#CDrama 2017

[cerusee]

I've never watched any Chinese dramas but I really enjoy your posts/gifs about them and it's got me interested in trying some! Do you have any recommendations for somebody who's totally new to them? Any tropes/background context I should be aware of? The historical/fantastical ones seem the most appealing to me.

Oooooh! My first thought on reading this ask was, “oh, I’m hardly qualified”; I’m only on my *stops to count on fingers* eighth cdrama, not counting the one episode I watched of the Wang Zhuocheng xianxia where he falls in love with a rock. (Long story.) There’s a lot of cdramas out there, and I myself have not even scratched the surface of what’s out there! That said, if you’re interested in historical/fantastical dramas, those ARE the ones I’ve been watching, so I still have some opinions despite being a total noob myself.

Do not start with The Untamed/Chen Qing Ling. Twas my first cdrama, like a lot of western fans, who were drawn to it in part because of the big censored-but-still-very-evident gay love story between the male leads, but honestly, as much fun as it is for the slash fans, it’s not a great jumping off point for either Chinese television in general, or even for its own wuxia-inspired genre setting. I say this as some who is still deep in the fandom four years later, and has immense love for the show: the first two episodes are flat-out bad, the overall pacing is bad (episodes frequently stop MIDSCENE), the worldbuilding is thin (a carryover from the novel it was based on), and without a larger context for why it’s made the way it’s made (stylistic choices, industry conventions, government censorship, genre conventions) a lot about it is confusing as hell to cdrama newbies, which is…so evident…a lot…in fandom wank I mean in the discourse about what story this story is trying to tell. Like, if you came to me and asked specifically, “I’m thinking of watching CQL. Should I watch CQL?” I would say yes, absolutely! It’s so much fun! I’m obsessed with the characters! I’ve written a lot of fanfic about the purple guy! But it’s not a good first cdrama, nor it is the best example of what the Chinese TV industry has to offer.

A MUCH better first cdrama especially if you like the historical/fantastical: The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2017), which not coincidentally was my second cdrama. It’s one of about a dozen television adaptations of the classic 1957 Chinese novel of the same name by Jin Yong, generally considered to be the inventor of the genre known as wuxia, which is a blend of history, fantasy, and martial arts. (One of the most well-known examples of wuxia in the west is Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which you have probably at least heard of.)

Legend of the Condor Heroes (hereafter known as LOCH) has it all: romance, revenge, evil plots and daring deeds, people jumping off a burning mountain and being rescued by the worst CGIed eagles known to television or cinema, boat adventures, mountain adventures, grasslands adventures, a weird cult leader who lives on a spooky flower island (there will be math), murder, baby kidnapping, more murder, one guy inadvertently racking up a ridiculous number of martial arts teachers, sworn brotherhoods which invariably end with one guy stabbing the other, lots of VERY good martial arts fights, and, of course, Genghis Khan. Technically there are no magic/supernatural elements in this show—no ghosts, ghouls, magic, angels, devils, gods, etc—although the martial artists do have l33t skillz that might qualify as superhuman depending on how you slice your genre conventions, and are awfully fun to watch.

I’ve actually seen two LOCH adaptations (there was one in 2024 I liked a lot, with my favorite Guo Jing so far), but 2017 is a much better adaptation for newcomers as it tells a fuller version of the story and doesn’t skimp on or rush through or rewrite as many elements of the plot as other versions do; it’s meant to be a LOCH for people who haven’t seen half a dozen versions of LOCH already. It has a WONDERFUL cast, including my one of my favorite cdrama leading men, Chen Xingxu,* as the lead antagonist, Yang Kang, who is a trash fire of a person you just can’t root for, but he also can’t help it because he was raised by Wanyin Honglie. You can catch it on YouTube (I recall that there are couple of missing episodes from that playlist, but you can search on YT for those when you get there, to find them subtitled from other channels.)

