Lan Ling Wang 《兰陵王》 - Feng Shao Feng, Ariel Lin, Daniel Chan

[panda-pop]

And how do I attach images and make them appear in the post as is instead of an attachment link. Someone please help !

Spcnet's forum doesn't let you upload images + display them in a post easily. I use www.tinypic.com to upload my pictures because it's free, fast and doesn't make you sign up for an account. Once the picture is uploaded, you'll see something like this next to the image:

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Just copy and paste that code into the text box in your reply and it should appear as a picture in your post.

[charm101]

those looking for the OST can find it here: http://www.avirtualvoyage.net/2013/0...-ling-ost.html

@panda, omg...that's the ending? oh LLW. well, i guess if anybody has to go *there* atm, im feeling it's *HIM*

lol.

[CuteBabyAngel17]

thanx panda pop!!! i got it!!! but SERIOUSLY, i dont think thats the ending... that seems really OUT OF NOWHERE.. its inconsistent with actual history (no surprise there), the video in the ending song and the MVs i see on youtube, which seems to hint at a different ending... a happy ending.... well.... at least for 2/3 of the main characters...

[Nukaew]

I cannot understand why Xue Wu forgives LLW easily =.= Right now I turn to YXW-YWY shipper.

[NuDaFu]

AcrossTime, I'm never leaving the YWY/XW ship either .

Panda-pop, great pick up on the that implied wedding idea. I was wondering why XW had a red, of all colours, cloth over her head.

Episode 26:

The "stone" that YWY used to buy XW's freedom was called a "Fire Dragon Night Glowing Pearl" (reason why the horse thief tested out its 'glow' under the darkness of his cloak). Someone in the crowd said there were only 11 in the world (I imagine in the ancient Chinese world). The slavemaster later noted that if one owned such a jewel, it would be enough wealth to sustain a family for 3 generations. Being a king, YWY would of course own such royal treasures. Could also be that he actually had no cash on his person .

Episode 27:

The series gave XW's sickness as a common cold. It wouldn't have been the flu or she couldn't have been able to chase after LLW. It was a bit contrived at the start that XW was pretending to be sick then actually fell sick immediately after she was found out. Anyways, XW developed a cough with the cold. Xiao Dong said it was enough to keep her up all night and disturb her sleep. Stress and sleep deprivation can make a simple cold very unsimple. She seemed quite out of it by the time she was being sold. That moment was quite intense, because if YWY had not of saved her on time, XW would've been at her most vulnerable and given to one of those leery men as a slave.

The herb that YWY was trying to find was noted by XW to clear wind-heat-toxins (according to Chinese herbal theory). Basically, an antipyretic (drug that reduces fever). XW was so sick because her fever wouldn't drop. When XW uses it on YWY's sores later on, she says the herb can also be used as an anti-inflammatory. Cool herb - properties of Panadol and Voltaren all in one.

Panda-pop, I too think the rape scene was poor form. For certain genres, if handled delicately and central to the plot, it can work e.g. Return of the Condor Hero. What happened to ZE seemed too much like letting the audience know she got her just desserts. Er, I don't need that. I'd rather see her seethe at every LLW/XW lovey dovey moment. Technically, if she truly covets LLW, that would be more emotionally torturous for her. The rape was just another ham-fisted plot device with a capital H.

About the ending, there is no confirmed ending. The ending I posted was a quick translation of episode 46 synopsis on http://ent.sdchina.com/show/2718353_2.html. I imagine they would've filmed more than one ending and will show the one that they feel audiences will like most. I hope anyway. Leaking the ending and having such ending is double awful.

Really not satisfied with how they resolved the couple's problem. They used the 'grandma card'. Grandma appears in a dream and encourages XW to return to LLW? There isn't even mention of forgiveness. Even a slight implication that XW was in the wrong to stop believing and trusting in LLW. Er, does granny know what actually happened? Before this, XW was very clear that LLW had wronged and hurt her. I thought we would've at least got that LLW kneeling in the rain scene.

Another OST song (Xue Wu's song):

[panda-pop]

CuteBabyAngel17, I'm holding out hope for a happy ending, too. The trailers pretty much tell us that Lan Ling Wang's going to survive being given poison by the Crown Prince/later King & Zheng Er/later Queen. Then there's that one scene from a MV where a scruffier-looking Lan Ling Wang secretly checks up on Xue Wu and their baby (!). Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

NuDaFu, I wish my Chinese were nearly as good as yours! Everyday dialogue/lovey-dovey exchanges/basic 成语 is fine, but you start talking medicine and war strategies and I'm all . Xue Wu's sickness makes more sense after your explanation.

Really not satisfied with how they resolved the couple's problem. They used the 'grandma card'. Grandma appears in a dream and encourages XW to return to LLW? There isn't even mention of forgiveness. Even a slight implication that XW was in the wrong to stop believing and trusting in LLW. Er, does granny know what actually happened? Before this, XW was very clear that LLW had wronged and hurt her. I thought we would've at least got that LLW kneeling in the rain scene.

I didn't realize until you mentioned this scene that I never saw it! Warning to those of you watching episodes on Youtube: they might be incomplete. The episode 26 I saw was only ~35-40 minutes long and for some reason, didn't include that scene. I'm going to stick to watching on Chinese websites like QQ. On a side note, seeing how quickly Youtube users upload the newest episodes made me realize how popular this drama must be right now.

I'll recap some of the major plot points in episode 26 for those of you still waiting on subtitles.

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The whole time Xue Wu is tending to YWY's wounds, he looks so awkward it's adorable. You can almost hear him freaking out internally, "OMG she's touching my face OMG OMG"

It's the Yu Wen Yong Show for much of the episode. He does an admirable job of counseling/encouraging/scolding Xue Wu back to her senses during what is probably the lowest point in her life so far. Not only does she think her husband has abandoned his commitments to her, she finds out when she and Yu Wen Yong arrive back at White Mountain village that Grandma has passed away. The village has been abandoned (after Lan Ling Wang stopped by that one time, it was no longer considered secret or safe enough for the villagers to stay) and Grandma is buried in the front yard of Xue Wu's old house, her grave marked by a humble block of wood.

