Xifei's Royal Love in the Palace Expected To Start Filming Soon

It seems that more and more people domestically and internationally are growing an appetite for period dramas, as witnessed by the success of Qing Dynasty dramas like Story Of Yanxi Palace and Ruyi's Royal Love In The Palace.  It's probably good news for folks that Xifei's Royal Love In The Palace based on a novel of the same title is expected to start shooting this year.

The similarity in the English title is no coincidence because it is said to come from the producers of Ruyi. Nothing's been set in stone until the official announcements are made though a Weibo page has already been created. 

Insiders reveal that Peter Ho has been cast to play the role of Yongzheng Emperor and Viva He Hong Shan as Zhen Huan. There seems to be mixed reactions on Xifei's Royal Love In The Palace and some wonder if this "Zhen Huan 2.0" will be as good as the first one. We last saw Peter Ho with the Qing Dynasty hairstyle in Nothing Gold Can Stay, and Viva He actually played one of Qianlong's concubines in Ruyi. 

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Yu Zheng rants about the industry: Bad acting is the director's fault

Producer and screenwriter Yu Zheng recently opened up about his thoughts on the entertainment industry. He talks about how it's a director's job to make sure that acting is on point.  He says,  "While we are complaining about an actor's bad acting, have we considered the lack of guidance by the director?"  Yu Zheng further says, " I am afraid that the director who does not understand the drama has ruined the drama."  

Yu Zheng shared the process around choosing the director for Story of Yanxi Palace in 2016. He revealed that there had been meetings with so-called big shot directors and these directors demanded exorbitant fees even without understanding the script. These are people that have filmed big productions or have ties to popular idols or work as a certain director's assistant. 

When a netizen commented that there was something wrong with the way Wu Jinyan delivered her lines. Yu Zheng defended the actress saying that there was no problem with Wu Jinyan's lines. He said that of course, she cannot compare to industry veterans. However, if three-time Gold Awarded film actresses are only up to this level, how good do you expect a young actress born in the nineties to be? 

With such a response, Yu Zheng immediately got flak for throwing shade at industry veterans (assumed to be Zhou Xun of Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace). Zhou Xun has won the big 3 acting accolades from the Golden Horse Award, Hong Kong Film Award and Golden Rooster Award over the course of her career. 

Yu Zheng's wrote a follow up post on Weibo, "The intention is to call attention to every aspect of the industry.  Why are there so many stupid people who always take someone's words out of context?  It's ridiculous."  He ended his post by saying "What I mean is that even multi-awarded film actresses can't be completely without fault, the occasional question of one or two lines should not be brought up, give her (Wu Jinyan) time, slowly see her progress." 

Here's the thing. I believe Yu Zheng has a point here. He could've said it better without throwing shade at anyone else but this is Yu Zheng we're talking about. It should be the director's job to steer the production in the right direction. If you have a great director who's worth his salt and has a passion for what he does, chances are, you're getting a quality production.  Settle for a mediocre one... well, you get what you pay for.  

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Actresses/Actors That Are Too Old for Their Characters

As I was reflecting on the dramas I've watched over the past year (and there have been a quite a lot of them), I realized that most of them are quite long (50-70+ episodes).  For the most part, I do enjoy them since I think they really allow opportunity for the characters to develop, but often times they do drag a bit in the middle.  (Side note: A quick test for me to determine whether a drama is keeping me engaged is whether I start to lose interest in the middle).  

In any event, the downside to long dramas is that often times they start out with the main characters at a relatively young age (think early-mid teens, 14-16 years) and the drama takes us through the process of their growth.  The problem with this is that, depending on the actor/actress, they are simply no long convincing as a teenagers!  These are men and women in their mid to late 30s or early 40s and it is extremely difficult, even with good hair, makeup and acting, to convince the audience.  See below for some examples!

Rule the World - Raymond Lam

At the risk of offending Raymond Lam fans everywhere, his character in Rule the World is probably one of the most egregious examples of this problem.  The book starts off with his character being only around 8-10 years old, which made sense since the main female character witnessed his birth and is his aunt.  I think Raymond Lam was around 37 when this series was filmed, making it virtually impossible to pull off this feat.  Honestly, he looked even older than the actors playing his two older brothers!  It also made his interactions with the various characters very weird, such as the main female character caring for him like a child in the beginning.  The show ends with his character being around 40 years of age, which is much closer to real age, so this does get better as the drama progresses.  I understand sometimes these choices are made for budget and marketing reasons, but I think this is one where it made sense to have a different/younger actor play the character at the beginning.  

Princess Agents - Lin Gengxin

Next is Lin Gengxin in Princess Agents.  Again the novel starts off with a lot of the characters as children.  The main female character is only supposed to be eight years old and I am guessing Lin Gengxin's character is probably in his early teens (13-14 years of age).  This is evident from the patriarch choosing a female attendant for him - someone who is supposed to keep him satisfied in the sleep department, if we are trying to be delicate.  If his character is someone in his late teens/early 20s, I just feel bad for him.  To be fair, I actually think he can still pass as someone in his early 20s, but 13-14 is really pushing it.  Due to the way the novel is written, I think this applies to virtually all the actors/actresses on the show - Zhao Liying, Shawn Dou and Li Qin.  

Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace - Zhou Xun

Finally, we have Zhou Xun from Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace.  I am sure I am not the first person to mention this, but the first few episodes starts with Ruyi being probably around 16 years old.  There's a lot that can be done with makeup, hair, lighting and costumes, but none of these can shave almost 30 years off a woman's age.  The drama jumps quickly to eight years ahead and I still find it believable for Zhou Xun to play a woman in her mid-20s.  Unlike Rule the World, I do not think it would make sense to have another actress play this character in the first few episodes.  It may also deter audiences from watching if the main leads do not appear in the first episode.  Sometimes this is just a choice that has to be made.  On the one hand, it may help to market the drama more easily if the leads are in more episodes and may be more cost effective to have less actors/actresses.  On the other hand, this sometimes causes the audience to raise their eyebrows and make the characters' actions and interactions a bit weird.

Do you agree or disagree?  Do others come to mind?  I can definitely think of a few others but did not want to make this super long.  Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!

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!