Night of the Spring 《寂寞空庭春欲晚》

[myenson1]

Tong Li Ya never in the lead before, always the 2nd or the 3rd lead.. wonder how she'll do it...

[Liu Xiao Xiao]

Maybe leading roles bear too much responsibility? In supporting roles, you can be more carefree. I am the same type of person as Yuan Hong LOL--I hate being first and prefer being 2nd lead in activities. However, I hate being 3rd lol dependent on who is before me anyway.

LOL, if I'm not mistaken...he said being 2nd male lead can shine just as bright as the 1st male lead if done right. Besides, like you, he is the carefree type and can careless about being in the spot light and don't seem to give a hoot about wanting to be popular (my observation from stalking him....LOL), that's why I like him so much

[JoleCole]

Why is YH always the second or third? I would love to see him as the lead one of these days. He's got the looks and acting chops to pull it off.

According to William Peng, also one of the writers for drama and I think he helped out on BBJX too, Yuan Hong's character will have a lot of screen time, almost equally as much screentime as Hawick's KangXi. In the novel, Nalan Rongruo is definitely 2nd fiddle to KangXi, but I think the drama will expand his role tremendously.

Now, I'm debating if I should go read this novel. I think I got the historical/political KangXi too ingrained in my head, so I can't imagine him being head over heels over a single woman. And I definitely did not like the way he treated Concubine Liang in history, calling her 幸者库贱妇。 (P.S. I honestly think 8th Prince's mother was probably a great beauty. Otherwise, almighty Kangxi wouldn't have "degraded" himself into her bed). My gosh, if you look down at her so much, don't go sleeping with her and then feel disgusted. I know he probably lashed out at Concubine Liang partially because of the 8th Prince's ambition. Still, it infuriated me. The fact that he turned a blind eye to the Crown Prince's debauchery and indulgences didn't help either. However, I'm still his fan for his political accomplishments. Just not the # of kids he managed to produce...over 50 He was definitely a baby making machine....

The novel is written in a mock-Dream of red chamber style (Hong Lou Meng), so the prose can be difficult to understand, but is very beautiful/eloquent and poetic. "Chun Wan" is the first FWSC novel that I read, and remains one of my favourite, not so much for the book itself, because the plot itself is nothing spectacular, but mainly for the writing. But whilst I love the narration style, but it is slow and makes it harder to relate to the characters, so I can see why some people would not like it. Also the characters are very restrained (for lack of a better word), in the sense that everyone abides by the set norms of the time and no one has an outlandish personality. This makes Chun Wan one of the rare internet novels that remains true to the era, and is another reason why I love it so much. But to people who are more used to exciting dramatic stories, they may find it a little boring.

I also heard Chun Wan's style is filled with lyrical prose and literary allusions, very different from her other works. But hey, FWSC's writing style always changes depending on the time period of her story. The writing style in Sealed with a Kiss is also very different from her previous works, say Too Late to Say I Love you and its sequel. Personally, I feel FWSC's writing style is more matured than Tong Hua, but Tong Hua's storytelling ability is better. FWSC tends to overuse cliche plots, but she's a master in evoking conflicting emotions and make you feel (good or bad) for the character.

[matrixgr]

I just recently finished the novel after viewing all the talk in forum. Compare to other internet Chinese novels I read or are reading now, this one is really short. More closer to earlier taiwan romantic novel's maybe 10 chapters format, maybe?

The novel itself did not involve any political problem outside of harem. Well, maybe a little. It also refer back to several previous Emperor in Qing. Nalan Rongruo is a great poet and most of his poem are sad and pretty. I loved one sentence in his poem and would constantly recite that sentence. Almost all chapters in that book start with a poem of Nalan. Writing is excellent and there is always a sadness in there. In summary, I would say the book is a tragedy about a love triangle. Even though the book talked about Liang and Kang'xi's death, but the main story line only covered for rather a short time period. Looking forward to see how the screen writers modify it.

[Vienne94]

According to William Peng, also one of the writers for drama and I think he helped out on BBJX too, Yuan Hong's character will have a lot of screen time, almost equally as much screentime as Hawick's KangXi. In the novel, Nalan Rongzhi is definitely 2nd fiddle to KangXi, but I think the drama will expand his role tremendously.

