The Story of Ming Lan (2018)

When I watched the trailer, I was not interested to watch the drama. The trailer was not able to convey the good qualities of the drama. However, I am glad that I gave it a chance to watch it.

This drama is intricately beautiful. It was based on the novel with the same title. The drama focused on the life story of Ming lan, who was born in the Chinese imperial era. She was born from a concubine who was not favored by her father. Her father already had a legal wife and concubine Lin by his side. He was the type of person who loved high and good reputation and liked to avoid trouble. Without her father protection, Ming Lan and her mother had to suffer being abused by concubine Lin. Ming Lan grew up to become a person who was able to discern a person's behavior and motive behind them. She used that ability to act accordingly and protect herself. I really like Ming Lan. She is a very interesting main character and a great role model too. She is not your typical naivete and the weak lady who need to be protected, although she pretended to be one. She is actually an assertive, brave and can be ruthless and cunning if she needed to be.

The drama had a very strong nuance about the culture of China in the past. Which is very interesting too. A lot of the lines dialogues had hidden meaning and it was very interesting to see each person masked their emotion, going on a circle to confess one's intention. Sometimes it helps to rewatch the drama and pay attention to the lines which were spoken.

The love story is also bittersweet. The chemistry between the main leads is amazing (maybe because they are husband wife in real life too?). I love how their relationship was slowly being built in the drama, and how their characters who were the exact opposite were able to complement each other. Together they were unbeatable.

My problems with the drama were the fact that there were too many characters being introduced and the fact that Molan was being accepted back into the family. Those characters had a certain role which was important for the plot. Like the Wang family of Ming Lan's stepmother. They are too many to the point makes it hard for you to remember them.

Regarding Molan, she did not deserve to be forgiven. She looked very docile at the end which was pretty fast for her to turn around after so many years being abusive? She did suffer and reap what she sowed. But her transition being back into the family felt weird.

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The Story of Minglan is a Chinese historical slice-of-life drama adapted from the novel "Do You Know? If the Green is still Plump and the Red Still Lean?" by Guanxin Zeluan. The story follows the life of Sheng Minglan the fourth daughter of Sheng Hong and his concubine Wei Shuyi from childhood into adulthood. The story started a bit slow but since it started it off slow you got to know the characters a lot more (including the side characters) that Minglan grew up with and to see their interactions. The cast bought the story to life perfectly and the costumes were great. The soundtrack was good and fit the drama well. I would totally recommend this drama.

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I love how smart, cold (not fully use her emotion) but always use her brain, so even she is a low born daughter but with her smart brain she become the legal wife of marquise,
the story is really interesting, many upside down emotions in this drama. sometimes you will cry because how sad of the female lead life as a child, but sometime you will laugh because how funy and sweet the interaction between the female lead and male lead. and sometime you will mad because of the antagonist character in this drama, but in the end you will love this drama, because the female lead her (ming lan) is not weak but smart and cunning she can taking care her enemy so well, that make me in love with her character.. and one again Zhao Liying playing her role as ming lan so well.. her drama never disappointed me until now.. so you must watch this beatifull drama. and the most imprtanting THE ENDING IS WARM AND HAPPY ENDING

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Story: Synopsis here is missleading. Although Romance is present in the drama but that's never a major plot. Major plot is how both Female and Male lead use their genius ways to either win something or get out of tough situations.I will describe both differently here.
Minglan- Our Female Lead, born to a mother who was bought to marry her husband. Her mother was 3rd wife of his husband whom he never cared about. Even when her mother was murdered her husband didnt care. Ming lan then was brought up my her grandma who was very intelligent and Ming lan learned this from her. Minglan acted to be dumb, sumbissive and as a good girl till her adult hood, so that she can never be percived as threat to any of herstep siblings. But she still played games behind doors to get out of dangerous situations or to make herstep sister or stepmother pay for her wrong doings but nobody ever judged that It was Minglan who was behind everything. She even made a very dangerous plot to MURDER her stepmother who was responsible for her mothers death. She not only succeeded in Murdering her same way her mother died but she also made sure that her step sister who was the daughter of eveil stepmom can never have a good life. Nobody ever came to know that minglan was behind all of this. Once she got married to marquis she started showing her true intelligence and how dangerous is she. After her marriage people started to realise that it's imposible to deal with her and if anybody tried to harm her or anybody close to her they will definetly loose their life. She even got empress out of many difficult situations by her intelligence. She was not only intelligent but highly brave who could fight against world if any body close to her was harmed.
Gu Tingye- I find him equally talented and intelligent But Gu tingye always have had the opportunity and title as son of marquis and later General and Marquis himslef to show his intelligence but he rarely did. He was opressed as child but never knew till his father passed away. He was deliquant hence was never believed to be a better person. Later on when he decided to turn around his life after Ming Lan convinced him only then you can start to see how good of a planner he was himself. Unlike Minglan Gun tingye was always direct and never pretended even in dangeroud of situations.
Minglan was cool, Composed and Defensive Guntingye was Fiery and Offensive but both were highly intelligent and hence as a pair when they married it became imposible for anybody to defeat them as a pair.
Direction 5/10- I saw shaky footage atleast 3 times in entire show and apart from that there were many flaws but still they were digestable.
Character Development- Character development of each and every character from Main leads to mother of supporting characters to even servents was very good. You grow attached to these characters and this character development was also the reason why show is 73 episode long. You never feel that drama was draggy its imposible to skip even a second of drama.
All in all one of the best C dramas out there.

