A mountain shepherd girl becomes queen of qinqiang opera.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Qin Hai Lu: Hua Cai Xiang
Wang Xiao Chen: Mi Lan
Director
Producer
Chinese Title
Protagonist / Main Character
Network: Tencent Video
Recap Grade: D
First Impression: N/A
First Impression: N/A
Recaps: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48]
*Not really recaps. Mostly captioning my pictures.
Cast
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| Zhang Jia Yi: Hu San Yuan (FL's uncle) |
Liu Hao Cun: Lai Di Yi Qing E Yi Qin E |
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| Qin Hai Lu: Hua Cai Xiang |
Wang Xiao Chen: Mi Lan |
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| Dou Xiao: Liu Hong Bing |
Zhai Zi Lu: Feng Xiao Xiao |
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| Ji Ta: Huang Zheng Jing |
Li Ze Feng: Zhu Ji Ru |
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| Han Pei Lin: Chu Jia He |
Wang Li Kun: Xiao Bai Xie |
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| Sun Hao: Gou Cun Zhong |
Shi Wen Zhong: Gu Cun Xiao |
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| Yu Jian: Glasses Director |
Miao Fu: He Da Chui |
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| Zhang Guo Qiang: Zhang Guang Rong |
Hu Yao Zhi: Shan Yang Ping |
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| Wang Hai Yan: Mother Liu |
Pan Di 盼弟 and Lai Di 來弟 are sisters. Pretty names, right? Oh, they’re meaningful too. Jiejie’s name means “Hoping for a Little Brother,” while meimei’s means “Brother Comes.” So sorry we're not sons.
Pan Di wants to join her uncle’s (Zhang Jia Yi's Hu San Yuan) qinqiang troupe and sing. That’s the dream. Unfortunately, this tween's future father-in-law has already started controlling her life. Yes. Her future father-in-law. He forbids her from leaving his son, and not even Pan Di’s OWN father can object.
This shepherd girl is our future qinqiang queen
Lai Di – this 瓜 (gua) – is forced to go instead. Poor girl is sobbing her eyes out the whole time. Lai Di genuinely doesn’t want to leave her family. The sisters cry with each other for themselves. It is heartbreaking.
瓜 gua. It means melon. But in Shaanxi, it's an adjective, meaning dumb and foolish. Like blockhead. But melonhead.
Lai Di sleeps beside Hua Cai Xiang (Qin Hai Lu), and I still don’t fully know what Hua Cai Xiang’s exact relationship to Hu San Yuan is at this point. Wife? Not-wife? Emotional situationship? TBD. One thing we DO know: Neither woman gets any sleep that night. Guess who the snorer is in these screenshots?
BOTH. They were so upset at each other when they're just as loud. xD Maybe this is the sign of powerful qinqiang vocals. Snoring loudly.
Chu Jia He: “Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do.”
= Model answer.
Hua Cai Xiang: “No. It’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.”
= Model petty attitude.
Lai Di gets renamed Yi Qing E (易青娥), and Hua Cai Xiang is not pleased because Hu San Yuan named her after Li Qing E. Turns out both Li Qing E and Hua Cai Xiang played dan (旦) roles, the principal female lead in qinqiang, and BOTH had feelings for Hu San Yuan… who is, by profession, a drummer. Beating percussion and accidentally beating women’s hearts too. Then comes the tragedy. Li Qing E delivers one of the greatest performances of her life. The audience goes wild. Hu San Yuan is drumming like his soul left his body. They’re all completely consumed by the stage, almost intoxicated by the performance itself… and then Li Qing E falls to her death on stage.
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Mi Lan's first dan (旦), female lead.
And also Lai Di's first stage. See that scarecrow?
Mi Lan LOL.
Feng Xiao Xiao (future Zhai Zi Lu)
Hu San Yuan negotiating/bribing the judges to let Lai Di into the troupe is classic Chinese. He really is clever and sneaky. Lai Di is making it very hard though by barely speaking ten words since arriving. Then suddenly, out of pure rage, she “sings.” And by sings, I mean she unleashes a yell powerful enough to shake the mountains.
Everybody: Σ(°□°˶) !!
I wasn't expecting Hua Cai Xiang to cheat?! Hua Cai Xiang's husband Zhang Guo Rong is back, and though she never physically cheated, she's here taking a family photo with Hu San Yuan while her husband is away…
Hua Cai Xiang asks Zhang Guo Rong for a divorce. And he asks what Hu San Yuan has over him besides drumming.