Now, I'm debating if I should go read this novel. I think I got the historical/political KangXi too ingrained in my head, so I can't imagine him being head over heels over a single woman. And I definitely did not like the way he treated Concubine Liang in history, calling her 幸者库贱妇。 (P.S. I honestly think 8th Prince's mother was probably a great beauty. Otherwise, almighty Kangxi wouldn't have "degraded" himself into her bed). My gosh, if you look down at her so much, don't go sleeping with her and then feel disgusted. I know he probably lashed out at Concubine Liang partially because of the 8th Prince's ambition. Still, it infuriated me. The fact that he turned a blind eye to the Crown Prince's debauchery and indulgences didn't help either. However, I'm still his fan for his political accomplishments. Just not the # of kids he managed to produce...over 50 He was definitely a baby making machine....

Yay for expanding YH's character! How is Hawick's acting? I've never seen any of his dramas.

I also have reservations about the premises of this story. Thinking about how Kangxi treated Liang Fei in BBJX makes me sad.

[IloveMimiLo]

Cool , love Hawick! Other then TOng li ya who else are female actress? Tong li Ya is not my cup of tea, she doesn't strike it for me as a lead actress!

[JoleCole]

Yay for expanding YH's character! How is Hawick's acting? I've never seen any of his dramas.

I also have reservations about the premises of this story. Thinking about how Kangxi treated Liang Fei in BBJX makes me sad.

I was very unimpressed with his acting during his TVB days. After Sealed with a Kiss, he managed to convince me he could act cuz I absolutely love his portrayal of the scheming/vindictive/pitiful/villainous Mo Shaoqian. However, I'm still going to have my reservation about his ability to portray KangXi since not every actor can excel in every role they accept.

Though Yuan Hong excels in portraying melancholic characters with depth, I feel his acting still needs some polishing. When I watched BBJX and LOCH08, I actually cringed at his intense emotional scenes that required outbursts/cries. He's really good at the subtle teary eyes scenes, but the more "explosive" scenes come off to me as cheesy, exaggerated, and forceful. I think not many male actors can naturally do those "explosive" acting scenes. The only actors I think can do those scenes really well are the veterans like Chen Daoming and Tang Guoqiang. Kevin Cheung and Nicky Wu were pretty impressive too in BBJX.

[swtaznlaydee]

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[mango_cake]

^ Huh, Hawick actually looks pretty good in that one! (Ok I know he has a hat, but I can actually semi-envision him half-bald right now! XD)

Can someone photoshop Yuan Hong into that pic too? Shouldn't be too hard right, there are tons of Qing-dynasty YH floating around...I'd love to see one of the trio. ^_^ (Also I'm fine with YH not getting the girl, but does his character at least get a happy ending at least? I feel like the poor guy doesn't have much luck when it comes to happy endings in his series... )

[Vienne94]

Though Yuan Hong excels in portraying melancholic characters with depth, I feel his acting still needs some polishing. When I watched BBJX and LOCH08, I actually cringed at his intense emotional scenes that required outbursts/cries. He's really good at the subtle teary eyes scenes, but the more "explosive" scenes come off to me as cheesy, exaggerated, and forceful. I think not many male actors can naturally do those "explosive" acting scenes. The only actors I think can do those scenes really well are the veterans like Chen Daoming and Tang Guoqiang. Kevin Cheung and Nicky Wu were pretty impressive too in BBJX.

Hmm I think I agree with you on some of his scenes in LOCH08 but his portrayal of 13th prince in BBJX was PERFECT! Just how I imagined that character when I read the novel. The only explosive scene he had in BBJX was when he tried to attack 9th (I think) and I thought he did a terrific job with that scene. The thing is when I see YH act, I forget that he's YH and I only see the character. Not easy considering he is pretty famous and has acted in many other series before. Anyway best of luck to him and the rest of the cast in this series.

[JoleCole]

Hmm I think I agree with you on some of his scenes in LOCH08 but his portrayal of 13th prince in BBJX was PERFECT! Just how I imagined that character when I read the novel. The only explosive scene he had in BBJX was when he tried to attack 9th (I think) and I thought he did a terrific job with that scene. The thing is when I see YH act, I forget that he's YH and I only see the character. Not easy considering he is pretty famous and has acted in many other series before. Anyway best of luck to him and the rest of the cast in this series.

Yes, I agree that particular scene where he attacked 9th Prince was naturally acted out. I guess the scene that got stuck in my head where I cringed was the ending scene at RuoXi's funeral. He was trying to cry really hard, but i wasn't taken in by his cries compared to Nicky Wu's 4th Prince, and I think even Lin GengXin's acted a little more natural than him. His cries at Ming Hui's death scene wasn't speculator either. I think the problem lies in his failure to emote his cries and speak his lines at the same time. Other than that, YH was really good as 13th Prince.

