JoleCole's Station

The Patriot Yue Fei is the latest talk in Chinese TV. This grandiose bio-epic traces the life of one of the most venerated but tragic generals in Chinese history. He was the epitome of loyalty and revered by later generations for the next 800+ years. While the names of many imperial emperors are lost in the records of history, Yue Fei is still a celebrated name in China even till this day.  There are literally a plethora of temples erected in China to honor this man's military accomplishments and the Confucian virtues he personified. Unfortunately, Yue Fei also paid heavily for his loyalty and fame. He did not get killed by his enemies in the battlefield nor did he die from his war injuries. He died because he was too good at defeating his military enemies and failed to address his own political enemies at home. As a historical figure, Yue Fei is definitely someone I admire but not personally excited to learn about. Perhaps because of his tragic ending I developed a natural res...

I think I'm on a Wallace Huo-craze or something because I'm getting rather excited about his upcoming TV series set during the Second Sino-Japanese War (which eventually merged into World War II). Non-war drama fans, please don't shy away yet! This TV series isn't all about guns, bombs, and bayonets. It's actually based on an internet novel that chronicles the trials and tribulations of a prominent but not too wealthy literati family (surname Hu) living in the ancient city of Changsha, Hunan Province. Even though the novel was originally published on a internet novel website known more for romance, the story isn't exactly romantic but focuses more about wartime survival and the value of family. In fact, it doesn't even feel like a love story between two individuals but more like a story of family love. This story is definitely not going to be the typical modern family drama with constant bickering and infighting among relatives. And if you'r...

I have a strong habit to "ship" people together. This involuntary desire to ship couples can range from real life celebrities, characters in dramas or movies, characters in manga/books to famous historical figures! Fortunately, I have no interest to ship individuals I know in real life. PHEW! There are quite a few historical couples that I shipped, but my ultimate favorite is the Tang Dynasty Emperor Taizong 唐太宗 (personal name Li Shimin 李世民) and his Empress Zhangsun 长孙皇后. I'm not sure if you've heard of this couple since many existing Chinese period dramas tend not explore their relationship. They are often written as major characters in a series but Li Shimin ALWAYS gets paired up with some fictitious female character. -_-

Are you tired of dynastic Chinese history, palace dramas, or idol dramas in general? Turbulence of the Mu Clan or Mu Fu Feng Yun 木府风云 offers a good change of setting and some sugarcoated sweetness with the love story. This series traces the rise of a famous Naxi Chieftain and his beloved wife in 16th century southwest China. The highlight of this drama is the battle between hate and love. In sum, this is a classic Cinderella story mixed with Romeo and Juliet elements, except with some very different outcomes.

When I first watched this trailer, I fell in love with the scene where Su Dongpo dreamt about his first wife, Wang Fu, and his subsequent recitation of the famous "Jiang Cheng Zi" poem which he composed in her memory (previously mentioned in an earlier post here ). I just love the instrumental piece that accompanies the poem recitation scene. The atmosphere, music, vibe, and feel of the entire scene is like it ought to be.

If I have to name a TV drama that I waited the longest time for its release,  the "honor" would undoubtedly go to this biographical adaptation of a famous Song Dynasty poet/statesman Su Dongpo (penname) or Su Shi (personal name). The historical series will trace 60 years of Su Shi's life, from a youthful lad traveling to the Song Dynasty's capital to take the civil service examination with his younger brother to his death. Lu Yi (Zhuge Liang in the new Three Kingdoms) will play Su Shi and Ruby Lin will star as his first wife, Wang Fu.

Prince Gao Zhan and Lu Zhen Besides Da Mo Yao and Beauties without Tears, Female Prime Minister is the next TV series I'm really looking forward to watch. This series, once again, is produced by Yu Zheng....BUT, he's just one of the producers, and luckily, he isn't doing the writing. The other producer is one of my favorite Chinese TV directors, Gao Xixi (New Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Tian Mi Mi, and Shanghai Bund). Based on the photos, I feel this production is quite grand in scale since I can see some exquisite details put into the sets and costumes.

Eddie Peng in his Huo Qubing's costume. I love this look, especially the way he wielded his bow After the SWAK miniseries fiasco, I shifted my attention to the upcoming Tang Ren's period drama, Da Mo Yao or Ballad of the Desert. At first, I wasn't too interested in this production when I heard Hu Ge and Liu Shishi would portray the main couple, playing Huo Qubing and Jin Yu respectively. I'm certain a large majority of people totally disagree with me. It seems many are adamant about Hu Ge in taking the role of Huo Qubing, to the point of boycotting the series when they heard Eddie Peng took the role instead.

After reading the scriptwriter's microblog and some spoilers, I managed to put together the above relationship diagram for the upcoming Chinese drama, In Love with Power (Beauties without Tears). Set in late Ming Dynasty/early Qing Dynasty, the story centers on the Qing's founding emperor and his wives/concubines. My initial reaction to the complicated web of relationships is "OMG! What the heck is up with all the one-side love relationships?!" LOL. The only mutual love relationship I know for certain is between Hailanzhu and her first love, Zhuolin. Maybe later, Hong Taiji's infatuation with Hailanzhu will grow into mutual love, and perhaps Prince Dorgon will finally get his love reciprocated by Dayu'er?