Frost_edelweiss

PM:Don't know if you can watch it, but here's a nice Qingming recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtSd8EpNTXc

Rather like-minded then!

Although I sometimes feel tempted to add views, data, and even appreciation for some dedicated people who dig up MV links or make 中英拼音music lyrics (Peachey Blossom…), video edits (M916), fanvids that I liked (such as a few spawned by LLTG on YT and Bilibili), or companion videos about technical and historical stuff about some dramas. But I refrain from adding too much comment here about characters psychoanalysis, or general judgement about wholesomeness, conformity to old or new-fangled or other norms, etc. Much is derived from cultural pov, so it can be touchy and fruitless to start on it!

It is not worth the bother to get entangled in possible disputes, and I have (regrets) less watch-time than retirees and full-time stay-at-home people. So, I mostly use spare time to do some "archaeological" C-drama watching to complete my previous mostly movie-watching-only experience in the C-field, while trying to keep up with new trends. Yes, I also watched the amusing romance about the orthodontist and have also a list of e-sports dramas that I enjoyed (including the one you mention, which only went on hold because I was busy with other work, I may complete it later, while awaiting for in-the-future The King's Avatar 2).

I was tempted by Who Is He among other crime/mysteries. But since I don't like to speed through, I am keeping it for later. Will certainly watch it, also encouraged by Marcus' warm recommendation on YT (he only watches, slowly too, a select few dramas, and his mentions are quite valuable, to me).
I have added Falling Before Fireworks, after good first impression when first stumbling on to it, and glad about Peggy Tanaka's uncharacteristically waxing lyrical about it on Marcus' YT channel comments (I sometimes follow her generous personalized advice).

I am a slower drama watcher, sometimes stopping to investigate details, such as the use of fountain pens in post 1911 China (The Last Princess) 😂 ! and comparing with my memories from watching old Chinese movies and Albert Kahn teams film and photo reports from 1910s-1930s, readings of Republican era history + what I observed in BJ, SH, NJ museums and Changchun and Harbin. (I also like biographies and biographical novels, so enjoyed those about Song Qingling, Li Hsiang-lan, Bold Plum, Ruan Lingyu, Li Lili, Pearl of China.... In addition to modern literature classics of Lu Xun, Ba Jing, Mao Dun, Shen Congwen, Lao She, Guo Moruo, etc)

Now, preparing for the 50 eps of TTOTM: lots of love and expectation for LYX & Bai Lu!

Hoping it won't distract me too much from the other dramas that I am still watching: The Last Princess, New Vanity Fair (still far from completed release on YT Youku channel- so only at 25), Romance of a Twin Flower, and especially Nothing But You (Wu Lei and Zhou Yutong 🥰! Liking also some of the OST songs there, the instrumental part of the Liu Yuning song, and the simple Rainy Yang song particularly, which is competing now with the lingering Lucid Dream tune from The Forbidden Flower💖💖💖💖💖, in my head!😂)

Thank you, EmperorPrime. I am happy with your explanation!! I was worrying a tad that you would get as stung by my curiosity, as first shooter above! Really relieved that I didn't annoy you too much!

The shooters seem to be old, so must have grown thin-skinned raising progeny or trying to educate unruly students -something very dangerous in many countries, btw. Even in China, where the well-disciplined and respectful middle and high school classes of 50+ before the mid-2000s gave way to harder-to-handle 30+ ones with kids not shying away anymore from shaming teachers indirectly, although not bullying like in the fearsome drama Meteor Garden. I will not dwell too much on the ladies' ire, then.
(I know I may sound Shakespearean: I stated a few times in other places that I am an ancient alien from deep space! That's not only imagination, I can feel my limbs creaking and needing more oil-----you know : 加油... )

I have grown too lazy to attempt reviewing, perhaps. It's quite a piece of work, can even become a chore, although self-imposed, isn't it. And then you have sometimes readers who will roll their eyes... Aaaaaah! You are a courageous person!
Yes, resting like you did between episodes is necessary. Get up, move a little, go drink water or coffee while gazing at garden (we do have nice ones on the planet-size starship) or celestial bodies and galaxies, relaxing eyes and thinking about what can be of interest in what is watched, or discussing if watching with others. Checking logs to make sure there is no collision course with asteroid to risk a new nuclear winter and mass extinction on the blue planet -phew! latest just sailed between Terra and Moon.

