Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms

Stills are out on the upcoming drama Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花. There are two adaptations, a movie and a TV series, both based on the a novel by Tangqi Gongzi.

I caught a glimpse of Tangqi Gonzi's penchant for sadistic romance 虐戀 in City of Devastating Love and Three Lives Three Worlds appears to be no different, detailing a tragic love story that transcends through the afterlife. 

Yang Mi (Sword of Legends) and Mark Zhao lead the cast in the titular roles of fated lovers Bai Qian and Yue Hua. Dilraba Dilmurat and Gao Weiguang follow as Feng Jiu and Dong Hua from the sequel called Three Lives Three Worlds The Pillow Book.

As is the fate of popular novel adaptations, there was much speculation over casting and here is one of the hopefuls from 2014 pairing Wallace Huo and Tang Yan.

In spite of the contrarians who prefer the finalized movie casting of Crystal Liu and Yang Yang, the drama version could turn out to be just as good if not better since a TV series has the advantage of time, effectively gaining the freedom to do more in terms of character development. Even though I'm certain that endless comparisons will be made between the movie and drama right down to the kid actor, I'd rather give both an equal chance because they both look promising. 

Bai Qian is a spirit fox from Qing Qiu who possesses an ethereal beauty unmatched in all the realms. Yue Hua is the Crown Prince of the heavenly realm Jiu Chong. They meet, fall in love, get separated, then meet again.

You might already be familiar with Qing Qiu because it is a place often referred to in more than a few novels that take inspiration from ancient literature. Three Lives Three Worlds is no different as it is loosely based on the Classic of Rivers and Seas 山海经 depicting stories about deities and people that could only have existed in the form of legends.

For synopsis, cast and ratings, see 2016 Chinese historical dramas.

Source: Qianzhan, Life.Ce.CN, YSDXC

The Legend of Liu Shan Men airing now

The Legend of Liu Shan Men 六扇门传奇 is a detective wuxia focusing on an investigative bureau in the Ming Dynasty called Liu Shan Men. It follows the likes of The Four and Detective Dee, so if you like crime-solving dramas...

Raymond Lam 林峯 plays Shen Li Xing, a deputy of Liu Shan Men and the son of the head honcho. Dilraba Dilmurat 迪丽热巴 as Su Yi Qing breaks from her typical bright and sunny roles as she portrays a cool calm and highly-skilled martial artist who works for Qi Wang played by Alex Fong 方中信. The series premieres Jun 20 on QQ.

For synopsis, cast and ratings, see 2016 cdrama listings.

Source: 21cn

Review: The Backlight of Love

It's been 5 months since my last posting because I had too many things going on and wasn't able to religiously follow any drama in particular so most of the ones that I started, I still haven't finished. As a drama blogger, confessing this feels like I just committed a crime.

I opted to be a complete couch potato this weekend and after powering through numerous trailers on Youtube, I feel like I'm behind the times. I had no idea there were that many dramas available nowadays, Chinese dramas are definitely gaining traction and slowly catching up with the k-wave even though there's quite a ways to go. Have you ever experienced watching too much that you don't even remember half the stuff?

I usually throw in many shows in one blog posting but this time around, I decided to feature a web series called The Backlight of Love. Anyone reading might assume that I am going to talk about something amazing that I can't wait to share but on the contrary, it was actually just average in my opinion yet fresh enough to elicit a reaction.

Is it a must-watch, pretty good, just another drama, tolerable or downright boring?

My Ratings: Just Another Drama (3/5)

Title：The Backlight of Love / Backlight Lovers / 逆光之恋
Episodes and Genre: 11, Mystery / Fantasy
Broadcast Period: Feb 2015
Starring:
Di Li Re Ba as Jiang Li 

Synopsis:
A drama about angels and ghosts and a murder mystery.

Comments:

I was enticed to watch because there's an angel in the opening sequence. I won't say much since it's a simple enough story with fantasy elements. It seems to be one of those straight to internet type dramas, which probably explains why each episode was so unusually short. Again, nothing spectacular but if you are bored...

I didn't understand at first why it was so hard to root for the characters especially the main guy. In fact, there was a scene where he even slaps the girl but watch till the end and it will all make sense.

I like Dilraba Dilmurat who is an up-and-coming actress and increasingly becoming a familiar face in wuxia dramas. Her breakout role would have to be in the Sword of Legends where she played the charming youngest student pining for the affections of William Chan. Honestly, I think she is mostly known for her unique beauty since she looks mixed but I think she has good charisma onscreen.

China is a vast country, I know. But not a lot of people know that it can be quite diverse in the sense that the Western region has a lot of Uyghurs, an ethnic group mainly in the Xinjiang Province. I was lucky enough to have been to Urumqi in Xinjiang and I was surprised to meet people who spoke perfect Chinese but could easily have hailed from Europe. Is it a surprise that Di Li Re Ba is from Urumqi?