Yun Zhong Ge 《云中歌》 - Angelababy, Lu Yi, Chen Xiao, Du Chun, Yang Rong

[Dmm19]

My first post in this thread.

1- The empress Xiaomei is a Shangguan, so she is the daughter and grand daughter of the two Shangguan being killed by HuoGuang, right? Her mother who commits suicide is HuoGuang's eldest girl, right?
2- What is Yun Ge's family name? I don't think we have been told yet. There's some mystery around her identity. Maybe someone who read the novel can say if she is related to other characters in the series?
3- Why the previous emperor killed Ling gege's mother, his concubine?
4- Mengjue's brother has been killed by his father when he was young. Was it to save Liu Bing Yi from the royal massacre? And why there was that massacre of a royal family?

To answer your questions

click to show/hide spoilers

1. Empress Xiaomei is the granddaughter of the Shangguan family on her paternal side that was massacred by Huo Guang, their in-laws. Yes her mother is Huo Guang's eldest daughter, the one who killed herself after her husband who is a Shangguan was killed by her father's own sword. This is why we get the heartbreaking scene at the end of that episode where she is crying over her family's bloodbath quietly in her own royal chamber a presumably safe place, but the Emperor advises her to hide her feelings because they are all being constantly watched and nobody is safe from imperial politics, not even family.

2. From what I've seen so far, the series did not reveal her family name once, but Yun Ge is actually a Huo herself. If you have never read the book or know that this is a sequel to Sound of the Desert, she is actually the daughter of the prequel's OTP - Jin Yu (mother) and general Huo Qu Bing (father, who is Huo Guang's older brother). Which makes Huo Guang her uncle and nemesis Huo Cheng Jun her cousin all along. If the drama stays faithful to the events of the novel, eventually even the characters themselves will be taken in for a real surprise.

3. Previous Emperor killed Ling Gege's mother Concubine Zhao because he was due to pass his throne to his youngest son Liu Fuling who was 8 years old at that time, and from what he observed a young child very dependent and attached to his mother (ffs, just a normal loving mother-son relationship). In his mind, this cannot be allowed for a soon-to-be ruler of the country and he just wants to make the young Fuling independent and ready for the throne.

4. Meng Jue's younger brother was substituted in place for a young Liu Bingyi whom who would'v been killed along with the rest of his family as part of the infamous Crown Prince Ju massacre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Ju For more historical background information on the events leading up to it. But the series gave a shorter (and less accurate) version of it in that Crown Prince was falsely framed for witchcraft against his own father the Emperor and seeing that witchcraft was all the malicious deal back in the day it was enough reason to kill his son and everyone related on a whim!

Hope that answered your questions !

[Sakuya]

Wow, thanks for sharing. #2 is definitely interesting. I hope they keep it in the drama.

I just finished watching episode 28. I hate to say it but the last 3 episodes have been pretty draggy. I hope things pick up soon! I want to get into the more intense plot line.

[sonny4T]

@Dmm19
Thanks a lot for your information. The novel actually seems more exciting than the series. Wondering if there's an English version of the trilogy because there are 3 novels right?
I always suspected that Yun Ge had some connections to the other characters and not only to Meng Jue and Liu Fu Ling as shown in the three first episodes. But that connection, I've never thought about.

[Dmm19]

@sonny4T The bloggers Koalasplayground and Sparkskey have English translations on their blogs chapter by chapter, though neither have translated the whole novel from what I see. Those are great options if you cannot read Chinese but still want to read the novels, which are always better than TV adaptations. However if you can I highly urge the original publications in Chinese just because a lot of the intended language and metaphorical sayings are simply lost in translation in the English version or do not quite transcend over.

