#watching sleuth of ming dynasty

[jgys-hat]

I've only watched the first two episodes and this is my main impression so far

[flyingtoaster]

Falling, once again - I never learn -, head first in Chinese danmei dramas. And I have THOUGHTS !!!

For example: The sleuth of the Ming dynasty really be selling itself as a highly political, low-key romance drama (haven't finished the book ). And sure, at first the ML is sorta dull and the chemistry takes a while to be felt. But. Wang Zhi saves the day. He brings a fucking ton of chemistry, turn the volume at 1000, set the scene both as an antagonist and a love interest. Makes his own ships and even the main couple shine.

And then he snuggles himself right in. Tang Fan and Wang Zhi, big fat yes. Sui Zhou and Wang Zhi, yes sir we support that. Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, actually yes, they're very sweet.

OT3 poly ship for the win !

We need more fanfics that explore them, give them all the hurt/comfort feels. All the love.

It's not a tgcf or a mdzs, and even TA or Golden Stage - although in the same vein - hit a little different. But it has a different sort of potential. At least to me

[indigo-night-wisp]

coming to the somewhat belated realization that dong'er is the real sleuth of the ming dynasty

[nemainofthewater]

Have you ever watched a love triangle and known with a bone deep certainty that no matter the final/offical pairing, they could solve so many problems by all getting together?

Alternately, has the drama got three protagonists and all of them have amazing chemistry with each other?

Do you just think it would be funny?

Instead of choosing between love interests, help to vote between OT3s!

Propaganda, examples, and write-ins are absolutely encouraged!

[olderthannetfic]

What are the ships pictured in that ot3 post? I've been really looking to find more pairings of exactly your vibe

--

Hah! I was wondering if people were trying to figure them all out. Some are considerably more famous than others.

These are Haven and White Collar. I didn't watch either to the end and have no regrets about that, just saying. There's plenty of good fic though.

This is the venerable Highlander, baby's first OT3 for many a 90s slash fan.

The Book of Life and Singin' in the Rain.

This is the extremely underrated Man from U.N.C.L.E. film. It came out at the same time as Straight Outta Compton, alas.

Some oldschool show fans whined that it was nothing like the show, but they are wrongity wrong wrong and have forgotten season 1, particularly Marion Raven and Gervaise Ravel, upon whom the love interest and the villainess are based. (And yes, I absolutely ship show Illya/Napoleon/Marion.)

There was a nice little fic fandom for a year or two, but it withered in the absence of any sequels. The show is more of a m/m juggernaut with the very occasional foray into the main dudes having a one-off threesome with some lady. Show Illya is pretty iconic and very different from movie Illya though, so I understand that disappointment.

Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty and Mysterious Lotus Casebook. These are historical mystery and wuxia mystery respectively. The former has a more satisfying series end than the latter, but I liked both endings all right. (Look, with c-dramas, that's always my first question: Did everyone die and/or everything get left hanging in a way that will make me throw things?)

The Two Faces of January might as well be called Daddy Issues: The Movie and has allll kinds of badwrong vibes. It's not a happy story. I'm not sure Patricia Highsmith knew what happiness even looked like. But boy is it delicious! The scenery is gorgeous too.

And that last one is Les Spécialistes, a film I only discovered from a fan bitching about how it was the OT3iest thing ever but nobody remembered that it existed. It's a silly French heist movie from the 80s with some identity porn and twists.

Other people added Leverage, most notorious of OT3 fandoms, three of the side dudes from The Untamed, Arthurian legend, and Girl Genius.

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 成化十四年/The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty

(The) Sleuth of (the) Ming Dynasty (it's hard to get an agreement on how many definite articles should go where) is a beautiful, high-budget 2020 drama about a weenie genius detective, his long-suffering and deeply traumatized sugar daddy, and the eunuch with the most difficult job in the Great Ming: keeping these two dumbasses from getting their fool selves imperially executed.

