Meng Xing Chang An (2021)

Good always triumphs over evil, it's a matter of time. Do you buy this ?

Based on a novel, this drama is one of the most interesting c-drama I have ever watched.
Directors and actors are brilliant ! The production gave it all to offer a high quality drama with wonderfull soundtrack, beautiful scenery and costumes and a very clever storyline.
We are in a chess game. We are not only watchers, we are part of the drama and are with the characters we choose to support. Are you moved by the emperor ? The beautiful piece taker ? The mad eunuch Qiu Ziliang ? The willful Sword Holder ? Any other character ? What are their real story ? Are they the ones we think they are at first ? There are hidden identities, there are secrets, there are plots, there are nice sword fights, there are struggles for power, there are human affections shared or not, there are mentally ill people.. There is amnesia, there is love, there is revenge.
There is no time for getting bored. There is action and emotion. We do understand everyone's point of view and intentions. That's what makes this drama so valuable.
Actors are at their best : they fit so well with their characters ! At first, I was not quite happy with ZhangYuxi's way of acting, but finally she was just astonishing ! Cheng Yi, Xuan Lu and Mickey He were as usual terrific. Michey He gives his all to incarnate a paranoid eunuch with bloodthirsty power. Thumbs up !
I enjoyed watching this show, I really didn't waste my time !

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Realistic intelligent serious historical drama, with a great villain and great hero(in)es

With over a millennium long history of imperial age and profound philosophical tradition, China is blessed with literarily abundant source for inspiration for Game of Throne like historical drama. Among the best is this drama, Dream of Chang'an/ Stand by Me. "Stand by Me" draws inspiration from historical elements and the cultural backdrop of ancient China, particularly focusing on the Tang Dynasty. It tells the story of short-lived puppet emperor, Qi Yan (ML), and his struggle to end the tyranny of the corrupt eunuch party.

"Stand by Me" is a highly strategic, political, historical drama and takes realistic approach of storytelling. There isn't any use of superhuman ability to fight and combat as usually seen in Chinese wuxia. All conflicting parties use human ability i.e. their intelligence, before physical/ military forces. Their fights is symbolized as a chess game with real people as the pawns. On the board, eunuch party is on its height and led by a formidable psychopathic old eunuch Qiu. His defense is so solid as he control the army and build a strong fortress, The Chess Battalion. His aides are all powerful in intelligent and combat. His spies are everywhere. However, he has a weakness. His right hand and his confidante secretly have ulterior motive to revenge against him. In the brink of falling, imperial family of Qi is struggling to just live under the control of eunuch Qiu. After the rebellion to topple down the eunuch failed, the current emperor, Qi Yan, becomes a puppet. His life is controlled with poison and injury, his movement is limited and monitored, his brothers are all hostage, his friends are faraway, and he can be replace/ killed anytime. However, all of those are just an act. Unknown by many people, except two trusted allies, he plan everything to defeat his enemy. He must be perfect and patient in every step he takes. No room for mistake and weakness or the dynasty will meet the end and all sacrifice that had been made would be vain. Interestingly, besides Qi Yan, there are two other people who are plotting, the Qui foster daughter, and the Third Unknown Party.

The strongest aspect of "Stand by Me" is the story itself. The stakes are already so high since the beginning. All good people are in jeopardized situation. The position of the emperor is very unique. In the chess game, the King must be protected, but Qi Yan is exposed. From various angles, he is already check-mate. He is purposefully kept alive only for the eunuch to maintain supremacy and control over the land. He is humiliated and forced to wear "useless emperor" mask. Nobody believes in him, and all people in the country ridicule him as the dog of eunuch and accuse him as the throne usurper. The situation changes the day he got a female bodyguard (FL, Chen Ruoyu), who is initially sent by her master as a "honey trap" to kill him. Ruoyu saw him with sincere eyes and found the kind heart of emperor. She is the first outsider that trusts him fully and eases his emotional burden. They love and protect to each other dearly. Their relationship is so strong and there is no single day they misunderstood one another. Even though they were lacking in communication, they have faith to one another. This drama does not emphasis heavy romance between ML FL because love is never their issue.