Hawick actually filmed a Qing Dynasty drama before with Ren Quan called 大清徽商. I remember he said in an interview, his first mainland Chinese TV series was actually this Qing Dynasty drama in 2004. His bald-headedness sorta reminds me of Steven Ma in Life of a Sentinel.
He's blessed with a baby-face
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...but I think I prefer his matured serious look more. haha...
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[xiaolong]

Strange, I don't remember cringing at anyone's acting during the sad parts of BBJX. I remember certain YK-MNC scenes in LOCH08 as really cringeworthy, but not in BBJX. I thought YH's acting was the same as Kevin's at Ming Hui's death, even on 2nd viewing. Or maybe I'm not as experienced or discerning as you, hahaha!

Anyway, YH's still very underrated compared to lots of less talented actors. So I do hope to see him in more good roles even if he's not perfect. There are other actors I've gone allergic to/don't want to see anymore, e.g. Mickey He. It's just the whole Mickey & YZ thing...I know, I'm biased. Sorry!

As for Hawick, the first Mainland series I saw him in was Feng Chuan Mu Dan - that's the series which made me a fan of Li Xiao Ran, but I didn't care for him in that series. I just felt he was rather washed out - not sure if it's just him, or the script for the character was weak. But I haven't seen Sealed With A Kiss as I've been insanely busy. Will definitely give that a go once I find the time.

[JoleCole]

Strange, I don't remember cringing at anyone's acting during the sad parts of BBJX. I remember certain YK-MNC scenes in LOCH08 as really cringeworthy, but not in BBJX. I thought YH's acting was the same as Kevin's at Ming Hui's death, even on 2nd viewing. Or maybe I'm not as experienced or discerning as you, hahaha!

Nah, maybe it's just my personal preference for a certain style of acting. Others thought he was good in those scenes.

Anyway, YH's still very underrated compared to lots of less talented actors. So I do hope to see him in more good roles even if he's not perfect. There are other actors I've gone allergic to/don't want to see anymore, e.g. Mickey He. It's just the whole Mickey & YZ thing...I know, I'm biased. Sorry!

Yep, Yuan Hong is one of the actors I hope will rise to stardom like what happened to Hu Ge, Yang Mi, and FSF. He deserves it. Just like what Wang Zhonglei from Huayi Bros. said, Yuan Hong lacks luck in his career. He definitely has a lot of potential and I feel he's very well-read and knowledgeable unlike most of his peers.

As for Hawick, the first Mainland series I saw him in was Feng Chuan Mu Dan - that's the series which made me a fan of Li Xiao Ran, but I didn't care for him in that series. I just felt he was rather washed out - not sure if it's just him, or the script for the character was weak. But I haven't seen Sealed With A Kiss as I've been insanely busy. Will definitely give that a go once I find the time.

Just a little warning, the plot and premise for Sealed with a Kiss is quite...how do I say it...twisted, morally unhealthy, disturbing, distorted and full of "dog-blood"...LOL...Most people either hate or love the drama. I personally grew up watching horror movies/serial killers/mystery/psychological thrillers, so the distorted premise did NADA to my sensibilities and SWAK is like sugarcoated candy compared to what I usually watched with my friends on a Friday's evening. And Hawick's character is an anti-hero...but i find him brilliant in his portrayal...I'm sure some will disagree with me

[xiaolong]

Oh dear, the second Mainland series I saw Hawick in was Yu Zheng's Happy Mother-In-Law, Pretty Daughter-In-Law - a really...errr...PMS-stricken series. And I got extremely allergic to Mickey He after that one.

So OK, I still need to see Sealed With A Kiss to be able to see Hawick as a convincing Kangxi, heheheh!

The director of this series will be Zeng Li Zhen (曾丽珍) who also directed Feng Chuan Mu Dan (Hawick & Li Xiao Ran), Too Late To Say I Love You (Wallace Chung & Li Xiao Ran) and Shang Shu Fang (YH & YM). So she's worked with both Hawick and YH before, but this should be the first time she's working with Tong Liya.

[mango_cake]

Yeah, I still don't get why Yuan Hong is not even a fraction as popular as some of the other young actors/actresses... Oh well, I think his time will come eventually...

