#yin jiao

[xinyuehui]

CHEN MUCHI as YIN JIAO

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023)

[tokumusume]

Riding by my side is my best friend, Yin Jiao.

[wangmiao]

Chen Muchi as Yin Jiao & Yu Shi as Ji Fa in Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023)

[electricsoul-rpg]

CHEN MUCHI (陈牧驰) as Yin Jiao, Crown Prince of Shang Dynasty

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms 封神第一部：朝歌风云 (2023)

[technicallyverycowboy]

#one jf absolutely tied that titty rope harness thing #two they have touched each other sensually in the nighttime

i love this headcanon!!! 2. definitely!!!

you get me!!

[sanflawoah]

Unhelpful guide for tigers and dragons of black myth

[scorbleeo]

Drama Gossip: The Spirealm (致命游戏)

Source: Google Images

It started off peculiarly; first, his domestic cat refused to let him cuddle it. Lin Qiushi soon found that a sense of disharmony and incongruity began to pervade everything around him. Then, one odd day, he pushed open a door, and he discovered that the hallway he was familiar with turned into a boundless corridor. At both ends of this corridor were twelve, identical iron gates. Thus, the story began.

Source: MyDramaList (2024)

Action, Adventure, Augmented Reality? Sign Me Up!

I do not consume everything that has the 'entering a virtual game with real life consequences' plot-line but when I do, I more or less will enjoy them. The Spirealm is exactly that plot-line and after just finishing 19th Floor (another Chinese drama with similar concept), I was expecting more and hoping for lesser disappointment.

This drama did not disappoint at all. Lets first talk about the roles and the cast. Brilliant job on the casting, everybody pulled off their role so wonderfully, it felt like they were made for their roles. As for the characters these actors portrayed, wow. I haven't been obsessed with a fictional Chinese character in such a long time but Ruan Lan Zhu is so easy to be obsessed with. The writing was brilliant because I very quickly grew attached to the main people and when shit hit the fan, yeah, I felt everything as if I was a part of them.

Spoilers going on from here so if you haven't watched the show, go and watch it now, please?

As I was saying, I was so attached to some of the characters, I really, wow... Say Li Dong Yuan first. I actually already was spoiled with his death, I even knew which door was going to cause his death yet when it happened, I physically gasped. Then his farewell scene came about and goodness gracious, Xiao Zhuang's reaction was absolutely heart-wrenching. It really did not help that right before getting stabbed, the door Dong Yuan went through for Ling Ling was one of the most entertaining and comedic doors.

After that Zao Zao's death? She was already trying her best in the real world, she tried her best in the spirealm. She gave one of the best speeches ever. Yet that chandelier... I never hated chandeliers as much as I do now.

That's the thing about The Spirealm. This show has plenty of heartbreaking scenes but at the same time, it has a bunch of hilarious scenes too. You really can go from laughing one second and then depressed the next. Exactly like when Cheng Yi Xie sacrificed himself for his brother? One second I was laughing at Lan Zhu begging for Ling Ling's forgiveness and suddenly I was pissed but before I could even get real mad, I was hit with a broken heart. This may sound like a complain but the roller coaster of emotions made this drama ten times more interesting than other dramas.

Moving on to the game or doors or levels (however you want to call them). I really, really enjoy shows with this concept but many a times, the stakes just aren't high enough. Not The Spirealm though. I mean, look at Dong Yuan, Zao Zao and Yi Xie. They are part of the main leads and that world did not go easy on them. As much as I hate that they died, I really appreciated the high stakes in this drama. It made watching the show so much more worth it.

Anyhow, despite thoroughly enjoying this drama, I have so many questions. First things first, did I miss the significance of the necklace Lan Zhu gave Ling Ling during the first door?

Also (this is not that important by the way), when the time comes, the players have no choice but through the door. We've watched Ling Ling enter his doors plenty a time. Now tell me how did Wu Qi survive?

