Zhao Liying and Feng Shaofeng announce pregnancy on New Year's Day

Newly-weds Zhao Liying and Feng Shaofeng confirm the yearlong rumors on Jan 1, 2019 to announce that they're having a baby. Feng Shaofeng wrote on weibo, "Did you know, did you know, it ought to be a family of three (a pun on the Chinese title of The Story of Minglan 知否知否应是绿肥红瘦)." Zhao Liying shared the post and said, "Waiting, waiting, welcoming 2019." 

This confirmation hardly comes as a surprise since the couple have been the subject of non-stop baby rumors throughout the year. The two kept mum even after the announcement in October that they had gotten hitched. 

Still from The Story of Minglan

Rather than take anyone by surprise this time with their whirlwind romance announcements, let's just say they chose a very festive day to share the news! Zhao Liying has been away from the public eye on an indefinite hiatus, but she has been active on social media and openly commented on Feng Shaofeng's performance for the New Year's Celebrations last night, saying that Second Uncle (his character in The Story of Minglan) was both nervous and cute.

She also posted a rare selfie for The Story of Minglan Christmas Day premiere last week. Looking at the picture, she did have that pregnancy glow already. Congrats to the happy couple! 

Source: 1

C-drama Ratings and Celeb Rankings (week starting Dec 24)

CSM52 Cities + Online

We've made it to the last day of the year, and it seems that tv rankings have found a status quo with Like A Flowing River keeping the lead as the top drama for December. The Story of Minglan starring newly weds Zhao Liying and Feng Shaofeng has officially premiered on primetime. 

However, first week ratings fell flat even as the story transitioned from the young cast to its adult counterparts. CSM52 ratings ranged between 0.550% and 0.751%, which is even below The King of Blaze on the later evening slot. The show also hasn't made the top 10 dramas online. As someone who's watching this religiously, I really feel that the show matches the level of quality expected from Daylight Entertainment, so I'm crossing my fingers that numbers improve. 

Ever Night which officially ended its run for Tencent members takes the crown as the leading web drama followed by About Is Love. 

CSM Nationwide

Data not available. 

TV Ratings 

CSM52 Cities

*The above are mostly primetime shows that air at 19:30 while those highlighted in blue air at 22:00. **Rankings are overall rankings across the shows airing on the same night, regardless of air time. *** Reruns are not included. **** Dramas that air on CCTV (the state television broadcaster in China) are not included. ***** CSM52Cities and CSMNationwide are common tv metrics. 

Web Rankings 

Top Dramas (7-Day)  

1. Like A Flowing River

2. Ever Night 

3. About Is Love

4. The King of Blaze

5. The Demon Master

6. When We Were Young 

7. The King of Blaze 2

8. Our Glamorous Time

9. Past Events of Jinling

10. Waitan Zhong Sheng

Top Celebrities (7-Day) 

1. Zanilia Zhao Liying

2. Wang Kai

3. Yang Mi

4. Neo Hou

5. Arthur Chen Feiyu

6. Zhu Yilong

7. Jing Tian

8. Yang Zi

9. Tong Yao

10. Yang Shuo

*View count is based on the six streaming sites (Youku, iQiyi, Tencent, LeTV, Sohu, Mango) ** Star popularity is based on view count, weibo, douban, tieba, search results, etc *** iQiYi no longer provides view count. 

Previous <- Ratings and Top Ten -> Next

Source: Xunyee

Character Analysis - Emperor Qianlong in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

Like many folks, I watched Story of Yanxi Palace and followed immediately with Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace. Due to the proximity in airing time, as well as the historic background, the two dramas are bound to invite comparison. As with most Chinese palace dramas, both focus on the ladies of the inner court, but what makes Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace stand out from Story of Yanxi Palace and other dramas in this genre is the attention it paid to the development of Emperor Qianlong, played by Nie Yuan and Wallace Huo respectively. 