@Sakuya : I am also up to episode 28. Funny thing is I have been ragging on this show for majority of the series, but always held out on the hope that it gets better ever since I started the show - which to its credit it does. BUT when it actually gets good the producers seem to dick around with the intellect and patience of his audience (which he fails to grasp have more brains than he realizes) and drags it out unnecessarily when it isn't needed. Which is how I would describe the show - draggy when it shouldn't be, and inconsiderately fast when it could actually use more elaboration or explanation. Frustrating drama indeed.
In my opinion, Lu Yi as Emperor Liu Fuling is literally carrying this drama right now for as long as he is still part of the story. So is Du Chun though I still have a hard time getting over his looks (or lack of) for Meng Jue as shallow as that sounds. Really hope everything else catches up eventually to do justice to what Tong Hua has beautifully created

[Sakuya]

@Sakuya : I am also up to episode 28. Funny thing is I have been ragging on this show for majority of the series, but always held out on the hope that it gets better ever since I started the show - which to its credit it does. BUT when it actually gets good the producers seem to dick around with the intellect and patience of his audience (which he fails to grasp have more brains than he realizes) and drags it out unnecessarily when it isn't needed. Which is how I would describe the show - draggy when it shouldn't be, and inconsiderately fast when it could actually use more elaboration or explanation. Frustrating drama indeed.
In my opinion, Lu Yi as Emperor Liu Fuling is literally carrying this drama right now for as long as he is still part of the story. So is Du Chun though I still have a hard time getting over his looks (or lack of) for Meng Jue as shallow as that sounds. Really hope everything else catches up eventually to do justice to what Tong Hua has beautifully created

I wonder if it would've been handled much better if it was by the same team who did BBJX. I do agree, it's either too draggy or too fast.

By the way, anyone else think Du Chun in this series look more and more like Raymond Lam?

[Dmm19]

I wonder if it would've been handled much better if it was by the same team who did BBJX. I do agree, it's either too draggy or too fast.

Oh don't get me started on that ! I've been rooting for Tangren to produce this since they did such a good job with the other Tong Hua works with BBJX and Sound of the Desert. As much as I have a strong love-hate relationship going on with this series I still wish Yu Zheng did not touch this with a ten foot pole to begin with ...

[ToastedRossi]

I haven't watched the show yet, but is it really as bad as it seems? I wouldn't have thought that the adaptation would be any good because it's way beyond what Yu Zheng is able to pull off.

@Dmm19
Thanks a lot for your information. The novel actually seems more exciting than the series. Wondering if there's an English version of the trilogy because there are 3 novels right?
I always suspected that Yun Ge had some connections to the other characters and not only to Meng Jue and Liu Fu Ling as shown in the three first episodes. But that connection, I've never thought about.

There have been only two novels released in the trilogy so far. I believe that the third novel has a tenative title of "Sorrow Relieving Tune". It's useful to have know the story of "Ballad of the Desert", but it's not really necessary. Yun Ge doesn't know anything, and the only interactions she's had with other characters before the main story (other than her brother) have been depicted.

Oh don't get me started on that ! I've been rooting for Tangren to produce this since they did such a good job with the other Tong Hua works with BBJX and Sound of the Desert. As much as I have a strong love-hate relationship going on with this series I still wish Yu Zheng did not touch this with a ten foot pole to begin with ...

Ditto. The fact that Tong Hua hates Yu Zheng doesn't help things.

[Sakuya]

Ditto. The fact that Tong Hua hates Yu Zheng doesn't help things.

Actually, I'm surprised how Yu Zheng ended up with this series if Tong Hua doesn't like him. Does the author not have the rights to choose which production team to go with or sign off on the TV's screenplay?

[ToastedRossi]

Actually, I'm surprised how Yu Zheng ended up with this series if Tong Hua doesn't like him. Does the author not have the rights to choose which production team to go with or sign off on the TV's screenplay?

Yu Zheng picked up the rights to Yun Zhong Ge around the time that he was making Gong. At that time, he wanted the rights to BBJX, but Tangren grabbed that and Ballad of the Desert first. Tong Hua's hate-on dates from last year (although it may have been building up for a while now).

[Dmm19]

Just finished ep 32, and the ending as bittersweet - is finally going to set off the political intrigue that has been building up over the last little awhile. For those who's been skipping through this draggy series just to get on with the plot

click to show/hide spoilers

Liu Fuling finally dies and I don't know if I am the only one feeling this way but he is pretty much the reason why I've been putting up with this series

[Dmm19]

I haven't watched the show yet, but is it really as bad as it seems? I wouldn't have thought that the adaptation would be any good because it's way beyond what Yu Zheng is able to pull off.
.