Hua Cai Xiang: Other than drumming, he’s inferior to you in every way.So why?Hua Cai Xiang: With him, there’s 活兒 (huo er).Zhang Guo Rong: What does that mean?Hua Cai Xiang: You don’t sing. You wouldn’t understand.
By 活兒 she means something deeper. Spirit. Vitality. Artistic soul. That electric aliveness on stage. She’s basically saying Hu San Yuan makes her feel artistically and emotionally alive.
Meanwhile, Lai Di experiences her first “divorce.” Okay, separation. Her first friend Ba Yi – Chef Song's son – flees town. This is the first person who will leave her life. And it won't be the last. According to the ominous narration. Thanks.
Hua Cai Xiang gives up the granddaughter dan旦 role to Mi Lan, which is shocking to Mi Lan, but not to Hu San Yuan.
Hu San Yuan: Hua Cai Xiang loves the opera on the stage. You love the stage. One woman loves the art. The other loves the spotlight.Then after dropping something this philosophical, he leaves.Mi Lan: Where are you going?Hu San Yuan: 尿. Piss. We just cannot be impressed with this man's thoughtfulness for more than five consecutive minutes, lol.
Introducing granddaughter and grandma:
Chef Song acts too! I love his line "Baka" timed right when Hei Wa slaps himself trying to kill a mosquito. LOL.
Baka!
Hu San Yuan supposedly 搞破鞋 with Xiao Bai Xie – 搞破鞋 literally means “messing around with torn shoes,” but culturally it means having an illicit affair. And I guess it's not a coincidence Xiao Bai Xie’s name translates to “Little White Shoes.” Hua Cai Xiang is furious. And won't let Xiao Bai Xie (costume/wig designer) touch her hair. Of all people, it's Mi Lan on Hua Cai Xiang's side helping her.
Zhang Jia Yi lol
Hua Cai Xiang’s husband finally agrees to divorce her, and she goes to tell Hu San Yuan.
Hu San Yuan: 我這好日子到頭了. My good days are over.Hua Cai Xiang: 那你接得住我不？Then can you handle me? (Read: take me)Hu San Yuan: 接不住嘛. Probably cannot handle.Hua Cai Xiang: 那你有啥打算呢？Then what are you planning to do?Hu San Yuan: 扛著. Carry.It's a wordplay. 接 jie that I translated to "handle" also means "receive." Hu San Yuan jokes that he can't 接receive her, but he can 扛carry her.
He's messing with her and then he gives her this tiny smile. <3
Hu San Yuan is such a petty uncle and I love him for it. A bully steals Lai Di’s hidden money, so Hu San Yuan stuffs scorpions into the box to attack the thief the next time he steals. The bully kid actor was actually his rascal son in Growing Together.)
Relevé-ing to Swan Lake
Ugly Duckling/Swan is homonyms with E in YQE's name
There's no place for Hua Cai Xiang on stage anymore. As Mi Lan performs as the 旦 on stage, Hua Cai Xiang listens from a distance. She quietly sings one last time for herself. Only Gou Cun Zhong is there to comfort her. Nuanced. Because as you watch more, you'll know who Gou Cun Zhong is. He understands exactly what she's losing because he used to be the troupe's 旦 too. Nobody has to explain the pain of being replaced. He already knows.
Xiao Ding Zi is BOMBED to death. On stage. =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇) His girlfriend is sitting in the audience happily clapping, completely unaware of the sudden ridiculous tragedy.
Afterward, Hu San Yuan needs a blood transfusion. Hua Cai Xiang volunteers, but she's pregnant.
Hua Cai Xiang: Why can't I donate? I'm fine!The doctor is like no.Mi Lan: …I'll donate.And what I love is that there are plenty of men standing around in this scene and they haven't uttered a word.But Mi Lan admits: I'm scared of blood. Aww. Come with me.
Why can't I donate? I'm fine!
I'll donate.
I'm scared of blood. Aww. Come with me.
Then when Mi Lan sees her own blood, lol
Hua Cai Xiang sits beside unconscious Hu San Yuan, complaining about him. Suddenly— SNORE. Hua Cai Xiang is offended. How is this man sleeping at a time like this?! A confused Mi Lan walks in, thinking Hua Cai Xiang hallucinating.