*If you, like me, come away from LOCH 2017 with your mouth slightly ajar at how great CXX is, I have wonderful news for you! He’s been a lead in at least two other very good cdramas: the 2023 xianxia** The Starry Love, where he gets to play, like, five different characters (huge acting flex, and he’s great, although I would rush to stress I loved a ton of things about this show besides CXX himself), and the 2019 semi-historical drama Goodbye My Princess, which might actually be my favorite cdrama I have seen to date, and arguably THEE best well-made on a technical level, with phenomenal acting, a great script, and editing and directing I am constantly swooning over, but I am not entirely sure I can recommend to you unless you are a Tragedy Enjoyer.

(If you are a Tragedy Enjoyer, please stop whatever you’re doing and just start watching Goodbye My Princess right now, it is phenomenal. It is also available on YouTube. Watch the Director’s Cut, not the regular one! This is important. In its haste to get the main leads on screen together ASAP, the regular version does a Reader’s Digest version of stuff the Director’s Cut spends like five episodes carefully setting up, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense, nor does it flow well.)

**Speaking of xianxia! Xianxia is the high fantasy genre, full of magic and gods and demons and people dying and living multiple lives and whatnot. Important to note: xianxias are soap operas (complimentary). They tend to feature female protagonists, sweeping, epic romances, and put enormous emphasis on exploring the nuances of relationships and emotions. I have watched three that I loved (Love Between Fairy and Devil, The Starry Love, and Eternal Love: Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms), and while technically I could recommend all three, if you were going to watch just one, especially as a cdrama intro, I have to recommend Eternal Love, which really is the quintessential xianxia, the one all other xianxias are kind of shaping themselves around. I have watched it 1.5 times and I can say that it does not properly take off until like, episode 10, or whenever it is that the main couple finally, properly meet. IT IS WORTH THE INVESTMENT. This show made me want to spit blood. I cried multiple times watching it. It made me feel things. It has a wonderful immersive quality that’s hard to describe except to say that the entire show sort of vibrates on its own frequency. The casting is just kind of…perfect? Props to Maggie Huang for portraying the most perfectly hatable xianxia villainess of all time. Absolutely no one is doing it like Su Jin. No one should try. I believe this is available on YouTube, but after an abortive start, I realized it was on US Netflix, and watched it there.

As for tropes and background context: ehhhhhh. I mean, it’s an entire industry? I know substantially less about how it functions than I do about, like, American TV and film. I know government censorship is a not-inconsiderable factor, but I don’t know much of the nuance of how that plays out in terms of filming and airing. Tropes will vary according to subject. Idol dramas (shows built to showcase media personalities regardless of their ability to act) are a thing. Most cdrama audio is still dubbed (this one surprised me!), usually by professional voice actors and not by the original cast, for a confluence of reasons, some of which historically make sense (noisy filming lots rendering original audio useless), and some of which are really stupid (fans throwing hissy fits if lead actors don’t have the “right” kinds of voices for their characters).

Anyway! My recommendations are this: try The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2017) to start with, UNLESS you would prefer having your heart ripped out of your chest, in which case watch Goodbye My Princess (Director’s Cut, 2019), or UNLESS you love soap operas as much as I do, in which case watch Eternal Love: Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (2017). All three are great shows, but they all hit differently/scratch a different itch.

Oh! Lastly! @dangermousie is a great source of cdrama recs. I should note she prefers dramas and tragedies and mostly does not vibe with xianxias. But she watches like eight million hours of dramas a week and reports her findings to us because she is a river to her people.

[save-the-data]

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend | S01E03

Chinese Drama - 2017, 16 episodes

Episodes | Gaga | Viki | YouTube | iQIYI | WeTV | Youku | Catalogue

Native Title: #我女朋友的男朋友

Genres: #Comedy #Romance #Sci-Fi

Tags: #Eccentric Male Lead #Bromance

Cast:  #Bai Shu #Li Chuan

[wangmiao]

Jiang Wu as Cheng Tianle & Li Naiwen as Maolü in The Door (2017) | 完美有多美

[gabrielokun]

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: King Is Not Easy (2017)

The King danced in front of all the officials! #kingisnoteasy #drama #shorts #cdrama #白鹿 #bailu