I may be someone who loves an ambiguous ending but if the theory that everything was not real is in fact real, I hate it. Yet, everything being a part of Ling Ling's dream or "hallucination" does make sense, as much as I hate it. Remember where Ling Ling walked into upon completing the first door? He entered the door in the middle of the road and exited it into his house? The discrepancies started right from the beginning. Which (if I did not miss anything) might explain the lack of significance behind the necklace. It will also explain why Ling Ling's time between each door is never long yet Wu Qi's not worried about his next door when he witnessed Dong Yuan's death? Or that Chen Fei's advancement is so much slower than Ling Ling. Furthermore, I'm supposed to believe the crew learnt about a mysterious man who helped Xiong Qi reunite with Xiao Ke in the spirealm and they did not investigate more?

I really do hate the everything was not real theory but I also cannot deny it's the most reasonable one. There was another theory I chanced upon on Douyin a while back and have since forgotten most of the information. However, I like that theory a lot even though it was quite farfetched. Long story short, the user theorised that after Lan Zhu walked into the portal and cleaned the program, Ling Ling woke up and regained consciousness after being hit, right? That's not reality but the 12th door and the door god for this last door is Lan Zhu. That was all I remember but the user did provide explanations and timestamps for their theory and upon reading it, it did make sense too. Therefore, if I ever come across that video again, I will link it here.

In the meantime, let's wallow in the conclusion of The Spirealm. It was a quick and short ride but an extremely memorable one.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

More productions from China here: 19th Floor (19层) | Under the Skin (猎罪图鉴)

[movielosophy]

Creation of the gods ⅰ  | He might be a better emperor.

[i-can-not-art]

Oc relationship charts

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Beloved of A Lifetime (2024)

Gifs of Intro & Ending of cdrama “Beloved of A Lifetime”

《 三生無殤 Beloved of A Lifetime》 EP1-2：靈族聖女被害，兇手卻是新婚丈夫 | 鐘麗麗 管櫟 | KUKAN DRAMA

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLB0Kxjg1qA

[mstrchu]

never not thinking about how the jie dao disciples on the shang side during fengshen were almost all old and already accomplished figures with well-established posts and reputations while a solid chunk of the chan dao disciples on the zhou/west qi side were like. a group of freshly traumatized kids and yang jian, who was also traumatized but just slightly older.

like pov: you're a shang general and your opponents are a group of middle/high schoolers and their exhausted college student TA.

[tokumusume]

more fengshen + text posts

[twstrhythm]

Another long anon under the cut.

Aside from the fact that you seem to be trying to educate me about my own culture, you really are a fool, aren't you?

Yes, respect is important. And yes, it is not good manners to pick a fight with someone. However, there is that small bit you decided to highlight. Shall I say it louder for those in the back?

"Respecting the feelings of whoever is being spoken to."

That goes to say the same should be expected from this hypothetical female character too. If she was not respecting their feelings, why should she expect them to respect her back?

And for the Chinese OCs in question, here is how they would react.

Haoyu would not like it if she disrespects his feelings and would definitely talk back to her about it. If she won't show him respect, then he is not showing her any respect too. He does not see why she thinks this is okay to do.

Hui Jin is upset by this. He does not think the girl had the right to disrespect him for a joke. It is not funny to him, so he will react accordingly. He would tell her that she is being disrespectful and that he will not tolerate that.

Jian-Yu would be put off by the disrespect he is receiving and start judging this girl for it. He does not see why he should have to put up with his feelings being disrespected like this. If she has the audacity to tell him that he needs to respect her feelings, he will laugh at her and say "that's a funny joke. Funny, because you didn't do that for me. Why should I respect you?"

Jiao-Long is upset with it. He does not think he did anything to deserve to have his feelings just disrespected like this. He would likely start avoiding her. If he has to spend time around her, he makes sure someone else is with him. He refuses to deal with her alone.