Other things, the story is interestingly very plot-driven and not exploring the characters development. "Stand by Me" doesn't show typical character transformations e.g. villain turning into good people through redemption arc, or the good one becoming better after trials. The episode 1 to 49, the villain is villain, the good people are good ones. Instead, this drama presents a deep exploration about how far a villain can be, and how far good people can be.

The main villain, eunuch Qiu is not a typical villain. He climbed the ladder of power from bellow to the top, mastered high martial arts, gained supporter among eunuchs and corrupt ministers, and build military power. This vertical mobilization is made possible by imperial family itself which is knows as ruthless and killing each other to get the throne. So, he join the game and gain victory for himself. From the outside, he looks like a funny man, sometimes acts childishly, and intelligent. But, he is vicious, ambitious, and psychopathic. He punish and kill people like having fun. He rules with terror and fear, but people are gravitated and dependent to him. Every time he makes his moves, we instantly feel, "Oh, no. They will be doomed," toward the good ones, because he is above the cloud.

The main hero, the emperor, ML, is not like other emperor hero which is often depicted as powerful, handsome, and revered. He is powerless, sickly, and despised by his people. But, he has a big golden heart. For years, he keeps the truth, emotional torment, and suffering to himself, while tries his best to do his duty, to crack the cage slowly, patiently and selflessly. He play along the scheme of eunuch, but nothing fears him. He is ready to die anytime, but refuse to die easily. His moves are silent rebellion and he uses his Uncle Prince to use people to serve his cause unknowingly. In the end of the story, he has many people that stand by him. The second hero is the Uncle Prince who although has a dream to be a king, he still maintain his dignity and loyalty. He is a grateful person and never change his heart to become a greedy person. The third heroine is the FL. She changes from naively righteous and compassionate girl to more mature and powerful without losing her trademark. She has no trust issue and can see people clearly as trustworthy or not and love them unconditionally. The fourth heroin is the FL's sister. She is a good girl in disguise, a sheep in a wolf's clothing. She plays like a villain, but actually carefully plan everything to defeat her enemy without exposing her true self and mission. She is physically weak, but strong at heart.

Another thing worth to mention is, the characters in this drama are not emotionally explosive during emotional scenes. They are all calm, calculative, and careful. Their sad tears are flowing in repressed manner. In anger, the tension is never overboard and their voices are kept low. There are many moments of silence, when they are thinking and calming themselves. They are full control of themselves, and never do anything by the force of circumstances alone. Every move is based on calculation and hypothesis. Like playing chess, they are all future oriented.

"Stand by Me" has a beautiful ending that can be interpreted in two ways. One, the emperor is finally died peacefully in the shoulder of his beloved and trusted uncle. The state is stabilized and secure. His name is cleared and his wish fulfilled. His beloved woman is free of duty and now living a civilian life. Two, the emperor is finally died peacefully, as stated in historical record. But, he is not really died. Not explicitly showed, the last scenes of episode 49 tell a possibility that he comes back to FL. First, FL don't accept his death when the bell ringing in the city, announcing the emperor has gone. Second, the music is beautiful and the smile of FL is wide, teary, and beautiful after surprised on a man visiting her shop. That kind of smile is full of happiness, like a smile for a lover long not see. It is like the ending of The Untamed.

"Stand by Me" maybe is too heavy for audience who refuse to think and follow the talks, events, and moves. So indeed, it is not everyone cup of coffee. Many scenes of this drama cannot be skipped, or the tracks will be lost and you don't know what is happening. Gratefully, the story is so engaging intellectually and emotionally, and ML FL both have great visual and characterization. This drama is almost zero plot hole, every question is answered, and the ending is full-round. It is worth to re-watch.

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Fantastic

I LOVED this drama. A definite recommendation from me. 10/10 rating and worthy watch. I am now officially a Cheng Yi fan. The roller-coaster of emotions, heartbreak, suffering, torching love displayed will play with your heartstrings. And Cheng Yi delivers with his top notch acting! The events and situations were similar to playing a chess game - which kept me very interested in the storyline and waiting to watch what is going to happen next. Loved the romance, even though slow paced. From acting from ALL, costumes and to the music - it's a great drama overall. With regards to the ending and the FL big smile when a certain voice requested a bowl of noodles - I am going to assume that they lived happily ever after in a simple life that they both really wanted after all :-)

