Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

Another historical drama to look forward to! First trailer for Wu Xiu Bo‘s epic journey as Sima Yi was released last night. The Advisors Alliance (军师联盟) features a line of solid actors in Liu Tao, Janine Chang, Jerry Li, Zhai Tian Lin, and Yu He Wei.

Stills:

Wu Xiu Bo! As general Sima Yi, he’s often portrayed as the rival and villain in the story against Zhuge Liang from the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He starts out as a timid scholar and slowly morphs into a conniving politician.

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Miss Liu Tao as his wife, known to be a “prominent politician, general and regent of the state of Cao Wei.” 8D

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Our OTP.

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Janine Chang! She’s a beauty bestowed to Sima Yi from Cao Pi with the intention to spy on him. Unfortunately, she falls in love with Sima and helps him escape danger many times, putting her neck at risk.

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Jerry Li Chen as the first Emperor of the state of Cao Wei, Cao Pi, second son of Cao Cao.

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Zhang Zhi Xi as Cao Pi’s Queen, his first wife, Empress Wenzhao.

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Tina Tang as the Empress Wenzhao from Wei State, also Zhang Chun Hua Yi (Liu Tao)’s sister. She alienates Cao Pi from his first wife.

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Cao Cao and his son.

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Zhai Tian Lin as Yang Xiu, another Cao Cao’s advisor.

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Yu He Wei as Cao Cao.

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7-Minute Trailer:

Directed by Zhang Yong Xin (Bang Jia Dui Men Gou, Water Margin Boys) and written by Zheng Wan Long, The Advisors Alliance has 50 episodes and will air on Jiangsu TV in 2017.

Via: 01

  1. 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

    Anything related to ROTK and JTTW, I cannot accept much romance. Does the original story really has Cao Pi sent over a beauty to Sima Yi and she saved him? Sima Yi is such a smart person I doubt he needs a woman to save his life when he can forseen the trap.

  2. 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

    This is looks SO GOOD! Liu Tao looks awesome in this and I can actually really see the chemistry between her and Wu Xiu Bo. And it looks really high quality. Might give it a shot if I’m in the mood next semester (next year)

    • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

      I’m glad they did pick the right actress (right age group) to play his wife. Phew. Bullet dodged! XD

  3. 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

    Looking damn good! I like how Chinese dramas, especially period dramas, are starting to look more and more like movies. Visuals and cinematography are epic and top-notch! I’ve always wondered why most Korean dramas are able to look so pretty and cinematic on my laptop screen (not talking about their actors, but the visual quality), whereas Chinese dramas have beautiful people, costumes and big-scale sets, but just look grey-ish, washed-out, even a bit clumsy and very “real” most of the times, almost like our daily footage without too much editing. Still a bit better than TVB series though, cause TVB literally has zero care for cinematography or visuality lol. Anyway, is it because of Korean dramas’ detailed shots, their attention for cinematography, camera equipment, lightning, color contrast or filters? I remember how people joked about how Tang Yan’s luxurious wardrobe in My Sunshine didn’t look like brand clothes at all. However, I’m glad that C-dramas are steadily improving in this department. Probably due to all the high-praise for NiF’s high production standards? More and more dramas are not only “epic” and “grand” in budget, but are finally starting to look “epic” and “grand” on our screen too. A big wake-up call for the Chinese production houses out there. Snail’s got that film-vibe which I really like too.

    Happy to see many kick-ass dramas coming up next year. Hope Tribes and Empires, as well as The Advisors Alliance will live up the expectation like what is shown in the jaw-dropping trailers. My expectations are mountains high lol.

    • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

      Large part is the cameras they use too. Korean dramas place good money in buying their equipment and good quality filming products (I read this a long time ago). Chinese dramas have the problem of filming a lot more outdoor scenes, in less controlled settings. But time has changed, with more investors and sponsors, things are looking up in the years to come.

      Tvb is too poor nowadays to buy new filming equipment, hence their lack of popping colors till today!! LOL.

    • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

      “I’ve always wondered why most Korean dramas are able to look so pretty and cinematic on my laptop screen (not talking about their actors, but the visual quality), whereas Chinese dramas have beautiful people, costumes and big-scale sets, but just look grey-ish, washed-out, even a bit clumsy and very “real” most of the times, almost like our daily footage without too much editing.”

      I think the grey-ish, washed out feel is exactly how movies are like though. It’s rare to find movies that are extremely colourful (unless the director’s Zhang Yimou). Korean dramas have a tendency to use a lot of pastel colours, which may be pleasing to the eye but look cheap. Plus, they like to use filters too and that just isn’t very comfortable to look at. I think that very often the best Chinese productions outclass the best Korean productions simply because they have a much higher budget whereas the average Korean production will probably look better than the average Chinese production. TVB on the other hand, well, is too stripped for cash to improve on their drama quality. Not to mention that their plot has been crap as well, and that’s supposed to be the strong suit of TVB.

      • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

        I think it might be the difference in filming equipment like Kappy said. I think directing has to do a lot with what is ultimately presented on our screens as well. For example, even though Precious Youth (starring Liu Shishi and Ryan Zheng) was filmed by the lightening team and (I think) camera crew behind You Who Came from Another Star, I still notice a significant difference between how Precious Youth and YWCFAS look on screen. I do agree however that K-dramas’ (pastel) filters can be totally overused sometimes (such as the recent Moon Lovers), but overall, I do think it’s one of the reasons why it can attract so many foreign viewers. But even NiF’s screen quality looks very different from how the usual C-drama looks – it’s very clear, crisp and cinematic.

        Another thing is that K-dramas usually do different shots and then edited together. It really emphasizes or creates the atmosphere of a particular scene. NiF does these pretty detail shots excellent as well; for example the blood spilling all over the paper in slow motion, or the smoke coming from the incense burner etc.). Usually, in “average” Chinese dramas, it seems like there is little care for the cinematography of a scene, everything just happens in one frame from the standard angle. So I really appreciate that NiF opened the door to a new level. I saw many stunning shots in the trailers of The Advisors Alliance and T&E.

      • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

        Kitai I agree with you so much! The Korean style of filming is very good for modern dramas and the pastels serve to elevate the drama. I personally don’t like modern dramas, but everyone knows that the korean modern dramas are the most luxurious. However, when it comes to historical dramas, no one can really beat China. Of course, there are the occasional tacky dramas (directed or produced by Yuzheng), but they are only tacky because of how bright the clothing and scenery is. The washed out feel lends itself well to both grit and tragic romance, which is the tone good historical dramas set. If you look at Game of Thrones, you will see the same color scheme. At times when tragedy and war permeates throughout society, pastels are insipid. I know that older dramas like Han Wu Da Di are looked down upon now due to recent advances in editing and technology, but when those soldiers went to war, the dirt and sweat and the soot from villages being burned down were too real to not make an impression. I know this is unfair of me to think, but whenever I see those bright colors in historical dramas, I assume that it has nothing intellectual to offer

        • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

          True true. Chinese period dramas do look far more luxurious than Korean sageuks (especially long episodes sageuks). The grey, darker colors also embodies that historical aura perfectly (talking about the real-deal Chinese period dramas, not the Yuzheng crap). Mini-series sageuks with less than 30 episodes such as The Princess’ Man, Hwang Jin-yi, Moon Embraces the Sun, etc. do have some pretty shots and cinematography here and there (and doesn’t look tacky or outdated at all if you re-watch it after so many years), but in terms of scale and art direction.. It’s still far behind Chinese period dramas. Just the Chinese court is probably ten times Bigger than that of Korea. Less budget, but also from a historical perspective, it doesn’t allow it to be too luxurious and grand because it simply wasn’t like that.

          BTW, what I actually mean with grey-ish and wash-out is that it feels that there is no color correcting or adjustment at all – it looks really authentic or sometimes even more pale/wash-out than in real life. I would say that Japanese dramas tend to use that obvious grey-ish filter, but for Chinese dramas it just looks like it’s due to the filming equipment rather than filters. Or sometimes it gets overdone and becomes unnatural (for example when everyone on screen gets cherry red lips..). Not talking about the dark-ish film vibe (such as in Love Me if You Dare or When A Snail Falls in Love).. Because I actually like that. I’m really talking about that “authentic” feel and that the picture quality looks flat… Like it could be taken by a phone in the worst cases? Hard to describe. But think of Precious Youth, Marry a Husband, Let’s Get Married, My Sunshine, Les Interpretes, The Imperial Doctress etc.

        • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

          I actually never watched any of those dramas, but I think I get what you’re talking about from looking at the trailer for Les Interpretes. I guess that must be part of the reason why they never caught my interest.

    • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

      I can be care-less about qualities if a plot and action are too good to watch. I still watch some old child hood movies on videos cassette. You know how much you like something if you are desperate to watch it even if it’s just the fuzzy version. I wish dramas don’t depend way too much on technology sometimes too. I don’t think TVB is that cheap, even if they are, they are still quite best at it when portraying poor people in poor clothes. I saw some productions where some slaves wear clothes that are so brand new and in good quality, it’s just not convincing. Even if they just purposedly make a clean shirt dirty, you can still tell what they did.
      But for something like Journey of Flower then I would totally care for the quality however, I do not like the plot at all and I only want to see how high tech it is, and also look at beautiful people acting, so I will not be willing to watch those kind of drama in bad qualities. I think I’m probably the only one that still likes ROTK 1994 with Tang Guoqiang. T_T The beginning was boring as heck, but I started in the middle where it was interesting, then I jump back and forth with the drama, that’s how I got into it. The 2010 version was good too, but I still prefer the old and surprisingly-cheesy acting back then, it was superb! I love all the soundtrack in there too.