Depending on how you like it, it's either an OT3 or an OTP with an intense, underage third wheel, and either way, it's delightful. I wouldn't call it a comedy, but it has very many funny elements that keep the drama fun and engaging. The first half is full of shorter mysteries that are clever and thoughtfully plotted, and the second half goes in on the longer mystery that ties them all together.

I've already done my quick guide to the early-episode characters, if you want a taste of just how many people are running around and how wonderful they all are. But in case you want to know a little bit more before you commit yourself to a 48-episode series, here's five reasons I think you should watch it!

1. The whole thing smacks of gender

Yeah, this was originally going to be selling point #2, but I know what the people want.

This is not a show about gender. But boy it is a show that has a lot to say about gender, and not just by way of critiquing premodern Chinese gender roles (though it does do that!). Many of the cis characters are either a) somewhat gender nonconforming, b) canny enough to weaponize binary gender expectations, or c) both. Sui Zhou's entire third-act storyline is about how expectations of masculinity exacerbate PTSD in veterans. Three different AFAB characters either dress or live as men. The part where one of the male characters goes undercover in drag is played for laughs, but the joke isn't 'ha ha, a boy in a dress,' it's 'ha ha, this particular boy in a particular dress, and also he's terrible at it.'

And that's even before we get to the eunuchs.

There are several professionally dickless, permanently unmanned characters running around. One-third of the OT3 canonically had his external genitalia nonconsensually removed when he was five years old, and because of this, he has been given unimaginable authority. He's basically the second most powerful man in the entire empire, and he only gets that way by being unquestionably, ostentatiously, and genuinely submissive to the first most powerful man.

I have seen other Chinese media where eunuchs are treated like sinister clowns, good only to be the bad guys and the butts of jokes. Sleuth's main eunuchs are real and complex characters, and because of this, the show gets to explore what it is to live in this weird third-gender category of incredible power and powerlessness.

Now, don't go into this expecting woke gender treatises. Wang Zhi's never going to sit down and go, "You know, my friend and fellow eunuch Ding Rong, because of my lack of a penis, I understand my relationship to masculinity differently than other men do." But the show understands that even if he doesn't say it, it's true. And that makes a lot of the characters and their relationships just so much more interesting.

2. Uncle Jackie Money

Sleuth was the was the fourth c-drama I dove into, following the Untamed, Word of Honor, and Guardian -- or, Some Money BL, Less Money BL, and No Money BL. So imagine my absolute wall-eyed shock to find this was All The Money BL, courtesy of its executive producer, Jackie Chan (seen here with some of his handsome boys):

Sleuth looks good. The costumes are amazing. The sets are stunning. The cinematography is beautiful. Everything is so detailed, and while I can't speak to the absolute historical accuracy of all those details (see point 3), they're still gorgeous. In fact, you know what? I'm going to shut up and show you some of the promotional images.

(For actual screenshots, I'm just going to point you at @rongzhi's tsomd photoset tag, as they have done a tremendous service to the fan community -- though do beware of spoilers.)

Uncle Jackie's influence doesn't end with the money, though. Even though things get a bit goofy and wirework-y near the end, most of the drama's fights are shows of real martial arts skill. You can see his fingerprints on a lot of the choreography -- I'm thinking particularly of the time Tang Fan tries (and fails!) to stab Sui Zhou three times, which is pure Jackie Chan high-speed dexterity.

Add this one to the category of shows your Average American Television Enjoyer Who Can Handle Subtitles would like. In fact, I have shown the first episode to my normie father-in-law, who was impressed. Show it to your dad! See if he picks up on the gay!

3. I am from ... HISTORY!

The Chinese title translates to "The 14th Year of Chenghua," which works out to the year 1478. There are some clear anachronisms, but they tend to be played for comedy, so it's hard to hold that against them. On the whole, though, the show is trying real hard to evoke a very specific moment, and I feel it does so beautifully.

This does, however, mean that several of the characters are real people. I don't even have a good sense of how many of them are based on historical figures, that's how many. Hilariously, Wang Zhi's tag on AO3 used to read "Wang Zhi (?-1487 CE)."

