Jin Xin Si Yu (2021)

Good Storyline Drama by Wallace Chung & Seven Tan

I hardly watched Mandarin speaking drama but except this The Sword and Brocade. It is highly recommended. The storyline is good. I watched and rewatched before bedtime, kind of addicted ! I have not heard of Wallace Chung, a HK actor. This is the 1st drama I watched that played by Wallace as lead role. I really feel like falling in love for his character. Wallace as Xu Lingyi is such a cool calm, powerful guy and of course every lady would love to have a husband like him. Seven Tan and Wallace Chung does have good chemistry and many romance moments along the entire drama. Wallace does have very good height and high nose feature. He does look extremely handsome in this drama.

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Decent drama

The drama was mostly enjoyable, although the slow-burn romance between ML and FL started to get really painful by episode 30. After being married for two years, they still had no sex, slept in separate beds, and had very PC tropey interactions where the female repelled from the male as soon as he came near her. That could've been flushed out a lot better without taking 30+ episodes for them to finally confess and consummate, when it was evident much earlier that they had feelings for each other.

Some of the story lines were very cliche but in reverse. If there was any miscommunication or a misunderstanding, it was all planned. Every cliche trope was a scheme between Shiyi and company, which wasn't very clever or original. It felt more like a cop out from making an effort to create something meaningful. The writers recycled old tropes backwards in a gotcha way with lots of flashbacks to show what really went on, instead of coming up with something original.

I did like the nature of Shiyi's and Linyi's relationship being based on mutual trust and respect, instead of following the same old cliches where someone felt wronged or betrayed due to an asinine misunderstanding, and then we were back to square one.

MIL was unbearable throughout the entire show - a pompous, shallow, narrow-minded geriatric moron who only fully started to appreciate Shiyi when she was about to get executed, which was a lazy way to completely avoid holding any character responsible for their wrongdoing. I would've much rather preferred MIL being poisoned or "accidently" falling down the stairs. She was just terrible. And, the biggest letdown was how the story treated Ou Yanxing, who was the nicest character. He was treated completely unfairly - banished forever because of the actions of his stupid relatives.

Although, the drama had a happy ending, it didn't really feel happy. ML was a terrible and negligent husband and a grown man completely unable to make his own decisions in everyday life, although he was a military hero. He was also incapable of standing up to his mother and let her get away with some very terrible schit, just because she was an elder. I didn't buy the filial piety trope. Mommy dearest wasn't just a moron, she was a cruel moron who punished Shiyi without any evidence while always reminding her that she was the "matron" of the house. A matron who had no power but all the responsibility. Because of Lingyi's callousness and negligence, a lot of women suffered, which made me wonder why we should cheer for him and Shiyi at all when their relationship was built on the backs and tears of other women. It was rather convenient to banish one concubine, poison another, and send the last one away to live with her son. The Ming dynasty was a nightmare for women.

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Great characters with mediocre story, my perfect rating would be between 8 and 8.5

Well, my suggested rating is 8.5 so I will go with that but if I could, I would like to give this drama something like an 8.2, which co-incidentally happens to its actual current rating. The beginning starts off absolutely amazing and while the middle and ends are not horrible, they finish off into something mediocre just due to plot pacing.

Characters: Now, to start off with, the characters are great and basically the highlight of this drama. This is in part due to the superb acting on everyone's part. I believe this drama wanted to convey the struggles of various women at the hands of the patriarchal system and unintended negligence of males and they did it quite well. There was one of the Xu family concubines who my heart just completely broke for and the only scene which brought me to tears. Despite her actually being in the wrong, I hated everyone for doing this to her.

The female lead was amazing. Calm and competent female leads are my absolute favorite but they are sadly few and far between. While it may seem like Shiyi is letting people walk over her one, in her position there are certain things she cannot do and two, she focuses on what is really important. I also appreciate how it is not easy for her and we see how she has to work very hard to obtain success. While I dearly wish there were more of these types of female leads, I know part of the reason why Shiyi is so great is due to Seven Tan's amazing acting; she really brought this character to life. The male lead was also pretty good and I like how his character gets some development too. I appreciate the second male lead because his character had an interesting conflict and he knew when to back off.