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Interesting story with great acting but a little slow

The story is very good I enjoyed it very much also the actors did their best ,, I loved every character ,, there were no annoying female lead may be started goofy at first but then she grew up as a character on later episodes ,,, the male lead was the best ,, I loved every scene he was in ,, I did get bored a little in the middle because of some draggy episodes but not too long and there were some missing scenes that got me confused sometimes but overall the drama is really enjoyable to watch
it will get really sad in the second half and painful sometimes but that was the angst of the drama feeling what the male lead is feeling ,,,, I felt so emotional at the last episodes but is was really good
I hoped for more from the male lead's character ,, hoped he would do more to surprise everyone but he didn't not so much
I loved the second female lead more than any character in this drama because she was the best of the best of all of them
when I finished this drama I felt sad that's why I went to rewatch love and redemption again

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Beautiful suffering.

Oh boy, I am still reeling from the last few episodes down until the Emperor’s last breath. I honestly lost so much sleep, bingeing this show. I must be a masochist (and more of a Cheng Yi fan now) that while this show no doubt pained me, Qi Yan and Cheng Rouyu brought out the best feels amongst any character pair I have ever watched in any cdrama. Evertime they are on screen, even though you know it’s gonna hurt, you cannot help but watch how every scene will unfold. Alas, their beautiful suffering.

This is a riveting imperial court drama playing a game of thrones. It is very interesting how they used chess as the show’s plot tool. Equally interesting is the menagerie of characters, the plotting, the maneuvering, the twists and the turns. It will keep you hooked or at the very least you wanted to see Qi Yan and Cheng Rouyu together.

I cannot say enough how great Cheng Yi played Qi Yan here. He is a brooding tainted emperor, a loner and a stab-happy brilliant strategist oozing with sensuality. Zhang Yu Xi was beautiful, naive but loyal to a fault. Both devoted to each other.

This show isn’t for the faint of heart. I like to think that at the very end, Qi Yan faked his death and he is the one Cheng Rouyu was smiling at. I also like to think that their next life is portrayed in their modern drama “South Wind Knows My Mood”, but knowing how Cheng Yi chooses his shows, prepare your heart once more, you might be in a for another heartbreak ?.

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Keep you guessing

Emperor WenZong was locked in a deadly power struggle with the formidable Duke Qiu Zhi Liang, a highly skilled eunuch who had attained great power and dominated the court. The emperor and his ministers started the Dew conspiracy in an attempt to overthrow Qiu Zhi Liang.

Sensing that the Dew conspiracy was unlikely to end well for the imperial family, QiYan the emperor’s younger brother took side with Qiu and assisted in defeating the conspiracy to earn his trust. The Prime Minister Wang and his family, and many who participated were massacred during the turmoil. His two granddaughters escaped severely wounded and were separated.

Years later, WenZong was poisoned and died under house arrest. QiYan, his younger brother ascended the throne with the support of Qiu. Planning another conspiracy, Emperor QiYan schemed to overthrow Qiu – an attempt which his brother had failed. Qiu Zhi Liang was now assisted by Qiu YanZhi, his beautiful foster daughter and a great strategist, was ever more powerful than before.

On the young emperor’s side was the Purple Velvet, a group of female fighters. This group unfortunately was on a decline. The emperor’s new sword holder who was both a bodyguard and potential new head of the Purple Velvet, was a pretty naive young girl by the name Cheng RouYu. Emperor QiYan was rather disappointed.

The relationship and trust between Qiu and QiYan had always been on thin ice. However, it became apparent there was a hidden third party in the game, planning to drive a wedge between them further. Who was this third party and what was their motive? Was romance going to kindle between the young emperor and the beautiful scheming YanZhi or the pretty naive Cheng RouYu? Was QiYan going to succeed with all the odds against him? Was QiYan gong to pay with his life for success?

What I like about this drama?

1. The Cast
The cast was excellent, acted well and very good looking. I could name a long list of outstanding actors/actresses in this drama. But I am going to just pick three.

ChengYi (QiYan) was absolutely outstanding. I was not a fan of his, but I have become one with this drama. In the past, I thought he was rather monotonous and expressionless - very much a single character actor. When he was ‘dying’ in this drama, he told his love one to leave the palace, marry someone else and lead a new live after he was gone but he was going to be so jealous. That scene was heart rending and he carried it through marvellously. His on-screen chemistry with his female lead was great.

