October’s Easy Magazine, one of China’s glossiest entertainment magazines, features the cast of Bu Bu Jing Xin with in depth interviews and photoshoots. I’m traveling this weekend so no scene recap for my BBJX fellow addicts, but these pictures ought to be a sight for sore eyes. Nicky Wu lands on the cover while the rest of the equally gorgeous cast can be found inside the magazine. As the drama starts airing elsewhere, the cast will ramp up promotions again. It’s already been confirmed that the entire main cast is headed to Taiwan (Nicky’s home) to promote BBJX in November. I’m so excited for BBJX fever to hit Taiwan!
Liu Shi Shi is so gorgeous but in a very down-to-earth way. It really upset me to hear her get criticized in the C-press and fandom during the airing of BBJX as not being beautiful enough to play Ruo Xi. WTF, are people blind over there? I personally think she’s as pretty as Crystal Liu and Yang Mi, with the upside being she’s an even better actress. I conceded she was very green when she first started, and really it hasn’t been until BBJX that I formed the opinion of her acting talent. But I think she’s there, and all future projects are going to be a cake walk for her after playing Ruo Xi.
O___O *speechless*
Wow…..uhm…..Yuan Hong, I think you just fried my brain. Thank you for being so insanely hot. And a fantastic actor. Drama producers, this man was born to play Linghu Chong. Please make it happen.
Kevin Cheng is such a handsome man. I already mentioned to other folks that he’d make the perfect Chor Leu Heung, with his dashing sensitivity and searing emotional connection with the camera and his leading lady.
I can’t believe it’s taken me 20 years to appreciate Nicky, but better late than never. And to my defense, his boyband days were insanely silly and his early acting projects were terrible IMO.
While Shi Shi gets raked through the coals for being not gorgeous enough in her Qing costumes, conversely Annie Liu as Ruo Lan is getting heaps of praise. I’m baffled, because while Annie is stunning as Ruo Lan, but so is Shi Shi as Ruo Xi. The fans can be so arbitrary.
And here we have a glimpse at the rest of the awesome cast. The drama couldn’t have happened without their memorable performances and contributions as secondary characters that played a pivotal role in all the love and hate between these princes and the women in their lives.
[Credit: Easy Magazine via Baidu Liu Shi Shi bar]
Dayum that is harsh criticism from the chinese netizens, I personally think she was beautiful and perfect for the role. I also watched Clothing the World (despite the fact her scenes with Hong were cut) and can see a marked improvement on her acting skills.
All the guys especially look hot especially Hong.
I just spent an hour and a half crying, watching the last two episodes. *sigh* So not ready to let them go! What were the interviews about?
do you know where we can get a copy of the magazine??
Hi Captain! 😀
Thanks again for introducing me to BBJX. I’ve watched only so far the first 5 eps and am in awe of the beautiful story, settings, costumes and actors and actresses. I agree with you I think both LSS and AL were pretty in their costumes and convincing in their acting.
WHAT?? Liu Shi Shi not beautiful?? are they ALL BLIND?!!!!!!
*like* *double like triple like*
WTF?! Liu shi shi isn’t pretty enough? I reckon she’s really pretty. Way prettier than Yang Mi IMO.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but sometimes when I’m watching LSS on BBJX, she kinda reminds me of Alyssa Chia and Zhang zi yi for some reason.
Her acting… I don’t know. I can only say that it’s okay-ish. There are some cringe-worthy parts in some of the earlier episodes.
It will be interesting to see their promotions in Taiwan. Hopefully they will go on the more meaningful variety shows and not the ones that are just plain silly.
Where did you hear about the confirmation of the main BBJX cast going to Taiwan for promotions?
thank you for the BBJX fix! I also just finally watched the last ep with sub and am crying my eyes out again! My heart is not ready to let go of this beautiful drama!
it’s been such a while since I am obsessed with a mainland drama am so happy that this drama was up my alley. I am so in love. It’s even a cherry on the top because of all the chemistry that the leads and second leads all have.
