ZYQ is a good actor. He went through depression and had the courage to acknowledge that and other situations he went through. I hope he gets more opportunities; he deserves it. There are many good Chinese actors "responsible" for the increased visibility of #cdramas who deserve more projects.

Zhao Yi Qin has already starred in many #cdramas between 2019 and 2020. For example, #MyYouth/#SaluteToMyYouth/#WaitMyYouth, known by these three names, is one of those youth dramas that the Chinese do so well, and it's such an underrated drama! One of my favorites.

Here's my hit take on #Rebirth

-cast needed a few different actors in key roles

-editing style is too exaggerated

-writing is trying to go epic instead of connecting w/the characters.

-the last few #CDramas were great so it invites comparison.

People should watch and decide for themselves.

#HanDongJun
#WilliamChan
#BaoShangen
#ZhaoQing
#ZhangMiaoyi

#cdramas rumoured to release promotional material or make announcements at #iQIYIWorldConference:

#RomanceNextDoor
#ShadowOfDesire
#KeyToThePhoenixHeart
#LoveKillsSlowly
#ASmallTownRemedy
#TheLegendOfZhenniang
#TheWhimsicalReturns

#chinguchallenge DAY 12: Comedy
#cdramas I've cried laughing at:
Guardians of Dafeng &
My Heroic Husband, for instance
#kdramas excel, too
Current fav. #ThePhantomLawyer w/Yoo Yeonseok, who is WONDERFUL and seems to be having a great time IRL doing it.
A joy to watch!