Nie Yuan in Story of Yanxi Palace

Emperor Qianlong was a relatively young emperor - only 24 years of age when he took the throne. His mother, the Dowager Empress, was of the powerful Niuguru clan and sought to plant different people around him in order to keep tabs and feed her back with news. This included three of his consorts - Concubine Mei (玫嬪), Consort Shu (舒妃) and Concubine Qing (慶嬪) - as well as the Imperial Doctor. 

Out of filial piety, he was unable to directly confront his mother. Instead, Emperor Qianlong secretly had these women take birth control medicine after spending the night with him in order to prevent them from having children of royal descent. 

There were also a lot of older statesmen in the council who had been there since the time of his father and grandfather. The Emperor married female relatives (e.g., daughters, sisters, cousins) to these statesmen to solidify his power base, which meant that a lot of times he turned a blind eye to some of the schemes that took place. This included his first queen, Empress Fucha (富察皇后), Noble Consort Gao (高晞月) and Ah Ruo (阿箬). 

Wallace Huo in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

In his later years, Emperor Qianlong was equally paranoid towards those around him (which ultimately caused the demise of his relationship with Ruyi). However, he was a lot more secured in his reign, having brought the nation into a golden age, and could afford to be more unrestrained. This led to him forcing Consort Rong (寒香見) into the inner court and cavorting with prostitutes on one of his trips to the South. There is a scene where Imperial Noble Consort Ling (炩皇貴妃), the main antagonist on the show, is described as the manifestation of the Emperor's vices. She alone indulges his debauchery, which partly explains why the Emperor keeps her around for many years. I think her description sums up the change in the Emperor perfectly. 

Finally, he sought alliances with other Mongolian rulers and consistently married the daughters of noble clansmen and elevated them to high positions within the inner palace. Their backgrounds secured the positions of these women, even without bearing the Emperor any children. This included Consort Ying (穎妃) and Consort Yu (豫妃). The Emperor, in return, also married his sister and his daughter to Mongolian rulers. 

Thus, the story of Ruyi is as much about the Emperor as it is about her because ultimately their fates are intertwined and like all of the women in the Forbidden City, her fate is dependent on the Emperor's whims and fancies. As a result, his character is more development and multi-dimensional. I don't think we ever fully understand him (i.e., I wonder if he truly ever loved Ruyi) and that's probably how everybody else in the palace feels. 

Let me know if you agree/disagree or if you would like me to discuss another character!

Fearless

Fearless 霍元甲 is a 40-episode web drama featuring the life of renowned martial artist, Huo Yuanjia, who brought glory to his nation. It stars Vincent Zhao once again as Huo Yuanjia. It's a character he has played several times before, his first being the 2001 Huo Yuanjia drama series.

Other casts include Nikita Mao Linlin, Wu Chao, Heizi, Yang Zhigang, Sui Mingyang, Eddy Ko Hung, Hasi Gaowa, Tay Ping Hui, Wang Zhiyi. The five students of the famous martial arts federation known as Jing Wu Men are played by Jia Hongwei, Xu Zhengguo, Kou Chia-jui, Zhou Bin and Zhou Yu Jing Hao.  Zhang Chunzhong and Ashton Chen who made a career in the martial arts genre round up the cast. 

Vincent Zhao

Synopsis from chinesedrama.info:

After the Hundred Days' Reform failed to achieve its purpose, the 'Six Gentlemen' who spearheaded reform were executed. Huo Yuanjia (Vincent Zhao) is a hot-blooded patriot who aspires to do good for his country. His efforts are always met with resistance, and he could only watch helplessly as people became martyrs for their beliefs. Shortly afterwards, the Eight-Nation Alliance launched an attack on China. Wang Wu dies trying to defend against the invaders. Upon hearing news of his death, Huo Yuanjia has gone to collect his remains without knowing that his action would bring great harm to the Huo Family. 

One year later, Huo Yuanjia goes out of hiding to become a bodyguard. He falls into a trap laid out by his enemies once again and barely survives the ordeal. Dejected, he decides to go to Shanghai and forms the Jing Wu Men. His success becomes a threat in the eyes of the Japanese and they engage in a battle of wits and will.