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It's no secret I haven't been a fan of Grandma, but you'd have to be made of stone to not feel somewhat moved by Xue Wu mourning her and remembering their moments. The flashback that got to me was Grandma losing her eyesight when Xue Wu was little. It seems like her blindness was a punishment from the gods for answering the Mysterious Man in Black's questions about the future every ten years. Grandma accepts this without much complaint, but cries that she won't be able to see her granddaughter's face ever again. Little Xue Wu promises then to always be by Grandma's side as her eyes, her walking stick, and I fairly lose it at that point. (Note to self: don't watch this show in the dining room over breakfast. People will see you crying buckets into your bowl of oatmeal and blueberries and they will judge you.)

What happens next gave my tear ducts a break but did let me exercise my eye roll-- Xue Wu decides to become a nun. Yep, Grandma died, Xue Wu feels guilty, so the obvious solution is to cut off her hair in front of Grandma's grave and shut herself off from the world. Thank goodness for Yu Wen Yong, the one source of sanity we can count on. He knows he can't talk her out of it, so he tricks her; he acts as if he's going to burn down the hut in anger, but really it's just a ploy to get Xue Wu to stumble across a letter from Grandma he faked. In it, 'Grandma' writes that she's proud of Xue Wu, etc. It does its job of calming Xue Wu down. Real Grandma (well, as 'real' as she can be as a dead person) then pays Xue Wu a visit in her dreams. Grandma reminds Xue Wu that it's not all about romantic love with Lan Ling Wang. Xue Wu admired him from childhood because of what he could do for the world, and though Xue Wu chose to love him as a woman, she also made that choice understanding that her greatest responsibility is to protect him. I don't know how much I agree with all of this-- as in, how much I like this interpretation of Xue Wu & Lan Ling Wang's relationship-- but it's certainly what the drama's selling. Anyhow, Xue Wu buys it and she re-dedicates herself to being Lan Ling Wang's guardian angel, whether or not he's good to her. Yeaaa, I don't love it.

On the bright side, Yu Wen Yong finally gets a proper confession scene! No soldiers, no Lan Ling Wang, just him and Xue Wu at her house. I haven't been let down yet by Daniel Chan's acting or his character's consistency/depth. He says the usual sweet things, like how she's the first woman he's wanted to make happy, but he also makes it clear that he values her for her abilities. He reminds her that she's brave and intelligent, and that she gives people courage and hope. I love that when Xue Wu rejects him, Yu Wen Yong replies simply, "That's fine, I can wait for your love. But my country needs your talents now." One of the reasons I liked Lan Ling Wang and Xue Wu's earlier interactions so much was because they weren't just cute together, they were allies. Xue Wu was key to Lan Ling Wang's missions and battles and he had a ton of respect for her on that front. I miss that dynamic, of the two working side-by-side. You could fault Yu Wen Yong for wanting Xue Wu to help him with his political plans, but I actually like that he sees her value in a role outside of wife and mother.

Before Yu Wen Yong can persuade Xue Wu any further, Lan Ling Wang and Xiao Dong find them. LLW and YWY start sword-fighting after a few words and it's all very macho. Too bad they're too busy fighting each other to notice that the bandits (whom LLW had captured, but have now escaped again) have arrived at the scene. The bandits grab Xue Wu and taunt the two men, daring YWY to pay for Xue Wu's ransom with his own blood. Naturally, YWY slices his arm right open because that's how he rolls. It gives Xue Wu a chance to get free and more fighting ensues. YWY and LLW are outnumbered and are in trouble (Though, didn't we see LLW kill a bunch of soldiers in that hot springs episode? All by himself? Eh, whatever) until YWY's men save the day. In the aftermath, YWY sees that Xue Wu is a lot more worried about LWL's injuries than his own. The drama gives him a quiet moment to take in the reality that Xue Wu has chosen LLW, which he accepts gracefully.

There's a nice scene later where YWY and LLW have a private conversation. There's no macho posturing, just an exchange between two guys who want the best for Xue Wu and their respective countries. By this point, we know that YWY is a good king who cares about his citizens' welfare, and that he shares many ideas on governance with LLW. LLW's own king, though well-meaning in his own way, is less of a wise ruler than YWY. Take, for example, what the two countries decide to do after the peace treaty was signed. YWY reallocated time and money to supporting farmers and business in Zhou. The Qi king, against LLW's advice, funneled money into finishing the building of a grand temple. "In a different time, in a different place, we'd be bros," LLW tells YWY. "Word," says YWY. (Okay, I might be paraphrasing.)

Some of that probably happened in episode 27.. I'm starting to tune out a bit because the part that's next isn't as interesting to me personally. The crown prince found Zheng Er, which means they're going to team up against LLW now. The Qi king has increasingly shown his preference for LLW, which means he's not long for this world (trailers show that the crown prince will eventually murder his own father to gain the throne). Xue Wu is rightfully nervous and plotting to get LLW away from the court, but we know that's not going to solve the problem. And the old guy who used to give the crown prince bad ideas-- he'll be back, too, this time with trickier ideas. I doubt I'll write any more episode summaries for a bit because that stuff isn't as much fun to talk about. I'll be waiting for YWY to rescue Xue Wu so we can see more of them together in Zhou

[memory86]