Until next one! Pls pls do more recaps!!
I actually think that between the two, Yang Mi is the prettier and more natural actress. But Liu Shishi is also pretty in a quiet way, not the in-your-face kind of pretty. In any case, I’m hardly going to rake LSS through the coals for not being “pretty enough” for RX; that’s just plain silly. I was way more impressed with her acting in BBJX. It was a revelation. I haven’t seen all of LSS’ dramas, but I’d say I’ve seen a fair number, and this is the first drama where I actually believed that LSS was her character, rather than seeing LSS-acting-as-such-and-such-character, if you know what I mean.
I feel like LSS is a more “intellectual” kind of actress, as in she really has to analyze and deeply understand her character before she can actually become the character. That’s why I consider YM the more natural actress between the two, as it seems to me that she has a much easier time slipping into her roles; she doesn’t seem like the type of actress inclined to over-think her characters, know what I mean? Of course, it could also be that YM simply has more experience. LSS obviously works very hard (as I’m sure most/all Chinese entertainers are wont to do, if they want to stay relevant in an industry that is moving at light speed), but have you seen YM’s resume? It’s insane, particularly after her explosion in popularity from Gong. The girl never seems to take a break. She could give the infamously exhaustion/IV-drip-plagued actors of the Korean drama industry a run for their money, except I don’t know that YM even knows what the word “exhaustion” means.
Anyway, I think LSS hit a whole new level of acting with her RX in BBJX, and I now look forward to what she’ll be bringing to the screen in the future. Girl has given me faith to believe that her acting will continue to hit new strides.
ShiShi is gorgeous and should ignore the netizens. BBJX would not have been the same without her.
Dayum. The men are hawt and chic!
Thanks for the fix.
But it is true that Annie Liu’s the prettiest of the bunch. I’m saying this objectively. That’s not to say Liu Shi Shi wasn’t pretty, but she’s got a very girl-next-door vibe rather than a turn-the-crowd face. Not much was said of Ruo Xi’s looks in the novel though, so I dunno why ppl would be anal about it. My impression was that RX was pretty, but not exceptionally so. On the other hand, Jin Yong went into long detailed descriptions of how Huang Rong is a walking goddess but no one ever complained how all the adaptations had cute HR, not beautiful HR.
Jing Yong says all his leads are walking goddesses. But amongst his heroines, only three have been deemed “the most beautiful woman in the world” – Xiaolongnu from RoCH, Wang Yu Yen from DGSD, and Princess Fragrant (Xiang Xiang) from Book and Sword.
So every other heroine, though he loves to throw on the goddess descriptors, are merely just very pretty. Huang Rong gives off a very pixie vibe, naughty and calculating. Naturally the actresses cast as HR as always of the “cute” variety more than beautiful.
Also, Barbara Yung set the precedent as the most iconic HR, and she was the cutest thing to walk the earth, so I think HR is stuck in most people’s memories are cute.
Taiwan did a LoCH in 1983 that cast Idy Chen as HR, Idy went on to become the iconic Xiaolongnu in RoCH1983 with Andy Lau. So there was a beautiful HR, but mostly everyone thinks of HR as cute.
I agree RX is described as cute but nothing to write home about in the novel.
When I was young, I thought 李若彤 as 王語嫣 was the most beautiful woman in the world LOL.
I thought 朱茵 was really pretty as 黄蓉…
OMG – I am officially super excited that they are all going to Taiwan to promote!!!! Yay!!! Ok – so as of last night, I got to ep 8 and now totally understand why everyone, including Ms Koala, was so addicted to the drama. I’m a little slow in following the hype of this drama but I finally got there. I wanted to find out how everything panned out as I already knew the ending but it doesn’t affect me if I already know. I have been skipping the credits but the whole time, I kept thinking to myself “why does RL look sooo familiar?” Duh! It’s Annie. I just figured that out when I read this blog post.
