Speaking of ancient puppet works, which one do you think of? Is it 2021's "The Son-in-Law", 2022's big hit " Meng Hua Lu " and "Qing Qing Daily", or last year's hit "Chang Feng Du"?
Speaking of which, the ancient puppet theme can be regarded as one of the most popular themes in recent years. But to be honest, although there are a lot of follow-up photos, there are still not many works that have both real popularity and reputation.
But don’t worry, another ancient puppet masterpiece is coming!
On April 2, Youku launched an ancient puppet drama "Xi Huazhi". The director of this drama, Zhu Ruibin, is the director of the popular period dramas " Zhu Xian Qing Yun Zhi ", "Sweet Honey as Ashes as Frost" and "Ning'an Like a Dream", and the screenwriter
is the screenwriter of "Long Moon Embers".
The starring cast is led by young actor Hu Yitian Zhang Jingyi, paired with veteran actors such as Kaohsiung, Myolie Wu, Hai Yitian, Liu Jia, and Lu Xingyu. The lineup can be said to be quite strong.
This drama has just been on the air for two days, and it has rushed to the first place on the hot list on the site. In terms of popularity on the entire network,
has rushed to the third position, second only to the recent hit dramas "Storm Chaser" and " "Traveling with the Phoenix".
Qiqi followed 5 episodes in one breath and found that it is not unreasonable for this ancient puppet drama to break out of the mainland drama market where there have been a lot of good dramas recently and become one of the rare masterpieces in the ancient puppet industry in recent years.
1. The three opening scenes, while unfolding the story, also firmly caught the audience's attention.
It is said that the beginning determines the life or death of a TV series. This "Xi Huazhi" has three major scenes from the beginning, firmly grabbing the audience's attention.
The first scene is the scene where everyone from Huafu appears.
To be honest, I thought the opening scene of the TV series was a remake of "A Dream of Red Mansions".
Carved beams and painted buildings, magnificent and complicated courtyards,
The ladies of each house are elegant and elegant in gold and silver, and the maids and mothers-in-law, as well as the pomp that is comparable to the Jia family,
The most amazing thing is that in the play, the old lady of the Hua family and the third sister-in-law Xia The two characters of the Golden Goose, in terms of appearance, general demeanor and personality, are almost like replicas of Jia Mu and Wang Xifeng in "A Dream of Red Mansions".
However, as the subsequent plot slowly unfolded, Qiqi gradually discovered that at the beginning of the series, the same arrangement as the Jia Mansion was used to pave the way for the subsequent plot of the Hua Mansion being ransacked.
As the story of the house ransacking comes later, the audience will find out how luxurious and grand the decoration in the front is, and how desolate and miserable the situation after the house was ransacked in the back is.
So I couldn’t help but read the follow-up plot introduction, and it turned out that it was a drama with a female lead. When her family was kidnapped and almost faced catastrophe, the heroine relied on her wisdom and personal ability to lead her family to a comeback, and finally reached the pinnacle of life.
The story is very novel and attractive, but whether it can create the feeling of a real heroine depends on the performance of the heroine in the back, and whether it can be worthy of the word "big heroine".
No matter what, the plot at the beginning is indeed very attractive and makes people want to follow it. The second scene of
is a scene where one man and two men rescue the heroine on the street.
After showing the graceful splendid scene of Huafu, the camera turned to the market. It turned out that the heroine took advantage of the bustle at home and everyone was too busy to take care of her, so she sneaked out in a carriage and went to the coppersmith's shop to get the wind direction she asked the craftsman to make.
Unexpectedly, this wind direction instrument drawing happened to fall into the hands of Qisu Sichazi (similar to the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty). The little leader of Qisu Si did not recognize this instrument and thought it was something with evil intentions, so he hurried to capture it and draw it. The heroine of the drawing.
At the critical moment, the second male lead stepped forward and wanted to seek justice for the female protagonist, but he was helpless as a scholar, with no power to restrain the chicken, and was thrown out in a few moments.