Hi guys,

I'm the new guy on board. Been following the series since day 1, I think this is about time I put my two cents in. First thing first, Lan Ling Wang is certainly my guilty pleasure - a.k.a the type of drama that I love to hate and hate to love. On the one hand, I am totally eagerly chewing over all the eye candies that this show has to offer: FSF is my newest hottest celeb crush while Ariel is always my favourite naive stereotype girl; and don't let me get started on Daniel Chan because now he's been added to my 90s-and-00s-Cpop-idol obsession revival (I used to think he was dock back in the 2002 but now oh, wow!). I like the visual CGI effects on this show. The characters are realistic-ish. On the other hand, this drama has everything that bugs me so much about an idol period drama: weak, predictable, plot holes prone script, bad-*** second lead turning into some lame-*** pathetic good guy in the name of love (you know who), and so many other cliches which I don't bother to list. Not to mention this is almost a straight rip-off of the Daughter of Nile manga (which is another guilty pleasure for me). The list can go on. But like I said, this is the type of drama that I have a love-hate relationship with. I won't say I'm disappointed or anything as I sort of almost certainly foretold how this drama would be based on the trailers. Still I can't help feeling so frustrated by the script and the direction that it's going now.

Okay, first of all. Our titular character. Lan Ling Wang. What can I say? This guy is BORING as hell. Okay, I know the scriptwriters of Lan Ling Wang may happen to be a fan of the Daughter of the Nile, and very likely Anatolia Story (which is basically the same premise, only fewer emperors and princes and kings involved, and the female lead knows how to wage her dagger) so probably they tried to build a perfect, all-around character for Lan Ling Wang. However, like most of you pointed out, this only weakens the character to the point that all his actions in the later half of the broadcast episodes are totally conflicted with each other. Examples: He can totally tell by intuition that the beggar is King Zhou and then he's totally blinded by sly Zheng Er's scheme by his kindness and conscience and again figures out most of her evil plan within a flick of his fingers and ruthlessly dismisses her. He appears so calm and collected at the beginning and then later, as the story unfolds before our eyes, showcases his childishness and insecurities. Alright I understand that the writers want to knock some human feelings into a very mysterious historical figure (yeah, we're talking about an idol drama here), but can this character get anymore inconsistent? And the whole misunderstanding, third-person drama thing is so comic-like (which, again, is certainly drawn out of the original manga, minus the part where the girl drowns herself into the Nile). Yeah, I know LLW and XW's love needs some test because it's been going very smoothly since the beginning, except the feeble, ehem, fate thing and the grandma fiasco. Probably the writers want to throw in some drama the make up for the lack of normal "hatred-turns-into-love" thingy in so many idol dramas. Whatever the reason is, episode 21-24 really ruins LLW for me. The only reason why I do not hate him is because he's not yet an ******* (he's almost there when he shoots his own foot by saying who is marrying is his own business and not XW's) and he manages to squash that little heffa just in time. Plus, he's pretty. Don't you dare so otherwise!

As for Ariel. No complaint about her performance here because I really love her sweet, smooth portrayal of XW. XW is moulded out of Carol in the Daughter of the Nile and I love XW. That says a lot because Carol is always on the top spot of my most hated, worthless, stupid, (insert negative adjectives here) character of all time. The script at least manages to leave out all the annoying elements about the character, and throws in some better traits in XW, for example her will to stand up for her love and her reasoning of right and wrong. So far XW has not been inconsistent, but it's only her character is as simple as it can be. Anyway, I still expect to see her smooth transformation from the naive village girl into a mature woman.

And finally, our big break-out star of the show. Man, I am literally blown away by Daniel Chan. I don't know much about this guy, but remember seeing him or listening to him back in the late 90s and early 00s. Never seen him acting before. So basically clueless about him, but still his name does ring a bell to me. So I added him to my Cpop obsession revival just for convenience. Well, it's safe to say that YWY is by far the best character of the show and Danile Chan's acting totally delivers to the point, at least up to the 18th ep. He's not like the most intricate character you can get out there, but he's got some layers to him that make people feel like I want to know more about him. Up until ep 18, he keeps me on edge of my seat, gripping my armrest and at the same time feeling like giving him a big hug. He has a tinge of madness aura around him, a sort of a psychopath ready to eat your liver for dinner. The part when he talks to XW about his ambition to conquer the world is simply amazing. Even before he topples that nasty chief YWH, he still seems to be the one in charge, totally in control of himself and the people around him. He can manipulate people to take his side (although I still don't buy that he can convince the tribal girl to sleep with him and later ***** herself out to spy the old goat for him, after slaughtering her entire tribe in front of her eyes). And that is why I am so grudgingly worried at his character development. From the direction this drama is running to, and from the MV for his theme song, I can safely guess that he will run along that track into a love-sick, broken-hearted, good but never-get-the-girl stereotype. Plus since ep 20, he has totally lost his psychopath aura. I haven't got the translation of the ep 27 dialouge between him and LLW yet, but seriously? Talking to your enemy? Looking like a lost puppy? And rewind a few episodes, letting her get away with your enemy in the name of love? Okay, I know I'm a very selfish person, but I'd rather see YWY kick LLW's butt in the cottage, and being spat at by all the hardcore LLW-XW shippers rather than see him being a boring caring, broken-hearted, love-struck guy in the last few episodes. Call me crazy or a demanding *****. I don't know why but I have a vision that he will end up as a loser second guy as in any other drama, and it sends chills down my spine. Okay, here's the thing: I will pretend there are a few arcs in this drama, and the first arc ends in ep 18. Now there's another king come into play, not my King Zhou. Problem solved.

Like I said, this is the type of drama I love to hate and hate to love. It's addictive cause you love to watch it all the time because it has so many eye candies, despite being frustrated by all its stupid plot holes and poor character development. Of course I'll keep a close watch of it for all my favourite actors. As a shoujo fangirl, this drama works for me. It certainly serves to bring one of my biggest guilty pleasure to life.

[panda-pop]

Hi, memory86! Glad you joined the conversation, makes me feel like less of a crazy fan girl when there's so many of us discussing this drama.