The plot is what brings that drama down. I believe the drama wanted to express too many ideas, some of which contradicted each other and it showed. For example, it wanted to show how conservative and rigid this era was but also resolved certain conflicts by completely ignoring this. For example, ***SPOILER*** women should not be seen in public, especially concubines. But there is a soup kitchen arc where are all seen standing on stage in front of a large crowd. There are also scenes where Luo Furen is furious at Shiyi for not making it official with the Marquis then furious when she does. Certain plot points (like Zhun) popped in and out based on convenience. The multiple they-knew-all-along conflict resolution scenes got a bit stale towards the end. Finally, it was a little exhausting having conflict after conflict with no room to breathe.

The music was nice, it added a nice auditory aesthetic but all the fade-to-black transitions and somewhat choppy editing ruined some of the visual aesthetic. I think it would be an okay re-watch. Overall, the plot could use some consistency but the themes were well conveyed and the characters stayed very consistent with appropriate development which still make a good drama worth watching.

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Its just so Pretty

My overall impression of Sword and Brocade is its just so pretty...

- The look and feel - everything is beautiful - I love Shiyi's room asthetics.
- Each costume is beautifully detailed (especially the lady characters) The embroadery is beautiful.
- Their love story is beautiful. Learning to trust and love was realistically portrayed and I really felt the beauty of their married relationship.
- All the prettiness certainly made up for the couple of glitches (eg having a mustache in the 2nd to last scene and then not in the last scene)
- The OST is simply beautiful and tells the story beautifully (you just cant go wrong with Charlie Zhou).
- Wallace Chung and Seven Tang protrayed Lingyi ans Shiyi beautifully and reamin 2 of my all time favourite actors
- Rewatch rating - 10 - to appreciate the finer details once you've watched the story

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Alas, the binge

*Minor spoilers*

Being a big fan of The Story of Ming Lan, this series definitely gave off a similar vibe when it comes to the complexity of a multiple-wives household and being blanketed by a strong romance. And as I always tend to mention, not a big fan of the romance genre but this was another one that I couldn't help but to fall for.

While the romance here was just as fun and idealistic as TSML, I love that they wrote in a "realistic" rift that occurred between the couple in this one- one that had me in steady tears for quite a few scenes and episodes. The FL/ML had great chemistry and both were strong characters, though not as savvy and cunning as the two in TSML. The schemes between the women were pretty standard form but were still more interesting than the ones you come across in some palace dramas. The series also does a good job tastefully highlighting the perspectives of each woman, reminding us how difficult it was for women to live through an era where the only available weapon of survival really was through the art of manipulation, forcing women to have to work against one another.

The series has minimal actions scenes and mainly focuses on the couple's romantic evolution and the dealings within the different households. There is an underlying political conspiracy to work through which helped keep the overall plot together. And although the plot itself wasn't the strongest with some holes and some repetitiveness, it was still one that had me binging episodes in an unhealthy way.

If you are a fan of TSML, I'm pretty sure you'd find this one enjoyable. And in an era where monogamy is morally preferred, who knew I'd be rooting for a ML who already had a wife and multiple concubines in-place prior to meeting the FL?

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The sorrow beneath the glorious image

This drama told the story of a young girl forced to marry into the family of a marquis and an outstanding general. Her eldest sister who was married to this marquis, died of mysterious circumstance leaving behind a son who was to be the heir to the marquis title. Her attempt to run away from the marriage failed and she was coerced to take the position as the legitimate wife in order to safeguard her nephew and his heritage. She had to handle the favouritism of her mother-in-law, backstabbing from a concubine vying for the position of the legitimate wife, betrayals and the traps lay by her husband's political opponents.

The drama was interesting and would certainly keep you glued to the TV set, wondering what was going to happen next and the 'truth' behind the different mysteries uncovered.

The themes were quite typical of Chinese dramas: rivalry of concubines and wife, political struggles that harmed the family, forced arranged marriage, obsessive lover of unreciprocated love, love triangles and the like. Likely this was the cultural settings of the Chinese society during that era and the status of women at that time, who had no career except to become the first wife of a prominent husband.