  4. 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

    Lol why r they glorifying sima yi
    Oh well as long as they dun butcher history I’m cool with it
    Who plays zhuge liang in this?
    They better not vilify zhuge liang or I will cut a bitch

    • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

      AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA….AHAHAHHA I was kind of ok with glorifying Guan Yu with the skinny Donnie Yen since I really like the Guan Yu character. I’m with you, don’t anybody dare to mess with Zhuge Liang.

      • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

        Nobody better mess with Kongming or the history fans will tear them apart LOL

    • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

      I think it’s just another interpretation. No men is wholly innocent in wars. Lol.

      It’s interesting there is no mention of Zhuge Liang!

      • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

        Maybe they dun mention Zhuge Liang cuz they wanna avoid a landmine…

      • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

        They are teasing us by only showing a few shots of his fan

  5. 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

    Epic trailer — and I’m loving it! I was first stunned by the beautiful still pictures, with the subdued tones and modest but elegant hair accessories for the ladies. I wonder if it’s another ShanYing’s production? (Or, just like @Bwear says above, Cdramas elevate their production standard due to NIF’s success story).

    Anyway, I can’t talk about this without mentioning (and gushing over) the masterpiece that is The Three Kingdoms 2010 — basically my ultimate source of information on that era, lol. I know we all love Zhuge Liang *wink at @shimo* but Three Kingdoms shows that every party is flawed and run by their ambition and agenda. I don’t think Zhuge Liang decided to help Liu Bei out of noble aspiration, but rather to take the challenge against a more powerful entity. Cao Cao is often painted as villainous, but Three Kingdoms makes me think he was actually a visionary statesman. I enjoyed the battle of strategies (and strategists) in Three Kingdoms tremendously. In fact my most favorite strategist (and character) in the drama is Lu Su, and I think he was quite on par with Zhuge Liang before he died and Sima Yi came to picture.

    Now that they’re making a drama focusing on Sima Yi, I won’t call it “glorifying”, but it will be interesting to see him from another perspective, no? The guy was ambitious and ruthless, but he was also loyal to his masters. The title itself is pretty confusing, sounds like the drama should be talking about all the strategists in that era. If so, I’m excited, though I won’t dare to expect this be at the level of Three Kingdoms. And big YES to have Liu Tao as an accomplished female officer and politician, valuable sidekick of her husband.

    • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

      Definitely agreed with you Lenje, each party is motivated by different ambitions and agendas, according to their background and perspective. Without them battling it out, we wouldn’t see the power and intelligence behind each one.

      I rarely watch true historical dramas. Lol.

    • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

      Three Kingdoms 2010 is what made a fan of Lu Yi LOL
      His Zhuge Liang is awesome. Very different to the God-like Kongming of classic portrayals since his version is more human, which makes good drama LOL

      Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun are like the gods of Three Kingdoms so nobody better vilify them or the history fans will kick their asses

      Three Kingdoms 2010 is awesome drama with great cast and everything even tho they changed heaps from the original it wasn’t too bad cuz it was still a good drama…

      Apart from Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun, other main characters like Cao Cao, Sun Quan, Lu Su, Zhou Yu, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, etc. were all really good. Well their cast is pretty awesome on the whole, even the minor characters. I can’t think of anyone who was bad TBH.

  6. 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

    I know very little about the Three Kingdoms era so I’m just here for the cinematography and cast lol.

    I read somewhere that Du Yiheng is gonna play Zhuge Liang. He’s the guy that could pass for Andy Lau’s twin.

    • 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

      Interesting. Baidu listed Du Yi Heng as Cao Shuang. Either a mistake or they limit mentions of Zhuge Liang. Lol.

  7. 23 thoughts on “Wu Xiu Bo rises to power as Sima Yi in The Advisors Alliance

    Zhang Chunhua is smart for someone during that period. I guess i’m okay with the romanticizing aspect of Sim Yi
    ‘s love story. However, I hope they kept the historical parts and his schemes in tact. And that Zhuge Liang is portrayed as an equally challenging rival.
    Hoping that picture of Yang Xiu (portrayed by Zhai Tian Li ) is when he was younger because everyone is sporting the moustache lol and that Yang Xiu was older than Sima Yi.

What do you think?