The Legend of Zhuohua (2023)

Women should not rule the world.

The Legend of Zhuohua is another in a string of recent female empowerment themed historical romantic dramas. The production is upfront that this drama is a work of pure fiction. It is impossible for women to exercise the kind of influence and authority portrayed in this story in ancient Chinese patriachical society. The attitudes and values articulated are also incredibly modern and unsurprisingly, resonate with current audiences. It should be enjoyed at face value accepting that many aspects of it are sheer fantasy.

Titular character Ma Zhuohua flees an arranged marriage to the capital; where she must pass the imperial exams to fulfill her ambition to be a female official. Quick witted and resourceful, she saves Lord Ding, a decorated war hero, when he is wouded in the middle of a clandestine operation. Their fates intertwine as he is the strongest advocate of opening up scholarship and official positions to women. As they collaborate on official assignments and work toward their shared vision of the country, they fall in love. Can their relationship navigate a feudal system that requires women officials to choose between marriage and their career?

The most enjoyable arcs of this drama are the early courtship ones. This is the first time I have enjoyed Jing Tian's playing such a clever, demurely mischevious and independent character. Despite a ghastly white color filter and not the best dubbing, the strong chemistry between Jing Tian and Feng Shaofeng is unmistakable. It is so refreshing and very hot to see such a candid, lively and purely adult relationship dynanic laced with flirtatiously racey dialogue. The humor is very well written and so cheekily portrayed that I laughed uproariously many times, and especially at the dirty jokes. The political commentary and philosophical debates are surprisingly well written, with a sophistication beyond what I would expect of a light romantic comedy like this.

Outside the empowerment theme, the sub-plots are not special but this top notch veteran cast is very charismatic and executes so well it makes up for some of the lack of originality. Both Shi Yueling and Wang Likun in particular deliver formidable, almost terrifying performances as Empress Dowager Zhou and Princess Roujia. I also found Roujia's complicated relationship with Shen Jinghong very interesting. Unfortunately just after the mid-way point, the narrative rehashes tired plotlines including noble idiocy, murder most foul and high treason. In quite a similar vein to Destined, it nose dives into a poorly designed political melodrama and predictible twists. Even incredible acting cannot paper over that this is yet another delusional ends justifies the means antagonist with an unconvincing villain origin backstory.

This would have made a much better 20 episode drama that ended on the intended message that women should seize their dreams. The writers took it one step further into women can also seize the world. And then left us with an unambiguous message that women should not rule the world. The first few arcs of this are worth about an 8.0 but the latter arcs are just 6.0/6.5. I can only give this a 7.0. Its still a quality production with some good laughs to pass some time but it won't rock your world.

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Very good, could have been perfect if shorter.

The greatness of this drama is in its main characters. They are mature, thinking people with none of the usual simpering of the ganre. They are all complex and rounded and aren't so easily put into the usual boxes of good or bad.
The music and costumes were good, but as usual the white skin filtering was too much. Wish the Chinese industry would stop with this nonsense, since they already have such good looking actors without the filters.
The downside of the drama was the number of episodes. Forty episodes were too much for the story and the last five episodes I was mostly skipping and skimming. It was a good drama but it could have been excellent if it was shorter.

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Beautiful, mature, romantic relationship; Amazing plot with great characters

This show is made really well. Every character (even minor ones that are on screen for less time) adds to the overall story. They all bring their A game and makes us love or hate them.

One thing that I love, love about this show is how unpretentious the love story between LD and Zhuohua is. What I mean by this is, in most C-dramas, (not all) the romantic couple acts as if hugging, touching, or kissing is not normal. Even when they are together as a couple, they act all shocked when they "mistakenly" touch each other. Lol this always annoys me and feels pretentious for no reason.

In legend of zhuohua however, LD and Zhuohua interact like normal people who are attracted to each other. Like normal people who are in love and are dating. That carriage scene (when she fell on his lap) was so beautifully done. How zhuohua didn't try to "act" all shy and "modest" She just held unto her man and they kept talking. It was very natural. Their love and interactions is very natural. I hope more C-dramas follow this, and start realizing it's normal for couples that are dating, to touch. And stop with the over the top, fake "modesty".

The ML and FL are very supportive of eachother and communicate well. LD/Prince regeant could easily be overbearing since he's older, wiser, and he's only second to the Emperor. but this doesn't happen. I love how ML supports FL (Even when he knows she's wrong), he's letting her handle things in her own way, not contradicting her in public, or treating her as if she's a child with no sense. He's not being overbearing with the "I know what's best for you" trope/cliche most C-dramas are fond of doing.

lol I love the running joke of the great LD/Prince Regeant (ML) being a kept man out of wedlock.

I only give this a 9 because of the overly done makeup, and the annoying loud azz music over the character speaking at the end of the show.