Seeing that the heroine was taken away, a handsome-looking man suddenly came over and called out that the object on the drawing was a wind direction instrument, not something treasonous. Cha Zi was humiliated in front of the people on the street and became angry. He immediately turned to find fault with the male protagonist. When he saw him wearing clothes outside the Great Wall, he slandered him as an enemy spy and wanted to take him back for interrogation.
At the critical moment, the heroine opened the curtain of the sedan chair and got out of the sedan chair, revealing her identity as the eldest lady of Yushi Huafu. This scared off Cha Zi.
In this scene, the male protagonist, the female protagonist, and the second male lead all appear. It is considered the first meeting, and it also lays the groundwork for the relationship between the three of them and the subsequent development of their respective destinies.
The third scene is a thrilling plot in the palace.
Compared with the near miss in the second scene, the third scene is even more thrilling.
was mistaken for the male protagonist of "Beyond the Wall" on the street, and was secretly ordered by the emperor to come to the palace to watch a big show in the court. It turned out that he was the prince of Ling, and he had been ordered to guard the border outside the wall for many years.
In the court hall, the emperor asked about the case of privately minting copper coins. No one in the court, civil or military, dared to say anything. The heroine's grandfather Hua Qizheng, as a veteran minister, spoke out and advised the emperor to get rid of the paranoid government and establish a prince early, but unexpectedly, every word of his words offended the emperor. In addition, the emperor's attitude towards Hua Qizheng has been widely praised by students all over the world over the years. Adored and dissatisfied for a long time, this incident was a perfect excuse to dismiss all members of the Hua family from their posts, and all the Hua family men were exiled to the North, never to be used again.
The male protagonist looked frightened behind the screen, but he did not expect that there would be a bigger surprise waiting for him later.
The emperor sent Qi Ruhai, the leader of the Qisu Division, to tell him the results of the investigation and who was the mastermind behind the private coin-minting case.
Qi Ruhai insisted that the mastermind behind the scenes was Prince Ling. The emperor never believed it and beat Qi Ruhai until he died.
Immediately afterwards, the emperor retired from the court, called the male protagonist, and hypocritically told the male protagonist that today's disaster was caused by his being too outstanding since he was a child. The male protagonist, who heard what the emperor meant, took out a dagger and slashed his face (the law of the Daqing Kingdom states that a person with a mutilated face cannot be the emperor), and requested an order to become the new deacon of the Qisu Division. He was willing to be the one hiding in the dark. The tool man who cleared the obstacles for the emperor,
The emperor's expression softened. The fear of the male protagonist was also temporarily put aside.
This scene allows the characters of the two main characters, the hero and the emperor, to be fully demonstrated; at the same time, it also lays the groundwork for the subsequent development of the hero's plot.
The three major scenes completed the preliminary display of the main characters' personalities, and also paved the way for the subsequent plot.
In terms of plot lines, the fate of the heroine and her family, and the future contest between the hero and the sinister emperor have become the most touching points for the audience.
In terms of emotional lines, the relationship between the heroine and the male protagonist has also become the most concerned point for the audience.
2, cast: Hu Yitian, Zhang Jingyi + Myolie Wu, Liu Jiahai and other powerful actors, the lineup is luxurious.
"Cherishing Flowers" brings together Myolie Wu, Kaohsiung, Liu Jia, Hu Yitian, Zhang Jingyi, Lu Xiao and many other powerful actors from mainland and Hong Kong. It can be said that it has a strong lineup.
ranks first, Hu Yitian.
I have to say that the director’s vision for casting is still very vicious. Hu Yitian, who plays the male lead, has participated in many dramas before and has a very good appearance, but there is no role that can really make him break out of the industry.
This time, the male lead in "Xi Huazhi", Prince Ling's son Gu Yanxi, really made the audience get Hu Yitian's appearance and acting skills.
