MyDramaList MDLv6.6
Home→ China→ Chinese Drama & Movies→

Characteristics of Chinese dramas, female characters, fantasy

Granuli
Hi,

I'm still a newbie and I've almost only watched Japanese and Korean dramas so far. I'm wondering what's especially characteristic for Chinese dramas?


Is it more likely for them to have powerful women than in Korean or Japanese ones?
Not talking about physical capabilities especially, but overall and how they're treated by others, especially by men and their social status.

Just judging by covers of other shows (which doesn't say much of course),
it looks like it might be possible for them to more frequently have capable women who aren't treated as being weaker or inferior to men.
And recently a friend of mine also mentioned something similar about a Chinese show she watched.


Also, are the Chinese somehow more likely to create dramas with fantasy settings (rarely seen otherwise, at least on Viki)?


Thank you :)
Quote
oppalover87
Hello and welcome to Chinese dramas.

Personally, i prefer Chinese historical dramas or ones set in the early 1900s. Why? i don't really know. Maybe its an interest in Chinese history or maybe i like the costumes.

As for the women in the Chinese dramas, i don't think personally they are treated any different to K or J dramas. Perhaps the mums in C dramas aren't as psychotic as i have seen in K dramas and their 'rules' are perhaps not as strict.

I have definitely seen more fantasy dramas in Chinese then i have in any other country. Every country has it's own trend so you will find that certain years will have more of certain types of show.

A few for you to try out .. if you like fantasy try The Journey of Flower or Go Princess Go.It's very funny involves body swapping and hilarious situations. A few others that are well received, Love me if you dare for psychological and boss and me for romance.If you like power struggles and strong women, can try Cruel Romance or Too Late To Say I Love You.

As always, beware of character dubbing. It's very annoying but nothing can be done about it so you just have to get used to it :-)

Happy watching.
Quote
Granuli
Thanks a lot oppalover87 :)

I just noticed your reply. In the meantime I'd already watched The Empress of China, looked into "Who Knows the Female of the Women" (what a great translation :D ) which looks great and I'm currently watching Singing All Along which is amazing as well.
I'm so impressed by the costumes and the acting! WOW!
Just regarding the language, at first I didn't like Mandarin as much as Japanese, but now I must say that I prefer it to Korean quite a bit!

Also thanks for your recommendations :) going to look into them! Especially Jingwan from Too Late to Say I Love You looks like she might be an unusual, strong character, judging from the description. Which one -Cruel Romance or Too Late To Say I Love you- would you say has the greater heroine?
Quote
oppalover87
TLTSILY has the better female i think but i prefer the story of CR.

When your into the c-dramas, you cannot over look battle of changsha and nirvana in fire. personally, they are the two best works of art to come out of china. Piece of advice, if you watch NIF, google the family tree as it will come in handy. there are ALOT of people.
Quote
rainruma
C-dramas are love-at-first-sight for me , and love can be blind.... Although Iv'e seen a good amount of C-dramas, I am NO Expert!! ...Here's my impression so far -  (Note: I haven't seen k-dramas of last 2-3 years...things changed):

C-dramas combine the Romanticized Idealism (without the cliches) of K-dramas  with the Realism (without the stark pessimism) of J-dramas.

* Romance - it's what initially drew me to C-dramas ... More believable and more passionate than K-dramas, and it was so refreshing to see real kissing (a few years back, most K-dramas didn't have much of that).... A believable love bcz usually the couple are drawn to each other's personalities, they know each other. and fill the other's need.

* Male Leads - most of my Fave male leads are from C-dramas!!! ... They are like the perfect man that every woman dreams of... plus, they have a deep unconditional and unwavering love for the female... and express it Passionately!!! ...  Examples:
---> Perfect in every way and so very Manly:  Mature, Patient, Reasonable. (want them in real life)
- Lu Li Cheng (Wallace Chung) in --- Best Time  -  ..... (drama's flawed/frustrating in 2nd half) but he's perfect!!
- Wei Wu Ji (Peng Eddie) in --- Sound of the Desert -  ..... (he's perfect and he's a bad-boy, lots of fun)
- He Yi Chen (Wallace Chung) in --- My Sunshine 
- Shi Wu Ji (Qi Ji)  in --- Cuo Dian Yuan Yang 