Nikita Mao

I've only seen the 2006 movie version of the same and did a little bit of background research on the character after. Apparently, the movie loosely based on the martial artist's life has angered his descendants, earning Jet Li a lawsuit for missing some important figures and for the way Huo Yuanjia was portrayed. It leads back to the question of the significance of historical accuracy in these kind of adaptations. 

Regardless, with a cast like this, expectations are surely high for this new drama to bring an impressive display of traditional martial arts choreography. 

Release date: TBA iQiYi

Vote for your favorite Chinese series in 2018. 

Wu Chao

Hei Zi

Yang Zhigang

Sui Mingyang

Eddy Ko Hung

Hasi Gaowa

Tay Ping Hui

Wang Zhiyi

Jia Hongwei

Xu Zhengguo

Kou Chia-jui

Zhou Bin

Zhou Yu Jing Hao

Zhang Chunzhong

Ashton Chen

Source: 1

Why iQiyi Replaced Its View Count Feature With The Popularity Index

Chinese video streaming giant iQiyi hit the jackpot this year with Story Of Yanxi Palace's meteoric success measured through online views. However, iQiYi is also the first to drop its view count feature on all of its videos.  This was done back in September to combat "click farming" which is a method to bloat the view count of selected videos by constantly replaying the said videos.  

For example, I see a video of Actor A.  Since I'm a fan and want him to be more popular, I will watch his video over and over again to increase view count, giving the impression that he is gaining more popularity. This isn't an accurate system of measurement at all since it can be doctored to favor a certain series, actor or video.  

iQiyi has since adopted a new, more comprehensive evaluation system to gauge a video's popularity.  Liu Wenfeng, iQiyi's chief tech officer, called this new system the "heat index."  This system is based not on how many views a certain video has gotten, but instead, focuses on how many shares the video had, how many comments and likes it had.  Basically, the heat index utilizes the user's interactions and shares on social media to come up with a more accurate method of gauging popularity. It has been months since this has been implemented and a look at iQiYi's top dramas shows the current top three to be 1) Like A Flowing River heat index 7485 2) The Story of Minglan heat index 7464 3) Original Sin head index 6620 

Personally, I think this is a good thing as it's a bit harder to manipulate than the usual click farming.  It may also be a more reliable way of gauging the public's tastes in stories they want to see on TV, which actors are more bankable,  how long a series should ideally be, etc. It is by no means foolproof though, as some would most probably point out.  But it is a step forward, albeit a small one..  Ultimately, what I'm hoping for is being able to see better content.  Hopefully, this heat index plays a part in making that happen. 

Source: 1

Jiang Jinfu freed after getting arrested in Japan last month

Jiang Jinfu who was arrested by Japanese police last November due to a domestic abuse case was trending earlier today after he went on social media for the first time to write, "When I was inside, I'd occasionally see the blue sky, reach out with my hand but it is separated by the ice cold fence..." 

On the same day, Jiang Jinfu's lawyer Arthur Law issued a statement to indicate that Jiang Jinfu has been freed as of Dec 28, 2018. Although the official decision has not been issued, it is understood that Japanese prosecutors have decided not to prosecute. 

His lawyer's statement writes that after thorough investigation by Japanese police and prosecutors that lasted a duration of two months, Jiang Jinfu has resumed his status as a free man. Provided no issue arises and they finish with internal procedures, Japanese prosecution is expected to make the decision to not prosecute official. This means that Jiang Jinfu will not have any criminal offence on his record.

The statement also states that receiving this result not only means that Jiang Jinfu was sincere and responsible in cooperating with investigation, it also relates to this case and implies that Jiang Jinfu's chances of becoming a repeat offender are extremely low and there is no need to pursue criminal liability. They apologize and thank everyone's support and guidance. 

Arthur Law further elaborates that although the decision has not been made official, Jiang Jinfu is a free man and can return to the country anytime. 

