After a long drought in the genre, the team behind Qing Dynasty time-traveling romance Bu Bu Jing Xing returns with an adaptation of one of the pillars of the genre – A Dream Back to the Qing Dynasty 梦回大清 by Jinzi. The series stars Li Landi as a modern girl sent back to the reign of Kangxi, where she becomes intertwined with the lives of the various princes as they fight for the throne.
The mysterious town near Azure Hills, where no wedding ever works out, and the Lantern Festival occurs every other day.
Tang Yixin, Wang Kai, Jin Chen, Xiaocaiqi, Yao Yixin, Zhai Tianlin and Mike Angelo are only some of the people (foxes) getting married in the currently-airing Foxes of Azure Hill/Legend of Qing Qiu Fox.
So far, I would say the three chapters are in reverse order of quality. Xiaocaiqi and Fu Xinbo make a surprisingly cute pair in probably the best-written chapter so far, Jiang Kaitong and Zhai Tianlin pull off the over-the-top story with their natural cuteness (although his dubber is the worst), while Chen Yao is the only redeeming feature of chapter 1.
Ignore the historical inaccuracies on the story-side, gawk at successes on the costume-side… and wonder why Chinese drama releases are trying to put dark rings around our eyes… We’re really all going to need doctors after this for sleep disorders…
The Imperial Doctress is set to air. Starring Liu Shishi, Wallace Huo, Huang Xuan, Li Chengyuan, Jin Chen, and Yuan Wenkang, here is to more stills and goodies to drum up to the release.
More stills below the cut. Continue reading
At long last… the wait seems to be over!!
The Imperial Doctress, starring Liu Shishi, Wallace Huo, Huang Xuan, Li Chengyuan, and Yuan Wenkang, is aiming for a February 13th release. Those of you keeping track of Sinology Sundays and this drama probably know that I have high hopes for at least the costuming from what I have seen so far.
Also, I am just glad that the emperors are not wearing completely golden head-gears but instead black ones with gold embellishments which seems to be more historically accurate. Although golden ones have been found, the honor of lounging around in one seems to have the requirement of being dead.
More stills below the cut. Continue reading
… so I guess we’ll finally “hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon”
Desert Melody The Legend of the Moon and Stars Pocohantas?!? (actually more literally “Destiny Amid the Wind” but still… WTF?!?) The Song of Desert has a release date. Notice the period… omg… this has dragged on so long and I’m so uninspired. According to official Hunan TV/Tangren Weibo’s, mark your calendars for October 8th, fans of Liu Shishi, Eddie Peng, and Hu Ge. If they swallow their words, prepare to put some money together to get some ipecac to make them spit it out again because this is so not funny. Personally, I think television network darling Yu Zheng kinda needs this drama to take off so his Song in the Clouds Love Yunge from the Desert can.
Another still below the cut (Hey! I tried!! >:( ).
How do you think Hu Ge compares to these real-life soccer players?
It seems like World Cup fever is still going strong in China. Tangren recently began filming a soccer-themed drama titled Youth Soccer (少年足球), which stars newly bearded Hu Ge and So Young actress Maggie Jiang.
The plot is pretty similar to most sports-related stories you’ve seen: a losing soccer team gets a new coach, Mu Qi (Hu Ge), who turns out to be too tough on them for their liking. Mu Qi also clashes with the new intern teacher, Pei Duo (Maggie Jiang), but soon, his unique teaching practices transform the team, which finds itself competing not only in the city-wide games but also headed to the province-level tournament.
The team begins to thrive, not only in soccer but also in their studies and friendships, and Mu Qi and Pei Duo grow closer and closer. However, problems also begin to crop up, including some involving Mu Qi’s hidden past. Mu Qi ends up resigning at the end of the soccer season, but not before his fighting spirit shakes up the entire team.
Well… isn’t this a compromising position…
The Imperial Doctress, starring Liu Shishi, Wallace Huo, Huang Xuan, Li Chengyuan, and Yuan Wenkang, has decided to challenge Yu Zheng on the pretty and costume accuracy and release stills of their own. The Imperial Doctress 女医·明妃传 will follow the story of historical figure Tan Yunxian, a female physician, as she builds her knowledge among the common people and elevates her position to an imperial physician. Expect plenty of imperial infighting as brothers Emperor Zhengtong/Tianshun (Wallace Huo), and Emperor Jingtai (Huang Xuan) vie for the right to rule and for Tan Yunxian’s affections.
Anyhoo, more stills below the cut. Continue reading
Hoping to finally have an ending that doesn’t involve the death of either her or her beloved, Liu Shishi becomes a doctor. Little does she know that the greatest irony of them all is when the doctor can’t save her own love.
Liu Shishi and Wallace Huo join hands once more in the Ming dynasty for upcoming Tangren/NewBeauty series The Imperial Doctress 女医·明妃传. Luckily, her outfits this time is actually more reflective of fashion of the era, with plenty of aofu (upper jacket + lower skirt) and bizi (the outer jackets). Liu Shishi plays the historical figure of Tan Youxian, one of the four famous female doctors of ancient China. Wallace Huo and Huang Qian play two princes who probably via for her love, with Wallace Huo being the eventual Zhengtong Emperor. Filming begun March 25th in Hengdian. Character posters below the cut. Continue reading
Does better quality stills mean an impending release?
I am getting this through indirect sources since I can’t really read Chinese. Therefore, I’m not 100% sure if this is true so don’t shoot the messenger but according to UDN , The Song of Desert or Desert Melody, starring Liu Shishi, Eddie Peng, and Hu Ge, may be airing first in Taiwan as opposed to the mainland due to delays and the way contracts ended up being signed. According to the source, the show was approved for airing in mainland late last year and have since then been brought by Taiwan’s CTI (Don’t all jump at once). Hunan’s local entertainment channel also reported an impending broadcasting date.
On the other hand, the internet community can probably start preparing and give a cry of joy (or start calling all channels involved to try to boycott it again). Apparently, no news on a release date yet but hopefully this means we’ll be seeing something sooner? More released posters whose quality may mirror the likelihood of the drama ever airing in our lifetime below the cut.
Not to be outdone by Yu Zheng’s sequel “Cloud Ballad,” Shanghai Tangren releases a trailer. source
After being set back a few hundred years, will Liu Shishi, Eddie Peng, and Hu Ge‘s Legend of the Moon and Stars (formerly Desert Melody) finally air? The series about a girl raised by the wolf who becomes entangled in an ethnic war recently released a 15-minute trailer in an attempt to sell itself next year, hopefully in time to air before its sequel Cloud Song by rival Yu Zheng.
It seems the period, originally set in the time of its male lead Huo Qubing , has been re-worked into the Southern Dynasties following the fall of the Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period. Though costuming may conflict with the new “period,” let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
Which drama do you think will do the Han Dynasty best: The Virtuous Queen of Han, Cloud Song, Realm of Love, or Legend of the Moon and Stars?