Kunming does not like that she disrespected his feelings like this. He is more than willing to just throw hands with her. Whenever he sees her again in the future, he just turns the other way and ignores her. He makes sure to drop hints for other people to know that this girl was not so nice.

Li Feng shrinks into himself. He first questions if it is his fault. Then he will ask other people for their opinion on it. Finally, he concludes that this girl was being disrespectful towards him, and that he does not have to accept that. He would judge her from a distance whenever he sees her from that point on.

Longwei is baffled that someone would be mean to him for no reason. Oh? It was a joke? Haha. He does not find that funny. As someone who had been bullied before, Longwei will not just let her get away with it. He would confront her about it and make sure she understands exactly how he feels about her now, and he is not going to be nice about it.

Shen is upset and kind of wants to cry, but he doesn't. He tells the girl that she should try being nicer. If she won't change her attitude, then he will not talk to her anymore. He will ignore her if she tries to talk to him.

Shi Yin is annoyed by this, and he tells her that she was being disrespectful flat out. He also tells her that he will not be speaking to her again from that point on. If she refuses to respect him, he will not respect her.

Xiaoshi is not going to go easy on her. He starts out by telling her that he thinks she is a terrible person for not respecting his feelings. Why should he respect her if she is just going to treat him like trash? That is not something he will just accept.

Xinyi just begins avoiding her like she is the plague. He does not want to speak to someone who disrespected his feelings. He has no obligation to. If he has to see her again, he avoids looking at her directly and only speaks to her when someone else does.

Xue Long is not pleased with this. He has had plenty of experience with people disrespecting his feelings, and he has become more guarded as a result. This girl had said/done something that hurt him, so he is more cautious around her. He remembers what he has been taught, but this person did not respect him. He gives her judgmental looks any time she tries to speak to him.

YunLong would just sigh and tell her that she is not a good person for being so disrespectful. He would say he would like to be nice, but it does not seem like she deserves it. Whenever he sees her after this point, he makes sure to remind her of her actions and that she needs to change that if she wants his respect.

Zixuan looks at her differently from that point on. His feelings were just disrespected after all. "Treat people the way you want to be treated", he has heard people say. Since this girl was treating him disrespectfully, then he will not be nice to her. He ignores her as much as possible.

[electricsoul-rpg]

CHEN MUCHI (陈牧驰) as Yin Jiao, Crown Prince of Shang Dynasty

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms 封神第一部：朝歌风云 (2023)

[vietlad]

Chen Muchi as Yin Jiao in Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023) dir. Wuershan

[la-muerta]

[莲花楼 Meta] Di Feisheng and the Three Kings

While looking through the cast list and end credits, I noticed that there had been actors cast as 炎帝白王 Yandi Bai Wang and 四象青尊 Sixiang Qingzun even though we don't get to see them in the final cut. Reading the original script, they appear in a deleted scene (unsure if it was actually filmed) in Episode 05, as a flashback during this scene with the robe in Jiao Liqiao's rooms.

It's explained in the script as Di Feisheng's old Alliance leader ceremonial robe, but in the final cut of the show, it seems to be implied as wedding robes Jiao Liqiao prepared for Di Feisheng.

Scene in original script:

FLASHBACK: Ten years ago, at the headquarters of the Jinyuan Alliance. DI FEISHENG is wearing that luxurious robe, sitting around drinking with the THREE KINGS. The TWELVE PHOENIXES are standing guard at one side. YANDI BAI WANG looks over at the TWELVE PHOENIXES and laughs.

YANDI BAI WANG: Each of our twelve beautiful protectors has her own charms, but we have never seen our Zunshang show any interest in any of them. Could it be… that Zunshang already has someone in his heart? 

SIXIANG QINGZUN (shaking his head): Romantic entanglements and ruling the world are not of interest to him. Our Zunshang is only obsessed with martial arts, and all he wants is to be number one in the martial world.

