#character: zeng li

[movielosophy]

Mysterious Lotus Casebook | Living in Lotus Tower

[thedreamerstoryteller]

So, it's a Cheng Yi thing. 🤭

[michyeosseo]

໒꒰ྀི ܸ. .ܸ ꒱ྀི১ !!

[xiaogesword]

~ Zeng Shunxi sings to you while it rains ~

Wear headphones 🎧

Song: Zeng Shunxi's cover of How Can I Not Think of Her featured in his new drama A Lonely Hero's Journey. Includes: English translation, pinyin, Mandarin Native title: 教我如何不想她 by 赵元任 (1926)

Translation and rain sounds by me.

[lilianhuas]

ShunXi vs cold water

[heymeowmao]

莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook E3 ° If you're not guilty, don't run away.

[madamadragon]

My mind: write a Fanfiction where the characters are watching the drama

Me: but i'm already writing three fic

My mind: just do it!

[difeisheng]

from cheng yi's weibo

[recapitulation]

Zeng Shunxi as Fang Duobing in Mysterious Lotus Casebook // 莲花楼 (2023)

[ID: gifs of the character Fang Duobing from the series "Mysterious Lotus Casebook." They show, in order: Fang Duobing smiling at Li Lianhua, steeling himself to fight Li Xiangyi's master while in Shan Gudao's trap pit, patting his chest and giving a thumbs up to Li Lianhua, looking down and covering his mouth, puzzling over Nanyin characters, putting his hands over his eyes looking for Lotus Tower which has left without him, looking solemn, yelling at Li Lianhua distraught after learning Li Lianhua had given his cure away, pointing at his eyes and then to Li Lianhua angrily, and telling Di Feisheng "I don't argue with people who aren't good at martial arts." /end ID]

[wuxia-hero]

HELLO coming out of my cave to yell about how much I LOVE The Double (墨雨云间) bc I have no irl friends that love historical c-dramas :’) I’ve been hung up on this show for a few days after finishing it.

Overall 10/10 with a subjectively happy ending (I choose to believe the ending is happy) with really good acting. Wu Jinyan could never disappoint. The frontal camera angles threw me off quite a bit at first but I slowly started to appreciate this artistic choice.

Some spoilers ahead as usual!

Let’s dive into - the Plot. I read some of the original novel in the past but dropped it after a while. There are some differences - such as the novel using transmigration (Xue Fangfei entering Jiang Li’s body) as the main plot point, while the drama explicitly shows how Xue Fangfei’s journey with Jiang Li and how she eventually took over JL’s identity after her passing. Personally I prefer what the drama did as everything felt much more real and believable. This added a depth to the story that transmigration was unable to showcase. Plus, Wu Jinyan’s ability to showcase XFF’s pain and growth as she vows to exonerate JL (played by Yang Chaoyue) and herself was extremely captivating and I constantly wanted to root for her.

All the flashbacks with JL thanking XFF throughout the show had me sobbing in bed at 3am while watching.

Special mention to the king (played by Zeng Ke Liang) as well for not being a total fool - as seen in SO MANY other historical dramas. His friendship with Xiao Heng is rock solid, and seeing the ministers and other antagonists constantly underestimate it was sooo satisfying to watch. So if you hate cdramas with stupid monarchs, you'll be pleased to hear that there won't be any of that here.

Scenes of their friendship were really cute to watch too.

The romantic development between XFF and Xiao Heng (played by Wang Xingyue) was delightful to watch. I love couples that just understand each other. Without explicitly saying anything, without any grand confessions of love, both parties mutually knew each other’s feelings and constantly looked out for each other. The slow and gradual process of them falling for each other was paced out beautifully - XH’s gaze changes as he looks at her throughout the episodes, and XFF gets more and more playful around him. The script and their bantering ticks all the right boxes fkr me. He’s the only person that knows her real identity, she doesn’t need to hide in front of him. And this makes their relationship so much more special.

And I love that there was nothing like making stupid decisions in the name of love and protection while jeopardising the bigger picture. (eg. XH giving up the entire secret army the emperor trusted him with for XFF - turning out to be a hidden ploy) Both XFF and XH were on a quest for revenge and they are determined to get what they want without making any compromise. If at any point of the plot - they deviate from this and decide to do something foolish in order to protect the other, I would have seen it as out of character.

Bonus points for including an archery scene :D It’s one of my favourite overused tropes.