Source: 1, 2

Chow Yun-fat Talks About Plans To Donate His Fortune To Charity

Chow Yun Fat from the movie God of Gamblers

Most of us will remember Chow Yun Fat for his roles in John Woo movies like The Killer and A Better Tomorrow and Wong Jing's God of Gamblers.  He even broke into Hollywood with films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Being a bankable movie star through the years, Chow Yun-fat has amassed a fortune amounting to roughly $5.6 billion HKD ($716 million USD)

There have been numerous reports that Chow Yun-fat plans to donate his fortune to charity when he dies.  When asked about it during a recent interview with South Korean broadcasting station MBC, the mild mannered Chow Yun-fat says that he has been acting for many years and that he rarely spends a lot.  He also says that he would rather spend some quality time with his wife as they do not have any children.  

Chow Yun-fat goes on by saying that he spends some of his money on himself and his family but most of it will go into charity. "There are people who need this money more than I do," he said.

When asked as to why he would be so willing to part with his hard-earned money, Chow Yun-fat says, "Money isn't something you possess forever. When you're gone one day, you have to leave it to others to use it."  One of the most important things he said was, "You can't bring money with you after you die."  Growing up in a poor family, Chow Yun-fat learned to appreciate the simple joys in life.  He would be happy just to be able to eat meat and have a bed to sleep in.   Even now, he still considers it a treat to eat savory turnips with rice.  

"I've always regarded money as something like a smoke cloud and my wife (Jasmine Tan) is very supportive of my decisions.  Others may think that it would be a waste to do something like this but to me, this is the good thing to do and I'm happy with that."  

Source:  1

Lisa Lu Photos from A Dream Like A Dream Stage Play With Hu Ge

Lisa Lu recently shared pictures of herself from the last few years performing onstage in A Dream Like A Dream with Hu Ge and their castmates The star-studded play has been known to draw a crowd of top stars like Shu Qi and Vicki Zhao. Chinese-born American actress and singer Lisa Lu who played grandma Shang Suyi in Crazy Rich Asians also plays a grandma as the aged version of the female lead Gu Xianglan. She is 91 years old and still looks radiant and healthy.  

Reaching 91 years is a feat by itself, but still acting at that age is a whole different ballgame.  We hope you are blessed with health and happiness, grandma Lu. 

A Dream Like A Dream rung down the curtain on its Beijing stop this year. Zhai Tianlin who is also part of the cast sang praises to everyone - Director Stan Lai for a witty script, leading lady Xu Qing for being a goddess in and out, Hu Ge for being really handsome and a really good person. Zhai Tianlin also wished good health to grandma Lu, gave a shout out Tan Zhuo for the treat and Sun Jian for being his comrade-in-arms. 

Source:  1, 2

Like A Flowing River a Big Hit with Viewers, Writer Working on Season 2

Like A Flowing River 大江大河 is a drama based on a novel by Ah Nai that stars Wang Kai, Yang Shuo and Dong Zijian. It tells the story of how 3 men struggle to achieve their dreams in 1978 China. 

For the month of December, Like a Flowing River has ranked first in Chinese television. The drama's screenwriter Tang Yao says that he never expected the response to be this good.  Being a professional screenwriter, his experience taught him how to determine whether a drama will be good or bad.  Just 3 days after it aired, he knew that it was going to be a hit.  

Tang elaborated by saying that one of his goals was to draw in the younger audience by making the atmosphere from the drama's time period believable and relatable to different ages. 

In Like A Flowing River, Song Yunhui (Wang Kai) worked at a chemical plant after finishing university.  Tang Yao took this chance to visit a chemical plant to observe the daily routine of people there.  He admits he has always been interested in contemporary history and by going to a chemical plant to observe and better understand the life there, he can accurately depict it in the drama.  It is important to see the living conditions of the people in that kind of environment, he said and the biggest reward from the experience is seeing ordinary characters and their relationships to each other. For him, that is the central idea of the story. 