I have very mixed feelings about this series. It is super flawed, and sloppy if you will- and it's not hard to see why if you ever started it. It manages to get better though I credit that more to the story's plot than anything but its inconsistencies make this a tiring drama to follow to sum things up. I understand that TV adaptations can never quite fully bring out what the books illustrate, but on same token I have seen adaptations that can bring out to a degree what the original work and its characters intend to in audiences. With that said YZ failed to convince, and no amount of pretty with the colors and costumes can make up for that. Style with no substance is sadly how I would describe this series, and this is coming from someone who tried to like it for the 30+ episodes while others I know already dropped it

[Sakuya]

Just finished ep 32, and the ending as bittersweet - is finally going to set off the political intrigue that has been building up over the last little awhile. For those who's been skipping through this draggy series just to get on with the plot

click to show/hide spoilers

Liu Fuling finally dies and I don't know if I am the only one feeling this way but he is pretty much the reason why I've been putting up with this series

Wow, I haven't watched that part yet but...

click to show/hide spoilers

Wow, I can't believe he really dies! And isn't it too early for him to die? What will happen in the remainder of the series! I don't really like the couple of MJ and YG if they're going towards that route... Or does she not end up with him either as evident in a certain mountain-top scene where she's dressed in a purple outfit?

Up to this point, what made me kept watching was YG finding LFL and how they will progress. Currently with the whole love triangle (or square if you will) is making it kind of boring for me. I want to see how LFL will get out of this problem and saving Xiao Mei in the process because I can't bear to see her get a bad ending. As for MJ, I seriously find him a bit annoying by now (could it be due to the directing?) because please, just keep your feelings to yourself now and stop forcing poor YG because she no longer likes you. ~_~

[sonny4T]

@Dmm19 @ToastedRossi
Thanks you guys for the info about the novels. My hanyu isn't good enough to read the original version. I'm gonna read the translation by the bloggers.
Still looking for ep 29 with subtitles.

[Dmm19]

Wow, I haven't watched that part yet but...

click to show/hide spoilers

Wow, I can't believe he really dies! And isn't it too early for him to die? What will happen in the remainder of the series! I don't really like the couple of MJ and YG if they're going towards that route... Or does she not end up with him either as evident in a certain mountain-top scene where she's dressed in a purple outfit?

Historically and plot-wise it is actually a very important event that set up future events particularly in the political aspect, as much as I hate how it breaks our hearts.

click to show/hide spoilers

The real Liu Fu Ling died barely into his adulthood at 20 years old and YZG stayed true to this course. I believe finding an older actor (Lu Yi is almost 40) to portray a young character way beyond his years- having seen more for his age than any other- makes it easy to overlook the fact he was in fact very young when he tragically passed.

[ToastedRossi]

I have very mixed feelings about this series. It is super flawed, and sloppy if you will- and it's not hard to see why if you ever started it. It manages to get better though I credit that more to the story's plot than anything but its inconsistencies make this a tiring drama to follow to sum things up. I understand that TV adaptations can never quite fully bring out what the books illustrate, but on same token I have seen adaptations that can bring out to a degree what the original work and its characters intend to in audiences. With that said YZ failed to convince, and no amount of pretty with the colors and costumes can make up for that. Style with no substance is sadly how I would describe this series, and this is coming from someone who tried to like it for the 30+ episodes while others I know already dropped it

I would never complain if a show wasn't able to bring out everything that the source material had going for it. However, Yu Zheng consistently demonstrates that he doesn't understand even basic things like the tone and mood of the originals. For example, Yun Zhong Ge shouldn't be shot with his characteristic florescent colors. Not only is the primary coloration during the Han dynasty more muted, one of the most important themes of the book is that of subtlety and deception. Unnaturally bright colors run counter to this and end up undermining the tone.

[Dmm19]

I would never complain if a show wasn't able to bring out everything that the source material had going for it. However, Yu Zheng consistently demonstrates that he doesn't understand even basic things like the tone and mood of the originals. For example, Yun Zhong Ge shouldn't be shot with his characteristic florescent colors. Not only is the primary coloration during the Han dynasty more muted, one of the most important themes of the book is that of subtlety and deception. Unnaturally bright colors run counter to this and end up undermining the tone.

