So Yang Zi and Li Xian are hard at work currently filming the Tang dynasty period drama Flourished Peony (国色芳华 or The Legend of Fragrance) and the production is also hard at work. The team reportedly went to Cannes and has secured a French production company for overseas distribution, believing the drama’s top shelf production values and story about the expansion of the peony trade in the Tang dynasty will further highlight the beauty of Chinese culture and history. This drama has already finished filming its portion at mega studio Hendian and for the last few weeks has been more expensively filming domestic location shoots in the city and environs of Liaoling in Shandong province. It’s then going to move the shoot to Heze for additional filming, reportedly the production is sparing no expense to showcase the splendor and grandeur of the Tang dynasty. The drama is being marketed not as an idol period drama but a serious traditional period drama.
A C-drama actually trying to promote to I-audience? Impressive!
Unfortunately, Japan borrowed many Tang elements (the famous saying – because of the Cultural Revolution, go to Japan if you want to see the Tang and Korea if you want to see the Ming) and to the West and perhaps to many East Asians themselves, those elements have now become Japanese. Like ramen / la mian.
Isn’t China made up of many different groups of people though? Like Miao, Manchu, Uyghur…how do we know for a fact Ming didn’t borrow from Koreans or Tang elements weren’t borrowed from Japanese? Why is it always the other way around? Just a thought…
It has nothing to do with individual thoughts. It’s based upon historical facts. For example, archaeology has revealed that the Korean peninsula received material culture – notably metalworking skills and rice cultivation – from migrating tribes from Manchuria, Siberia, and China in the Neolithic period. Also later Han characters and culture were adopted by Koreans, specifically Joeson political system influenced by Ming Dynasty of which Joeson was considered a client state of China. Whether Korean ppl don’t like it as I do or not, it’s a historical fact. Similar to Japan, but the influence was more coming from Han and Tan Dynasties that had been revealed in traditional Japanese costumes and architecture.
As much as I dislike the CCP regime, I can’t deny these historical facts that have nothing to do with the modern China at all. LOL. The modern East Asia was influenced more by the US and the West. It’s so obvious everywhere.
Like what Voo said, there are so many ethnic people in china. So many of those ethnic influences are made being made as China’s property. In fact, those ethnic would never consider themselves as actual Chinese, but what can be done? So many ethnic groups that once rule parts of china had their history distorted/burned/alter. Any written history would be punished by the Chinese. The Miao are an example, only their history of what happened are passed down by the elders. They literally have no historical record what so ever. Hence to say that everything was taken from China, it’s more true but those are from a vast majority of the many mix ethnic group there. Chinese people will forever continue to claim everything as there’s but the truth is they belong to to many others ethnic there that’s not specifically from real Chinese people.
@Voo
That’s an incredibly dumb statement. History in East Asia is METICULOUSLY documented. The same people who complain about China ‘claiming everything’ are the ones who turn around and peddle ahistorical claims about Chinese culture ackshually coming from Japan and Korea. Note, I don’t belong to any of these groups – just calling it like I see it.
The idea that Tang and Ming material culture were broadly borrowed from Japan and Korea respectively is so ludicrous that you should be embarrassed at even voicing that thought. As for all those ethnicities you mentioned – China is like > 95% Han whether all those people were originally Han or no. Non Han subjects were essentially irrelevant even when the ruling dynasties themselves become non Han.
@Lee, you are not unreasonable concerning about the fact that the current China state likes to promote the idea that every thing around Chinese territory in Asia was coming from China and therefore hints they all legitimately belong to China. LMAO. Chinese history showed that the rulers in China throughout the history ALL have expansionist mentality and ambition to invade their neighbors as long as they were strong enough to do so. China has been a very aggressive state in reality in the history. It’s all clearly recorded in different versions of Chinese historical books that were corroborated by historians.