Moreover, these are characters I've seen pop up in other media, played very differently! In particular, Noble Consort (up there in blue) tends to be written as an uncomplicated villain elsewhere, whereas Sleuth gives her a chance to add some goodness to her badness, until, damn, you can't but root for the bitch. (It also downplays the cradle-robbing, which, honestly, is for the best.)

You may have guessed from the eunuch section earlier, but it bears repeating: Wang Zhi is straight-up the best character in the show. He's smart as hell, and he has to be, because the second he's stupid, he's dead. I actually consider it helpful to know ahead of time that he's never going to do a heel turn -- I feel like on my first watchthrough, I was holding my breath for the first two-thirds of the show, waiting for his sudden but inevitable betrayal. It does not come. Wang Zhi is one of the heroes.

He's also, like, evil. He orders people flogged, tortured, and executed. The very first thing you see him doing is sinister as hell. And the show clearly doesn't think this is good, but it also doesn't judge him for it. He's a traumatized seventeen-year-old who has not had a normal moment of his entire life. He's working thanklessly for a boss who could kill him on a whim -- and he's doing it because he literally, physically was made for his job. He's mildly freaking out because he has no emotional grounding to help him understand that these weirdos want to be his friends.

Was the real Wang Zhi like this? That's beside the point. The point is, you get to see how someone in that position could wind up as the war-crimes-committing platonic ideal of a little meow meow.

4. oh my god the food

Warning: This show will make you hungry.

Again, beware of spoilers, but @peppersandcreamsicle and @qinzai have put together an entire cook-along Google Doc so you don't just have to drool -- you can do something about it! Or you can just read it and learn about Chinese cuisine, which is a little more my speed.

But it's not just about how good the food looks. Food is a vital emotional part of the series. People bond over it. They make and share it as a sign of love and care. It indicates status, ethnicity, interest, personality. The show's message about the healing power of cooking for the people you love will bring you to tears.

And yes, Sui Zhou is the main one doing the cooking, so get ready to drool over both the dishes and the handsome man preparing them.

Oh, and as though that weren't enough, Fu Meng Po can actually cook in real life. He's so dreamy. Absolute unreal handsome man with a devastatingly sexy voice. (I know my opinion might be different if I could hear his Taiwanese accent, but I can't so it's not!)

5. An Unsunk Ship

So like I said, my intros to c-drama couples had been WangXian, WenZhou, and WeiLan. That meant I'd basically come to terms with the idea that you can't have a main couple in a BL-but-not-really drama without splitting them up at least a little in the end, for no-homo plausible deniability reasons.

Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are still definitvely, unequivocally together when the story ends, as the iconic pentultimate scene of the series confirms with beauty and simplicity. I refuse to give any more details than that, but that ship's afloat.

(These shirtless pictures aren't from the end, but I wanted to include them, and I didn't have a better place to do it. ...Also, you know, ships and water? Yeah?)

And I think their winding up together reflects Sleuth's entire attitude. Tang Fan is made of sunshine, and the series loves him for it. There is tragedy aplenty in this show, but there's no misery. It is ultimately a hopeful show that believes in the power of second chances, if you're willing to take them. Time and again, the moral of the story is that you are only ever as good as the people who have your back -- but you have to be willing to let them have your back. Let people help you. Let people cook for you. Let people give you a reason to keep living. And then keep living.

Also, Sui Zhou gets two good kabedons off on that little twink, which means they're legally married now. I don't make the rules.

Bonus: Banger opening theme

This is one you will watch all 48 times.

Bonus #2: The Halo Video

This is the video that made me go, huh, these Sleuth boys seem like other boys I've enjoyed! Perhaps I shall enjoy them as well! And then I did. So if that might be convincing to you too, well, have at it. Even if it isn't, it's a fascinating three-minute study of shared those-boys-are-in-love visual language across these shows.

Fair warning that it contains shots from right up to the end, so if you'd rather go in completely blank, give this one a pass until later. (Excuse me while I now go watch it for the 10000th time.)

Have I convinced you to watch it yet?