Up until ep 18, he keeps me on edge of my seat, gripping my armrest and at the same time feeling like giving him a big hug. He has a tinge of madness aura around him, a sort of a psychopath ready to eat your liver for dinner. The part when he talks to XW about his ambition to conquer the world is simply amazing. Even before he topples that nasty chief YWH, he still seems to be the one in charge, totally in control of himself and the people around him. He can manipulate people to take his side (although I still don't buy that he can convince the tribal girl to sleep with him and later ***** herself out to spy the old goat for him, after slaughtering her entire tribe in front of her eyes). And that is why I am so grudgingly worried at his character development. From the direction this drama is running to, and from the MV for his theme song, I can safely guess that he will run along that track into a love-sick, broken-hearted, good but never-get-the-girl stereotype. Plus since ep 20, he has totally lost his psychopath aura. I haven't got the translation of the ep 27 dialouge between him and LLW yet, but seriously? Talking to your enemy? Looking like a lost puppy? And rewind a few episodes, letting her get away with your enemy in the name of love? Okay, I know I'm a very selfish person, but I'd rather see YWY kick LLW's butt in the cottage, and being spat at by all the hardcore LLW-XW shippers rather than see him being a boring caring, broken-hearted, love-struck guy in the last few episodes. Call me crazy or a demanding *****. I don't know why but I have a vision that he will end up as a loser second guy as in any other drama, and it sends chills down my spine. Okay, here's the thing: I will pretend there are a few arcs in this drama, and the first arc ends in ep 18. Now there's another king come into play, not my King Zhou. Problem solved.

Totally agree with your thoughts on Lan Ling Wang, but we differ a bit on our take on Yu Wen Yong. I thought I'd provide some context to YWY's political decisions in recent episodes since it sounds like you're still waiting on translations.

Letting Xue Wu & LLW go: YWY explains to LLW before giving him the treaty that he doesn't like to "欠人清," or "owe someone a favor." Because Xue Wu and LLW contributed significantly to the success of Yu Wen Hu's execution, YWY does, in fact, owe LLW a big one. There's a second reason that's probably more fitting with YWY's cunning character, though. After killing YWH, YWY knows that he's got some internal house-keeping to do. He'll need time to reorganize his court and to tend to governance within Zhou. The treaty buys him time to do this without threat of Qi invasion; notably, we learn that the treaty is not a permanent one. And even though YWY proactively offered LLW peace on the war front, YWY continues to make strategic moves in other areas. He passes a law that gives Qi citizens incentive to move to Zhou-- they get land for free and are exempt from taxes for a few years. As the boy-king who waited 12 years to defeat YWH, YWY is fine with losing battles/letting the enemy go for now if it means winning the war more definitively down the road.

Conversation with LLW in episode 27: I'll be interested to see what you think after you get the direct translation, but I liked this conversation. Sure, they talk about Xue Wu for a chunk of it, but mostly they're talking shop. YWY reminds LLW that the bandits they've captured are just citizens who were struggling so much they had to resort to this illegal way of life. Robbing and killing is inexcusable, but the government that can't provide for its people and drives them to these desperate lifestyles ought to shoulder the blame. LLW agrees and says he plans to bring the bandits back to the king so that the king can see how tough life has gotten for his citizens. I think both men, through the few intense interactions they've had, have developed a grudging sense of respect/affinity for each other. YWY sees LLW as a worthy rival (not a sneaky, underhanded one like YWH). He still wants to defeat LLW, but he's also prideful enough that he'd want to defeat LLW at the height of his power. YWY even says to LLW, "If you don't fix things at home, Qi will have vanquished itself before I get the chance to vanquish it."

Having said all this, I'm probably giving the show too much credit haha. I can see what you mean when you say YWY's psycho/manic energy isn't there anymore. I'd like to think it's part of his character development, that loving Xue Wu has helped him mellow out (we did see in that flashback with his brother, the former king, that YWY was once a relatively weak, softhearted prince) and become less of a mad tyrant. I can't wait to see him turn on the crazy again once Zhou attacks Qi, though! By that point the crown prince/Zheng Er will be leading Qi, and I have no problem with YWY eating either of their livers for breakfast.

[AcrossTime]

Panda-pop & others, I would recommend you watch this drama on sugoideas.com, they release the episodes consistently everyday with HD quality.
Panda-pop, Nudafen, & memory86, you guys/girls make some amazing points about the drama, some better than I can say myself. I love reading everyone's opinions about the drama!

At first you would think that the drama would star it's main character, Lan Ling Wang and thus develop him into the great warrior he is said to be in history. But I find that he's the character that's the most flawed and inconsistent throughout. His character feels really one dimensional; at first he's the typical good intelligent guy who cares for his citizens then all of a sudden when Zheng Er shows up, his actions following that contradicts how his original character was. All of a sudden he turns incredibly naive and stupid, who only believes whatever he sees instead of trusting his own wife. As we can see before during the Ah Gwai episodes, he actually tried to let Xue Wu see underneath the surface. Despite not him being known as one to not really follow the traditions (as seen with his servant's behaviour & his wedding), he lets his 'status' as well as pride get in the way when dealing with Xue Wu after Zheng Er enters the scenes.

On the opposite end Yu Wen Yong started intriguing me as soon as he showed up as Ah Gwai. His character development is one we can sympathize with and understand, from being Ah Gwai, going back to Zhou, his interaction with Zhen Er, then selfless love for Xue Wu. His character is layered with a heavy past but also subtly hints at his loving nature from the start. Also Daniel is smoking hot so how can you not like him. I've never been a FSF fan, I don't really consider him good looking, he's only average, if not on the uglier side for me. His acting is like a robot sometimes, hard to watch.