Pursuit of Jade (2026) review After he is seriously injured in a battle, the Marquis of Wu’an is found by Fan Changyu, a butcher from the village of Li’an. As he hides from his enemies in the village, he grows closer to Changyu and they eventually get into a marriage of convenience so that she can keep her house. Meanwhile, schemes are afoot when a mysterious “merchant”, Qi Min, makes an appearance in their idyllic village. ## Characters **Xie Zheng** (played by Zhang Linghe): The Marquis of Wu’an, and famous general, he was ambushed and severely injured, forcing him to hide in a village. **Fan Changyu** (played by Tian Xiwei): A simple lady who grew up in a family of butchers in Lin’an Town. Her parents died tragically at the hands of bandits. Born with immense physical strength, she is fiery, resilient, and tough. **Li Huaian** (played by Ren Hao): Born into a prestigious family, he is accomplished in both literary and martial arts. He is ordered by his master to travel south to Lin’an. **Yu Qianqian** (played by Kong Xueer): Manager of the Yixiang Lou restaurant and best friend Changyu. She has a dark past she wants to forget. **Qi Min** (played by Deng Kai): A mysterious merchant with a cruel bent. He has a history with Qianqian. ## What I Like About the Drama **The director’s craftsmanship makes this drama an exquisite experience.** His camera work is absolutely gorgeous; every scene is framed like a piece of art. He knows how to bring out the best in his actors. I had seen both leads in previous works, but they were never as impressive as they are here. The costumes, lighting, styling of the actors makes Pursuit of the Jade an exquisite experience. **The story’s bones is strong … mostly**. Although I feel that the director spent a bit too long in the village, I understand the logic. He wanted establish Changyu and Xie Zheng’s motivations later. Consequently, the first half set in the village was excellent, even if slightly dragged out before the court politics kicked in. **Zhang Linghe performs well here**. He hadn’t impressed me before, even in the much lauded Story of Kunning Palace much less Princess Royale. However, he did very well here. I feel that the director knew how to direct him, and he thrived under that direction. Like I said, the director has a deft hand at bringing the best out of the actors and building up the characters, so they came to life, even the side characters. I loved the slow-burn romance between the main couple. The female lead’s “strong woman” trope was handled well. Deng Kai should give the director lots of gifts because he blew up thanks to this drama. **A surprise discovery: Deng Kai, the second lead.** He is usually unremarkable in other shows—not bad, just not notable. But here, he gets a humongous glow-up. He is not only gorgeous here (that grey wig worked hard!); his character literally stole the show, and he has since blown up in popularity. (He’s now one of Shiseido’s brand ambassadors. Talk about fast rise!) I expect him to secure more prominent, perhaps, leading roles in the future. ## What I Didn’t Like **The court politics were vague.** Bits and pieces of the story should’ve been sprinkled throughout the arc, but too much of it remained a mystery until the last arc. This left viewers clueless for most of the series. We are left wondering: Who is who? Why are factions rebelling? Who are the scheming ministers? Because these elements lack foundation, the second half feels rootless and somewhat boring, despite dominating the runtime. The first half, though occasionally draggy, offered enjoyable character interactions. The second half, however, felt hollow and rushed—a typical rushed ending. The romantic intensity didn’t reach the heights of _Fated Hearts_ , which felt perfect with off-the-charts chemistry. Whilst I appreciated the romance in _Pursuit of Jade_ , it didn’t feel “hot” enough for me. Ironically, the second couple was hotter and ultimately stole the show. ## What I Thought About the Ending Click to reveal my thoughts The second half, however, felt hollow and rushed—a typical rushed ending. Oddly, I had to force myself to watch the ending, which was happy, fortunately. There was a cute alternate ending where we explore what happened if the fire hadn’t happened. I felt sad for Qi Min. He would’ve been a noble crown prince ## Final Thoughts Interestingly, the drama faced significant controversy during its airing. I felt sorry for the director, as this was his first large-scale project since _Blossom_. I’m unsure if the attention helped or hurt him, but any publicity is arguably good. Zhang Linghe faced scrutiny, coinciding with an NRTA report urging the industry to prioritise scriptwriting over “traffic stars.” Whilst the report wasn’t specifically about _Pursuit of Jade_ , the timing was uncanny. There was much discussion about Zhang Linghe looking “too pretty” to be a general. Admittedly, the director shoots in a way that actors seem to look ten times better than usual, and Zhang Linghe, whom I hadn’t previously considered handsome, was actually stunning here. This weirdly led to scandals labelling him the “Foundation General” due to heavy makeup. Odd because the “foundation generals” have been a thing for years, and somehow Zhang Linghe became the mascot for the issue somehow. Overall, _Pursuit of Jade_ is a really good show, one of those rare dramas that grabs you by the throat. However, unlike _Fated Hearts_ , which wowed me from start to finish and remains endlessly rewatchable, I would likely only rewatch the first half of _Pursuit of Jade_. I didn’t enjoy the court politics enough to sit through the second half again. **Final rating: 3.5 out of 5** ### Share this: * Share on X (Opens in new window) X * Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook * More * * Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email * Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit * Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr * Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest * Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram * Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp * Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon * Like Loading... ### _Related_

Pursuit of Jade is an exquisite viewing experience, even if the story is a little shaky towards the end.

#PursuitOfJade #ZhangLinghe #TianXiWei #CDrama #CDramas

dramatea88.wordpress.com/2026/04/09/pursuit-of-ja...

(Actually #cdramas.)

Interesting editing choices on #Rebirth. It feels purposefully choppy. Also Zhou Lu La is in this. 🥳 #CDramas

Rewatching #EternalLoveofDream which I honestly was called something else for a long time. Everybody famous is up in this. #CDramas

Also playing a fox here and getting to call a character in a later drama foxy is charming. #LoveBeyondtheGrave

#chinguchallenge Day 8: enemies to lovers
#cdramas

#ThePrincessRoyal Married couple who despise ea other die & return to younger selves for a do over🤗

#PrisonerofBeauty Political marriage bet. foes after many trials testing their assumptions about the other becomes ❣️
Brilliant writing makes it A+

A picture of Earth traveling through space from the movie 'The Wandering Earth' under the words 'Michael's Take: The Wandering Earth' and the SF-Fandom Forums logo.