Enjoy! On the very late nights (after midnight) till dawn of April 21-23, unimpeded by moon-shine (just after New Moon) the Lyrid meteor shower will be back! Did you know this is among the oldest of known meteor showers? Records of it go back for some 2,700 years. The ancient Chinese observed the Lyrid meteors falling like rain in the year 687 BCE. That time period in ancient China, corresponds with what is called the Spring and Autumn Period (about 771 to 476 BCE), which tradition associates with the Chinese teacher and philosopher Confucius, one of the first to espouse the principle: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.”

As for dramas, what would you like to watch next?
Me, after having finished Road Home 🥰 and continuing Nothing But You 😍, Royal Rumours 💗, Romance of a twin flower🧡, I am eagerly awaiting TTEOTM!
Although I have grown a few heads more to indulge watching dramas, I sometimes wonder whether I am too greedy! Maybe I ought to take a break, jump into bodysuit and find a nice health coach to fight c-drama and MDL addiction!

The Brightest Star In the Sky (2019) FL Janice Wu Qian is in charge of managing "Zheng Bo Xu" idol's career played by real life idol and singer-songwriter Z.Tao -Expect entertainment agency internal business and fan group management too.

Yes, Wu Lei is indeed awesome ! 😍🤗🎾💖❣
And Zhou Yutong is the best choice in this role ! 💝🏋️‍♀️🥰
The supporting characters are very good too, from Xiao Haoran (Jiang Jr become #95 ) to Ma Fanding (Liang Tao the livestreamer) strife partners,🤗and most of the cast, where each individual is being clearly delineated and adding to the ensemble.
I like the introductory sentences for each episode, and the ever-renewed suspense and new and varied challenges these characters meet.

The three links worked fine for me. 🥰Thanks!
I suggest that you add these links in the OST Discussion launched by Black Jade above!

Yes. Ashes of Love; Word of Honor; The Untamed; Lighter and Princess; The Forbidden Flower....
Not that any are "musicals" like old Hollywood movies that put in pictures what was first stage musical shows. Recalling delightful tunes such as "June is bustin' out all over" with these lovely seasonal rhymes:

March went out like a lion
A-wavin' up the weather in the bay;
Then April cried and stepped aside,
And lone came pretty little May!
May was full of promises ....

Snippet here for those who also like that sort:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khL3AVmPj24
These songs used to make my day in the past millenium -'coz I'm an ancient alien observing from deep space, hehehe'
Here's another one to breeze over annoyances:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrGwxrqzGe4
Yes, I know. I grievously stray away from Qilixiang and other beloved mandopop tunes, or c-drama (= 'Exclusive indulge') OST here. Bear with the ancient alien lol.

I'm going back to the drama soon, noticing with interest the gold-dust resin and laquer repair technique of broken ceramics (kintsukuroi )in episode 1 and recalling thatthis was also an important plot detail in About Is Love (specially Ep5, where Wei Qing tells Zhou Shi about the Kintsugi technique, to have Xiao Fei's precious blessing bowl, that XF needs to eat in because of OCD, be repaired after it was broken by FeiFei accidentally). It is an interesting technique, discussed in the following document:
https://www.ststworld.com/kintsukuroi-art/

Hmm. Since this art is really interesting, I will highlight this info in Discussions too.

Thanks for the observations about music. I value it in dramas, and slow pace does not bother me, so after looking at episode 1, I may continue.Taking my own sweet time...😁

Ah, then I will change my mind, and perhaps watch it too. 😉

Then why do you do it? You are the one to call me "a misanthrope troll" and add fuel to an already unneeded dispute.
Is not that aggression of someone you don't even know and who never replied to you, and you imagining all sorts of malice?
Lucy, I did you the courtesy to read your personal page. You won't find anything on mine because I am not an adept of social media (which you write you don't use, but I can only note that you don't practice your own advice, from the length and tone of your presentation and comments in this thread.)
I think you are looking out to bully anyone who disagrees with you, so I am not going to explain my reaction to my feeling of a time inconsistency of the first reviews any more; wishing you peace anyway in your retirement. If you find my wish condescending, it's from your mindset, only.

True. I had a short night, so mistook you for one of the two reviewers and still felt rather unbelieving even after your explanation.

But since you computed time to term it as doable: 13hrs non stop? or let's say 17hrs if time is needed for taking care of hurting eyes, limbs, hunger, thirst, other basic needs. Let's be realistic Who are so driven to do that for what other commenters who I don't doubt (bc they just dropped a short comment here,but did not post it as "review") write is a "just ok drama"? Robots? ChatGPT?

