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Great Acting by Ryan Cheng. Great Character Development.
If I had my way, the English title for this drama would simply be its native name, Mo Li, rather than The First Jasmine. The original title is a brilliant double entendre: it combines "Mo" from Mo Xiuyao and "Li" from Ye Li. But phonetically, Mo Li (莫离) translates to "don't leave." This hidden meaning perfectly captures Ye Li’s deep devotion to her loved ones, echoing the tragic backstory of her life long before she ever married Mo Xiuyao.
At its core, The First Jasmine is a deeply touching story with beautifully written characters. Even though it’s a costume drama set in what appears to be the Tang Dynasty era, its moral dilemmas and emotional beats feel incredibly relevant to our modern world.
Both Bai Lu and Ryan Cheng (Cheng Lei) are veteran actors, and they both deliver incredibly convincing performances. However, I have to give a special shoutout to Ryan Cheng. His character, Mo Xiuyao, is wonderfully complex and layered. On the surface, he appears bitter, angry, and resigned to his fate. But beneath that exterior is a hot-blooded man fiercely determined to bring his enemies to justice. Confined to a wheelchair for years, he is deeply frustrated by his physical limitations. Imagine having to sit face-to-face with the person responsible for the massacre of your brother and your army, yet being unable to strike back because doing so would plunge the country and his own family into ruin. He has no choice but to endure the pain in silence.
Yet, when he’s with Ye Li, we see a completely different side of him. He starts off bemused and puzzled by her, which gradually melts into profound gentleness and care. Ryan Cheng captures this emotional duality flawlessly, bringing out the exact nuances the character requires. Bravo to him for such a stellar performance!
What I also loved is that every character is deeply human. There are no cartoonish, one-dimensional villains here. Everyone’s actions are rooted in their lived experiences and circumstances. Every major character has a compelling, understandable motivation: Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao are driven by a desire for truth and justice for their fallen loved ones; the Empress Dowager seeks power out of a desperate need to protect herself and her son; Mo Jingli just wants to reclaim what he believes is rightfully his. This nuanced portrayal feels much closer to the messy reality of real life, which is a refreshing change from the black-and-white morality we often see in Hollywood.
Ultimately, The First Jasmine grapples with a profound question: How should you act when facing an enemy who has slandered your family and murdered thousands of your people? Mo Xiuyao has to bow to the Empress Dowager regularly, knowing she orchestrated his brother's death. Ye Li faces a similar struggle—how do you treat the woman who was your mother’s best friend, even when you know she’s responsible for ruining the prestigious academy your grandfather built? Should they just accept the status quo to maintain national stability? Or should they risk everything to seek justice for the dead?
The author brilliantly resolves this agonizing dilemma with a beautiful philosophical anchor: a passage from Confucius’s The Great Learning (Daxue). It reminds the audience that true change and justice must begin from within:
"Ancient leaders who wanted to spread virtue throughout the world began by governing their own states well.
To govern their states well, they first harmonized their families.
To harmonize their families, they cultivated their own character.
To cultivate their character, they aligned their minds.
To align their minds, they made their intentions completely sincere.
And to make their intentions sincere, they extended their knowledge to the absolute limit.
This expansion of knowledge began with investigating the nature of things."
The First Jasmine is a gorgeous, thought-provoking journey. It asks the hard questions about duty, revenge, and forgiveness, and answers them with grace. Highly recommended!
At its core, The First Jasmine is a deeply touching story with beautifully written characters. Even though it’s a costume drama set in what appears to be the Tang Dynasty era, its moral dilemmas and emotional beats feel incredibly relevant to our modern world.
Both Bai Lu and Ryan Cheng (Cheng Lei) are veteran actors, and they both deliver incredibly convincing performances. However, I have to give a special shoutout to Ryan Cheng. His character, Mo Xiuyao, is wonderfully complex and layered. On the surface, he appears bitter, angry, and resigned to his fate. But beneath that exterior is a hot-blooded man fiercely determined to bring his enemies to justice. Confined to a wheelchair for years, he is deeply frustrated by his physical limitations. Imagine having to sit face-to-face with the person responsible for the massacre of your brother and your army, yet being unable to strike back because doing so would plunge the country and his own family into ruin. He has no choice but to endure the pain in silence.
Yet, when he’s with Ye Li, we see a completely different side of him. He starts off bemused and puzzled by her, which gradually melts into profound gentleness and care. Ryan Cheng captures this emotional duality flawlessly, bringing out the exact nuances the character requires. Bravo to him for such a stellar performance!
What I also loved is that every character is deeply human. There are no cartoonish, one-dimensional villains here. Everyone’s actions are rooted in their lived experiences and circumstances. Every major character has a compelling, understandable motivation: Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao are driven by a desire for truth and justice for their fallen loved ones; the Empress Dowager seeks power out of a desperate need to protect herself and her son; Mo Jingli just wants to reclaim what he believes is rightfully his. This nuanced portrayal feels much closer to the messy reality of real life, which is a refreshing change from the black-and-white morality we often see in Hollywood.
Ultimately, The First Jasmine grapples with a profound question: How should you act when facing an enemy who has slandered your family and murdered thousands of your people? Mo Xiuyao has to bow to the Empress Dowager regularly, knowing she orchestrated his brother's death. Ye Li faces a similar struggle—how do you treat the woman who was your mother’s best friend, even when you know she’s responsible for ruining the prestigious academy your grandfather built? Should they just accept the status quo to maintain national stability? Or should they risk everything to seek justice for the dead?
The author brilliantly resolves this agonizing dilemma with a beautiful philosophical anchor: a passage from Confucius’s The Great Learning (Daxue). It reminds the audience that true change and justice must begin from within:
"Ancient leaders who wanted to spread virtue throughout the world began by governing their own states well.
To govern their states well, they first harmonized their families.
To harmonize their families, they cultivated their own character.
To cultivate their character, they aligned their minds.
To align their minds, they made their intentions completely sincere.
And to make their intentions sincere, they extended their knowledge to the absolute limit.
This expansion of knowledge began with investigating the nature of things."
The First Jasmine is a gorgeous, thought-provoking journey. It asks the hard questions about duty, revenge, and forgiveness, and answers them with grace. Highly recommended!
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