Later Mi Lan sits alone talking to unconscious Hu San Yuan. Then— SNORE. Mi Lan freezes. A few moments later Hua Cai Xiang walks in. Mi Lan, dead serious: "I heard him snoring." She knows, lol.
Feng Xiao Xiao comforts Lai Di. Entirely by coincidence. But that's already more kindness than any of the kids have shown her.
Escalation. Hu San Yuan is JAILED. For good (few years). Director Huang twisted the story to make what was an accident sound deliberate criminal activity from Hu San Yuan to remove liability from himself.
I love whatever strange relationship these two women have.
You think what I'm fighting you for is the opera role?
So you're fighting me for my man?
What I'm fighting over isn't important.
The important thing is that the person I'm fighting with is you.
...Are you sick?
I want good things for you.
But you cannot have more good things than me.
But you cannot have more good things than me.
Narration: 一個瓜娃教另一個瓜娃練功 LOL. One little 瓜/gua/dummy teaching another little 瓜/gua/dummy how to train.
Hei Wa: You're so 瓜
Lai Di: I'm not 瓜
Cuts to two pigs playing together in a pig pen.
Definitely both are 瓜
Lai Di is discovered by Gou Cun Zhong who sees the spark in her eyes. Then Lai Di gains another master. Then another. Three old masters have all been reduced to humble jobs around the troupe: gatekeeper, food supervisor, set manager. Men who once stood in the spotlight now spend their days in the shadows. But every night they quietly gather together to teach one little girl.
Y'ALL.
Gou Cun Zhong; 旦; gatekeeper
Zhou Cun Ren; set manager
Qiu Cun Yi; food supervisor
(I'm not certain I correctly matched the names for these two)
I
AM
TRAUMATIZED.
Hei Wa dies.
From FLIPPING.
=͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇)
And then Lai Di grows up into Liu Hao Cun. And what trauma?
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Gu Cun Xiao is back, and the four masters are complete. With Lai Di as the 旦, they put on a performance for him. Gou Cun Zhong proudly asks for feedback.
Gu: You want me to speak the truth or the lies.Gou: I want you to speak human.Gu: She mastered a lifetime of techniques, and also inherited a lifetime of old people's mannerism.
Lai Di is acting Yang Tai Feng, but nowhere does Gu see a 16 or 17 year old.
Pressure is on Director Zhu, stuck right in the middle between the four masters and Director Huang. The prideful masters want an invitation back so they can help rescue a troupe that’s clearly on the brink. Director Huang will not bend. Is there another way? (Li Ze Feng is doing great in this role btw)
There's this way. *Sniff* Lai Di! And here is Lai DI's 16/17 year old version of Yang Tai Feng.
Trigger Warning. This episode contains sexual assault.
I feel so bad for Lai Di. She asks Chu Jia He for help picking out some pretty clothes, and she embarrasses her in front of all the other girls. The worst part is Lai Di actually laughs along with them at first because she doesn’t even realize she’s the one being laughed at. And then it hits her. Right after. You can see the exact moment she understands.
And then things get even worse. Lai Di is almost raped by Head Chef Liao. Chef Song saves her. He cries for her, saying that as awful as it is, it’s better they keep it quiet for her reputation. T_T I’m so grateful Chef Song is always there for her — supporting her training, rescuing her… I wonder why he couldn't be that present for his own child…lol. Maybe he learned after Ba Yi left?
Chu Jia He and her friend saw everything. Outside. They didn't call for help.
Thankfully, Chef Liao leaves the village the next morning on his own, terrified of getting arrested.
Thankfully, Chef Liao leaves the village the next morning on his own, terrified of getting arrested.
Stage time! Because Mi Lan couldn't stand the tight wig cutting off her circulation, loosened it, and in the middle of the performance, the wig comes off.
Feng Xiao Xiao sneaks in for food… and ends up walking out with more than just a meal. Maybe some tiny bit of romance ~
[Ep19] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
Lai Di is finally going on stage. Pang Mama is washing her up, treating her like her daughter. “The kitchen is your 娘家 – your maiden home. So that makes me your mother.” Aw.
Liu Hao Cun in full stage makeup for the first time.
The reaction
Feng Xiao Xiao is overjoyed. The girls… not so much.