Xuan Lu (YanZhi) was stunning and very beautiful in female attire and was excellent as the second lead. (She was the lead actress in Luoyang.) We are seeing the rise of a generation of actresses in their 20s ready to over take the generation of those already into their 30s. When she started playing the harp in glee over her success or impending success, it was quite a sight.

He ChengMing (Qiu Zhi Liang) was the absolute perfect villain. The way he flickered his eyes and flipped his sleeves when he was angry was so iconic. From the YouTube comments, many among the audience were imitating his gestures.

2. The convoluted story
The story was very convoluted – the path to uncovering the third person was quite lengthy. It kept the audience guessing who the third person was and why they were doing what they were doing.

And whether Prince Guang, the emperor’s uncle was a villain and whether his kindness was a hypocritical act was undetermined right to the end – leaving it to everyone’s guess along the way. Guang was portrayed to be undecided and eventually only decided at the last moment. Only then it was clear whether he became a second villain or a hero.

It took 48 episodes of various attempts to contain Qiu, so the audience were kept on edge whether each attempt would succeed and who might be sacrificed along the way. Vicious and brutal retaliation were expected from Qiu if he should discover who were against him.

Aside from fear of Qiu’s retaliation, there were internal discord between the various parties against Qiu. They were not cooperating and not communicating, but instead second guessing each other. YanZhi and RuoYu were pitted against each other while RuoYu was wondering who YanZhi really was.

3. Emotional roller coaster and hygiene factors
Chinese dramas are excellent in tear-jerking and this drama is no exception. There were many opportunities for reaching out for the tissues. But there were moments of humour as well. It brought the audience on an emotional roller-coaster.

The hygiene factors for a successful drama were there: backdrop was beautiful and appropriate, music was good, costume was elegant – all the technical aspects were excellent.

What I dislike about the drama?
1. The villain kept winning and you have 48 episodes of that. The story seemed draggy at parts because of some recurring setbacks. And it went on and on based on the same themes I am elaborating below.

2. The suspense was built on keeping a secret: A lot of the suspense was built on a secret kept from Cheng RouYu. If she had known who was the real enemy and the real friend earlier, the outcome could end a lot better but the drama would be shorter as well. But the unwillingness of YanZhi to tell RuoYu the truth caused a lot of misunderstanding. When they could have cooperated, the strong-headed RouYu chose to fight instead. I really wanted go onscreen to slap some sense into the two stupid girls. Can't you see that honesty here is best. And this fight kept recurring again and again.

3. RuoYu becoming a baggage: To protect her from harm, RuoYu was told to leave several times for her own good. But she kept turning up at the wrong moment and became a baggage QiYan or YanZhi had to deal with. She was smart and yet stupid. I was wondering when QiYan was to come to his senses that she would not leave, started using her effectively and involved her in his plot.

4. Adult acting like kids – appealing? I could also highlight the female lead, Zhang YuXi (Cheng RuoYu) as outstanding. But I do not quite like immature silly girl character, so I discounted her. One of the problems I think is because most actors/actresses acting these characters in Chinese dramas are already mature adults portraying teenage/late teenage characters and somehow, that innocence does not come across realistic – it looks more like adults acting as immature kids, which is not appealing. Perhaps this is part of the appeal for some – exactly as it was – adults acting like kids.

5. QiYan getting stabbed: He either stabbed himself or got stabbed. How many times could a man take that? Somewhat masochistic.

6. Realism: Although very entertaining, the story is a bit short on realism. It was really a complicated way to get rid of a tyrant and certainly sacrificed a lot of innocent people.

However, overall I would give this drama a thumbs-up and recommend it strongly.

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Emperor, I feel you.. It's an emotional ride..

The loneliness of the throne, the solitary struggle when everyone misunderstands you. It's all for a cause, no matter the cost, even if it means sacrificing one's own life. It's deemed worthwhile, for that's how he perceives the world. There's no battle without casualties. However, when one person sees the real you, it shakes their world. It weakens them but also makes them stronger. This is how I view the emperor: a man with a grand purpose, and a heart filled with righteousness.