It originally ran on iQiyi, though Viki's got it as well, and Viki's is free if you're willing to put up with some ads about it.

...I just noticed iQiyi's description of the series reads, "When the two handsome leading actors Darren Wang and Fu Meng-Po work together, what will happen? A lovely prefectural judge and an arrogant embroiered [sic] uniform guard join hands to crack unusual cases! Are you going to choose a new idol?" And you know what? Yes. The details are a little off, but that is the correct spirit. Thank you, thirsty blurb.

[mirageofadesert]

Looking back on my first year as a c-drama fan!

This year I fell - first down a flight of stairs - and then (because I couldn't walk properly for a few weeks) down a rabbit hole of cdramas!

In total, I have watched 28 dramas since May. I actually finished 17 of them. I re-watched 8 of them at least once. My most rewatched show is Till The End Of The Moon, followed by Love Is Sweet and The Untamed!

Shows I loved

Till The End of The Moon: This drama triggered my hyperfixation, and I still love it so much. Tantai Jin became my new obsession.

Love is Sweet: This one surprised me because I don't usually care for romantic dramas. It made me more open to different genres.

The Untamed: I watched this for the first time in 2019, and now I can appreciate it even more.

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasties: It took me several tries to get into the drama because the political setting was too complicated. I'm glad I didn't give up. Wang Zhi became one of my favorites!

New Life Begins: I was just looking for something light in between and was quite surprised how much I liked the show.

Things I learned as a newbie:

Cdramas are an acquired taste. Sometimes it's worth going back to a drama that you initially gave up on.

To avoid spoilers, it's best to skip the intro and especially the outro.

I love my characters unhinged.

Apparently it is okay to share leaks from filming.

Never believe anything that comes from yxh accounts.

Shippers are toxic in any fandom.

C-drama fans are a bit older than K-pop fans, but they can be just as unhinged and have trouble distinguishing between how to treat actors and the fictional characters they play.

My ADHD is better regulated when I watch shows in a foreign language while reading the subtitles. I don't get bored watching TV, which is rare!

Shows I dropped, and what I learned from it:

Hidden Love: I still don't like romances that have no significant plot beyond the relationship. Especially if I don't care about the characters at all.

Back from the Brink: Sometimes dramas that start well become an unwatchable, rage-inducing mess halfway through, and it's not worth sticking it out to the end.

Beauty of Resilience: I'm a character-driven audience. If the characters aren't compelling and the story isn't interesting, I don't care about the show.

Ashes of Love: I hate childish FL with baby voices and naive personalities. I need better written female characters. I'm on my 3rd attempt to watch this show and I only have a handful of episodes left, so I'll actually make it to the end (eventually).

I've dropped a lot more shows and actually watched some to the end that I didn't like very much in the end, but those are the ones I learned the most from.

What will stay with me:

Tantai Jin: I'm still obsessed with this character. He is everything I need in a fictional character.

Luo Yunxi: This will come as no surprise to anyone who follows me, but my obsession with TTJ soon extended to Luo Yunxi.

Bai Lu & Sun Zhenni: While I appreciate both of them as actors, it's their fun and uninhibited personalities that made me fall in love with them!!

Costumes: I adore the detailed costumes and hanfu styles, and do prefer costume dramas to modern ones.

Food & drinks: I'm now looking into more Chinese foot now and how to cook vegetables in more interesting ways. I also bought "moon cake stamps"... so wish me luck!

New online acquaintances: I have made some new friends online who I can fangirl with to my heart's content!

What I'm looking forward to in 2024:

I'm really looking forward to Luo Yunxi's upcoming dramas, Follow You Heart, Shui Long Yin and Immortality (🤡). I'm also looking forward to Sun Zhenni's first leading role!

There are still many dramas I want to watch, but haven't found the time for. Like A Journey to Love, Goodbye, My Princess, Nirvana in Fire, Then Miles of Peach Blossoms and The Blood of Youth.

I'm not sure what else I'll post here next year. Probably more reviews and content related to my favourite actors. Let's see if something triggers my hyperfixation soon!