Mi Lan is in tears – but not of joy. It’s disbelief, sadness…?
Chef Song went from tearing up at the beginning and then breaking into the biggest, proudest grin the next, and then back to crying. AW.
Master Gu. The fruit of all that time… standing under the stage lights for the very first time.
Mi Lan is such a great character. I can feel her sadness and admiration in Lai Di’s success all at once.
I am happy for you, but I am sad for myself
With Hua Cai Xiang, I can still compete.
But with you, I don’t even have the chance to compete.
Really love Mi Lan, but she's leaving! After Lai Di owned the stage like that, Mi Lan has decided to choose marriage instead. But before that, she "saves" Lai Di too. She directly lectures Chu Jia He in front of Lai Di for spreading insinuations about Lai Di being “defiled.” This is not how you compete as rivals.
You were almost defiled by Master Liao
But you were saved by Chef Song.
又被楚嘉禾給糟蹋了
And then you were defiled again by Chu Jia He.
Mi Lan calls Lai Di 瓜
Because she's been avoiding confrontation this whole time.
Lai Di: 我才不瓜呢
Hu San Yuan has picked up a new skill while he was in prison. Of course. He can survive anywhere. His fast percussion techniques make him an excellent massage therapist. He gets to enjoy drumming, and the human drum gets a treatment.
[Ep21] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
First love. Lai Di leaves food out for Feng Xiao Xiao in case he sneaks in again (e.g. buns in Ep19). This time it's roasted potato. Unfortunately, it's burnt. Feng Xiao Xiao still eats it anyway. Or at least attempts to, lol.
Hu San Yuan is back and reunited with Lai Di. T_T. And the first things he discovers is that Lai Di has been sleeping in the firewood room. The man is immediately in tears. And furious. Who is bullying his niece? He's ready to drum somebody to death. T_T Aw. This drummer is so useful – when he's not in jail lol.
Hu San Yuan can't return to the troupe. It's because of Lai Di. The troupe can't have both uncle and niece occupying the two most important positions: lead drummer and leading lady. Lai Di has only recently begun earning recognition through her own talent. If Hu San Yuan returns too, people will inevitably start talking about favouritism and family connections. Is that not how she got in? Now we're talking about fairness? Lol. So for Lai Di's sake, he leaves.
First love. Feng Xiao Xiao and Lai Di are ordered to stare into each other's eyes.
Hu San Yuan's new part-time job is incredible. He's escorting a bull and a donkey to offer door-to-door breeding services. He's actually baffled because back then, if your livestock needed breeding, you took them to the breeding station. Well this veterinarian has innovated. He's bringing the breeding station to YOU. Because it's farming season, so all the animals are busy working in the fields and nobody has time to visit the station.
Hence: Mobile livestock matchmaking service.
Hu San Yuan jokes: "幸虧是倆牲口. Thank goodness it's only two beasts." 牲口 means livestock. But he's using it as slang to also refer to himself and the veterinarian. As in: "We are absolutely dogs (working hard), dragging heavy animals across the countryside of the harvest season." Lol.
The four masters ask what work Hu San Yuan's doing these days. He replies: "劁…豬. Castrating…pigs." xD The witty part is 劁 (qiao, to castrate) sounds similar to 敲 (qiao, to drum). So instead of "qiao-ing" drums, he's now "qiao-ing" pigs. But very different qiaos LOL. The four masters don't hear him properly. Of course they wouldn't. So Hu San Yuan demonstrates. Using his straw hat. Making a downward chopping motion. That qiao. I also like the detail at the end of the episode where he throws away the straw hat. Done with pig-qiao-ing.
Master Gou teaches Lai Di a fire-breathing technique. The sequence famously comes from Rescuing Pei Sheng (救裴生), where the performer blows fire 81 times. 81 represents 9 × 9, traditionally symbolizing the ultimate series of trials required for transformation and spiritual completion.
How it's done. The performer hides pine rosin powder (松香粉) inside the mouth. Tiny amounts are "blasted" from the mouth to an open flame. The powder ignites, creating the dramatic fire plume. Rosin is the choice of powder because when it's atomized into the air as a fine dust, it becomes highly combustible. It also doesn't dissolve or break from the saliva in the mouth.
The danger. If the powder is inhaled near a flame, it can coat the respiratory tract leading to suffocation or permanent lung damage.