At various points, the story was quite unrealistic and did not gell - quite typical of long dramas. The wife refused to have intimate relation with the husband and he still thought that they were mutually in love - how did this happen? Things just conveniently happened - the evil guy/gal were always at the right place to overhear the important information, witness a critical situation, and smoothly carry out their evil deeds, and the good guys were always at the receiving end.

Still, it makes good entertainment. It is very much in the same genre as the Legend of Ming Lan - if you like this drama, you would likely like this one. Although I won't rate it as a top league drama, it is still a very good production and acting is great.

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Your typical family vs power plot show

I jumped onto this series pretty late, more to fill my time while I wait for other dramas, and for that, I admit, it was a great time filler! But like most of the comments in here, I understand where everyone was coming from and I'll admit, I was skipping a lot towards the mid-end half of the show. The only reason I stayed was because I was curious to find out what the ending was.

Here's what I did like:
Though quite predictable of a family vs power plot, I liked the maturity in the acting. You hated all the evil characters and rooted for the ones you loved. I especially liked that the storyline does put more emphasis on female roles in the family and they made the FL lead look incredibly witty and cunning. I loved that she wasn't weak all the time. I loved that the FL and ML had that mutual understanding and were great offsets to each other and their plans. Unlike the late Matron who you could tell, was so hell bent on scheming like her Mother. I almost felt sorry for the ML to have been married to her for as long as they were.

Loved all the soundtracks to this series! Jin Wen Qi's was my favourite.

Here's what I didn't like:
It was incredibly slow! The series could have easily been a 30-35 pt series and it would have been fine. There was sooo much scheming, plotting, revenge between all the concubines that it was starting to irritate me. But without it, I guess you could say there wouldn't be much to the storyline then.

I'm not a huge fan of voice subbing, so I was a little disappointed that they had Wallace subbed in. But that's just a very personal opinion. I find it a huge discredit to the actors who already put so much effort in memorising lines and acting it out.

I also wasn't a huge fan at the production. Don't get me wrong, the sets were beautiful, outfits were nice too! But the way they cut scenes and faded it out sometimes felt like it was done so hastily and abruptly, I almost wondered whether I was missing scenes or if it got cut for censorship reasons. They could have done the transitions a lot more smoothly I felt.

And lastly, I wished that there were more romance between the FL and ML. Not necessarily physical scenes, but more on the expressing their feelings. I didn't see why they had to wait nearly 35 episodes in before she could have done that. The only moment I really felt the love between the two was at the ending when Shi Yi was going get beheaded and he comes to talk to her in her cell. Though I understand the age gaps that was portrayed in the show, I did feel a disconnect between them and felt their relationship felt more like a business partners than they did as a married couple.

Would I watch it again? Probably not. Would I recommend it? If you have nothing else to watch, yes. :)

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L'épée et le brocart (2021)
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Affiche L'Épée et le Brocart (2021)

8.3
Votre note: 8 /10
Notes : 8,3 /10 de 6 349 utilisateurs
Nombre d'observateurs : 13 185
Avis : 99 utilisateurs
Se déroulant sous la dynastie Ming, l'histoire tourne autour de la romance entre le général Xu Ling Yi et la fille de la concubine Shi Yi Niang, qui commence par un mariage arrangé. Bien qu'elle soit née avec un statut inférieur, Shi Yi Niang est extrêmement affirmée et estime que la vision d'une femme ne doit pas se limiter au foyer. Elle espère pouvoir compter sur ses talents de brodeuse pour accéder à la liberté. Cependant, la famille Luo, autrefois estimée, est en déclin. Dans l'espoir de sauver le clan grâce à une alliance matrimoniale, Shi Yi Niang est choisie pour devenir l'épouse du duc Yongping et du grand général Xu Ling Yi. Les choses n'étaient pas faciles pour elle à cause des préjugés de la famille Xu à son égard. Néanmoins, elle parvient à gagner leur confiance grâce à son optimisme et sa sincérité. Xu Ling Yi est également attirée par ses diverses belles qualités, telles que mari et femme parviennent à trouver l'amour après le mariage. Grâce au soutien de Xu Ling Yi, Shi Yi Niang ouvre le pavillon Xian Ling pour avoir son propre atelier de broderie. Pendant ce temps, Xu Ling Yi connaît de nombreux revers alors qu'il tente de protéger son pays et d'améliorer les moyens de subsistance de sa population en soutenant la levée d'une interdiction maritime. Alors qu'ils font face à une crise qui pourrait signifier la fin de la famille Xu, Xu Ling Yi et Shi Yi Niang continuent de se soutenir contre vents et marées. (Source : ChineseDrama.info) ~~ Adapté du roman « Les stratégies de la fille née concubine » (庶女攻略) de Zhi Zhi (吱吱). Modifier la traduction