Happy New Year!

[frillyfacefins]

I genuinely think The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty/14th Year of Chenghua is the most egregious case of "Watch the show before you read the book or you'll be so disappointed"

Because the plot COMPLETELY diverges after the first case, with only some things even being remotely similar and not even the first cases having the same conclusion, so watching the show doesn't spoil anything in the book at all.

But if you're used to God of Solving Cases Tang Fan with his ethereal elegance, you will have such a hard time getting used to Whiny Foodie Sleuth Tang Fan in the show.

I love both versions and Whiny Foodie Sleuth Tang Fan is my special baby, but I don't think I've seen anybody yet who actually enjoyed the show all that much after they read the book.

On the other hand, I watched the show, became obsessed, read the book, really enjoyed it, and rewatched the show and I'm still really enjoying it.

It's just that none of these people are the same characters and none of the plot is remotely similar.

[jgys-hat]

I actually started watching this drama for Wang Zhi because he seemed like exactly the sort of character I would love, and I have not been disappointed...

[bushia]

Currently watching Under the Microscope and, so far, it's very freaking good. Can't talk about the autism spectrum of the prota cause I'm not an expert but I would fucking die for this boy.

14 episodes so far and it's giving the vibe of the Sleuth of Ming dynasty so far so.... (expect political drama and deep secret and that BOY CAN ONLY TALK THROUGH ARITHMETIC)

[unforth]

Chinese BL novels that I know of that have been adapted into animated or live actions shows

I just wrote this up in Discord, might as well post it here.

by priest:

Tian Ya Ke (Faraway Wanderers) (live action adaptation: Word of Honor - on Netflix)

Zhenhun (Guardian) (live action adaptation, same name)

Can Ci Pin (The Defective) (animated adaptation, same name) (I haven't read or seen it yet)

Lie Huo Jiao Chou (Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire) (animated adaptation, same name) (I haven't read or seen it yet)

Mo Du (Silent Reading) (live action adaptation: Justice in the Dark, was pulled after 8 episodes aired due to censorship, I only managed to see one episode before it disappeared)

Sha Po Lang (Stars of Chaos) (live action adaptation: Winner is King, filmed but never aired due to censorship) (I haven't read it yet)

by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Mo Dao Zu Shi (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) (animated adaptation, same name; live action adaptation: The Untamed - LA is on Netflix)

Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Official's Blessing) (animated adaptation, same name - on Netflix; live action adaptation: Eternal Faith, filmed but never aired due to censorship)

Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong (Scum Villain's Self-Saving System) (animated adaptation: Scum System)

by Meng Xi Shi

Chenghua Shisi Nian (The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua) (live action adaptation: The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty)

Qian Qiu (Thousand Autumns) (animated adaptation: Shanhe Jian Xin)

by Fei Tian Ye Xiang

Tianbao Fuyao Lu (Legend of Exorcism) (animated adaptation, same name - s1 out of 2 is on Netflix) (I haven't read the book yet, but I've read the manhua)

Dinghai Fusheng Lu (Dinghai Fusheng Records (animated adaptation, same name) (I haven't watched it yet)

by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat

Erha he Ta de Baimao Shizun (The Husky and His White Cat Shizun) (live action adaptation: Hao Yi Xing, filmed but never aired due to censorship)

That's everything I can think of right now.

[lasenbyphoenix]

1 Character per CDrama - Inktober 2023

16. Sui Zhou, Sleuth of Ming Dynasty.

Someone else's art of this man made me watch this show, so if my art can inspire someone else to do the same then my job as a fan artist would be complete.

