some really nice anecdotes about dudu from the cast & crew during yesterday's Q&A session! they filmed "the tunpu" back in 2019-2020 so it's nice we got a chance to hear these things about dudu now
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069694515640991806 director yu weiguo praised dudu’s expressive eye acting—he revealed that a scene between jin’er and ding hu originally included dialogue, but he later decided the lines weren’t necessary
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069696528734888405 #zhangdanfeng: duling is a very intuitive actress, so we didn’t need too much communication. we were able to express the emotions very smoothly, especially with director yu’s guidance
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069697032172745071 #zhangaoyue: this was my first time working with chen duling. through her performance, i saw many ways in which sincerity can be conveyed through dialogue, and i learned a great deal from her acting as well
some really nice anecdotes about chen duling from the cast & crew during yesterday's Q&A session! they filmed the movie back in 2019-2020 so it's nice we got a chance to hear these things about dudu now
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069694515640991806 director yu weiguo praised dudu’s expressive eye acting—he revealed that a scene between jin’er and ding hu originally included dialogue, but he later decided the lines weren’t necessary
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069696528734888405 #zhangdanfeng: duling is a very intuitive actress, so we didn’t need too much communication. we were able to express the emotions very smoothly, especially with director yu’s guidance
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069697032172745071 #zhangaoyue: this was my first time working with chen duling. through her performance, i saw many ways in which sincerity can be conveyed through dialogue, and i learned a great deal from her acting as well
considering this and ATC have the same producer and are youku productions, i'm just praying TDG's director + editing team do a better job with 24 eps compared to ATC 😭🙏
👤: on the night of the palace coup, i met her for the first time. was it the pressure of the moment, or some flicker of curiosity she stirred in me? even now, i can’t say for certain. but my body moved on its own accord. i dismounted, knelt, and, by imperial decree, offered my support for her ascension as grand princess.
i wanted to see what tricks this young woman had up her sleeve. the events that followed were, in part, driven by self-interest in securing the throne for my nephew. but miss a zhao… she truly did stir feelings within me that i could neither name nor explain. i saw the fire in her eyes. i saw her ride at the forefront, cutting down northern desert forces beneath the walls of wangcheng. i watched her, step by step, gather all that power into her own hands. and in that moment, i knew for certain: in this world, she’s the only one who could ever be called my equal. she and i shared a resonance of spirit unlike any other. i wanted to help her, to personally cut away every weakness she possessed, to remove everything that held her back, to make her utterly invulnerable. i thought… that was what it meant to protect her.
but now i understand. it’s so warm. “she’s different”—it turns out that a world touched by affection can be this warm. perhaps a person like me only deserves to experience it for a fleeting moment.
you knocked my fan from my hand; i put your shoes back on for you. miss a zhao, i suppose that makes us even. a world with you in it is a very interesting place. “i… can’t bear to let go.”
“how could i, xie yanfang, not know where i lost?”
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069666479856128257a snippet of maotong's farewell letter about his and chu…
👤: at the end of his life, that single line—“your subject, deng yi, thanks the grand princess”—carried the reluctance of a man with nowhere left to turn, a debt he could never repay in this lifetime, and the one and only moment of true emotional honesty in his entire life
🐰: over this period, watching the drama together with everyone made me feel as though i had returned to the height of summer when we filmed it last year. looking back on chu zhao’s rise and fall across two lifetimes, what moved me most was the genuine struggle and tenderness hidden beneath her resilient exterior. she came back carrying the pain of her entire family’s massacre in her previous life, with more than enough reason to drown herself in hatred, but she never allowed it to blind her completely. she understood how precious this second chance was, so she bided her time, gathering her strength and quietly waiting for the right moment. perhaps at the moment she shielded the imperial grandson as blades rained down, she did not yet realise that a sense of duty to her country and its people—beyond personal vengeance—had already taken root in her heart… it wasn’t until the battle at wangcheng, when she witnessed with her own eyes the cruelty of war and the sacrifice of lives, did she finally understand the meaning of her parents’ lifelong convictions. in doing so, she made peace with the past and completed her own journey of self-growth.
thank you to every little bell for your companionship and support. from watching the drama as it aired to the endless stream of fan creations inspired by , i’ve carefully treasured every comment, every message, every bit of heartfelt effort. it is your overflowing affection that has given this story such a vibrant and enduring warmth.
i would like to thank director yang long for all his guidance and support throughout our two collaborations, and for consistently supporting me in shaping two girls so different from my own personality. i’d also like to thank youku and producer yan bei for trusting me with chu zhao in the first place, and for always showing enormous patience and understanding toward the imperfections in my performance. my thanks also go to my co-stars in . throughout the filming and broadcast period, they made me feel that we were standing together as one team. thank you as well to all the creative team and crew, both in front of and behind the camera. from the early days of production to a smooth wrap, everyone worked together to refine every detail. together, we shaped chu zhao—a character who isn’t entirely clear-cut, marked by rough edges and flaws—who, through every choice and tumble, was gradually settled and refined until she became a warm yet resilient piece of jade. getting to portray a woman who grows through hardship, who holds compassion for the world while staying true to herself, has been an incredibly rare and precious experience for me.
every challenge can be overcome, one day at a time. keep moving forward—the road ahead will naturally become clear.