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Great Production Quality

Before I begin I should state that I do not like stories with many wives so I may be more "strict" in my review than usual.

I will start with the good things. The production quaity is great; from the costumes to the music everything fits in nicely and exudes professionalism. The plot is also consistent and the perfect combination between complex and easy-to-follow. I am a fan of mystery type dramas so I really enjoyed that aspect of the plot. Needless to say, the cast did a great job portraying all of the characters, no moment felt fake or forced.

I had one major problem with this drama though. The writers are trying to convince us that the ML is the indiffirent but righteous military type guy, which just doesnt add up for me. He does have a scheming wife and a crazy a mother who make things difficult for him at home by bringing in concubine after concubine. Even though he claims he never wanted them, he has slept with them as 2 out of 4 of the concubines were pregnant at some point. However since there is always trouble at home (usually because of his wife's scheming) he starts to avoid his family and emerses himself into his work. That leaves plenty of room for the concubines to experience some very tragic moments that I just couldnt get past without disliking the ML. If he is a righteous as the writers want us to believe he would at least protect them from harm.

The concubine most unlucky in this whole circus is concubine Qin. She was a maid who treated the ML after some injuries and to reward her, his mother made her his bedside maid, even though concubine qin did not want to. His mother also made her drink some kind of contraception which led to her losing the baby she was carrying. So after being essentialy raped by the ML (without him realizing), and losing her baby, she is basically left alone and ignored by the now indifferent ML, without anyone ever aknowledging the hardships she has been through. To me her actions were completely justifiable and after episode 40, during which we hear her full story, I took a break form the drama to unwind because I disliked the ML so much .

Overall its a good drama. If you are like me and dont like the many wives narrative, I suggest you skip this one, it will just make you angry. If you dont mind the harem, its a well made drama.

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If they’d just let him play zither…

This is a very watchable story of being a filial child in Ming era. A gentle zither prodigy son gives it all up to protect his mother & brother after his father is betrayed to become a military hero. A creative & talented embroider must, as a concubine’s daughter, give it up for her in-laws.

Wallace is almost perfectly cast as a silently suffering solid citizen - under the massive social pressures of being a head of a family - slowly opening up to his young bride. Seven is great at portraying a young woman forced into plastering on a smile as family duties keeping trying to box her in or end her.

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Just a bingeworthy TV series when dubbed in Cantonese

Think Pride and Prejudice, except the story is set in China during, I believe, the Ming Dynasty. I’ll keep the names the same as the English novel because Chinese names sound weird in English.

Lizzy is an independent girl, who can make a living by embroidery. Lizzy meets George Wickham and they instantly get along with each other, like 2 peas in a pod. As the viewer, I can tell straight away that they have chemistry, which is nothing short of magical.

By the way, in this Chinese TV series, George Wickham is actually a decent guy and not the scoundrel who eloped with Lizzy’s sister, Lydia Bennett. As for Darcy, let’s say his Chinese counterpart is pretty much the same guy.

As the viewer, I’m routing for George and Lizzy because they have chemistry. Darcy on the other hand seems to be in a serious relationship with his job; he does not have time to go out on dates and no time for silly, useless things like parties. “Having Fun” is of course out of the question for Mr Darcy!

It so happens that Lizzy ends up marrying Mr Darcy because her older sister, who just happens to be Darcy’s first wife, chose Lizzy to essentially “take her place” as his wife and as the mother of her very young son.

Good bye George – unfortunately Lizzy being your girlfriend and eventual wife is out of the question.

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