But your opinion is about different issues. Here we are referring to the influence of certain aspects of Chinese culture over the Asian region that is historically true, e.g., those which I mentioned in the prior comments. While Chinese dynasties were aggressive in expanding their territories and attacking other ethnic groups in the vicinity, their neighbors including ppl on the Korean peninsula and in Japan also adopted some features of Chinese civilization at the same time. But to claim both Korea and Japan belonged to China historically is as absurd as claiming China belongs to the US since China has also been an avid copycat of modern American civilization for over a century until now still copying. LMAO.
@Rina
As someone who’s ancestors were driven out of China and had their history eliminated, not meticulously documented, I don’t think this question is stupid one bit.
To this day, the US is still fixing the history they had written wrong. In some states, they choose to eliminate some of those historical facts and not let students learn it. So yes, history is written meticulously…yet it can still be wrong depending on the person or a group of people.
In your original post, you made is sound like Japan borrowing from Tang or Korea borrowing from Ming was such a bad thing. I only voiced “what if” here. It isn’t a insane thought because China does have a lot of history with many different people that were erased and kept.
Tang dynasty may be the most prosperous dynasty but its hairstyle, makeup and fashion is the ugliest for women. Sure ain’t helping when Yang Zi ain’t pretty either.
The ugliest is Qing dynasty, both in men and women, IMO.
@Somebody
No contest. The fall of the Ming was a tragedy (even if an expected one) on soooo many levels. The aesthetic is just one of them. I selfishly hope hanfu makes an actual comeback for special occasions but I’m not holding my breath. Qipao is ugly, Qing everything is just ugly and was intended as humiliation
@Rina
There’s a pretty thriving group for revival of hanfu and this is pushed by young people.
I own a Tang outfit and it is such a beautiful and womanly outfit to wear… Forget the hairdo…I dont have handmaids.
I personally appreciate Han costume, the authentic Hanfu (LOL) more.
@Somebody, I would if I was in my size 6 6yrs ago…but now at my age, Tang high waist outfit fits me better…🤣🤣
How when that is against Chinese laws?
You cannot sell a drama abroad without a broadcasting licence and this drama isn’t even done filming.
if the drama is a collaboration with the tourism minister, the drama will get a license as soon as the filming is done even china has exceptions for big events like Cannes, but if this is another cheezy romance drama, don’t think it will get any international recognition and it will just be embarrassing
I am looking forward to this pairing and drama…
Im currently watching Yangzi’s new drama with XuKai. Up to ep 12 and i found it pretty good. Probably bcuz i kinda avoid a heavy drama and prefer this kind of drama. And i found Yangzi is really pretty in Best Choice and her acting is better than in her previous dramas. I’ve watched many of her dramas but only finished 3 or 4 of them.
And i really enjoy YZ and LX’s friendship in real life. So i cant wait to give this drama a try.
Yes, their friendship is to be treasured. It is not easy finding friends you can really get on with.
Yang Zi looking great in yellow and green above, I think I mostly think of her in pastels! Hope it’s good.
@Maya, 🥰
Same. I like YZ and LX’s career choices. Their friendship is a bonus for CP fans.
yes, Will be interesting to watch this drama..
Yang zi as a Tang dynasty beauty?
Errr….I guess the French don’t know better lol
LOL I guess the Chinese don’t know any better either, in the West, beauty filters aren’t needed in any shows.
They aren’t “needed” in Chinese dramas either. Older dramas didn’t have any beauty filters and the audience enjoyed them all the same. I really don’t like how they became standard in most idol and many costume dramas. I’m here to watch humans on screen, not cartoon characters with “flawless” skin.
Western shows also apply filters just that you have no idea. LOL. My relative working in the CGI industry mentioned that all the time. Nowadays, film directors do apply filters as needed. It’s just that it’s obviously overkill in Cdrama. They have overdone it on actors.
A lot of the most popular films in the West don’t require CGI. The makeup department is very detailed in the West though, they can transform a person’s face into someone completely new. The West is known for great visual effects but even director’s like Christopher Nolan stay away from CGI. Beauty filters are not popular in the West, the beauty standards are very different from the East.