I did not check back who had managed the reviewing on speed feat. My mistake & apologies if you felt stung by my disbelief.
....Sarcasm?? I was really trying to imagine how "it could be done"; ff is the usual way. Maybe technical equipment for the review writing part. Perhaps extensive prior knowledge of script, book, story, etc,and an all purpose grid to check and generate sentences (perhaps it already exists and is not only speculative fiction).
I did nowhere target you for writing a review of this drama elsewhere,nor "writing other review". I don't mind if you do,but for health reasons, think it is advisable to be reasonable about time spent thus+watching, except if this is a show you feel exceptionally passionate about.

Anyway We are here to enjoy dramas, not to make dramas, or hook on to attack commenters for such trifles and create a long comment thread for it.

sure. double speed+ ff button too, surely? I am just amused that you still had enough time to look away and type review simultaneously, although maybe you are also equipped with dictating + word processing tools?
Awesome...

Qingming Festival is the next occasion, public holiday in China Wednesday April 5. It is the occasion for you perhaps to brush up on your knowledge of Chinese religions, literature, traditions,customs and superstitions:

Qingming (清明) in Chinese mean 'clearness' and 'brightness'. It is the 5th of the 24 SOLAR TERMS of the traditional Chinese solar calendar, marking the start of the warm weather of spring and the beginning of farm work

ACTIVITIES:
* tomb upkeep and repair, pay homage to the departed (but not participate in other families such activity) Clothes with bright colors or skimpy clothes are no-go traditionally, but some people wear soft willow branches
*feeding and toasting the departed, for example, first, food, fruit and alcohol is placed on an altar on or in front of the monument, then the family will pray and burn incense, and spill the alcohol glasses in a line before the tomb. A double coin toss will determine when the spirits have been satisfied— one heads and one tails — Then,the food is removed from the altar and prepared it for the living to enjoy. For example, one lady "carved the chicken to serve to her family as chicken rice with a dipping sauce of shallots, lime and ground bean sauce."
* putting willow branches on gates and front doors. People believe, under the influence of Buddhism, that the magic of willows will ward off wandering evil spirits during the Qingming. Traditional pictures of the Goddess of Mercy Guanyin often show her seated on a rock with a willow branch in a vase of water at her side. The goddess used this mysterious water and branch to scare away demons.- According to historical records, there is an old saying: ‘Put willow branches up on gates; drive ghosts away from houses.’
*spring outings, kite flying, Qingming is also called TAQING FESTIVAL. Taqing (踏青 'tread green') means a spring outing, when people get out and enjoy the spring blossoms. The festival usually falls on a day not long before everything turns green in the north, and well into the spring flower season in the south. It marks the weather warming up, when people spend more time outside. Flying kites is for relaxation on this holiday, and to some it means getting rid of misfortune.

During the outing,you need food!
QINGMING FESTIVAL FOOD includes, varying with places, sweet green rice balls, crispy cakes, Qingming Zong. These foods are usually cooked one or two days before the arrival of the Qingming Festival so people can eat and recreate during the holidays.
* GREEN RICE BALLS (青团 qīngtuán 'green dumpling(s)') are jade-green in color, glutinous in taste, and sweet in aroma. They are made of a mixture of glutinous rice flour and green vegetable juice and stuffed with sweetened bean paste.
* QINGMING CAKES are called sāzi (撒子) or hánjù (寒具 'cold tools'). They are made of crispy fried wheat flour or glutinous rice flour, eggs, sesame, onion, salt, and other ingredients. Among some Chinese ethnic minorities, such as the Uygur in Xinjiang, the Dongxiang in Gansu, the Naxi in Yunnan, and the Hui in Ningxia, sazi is famed for its great variety and many flavors.
* QINGMING ZONGZI : Rice dumplings are not only for Dragon Boat Festival. In fact, they have become popular as a take-out food. Zongzi are sticky rice dumplings filled with pork, chestnut, and red beans (sometimes this varies), and wrapped in bamboo leaves. They are also commonly used and eaten at Qingming Festival, as they are very convenient for offering and taking on spring outings.
*Snails that have been seasoned with onion and salt (and.cooked!)are also a favorite dish during the Qingming Festival.

