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zarz29.livejournal.comI recently ran across a Chinese TV show that I would highly recommend to any fans of Queen's Thief who are looking for intelligent plots, complex political maneuverings, and a trickster hero who always has one more scheme up his sleeve. (Not to mention talented actors, gorgeous costumes and sets, well-written dialogue, impressive martial arts, and a number of powerful women.)
A brief teaser:
Twelve years ago, in 4th century China, the powerful empire of Da Liang was attacked. The Chiyan Army was sent out, under the command of General Lin Xie, and successfully destroyed the invaders. But General Lin had a more sinister plan in mind. Under the command of Crown Prince Qi, he plotted high treason, and rebellion against the Emperor. All might have been lost except for the loyal commander of his vanguard army, who successfully got a message out before his force was utterly destroyed.
The wrath of the Emperor was terrible. Another, loyal, army was dispatched to Meiling Cliff, where after a dreadful battle they eventually defeated the traitorous army and its treasonous general. In the capital, the treacherous prince and all of his household and supporters were executed. The rebellion was quashed, the rebels defeated, and peace and justice were restored to the land.
Or so the story goes...
Twelve years later, Su Zhe, a sickly scholar, is invited by two of his friends to join them in the capital for his health. What few people know however, is that this frail man is in truth Mei Changsu, leader of a powerful alliance of pugilists (martial artists). He is also first on the Langya List, that yearly list of all the most talented heroes in the world. And as the saying goes, who has him, will have the world.
And the world would be a very nice thing to have...
Or so think two of the princes of Da Liang. After the traitorous Prince Qi was executed, a new crown prince took his place. But his brother Prince Yu has his own plans to become the next emperor, and is willing to do whatever it takes - and recruit whomever he needs - to make that happen. The Crown Prince, on the other hand, isn't prepared to suffer any opposition to his own power and prestige. A gifted scholar and tactician might be just the thing he needs to crush Prince Yu once and for all.
But no one bothers to ask what Mei Changsu thinks of all this...
For what even fewer people know is that Mei Changsu is as much of an alias as Su Zhe. Twelve years ago he was known as Lin Shu, son of Lin Xie, and Young Marshal of the Chiyan army - and one of only a bare handful of survivors of the 70,000 men killed at Meiling.
And Lin Shu carries a secret within him even larger than his identity as a traitor to the empire...
For Lin Shu knows that the Chiyan Army, the Lin family, and Prince Qi himself never plotted rebellion. They intended no betrayal of the throne. Instead, they were the ones betrayed, framed by powerful men and then massacred by the troops they thought had come to relieve them.
And now the time has come to set things right.
The empire is falling apart. Its two most powerful princes care more about scoring points off each other than governing well, and the Emperor is doing nothing to reign either in. Corruption is running rampant, the people are suffering, and Da Liang's neighbors are looking on with speculation. And all the while, 70,000 good men are still branded as traitors and forbidden to be mourned. No empire can survive such circumstances for long.
Da Liang is going to fall.
Lin Shu, Mei Changsu, Su Zhe isn't about to let that happen to the empire he fought and bled and nearly died for. He has a plan to make things right - if he can only live long enough to see it through. He has allies - members of the Jiangzuo Alliance he heads, the young master of Langya Hall, and others he will meet in the weeks and months ahead. But he also has enemies. Whichever prince he doesn't choose will stop at nothing to deny his skills to the other, and the Emperor's paranoia hasn't lessened in twelve years. Nor did he escape Meiling unscathed. The Poison of the Bitter Flame still burns in his body, and in only a few short years it's going to burn him out. But 70,000 innocent souls still cry out for justice, and he's not prepared to let anything stand in the way of making things right.
The schemers who plotted the downfall of the Crown Prince himself? Have just met their match.
If I've managed to whet your interest, here are a couple links:
All the episodes, free, with English subtitles:
https://www.viki.com/tv/22943c-nirvana-in-fire
The characters, and their relationships:
https://dramakite.wordpress.com/nirvana-in-fire-characters-family-tree-english-version/
(A brief word-to-the-wise: I found it a bit difficult to get into the first episode, largely because of the sheer numbers of characters we get introduced to. If you're not sure who's who, you may find this helpful: https://dramakite.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/nirvana-in-fire-episode-1-recap/. It's a recap which goes into who all the characters are (including photos of them) and what their relationships to each other are. Otherwise, you can simply do what I did and keep watching. By the second episode everything starts to get a lot more clear and it's a lot easier to follow what's going on.)
