Historical romance drama Datang Mingyue / Bright Moon of the Tang Dynasty 大唐明月 (lit.) stars Gulnazar as a talented palace seamstress who longs for the freedom outside, yet reenters the palace to bring her mother’s killer to justice.
A young Liuli is taken into the palace by trusted guardian Madam Zhuo after her mother’s death, and is taught since a young age that she must strive to become the emperor’s woman in order to succeed.
Just like her mother, Liuli becomes known for her embroidery skills, provoking jealousy among the other seamstresses. The heroine becomes one of Wu Zetian’s secretaries at some point, so there should be a good dose of politicking in the drama.
Xu Weizhou plays general and calligrapher Pei Xingjian, a nobleman who was against Li Zhi removing Empress Wang in favour of Wu Zetian. He was demoted and sent to the Western provinces, but this actually gave him the perfect opportunity to rack up military achievements and grow his political influence.
The official summaries don’t really mention anything about Pei Xingjian’s military expeditions, so I’m not sure how much of Lan Yunshu’s original the drama will cover.
The drama is directed by Chen Jialin (The Untamed), and will commence filming in a couple of weeks.
I never finished the novel since it was so, so long, but I loved the dynamic between the two characters and how the author wove in so much Tang dynasty detail without making it feel academic. I also hear that the characterization of Wu Zetian is really nuanced here and had looked forward to it.
The synopsis for this has me worried, though, since it sounds like all original content. Even the personality for the female lead sounds different.
Oooo what was the novel like? In terms of character dynamic and major differences from the adaptation synopsis?