Director is excellent
The director made the drama perfect!!!He made beautiful couple and scene.
Rewatch again and again.
I hope zhang linghe next historical drama *road to glory* have beautiful as much as the art of *pursuit of jade*drama.
Pursuit of jade and road to glory has same author.
The fl of pursuit of jade is good at supporting zhang linghe character.
Was this review helpful to you?
Tian Xiwei ❤️ as Fan Changyu delivers a standout performance that breaks her sweet image. She is gritty and practical moving with a weight that makes her profession feel authentic. Zhang Linghe ❤️as Xie Zheng brings a nuanced vulnerability to the fallen marquis role. His chemistry with Tian Xiwei is a slow burn based on mutual respect and shared trauma. Supporting actors like Li Qing and Ren Hao provide strong humor and depth to the political intrigue.
Directed by Zeng Qing Jie the show has a high quality cinematic feel. Filmed on location in Taizhou the scenery is rich and atmospheric using natural lighting rather than heavy filters. The set design for the village and butcher shop is detailed and realistic giving the world a tactile lived in quality. The action choreography is heavy and impactful matching the characters backgrounds and keeping the stakes feeling real.
Pursuit of Jade is a rare gem that treats its characters with intelligence. It is a must watch for those who want a strong independent female lead and a romance built on partnership.
Was this review helpful to you?
Zhang Has Really Come Into His Own As a Star
I really love this cdrama -- excellent cast, interesting storyline. I loved Zhang in The Best Thing and this shows a completely different side to his acting. The FL is also good as is the rest of the cast.....she is engaging and a great resilient character, very different than most female leads in historical dramas. Who would imagine making the FL a butcher?Was this review helpful to you?
Honestly, this drama feels so easy to get attached to.
The story pulls you in without trying too hard, and it just flows.
The leads have a soft, natural chemistry that makes everything feel real.
Some scenes stay in your mind even after the episode ends.
It’s one of those dramas you quietly look forward to every day.
Was this review helpful to you?
Romance, action, humor, this series is perfection!
It’s just perfect on all fronts, a stunning mix of the people in front of the camera and behind it all just hitting a huge home run from the very first shot.It’s eye candy both in cinematography and actors - it’s a ridiculous male beauty pageant on a level that’s almost distracting if the story wasn’t so well done. They even out-pretty the women, which is hard to do with the gorgeous actresses here.
Story has it all - romance, humor, intensity, warmth, sadness, passion, fun…and villains that chew up the scenery and are more than just boring placeholders. You are engrossed in everyone’s stories here, not just a hero or two.
I really like fantasy and xianxia - but PoJ crossed right over my borders and became one of my favorite dramas ever. Don’t even wait to watch it - I promise it’s worth your time. I’ll be watching everything this director puts out in the future!
Was this review helpful to you?
39 Episodes of Perfection… One Episode of Disaster
Zhang Linghe is one of my favorite actors coming out of mainland China right now. The first drama I saw him in was My Journey to You, and I loved it—but the writer left me hanging. There was so much more I wanted to know about the characters and where their stories were headed.Then he stepped into the lead again in Story of Kunning Palace, and that’s where he really pulled me in. He has this way of drawing you into his character without forcing it. It feels natural, almost effortless. And when it comes to emotional scenes—especially the intimate ones—you can tell he commits fully. There’s real passion there, not just acting for the camera.
In The Legend of Shen Li, the storyline was strong, and the director absolutely delivered on the fight scenes. They had that “wow” factor—the kind that makes you sit up and pay attention.
Now… here’s where I’m going to be honest.
The FL, in my opinion, should’ve been cast differently. Maybe it was the way her character was written, but she came off too distant—especially during the romantic scenes. There was a lack of emotional connection, and when you’re paired with someone like Zhang Linghe, who gives 100%, that gap becomes very noticeable. And I’ll say it straight—if an actor can’t handle romantic scenes, they shouldn’t be in roles that require them. Chemistry matters. Period.
That said, the drama did have emotional weight. I actually felt for the emperor. He wasn’t just a background figure—he was used, disregarded, and pushed to the point of a mental breakdown. That kind of character arc adds depth, and the supporting cast overall did a great job bringing the story to life.
But here’s my biggest issue…
From episode 1 to 39, I was completely hooked. Then we had to wait all the way until episode 38 just to see the ML and FL finally come together as husband and wife. That felt dragged out. Realistically, when two people love each other, that bond shows much earlier—the emotional and physical connection doesn’t wait until the very end. Writers really need to learn how to build romance more naturally instead of holding it back like it’s some final reward.
And then came episode 40…
It completely fell apart.
Whether it was the director or the writer, the ending was all over the place. It didn’t flow, it didn’t make sense, and honestly, it felt rushed and poorly put together—like they just wanted to wrap it up and move on. Maybe it’s due to episode limits or not wanting to commit to a second season, but either way, that last episode was a total waste and left me frustrated.