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069693408772587886
producer: we were looking for someone who appears gentle and fragile on the outside, yet is full of inner strength, which is why we ultimately chose her
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069694515640991806
director yu weiguo praised dudu’s expressive eye acting—he revealed that a scene between jin’er and ding hu originally included dialogue, but he later decided the lines weren’t necessary
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069696528734888405
#zhangdanfeng: duling is a very intuitive actress, so we didn’t need too much communication. we were able to express the emotions very smoothly, especially with director yu’s guidance
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069697032172745071
#zhangaoyue: this was my first time working with chen duling. through her performance, i saw many ways in which sincerity can be conveyed through dialogue, and i learned a great deal from her acting as well
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069693408772587886
producer: we were looking for someone who appears gentle and fragile on the outside, yet is full of inner strength, which is why we ultimately chose her
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069694515640991806
director yu weiguo praised dudu’s expressive eye acting—he revealed that a scene between jin’er and ding hu originally included dialogue, but he later decided the lines weren’t necessary
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069696528734888405
#zhangdanfeng: duling is a very intuitive actress, so we didn’t need too much communication. we were able to express the emotions very smoothly, especially with director yu’s guidance
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2069697032172745071
#zhangaoyue: this was my first time working with chen duling. through her performance, i saw many ways in which sincerity can be conveyed through dialogue, and i learned a great deal from her acting as well
the glory you continue to be legendary... (dudu's ashes to crown also got the "female legend" label but it's a youku drama hahaha)
my family of three <3
xiaotian's farewell... i'm in tears i'm so glad he brought xie yanfang to life. he truly understood his essence 😭 and his relationship with chu zhao 😭😭
👤: on the night of the palace coup, i met her for the first time. was it the pressure of the moment, or some flicker of curiosity she stirred in me? even now, i can’t say for certain. but my body moved on its own accord. i dismounted, knelt, and, by imperial decree, offered my support for her ascension as grand princess.
i wanted to see what tricks this young woman had up her sleeve. the events that followed were, in part, driven by self-interest in securing the throne for my nephew. but miss a zhao… she truly did stir feelings within me that i could neither name nor explain. i saw the fire in her eyes. i saw her ride at the forefront, cutting down northern desert forces beneath the walls of wangcheng. i watched her, step by step, gather all that power into her own hands. and in that moment, i knew for certain: in this world, she’s the only one who could ever be called my equal. she and i shared a resonance of spirit unlike any other. i wanted to help her, to personally cut away every weakness she possessed, to remove everything that held her back, to make her utterly invulnerable. i thought… that was what it meant to protect her.
but now i understand. it’s so warm. “she’s different”—it turns out that a world touched by affection can be this warm. perhaps a person like me only deserves to experience it for a fleeting moment.
you knocked my fan from my hand; i put your shoes back on for you. miss a zhao, i suppose that makes us even. a world with you in it is a very interesting place. “i… can’t bear to let go.”
“how could i, xie yanfang, not know where i lost?”
knowing you, losing to you—i have no regrets.
hitting me right in the feels again 💔
a snippet of maotong's farewell letter about his and chu zhao's ending 🥹
full post here: https://weibo.com/5070172775/R5AjZgqHH
dudu's farewell letter to chu zhao omg :"""")
🐰: over this period, watching the drama together with everyone made me feel as though i had returned to the height of summer when we filmed it last year. looking back on chu zhao’s rise and fall across two lifetimes, what moved me most was the genuine struggle and tenderness hidden beneath her resilient exterior. she came back carrying the pain of her entire family’s massacre in her previous life, with more than enough reason to drown herself in hatred, but she never allowed it to blind her completely. she understood how precious this second chance was, so she bided her time, gathering her strength and quietly waiting for the right moment. perhaps at the moment she shielded the imperial grandson as blades rained down, she did not yet realise that a sense of duty to her country and its people—beyond personal vengeance—had already taken root in her heart… it wasn’t until the battle at wangcheng, when she witnessed with her own eyes the cruelty of war and the sacrifice of lives, did she finally understand the meaning of her parents’ lifelong convictions. in doing so, she made peace with the past and completed her own journey of self-growth.
thank you to every little bell for your companionship and support. from watching the drama as it aired to the endless stream of fan creations inspired by , i’ve carefully treasured every comment, every message, every bit of heartfelt effort. it is your overflowing affection that has given this story such a vibrant and enduring warmth.
i would like to thank director yang long for all his guidance and support throughout our two collaborations, and for consistently supporting me in shaping two girls so different from my own personality. i’d also like to thank youku and producer yan bei for trusting me with chu zhao in the first place, and for always showing enormous patience and understanding toward the imperfections in my performance. my thanks also go to my co-stars in . throughout the filming and broadcast period, they made me feel that we were standing together as one team. thank you as well to all the creative team and crew, both in front of and behind the camera. from the early days of production to a smooth wrap, everyone worked together to refine every detail. together, we shaped chu zhao—a character who isn’t entirely clear-cut, marked by rough edges and flaws—who, through every choice and tumble, was gradually settled and refined until she became a warm yet resilient piece of jade. getting to portray a woman who grows through hardship, who holds compassion for the world while staying true to herself, has been an incredibly rare and precious experience for me.
every challenge can be overcome, one day at a time. keep moving forward—the road ahead will naturally become clear.
hehe our STEM girl dudu made an appearance in NUAA's admissions promo video!