QINGMING LEGEND: Mianshan(mountain near Pingyao Ancient Town ) is also called JIESHAN('Jie Mountain') after Jie Zitui (?–636 BC)protected the prince of the State of Jin, Chong'er, who went into exile due to civil unrest and persecution in 655 BC. Jie Zitui cut a piece of flesh off his thigh to cook a meat soup when the prince was almost dying of hunger and cold.

Nineteen years later, in 636 BC, Prince Chong'er took power and became a king as Duke Wen of Jin State (697–628 BC). Duke Wen greatly rewarded and honored all of his followers, but he forgot Jie Zitui. Meanwhile, Jie had lived in seclusion with his mother on Mian Mountain. The duke felt ashamed and decided to find Jie.As it was difficult to find a person in the mountains, a malicious subject who was jealous of Jie suggested setting fire to the mountain to flush him out. After the fire, the duke and his people found the two burned bodies of Jie and his mother on the mountain.
The duke regretted this deeply, and designated the day as ‘Cold Food Festival’. It was the day before Qingming Festival. In order to commemorate Jie, people ate cold food and banned fire on that day. And so, the Qingming cold food tradition lived on with this legend.

As time passed, the two festivals were gradually combined into one. On the day of the Cold Food Festival, people used no fire and only ate cold food. Now people in some places still have the custom of eating cold food on Qingming Festival.

Qingming Festival is most strongly related to respect for departed spirits and sacrifice, which means it is not proper to greet with words like happy, joyful, merry, etc. So,proper greeting without offense on Qingming day,:

Wishing you all best for Qingming Festival. (清明安好)
Wishing you health and safety for Qingming Festival. (清明健康平安)

More info and pictures on this page: https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/qingming-festival.html (from which the main points above are copied or summed up or expanded )

I am just in awe of the reviewers who watched it to completion in less than one day, yesterday, when all 23x45mins were released on iQiyi.

To me, the supposed Beijing locales in the drama did not evoke so much Xi'an. But it is a long while since I was in Xi'an.
It is true that the locales were to me not very distinctive, as school neighborhoods and canals, willows, modern residences and high-end restaurants or tea houses, and Sinopec filling stations can be found in many places. Xiheyuans can also be found in other cities. So only the trips by car and occasional views of landmarks like the three waves of Xizhimen oval office buildings that crown the main Beijing transport node in Xicheng district, and the mention of "4th Ring" (ringroad) can indisputably be Beijing.

Those foreigners who have been in China for longer than a brief tourist tour usually come to love and miss the country whenever they leave and would often return. Some even settle there for good, although it is very rare to get Chinese citizenship, even for Huaren with Chinese family ties, or for spouses of Chinese citizens. It is possible to get "temporary" resident status (a special type of visa) for renewable 1 to 5 years stints, or 10-year "green cards" which have more requirements than the other resident status.

There are tourist visas for 7 to 180 days, although 90 is more usual. They may not allow for multiple entry, so if you need to go and return, you must ask for the appropriate visa and meet the requirements. To drive in China, you need to get a Chinese drivers' license (take an exam on a computer) and still, it will not be easy to rent or buy a car. But there are a lot of convenient ways to travel with public transportation,

Awww... Thanks for liking my too long-winded prose 🤣
I like your enthusiasm too.

My reasons for reading this comments section stem from the encouragement I received after expressing my bewilderment about the beginning of LLTG. Some more seasoned drama watchers and e-novel readers wrote that I should hold out until ep.5-6. I did, and LLTG quickly turned and climbed in my opinion from "wtf s this sorry mess inflicted on audience" to all-time favorite with the superb acting by athletic Wu Lei, and excellent portrayal of the "devious" Cheng Shaoshan by ZLS! The explanatory videos by C-Drama Q&A added on YouTube about History and artefacts (she is also on MDL under another moniker) were greatly appreciated by me.

I like it, when a drama, a movie, or a novel, also enriches one's knowledge of history and places, sometimes also about other things like sports, e-sports, cuisine, superstitions, traditions, literature and poems, music, languages and dialects (I liked the episodes where you can hear snippets of Zhenjiang and Wuzhen Wu dialect in Forever and Ever.), , etc.