I have yet to seen a TV adaptation that does its book justice in every element like you said so I don't expect that especially not from a Yu Zheng production, but you took words right outta my mouth when you said Yu Zheng fails to capture the tone and mood of the original story. Which is perhaps my biggest problem with this series and why I feel like he failed to convince, just couldn't quite put it quite down like you did.

Another important element that has been watered down from the book is how there is this mutual unspoken understanding - a sense of maturity, between the characters among all the ambiguity. Yu Zheng manages to transform that into something very simplistic instead (in a not so-good explicit way), making it feel like he has 'dumbed' down the story for the sake of creating a pure lala-land type of romance which few finds refreshing. It doesn't help either that the chemistry among the leads are rather lacking, though everyone for the most part seem to do a decent job with their individual roles. I especially like Su Qing as Xu Ping Jun and Lu Yi's Ling gege.

[sonny4T]

The last 3 episodes are so sad, so dramatic. The next episodes will be all about conspiracy in the imperial court. It reminds me of the Wu Zetian drama.

click to show/hide spoilers

BaiHe sacrificed herself to save the Emperor.
Despite her sacrifice, Emperor Liu Fuling died anyway. It's the saddest event I've ever seen on the Chinese TV.
Yunge will never have the happiness she has been expecting.
Empress Xiaomei will become a very young Empress dowager even though she never slept with her husband Emperor. What an irony!

There's something I don't get. Liu Fuling asked Empress Xiaomei to support Liu Xun as the new Emperor and give him the royal seals once he's on the throne. But he also told her to give them to Huo Guang in case he supports LiuHe and puts LiuHe on the throne. Is it correct? That's very weird to understand.

[ToastedRossi]

Another important element that has been watered down from the book is how there is this mutual unspoken understanding - a sense of maturity, between the characters among all the ambiguity. Yu Zheng manages to transform that into something very simplistic instead (in a not so-good explicit way), making it feel like he has 'dumbed' down the story for the sake of creating a pure lala-land type of romance which few finds refreshing. It doesn't help either that the chemistry among the leads are rather lacking, though everyone for the most part seem to do a decent job with their individual roles. I especially like Su Qing as Xu Ping Jun and Lu Yi's Ling gege.

The book is an intermix of nine characters: Yun Ge, Meng Jue, Liu Fuling, Liu Xun, Xu Pingjun, Huo Guang, Huo Chengjun, Liu He, and Shangguan Xiaomei. Of all of these, the only straightforward charcter is Liu He, with many of them running schemes within schemes. This kind of setup runs directly counter to the kind of antics Yu Zheng normally tries to pull off, so it could only end up as a disappointment. If there are only a couple of good performances among the list, then the show has failed at a fundamental level.

I'm going to end up watching the show eventually, but I find it hard to believe that there isn't much chemistry between Yun Ge and Liu Fuling. That should have been really easy to pull off especially considering all the near misses built early on in the story. It'd be a lot less surprising if the chemistry between Yun Ge and Meng Jue isn't very strong. I wouldn't think of it as the main romance, and it's prone to pitfalls that the story itself acknowledges.

The last 3 episodes are so sad, so dramatic. The next episodes will be all about conspiracy in the imperial court. It reminds me of the Wu Zetian drama.

click to show/hide spoilers

BaiHe sacrificed herself to save the Emperor.
Despite her sacrifice, Emperor Liu Fuling died anyway. It's the saddest event I've ever seen on the Chinese TV.
Yunge will never have the happiness she has been expecting.
Empress Xiaomei will become a very young Empress dowager even though she never slept with her husband Emperor. What an irony!

There's something I don't get. Liu Fuling asked Empress Xiaomei to support Liu Xun as the new Emperor and give him the royal seals once he's on the throne. But he also told her to give them to Huo Guang in case he supports LiuHe and puts LiuHe on the throne. Is it correct? That's very weird to understand.

click to show/hide spoilers

Liu Fuling liked Liu He a lot more than Liu Xun, but he also knew that Liu Xun would make a better Emperor. His main goal was to have the office of the Emperor overthrow the power of the Huo family, and this would only be possible if Liu Xun took over. However, Huo Guang was still the most powerful man in China, so a ruling Liu Xun in direct opposition to Huo Guang could only lead to civil war or a bloody coup, and that was the last thing that Liu Fuling wanted. So to forestall that, he wanted to support whoever Huo Guang supported.