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Cons: -The pace was a bit too slow for my taste.
-It's sometimes easy to lose track of all the different characters. But that's usually the case for most historical dramas so it's not a particularly relevant con.

Pros:-Awesome payoff for each plot line, although it was a bit slow. But the upside is that the conclusion of each arc feels especially satisfying.
-The chemistry and acting of the cast was so good, especially the two leads. I was smiling every time that they were on screen together (which is a rarity from someone who often experiences second lead syndrome).
-Interwoven and detailed plot and a strong protagonist who navigates through the constraints of her time.

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What Starts As a Thrilling Ride Dwindles Into Everybody Hates MingLan's Marriage

Episodes 1-45 = 10 ?
46- 73 = 1?

I completely enjoyed the first half, the second half after her marriage into Gu family was just annoyingly repititive, all kinds of clownish antagonists who didn't even make sense anymore. Seems like the writers just let loose a ton of psychos thinking like 1 year olds and stirring shit up just for kicks. Forcing a concubine the first time was understandable, the next 3-5 times were just so ridiculous even someone from 10 families away tried and nearly got away with it, really?

This left me with a sour taste in my mouth just like Yanxi Palace and I swore never to watch palace harem dramas ever again , as this was more of family slice of life I decided to give it a try but still ended up with a shitload of crap in the second half

I don't know what it is about Cdramas, very few maintain great stories and pacing to the end, unfortunately this was one of those. I used to be a stick it out to the end kinda gal but I've learned my bitter lesson so now, if it starts to go wonky I throw the entire drama away. I really tried even up to episode 60 to see a redeeming arc, something to light up the spark again but damn did this get out of hand, even villains who should have been set in their place 30 episodes ago were resurrected to display hair pulling, eye rolling levels of stupidity that even I couldn't stomach anymore and oh, it's never their fault, they're never wrong, it's always the MCs fault ??

Even Ming Lan the titular character seemed to lose the smarts that had me keeping late nights to catch up with in the beginning and just became a shadow of her former self, so consumed with "what people will say" or some other dumb shit

As for the romance aspect, I expected her to at least reciprocate the depth of love GTY showed her at least 10 episodes earlier. Damn girl I know you had a hard life but can't you SEE how much you mean to him? All of a sudden Ming Lan who can see and read people's intents 10 miles away suddenly didn't UNDERSTAND what love is, she was literally like a log of wood in all intimate scenes with her hubby and only loosened up after all hell had broken loose. This was super underwhelming for a freaking 73 EPISODE drama.

All in all I'll give this a 6, infact 5 as I'm already getting super annoyed typing up this rant, sorry, review ?

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Dropped this and picked it up again - missed nothing. I dedicatedly watched episodes 1-9 and 40-56.

The Story of Ming Lan is not a political drama like Nirvana in Fire or even Story of Yanxi Palace. It's more like a family drama set in a historical era - two good, kind generous people are mistreated by their cruel families. Slowly, eventually after some misunderstandings, they find each other and build a life together.

There is no real overarching plot, just bad act x, counterstrike y, over and over again. The one strength of the drama is the two main lead characters radiate such goodness while also being clever and brave, that you really cheer for them as they try to overcome their bad circumstances.

Acting is really good across the board - you really believe from the main characters to small side characters that they are who they say they are. Music is fine - not particularly remarkable but works.

There might be a scene or two I go back to, but nothing really stands out for a rewatch.

I have other criteria I score by:

Complex Themes - 5
(There are some vague themes on abusive/toxic family dynamics and how to defend yourself whilst maintaining your own moral code - they are not very strong.)
Character Growth -6
(How the main characters relate to each other changes over time in some sweet/interesting ways, but in general the characters are all very fixed and do not surprise)
Nuanced Women -7
(There are lots of female roles in this production, and they often have interesting and complex motives - if rather one note).
Cinematography/Production Values - 7
(Everything is shot in a competent, cinematic type way, but there are only a few basic sets and exteriors, and competent but not particularly exciting costuming)

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Family feuds, women's and men’s social ambitions. Beautiful production and story!