I liked the beginning of episode 28, where it starts out with Yu Wen Yong and Lan Ling Wang conversing. It is obvious that Yu Wen Yong would make a great king since he really thinks for the citizens first. Telling Lan Ling Wang to keep the bandits alive and showing the Qi King why his citizens has resorted to underhanded ways to get by. You can see that he wants to battle Lan Ling Wang fairly on the battle field before the Qi nation self destructs due to its inner conflicts (for lack of better wording). He then tells Lan Ling Wang to cherish Xue Wu since he has her heart. There you go, the top 2 priorities for Yu Wen Yong: 1. Xue Wu 2. citizen's well being.

I started zoning out after that since my Yu Wen Yong went back to Zhou guo. Then we have the scheming evil people and Lan Ling Wang's chemistry with Xue Wu really went out the window for me. Their passion in the first 20 episodes is really starting to disappear where all I see is Xue Wu trying to do everything to protect her husband but him, not really understanding her. On top of that the whole scene where Xue Wu's grandma visits her in little dream land telling her she gave up everything to save LLW and ensure his well being, so she should continue? Like are you crazyy, I think it's missing the main point. I feel like her grandma should have told her what Yu Wen Yong tried to imply. For Xue Wu to use her talents to save the poor citizens instead of letting her love life cloud her.

I'm sure I'm going to start zoning out again until either Lan Ling Wang pulls his act together or when my dear Yu Wen Yong swoops in to save Xue Wu in his unrequited love. Anyways I've been fangirling over how hot Daniel is and how adorable he is in real life, so let me link the goods:

Take a moment to appreciate this:
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Cute interview:

[Fairytale_Angel]

Hey guys!
I just begin watching the drama and love it! and thank you Panda-Pop for summarizing the episodes for us. The subs on this site im watching barely got up to 15ish so reading your summaries really gets me really excited.

I rewatch the trailer and there was a scene where Xue Wu was named imperial consort of the zhou kingdom do you think its a dream that YWY dreamed of or will it actually happen?

[coricori]

I just saw ep. 27, it`s sooooo saaad, it's horrible, unrequited love. Daniel acting is amazing I can feel his pain, when I saw that escene, it hurst my heart a little. I was sooooo disappointing that XW forgive LLW SO EASILY! for me XW is just too perfect more than LLW, she is smart, kind, generous, heart pure, honest, loyal, faithful, devote to her husband, etc, etc......indeed LLW has luky to have such a beautiful woman. But I am a little angry why she forgive so easily to LLW!! it's true her love is deep like YWY but for LLW, because of that she returned to his side, that's why she is an amazing woman, but SO EASILY! I don't agree if I were her I would played a little hard to return to his side for teach him a lesson to LLW. And of course on that moment I would care more for YWY than LLW and I would thanking him in a proper way and make jaulous LLW, for example she must take care of his wound.
I hate unrequited love because it's the moooost sad in the world, I prefer corresponded love even if it's tragic or imposible love, because it's better to love that person a day than to live a long life unable to give your love to that person; that's why I like XW she loves LLW even knowing he's going to die and she prefers to stay with LLW until the last day of his life next to him, XW' character is very interesting, she is very brave.....I want to create a story with her character. I learned of this drama, the marriage is a serious thing and it's necessary to forgive, this way both learn of their mistake and they have a long and happy marriage....LLW will love his wife more, more, more with time and when he see that he has a wonderful woman to his side, despite his unintentional betrayal. I love this show, I am really crazy about this show, I only wish it has 80 ep, not only 45.

[NuDaFu]

memory86, nice to have you on board in the discussions . Daniel's "mad aura" was awesome to watch. I think he even added some body language in there to emphasize the 'wolf' aspect of his character. When he captures YWH, he says: "You old fox" with this abrupt nod of the head. It reminds me of an instinctual neck move of a wolf. I'm not surprised he has lost that craziness. YWY is unquestionably ruthless, but I think the mad part was that fierce instinct to survive under YWH tyranny rather than a part of his personality.

NuDaFu, I wish my Chinese were nearly as good as yours! Everyday dialogue/lovey-dovey exchanges/basic 成语 is fine, but you start talking medicine and war strategies and I'm all . Xue Wu's sickness makes more sense after your explanation.

Nah, my Chinese is not terribly consistent. I need to study Classical Chinese someday and I am light years from that. I only picked up on the medicine because that's my academic and professional training .

I rewatch the trailer and there was a scene where Xue Wu was named imperial consort of the zhou kingdom do you think its a dream that YWY dreamed of or will it actually happen?

I think it's real. The MV for Daniel's song has clips from the series and it also shows XW in costume that appears - to me at least - those worn by a royal consort. How they work that one around the queen I have no idea.

By the way, Daniel's MV is so sad. Crying buckets after multiple watches. The way Daniel performs and emotes through his song paints YWY in a way that convinces me of genuine faith, love and heartbreak. Maybe with another actor/singer, it may come across as a cool character turned lovesick puppy. I think AcrossTime can rest assured with that .

And because I love the song so much, here is the translation.

突然心动

一朵夕阳斜斜挂在巷口
我徘徊在你家的门口
有些话已经蠢蠢欲动
我只想你一人懂
不想别人在我的眼中
一片落叶落在我的胸口
我才知道已到深秋
我一直用心在播种
你浅浅的一个笑容
让我魂牵梦绕在其中

我为你心动 被你感动
你的笑容像天边的彩虹
我说过永远不是冲动
我会珍惜关于你的每一分钟
突然心动 有你不同

我的天空过滤掉了伤痛
我说过永远当然管用
我让瞬间停在我心中
我心中

Suddenly, My Heart Beats

A blossom of evening sun slants into an alleyway
I wander aimlessly in front of your family's doorstep
Some silly, stupid words have already started to form
I only wish for you to understand
I don't want another in my eyes
When a fallen leaf falls on my chest
I realize we have reached late autumn
I have been diligent in nurturing
Your demure, demure smile
My spirit is hooked within a dream

My heart beats for you, moved by you
Your smile mirrors the rainbow in the sky
I swear it was never just an impulse
I will treasure every moment with you
Suddenly, my heart beats, having you means a world of difference

My sky filters out my pain
I swear it will always be useful
To allow time to stop in my heart
In my heart...