Hu Yitian really performed the essence of this character. His biological mother died young, and he was feared by the emperor. He was sent to a bitter and cold place to guard the border for many years. The character's dark and cold character really shines through from his bones.
ranked second, Zhang Jingyi.
html Zhang Jingyi, who was born in 1999, is now a popular little girl in the Mainland.The roles she portrayed such as Mu Wanqing in "Love at First Sight", Zhu Yun in "Light Me Up, Warm You", and Zhou Weiyu in the movie " Life is Unfamiliar " all left a deep impression on the audience.
The Republic of China drama "Love at First Sight"
In "Cherish Huazhi", Zhang Jingyi plays the female number one Huazhi, the eldest lady of the Hua family. After the Hua family was ransacked and the male members of the family were exiled, she led a family of women and children, Started as a small street business and gradually rose to prominence. I have to say that Zhang Jingyi is very close to this character. She interprets the character's stubbornness, insight, intelligence, and strong ability to love in a very natural way.
The third place is Myolie Wu.
Myolie Wu was the acting director of TVB in her early years, and she was also the queen of TVB. The classic characters she created, such as Wang Siku in "Streets of Rage", Tong Jia and Yuan Wan in "The King of Phoenix", and Hu Yongmei in " That Year the Flowers Bloomed and the Moon Was Full", can be said to be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
"The King of Phoenix"
In "Cherishing Flowers", Myolie Wu plays Xia Jin'e, the third wife of the Hua family. She is exquisite, fierce and independent, and is also the housekeeper of the Hua family. This character's appearance, temperament, and behavior are comparable to Wang Xifeng in "A Dream of Red Mansions".
ranked fourth, Lu Yuxiao.
is Shangguan Qian, the female villain in "Yun Zhi Yu", Bai Xueying in " Jade Bones ",
In "Xi Huazhi", Lu Xiao plays the male protagonist's sister Shaoyao. Huo Huo was frightened, resulting in mental retardation. To be honest, this character is not easy to play. If it is too much, it will look stupid, and if it is too little, it will not show the characteristics of the character. However, Lu Yuxiao interpreted this role well. Although somewhat mentally retarded, he is very cute and cute, and his medical skills are also very good.
ranks fifth, Hai Yitian.
Hai Yitian has become more and more comfortable playing villains in recent years. Fang Tianlei, the villain boss of "The Son-in-Law", and Zhuge, the rigid, stubborn and ruthless character in "Celebrating More Than Years" all impressed the audience.
No, when they saw him playing the emperor in "Cherishing Flowers", many people felt that something was wrong. Sure enough, it didn't take long for the emperor to direct and perform a drama to win people's hearts. He beat his confidant Qi Ruhai, the deacon of the Qisu Division, to death in order to force his nephew to disfigure himself and disqualify him from seizing the throne.
In court, he was a ruthless, cunning and suspicious king; in private, he was a good uncle who showed love for his nephew. I have to say that Hai Yitian interpreted the complexity of this character very well.
ranked sixth, Liu Jia.
is Li Huanying's mother in "Hello, Li Huanying",
In "Cherishing Flowers", Liu Jia plays Mrs. Hua. From her husband to her sons and grandsons, all the men in the family are exiled, and she becomes the last of the female relatives in the family. Backbone. , to support the whole family and the heroine.
is seventh in Kaohsiung.
Speaking of Kaohsiung, he is the childhood idol of many viewers born in the 70s and 80s. In 1995, the TV series "Fist of Fury" came out and became popular all over the country overnight. Kaohsiung, who plays Fearless in the play, also became popular overnight and became a household name in Hong Kong's martial arts star. He plays the role of Huo Yuanjia, a great master of the generation, who stood up to serve the country and the people in the face of a national crisis, even at the risk of his own life, and became a hero in the hearts of many people.