MASTER GOU. He dies. But before he dies, he finally performs on stage again. His career ended because someone sabotaged him and prevented him from completing the eighty-one fire breaths. Now he finally gets to finish them. All eighty-one. He completes the eighty-one trials and ascends… Dies on stage. In a way, he did leave his life complete.
He Da Chui has very short arms lol.
My favourite Li Ze Feng role.
In memory of Gou Cun Zhong T_T
Last but not least. Dou Xiao's Liu Hong Bing finally appears. He falls in love at first sight with Lai Di.
Zhu Ji Ru loses his position to this little 瓜, Lai Di. And now he has to report to her. LOL. It gets even better. Lai Di is also Director Huang's supervisor. Love it!
First love is hitting a wall. There's competition.
By Feng Xiao Xiao :)
By Liu Hong Bing
Feng Xiao Xiao => :(
And first love is over? Lai Di is being sent to the city. She doesn't want to go. The troupe is here. Her shifu is here. His ashes are here. She wants to stay and perform for her masters until the very end. And then there's Feng Xiao Xiao.
Hu San Yuan asks Feng Xiao Xiao whether he likes Lai Di. He does. Hu San Yuan also knows Lai Di likes him back. Then Uncle Hu gives him a lesson with a butterfly. He holds it in his palm, asking if he understands.
Feng Xiao Xiao: You can crush me to death like that insect. Haha.
Uncle's point is that there are two kinds of love. Psh. You can hold the butterfly so tightly that you kill it. Or you can open your hand and let it fly. So what does Feng Xiao Xiao choose? He lets Lai Di fly.
"Your uncle says you're 瓜"
"I'm not 瓜"
Lai Di receives yet another name. Her stage name changes from 易青娥 (Yi Qing E) to 憶秦娥 (Yi Qin E), taken from Li Bai's famous ci poem Yi Qin E ("Remembering Qin E").
Feng Xiao Xiao. After learning that everyone else had already decided on the new name before she knew, he basically goes: Nope. I'm still calling you Yi Qing E. Then Lai Di tells him: "Call me Lai Di." I like that a lot. Her whole life, other people have decided things for her. Where she'll live. What she'll do. What she'll become. What her new names will be. Feng Xiao Xiao is one of the few people who gets to call her by the name she was born with.
But it's Liu Hong Bin who accompanies Yi Qin E all the way to the city. Goodbye first love? Hello new love?
P.S. If you've watched The Stage, they say there's a connection in this ep.
Feng Xiao Xiao has zero alcohol tolerance. None. The man looked completely fine. Then ten seconds later – down he goes. Meanwhile, he isn't the only lovelorn man wandering around. Hu San Yuan is searching for Hua Cai Xiang.
Hu San Yuan puts all his acquired skills to work. Thanks to his percussion background, his massage experience, and whatever veterinary techniques he picked up along the way, he lands a job as a massage therapist. The man has gone from 敲鼓 (qiao-ing drums) to 劁豬 (qiao-ing pigs) to 敲背 (qiao-ing backs).
The best part is that this new job brings him right back to Hua Cai Xiang. AWWW. These two are reunited because her back hurts. 😂😭 Love it!
The best part is that this new job brings him right back to Hua Cai Xiang. AWWW. These two are reunited because her back hurts. 😂😭 Love it!
My favourite romance is actually Hua Cai Xiang and Hu San Yuan's?! I really like their nuanced conversations.
Hua Cai Xiang says that the moment she heard Hu San Yuan's voice, she recognized him immediately. What she doesn't know is that Hu San Yuan recognized her from her back alone.
Hua Cai Xiang says that the moment she heard Hu San Yuan's voice, she recognized him immediately. What she doesn't know is that Hu San Yuan recognized her from her back alone.
Hu San Yuan ends up sympathizing with... a dog. This poor dog is being forced to breed, and Hu San Yuan calls them two souls suffering from the same illness. The owner immediately asks: "What? You're forced to breed too?" Lol. No, not that illness. Hu San Yuan means they're both 如喪家之犬 — "miserable dogs who've lost their homes." And Hua Cai Xiang hears every word.
Hua Cai Xiang tells Hu San Yuan to stop kneading dough while twisting and turning his whole body. Hu San Yuan can't help it. That's how Pang Mama taught him.