Hahaha, yes. But I have now also become a fan of sorts of other actors, including but not limited to LYX, YY, CFY, Z.Tao and god-like Wu Lei, who I am speedily switching over to watch in Nothing But You: I got so enthused by his Ling Buyi character in LLTG that I have been eagerly waiting for his next appearance. Reaching ep12 there, I must watch the next eps13-14 now (it is billed for 38, so there's time for more excitement).
I am also eagerly awaiting Till The End Of The Moon, with LYX, Bai Lu and Chen Duling. It is scheduled for airing on April 5 or 6 on Youku.
I am rather eclectic in my reading and watching tastes, so am not looking down on any genre. Modern, historical, costume fantasy or xianxia, xuanhuan, wuxia, sports and e-sports, military, romance, youth or mature slice of life...all have their own distinctive charm, and I was pleased to discover the new generation of actors and actresses, writers and drama directors from China.

Ep30 was a sweet coda to this very wholesome composition, which deserves full marks for acting, choice of shooting locations, no nonsense or over-sugary dialogues and plot. I also liked the realism and the messages of hope, endurance, faithfulness and mature understanding and support to partners. I actually liked the slow pace which showed how intuition and almost telepathic getting vibes and staying "in tune"without need for long conversation is one form of beautiful love.

The two separated "because they were too young", because Gui Xiao thought she needed comforting words to overcome the pain of her family turmoil, but these could not be conveyed over the phone, and because her great love was prevented from rushing back to hug and comfort her. Both felt hurt and regret but years went by and, not wanting to be intrusive, neither of them managed to make the needed step forward to get back in tune. Until they did, and this is the sweet and realistic story that unfolds in the drama. The radiance of their love not only make them stand out, but also touches those around them: their friends and "complicated families", and the little boy that Gui Xiao spontaneously agrees to foster to allow him get a more stable environment with trusted people and better schooling. Unconsciously or not, this first act of kindness and love brings her friend (and other foster "aunt" for the boy) together with Lu Chen's friend and Qin Xiaonan's dad.
LuChen and Xiao Nan are quickly aware of Captain Qin and Duan Rou's compatibility, which culminates in Ep22 where both couples radiantly and almost literally "walk on air". For once, we would not have minded seeing more about this secondary couple!
It also helps that Jing Boran has a special type of northern handsomeness, impervious to the cold weather, maybe due to his part-Russian ancestry. Sichuanese Seven Tan Songyun is delightfully petite and with an infectious warm smile that brought perfect balance to this "fire and ice" story where the apparently cold and detached ML was just yearning for spring to be back and enough fulfillment in a life half or more devoted to dangerous missions.
As for OST, it is nice, although as I mentioned in an earlier comment, what stood out for me was the old Zheng Jun Cinderella song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xVtrob8Rto). Lyrics here : https://www.chinese-tools.com/songs/song/12/cinderella.html

I watched quite a few of Seven Tan's dramas before; always very satisfied. I had not watched much of Jing Boran's filmography, he seems to have been mostly involved with light movies, when I was following more heavyweight directors' filmography. Perhaps, if I have time, I will go back to check more of Jing Boran's filmography now, and perhaps even re-watch Road Home which despite its slow pace, was as enjoyable as a famous director's movie. Ah, spotting 2018 "Us And Them" in JB's filmography, which I think I must watch since I love Rene Liu's music and her acting in "A World Without Thieves".

Well, at this point, I might as well post this as a"review"?

She does look very young, maybe 30 month old as the drama character.
But she was sufficiently well behaved not to start screaming and wiggling away from Jing Boran when he picked her up at the wedding dinner, or when "big brother" Qin Xiaonan steered her away to "play" , so the parents could have some time for themselves.
I was thinking that with her rather affluent income, Gui Xiao could have afforded a help and nanny "ayi" who would take care of the child when she could not keep an eye on her full-time. It is inconsistent with her investor career not to have such help, although sometimes grandparents substitute voluntarily. But both grandmothers would probably not, here, given their circumstances. The "nainai" (Lu Chen's mom) would still be mostly taking care of her recovering alcoholic husband, the "laolao" (Gui Xiao's mom) is too busy abroad.

I checked if the little girl's name appeared in the cast, but no; and young Zhang En Shuo who was praised by many for his role as "Qin Xiaonan" has only his name mentioned, and another drama appearance, but we know nothing more,like what is his age.

Ok,I admit this is not as sizzling as The Forbidden Flower, but Jing Boran is not THAT cold in my perception.
I am still watching on, comparing from personal experiences of low key romances, travels, encounters with uniformed law keeping personnel etc. Yes, SWAT too, but it's too long a story for here, lol. What the drama showed covered most of the personal challenges that such men face (there are few women in this profession), so it was relatable.
Looking forward to last episode tomorrow, and to the next video edit with well chosen music by MK916 on YouTube !