[recapitulation]

alright if I only had time to watch either sleuth of ming dynasty or mysterious lotus casebook which would you recommend and why 🎤

hehe hi shane. it's interesting that u compare these two bc they're both (mostly) short-form mystery based so in that way they feel similar. also they are equal levels of extremely hilarious too me <3 although both have some plot elements that are a bit darker, they both are generally pretty lighthearted and funny which I enjoy a lot.

tsomd

first of all it was produced by jackie chan and has really fantastic action choreography... I'm not really a great judge but I would say it's more impressive in that way than mlc (in my very humble opinion)

really food focused and has lots of great cooking montages

better cast of interesting women between these two

mlc

mlc is wuxia so if that's more of what you're interested in I would go here. so in other words mlc feels more like historical fantasy whereas tsomd feels more like historical fiction... although neither fit neatly into those boxes

I liked the score more in mlc than in tsomd, which I mention specifically bc I think you specifically would care <3

better writing as a whole I think... at least in the way where I was consistently engaged the entire time. honestly tsomd lost me a couple of times about 2/3 of the way through

so it depends on what you like but if you asked me for an answer straight up I would say mlc is more enjoyable than tsomd but I do really like them both... and since I recently finished mlc I'm biased <3

[nemainofthewater]

They are the sort of character who is amazing to watch on screen, but wow would you not want to live with them. Sit in the background and shamelessly enjoy the free entertainment, maybe.

The amount of drama that they bring with them is surely load bearing, and though they are generally very loyal, is it worth never being able to have a nice meal out*?

*unless you have very, very thick skin

-oh sorry, have to go, my gremlin is looking restless again - that could mean anything from writing terrible poetry to plotting a coup.

Propaganda, examples, and write-ins absolutely welcome!

[foxyjoy-art]

Tag someone you want to know better

i was tagged by @monroeknoxwrites

Favorite color: Pastel pink & Green

Last song: I WANT by IVE

Last movie: How to Train Your Dragon

Currently watching: Sleuth of Ming Dynasty (Cdrama), Tale of Nokdu (Kdrama) and TGCF season 2 as it comes out

Other stuff I've watched this year:

Loki season 1

Love Between Fairy and Devil

Til the End of the Moon

The Blood of Youth

Our Flags Mean Death season 2

Princess Tutu

probably a few others I'm forgetting

Shows I dropped this year/didn't finish: technically sleuth of ming dynasty, but I've picked it back up this month

Currently reading: Still in the process of reading Erha, thousand Autumns, but trying to read all of Yuwu before I get back to anything else

Currently working on:

my original comic: In the Absence of Snowdrops (available on webtoons canvas)

a shirt for the renaissance fair

putting together bunny suit/playboy bunny Xie Lian cosplay for katsucon

my mental health - it crashed and burned really hard this year so I finally started getting the professional help I need

Current Obsession:

TGCF

trying all the different types of squats out there during my workouts

Tagging: @fedethemace @kayochiins @0vergrownruins @beesinspades and anyone else who feels like it

[jianghushenanigans]

Pinned post

Hi I'm Thebes (thebansacredbanned) and this is my cdrama sideblog! I'm making a pinned post bc it's come to my attention that headers don't show up right on mobile sometimes and also because i meant to do it ages ago but never got round to it

I'm very bad at initiating talking to people both irl and online but I'm happy to answer asks/take part in tag games/randomly scream about headcanons in messages as long as I don't have to initiate it.

Common tags:

occasionally I write things - my fic reblogged from ao3 or snippets of fic that I won't finish from tag games

angsty screenshot edits - song lyrics or poem verses over screenshots from various dramas. Edits is probably a strong word because the images aren’t actually edited in any way but I’m here for fun not to stress about artistic quality, that’s what fics are for

i made this on ms paint - low quality normal funny-ish edits

homemade memeing - memes i made

Shows under cut

Currently watching:

The Imperial Coroner

Dashing Youth (episode 28)

The Side Story of Fox Volant

Currently reading:

Shao Nian Ge Xing (the blood of youth novel)

Seen:

The Blood of Youth (this is the one tag I actually check myself everything else comes through my dash)

Nirvana in Fire

The Disguiser

Mysterious Lotus Casebook

The Untamed (used as a catch all tag for all MDZS related content)

Love Between Fairy and Devil

A League of Nobleman

Oh My General

The Legend of Shen Li

Reset

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty

Guardian

Word of Honor

Joy of Life

Legend of Fei