plot-wise and character-wise?
There was a lot of world-building and the set-up is definitely on a higher level than most adaptations. The book was published as a serial and had actually only set up the conflict before going on permanent hiatus, though, so most of the series will be original.
gorgeous production values, but too much overload of gore and brutality for my taste.
This is so epic but still so angsty! This is so amazing! For once, I’m also not watching because of the actors/actresses. I generally like them, I just don’t really know or love them, but the whole production feels so awesome! It’s not just full of pretty. Everything feels so genuine and tangible and well-spun and executed! It honestly makes you feel like you’re in Novoland. Lately fantasy has been all the rage in China and C-ent, but this is the first and only one that truly feels epic and so real. The world building is so utterly rich! The costumes, culture, styling, landscape, body-language-customs…it all fits so well, and doesn’t seem ridiculously western-inspired. Like, it honestly looks fantastical and original and real, yet with a distinctly Asian flair. I can honestly picture Novoland existing across the Asiatic continent. It really looks so so rich. It doesn’t just feel authentic and well-thought-out, it’s also so well executed. The atmosphere of the trailer is so much like an epic-saga. The pacing of the scenes, the contrast between melancholic music, wistful regretful voiceover, and slow-mo battle scenes. It works so well as a long trailer that gives a feel and aura, but doesn’t give away plot. And all the small details in characters and their relationships really highlight the richness and contrast of the different cultures. From the refined, rich, lavishness of the court, to the unrestrained wild, realistically harshness of the nomadic tribes, it’s utterly awesome. The relationships are developed differently too. I didn’t catch the names so I can only use descriptions. But there’s the mutually pining but equally helpless couple of Xu Lu and Sun Jian. The mysterious but strong and unrestrained curiosity in Huang Xuan and Janice (by the way, good job for a really awesome and believable role-reversal! I hated her character in the little that I saw of Zu Mountain cuz her character was so 2D and personality-less, but here she’s awesome, mysterious, strong, a little seductive, in control). The undeniable attraction between that girl and her slave, who despite being a slave doesn’t seem at all meek.
This is just so awesome! Fantasy world-building at its finest. Fantasy, dystopia, sci-fi, some of my fav genres (fantasy most of all). But they fail so often in 2D characters and underdeveloped flat worlds. The richness of an entirely original universe is the highlight of fantasy, yet most fall short because they try to cover too much with too little, barely scratching the surface of a filling already stretched thin. No substance. But this really really really looks like it’s going to be mindblowingly epic. I really hope it’s a success in every way.
Nirvana is held as one of my fav drama rite now b/c the plot, characters, atmosphere, directing, execution, acting, cast, all worked in tandem to create something I really liked. But here, I’m not really into the cast (don’t know them, but not against either), not too big on the plot itself, not a fan of the angst overload (Nirvana was different cuz I knew of and liked the plot from the book already), BUT if the world-creation-execution-atmosphere-thing works out. I would watch it for that alone, and I know I’d love it for that alone.
YES! I can’t say anything you’ve said better.
What especially impresses me is how well-done the trailer is. The fast-paced intensity of these trailers says to me that this director’s ability to control his story is much better than any other I’ve seen recently.
Eh. What you said. +1. :)