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AyiY33cYV4Y

[beri-allen]

ao3: beriallen she/her, 18+

Bulgasal: Immortal Souls 1. a little more and i'll go (dan hwal/min si-ho; t; 1/1) 2. if our lives are ours, what shouldn't we do (dan hwal/dan sol, dan hwal/min si-ho; t; 1/1) 3. we had so much going for us (dan hwal/dan sol, dan hwal/min si-ho; g; 1/1)

Crash Landing on You 1. i carried you for aching (seo dan/gu seung-jun; t; 1/1)

Hannibal 1. only grab air (will graham/beverly katz; t; 1/1)

House M.D. 1. calendar girls* (allison cameron/thirteen; t; 1/1)

Memories of the Alhambra 1. room 601 (yoo jinwoo/jung heeju; t; 1/1) 2. magic hours (yoo jinwoo/jung heeju; m; 1/1)

Once Upon a Time 1. the human (wooden swan; g; 1/1) 2. memory serves (wooden swan; t; 1/1)

Please Come Back, Mister 1. wish i were here (han hong-nan/song yi-yeon; t; 1/1)

Queen of Tears 1. 5 times hong hae-in died (baekhong; t; 1/1)

Running Man** 1. might just as well (monday couple; g; 1/1) 2. four times jihyo holds gary's hands and one time she doesn't (monday couple; g; 1/1) 3. no good unless real (monday couple; e; 1/1) 4. another night (monday couple; t; 1/1) 5. fine (monday couple; t; 1/1)

School 2017 1. 3 times taewoon confesses and 1 time he doesn't (ra eunho/hyun taewoon; t; 1/1)

Search WWW 1. the theory of time (song ga-gyeong/cha hyeon; g; 1/1)

Story of Kunning Palace 1. the dreams of butterflies (jiang xuening/shen zhiyi; t; 1/1)

The Acolyte 1. bond/freedom (oshamir; e; 1/1) 2. dying breed (oshamir; t; 2/2) 3. heavy is the heart (oshamir; e; 1/1)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 1. born liar (snowbaird; m; 1/1)

Twenty Five, Twenty One 1. we call it something different, something wrong, and something right (ko yurim/na heedo; t; 1/1)

Wednesday 1. slow, long, and excruciatingly painful (wyler; t; 2/2) 2. you have shrunk to the size of my thoughts (wyler; t; 2/2) 3. i predict a riot (wyler; m; 5/5) 4. the gift of the magi (wyler; t; 1/1) 5. the rite of spring (wyler; t; 1/1) 6. stop (wyler; e; 1/1) 7. the long game (wyler; m; 1/1) 8. the devil and the deep blue sea (wyler; t; 1/1) 9. interrupted remembrances (wyler; t; 1/1) 10. technicolor glasses (wyler; t; 1/1) 11. i put a spell on you (wyler; e; 7/7) 12. oh god, i think i'm falling (wyler; e; 2/2) 13. joyeux noël (wyler; t; 1/1) 15. in the heat of the moment (tynid, wyler, minor petroclair; e; 2/2) 16. the spirit is willing (the flesh is weak) (wyler; e; 1/1)

*imported from lj **rpf header & icon image credit: x

[thischarmingyibo]

Just Dance by Wang Yi Bo

[prettyboykatsuki]

finally going to watch when i fly towards you i think . i hope nothing happens to me

[pndrgn]

a love so beautiful needs to be a throuple it’s the only way

[darklinaforever]

Here is the first list of ships that may most likely interest you if you are a fan of Darklina ! Essentially it's about enemies to lover, or a dynamic reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast !

▪︎ Merlin & Morgana. (Mergana) | Show, Merlin BBC. [Tragical Ending]

▪︎ Halbrand / Sauron & Galadriel. (Haladriel / Saurondriel) | Show, The Rings of Power. [In progress]

▪︎ Rey & Kylo Ren / Ben Solo. (Reylo) | Star Wars, postlogy.

▪︎ Osha & Qimir. (Oshamir) | Star Wars Show, The Acolyte.