My comments after completing the drama:

1. Cheng yi is amazing here, I come to truly love him. I like him a bit when I watched Legend of Chusan (he was 2nd lead) long ago. Then I really like him a lot and becomes true fans in Love & Redemption. But now, I am totally in love with him. I think his acting that really finally got me to put him into my top list of the actors I love. And he is super good looking and handsome too. ^^

2. The story is great until... ep 40? (around that) it really getting draggy and really push my patient. I really hate some of the plot esp the aunty decision at the end, the naivety close to stupidity FL and when ML keeps pushing FL away instead of discussing with her, they (ML, SFL and others) keeping secret from her is for me shows that they also feel that FL is immature and not trustworthy. The blame is on the writer. But they get it back on track at last 2 episodes.

3. FL is on and off imo. Sometimes I feel her character sometimes I lost. Though the chemistry with ML is good. But SFL is more outstanding than her. She, imo, outshines the FL.

4. I really love the OST of this drama.

Overall, if we ignore dragging plot, I think this is really a good drama. I don't regret spending my time watching this. As the ending, I take is as a happy ending. I am satisfied with the ending.

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This is a Re-watch Review

I re-watched and understood the movie in July of 2022. I did like the storyline but loved the visuals, especially the underground-type vault. The First time I watched this was Sept 20, 2021. Mickey played one crazy Duke Qiu Zi Liang and was very believable. I just love Cheng Yi... I loved him in The Promise of Chang’an, Love and Redemption, The Lost Tomb 2, Noble Aspirations II, and Noble Aspirations. Can hardly wait for Noble Aspirations III. China Entertainment is stopping and banning a lot of Chinese Dramas. I will feel really sad if they stop Noble Aspirations III. I wasn't crazy about the ending, I cried.

This was very long, I mean long. I took a point off the storyline because I felt bad for the actress Zhang Yu Xi (now I know where they got the name Yu'er)who died, was injured, and got kicked out of the palace so many times. Poor Cheng Yi dying throughout the whole storyline. The way they performed, they did it so well. A lot of martial art is the best for me. Did Cheng Yi lose weight for this drama, he looked really thin. This drama was more of a mystery of who did it which made it interesting. A lot of killing which I did not care for especially of children. The visuals, music, and costumes were okay. Of course like I always say the story couldn't be complete without all the other actors and actresses so I applaud them.

NOTE: Youtube has this Drama which is a similar story but not quite under the same name "The Mortal Samsara", a Chinese Drama starring Zhang Yu Xi. Don't get it confused with the new Fantasy drama The Mortal SamSara- Xianxia Fantasy Drama starring Yangzi

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Drop after 5 episode

Overall after 5 episodes I found the plot is quite interesting, it's good with hiw the flow of the story goes. I also really like how the second FL written, really smart and calculating. What make me drop this drama is the FL, why her character written so bad. She's supposed to be a person that grow up in the palace or at least very close to the palace, educated to become a guardian with the purpose solely to protect the emperor. But.. FL in these 5 episodes I watched so far, was a very spoiled sheltered girl that doesn't have any basic understanding of what's going on in the palace, like how to behave as an official, who's who in the palace, hell.. she doesn't even know who's the real boss in the palace.

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I started this series with high hopes because the opening scene with Qi Yan and his eunuch adopted father choosing his new emperor's robes was very fascinating, their outwardly smiley expressions and the weird tension in the air was honestly very well done.

But the FL made me drop it. Her characterization makes no sense - grew up in the palace but doesn't know the bare minimum of palace etiquette. She is literally RUDE but somehow the king just lets her get away with it because ??reason?? even very early on and when they're barely acquainted. She's supposed to be the best candidate for king's bodyguard position but has no brains for it at all and also physically doesn't carry herself like one. They could've just cut her role and have the FL be the 2nd FL who is clever and cunning and have her go head to head with the king.

Acting wise I think they were all pretty good, but no matter how good Zhang Yuxi is her acting cannot change characterization. Cheng Yi, as usual shows emotions very well, but he cannot make his character's interaction with the FL make sense.

Overall I still gave the show a 5/10 because I can see a lot of potential in there, but sacrificing logic to make romance happen in a drama is one of my top peeves and I cannot continue watching.

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