The Sword and the Brocade (2021)

Continuos engaños al espectador en una trama que prometía

La historia empieza bien, con unas bases interesantes, pero a medida que avanza se enreda en trucos de trama que ya no deberían tolerarse hoy en día. La impermeabilidad del algunos personajes (como es el caso de la abuela, utilizada continuamente como antagonista de pocas luces) junto a trucos de melodrama fáciles y recurrentes hace que mi valoración, de un 9,5 casi 10, haya ido bajando hasta un 7. Esto último obedece al buen hacer de sus dos protagonistas sobre todo: buen acting y gran entrega al drama. Por lo demás, si querían tratar el tema de la situación de las mujeres (me parece una idea fantástica) podrían haber trabajado de manera más creativa en vez de ir y volver sobre temas de manera ramplona y maniquea. Una decepción.

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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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a sample pf husband and wife works together to overcome all

I didn’t think I would enjoy this story …and surprisingly , I did. This is a sample of a smart , brave FL that are not common in historical story. Both leads are not my favs since I don’t know them but , they really make me feel the story and I enjoy it in most parts. of course you have the meddling hateful mother in law that you can’t really find fault because she just want to follow the house rules and maintain the pride of the Xu Family in the extends that she have cost a lot of misery to the wife and concubines, forcing her son to marry numerous times , The brave and smart FL that due to unhappy childhood became broad minded , calm matron of Xu Family and the guilt ridden son ML that due to being dutiful son , must balance his mother and wife needs. I also love the part the the wife and husband support each other to overcome the difficulties . I suggest you give this story a chance.

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Good Chemistry With Two Main Lead Actors

I enjoyed watching this series mainly due to the two main leads of Wallace Chung and Seven Tan. Wallace of course, a seasoned actor and brings just the right amount of dignity, charisma, charm and strength that comes with the the role General Xu Ling Yi. The choice of Seven in the role as wife Shi Yi Niang was a little 'iffy' with me at first, but I found her acting pretty impressive as I watched on. She held her own and saw the side of her acting maturity that went really well with Wallace.

A period drama with family politics, concubines' jealousy, enemies plotting, upholding ancestral law, were all interesting and went at a comfortable pace. However, what stood out the most is the 'love' theme between Xu Ling Yi and Shi Yi Niang. Two people thrown together in marriage based on 'circumstances', which began with some friction, eventually growing into a deep love which placed trust, maturity, patience, communication and relationship first before sexual and physical desires. To see such partnership regardless in a period or modern day drama, never gets old and really enlightening to watch.

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Wonderful love story, but the plot has lots of problems

What I discovered after watching The Sword and the Brocade
- Women are bloody scary when they're having tea with you
- Forehead kisses are better than bedroom scenes
- Ming dynasty mother-in-laws are scarier than the T-1000.

I had long avoided *The Sword of the Brocade* for the following reasons:
- I was super not impressed with Tan Song Yun's performance and was majorly annoyed with her aegyo character in *Under the Power*.
- In general, I dislike harem dramas intensely. I just don't like watching women bully each other.

But for some reason I am suddenly in a romantic mood for mature, adult, slow burn, arranged marriage romance and the *The Sword and the Brocade* delivers.

I really loved Shi Yi and Ling Yi's gradual attraction to each other and I love Wallace Chung and Tan Song Yun's performance. I believe that Tan dubbed herself, and it really brought a lot of nuance and colour to her character.

I didn't find Wallace Chung attractive at first, but he is so manly, honourable and considerate as Ling Yi that these qualities end up making him very attractive indeed.

And yes, yes, this is one of those dramas with misunderstandings between our couple, but it's not at epic proportions like Love and Redemption.

I don't seem to mind misunderstandings and lack of communication in romance dramas as I find them morbidly enjoyable. But if you hate this be warned as the Show has one major arc with that.

(Also, I'd like to report that Wallace Chung is such a good kisser. Like, no fish-eyed kisses, people! But one filled with intense passion and desperate hunger. *Fans self*.)

However, I confess that I skipped or fast forwarded a lot of scheming concubine parts because I can't stand a lot of that. At times I found the mother-in-laws (both Madam Xu and Luo) intolerable.

Yet, despite their horrid scheming, I have a lot of sympathy for the concubines. I felt their pain and sorrow when Ling Yi rebuff their efforts to gain his attention. As for Qiao Lian Fang, the primary evil concubine? Nah, she deserves everything she got lol.

But while it tries to convey the painful lives of concubines and women in ancient Ming dynasty times, but it was clumsily done.

And as with so many Chinese dramas, for some reason, the last 10 episodes was a rush of betrayals and schemes, a lot of them lacking logic.

If I were to rate the way they had written romance between our main couple, it would be an 8.5.

But for the plot involving the evil Ou family, concubines and more? Oof, it'll be a 6 or less.

So, I can only give it an slightly above average rating rather than excellent.

But I still highly recommend this drama if you like watching slow burn romance and arranged marriages. Our leads are really good and you will really enjoy their performances.

Rating: 7.5

I wrote a longer, more detailed review here: https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/01/09/the-sword-and-the-brocade-review/

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