Personally, I thought Annie was the most beautiful in her Qing Dynasty dress of all the women. But I thought LSS is more of a cute look, even to the end, where it’s very dramatic… I don’t think it’s fair for them to say that she’s not beautiful enough… but people will say what they want… so LSS ignore them!! I still not too onboard with her acting but I think she is decent and she will go far in her career. 🙂
I can’t imagine them going on the silly TW shows… I think they will stick to regular promo (press conference etc) and the more popular shows on the network that they are airing on. Is it CTV? (I have no idea… I haven’t been paying attention). Kevin looks really nice with hair 🙂 Nicky – I always liked him even though I liked Alec just a little more in their boyband days. I watched all of his earlier stuff and tons of performances. LOL I still have my xiao hu dui CDs! This is really the first time his performance moved me as an adult. YH – well, I guess he is the hottest of the bunch… in that young, hunky way. 🙂
I can’t wait for more promotions! I miss the cast already 🙁 Can’t believe the drama is done broadcasting and everyone is getting ready for other dramas.
BTW, I found a Hu Ge only version of “Yi Nian Zhi Zhuo” I thought I would share 🙂 Love his singing voice~ download
This song gives me goosebumps ever single time I replay it. Must resist. So darn good.
o(ㅠ.ㅠ)o
Nice show – loved every bit of it. Ruo xi casting was perfect. Still think that they could have done better when casting 4th prince. Nicky is really not attractive, especially when he purses his lips which he did like 70% of the time in the show. His nose is also kind huge….thot his nose was going to squash Ruo Xi’s pretty face during the kissing scene….8th, 13th were perfect in their roles tho…..
People just hate her because she have so many cute guys beside her!!!! HAHAHA XDD
I love Liu Shi Shi and though I don’t find her very very pretty, but she’s not ugly either. She’s perfect as Rouxi. Besides the role of Rouxi wasn’t meant to be a stunning beauty who steal guys heart, so i don’t know what is their problem if it wasn’t just jealously. HAHA!
I actually was sooo happy when i first heard they casted someone as pretty as Liu Shi Shi to play Ruo Xi.
It’s like you know there are some PS-ing done in the mag, yet the editor didn’t even consider PS-ing Kevin’s baggy eyes. Sad, although it makes him raw and more manly.
I do agree w/ you at where Kevin is now, he’ll make an outstanding remake to Chor Lau Heung from Adam Cheng’s days of glory which my mother and aunts may appreciate more than I do ‘cos I forever will be an avid fan of Michael Miu’s & Barbara Yung’s [RIP翁美玲~ heart-break!] version a tad more. I still have my Michael Miu & Barbara Yung collection which I marathon every year.
I am very please for Nicky Wu’s rocketeering stardom, and my only wish from this fever is that he finds himself a very good woman to marry and start a family to complete him. ｡◕‿◕｡
MM and BY’s Chor Leu Heung is a guilty favorite of mine. Story was dumb as bricks, but they were nnnnnggggg perfect together. MM and BY are one of my alltime OTPs in dramas. They were awesome in The Fearless Duo as well.
Thank god LoCH1982 was a strict adherent to the book, otherwise I’d do the crazy alterna-shipping of HR and YK, and that would be a nightmare.
as regards fans arbitrary about RX’s beauty… mmmm i am kinda guilty, not that i don’t find her beautiful but RL is really a beauty there.
BBJX is my first drama of Liu Shi Shi, and I actually only watched it for Nicky Wu and to see the differences to Gong, but Shi Shi’s portrayal blew me away from Episode 1 and on. I don’t understand why people are saying that she is not pretty enough…because I think she is beautiful. I guess it shows how everyone’s tastes are different, but LSS as RX was my perfect cup of tea. She doesn’t catch your eye at first sight, she was just another actress to me at first, but the more you look, the more you can appreciate her finer beauty. Between all of the girls in the drama, I think LSS as RX is the prettiest and most eye catching.