The overall camera work and style of The Double was shot so beautifully and in a rather interesting theatrical style. From JL’s death where she falls among the pear blossoms to Princess Wanning (played by Li Meng) ’s dancing and even the scenes where characters stare directly into the camera. The opening scenes were super dramatic and really set a heavy tone for the rest of the story.

While the staring into the camera took some getting used to, there are certain portions where Wanning’s expressions gave me goose bumps. Li Meng’s performance took me out - her Wanning was repulsive in the way she treated others, yet so broken from her past that I felt so much pain for her towards the end of the story. It was amazing.

There were even comedic elements that made some parts feel like a stage play. Like her cousin and his lackeys’ coordinated walk as they try to help her out from her room. And one of the minister’s love for theatre which was super on the nose I laughed out loud while watching it all play out. The style in which important plot points are presented is so unique and really sets this show apart from other cdramas I’ve watched.

Everyone in the cast was amazing in their roles. While Wang Xingyue is one of the younger cast members, the emotional depth in his performance as Xiao Heng gave off maturity and a temperament beyond his years. Seeing him goof around behind the scenes, and then watching him as Xiao Heng gave me whiplash - but in the best way possible.

Liang Yongqi was a truly despicable Shen Yurong - it got to a point where seeing him on screen made my skin crawl. Liu Xiening as Jiang Ruoyan was perfectly annoying - and I can't wait to see more from her as I've really liked her since she was in Gugudan.

I could probably go on and on about how much I love Wu Jinyan as Xue Fangfei and I’m so happy that they casted her because she was perfect. (Admittedly, I’m biased). But I think you can watch the show to experience everyone's brilliance for yourself. The casting and script pacing was great and all the different pieces fit together into this story perfectly.

Now let's talk about the somewhat controversial ending of The Double. Did our beloved Duke Su die in battle? Did they ever reunite? I choose to believe that he came back to her in the end and they got their happy ending. But Wang Xingyue's performance in that last battle - with the iconic scene of XFF's pendant in his mouth was breathtaking. Regardless, I do think the show could have done without causing the audience pain with this added arc of him going back to his duties - but I felt that it made sense.

Xiao Heng is someone who is deadly loyal to his country and to his king. He and XFF are not the kind to simply escape from the capital and its intrigues to live a happy life on their own. Both value their family and their country, they would never leave the capital to pursue their own happiness.

Also something I noticed - that made this scene so much more painful. At the start after XFF retrieves the pendant, Tong'er (her servant) tells her not to pawn off this pendant anymore. She replies with "there's no one worth trading this pendant for". And then she gives this pendant to XH before he goes off to battle at the end. Cries.

Abrupt end but I think this is most of the feels I have to get out already - I took a lot of screenshots and recordings while watching The Double (haven't felt the urge to do so in such a long time tbh) so there may be more posts from me while I continue yapping about how much I love this show and story adaptation.

smol life update: I’ve been working FT after graduation two years ago - but I was in a pretty bad environment and have decided to resign this year. So now I’m funemployed and trying to work through some health issues. Hope everyone has been well and thank you for reading this! ❤️❤️

[movielosophy]

Mysterious Lotus Casebook | give him some space

[extraordinarilyextreme]

Zeng Shunxi's Goodbye to Fang Duobing

Original video on Weibo:

去岁初夏逢君¹盛² Last year, at the beginning of summer, I met the flourishing you. 今朝花落²梦方醒 Now, as the flowers fall, Fang wakes from his dream. 故事到此收笔 This story has since reached its end, 但人生还长 But life still goes on, 江湖路远 And the roads of the jianghu stretch far. 意气江湖正道³安 The spirit of the jianghu lies in following the correct path; 风华正茂⁴是少年 At life’s blossoming is the youth. 愿将来的方小包 I wish that the future Fang Xiaobao 经历风雨⁵ Will forge through wind and storms 不忘少年初心⁶ Without forgetting the original aspirations of his youth. 走遍人间 Even after walking to the ends of the mortal world, 仍有他路可寻 There remain other roads that can be sought for. 山高水长见日光⁷ The mountains are lofty and the rivers are long; everyday, may you see the light of the sun; 始终不忘少年样 And from the beginning to the end, may you not forget your younger self. 前路存知己⁸ The road ahead harbors the one who knows your heart, 江湖有相逢 for in the jianghu, there exist reunions. 于道各努力⁹ Work hard on every path you take; 千里自同风⁹ Even separated by a thousand li, he and you are buffeted by the same wind. 方多病 Fang Duobing, 希望你不服众望¹⁰ I hope you will not disappoint everyone’s expectations, 成为下一个传奇 And become the next legend.