▪︎ Dracula & Mina. (Dracmina) | Movie, Dracula 1992. [Tragical Ending]

▪︎ Sarah & Jareth. (Sareth) | Movie, Labyrinth 1986. [Open Ending ?]

▪︎ Dongfang Qingcang & Xiao Lanhua / Orchid. | CDrama, Love Between Fairy and Devil. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Xiang Liu & Xiao Yao. | CDrama, Lost You Forever. / Book, by Tong Hua. [Tragical Ending]

▪︎ Tantai Jin & Li Susu. | CDrama, Till the End of the Moon. [Open Ending] / Black Moonlight is Guaranteed a Bad Ending Script, by Teng Luo Wei Ji. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Erik & Christine. (Erikstine) | Le fantôme de l'opéra, by Gaston Leroux. / Phantom, by Susan Kay. / The Phantom of the Opera, 25th anniversary, at the Royal Albert Hall, by Andrew Lloyd Webber. [Tragical Ending]

▪︎ Raistlin & Crysania. | Trilogy, The Legends, from Dragonlance universe, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. / Musicals. [Tragical ending]

▪︎ Warner & Juliette. (Warnette) | Book series, Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Julian & Jenny. | Trilogy, Forbidden game, by L.J Smith. [Tragical ending / Open Ending]

▪︎ Addie & Luc. | Book, The Invisible life of Addie Larue, by V. E. Schwab. [Open Ending]

▪︎ Vasya & Morozko. | Winternight trilogy, by Katherine Arden. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Marya Morevna & Koschei. | Book, Deathless, by Catherynne M. Valente. [Open Ending]

▪︎ Kasta & Zahru. (Kastaru) | Trilogy, The Kinder Poison, by Natalie Mae. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Jude & Cardan. (Jurdan) | Trilogy, Folk of the Air, by Holly Black. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Corien & Rielle. (Corielle) | The Empirium trilogy, by Claire Legrand. [Tragical ending]

▪︎ Ruhn & Lidia. (Ruhnlidia / Daynight) | Trilogy, Crescent City, by Sarah J. Mass. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Feyre & Rhysand. (Feysand) | Book series, ACOTAR, by Sarah J. Maas. [Happy Ending / In progress]

▪︎ Elain & Azriel. (Elriel) | Book series, ACOTAR, by Sarah J. Maas. [In progress]

▪︎ Emilia & Dorian. | French book series, Vila Emilia, by Elodie Faiderbe. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Laila & Darius. | Trilogy, When the Stars Alight, by Camilla Andrew. [In progress]

▪︎ Jane Eyre & Mr Rochester. | Book, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronté. / Show BBC, 2006. / Movie, 2011. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Will & James. | Trilogy, Dark Rise, by C.S. Pacat. [In progress]

▪︎ Laurent & Damen. (Lamen) | Trilogy, Captive Prince, by C.S. Pacat. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Evangeline & Jacks. (Evajacks) | Trilogy, Once Upon a Broken Heart, by Stephanie Garber. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Agnieszka & Sarkan. | Book, Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Auren & Rip / Slade. | Book series, The Plated Prisoner, by Raven Kennedy. [In progress]

▪︎ Ash & Mary-Lynnette. | Book series, Night World, volume 2 : Daughters of Darkness, by L.J Smith. [Hapoy Ending / In progress]

▪︎ Hades & Persephone. (Persades) | Webtoon, Lore Olympus, de Rachel Smythe. [In progress] / Greek mythology.

▪︎ Xibalba & La Muerte. (Xibamuerte) | Animation movie, The Book of Life. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Beauty and the Beast. | Fairy Tale. / Animation Movie Disney. / Movie, Jean Cocteau 1946. / Show, Once Upon a Time. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Chise & Elias. | Anime, Mahou Tsukai no Yome, 2017. / Manga, The Ancient Magus Bride, by Kore Yamazaki. [In progress]

[xiaolanhua]

hiii what c-dramas do you recommend for a newbie?

