Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

Needs to clarify some things. 1) Because of the rumor of low ratings resulting in cutting of episodes (from 111 to 60), the Glory team declared war against any who would spread false news. They clarified on weibo that Glory has always been only 60 episodes. However, part 2 (dun dun dun!) is still in post-production and will air some time in the future (rumor says 3/22 with 30 episodes.)

You know what this means right? They just pulled a Chusen on us. LOL. Splitting a season into 2 parts. *rolls eyes*

[This is a new feature we’re trying out! So everyone can gather and express their thoughts. We’re calling it Review It! If you have a request for some dramas to be reviewed in this manner, shoot me an email!]

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Posters of our Leads:

 photo Tang 75.jpg

 photo Tang 72.jpg

 photo Tang 73.jpg

 photo Tang 71.jpg

 photo Tang 74.jpg

Some BTS Videos:

Fanmade Music Videos.

Oof.

Allen showing off his dancing at one of the press conferences. He was trained in Korea after all.

  1. 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

    Argh, why two parts?? I was so confused when I watched the part 1 finale cuz I was like”….but that’s such an open ended finale…?” Also, doesn’t this mean we have to go through all of part 2 without cutie pie Qiu Jun Jie’s character and his love for Lin Zhi?? Gahhh, they shoulda just done it all in one!

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      They like to to torture us!

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      QJJ and SC’s characters should have a happy ending. I know the bittersweet ending leaves a deeper impression. I missed how the two were at the beginning. Carefree.

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      Probably because they want get the drama out of the door fast in order to make pre-determined timeslot. So they would only do prost production on one part of the drama while rushing to finish the rest while the first part is airing. The alternative would completely miss the timeslot like Tribes and Empires and delayed to god knows when.

  2. 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

    They should have waited until the end of the year to air this series. I like my crying dramas at the end of the year, not when it’s only March and there’s still a lot of heartbreak coming up. Lol.

    I wish they didn’t use Wan Qian and Yin Ping Guai Wu’s duet for RJL and JT’s fanvideo. Wan Qian is the third party lol. So funny to listen to her sing a love duet for the OTP when she’ll be trying to tear them apart.

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      I agreed about the binge-crying at the end of the year. I’m still early in this heartbreak so maybe by the time I finish, it would be October? LOL.

      That was the song?! HAHAHAHA. Hilarious.

  3. 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

    Wait…a total of 90 episodes altogether? Jeez!

    Really good acting in the drama. Not a fan of the tragic ending.

  4. 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

    I don’t really understand the hype of this drama. I watched the first few episodes but merely thought it was boring and pretty bland. The storyline is really similar to all the stuff that’s already out… where’s the intrigue? Mary sue MC and dashing ML, tale as old as time. I don’t get why people say it’s really good? This is a serious inquiry, not a troll question.

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      I started this without watching any of the previews so I had no idea what this was going to entail. 60 episodes later, I may have only fast forwarded a grand total of 5 minutes. Lol.

      In my first impressions review, I said this drama is pretty average but there wasn’t anything in particular to nitpick on. Aside from a few bugs here and there, I still stand by what I said back then. However, I do think it’s the acting that won me over. All four leads can act and even the supporting characters are comfortable to watch so there’s none of that 尴尬演技.

      Allen Ren Jia Lun is a biggest surprise here. I was expecting him to either be stoic or exaggerated, two categories most newbies tend to fall under. Strangely, he didn’t live up to my expectations. I actually thought he was OK, even decent. Now I think he reminds me of Huang Xuan—not attractive at first glance but he is the best looking when he’s bringing his character to life. There are a lot of 小细节 to this character that makes him intriguing. I think Lizzie brought up some good points on this in the GOTD thread. She did a better job writing about this character than I ever could so you can read up on her thoughts there if you’re interested.

      Aside from the acting, I do like the court politics and the focus on the downfall of Li Longji’s reign. Hence the title seems kind of ironic because we have the Anshi Rebellion, which marks the decline of the dynasty. The “glory” is what the Tang court tries to save but so many things go wrong.

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      ^ Likewise! I picked up the drama after General and I ended.

      The acting won me over. Allen was a nice surprise! I thought he was boring in Chusen lol Jing Tian is solid per usual. What a contrast from her performance in Ban Shu! MZJ, QJJ, and SC didn’t disappoint. The plot is nothing new, but it’s nice break from xianxia lol

      Is there a hype for the drama? I thought it was overlooked with the popularity of 3l3w.

      • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

        lol, the first part is in response to chasingpolaris

      • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

        Yes, it was definitely overlooked compared to 3L3W. There is still a strong following though, thanks to Li Chu hahaha.

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      Lol Coralie. I’m really interesting to know where all the “hype” you see it is. LOL. Only like 5 people are watching it and discussing it in the episode post, compared to half of asia watching 3 Lives 3 Worlds, which is another mediocre show when you really look at the story and what it brings….nothing new to the plate, and it’s plagiarized no less!

  5. 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

    I started this without watching any of the previews so I had no idea what this was going to entail. 60 episodes later, I may have only fast forwarded a grand total of 5 minutes. Lol.

    In my first impressions review, I said this drama is pretty average but there wasn’t anything in particular to nitpick on. Aside from a few bugs here and there, I still stand by what I said back then. However, I do think it’s the acting that won me over. All four leads can act and even the supporting characters are comfortable to watch so there’s none of that 尴尬演技.

    Allen Ren Jia Lun is a biggest surprise here. I was expecting him to either be stoic or exaggerated, two categories most newbies tend to fall under. Strangely, he didn’t live up to my expectations. I actually thought he was OK, even decent. Now I think he reminds me of Huang Xuan—not attractive at first glance but he is the best looking when he’s bringing his character to life. There are a lot of 小细节 to this character that makes him intriguing. I think Lizzie brought up some good points on this in the GOTD thread. She did a better job writing about this character than I ever could so you can read up on her thoughts there if you’re interested.