---> Flawed, not perfect ... selfish ... But you can't help loving them!! (In drama oc, not RL)
- Murong Feng (Wallace Chung) in ---  Too Late to Say I Love You 
- Mo Shao Qian (Lau Hawick) in --- Sealed with a Kiss

* Female Leads - usually Not as good as the males ... the character is supposed to be smart, strong, and often sassy ... in historicals, often they are super-human,do all perfectly, solve all the problems... but sometimes they express it in a Childish way :P ...The male is definitely in charge!....examples:
---> Great Females: Smart, Strong, Brave, Adventurous (bit unrealistic w/ their achievements tho, except for Yin Jingwan,)
- Jin Yu (Liu Cecilia) in --- Sound of the Desert  
- Maertai Ruo Xi (Liu Cecilia) in  --- Scarlet Heart
- Yin Jingwan (Li Xiao Ran) in --- Too Late to Say I Love You ...(realistic, brave, admirable)
- most female leads in Wuxia or Historical --- Condor Heroes, Prince of Lan Ling, Chinese paladin, Young Warriors, etc... 

---> Flawed Females - Frustrating... character's SUPPOSED to be smart/strong/brave...they are At the Start...but writers and/or actress make them childish/stupid later...ughh!
- Su Man (Chang Janine) in ---- Best Time...smart/witty/perfect for the perfect LLC ...BUT for her stupid obsession w/ her terrible 1st love :P
- Tong Xue(Ying Er) ---  in Sealed with a Kiss
- Zhao Mo Sheng (Tang Tiffany) in --- My Sunshine
- Su Huan Er (Zhao Zanilia) in --- Cuo Dian Yuan Yang

* Wuxia genre is all about fantasy.... but yes, C-dramas may have more fantasy than K.
* Last couple of years, production quality has really improved!

Plus there are still quite a few excellent C-dramas, w/ amazing male leads, great females, that I have not seen (Nirvana in Fire, Ode to Joy, etc...)
Quote
Granuli
I really miss a notification feature for forum replies ;)

@oppalover87 thank you for the great recommendations!

BTW: since you speak so highly of Nirvana in Fire, you might like Singing All Along a lot.
Granted I haven't seen NIF yet, but I'm so very much impressed by SAA and I have stumbled upon numerous comments comparing it to NIF.

According to a friend of mine on Viki, who regards NIF over anything else, it comes closer than anything else she'd seen, although the story is apparently less complex in comparison.

The OTP in SAA is one of the very few greatest I've ever seen, not just in Asian dramas, but any show. They really feel like a married couple and you can feel their deep love for each other. + their relationship is based on equality.
It was amazing!
I've heard about NIF before, but I decided to start with Singing All Along, because I had the feeling that there was more focus on the (special, extremely great) female lead than in NIF.


@rainruma thanks so much for all the info :)

It's interesting how you compare c-dramas to k and j!
The romance in Singing All Along was the most outstanding!
It was as you describe it idealized, yet very believable and passionate. You could really feel them!

Also about the kissing... I couldn't believe it at first when I started watching Asian dramas... kisses resembled more of what was shown in the western world in the 60s :D
I'm glad you mentioned that this is frequently different in c-dramas, because they +Japanese are now my favorites.

I haven't seen Wallace Chung yet, but his wife is the lead and creator of Singing All Along ;) I LOVE HER!!

What you mentioned about the female leads... hmm.. It's a bit of a pity that they're rarely (meaning almost never ever) in charge, but I think it's worse in other types of dramas?
Queen Seon Duk although Korean, was an amazing exception in this regard!
Also The Empress of China (which I liked a lot for different reasons), if there only had been more scenes with her when she finally achieved her goal...
The female lead in SAA was absolutely great. It could have been more, but especially at the beginning, she doesn't want to abide society, traditional gender roles and peer pressure, get married off to become a "good wife" and stay at home.
She wants to be treated as the men's equal and she puts in a lot of effort and -for the most part- manages to achieve this. I bet this isn't that common though :(


Thanks again for all the great infos, the both of you :)
Quote

Recent Discussions

Hottest Discussions