My point was, for someone who is making fun of YZ’s beauty, they need to look at the extreme beauty filters applied in CDramas. Everyone must be very ugly behind the scenes to be using this much filter onscreen. I have to agree with CB, older Cdramas did not have this technology and they still looked great. Its something they should think about returning to if they can.
@Voo, they don’t care tbh. They only care about money and that’s why the collective quality of Cdrama production is so bad. They have a huge market inside the great firewall. Why should they care?
@Somebody
How can they not care? They are seeking to get into Cannes with this drama…if your statement were true, by all means, stay within the firewall, don’t make it to any fashion weeks or international film festivals. Keep producing mediocre dramas.
@Woo, this country has been in a conflicting state on all fronts, either on economical level or social level. C-ent producers don’t really have international market in mind but their state authority does care about propaganda through all avenues possible. THIS includes showbiz. That’s why you don’t really see creative quality in C-ent productions even they are pushed onto international stage thanks to lack of passion.
Wow! Yay for the team!
How is peony a highlight of the beauty of Chinese culture? It’s a native plant to California. We have peony everywhere this season in the neighborhood of the US outside Cali. I just saw rows of pot peony this week for sale at Home Depot garden center. How would that speak for the beauty of Chinese culture? It’s everywhere around the world, at least in the US. LOL. It’s not like calligraphy, Chinese painting, Chinese poems, or the famous Tan architecture that are genuine treasures of Chinese culture. LOL. This drama is so amusing!
Peonies are native to lot of places but they are being cultivated in China for like 3000 years. Think of Home Depot 30 centuries ago.
@Nena, you did not read my points carefully. Peonies have been a native plant grown in the California wild since when….? Do you know what “native” plant means? It’s been everywhere in California in the wild before the US was even established. It will continue to grown in the wild of California if Home Depot fails and shut down the business completely. LOL.
It was one of China’s National flower… I think they had 4 flowers as China is so big. But they narrow down to one now. Plum Blossoms.
Rose is national flower of US and UK. I do wonder how flowers are pick to become National flowers?
In Singapore it is Orchids, in Malaysia it is Hibiscus.
Lightly how easy they grow in each country thus easy to identify Nationwide.
Tang Dynasty, Peony was the widely known national flower in that era. So this drama just use that fact, not randomly chosen.
Her plump image does fit the beauty standards of Tan Dynasty though. LOL. None of her dramas after Oath of Love has hooked me to the end. Like Bai Lu, I all started very positive about her at the get-go but am getting tired of because she’s everywhere and her acting stayed all the same from drama to drama. THIS! Will it be a surprise to me like Liu Shi Shi’s comeback drama, A journey to Love? I really doubt it.
BTW, I’ve never found Li Xian an attractive actor, either visually or acting-wise. But he isn’t dislikeable. Go Go Squid was the only one of his dramas I’ve ever finished but that was all because of Yang Zi. He isn’t interesting enough for me to watch a drama either.
Somebody, Yang Zi is not “plump”, but even if she was, I bet quite a few Tang women were plump as well.
By the way, maybe this will be her one drama that I will get to finish; I haven’t even managed Oath of Love, inspite of Xiao Zhan.
What is known as Peonies are native to Asia and centuries of cultivation later was imported to Europe in the 18th century and from there spread to North America. China is known for domesticating, breeding, and spreading Peonies around the world, starting from the Tang dynasty. All but two species to date of Peonies are native to China and Europe, This drama is exactly about that cultural history.
Paeonia lactiflora (Chinese peony, Chinese herbaceous peony, or common garden peony) is a species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae, native to central and eastern Asia from eastern Tibet across northern China to eastern Siberia.
Paeonia lactiflora was known as the white peony (P. albiflora) when first introduced into Europe. It as brought to England in the mid-18th century, and is the parent of most modern varieties. It has been grown as an ornamental in China since the 7th century. There are two North American species, but the peony flower appreciation all stems from China as the progenitor of the species.
https://peony.mbgna.umich.edu/peony-history/
Hi Koala!! Rare to read you dropping a comment here but good to hear from you. 💕