    Aside from the acting, I do like the court politics and the focus on the downfall of Li Longji’s reign. Hence the title seems kind of ironic because we have the Anshi Rebellion, which marks the decline of the dynasty. The “glory” is what the Tang court tries to save but so many things go wrong.

  6. 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

    It’s the same production company as Chusen, so it’s hardly suprising they would pull the same trick. I have dropped the drama around episode 8 and would probably pick it up again once I’m all rested deom 3l3w.

  7. 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

    Thank you Kappy for all your great, timely, detailed posts and news. idk how you find the time to do what you’ve been doing so far for so many years. After just commenting on ancillary things to 45 eps of GOTD, I have already run out of energy to comment further.

    I watch GOTD for Li Chu’s character, the acting, and the rough historical outline. GOTD is too long for me, so I had to FF some. I just find GOTD watchable, and I slightly prefer GOTD to other 2017 Cdramas so far.

    People in mainland seem to work long hours. How do they have the time to watch so many long dramas?

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      I think some readers think blogging is my full-time job. LOL. Nope! I have a full-time job and just very passionate about this long-running hobby! Until I run out of steam! =D

      I have no idea how they could still have time and remember to watch dramas on tv! HOW?!

      • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

        We always highly appreciate all the efforts that you spend on AVV, Kappy!

        Well, a lot of people in mainland are really tiny sized. When Zheng Shuang was doing the C celeb travel show, she hardly ate anything. I guess instead of eating, people watch dramas instead?? lol.

        @chasingpolaris, In addition to Tang architecture being better preserved in Japan, some detailed Tang culture are also better preserved in J. Full-length tea ceremony, some Tang dances like “Lan Ling Wang”. So you think “proper Tang men” wrote more poetry rather than prose possibly due to Tang’s abundant prosperity.

        Unfortunately, the longer cdrama gets, the less time I seem to have and the shorter my attention span seems to get. Uh oh.

        One main feature that GOTD has that’s not in other 2017 c dramas is its Tang characteristics. Tang culture was v influential and far reaching for its time. Some effects can still be seen or heard today. From a number of spoken Asian languages, to religious practices, customs, traditional costumes, older scripts used in Korea and J, period court politics, cultural heritage and relics like the UNESCO world heritage sites we have today. A few large scale Buddhist grottoes still have ~1km long, grand scale Buddhist sculptures worth billions today, despite the damages over the centuries. Some of these sculptures supposedly have Greek, Indian and Persian influences, and may have had artists from those regions, according to some art scholars and historians. Muslim population remained in Chang An until now. The multi-faceted aspects and ethnicities of Tang residents are fascinating. idk how much of it was directly related to the Silk Road trades. Other 2017 cdramas have their own charms, but few have that scale of influence that can still be seen, felt and heard today.

        • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

          Oops. @chasingpolaris, I agree w you that Tang’s political stability (and economic prosperity) allowed Tang poetry (and various forms of fine arts) to flourish during Tang. I just wondered why Tang poetry seemed to have stood out more than Tang prose.
          Certainly when the era names are 16 kingdoms, or 5 dynasties and 10 kingdoms, literature and arts are likely not going to be the top priority. lol.

          Have a great weekend.

        • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

          I’ve always find it funny when my elders tell me that Japan copied everything from China. Which of course is not true and whatever they did adapt, well, we should be glad that they did help preserve it!

          Hmm, I actually don’t know much about Tang prose. I recall names like Han Yu but nothing comes to mind for his work. Is Chinese prose as famous as poems, though?

        • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

          idk anything about Tang prose unfortunately. Thanks for sharing all the info you provided.

          Copyright can be a sticky issue when adaptations are involved, surprisingly even with ancient techniques. C, J, and K fought over who copied whom at times. C, J, K at one point had groups who fought over who started doing acupuncture first. Some J residents mentioned J-version of dougong as a J invention. Dougongs are interlocking wooden brackets often used without nails, glue, and fasteners to support the traditional roof. One should also look forward and be involved in new inventions to balance things out. Not rest on laurels too much.

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      Lol anon, I have yet to reply to you in the other GOTD thread so let me do it here. You had a very interesting question about Tang men being poets and scholars. I’d like to know the reasoning behind that too. My opinion is that Tang dynasty at its peak reminded me of the Renaissance. Tang court was very influential and you can see that in Japan where their capital city’s layout was modeled after Chang’an. (And then you have Tang architecture preserved in Japan whereas a lot of it has been lost in China.) With a peaceful period like that, men probably had more time on their hands to focus on poetry and art. That’s the way I see it.

      I’m wondering the same thing as you about people watching so many dramas at the same time. I can barely keep up!

    • 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

      I think beside the main OTP, everyone else is supporting. Lol. Even in Part 1. 🙂

  8. 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

    This show has a lot of “new actors” for me. As i have not been able to follow chinese dramas for quite awhile there are a lot I am not familiar with in terms of name. I started watching it after reading the history of Tang Dynasty on Wikipedia. I would say all the actors did well in portraying their characters. I do have a bone to pick on the storyline. When the main actress character had misunderstanding with the crown prince that was hard to watch cause i feel that they drag it out too long and the way she refuse to believe is a little bit unbelievable. I feel like there may have been a bit too many fillers in it as well. Other than that not bad.

  9. 26 thoughts on “Review it: The Glory of Tang Dynasty Part 1 (CDrama, 2017)

    I’m watching raw and I understand about 20% of the language. I still can’t figure out how Li Chu other consort got pregnant. From my knowledge it never show Li Chu being intimate with her.

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