This drama is one of the best family period dramas I have watched.

Funny enough, around episode 15, I almost quit. I wasn't sure to be able to watch 73 episodes of women's fights. So I fast-forwarded and stopped at the love scenes. Then, I went back to where I stopped to continue the story. The more I watched, the more it became addictive. I think the turning point was when ML explained his strategy to marry her and her true personality came out; No longer a doormat but a very smart strategist knowing inside and out how to survive her family and in-laws. The chemistry exploded on my screen, I was hooked.

This drama is far from being a typical romance drama. It portrays the harsh reality of women's lives, including the hierarchy, jealousy, hate, nasty stepmothers, loving grandmothers, nannies, children, maids, sisterhood, concubines, and complicated relationships with men. The drama also sheds light on the forced marriage, ambitions, and clans, and how men were granted the freedom to have mistresses ranging from prostitutes to bed chambers to concubines, to first spouses, heritage, and succession. Moreover, it highlights how women were conditioned to submit to strict social codes and family hierarchy, and how their lives were tightly supervised.

I was completely engrossed by the transformation of the main female character in the drama. She started as a meek and submissive young woman, but as the story progressed, her true strength and determination were revealed. It was impressive to see how she fought tirelessly for her husband, child, and loved ones. Every aspect of the script was so well thought-out and executed that it felt entirely believable. The attention to detail was exceptional, and it allowed me to immerse myself completely in the past. The film provided an authentic glimpse into how families were structured and how people lived together, following strict rules and structures. Overall, it was an incredibly fascinating experience that left a lasting impression on me.

The love story was a complex and multi-layered tale of two individuals who were deeply in love with each other, but their relationship was plagued with challenges. There were moments of pure cuteness and loveliness, but there were also times when it was enormously frustrating to see them struggle. It was evident that their love was genuine, but it was also clear that they were conditioned by their childhood experiences and societal expectations, which made their relationship complicated. The man was like fire, passionate and intense, while the woman was like ice, calm and collected. Despite their differences, they remained committed to each other, and their love was the glue that held them together. There were a few instances where I chuckled at the adorable moments they shared. However, their story also highlighted the gender-based differences in status and the societal pressures that come with it. Overall, it was a beautifully written story that portrayed the complexities of relationships and the power of love to overcome challenges.

The performance was absolutely stunning! The actors and actresses involved were all seasoned professionals, and their skills were on full display. As always, I found myself completely smitten with the two male leads. It's hard to pick a favorite between them, but the ML was particularly adorable, especially in the way he portrayed his deep love for his spouse.It was crystal clear that respect was the foremost priority, and love was considered an exception.

I easily recognized two highly talented actresses. The first one played the lead role in "Princess Agents" - a drama that I absolutely adored, except for the lackluster finale. The second actress, who played the fifth villain princess in "Love Like the Galaxy", also showcased her remarkable acting skills with a completely different character. I must say, I was thoroughly impressed with both of them! I must emphasize that every actor in the drama was exceptionally great, despite the fact that the male leads were outstanding. The grandmother's portrayal was particularly touching, and it was hard not to have a soft spot for her.

I must admit that I am usually very critical of scriptwriters and directors, but in this case, I must give credit where credit is due. The plot was easy to follow and everything made perfect sense, making it a truly fluid and enjoyable experience.

I was impressed by the thoughtfully chosen music that complemented the atmosphere without being too loud. Additionally, I couldn't help but appreciate the attention to detail put into every aspect of the production, from the intricate houses to the stunning costumes and sceneries. It was truly a feast for the eyes and ears.

This reminds me of other family period stories that I also recommend. They are completely different stories but similar with in-depth conflicts and heavy social hierarchy and rules: “New life begins”, “Royal Feast” and “Chef Hua”.

This drama was very complex and gave me a full overview of how women and men lived and survived.

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First time watching: Feb, 2019 Rewatch: Jan. 2024 Still fantastic!!!!

This is an amazingly well told story about a girl named Ming Lan. Don’t expect a torrid romance; the lead couple’s relationship takes time to develop but, once it does, it gives way to a great fusion of mind and soul. Understanding, and remembering throughout the drama, that Ming Lan grew up holding back her real emotions while cultivating her intellect, will be less frustrating. This drama has everything, from an excellent cast to cinematography, choreography... but what makes this drama great is the way the story evolves and how Ming Lan and Gu TingYe become a powerful force of love and brilliant minds working together, and sometimes, apart. Take your time and be patient because, although the drama can be considered slow paced, every episode really brings out all sorts of emotions. Enjoy it!

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