Hello! Sooo this is a tricky question because cdramas have a variety of genres but i'll recommend some per genre so you can see what type you might want to watch it also with the mydramalist page with the synopsis etc.

Modern:

Fake it Till you make it (2023) – Romance / Friends to lovers / Office work

Love is Sweet (2020) – Romance / Rivals to lovers/ Office work

Begin Again (2020) – Romance / Contract relationship / Female CEO

Legally Romance (2022) – Romance / Time travel / Law setting

Unforgattable Love (2021) – Romance / Contract relationship

Meet Yourself (2023) – Slice of life / Healing / Slow burn romance

To the Wonder (2024) – Slice of life / Romance / Drama

Parallel World (2023) – Romance / Fantasy

The Love You Give me (2023) – Second chance romance / Single Parenting

Skate into Love (2020) – Romance / Ice skating / Youth

Flight to You (2022) – Pilot female lead / Aviation industry / Romance

Sweet Teeth (2021) – Romance / Comedy

Period drama/costume:

A Dream of Splendor (2022) – Female centric / Romance

The Story of Ming Lan (2018) – Romance / Family dynamics

Wonderland of Love (2023) – Romance / Rivals to lovers / Royal-Military setting

New Life Begins (2022) – Female centric / Romance / Palace setting

In Blossom (2024) – Romance / Investigation / Body Swap

The Rebel Princess (2021) – Romance / Palace setting / Arranged marriage / Drama

General’s Lady (2020) – Romance / Arranged marriage

Miss S (2020) – Republican era / Investigation / Romance

Xianxia (Costume/fantasy):

Love Between Fairy and Devil (2022) – Romance / Body Swap

The Legend of Shen Li (2024) – Romance / Strong female lead

Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (2017) – Romance / Drama

Love and Redemption (2020) – Romance / Drama / Reincarnation

Till the End of the Moon (2023) – Enemies to lovers / Love-hate relationship / Romance

Wuxia (martial arts):

My Journey to You (2023) – Female assassin / Mystery / Romance / Drama

A Journey to Love (2023) – Female assassin / Romance / Drama

Who Rules the World (2022) – Rivals to lovers / Romance / Political

[dangermousie]

OK, they are moving forward with the worst cdrama idea of all time, Rebirth aka Princess Agents 2 (with of course an entirely new and de-aged cast; honestly it's a crime because I like the actors a lot but between the fact that censorship changes between 2017 and now will mean the story can't continue properly, the fact that they have insane shoes to fill and all the rest, I wish they were in almost any other costume drama instead, still with intense damaged dudes and tough and violent FL in between them and world on fire but ITS OWN STORY!) and they did poster photoshoot and I am DYING!!

Because Yuwen Yue and Chu Qiao are doing the usual intense, bloodied, tortured thing (which I find delicious of course but is fairly typical):

Aaaaand here is Yan Xun AHAHAHAHA OMG I THINK WE ALL KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING

Indeed.

Did the extermination of his entire family and the prolonged torture induce a belated clothes phobia in the man? Is creating a new empire making him to busy to put on a shirt? In comparison, here is Shawn Dou in Princess Agents proper.

He managed to keep his clothes on somehow :P

PS FWIW the three actors they picked fit the vibe of the novel very well, but the contrast between them and the OG cast (who also fit it, in a different way) is WILD!

[save-the-data]

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend | S01E01

Chinese Drama - 2017, 16 episodes

Episodes | Gaga | Viki | YouTube | iQIYI | WeTV | Youku | Catalogue

Native Title: #我女朋友的男朋友

Genres: #Comedy #Romance #Sci-Fi

Tags: #Eccentric Male Lead #Bromance

Cast:  #Bai Shu #Li Chuan

Another one of all-time favourites, a lot of throwbacks at the moment. This drama never fails me to feel happy.

[wangmiao]

Pan Yueming for STARBOX

[gabrielokun]

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: King Is Not Easy (2017)

The King reunited with his beloved in the modern world #kingisnoteasy #drama #shorts #cdrama #白鹿

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jETk16QOUDs