The lyrics are really not anything out of the ordinary. I actually think Daniel is truly a great singer, to take otherwise mundane lyrics and sing it with a bittersweet wistfulness that moves me to the core.

For those who can read the Chinese, obviously it is not word for word. Lots is lost when translating songs/poetry. I would rather retain the element in the song that moves me than have absolutely correct wording. There are not any major semantic changes. I have also tried to match the English wording with the basic rhythm of the song. Enjoy .

[panda-pop]

Fairytale_Angel, glad the summaries are helpful for you! I probably won't be doing them for the next couple of episodes because writing about the crown prince/Zheng Er killing people off isn't fun for me, but feel free to ask questions. As you can see, there's quite a few of us around here who are more than happy to chat about what's happening in the drama

AcrossTime, your video of Daniel Chan from Kang Xi Lai Le got me started on an afternoon-long Youtube marathon. It was weird at first hearing his real voice but it's grown on me. Daniel's so cute on these variety shows! You can tell he's had a lot of experience flirting with the girls, hehe.

NuDaFu, awesome translation! The MV for it is just one big Yu Wen Yong love fest. When Xue Wu puts her hand on top of his after tending to an injury, I get so excited/happy for him! Like coricori said, unrequited love is rough stuff. As much as I want to support the OTP (and I'm a sucker for the OTP because they are, after all, the "one true pairing"), the way Yu Wen Yong looks at Xue Wu makes me wish he could get even 1/100th of that love in return.

I'd love to see the lyrics-- especially the last verse-- to the main theme song, 手掌心, translated. Every time I try, I feel like something gets lost in the translation.

左手掌握著空心　右手掌握著癡心
十指緊扣一本心經　刻骨銘心著苦心
可不可以不甘心　可不可以不認命
如果可以　拿我換給你

[NuDaFu]

Panda-pop, they are fabulous lyrics because there is play with pun and rhyme. Certainly a challenge to translate. Let me try:

左手掌握著空心　右手掌握著癡心
十指緊扣一本心經　刻骨銘心著苦心
可不可以不甘心　可不可以不認命
如果可以　拿我換給你

Left hand cradles an empty heart, right hand cradles a besotted heart
10 fingers grip my heart's truths, everyone of them, painstakingly engraved on bone, inscribed in my heart
Can I be unwilling? Can I refuse fate?
If possible, I would exchange myself for you

心經 actually means 'heart philosophies/doctrine'. Not terribly consistent with the emotive tone of the song. So 'heart's truths' - consistent with the intent of the line. The second line is crazy difficult to make sense in English, so I had to add "everyone of them" to create flow. Enjoy .

[memory86]

Haha guys. Thanks so much for your warm welcome. Makes me feel like home.

I think this thread should effectively change name into Yu Wen Yong instead of Lan Ling Wang when most of you guys here spend time going gaga over YWY - Daniel Chan instead of the main character. But it can't be helped right? YWY is just too awesome. I walked into this drama ready to be drooling over FSF/LLW, because no matter what people say, I always think he's one hell of a pretty boy. Instead, I got bitten by Daniel/YWY. Not to the point of being a hardcore fangirl, but enough to make me start searching about him and realizing I have seen a lot of him before without ever knowing it. There's this drama where he starred alongside Jin Quin Quin as a couple who make cosmetics powder but later they get separated because of some misunderstanding. Oh boy, he looked so different in there. I wonder if he ever had cosmetic surgery cause his face is somehow different now. Of course, it's just my thought.

Back to topic. Several bloggers said that they are very disappointed that LLW turns out to be just another idol drama. I know where they came from. The trailers are rather misleading because they show the most dramatic parts of the whole series and do not show the other, more filler, parts, with the bits about the fate thing, death, danger and separation. Most people would falsely assume that this is a real historical deal about a famous beautiful hero in Chinese history. I could have been one of them if I didn't know that the writer of this drama is also the one who wrote Autumn's Concerto and Material Queen. I mean, c'mon, what can you expect from a writer who specializes in idol dramas? Do you think he/she will turn into a serious artsy writer who brings you epics like The Three Kingdoms? And you got actors like FSF and Ariel Lin in it? Don't get me wrong. I love both of them, but they're not exactly the type of actors who appears in a serious epic historical drama. I heard FSF failed miserably in White Vengeance, so I didn't have any high hopes for him. Still, I jumped into this wagon simply for the fact that I love watching flashy, glossy dramas that make you feel like living in an alternate world (who wouldn't).

I think by now we can say LLW is just another idol drama. And a very good one. That's a good point about it. Most idol dramas I've seen are always silly, full of impossible situations and totally cheesy*cough*Frog Prince*cough*. Idol dramas are not meant to be taken too seriously. Its only job is to satisfy the audience's imagination and fantasy. And LLW does it just way too well. Who doesn't like seeing two hot guys - and not just any guys, a infamous, influential king and a legendary warrior in the history - fight over one beautiful girl? Beautiful scenes, dreamy landscape and luxurious, eye-catching costumes. And actually good and effective CGI. Bravo! However, I think the only problem with LLW is somehow it's taking itself too seriously trying to become a historical drama, which it is not (I realize none of us question about the historical inaccuracy of the drama. I googled the situation surrounding Yu Wen Ho's death and it's not at all like in the show).