I thought Shi Shi was quite pretty in her costume but her modern looks are just so so. Same for Annie, she’s so beautiful in costume *_*
Yuan Hong’s my definition of Ling Hu Cong too! Sadly, Yu Zheng has bought the rights to producing Xiao Ao Jiang Hu & the possibility of Yuan Hong becoming lead is close to zero. I’m placing my money on the guy who played 4th in Gong becoming male lead *cringes*
Yuan Hong as Ling Hu Chong. I want!
Thanks for the info koala cant wait for the promotion in taiwan. More promotion = more Hongshi cuteness moments hehehe.
All the guys looking exceptionally handsome esp YH <3
I think liu shi shi is cute, average. I am more into the “unique charm” kind of beauty like Liu Tao, Ady An, Fan Bing Bing, Kate tsui, Chen Hao, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin ect…
I have not yet watched BBJX. But I will after reading so many raves about it. Yet, through what I had seen of her, I am not a fan of her acting. Pretty bland.
I actually prefer LSS’s look to those actress. I’ve seen then all in dramas, and FBB was the best one out of all of them no doubt, but even so, she doesn’t captivate me. As for the rest, some are mediocre and some barely reach mediocre in terms of acting. But I do concede that LSS’s previous dramas were pretty bland. But she definitely blew me away in BBJX.
I find a Liu tao (Tian Long Babu, madame white snake, her drama with Nicky Wu), Ady An (the outsiders, new heavenly sword dragon sabre, red snow) or Chen Hao (ROTK 2009, Tian long babu) more captivating than a LSS.
:O I thought Liu Shi Shi was very pretty! Society has planted the idea of big eyes, v-lines, and youthful looks as what “Beautiful” is. I sincerely think she is beautiful, and people are just jealous she got princes after her love ;).
Ah Kevin Cheng! I miss you >__< ~ Yuan Hong … :O I want these two guys in a movie together x)
Stuck on Ep. 27 T.T watching each episode through tears. I’m a tough cookie usually, but BBJX is just overwhelming for me for some reason. All the horrible things happening in these last episodes upset me so much. I don’t know if I can get through the last 8 episodes I have to go…. >sigh< Crying for Luwu and Li Gong Gong… At this rate it is going to take me the rest of 2011 to finish this drama. I could always just suck it up and finish it all in a week, but suffer all that emotional stress all at once. I don't know if I can take it though. My eyes would be permanently bloodshot from crying!
Hi Ms Koala, thanks for the BBJX recaps and reviews. Will check that out as soon as I finished all the classes and exam. Hehe. Anyway, have u watched The Lover by Nicky Wu? It’s his early projects but that was a sad film. Romeo and Juliet kinda film with ancient china as background. I think it’s worth to check it out. One of the most memorable film I remembered from him. But beware, pls prepare a box of tissue for it!
*swoon* Nicky Wu deserves the cover. 🙂
it was always alec su for me because of his drama with chae rim and jang na ra. bbjx introduced me to nicky with that i started watching battle of wits. it was a small role but nicky is really a good actor. i guess he has that staying power as they call it. oh well, may be just bias but man he is the 4th prince reincarnated. 😀
thanks again ockoala for all the bbjx goodies!
LSS is more of a classic beauty than some of them i feel.
She have that nice aura/vibe that makes her beautiful. I think she may not be the prettiest among all actresses, but she got that charm that Liu Yi Fei has. While some actresses are stunning at first glance (like FBB) but LSS beauty and charm grows the longer you see her. YM is a different kind of pretty, her facial features look more mixed than classic asian beauty in my opinion which is why i never find her that attractive and she’s the opposite of LSS, her charm/beauty became neutral the longer i see her, she don’t have the elegance that LSS has.
Just my opinion.