He also reveals that he is currently working on the script for the second season and that it's even more difficult because of the character growth. 

Like A Flowing River can simply be summarized as a story of change and awakening.  As such, the drama centers around the personal struggles of Song Yunhui (Wang Kai), Lei Dongbao (Yang Shuo) and Yang Xun (Dong Zijian) within the backdrop of constant change and upheaval.  

Source: 1 2

Historical Inaccuracies Plague The Fated General?

The Fated General, which is a historical drama based on the life of Huo Qubing, stars Zhang Ruoyun (The Evolution of Our Love), Mao Xiaotong (Delicious Destiny), Alan Yu Menglong (All Out of Love) and Bai Yu (Suddenly This Summer).  The series has finished production last year but hasn't aired as of yet and it seems to be drawing flak from critics who think the drama series about the distinguished military general of the Western Han dynasty isn't historically accurate.  

The main cause of the controversy lies in Huo Qubing's identity.  Historically, Huo Qubing is known as the nephew of Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu, which makes him royalty.  Huo Qubing in the drama is a simple foot soldier.  The rumors go as far as to say that leading man Zhang Ruoyun didn't believe in Huo Qubing's backstory, thinking that if he were so privileged, why would his family send him off to battle and endanger his life?

Huo Qubing was such a legendary figure in Chinese history because despite his young age, he was fearless and made great achievements.  Critics questioned the idea of downplaying Huo Qubing's family background to turn him into a simple foot soldier?  

Through the trailers, naysayers went further to pick apart the scenes. The Han emperor's robes were historically black but the in drama series, it was yellow. The Fated General also had the heroine dance with a male general in the barracks, which was erroneous since women were explicitly forbidden to enter a military camp back in the day.  Another was the speculation that The Fated General added a storyline between Huo Qubing and a Hun general, turning them into confidants who became enemies due to opposing sides.  Historically, the Huns were never friends with the Han Dynasty as they were in a state of war.

Several fans of Zhang Ruoyun have expressed their support for the The Fated General by saying that television is for entertainment and that if people wanted history, they should watch a documentary instead.

Due to mounting criticism even before broadcast, The Fated General took to Weibo to answer several of the accusations. They clarify that they have respected historical records and made some reasonable changes without altering the identity and personal design of the historical figures.  They further said that Huo Qubing's achievements were not downplayed and that The Fated General had a professional team of writers wherein actors had no right to modify the story.  The producers also mentioned that Huo Qubing was never portrayed as friends with the Huns.

As things stand now, the only way we can be sure of who or what has or hasn't been changed is to wait for The Fated General to air. Do you think critics have gone overboard? Are too many dramas changing history to fit their story?

Source:  1  2

Andy Lau forced to stop concert midway for health reasons

At age 57, Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau took the stage for his much-anticipated My Love Andy Lau World Tour comeback that began on Dec 15th and was scheduled to go on for 20 performances. During his performance on Dec 28th, Andy hasn't made it through his 3rd song when he had to make a sudden announcement to stop the concert due to sore throat. 

In tears, he said that there was something he wanted to share with the audience, "The doctor advises that I don't sing anymore, but I really don't wish to leave the stage. But I don't have a choice, I don't want everyone to hear my voice like this throughout the concert, so I will stop after singing the song, If One Day 如果有一天. I will slowly advise on the next steps, hope I can do my best to sing this song and that you can sing with me, I want to apologize to everyone, thank you, please give yourselves an applause!

He repeatedly bowed to everyone who came and left the stage (see video). The concert organizers shared that they will arrange the details for ticket refunds as soon as possible. It is not clear whether he will be able to finish his tour.

It must be disappointing for those who bought tickets and likely flew all the way to Hong Kong to see their idol in person, but there's been an overflow of encouragement for Andy Lau who is generally known for having great work ethics. Many stars like Rene Liu, Shu Qi, Rainie Yang, Leo Ku and Simon Yam spoke up on social media to support him and like them, we wish for his speedy recovery.  

Source: 1, 2