Like most of you guys, I am swept away by YWY. Panda-pop, I agree with you about his gradual change in behaviours and manners may be due to now that his bigger life threat has been eliminated and he can be more of himself. I accept that change in him. However, the thing that bothers me is that the writer seems, inadvertently, model this character after Prince Ishmu of the Daughter of the Nile. Okay, you may be fed up with me constantly referring to that manga now, but I want to point out why I am so concerned. Prince Ishmu is what you can call the second lead guy who is after the girl but never gets her. He first appears to be a very cool, calm and calculating opponent to the main guy and is super mean to the main girl, who he later inevitably falls in love. Yay, you never expect to fall in love with someone you whip to the point of passing out cold, right? Prince Ishmu could be a wonderful political mastermind but because of the unrequited love for the main girl he goes downhill and becomes some love-sick puppy whose life's main goal is to get the girl at all cost. He ends up just another lover boy. What I hate the most about most character development in idol dramas is the lack of human diversity in their characters. I mean, I start to feel that YWY is becoming more or less like LLW. That's why the heart-to-heart talk with LLW really bothers me to no end. Regardless of the content of the talk, YWY as I see in the beginning is a very calculating emperor whose ambition to rule is very strong. He's very cold and mean. He kills the whole tribe of innocent people and use people for his own plans. He may know that a country can only be powerful based on a good governance and wealthy population, but he won't back down from getting what he wants. He may go soft for XW because he loves her, but not for an enemy like LLW. He doesn't need a heart-to-heart talk with him. Even if he does want to talk with LLW, I kinda hope that he would use a very superior attitude towards him, not "I admire you, you're awesome". There's so many more subtle way to do it. This is just too blatant.


Anyway, it's just me cause I always have high hopes for the villain/second lead guy in a drama. Maybe as the story unfolds there are more to see about YWY again. But from the MV, I suspect that most of his story in the later half of the drama will revolve around his love life *sigh*. And please, I'm begging you, don't die because of heartbreak when you learn that the girl you love has got away with another man/committed suicide because her lover died.

That's what I hate seeing the most. This character has so much potential to be awesome in a very bad way, it's a shame that the writer wants to kill that side of him too soon. Hope that's not going to happen and we'll see he's back to being a bad-*** later on.

Notes on Daniel's acting: He's really good. I don't know if this role is written speficially for him, but he nails it in any aspect the script asks him to do. In ep 26, I like the part when he lifts the red veil and sees that it's actually XW at the slave auction. It's not an expression of relief or joy for seeing her again, but anger and rage to see her at place like this when he thinks she should be happy with LLW. When they run away on the horse, he throws the red veil away. I don't know but there's something very majestic about that action that I can't quite put my finger on.

Personally, I am sort of a masochist as I tend to sit through a bad drama just to bash it the next day online. I remember having a marathon of the New Huan Zhu Ge Ge just to throw bricks and stones at the whole cast and crew, especially Chiung Yao, for such poor acting, stupid story line and horrendous ending the very next day. LLW is by any standard not a bad idol drama at all so I am very happy to endure any WTF moments it wants to throw into the audience's face.

[panda-pop]

You're the best, NuDaFu! I especially like what you did with the second line. Chinese is my native language (I grew up in China until I was 8) and though I don't use it often now/have a solid grasp on it, I've always felt that it expresses particular emotions and situations better than English can.

I think by now we can say LLW is just another idol drama. And a very good one. That's a good point about it. Most idol dramas I've seen are always silly, full of impossible situations and totally cheesy*cough*Frog Prince*cough*. Idol dramas are not meant to be taken too seriously. Its only job is to satisfy the audience's imagination and fantasy. And LLW does it just way too well. Who doesn't like seeing two hot guys - and not just any guys, a infamous, influential king and a legendary warrior in the history - fight over one beautiful girl? Beautiful scenes, dreamy landscape and luxurious, eye-catching costumes. And actually good and effective CGI. Bravo! However, I think the only problem with LLW is somehow it's taking itself too seriously trying to become a historical drama, which it is not (I realize none of us question about the historical inaccuracy of the drama. I googled the situation surrounding Yu Wen Ho's death and it's not at all like in the show).

I wonder if there's an official term for the genre of dramas like Lan Ling Wang. Idol drama definitely fits because of who the main three actors are (there are "idols" who can act and ones who really can't, so good thing these ones can), but it's also a huuuge genre that covers dramas like Frog Prince and Material Queen, which feel very different from Lan Ling Wang. It's funny, I actually love the historical element of this drama. More accurately, I like the "very loosely based on one or two facts pulled from history" element. Something about setting a drama in the ancient times and centering it around infamous figures whose fates we know from the history books but whose inner lives are shrouded in mystery is such a good hook for me. My problem with a lot of modern day idol dramas is that I can't get invested in the issues at stake (i.e. I don't care that Protagonist A's fashion shoot is delayed and she might get in trouble with her boss). With historical-idol dramas, the romance immediately becomes more epic because characters are choosing between love and power and duty, and entire nations' fates are intertwined with that of the protagonists'. Ups the ante in a jiffy.

I'm using the term "historical" loosely, though. There's really a spectrum in the dramaverse when it comes to period dramas. I can't stand shows on either end of the spectrum; the video-game based fantasy dramas with tons of CGI feels silly to me (Chinese Paladin being the only exception) and the well-produced, impressively detailed historical drama makes me fall asleep (total lack of pretty boy eye candy or swoony romances). Lan Ling Wang happens to hit the sweet spot for me. Bu Bu Jing Xin is further along on the historical spectrum, Wang De Nu Ren is closer to the fantasy end, but you could probably group Lan Ling Wang with Mei Ren Xin Ji. Both frothy idol dramas at heart, elevated only by the substantial emotion/pathos the actors supply and a few fully-realized characters who stick with you.

And please, I'm begging you, don't die because of heartbreak when you learn that the girl you love has got away with another man/committed suicide because her lover died.