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"Be the change you wanna see in the world"

Surround yourself with good people. Whether they're the best or not, people are capable of learning if they've got good hearts and they're good souls. -Kid Rock-

A delightful drama of pursuing your dreams in a world full of discrimination.

Having an intelligent, and witty female character is truly a treat for me. Even the antagonist gave a magnificent performance. You will be inspired and make you assess yourself for what person you are right now and who are the people that influence you because they will contribute to your growth and beliefs in the future.

Everyone gave a magnificent performance but I must commend the character of Liu Yan/Lord Ding. He inspired me to be humble and be a good person but not let others manipulate me and stand my ground. His discernment was impeccable. If I would become a mentor in the future, I want to be like him.

So proud of how Liu Chen and Zhouhua's characters grew and became the core and pillar of the kingdom. The drama shows how important to surround yourself with a good person being part of the light in your road ahead.

Princess Ruija perfectly portrays another way to be an effective villain. Her demure and angel-like face is more formidable than those people who directly attack you.

Overall it's a top-tier drama. My only complaint is I think it can stretch until episode 50 because I wanted to see LD, Emperor Chen and Zhouhua govern the country.

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I absolutely ADORE the plot of having a strong and Intelligent FL, with a backbone, strongly opinionated AND WHO IS ACTUALLY A MINISTER (OMG I LOVE IT!). I need more dramas with FLs like this.

On another note I definitely loved the 1st half way more than the 2nd half (skipped a lot of episodes, went straight to the end but I might go back and watch them later). The 2nd half felt kind of draggy.

I kind of wish the ml had told the 1st Prince that something was going on between him and the fl earlier so that the poor prince could have tried not to get the feels for the fl or something. Ngl I felt bad for him.
Also I would prefer if the love triangle didn't exist at all. The 1st prince will have to work very closely with the fl (aka the person he loves, who btw married his uncle!) for basically the rest of his reign, as the fl is super talented. It sounds like a torture for him, which is simply sad. He obviously values her way too much to take away her position plus that would make him a horrible human being (well... character but anyways 😂)

The chemistry between the leads was good I would've loved to see a bit more of it though. I don't know more sparks or something.

I also disliked the EXTREMELY blurry filter that was used way too often for my comfort. I don't mind a slightly blurry filter or even a stronger one used once in a while, but this was way too blurry and was used way too often.

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No cutie acts and the pace is smooth!

I am currently watching this drama after watching Lost You Forever Season 1.

The story is about a concubine's daughter, Mu Zhuohua, who is determined to take the imperial exam to earn a career as a female official in order to be independent of men. She escapes from her engagement to a local official because she refuses to be a concubine.

MZH arrives in the capital and becomes a physician to ageing prostitutes who are refused treatment by physicians due to their profession.

She encounters Lord Ding or Liu Yan, the brother of the current Emperor, who is trying to find the culprit behind the ambush which killed 35,000 elite troops. He is also the Chief Examiner who persuaded the emperor to reopen the imperial exam to allow females to take part in the court matters.

Both ML and FL are good because in the past, I have always dropped their dramas. This time, I am shouting for more episodes after completing one. Factors such as good chemistry between the two leads, no cutie acts, good plots and good direction/ production make this drama entertaining.

Age gap between the characters is evident but that's the best part of the drama. The ML kind of acknowledges that the FL is cunning and playful so he lets her 'fool' him around while keeping her in check.

Watch it.

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How to Catch a Seditionist

In "The Legend of Zhuohua," we follow the journeys of two determined women in a society that doesn't always favor them. Our main character, Mu Zhuohua (played by Jing Tian), studies hard, passes her exams and rises in the government. Another woman, Princess Rou Jia (played by Wang Likun), secretly aspires to become the Emperor. Both women dream of bringing positive changes and cleaning up corruption in the government.

Their goals are similar, but they have different approaches. Mu Zhuohua wants an honest government and a stable monarchy. Meanwhile, Rou Jia gets consumed by revenge and a thirst for power, and she hides her true intentions behind a mask of philanthropy.

The story begins with Mu Zhuohua focused on her career, putting love and family on the backburner. Even though there's a deep connection between her and Liu Yan (played by Feng Shaofeng), they choose a unique path, deciding not to get married or have children. But as the story progresses, it shifts towards a full-blown romance, with Mu Zhuohua and Liu Yan growing closer. Unfortunately, Mu Zhuohua loses some of her initial spark as an ambitious woman striving for success. Nonetheless together, they crack the greatest conspiracy and catch the seditionist who is the mastermind of the whole thing.

It's said that the author was asked to change the storyline involving a female emperor. This shift causes Princess Rou Jia to end up as another negative character with a predictable ending, and perhaps the tone down has also weaken Mu Zhuohua's character.