Still… despite all that, it’s a good drama.
And let’s be real—that’s largely because of Zhang Linghe. He carried it.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is a story that straddles the line of a sweet slice-of-life story about our heroine and the man she rescues from the snow with a simple setting that focuses on breathing life into the characters who are the heart of the story, and the world around them that turns into a rather fable-like, whimsical and emotional tale of war and humanity. This is a careful balance that requires some suspension of disbelieve to work but is for the most part enjoyable to watch.Despite everything is a lot of sincerity within this story that at first, as it starts of small because that reflects how our heroine Fan Changyu sees the world and how her life is at that point of the story and when the story manages to be earnest, simple and focused on the main characters while fleshing slowly out the story then it is at it’s strongest.
The narrative does manage to frame the character’s worldview and life very neatly and the smooth rhythm of the story and the comfortable pace it had early on allowed us to adapt to the world and get used to the own inner logic of it all, that makes this into a fanciful fable-like story and a very old school hero’s journey. Many of the characters we meet along the way are colorful and larger-then-life, but also very down-to-earth and real, and despite how unrealistic the story sometimes gets. But that is also what makes it fun, if people allow themselves to suspend their disbelieve.
Fan Changyu is a hero after my heart. Kind-hearted, with inner and outer strength that draws people in, stubborn without it seeming too unrealistic. She never comes across as monotone female character who is only strong for the sake of being strong, but is allowed to experience fear, make mistakes in a way that makes her story feel real and deserved. The character though does fall into the trap of the more old-school classic hero in a fable that gets too good at everything too quickly just for the sake of the plot, making parts of her journey feel unearned, while Xie Zheng fades too far into the background in favor of her, or other background characters, in the later half of the drama.
The deliberately slow-moving, sincere love story between our main characters, which is full of longing silences and yearnfully glances works wonders for large parts of the story, and whether our main couple is separated or together the story doesn’t really suffer from the absence of one or the other.
The romance is however put on the backburner for the sake of the hero’s journey that Changyu must go on, and as the narrative shifts from telling that slow-burn romance into something more politically heavy and shifting allegiances. That shift feels sudden and a tad bit grating for those who got rightfully heavily invested in the romance that the story promised and set up early on, and that shift does change the story a bit too drastically.
*spoiler* For my part the shift in thinking of Changyu, as she does things for the other people in her live and not just her husband, felt quite well earned within the narrative and I like the fact that he isn’t her whole world and her motives are also for her and her people, and not just so she can stand tall next to her husband. Because this feels like a story about her. Her hero’s journey. But I do understand why that deviation from the original novel wasn’t for everyone. *spoiler*
The drama deals quite well with its themes of humanity and the inherent value of a single life, and the sacrifices of ordinary people for the sake of the simple life they want to lead and to feel at peace. And it does all of that while delivering some soapy political intrigue, fun battle sequences and fun twists.
There are subtle references to class issues that are woven into the narrative through clothing, the characters’ attitudes towards money and how they see the world, as well as the reality of the harshness of everyday people and the willfully ignorant aristocracy who can play war because of their own greed.
There is an odd balance between the silly, adventurous and yet sincere tone all through the forty episodes that the drama spans. No matter how funny, heartbreaking or even sorrowful the events of the plot may be there is always a certain earnestness and warmth that shines through. A certain emotional essence that the story never loses.
Despite the even, and intentionally slow pace that allows itself to stop for a moment to allow us to spend quality time with the characters and the relationships they develop, the drama never gets boring. There’s always something going on, and the side stories are well handled and come at the right moments to enrich rather than interrupt the main story. And each of these side-plots within the narrative eventually ties back into the main story in some meaningful way.
Both Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng are on a long journey in this drama. They grow even if the story takes them in different directions, which then does lead them to the same place at the end. And despite the stumbles on that road now and again the drama still manages to deliver plenty of charm, heart, and entertainment value —especially if you’re willing to suspend some disbelief too embrace the soapier twists, badly written court politics and the occasional oddities of the plot that is in a rush to get to the end.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Romance, Revenge, and a Heroine Who Could Knock Out a Pig
📝 Review(WARNING: Potential Spoilers — I’m Not Saving You from Any Emotional Damage)
I went into this expecting a popular costume drama that social media had collectively decided was worth obsessing over.
For once, the internet was right.
The story follows Fan Chang Yu and Xie Zheng as their fake marriage slowly evolves into a genuine partnership, and quickly spirals into revenge, political power struggles, warfare, hidden identities, and enough emotional investment to become a problem.
The FL is one of my favorite parts of the entire drama. Fan Chang Yu is strong, capable, and independent without feeling like she's been written solely to prove a point. She isn't a helpless damsel, but she also isn't written as an overbearing "I don't need anyone" archetype.
