Historical Chinese drama with 'less' fantasy-elements?

Hi! I've recently gotten into Chinese dramas, and I especially like the historical genre. However, I see that many of the popular C-dramas contains a lot of fantasy-elements, which is a bit too much for me (at least for now, lol). A drama I really like at the moment is The King's Woman (it's actually my favorite Chinese drama so far), so I'm wondering if anyone have any other dramas (or even movies) you recommend similar to this? Thank you in advance! (And sorry if my English isn't perfect, it's not my native language) :):)

Thank you so much for your suggestions, I will definitely check them out! And you're right, I was referring to Eternal Love, haha. I've actually been watching Korean dramas for a few years now, but I'm currently trying to learn Chinese, which is why I've switched over to Chinese dramas. I haven't seen Empress Ki though, so I'll add it to my watch-list :) 

 Knavery:

I think you're going to get some elements of wuxia in most of them but Nirvana in Fire is probably your best bet overall. You might see some gravity defying combat but I don't recall anything resembling actual magic. 

The list above is good I just wanted to re-emphasize Nirvana in Fire. It's story heavy instead of romance heavy but it's great.

From memory which could be wrong so anyone can feel free to correct me:

Princess Wei Young doesn't have any pure fantasy stuff. Some light wuxia.

2 Mulan (Mu Lan) series that I don't remember having magic.

Princess Agents is a bit more thick with the martial arts & defying gravity compared to some others. But I don't recall anything magical.

I will probably check out Nirvana in Fire first, as both of you are recommending it. It's okay if it has elements of magic, as long as it's not too much (overall, the plot is the most important). I also don't mind the defying gravity part, although it took my by surprise at first! Thank you for your recommendations, I'll add them to my "to-watch" list! :)

 tarkan-san:

And you should wait 2018 because there is a show upcoming called Tribes and Empires. It's called Chinese Game of Thrones.

Awesome! I love GoT!

Personal favourite: Legend of Zhen Huan. But the romance in there is negligible so it might turn you away...

Another recommendation: Legend of Mi Yue. Slightly more romance but also a lot on growth of character.

Also, I'm surprised no one brought this up yet: Legend of Lu Zhen / Female Prime Minister. Personally disliked this drama but if you are into romance makjang stuff, this could be your thing. Loads of people liked it.

None of this has magic / fantasy / heavy cgi stuff.

I second Legend of Zhen Huan, I'm currently watching it and it's really amazing. 

I can also suggest "sound of desert", with interesting caracters and beautiful landscape, the plot takes place during the han dinasty, but it's  romanticized, if you are looking for realistic drama and there is a little bit fantasy.

 Fati:

I second Legend of Zhen Huan, I'm currently watching it and it's really amazing. 

I can also suggest "sound of desert", with interesting caracters and beautiful landscape, the plot takes place during the han dinasty, but it's  romanticized, if you are looking for realistic drama and there is a little bit fantasy.

Thank you!

 I've already started on Nirvana in Fire, but I think the next one up will be Legend of Zhen Huan. I looked into Sound of Desert and it looks promising, so I'll add it to my list!

 krystalsoojungs:

I also love Legend of Zhen Huan; it's my favorite drama of all time. Romance is definitely minimal in it but the acting in this one is amazing. 

Not sure if you'll like Tripes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy because that one is actually A LOT of fantasy. It's based on the Novoland book series, which I would say is more like a combo of LOTR and HP instead of GoT but I'm not 100% sure since I haven't read the books haha. But Tribes and Empires hasn't even aired yet too. 

But yeah I think most of the good but also "less fantasy" historical cdramas have pretty much been covered (Nirvana in Fire, Battle of Changsha, The Disguiser, Princess Weioung, etc). I haven't seen these but I think Sound of the Desert and Imperial Doctress all just have minimal wuxia?? You could also try modern cdramas too (altho I have noticed that lovers of modern kdramas don't like modern cdramas so whatever suits your tastes). 

Thanks! 

I actually watched the trailer for Tripes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy, and it looks like it has a lot of fantasy like you said. However it seems to be really well made so I think I will check it out anyway!

 I don't know of many modern c-dramas (as I have not looked into them as much as historical ones), but one that I'm currently watching is Ode to Joy. I've only seen 5 episodes, but I like it so far!