In "Cherishing Flowers", Kaohsiung plays the heroine's grandfather Hua Qizheng. In the court, he is a loyal minister, serving the country and the people, regardless of personal and family safety and honor; at home, he is generous and wise. The elder is also the guide on the life path of the heroine Hua Zhi.
When the grandfather played by veteran actor Kaohsiung came out, many people instantly dreamed back to Fearless, and felt that seeing Kaohsiung was extremely cordial.
ranked eighth, Yang Mingna.
is the "most beautiful teacher wife" in Huo Jianhua's version of "The Swordsman".
She plays the heroine's fourth sister-in-law in the play.The character setting is a bit like Li Wan in "A Dream of Red Mansions". The biggest thing for her is to place all her hopes on her son, watch him study, and hope that he can one day go to high school.
In addition to the eight mentioned above, there are also Wu Zexi, Bian Cheng, Wang Liyun, He Lei, Lu Xingyu, Tian Miao, Wei Wei, Gao Yuqing, Fang Xiaoli, Shen Baoping and many other powerful actors participating in the play. At a glance, there are no less than 12 powerful players.
3 and two major highlights have made this drama a dark horse in the ancient puppet genre in recent years.
The first one is that it is a Machiavellian drama, it is really Machiavellian, and the heroine is a real heroine.
Speaking of Machiavellian dramas and dramas with female protagonists, there have been quite a few in the past two years. But most of them are just selling dog meat with sheep's heads. There is no plot or big heroine, and some are just idol dramas cloaked in the cloak of big heroine and strategy. I come and go just to watch the male and female protagonists falling in love.
But this drama is different. Machiavellian tactics are real tactics. The male protagonist, as the crown prince of Prince Ling, has been sent out by the suspicious emperor to guard the border for many years. Until many years later, he was secretly ordered to return to the capital, but the purpose was to trap him in the capital and make him escape from the water, without the possibility of using it. The emperor also tried his best to make him disfigure himself and become his pawn for him to drive.
With such deep hatred, how could the male protagonist always be his puppet?
Coupled with the murder of the male protagonist's mother and the clues about the identity of the male protagonist's stepmother, the plot of this drama can be said to be quite exciting.
Let’s talk about the heroine. This heroine is neither silly nor sweet, nor is she a "fake heroine" who only talks but actually relies on men. She really relies on herself.
From driving her car to see off her grandfather and uncles, to making sugar skewers and selling them on the street for the family's livelihood, to gradually growing her business, the heroine basically relied on herself and never relied on the male protagonist.
The male and female protagonists are both busy with their careers and have very little time to fall in love together.
But this is the most precious thing about this drama. It looks machiavellian and has the appearance of a great heroine. The male and female protagonists are both powerful and gradually attract each other. The emotional line is natural and natural.
The second one is that the characters are well-sculpted, and almost every character is flesh and blood.
The second highlight of this drama is the very successful creation of group portraits.
Almost everyone in the Hua family, from the heroine to the grandparents, to several uncles and aunts, has a plump and three-dimensional image.
The fourth uncle’s love for the heroine, the grandfather’s teachings to the heroine, the third wife’s fierceness and ability, the fourth wife’s concern for her son, and the submissiveness of the heroine’s mother are all very impressive.
The same is true for the male protagonist. From the male protagonist’s uncle to the emperor, to the emperor’s son Prince Xian, to the male protagonist’s father, stepmother, and sister, almost every character has a distinct and recognizable personality.
The emperor is suspicious and cunning, the King Xian is cunning, the hero's father is scheming, the hero's stepmother is very hidden, the hero's sister is innocent and simple, and the hero himself is scheming and opinionated.
It can be said that whether a drama is good or not, the character creation It's really important.
With a solid script, a well-known director who has created many popular costume dramas, and a lineup of talented young actors and many celebrities and veteran actors, it is not unreasonable for "Cherish the Flowers" to be able to quickly break out of the industry.
If the follow-up plot does not collapse, I believe there will be another masterpiece in the field of ancient puppets.