I was bored so I watched [i]The Wandering Earth[/i] and reviewed it in the SF-Fandom forums.

https://forums.sf-fandom.com/thread-38680.html

#cdrama #cdramas #sciencefiction #scifi

Logging off to watch some #cdramas but uniquely because it helps with my mandarin accent, of course

Biased opinion coming. I believe #CDramas do enemies to lovers tropes > #KDramas. So my pick today is #FatedHearts. #ChinguChallenge

Original post on c.im

I am not as deeply involved with #cdrama fandom as I have been with American #scifi fandom for several decades. So I admit I don't understand all the controversies that arise around #CDramas

Actually - some of the American SciFi fan drama escapes my reasoning, too - but I digress.

Anyway, in […]

a man is carrying a woman on his back with the words ' a ' on the bottom right corner ALT: a man is carrying a woman on his back with the words ' a ' on the bottom right corner

Modern Romance: I’ll go with No Gain, No Love for #kdramas here. For #cdramas I’ll go with both Hidden Love and The First Frost. #chinguchallenge

Just out of curiosity: how are generals represented in #kdramas? Is it a different portrayal than in #cdramas?

I recently got a hearing aid for my damaged ear that can properly correct my 75dB hearing loss in the human voice range. Problem is, my brain doesn't remember how to deal with sibilant sounds like 'sh' 'th' 'ch' and 'sss'

Fortunately, Mandarin is super sibilant so #cdramas are brain training!

The Chinese govt released a report urging the C-ent industry to reject “appearance worship” and adhere to “content first, character-driven storytelling.” This scary because it's going to have a direct chilling impact on the stories that can be told in #Cdramas

🔗 www.globaltimes.cn/page/202604/...

When my boyfriend chooses kdramas over me. Sigh...
#kdramas #cdramas no loyalty

On E3 of #VeilofShadows it hasn't caught my attention yet. Its pretty, but that's all I'm getting. Stay tuned for my decision to drop or keep in the next few days. #CDramas

#Kdrama #Cdrama #Jdrama
#chinguchallenge Day 2: Historical Drama

#cdramas I've loved recently:
Pursuit of Jade
Blossom
Judge Dee (Dee Ren Jie) movies&series
The King's Case Notebook
Joy of Life 1,2
Glory
Coroner's Diary
Maiden Holmes
Strange Tales of the T'ang* (inspired by and in same period)

My #Cdramas #Affinity and #ABODesire would approve. 🤭 #AO3Omega

Honorable mention to dozens of mini #cdramas that were "historical" in costume if not much else.

I love them but... 😂

Screen capture of a reminder from Netflix that says: Pick up where you left off. Continue watching Pursuit of Jade

Netflix is now nagging me to “pick up where I left off” watching Pursuit of Jade…

Reader, I watched an episode half an hour ago. 🙄

#cdramas #PursuitOfJade

#cdramas reminding me of my chronic gastritis. I watch these to not think about my health!

I'm all in for #LoveBeyondtheGrave. I love how the FL lounges right before she is about to crash out. I can't tell where the story is going and I love that for me. #CDramas

I typically do not like redemption arcs for characters, but boy, did I want one for Qi Min. Lol. #PursuitofJade #CDramas

We all needed to talk more about how handsome Wei Yan is in that armor. My goodness. One more episode of #PursuitofJade to go. Great show. #CDramas

I hope so! I miss #WanPeng. She's a great actress, she deserves to star in good dramas! Many of us started watching #cdramas because of her: #MyGirlfriendIsAnAlien, #WhenWeWereYoung, #Crush...

Every year i watch number of #cdramas and drop them without finishing a single one sometime until there comes one that completely consumes me and makes me obsessed… few yrs back it was #lovebetweenfairyanddevil , then it was #TheDouble and this yr it’s #PursuitOfJade … all visually stunning epics