Detailed explanations (footnotes) under the cut!

Any mistakes are my own.

1. 君 is a formal and literary way to say “you.” It can also be used to refer to lords, monarchs, rulers, etc. 

2. Note the juxtaposition of 盛 “flourishing” (also: splendorous; vigorous; blooming) and 落 “falling” flowers.

3. The 正道 can also be understood as the “orthodox path.” In Buddhism, it is the right way: it is the path of correct principles and of doing the right things.

4. 风华正茂 is an idiom that simply means “in one’s prime.” I chose to invoke imagery that would call back to the beginning two lines about flowers.

5. 经历风雨 is an idiom that means “to go through thick and thin.” 

6. 初心 is a commonly invoked theme in such coming-of-age stories (which this thematically may as well be, for FDB) and translates literally to “the heart at one’s beginning.” For FDB, it would mean keeping his principles of justice and goodness in mind, no matter what he goes through.

7. 山高水长 can be an idiom that describes one’s personality and/or character. This line can also be understood as praising FDB’s noble and optimistic/positive character (见日光: seeing sunlight; sunny-dispositioned; always looking on the bright side).

8. 前路存知己 is very similar in phrasing to a line from Tang Dynasty poet Gao Shi’s 《别董大》 (Farewell to My Friend Dong): 

莫愁前路无知己 Worry not, on the road ahead, that you will lack someone who knows your heart. 天下谁人不识君  Beneath these skies, who will not know your name?

If you watched 《说英雄谁是英雄》 Heroes (2022), this line will probably be familiar.

9. These two lines come from the end of Song Dynasty poet Zhou Xingji’s 《送友人东归》 (Sending My Friend to Return East), which I believe laments the pains of a long-distance friendship. The lines that ZSX has quoted here essentially encourages FDB to continue working hard on the life path he has chosen, despite how the sadness of separation can feel unbearable, for even if he and his friend (LLH) are a thousand li apart, they will ultimately reach the same goal and destination.

10. I thought it was interesting that he uses 服 and 望, because the phrasing is very similar to LLH’s letter at the end of the series, when he apologizes to DFS (终有服君之所望): “I have failed you ultimately.”

[michyeosseo]

You take a war so lightly. This only proves you have not experienced a real one.

Zeng Li as SHEN MUYUE

THE LEGEND OF SHEN LI (2024)

[tiny-breadcrumbs]

Unpopular opinion but I'm on my third attempt to watch love and redemption and I still didn't have enough patience to get through more than ep 3 :(

This is actually the main reason why I only go into mysterious lotus casebook around last month. No hate to cheng yi, I enjoy his visual like any other but its the matter of among his past drama, I can never finish one. Love and redemption, I repeatedly push it back, something in that drama trigger my patience. Maybe its the overly naive borderline dumb female lead, maybe its the slow pace, maybe its the colour, I'm not sure! All the same with immortal samsara, except for that one, I probably will never going back to try again. I've seen mysterious lotus casebook's poster since the very first time it released and immediately put it on the middle tier of my watchlist (one that I probably watch if I'm bored enough with my life). Still, the drama just kept popping up into my recomendation but not until my friend say it's "quite good" I finally start to watch. She is a big cheng yi fans tho, so I'm not fully convinced at first, a total big zero expectation. With all her screaming about I will come out of that being a cheng yi fans and will finally have enough mental power to push through love of redemption, I actually watch it with "at least it have zeng shunxi.." mentality.

Well, big surprise, guess who got distracted with di feisheng (and his pretty eyelashes) since the first five minute? Me. It got worse from eps 5 and above. God knows how that man catch my eyes everytime he is on screen. And through him, I actually stay to enjoy the rest of the character. Hell, I even watch through the cringe survival show because apparently I need more xiao shunyao content after that.

So far, I can say li lianhua was the only cheng yi role that I can watch without the urge to write three pages rant. And I'm still not sure about love and redemption. Does it really good? At what point it got exciting? I kept seeing people say its really good, like the best xianxia of the year level of good. Maybe I want to believe that everytime I come back to give it a new try. But I found myself returning it back to the shelf each try too.

[lilianhuas]

Zeng ShunXi bids farewell (again) to Mysterious Lotus Casebook with fellow actors: Cheng Yi, Xiao Shunyao, Wang HeRun, Chen Duling, & Estelle Chen from the concert backstage.

[heymeowmao]

点燃我, 温暖你 | Lighter & Princess E8 ° Are you sober?