Just a little warning, the plot and premise for Sealed with a Kiss is quite...how do I say it...twisted, morally unhealthy, disturbing, distorted and full of "dog-blood"...LOL...Most people either hate or love the drama. I personally grew up watching horror movies/serial killers/mystery/psychological thrillers, so the distorted premise did NADA to my sensibilities and SWAK is like sugarcoated candy compared to what I usually watched with my friends on a Friday's evening. And Hawick's character is an anti-hero...but i find him brilliant in his portrayal...I'm sure some will disagree with me

I've been totally wanting to give SWAK a go! (Funny, the first time I saw you use that acronym I thought you were referring to ISWAK, LOL!). Anyways, I usually get super bored of cotton-candy type idol-dramas (like ISWAK...and other TW dramas haha) and am totally intrigued by the more twisted and disturbing plots. XD (However, unlike you I draw the line at horror movies and serial killers because I can't handle gore or supernatural horror stuff.) So yeah, SWAK seems right up my alley! Now I just need to find time like xiaolong to get around to watching it... (ok, it'd probably help if I didn't spend most of my internet time these days fangirling over FengMi, but y'know, I can't give that up... )

[xiaolong]

Here's a preview of Hawick's bald head
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[Dragon Heiress]

Yeah, I still don't get why Yuan Hong is not even a fraction as popular as some of the other young actors/actresses...

I think it's because he works freelance (does he even have PR?), and from his interviews, he doesn't seem personally ambitious at all. He spends time hanging out with his homies and stuff so he's probably more relaxed about his career than most other actors, especially with no management even encouraging him to take on more.

[yanange]

Yeah, I still don't get why Yuan Hong is not even a fraction as popular as some of the other young actors/actresses... Oh well, I think his time will come eventually...



I've been totally wanting to give SWAK a go! (Funny, the first time I saw you use that acronym I thought you were referring to ISWAK, LOL!). Anyways, I usually get super bored of cotton-candy type idol-dramas (like ISWAK...and other TW dramas haha) and am totally intrigued by the more twisted and disturbing plots. XD (However, unlike you I draw the line at horror movies and serial killers because I can't handle gore or supernatural horror stuff.) So yeah, SWAK seems right up my alley! Now I just need to find time like xiaolong to get around to watching it... (ok, it'd probably help if I didn't spend most of my internet time these days fangirling over FengMi, but y'know, I can't give that up... )

Like JoleCole, I am a massive massive SWAK fan, out of over 20/30+ C/K/TW/ J dramas I have seen and not finished, fast forward in 2011, sealed with a kiss is awesome...haha...probably because I like the Mo Shiao Qian character that Hawick plays. His character is disturbed, psychotic, crazy and possessive, but he has a soft side to him that I like. It's a dichotomy. Most either love him or hate him, cause some of his actions are immoral, unethical, torturous, and serial killerish like. But if you like those torturous love story types, you will like this, also I am watching this series / rewatching for third time, still enjoyable. Hawick is awesomely convincing in this!!

[yanange]

I think it's because he works freelance (does he even have PR?), and from his interviews, he doesn't seem personally ambitious at all. He spends time hanging out with his homies and stuff so he's probably more relaxed about his career than most other actors, especially with no management even encouraging him to take on more.

Oh really, it shows that Yuan Hong has passion, which is not a bad thing, he works to live not the other way round. But than, I thought Yuan Hong acted in loads of Tang Ren movie/TV production house cause with LOCH2008, Tian Ya Zhi Nu (note he was lead male in this, but a series that I do not recommend, waste of time even with Liu Shi Shi and Yuan Hong in it!!) and BBJX. But I maybe wrong.

======================

And a preview of the series, I think it's a fan-made preview

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQ1NzA0MTU2.html

[xiaolong]

Oh really, it shos that Yuan Hong has passion, which is not a bad thing, he works to live not the other way round. But than, I thought Yuan Hong acted in loads of Tang Ren movie/TV production house cause with LOCH2008, Tian Ya Gu Nu (note he was lead male in this, but a series that I do not recommend, waste of time!!) and BBJX. But I maybe wrong.

Well, he never got a good lead role in Tangren, so no loss. I'm still gobsmacked at what a bad job Tangren made of Tian Ya Zhi Nu with some of the most blue-blooded veterans in the industry there, i.e. Amy Chan, Cheng Pei Pei, Damian Lau...and then there was Janine Chang who never made a bad choice in her productions until this. YH & LSS had to be there as employees of Tangren (YH was employed at that time), but Janine, Amy Chan & Cheng Pei Pei were there by choice?! What happened?

BTW, isn't Chun Wan starting to film very soon? I believe December is slated as starting date.