Hu San Yuan: 哄出來的媳婦，揉出來的面. A wife is won through coaxing; dough is made through kneading. In other words: good things take patience, deliberate effort, and physical dedication. You can't rush the process.
Hua Cai Xiang hears the implication.
We also learn that Hua Cai Xiang divorced, Zhang Guang Rong left three years ago and took their son with him. But Hua Cai Xiang makes one thing very clear: She did not divorce her husband for Hu San Yuan.
Hua Cai Xiang: I am the Goddess of Cold Noodles. (She actually compared herself to Xi Shi. The confidence. Lol.) And you're a JianghuQuackDoctor. Before, at worst, we couldn't find the right pitch. Now we don't even have the same music sheets.Hu San Yuan: Still sounds pretty well matched to me. Never stop shooting your shot. Even if it's late!Hua Cai Xiang immediately shuts him down: Don't start overthinking things and writing some sequel in your head.Hu San Yuan: So what exactly happens in this sequel?Hua Cai Xiang: 揉你的面去 Go knead your dough.He never stopped kneading lol, It's cute that JUST compared kneading dough to coaxing a wife. So, yes ma'am! He'll continue to coax her.
But she tells him again that they missed their timing all these years. Their timing is just not right. And he's like What time – (cut off but the unsaid: is right?) Lol. Go Hu San Yuan, I'm rooting for you!
But she tells him again that all these years, they've missed their timing. It must mean they're not meant to be. "What timing–" And gets cut off. The unspoken ending: "What timing is right then?" So he can try again. Go Hu San Yuan!
Dou Xiao's Liu Hong Bin "raps" in dialect. It was…not bad, lol.
Lai Di and Hua Cai Xiang reunite, aww.
Our favourite vocal warm-up exercise: "HU SAN YUAN 王八蛋 (You bastard)."
Hu San Yuan and Hua Cai Xiang watch a movie, and she finally tells him what was written in that letter that Lai Di failed to deliver. Just three words. "接著我. Catch me." That she wrote thirty times. Over and over. AWWWW. And what's Hu San Yuan doing? Snoring. Timing, lol.
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| Old Bastard Gu Cun Xiao, 還我母親尊嚴 |
Liu Hong Bin goes to jail for Yi Qin E. And you can tell she's finally starting to soften toward him. The relentless pursuit and unwavering support is starting to work. BUT. FENG XIAO XIAO IS BACK.
Chu Jia He actually saves Yi Qin E from a fire. But accidentally burns down her house…lol. These two are also heartbroken over Feng Xiao Xiao. And I wonder what happened to his throat? Was it puberty? Was it (that bottle of) alcohol? But all that heartbreak ends up helping Yi Qin E understand her heartbroken role.
Hu San Yuan drums for Yi Qin E (for the first time?). He's stunned and…sad. He realizes that his drumming has been following Yi Qin E's rhythm. Not the other way around. Instead of leading her, she was leading him. For a man who's spent his entire life setting the pace, that's huge. And this also means from this point on, Yi Qin E leads her own path.
Rock and roll has arrived. Meanwhile rolling hair is also the trend for the ladies (Yi Qin E and Hua Cai Xiang). But Hu San Yuan cannot appreciate the rolls. Either of them.
Yi Qin E's reputation gets dragged through the mud. Rumours spread everywhere that she slept her way to fame and success. Liu Hong Bin stays right by her side through all of it.
Very pretty dawn.
But romance gets completely overshadowed by the sismance this episode. Mi Lan!!
Mi Lan is rich now. She has status. She has influence. Hua Cai Xiang is too ashamed to meet her. But Mi Lan goes to her anyway. Hua Cai Xiang tells her she doesn't need to comfort her because it's obvious who "won" at life. Except Mi Lan hasn't had it easy either. "This many years, what I've been through, only I know."
She married a man twenty years older than herself. And she openly admits that if Hua Cai Xiang were in her position, she probably wouldn't have endured a loveless marriage the way she has.
I love Mi Lan. She could have pretended everything was perfect. She could have shown off. She could have enjoyed being the successful one. Instead, she gives Hua Cai Xiang the truth.
Then she tries to serenade Hua Cai Xiang. LOL
Off-key though, haha
Not embarrassed. Nope.
This new future 旦 LOL. He says he's as innocent as a white piece of paper. He might actually be more innocent than Lai Di ever was, haha.
