I looked into how 京都 is used in Chinese historical dramas, and why it’s mistranslated as “Kyoto.” Chinese dramas don’t speak full Classical Chinese, but they regularly drop in old terms like 京都 to create an ancient tone.
"京都 originally meant “capital city” in classical Chinese — a general term used in ancient texts to describe major imperial capitals such as Chang’an and Luoyang. About a millennium later, during Japan’s Heian period (794–1185), Japan adopted Chinese administrative vocabulary because Japan modeled its writing system, government structure, and city‑planning on Chinese civilization, and this is exactly when Japan’s capital became Heian‑kyō — the city that later came to be called 京都 (Kyoto). In modern Chinese, 首都 became the standard word for a national capital, but historical dramas still use 京都 because 首都 sounds modern and bureaucratic, out of place in a premodern setting. 京都 preserves the classical tone, avoids naming real modern cities, and maintains the literary rhythm of historical dialogue. Scriptwriters choose it deliberately — which is why translation software often mistranslates 京都 as “Kyoto” instead of “imperial capital.”
Essentially, there is no longer a “京都 = jīng dū” in modern China. Today, the capital is called 北京 (Beijing). But there is still a 京都 in modern Japan — it’s Kyoto, though it's no longer the capital.
If a scriptwriter used 首都 instead of 京都, it would feel jarring to a Chinese viewer.
Why iqiyi platform having cheap quality and screen looks so bold compare to wetv ,even other pirate sites has…
pirated sites obtain dramas by illegally ripping or intercepting streams from official platforms such as iQIYI, Tencent Video, Youku, etc. so it's not iQIYI but your app. and another topic, when official subs aren’t available because they are delivered differently than the video streams, they switch to machine-translated ones which are so bad, you can't understand anything.
Liang Yong Qi is such an excellent and versatile actor. What a hidden gem under Huanyu Entertainment (his agency). His acting really suits this director's style too, which is why he shined in The Double.
It won't be on CCTV. It says on this page, iQiyi on both original network and where to watch. Royal Feast was…
Xu Kai’s dual‑platform TV/web dramas were in 2021/2022 (CT, FIYS, LITKM). ABAY was definitely a TV drama, with dual platforms on Hunan TV, Mango TV, and Tencent Video. That’s why Spring of the Blade caught my attention — it’s a web drama that will be dual‑platform (iQIYi, Youku), which seems uncommon for him.
Why assume it's haters? Isn't it just as possible that people genuinely don't think the drama is that good? A…
To pull a 7.5 average down to a clean 7.0 with 1294 total ratings, you only need about 93 one‑star hits. I think the timing is strategic. It always starts out at the gate, so passersby think it's' not good or viewers are swayed by it, so it becomes a reality. In the beginning, it doesn't take many 1's to drop it.
I thought it's the voice box decides your voice, not your muscles. I get what you mean, we naturally assume a…
He is dubbed (listed in dramawiki) but I understand your point too except it is also reasonable that a smaller frame person can have a booming voice so it's not exactly unbelievable to me, though you are right, the voice actor has a very powerful voice. I get your point, maybe they could have gone with a bit softer voice. It's a show so one expects a match though in real life, it doesn't have to match. he doesn't look big but at least his expressions are fierce looking. yeah, that throne room is grand. so, you're feeling he does not have enough of a presence to match it?
The Shen and Di Nian actors are really young aren't they? I just finished Road to success so slightly disoriented…
I thought it's the voice box decides your voice, not your muscles. I get what you mean, we naturally assume a commanding voice must come from someone looking powerful. So, I think it's okay because small people can have big voices too.
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"京都 originally meant “capital city” in classical Chinese — a general term used in ancient texts to describe major imperial capitals such as Chang’an and Luoyang. About a millennium later, during Japan’s Heian period (794–1185), Japan adopted Chinese administrative vocabulary because Japan modeled its writing system, government structure, and city‑planning on Chinese civilization, and this is exactly when Japan’s capital became Heian‑kyō — the city that later came to be called 京都 (Kyoto). In modern Chinese, 首都 became the standard word for a national capital, but historical dramas still use 京都 because 首都 sounds modern and bureaucratic, out of place in a premodern setting. 京都 preserves the classical tone, avoids naming real modern cities, and maintains the literary rhythm of historical dialogue. Scriptwriters choose it deliberately — which is why translation software often mistranslates 京都 as “Kyoto” instead of “imperial capital.”
Essentially, there is no longer a “京都 = jīng dū” in modern China. Today, the capital is called 北京 (Beijing). But there is still a 京都 in modern Japan — it’s Kyoto, though it's no longer the capital.
If a scriptwriter used 首都 instead of 京都, it would feel jarring to a Chinese viewer.
and another topic, when official subs aren’t available because they are delivered differently than the video streams, they switch to machine-translated ones which are so bad, you can't understand anything.
yeah, that throne room is grand. so, you're feeling he does not have enough of a presence to match it?