I hate that people keep saying that LSS isn’t pretty enough! She’s beautiful! Liu Yi Fei is gorgeous, but I got bored with her. Yang Mi, Tang Yan, and Liu Shi Shi are my favorites out of their generation and they each have a unique beauty that makes it impossible for me to rank them. I never quite get tired of them either. And I agree with you about LSS being a better actress than Crystal Liu, but not about Yang Mi. For me, Yang Mi and Liu Shi Shi are on par in looks but in very different ways. Yang Mi’s more striking and her eyes are unbeatable in loveliness, but Liu Shi Shi has something I can’t describe. Could you explain why you think LSS is a better actress than Yang Mi for you? Because Liu Yi Fei’s a no brainer, but I’ve always ranked YM’s acting skills above LSS’s even though Shi Shi improves every day.
I check your site at least once a day, so I noticed your love for BBJX immediately. I’ve never seen a C-drama, so I was apprehensive.
I have to say this is one of the best dramas I have ever seen (which is saying a lot, seeing as I have watched 100+ Korean and Taiwanese dramas xD). The settings were beautiful, the acting very good, and the characters and their personalities so lifelike that I wanted to be in the drama with them.
I started watching the series 4 days ago, and today I finished the last few episodes. I’m not someone who cries easily, so my roommates were extremely worried when I cried hysterically for 2 straight hours.
I will definitely rewatch this drama many times (although only with a snuggly blanket and a box of tissues). Thank you, Koala! ^.^
Thanks for the BBJX posts. Keep them up because I can’t get enough of this series. It’s my new favourite c-drama and definitely one of my all time favourites just because it is so emotional. I still don’t understand how I got so attached to all the characters. So about the criticisms, I’ve been seeing that around the net, but this is typical. The Chinese standard for beauty is really hard to achieve to be honest. Ha. In conventional C terms, Annie is the “prettier” one, but I think LSS is very pretty. She also really impressed me with her acting and she showed a lot of charm and cuteness in the earlier eps. In addition to that, lots of people have been critical of Nicky’s looks as well (even in this thread) so I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder *shrugs*. But this a drama so I try to value their acting over their looks too. People make a fuss out of nothing. Thanks, Koala!
ROARRRRR i want to read what it says~~ lol too bad i dunno how I can get my hands on it =x but thanks for the eyecandy ^____^ <3
i like nicky act to be 4th prince, and i think they make a right decision to choose him as a 4th prince
Annie is prettier in a more eye-catching/period way than ShiShi imo as well…but that’s exactly why the casting is spot on RL is supposed to be classically prettier than RX.
I don’t really see RX as too MarySue (coz I only see 4 loving her deepest and she reciprocates), but it’s the general opinion of the netizens all along and when any girl get AALLLLL the hotties one way or the other, jealousy is an ugly b8tch. There will never ever be a casting that’ll unanimously please the universe. LSS fleshed out RX well enough, I have no compliants, I need her to give me another smashing perf b4 I can be sure she’s better than YM, coz I did see YM rises above crap (Dark Fragrance?) and she has been impressing me enough through the years I can wipe the existence of Goong123XyZ fr my consciousness and will still give her chances. Good that ShiShi only cares about herself doing a great job and the opinions of those who matter and heck the rest. I’m beyond impressed on how lvl her head is and now I get her allure (on YH esp hahaha)
You know I concur on ur every Wuxia leanings. Kevin is at the perfect point to be CLH, he really can deliver the ladies’WMD tender charm without the sleaze. I’m shallow and I do still love MMiu’s face, his acting chops?! who cares….until along came a 40+ yo KevinCheng who is best of both worlds.
I’ll literally turn irreversibly into a chipmunk squeeeeing my inerds off if YH will give me his version of LHC now he’s ~30 , BUTTTTTT we need to first come up with a legal+ legit plan to rid the world of YZ.
And a good HR for me needs to most importantly sell me the mile a second spinning eccentric brain inside the cute. I can sacrifice the cute and pretty is lower priority still, but really cant stand a shred of bimbo-ness (ie Athena)
i always look forward to your bbjx posts!
thanks ms. koala! 😀
vote for BBJX!