In terms of acting, Wang Likun does an impressive job portraying Princess Rou Jia. Her transformation from grace and benevolence to calculated malevolence feels genuine and leaves a strong impression. Jing Tian's acting is decent, although it's a bit hard to picture her as the young and brilliant Mu Zhuohua due to her mature appearance. Feng Shaofeng's portrayal of Liu Yan, ailing but with a magnetic allure of a mature man in a deep voice with few words, is fine. However, the robotic voice dubbing is unbearable and distractive.

My Verdict

I initially liked the drama, but as it progressed, it became slow and filled with plot holes. The main lead characters seem to magically know the thoughts of their enemies. When they discover Princess Rou Jia's true nature, they show no surprise, which doesn't make much sense. The main female characters also become somewhat passive, and the male characters become rather banal.

My suggestion? Watch this drama while doing something else, like cooking or working out. It can be a background entertainment option!

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A happy couple ending to make us forget the lost plot @_@ (well guess what I didn’t forget-_-)

This drama had so so very much potential but alas in the final hour we the viewers received a major upset and letdown. I originally chose to watch this because of how much I loved Feng Shao Feng in Minglan as well as the storyline it was intriguing. He plays a totally different character in this drama and I think he did a splendid job and his versatility speaks to how good of an actor he is. As well as the female lead and the rest of the cast everyone did a pretty great job acting their roles.

This drama is classic case of what I have been seeing with many new dramas of the writers being too clever for themselves and wanting to have their cake and eat it. Too many times have I been watching a newer drama and the most chaotic and unhinged arc happens only for the audience to find out after many wasted eps that it was all a ruse planned by the main leads. It’s a bit silly no? Then we get these long ass flashbacks of how they did everything. It’s lazy writing to me and shows that the writers could not commit confidently to a single storyline and I despise it. They think it creates gag worthy iconic moments when it really just undermines the entire drama’s plot as well as kills any future viewer suspense. We lose trust in the story and its credibility moving forward.

This drama had me cackling and giddily kicking my feet at all the hilarious and cute moments for a good 25ish eps and then it really just went downhill after the king passed! To say I had whiplash would be an understatement such an enjoyable drama turned into a snooze fest of an unhinged raging bratty villain who claimed they were doing it for the citizens but really they were just as bad as those they were “fighting”. I found it very hard to understand the villains motivations as I believed what happened to them did not warrant all the people they killed. This led me to be frustrated and bored while watching the last 10 eps.

This is also called the Legend of ZHOUHUA not the legend of zhouhua and crew lol. I felt too many unnecessary side stories were focused on too damn long and I don’t mean of our favorites those were fine but you know which ones. The ones that had you thinking “hmm it’s been awhile since I have seen the mains leads, where are they?”. I think that the story kinda gave Zhouhua’s main story the cold shoulder in the second half which I didn’t appreciate bc that’s what we all were here for. Focused too much on monologues and how the villains basically villained if that makes sense lol. She rises quite high in rank but if you ask me what she did to get that high well I wouldn’t really be able to tell you. I think per usual the writers wanted to pad a female character with a fantastic armor of a story but not really take time to make sure the story was properly carried out and handled.

The music for this drama was pretty good I enjoyed it a lot and will be saving to my playlist. Now y’all know dang well this drama don’t deserve no 8+ rating lol. But all in all if you need something in a bind to watch I guess this is okay but lower your expectations and don’t take it too seriously. Seriously or you’ll be in for a world of frustration lol. Enjoy.

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on the film before starting it show Mu is married to Lord Dig why does the director show us the story? I hope it is not finished soon. Lord Dig played very well. I think actress Mu, her role is a little bit childish. I like the ladies played in Legend of Dugu special the first sister. Her role is natural. I don't like the youn guy played on emperor role. If i am director i give the role of young emperor to the lover of first sister Dugu. ( I don't the name of actor).

I have a question why chinese director bring some famous actor and actress in the film and movie . Some actors their face looks like emperor or prince like Kevin yan, Wallace Hue or Wallace Chang, Jeremy Tsui. I would like the new ones play some actors or actress have more experience.

I hope it is not finish soon and mystery continues.

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Good story with many twists and surprises. Enjoyable to watch.

The Legend of Zhuohua tells the love story of a woman who overcomes many trials to become a female official and a general who has weathered many hardships on his road to victory.

The acting in this drama is quite good, especially Jing Tian and Wang Li Kun. It has so many twists and surprises that it keeps me engaged with the story. I didn't know the story's villain was Princess Rou Jia, played by Wang Li Kun.

The death of General Liu Yan in episode 37 was a surprise, and I thought the empire would collapse because of the weak Emporer, Liu Chen (played by Zhou Yi Ran), but the twist was he faked his death and came back to help conquer the kingdom.

It was enjoyable to watch, and I gave it a 7.5 rating. I would give a higher rating if the production quality of the drama is better. What is up with TenCent when it comes to historical drama? They make everyone look so white, like ghosts. It was hard to see it on screen, and I wish they had used the natural skin colors of the actors.

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