She feels like an actual person.
The ML carries much of the political and emotional weight of the story, while Zhang Ling He brings a quiet intensity that works incredibly well for the character, creating one of the strongest lead pairings I've seen in a wuxia drama recently.
The supporting cast and side chaos add tension, humor, heartbreak, and occasional moments where you realize absolutely nobody in this story is getting a peaceful week.
These types of dramas tend to rely heavily on chemistry between the leads, and this one is no exception.
Even though the original story was noticeably toned down due to censorship, Tian Xi Wei and Zhang Ling He still managed to sell every emotional beat.
By the middle/end, I was fully invested in their relationship, their victories, and every obstacle standing in their way.
Then the wars escalated, the betrayals started piling up, and the emotional damage train arrived right on schedule.
My brain: occupied by military strategies and conspiracy theories.
My emotions: repeatedly attacked.
My snacks: gone before the next battle even started.
And then there's the soundtrack.
The moment 风云起 (Rising Storm) started playing, it instantly elevated every scene it touched. Some songs become associated with a drama.
This one became part of the drama's identity.
In the end, I finished feeling completely satisfied.
And somehow… it worked.
Was this review helpful to you?
In the meantime, you can watch the drama in iQiyi with subscription: (https://www.iq.com/album/pursuit-of-jade-2026-19vub7xxrwd?lang=en_us)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Pursuit of Jade: Funny, Heartbreaking & Addictively Good
Pursuit of Jade was one of the best dramas I’ve watched in a while! It perfectly mixes funny, heartbreaking, and heart-tugging moments all together.I loved the romance between the main couple — it was so cute and hilarious. The female lead is really strong and independent, which made her super cool. I also adored the kids in this drama, they were absolutely adorable!
This drama did an amazing job showing how dark and twisted some kinds of love can become. The two brothers as villains were incredibly stomach-turning and honestly haunted me. The way it explores aggressive, poisonous love and the madness it can cause was really well done.
The character development throughout the show is excellent. I loved watching every character grow and change.
Overall, this drama has tragedy, humor, strong love, and great writing. I would definitely rewatch it and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a rich love story with depth.
Was this review helpful to you?
The Balance Between Character Growth and What Could Have Been Better.
There is something deeply attractive about stories where heroes aren't born perfect, but instead have to fight their way up from the bottom to move forward. The best part of this drama is precisely that: it focuses much more on the emotions and growth of the main characters than on exaggerated action, making Fan Chang Yu and Xie Zheng's journey the real reason to watch the show.A Very Strong Main Couple
Fan Chang Yu (Tian Xi Wei): Tian Xi Wei's performance is incredible. She manages to make Fan Chang Yu feel like a real and deeply human person who stays grounded thanks to her humble background and ultimately becomes a woman in control of her own destiny. Although her transition to leading in the army feels a bit rushed toward the end, the actress makes up for it with immense charisma, great combat scenes, and a fantastic screen presence.
Xie Zheng / Marquis of Wu’an (Zhang Ling He): Xie Zheng is a more reserved character. Marked by grief and responsibility, he shows how he feels through his actions rather than words. While it is true that the script overused background music and slow-motion scenes instead of showing more of his strong and imposing side as a marquis in battle, Zhang Ling He does an excellent job holding the character together.
A Chemistry That Hooks You From Beginning to End
Watching them go from a marriage of convenience to true, sincere love is one of the best parts of the drama. The relationship builds up slowly, with plenty of tension and very intense moments in the final stretch. The connection between the two leads is the real force that keeps you glued to the screen.
Pacing and the Story's Weak Spots
The part of the story set in Lin’an is by far the strongest in the series because it takes the time needed to develop the characters and their romance. However, once the story moves beyond that location, things feel a bit messy:
Few Battles and Poor CGI: The war scenes and large-scale fights fall quite short. They lacked better visual quality and much more exciting combat sequence.
A Rushed Ending: After setting everything up for a grand climax, the issues are resolved far too quickly and without much excitement. It feels like it was missing a more special closure or a grand final scene, such as a wedding fitting for the main leads.
A Supporting Cast That Surprises for the Better
The rest of the cast helps immensely to make the drama work. Deng Kai and Snow Kong are a very positive surprise, delivering brilliant performances and proving that a good story needs every actor to step up.
Despite the flaws in the action scenes and the rushed pacing at the end, the series is extremely entertaining. Its greatest achievement lies not in the battles, but in how satisfying it feels to watch two people learn to support and protect each other.
Was this review helpful to you?
Solid C-Drama with good action/plot
Overall, a very enjoyable drama. The leads did a great job and chemistry is good. Even the side characters/villains were very convincing. Only thing that could be improve is the political plot line is a little easy to get lost and could have been better.All episodes are solid and not skips needed. Highly recommended!
Was this review helpful to you?