Voting for the Sohu Internet TV Festival (Third season, Autumn) has begun!!
Voting site: http://yule.sohu.com/s2011/autumn/index.shtml
please everyone vote…. for BBJX…. make BBJX as the #1 series…
i vote bbjx even though i cant read chinese (i’m willing to do for my dear beloved bbjx)..i just used google translate to understand what category their in..haha..cant wait for their coming award line up!!!
I did not find LSS attractive in the initial episodes. On top of that, I keep comparing BBJX to Goong and found ALL the cast less attractive other then Kelvin, who made an impressive 8th Prince. However, the story and acting got to me subsequently and now BBJX is likely my vote for drama of the year. It was only in Back Story that I realise LSS is actually quite beautiful – maybe it is the hairstyle and she can try a modern drama for her next project.
Anyway, as pointed out already, RX is not a beauty-to-die-for character. Her appeal is always her wit, determination, loyalty and spunk. In that sense, I think LSS should get a 10/10 for her performance.
Frankly I’d appreciate the “more you look the more beautiful” type of beauty– that kind of impression lasts longer I think, and a lot of it has to do with your presence or the air of grace/character that you comes out of you <– this takes character building and isn't necessary something that you're born with.
YM is very beautiful and has been as long as she's been acting (she was a child actress) so I think comparing her beauty and acting skills with LSS is just…. unfair =.= ( LSS's acting career has been much shorter, and her growth in BBJX is wonderful) YM gives off the pixie feel so i don't think she'd work as RX at all– whose experience in the palace shapes her to be a much more composed and careful person (sorry I just couldn't buy YM's version of being more calculated in Gong… because frankly her exquisite beauty became her weakness where her presence screamed vibrancy/liveliness)
Maybe it's just me, but I think the quiet, not loud-in-your-face beauty that LSS was able to give her character in BBJX nailed it (note that I believe it's something LSS had to act out because she seems to be mischievous in real-life in her own right haha)– this subtlety gives her just the right amount of cover so she does not attract TOO much attention because of her looks early on in her stay in the palace (which would probably do more harm than good haha); she becomes known to Kangxi, the princes, and the other palace servants by her ACTIONS and behavior, by who she is as a person, not by her looks– in that view, I think it's pretty pointless to complain about how so many princes can fall for a girl whose looks are so "plain" =__=
LSS~ stay strong! ROAR
btw I love how Qiao Hui (RX's faithful servant girl) is featured in the article because she is just such an adorable character hahahaha XD I keep telling my mom how her character reminds me of a fluffy white bunny rabbit hehe
I think LSS looks better the more you look at her. She’s not someone that would turn a person’s head. I like LSS in Qing clothing. I thought she looked really elegant in them. The good thing about LSS is that she has a versatile look, from kidish to mature look – as we witnessed in BBJX. The role of RX would definitely not fit YM because, even though YM is pretty, but she doesn’t have that mature look. I’ve seen several of her dramas, including JP. I mean she would have no problem with the young and earlier stage of RX, but she would definitely struggle in the latter stage of RX. Due to the complexity of the characters in BBJX, the look and acting ability has to go hand in hand with each other. They need the main casts with a versatile look so that the transition from young to mature stage will be more believable.
Two things:
1. Totally agree with YH being the perfect LHC. Oh come on the previous LHC have been jokes and not up to par with the novel’s character.
2. Totally get your sentiments about not appreciating Nicky until now. I’m the same. I only like one of his songs (which is still my favourite till now), but other than that I didn’t even dig his performance in Butterfly Lovers. Good movie, but meh. Now I feel like I’m 20 years too late and I feel like a crazy teenager again gagaing over Nicky. His character in BBJX just shines. I don’t know how to get over it now. How do you do it? I’m lacking sleep from rewatching BBJX again and again. Help!!! >.<