DI FEISHENG (raising his cup proudly): To have a worthy opponent to discuss martial practice and duel for life and death for a hundred battles without getting weary of it, that is the only life I wish for!

YANDI BAI WANG (realisation dawning): If so, the lady you marry must be the most trustworthy, so that she can handle the affairs of the Alliance wisely while Zunshang concentrates on his pursuit of martial arts.

DI FEISHENG (laughing in surprise): That would be ideal!

YANDI BAI WANG (laughingly): I wonder which lady will have the honour!

The TWELVE PHOENIXES continue to stand guard but cannot hide their reaction to the teasing. The THREE KINGS raise their cups and laugh, and from where she is hiding in a distance, JIAO LIQIAO shoots a venomous look at the other women.

END FLASHBACK.

--

This scene is a parallel to Li Xiangyi's 18th birthday celebration, where the Sigu Sect members were urging Li Xiangyi to formalise his engagement to Qiao Wanmian. (Di Feisheng would have been around the same age as well.)

--

Also an interesting point about the titles that Three Kings picked for themselves. Assuming that they were around the same age as Di Feisheng (perhaps with Sixiang Qingzun being the oldest since he was already married and might have been around the age of the other three Nanyin descendants), then their titles might seem rather overblown for a bunch of teenagers/young men in their early 20s lol.

There's however a connection between their titles and the Four Auspicious Beasts (四象) in Chinese mythology; in fact, it's even in one of their titles! (Yes, I know it's translated by iqiyi as Four-faced but I disagree with that translation and I'll get to that.)

1. 四象青尊 Sixiang Qingzun As mentioned, 四象 or Four Aspects/Images is another name for the Four Auspicious Beasts, and "青尊" (Azure Lord) is another name for the Azure Dragon 青龙 of the East. So his title actually translates more accurately to "Lord Azure Dragon of the Four Aspects". I'm pretty sure I'm right because his wife, 两仪仙子 Liangyi Xianzi, has a related name. In 《易经 I Ching》, there is a phrase "两仪生四象" (the two modes – yin and yang – results in the formation of the Four Aspects). And it just happens that she practices a skill that allows her to change her gender!

2. 炎帝白王 Yandi Bai Wang "炎帝 Yandi" is an honorific for the leader or king of a civilisation that dates back to the Neolithic age. Another civilisation from a similar era used "黄帝 huang di" (yellow emperor), and that's why Chinese also call ourselves 炎黄子孙, because we can trace our ancestry back to these two civilisations. So his title translates more accurately to "The Flame Emperor, the White King/Prince". One of the Four Auspicious Beasts is the White Tiger of the West, so it is possible that his title refers to that.

3. 阎王寻命 Yan Wang Xunming "阎王 Yan Wang" is a transcription of the Sanskrit name Yama Raja or King Yama, who is the Chinese god of death and ruler of the Ten Courts of the Underworld. 寻命 is a little more tricky to translate but I think in this context it means to find your fate/destiny and face the inevitable outcome. So his title translates to "King Yama Seeking Fate". Assuming he also represents one of the Four Auspicious Beasts, then he is likely to be the 玄武 Xuanwu of the North (literally "dark/mysterious warrior", usually depicted as a black tortoise intertwined with a snake).

But it's supposed to be four beasts, so who's the fourth? The obvious candidate seems to be Di Feisheng as 朱雀 Vermillion Bird of the South — his official Alliance leader robes are red. Perhaps the Three Kings asked him to pick a fancy title to match theirs, but Mr "Dao is a Dao" refused to participate XD Maybe it's Wuyan, who does have some red in his clothes, which would then make Di Feisheng 黄龙 Yellow Dragon or the symbol of the emperor, which doesn't really match imo.

(As an interesting aside, the original novel 吉祥纹莲花楼 Auspicious Pattern Lotus House is published as four volumes corresponding with the Four Auspicious Beasts.)