Hahaha, does that happen in Daughter of the Nile? That Prince Ishmu character sounds like such a shoujo-manga trope. (Tangent, but shoujo mangas were definitely my guilty pleasure pastime during high school. It was only because I had read Hana Yori Dango and Itazura na Kiss that I started watching the Taiwanese drama versions of them, Meteor Garden and It Started with a Kiss. And that second drama got me hooked on Ariel! Man, she's grown a lot since then.) I have faith that Yu Wen Yong is going to rock it in the last 1/3 of this show. Instead of LLW and Xue Wu working together against the crown prince, it'll be Yu Wen Yong and Xue Wu plotting to get revenge/conquer Qi. I'll also be surprised if Yu Wen Yong doesn't use any tricks to win Xue Wu's heart.. we've all seen that he's not above manipulating her when he needs to.

You can sort of see the return of Yu Wen Yong's crazy eyes in the quick 3 minutes we have with him in episode 31:

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YWY learns that the king of Qi has died and the crown prince has succeeded the throne. He tells his second-in-command that it's time to end the peace treaty with Qi. We're going to battle again, yay!

Episode 31 will be fun for you if you're a George Hu fan. He get to show us indignant An De Wang, sad An De Wang and of course, prankster An De Wang. Start at the 30 minute mark to see him hit on Xiao Cui and then get Lan Ling Wang all flustered by implying that Lan Ling Wang was kind of a playboy before he met Xue Wu

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An De Wang, learning that the king has passed away and seeing the crown prince break down. His eyebrows are all, "I'm not buying it mister, you have something to do with this."

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Lan Ling Wang's no match for this guy when it comes to wisecracks. Xiao Cui's going to have to be careful or she'll become An De Wang's 1243th concubine..

Did anyone else feel bad for the crown prince when he realized he killed his father with his own hands for nothing? I know I'm going to regret wasting my feelings on this character down the road, but the actor did a nice job conveying the horror, shame, regret, and self-loathing the crown prince must have felt when he saw that the king named him as the successor and not Lan Ling Wang.

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[ByTmE]

I just started watching this as a distraction from waiting for either of the new Sui and Tang episodes to be dubbed in my language.

I really can't bear to watch Lanling Wang anymore - I just don't dig these kind of love stories. Almost the same kind of convoluted feelings and potential angst of of Qin Shi Huang Fei's. Lately, I've just been forwarding to watch Daniel's King of Zhou because he's hot and bada$$. I think I might feel bad for his queen later because she seems like a decent queen right now.

Everybody looks good, and sometimes Ariel is SO HILARIOUS, but I don't think I can take it anymore, esp if it just gets more angsty.

[Fairytale_Angel]

Fairytale_Angel, glad the summaries are helpful for you! I probably won't be doing them for the next couple of episodes because writing about the crown prince/Zheng Er killing people off isn't fun for me, but feel free to ask questions. As you can see, there's quite a few of us around here who are more than happy to chat about what's happening in the drama

lol I have a feeling u might do a short recap but with hilarious comments haha. How long do you think the killing will go on. i keep on forgetting how many episodes the drama is but hopefully YWY gets more scenes cause right now hes the only one that is keeping me to watch the drama. Sometimes i feel like LLW and XW character annoy me a bit hope I dont get choked lol

I think it's real. The MV for Daniel's song has clips from the series and it also shows XW in costume that appears - to me at least - those worn by a royal consort. How they work that one around the queen I have no idea.

Hmmm that would be hard to work around with. I mean the queen herself is nice and sweet always standing by YWY side. But then in the trailer when they annouced XW title she seem happy and surprise. I thought that her love for LLW was above all hm... very confusing lol but i do hope he gets a happy ending

does anybody here know the real history of the drama lol really curious on the ending for most already!

[Xaari]

LOL, the Mysterious Guy in Black is Yang Jian, the founding emperor of the Sui Dynasty. He served Northern Zhou and usurped the throne.

I would categorize Prince of Lanling in the same wannabe historical genre as Legend of Lu Zhen and Qing Shi Huang Fei. Yuwen Yong is my only motivation to continue watching this melodramatic, ridiculously plotted, anachronistic, cliche drama with the usual insta-love leading couple and gullible female lead.

Sigh, I've never harbored any bad feelings for Feng Shaofeng, and even thought highly of his performance as Liu Zhang in Schemes of a Beauty, but he's ruined too many of my favorite historical figures, especially Xiang Yu and now my beloved Prince of Lanling.

[AcrossTime]

Memory86 I would change the thread title in a heart beat if I could! As you said this drama is an idol drama wanting to be a historical drama. But shouldn't idol dramas be more light hearted? I mean there are some light-hearted and fun scenes but after the marriage between Lan Ling Wang and Xue Wu, it's taken a turn into a more dreary, dark mood. Especially with Zheng Er and Crown Prince, now Qi King's plotting. They honestly are taking up too much screen time that my Yu Wen Yong should be appearing in. With that being said, if it really is an idol drama I do expect a happy ending, I don't think I can take another sad one after Bu Bu Jing Xin. I do agree with you that I think during the bro-to-bro talk with Lan Ling Wang, Yu Wen Yong should had a more superior approach, but hey, he's human too, after seeing Xue Wu run to Lan Ling Wang's side even though he's done so much for her made my heart break, let alone himself. And he was drinking because he said his heart can't take it if he's sober (I can't remember exact words). There was this one line that the Wu Queen said which made my heart ache, "你每一步棋都是為了雪舞" (in Daniel's Yu Wen Yong MV), all of these unrequited loves in the drama!

On a side note, Mao Lin Lin plays Zheng Er really well. I haven't given her much credit since she's so hate-able in the drama but she's really pretty when she enters the palace with the crown prince again. I fast forwarded through episodes 30-32, nothing notable to me, just some more plot that develops the drama til we see Yu Wen Yong again~

Panda-pop, Daniel's so adorable in real life. Let me link more candy if you haven't found it yet