(One additional word-to-the-wise: Be aware that this is a long series - it's 54 episodes, and not neatly broken into seasons, either. But it's also so good that's once you come to the end you're most likely going to wish it was at least twice that length. The subtitles are also a little rough, being entirely fan-created, but not enough to be difficult to understand.)
A brief teaser:
Twelve years ago, in 4th century China, the powerful empire of Da Liang was attacked. The Chiyan Army was sent out, under the command of General Lin Xie, and successfully destroyed the invaders. But General Lin had a more sinister plan in mind. Under the command of Crown Prince Qi, he plotted high treason, and rebellion against the Emperor. All might have been lost except for the loyal commander of his vanguard army, who successfully got a message out before his force was utterly destroyed.
The wrath of the Emperor was terrible. Another, loyal, army was dispatched to Meiling Cliff, where after a dreadful battle they eventually defeated the traitorous army and its treasonous general. In the capital, the treacherous prince and all of his household and supporters were executed. The rebellion was quashed, the rebels defeated, and peace and justice were restored to the land.
Or so the story goes...
Twelve years later, Su Zhe, a sickly scholar, is invited by two of his friends to join them in the capital for his health. What few people know however, is that this frail man is in truth Mei Changsu, leader of a powerful alliance of pugilists (martial artists). He is also first on the Langya List, that yearly list of all the most talented heroes in the world. And as the saying goes, who has him, will have the world.
And the world would be a very nice thing to have...
Or so think two of the princes of Da Liang. After the traitorous Prince Qi was executed, a new crown prince took his place. But his brother Prince Yu has his own plans to become the next emperor, and is willing to do whatever it takes - and recruit whomever he needs - to make that happen. The Crown Prince, on the other hand, isn't prepared to suffer any opposition to his own power and prestige. A gifted scholar and tactician might be just the thing he needs to crush Prince Yu once and for all.
But no one bothers to ask what Mei Changsu thinks of all this...
For what even fewer people know is that Mei Changsu is as much of an alias as Su Zhe. Twelve years ago he was known as Lin Shu, son of Lin Xie, and Young Marshal of the Chiyan army - and one of only a bare handful of survivors of the 70,000 men killed at Meiling.
And Lin Shu carries a secret within him even larger than his identity as a traitor to the empire...
For Lin Shu knows that the Chiyan Army, the Lin family, and Prince Qi himself never plotted rebellion. They intended no betrayal of the throne. Instead, they were the ones betrayed, framed by powerful men and then massacred by the troops they thought had come to relieve them.
And now the time has come to set things right.
The empire is falling apart. Its two most powerful princes care more about scoring points off each other than governing well, and the Emperor is doing nothing to reign either in. Corruption is running rampant, the people are suffering, and Da Liang's neighbors are looking on with speculation. And all the while, 70,000 good men are still branded as traitors and forbidden to be mourned. No empire can survive such circumstances for long.
Da Liang is going to fall.
Lin Shu, Mei Changsu, Su Zhe isn't about to let that happen to the empire he fought and bled and nearly died for. He has a plan to make things right - if he can only live long enough to see it through. He has allies - members of the Jiangzuo Alliance he heads, the young master of Langya Hall, and others he will meet in the weeks and months ahead. But he also has enemies. Whichever prince he doesn't choose will stop at nothing to deny his skills to the other, and the Emperor's paranoia hasn't lessened in twelve years. Nor did he escape Meiling unscathed. The Poison of the Bitter Flame still burns in his body, and in only a few short years it's going to burn him out. But 70,000 innocent souls still cry out for justice, and he's not prepared to let anything stand in the way of making things right.
The schemers who plotted the downfall of the Crown Prince himself? Have just met their match.
If I've managed to whet your interest, here are a couple links:
All the episodes, free, with English subtitles:
https://www.viki.com/tv/22943c-nirvana-in-fire
The characters, and their relationships:
https://dramakite.wordpress.com/nirvana-in-fire-characters-family-tree-english-version/
(A brief word-to-the-wise: I found it a bit difficult to get into the first episode, largely because of the sheer numbers of characters we get introduced to. If you're not sure who's who, you may find this helpful: https://dramakite.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/nirvana-in-fire-episode-1-recap/. It's a recap which goes into who all the characters are (including photos of them) and what their relationships to each other are. Otherwise, you can simply do what I did and keep watching. By the second episode everything starts to get a lot more clear and it's a lot easier to follow what's going on.)
(One additional word-to-the-wise: Be aware that this is a long series - it's 54 episodes, and not neatly broken into seasons, either. But it's also so good that's once you come to the end you're most likely going to wish it was at least twice that length. The subtitles are also a little rough, being entirely fan-created, but not enough to be difficult to understand.)