By the way, is Shangguan Xiaomei pulled off well in the show? She's probably my favorite character after Liu Fuling and a character to be shown later.

[Dmm19]

The book is an intermix of nine characters: Yun Ge, Meng Jue, Liu Fuling, Liu Xun, Xu Pingjun, Huo Guang, Huo Chengjun, Liu He, and Shangguan Xiaomei. Of all of these, the only straightforward charcter is Liu He, with many of them running schemes within schemes. This kind of setup runs directly counter to the kind of antics Yu Zheng normally tries to pull off, so it could only end up as a disappointment. If there are only a couple of good performances among the list, then the show has failed at a fundamental level.

Acting is good overall- especially impressive for me is Yang Rong (Huo Chengjun) , Su Qing (Ping Jun), Lu Yi (Ling gege) and the others all doing it for me. Though I was very initially iffy with Du Chun (Meng Jue) and Bao Bei Er (Liu He) being casted for their respective roles because they definitely didn't have the looks for the characters, their acting says otherwise. I actually think Bao Bei Er might just be the most versatile actor of the bunch. Chen Xiao has been inconsistent, but we are just arriving at the point where it's finally his chance to shine. Weakest link is Angelababy but even then I think she's doing quite well for her first TV series.

Nothing has been mentioned of the secondary characters so far but everyone from Yu An, Mo Cha and Fu Yu are all great choices too.

I'm going to end up watching the show eventually, but I find it hard to believe that there isn't much chemistry between Yun Ge and Liu Fuling. That should have been really easy to pull off especially considering all the near misses built early on in the story. It'd be a lot less surprising if the chemistry between Yun Ge and Meng Jue isn't very strong. I wouldn't think of it as the main romance, and it's prone to pitfalls that the story itself acknowledges.

The lack of chemistry is more so between them as actors. I find that while you can tell Ling gege's love and gentle longing passion for Yun Ge with every glance of his and that body language - AB just kinda has the same expression for all her emotions and I can't help but feel like she's doing her own thing whenever they're together.

By the way, is Shangguan Xiaomei pulled off well in the show? She's probably my favorite character after Liu Fuling and a character to be shown later.

I personally really, really liked Shangguan Xiaomei and the actress (Mao Xiao Tong) who does a very likable job of her. In a previous post I mentioned just how much I adore her and also included a few pretty stills. I also thought she and Lu Yi had better chemistry as actors and make a convincing do-no-wrong young royal pair. She is probably my favorite YZG casting (other than Su Qing) so good job Yu Zheng for this one. Hopefully you will like her as much as I do And speaking of the "other character" I absolutely cannot wait either - that has got to be one of my more anticipated moments !

By the way, please tell us what you think once you get a chance to check out the series! I want to hear what another fan of the original novel thinks about this adaptation other than me lol

[ToastedRossi]

The lack of chemistry is more so between them as actors. I find that while you can tell Ling gege's love and gentle longing passion for Yun Ge with every glance of his and that body language - AB just kinda has the same expression for all her emotions and I can't help but feel like she's doing her own thing whenever they're together.

That's really too bad, but it sounds more like poor direction rather than weak acting. It should have been really easy to portray their relationship.

And speaking of the "other character" I absolutely cannot wait either - that has got to be one of my more anticipated moments !

Everyone likes that character! Should be pretty easy to portray as well.

By the way, please tell us what you think once you get a chance to check out the series! I want to hear what another fan of the original novel thinks about this adaptation other than me lol

I just watched the first episode, and it's incredibly bad. Making an original story isn't a problem. An original story of this type is going to be inconsequential, so its objective should be to provide a hook into the main story and to show off the characters' salient points. However, the one in this show plays the characters, especially Liu Fuling, wrong and is boring to boot. I guess I'll have to soldier on.

I've been watching on Todou so far. Are there any better sites for Yun Zhong Ge?

Oh, and why the hell is their tent decorated with a Taira mon? As far as I know, it'll be another nine hundred years before their clan is even founded.

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