Mi Lan and Hua Cai Xiang are both there for Lai Di. And they're there for each other too. I ship!
Hua Cai Xiang: If you had called me grandma/nainai louder with more sincerity, even if I was dreaming I would answer you 'Aye!'
Mi Lan: Nainai, listen to me!
<3
"Main romance." Liu Hong Bing jumped off a building for Yi Qin E. That's all.
We've arrived at success and happiness! Yi Qin E and Liu Hong Bin get married. At the wedding she thanks her mother for giving birth to her and raising her. Pfft. Giving birth, yes. Raising... The show and I have different memories on that one.
But show.
Arrests Mi Lan. ???
Ends the honeymoon phase. Yi Qin E is suddenly a mother. The baby cries nonstop. She's exhausted. Liu Hong Bin's workplace is facing layoffs. Everyone is stressed. Nobody looks happy. And the baby doesn't seem quite right. So within a minute, we've gone from: "Congratulations on your wedding!" to "Welcome to sleep deprivation, unemployment anxiety, and existential dread."
There goes my hope for Feng Xiao Xiao being Yi Qing E's true guy! Because It's Chu Jia He who ends up throwing FENG XIAO XIAO a rope when he's down on his luck, out on the streets dressed as a giant lion mascot, selling beer. She gets him a stunt role for... Leslie Cheung? 你別說. Zhai Zi Lu actually does look a little bit like Leslie Cheung. Like at least 1%. LOL. But I see the vision.
Meanwhile, is Liu Hong Bin's mother not being way too casual about this?! Liu Hong Bin sees his father for the first time in years(? months?) and discovers the man had a stroke. He's wheelchair-bound, his mouth is slanted, he can barely communicate, and his mother is basically: "Oh, we didn't save him in time, so he's like this now. So how have you been?"
Mother. I'll answer for Liu Hong Bin: F*cking devastated.
Mother. I'll answer for Liu Hong Bin: F*cking devastated.
Then we cut to Mi Lan in prison.
Yi Qin E's baby (Liu Yi) is not okay. Congenital heart disease.
Meanwhile Liu Hong Bin spends the night out drinking and partying. Not because he's having fun. He's devastated about his father, his job, his arguments with Yi Qin E, life in general. And it'll only go down from here.
Feng Xiao Xiao is STILL in love with Yi Qin E. But at the lowest point of his life, the person beside him isn't Yi Qin E. It's Chu Jia He.
Hu San Yuan proposes. Finally. But with a longevity lock? LOL. Longevity locks (長命鎖) are traditionally given to babies and children as a blessing for long life and protection. This uncle proposed with baby jewelry. And Hua Cai Xiang accepts. Haha. She tells him to live a long life so they can bother each other for the rest of it.
I teared up seeing Chef Song again. T_T. I didn't know I loved this man this much. So where's Ba Yi? His biological son?
Yi Qin E performs on stage again. But not Qinqiang. She's simply singing and using her fame. She's not just doing this for Liu Yi. It's for the troupe. She's the troupe director now. People need salaries. People need to eat. She tells Hu San Yuan:
Yi Qin E: Uncle, I sang the opera you brought me out to sing. But now the opera isn't surviving. It's not that I've let Qinqiang down. It's Qinqiang that has let me down.
Meanwhile Feng Xiao Xiao and Chu Jia He have been together for a year! This romance is terrible for her though because she knows he doesn't love her. But she still can't let him go when he's about to leave.
Liu Hong Bin. Have I mentioned I don't particularly like Dou Xiao? But when Liu Hong Bin's life flashes before his eyes and he's crying...I felt awful for him. He didn't do anything wrong.
Chu Jia He admits out loud that Feng Xiao Xiao never loved her. But she also points out something else. He didn't really choose Yi Qin E either. Because when he left, he never gave Yi Qin E a choice. He never told her his singing career was over. Never asked if she still wanted him anyway. He made the decision for both of them.
Then the narration informs us that:Chu Jia He later becomes a successful businesswoman.
Feng Xiao Xiao becomes a renowned stunt director. A good father. A good husband. To some other woman. Why am I learning this through narration?? The actual ending you gave me was bittersweet. Then suddenly a narrator appears to reassure me: "Don't worry. He's happy later." Irresponsible.
Liu Yi's surgery is tomorrow. Yi Qin E tells Liu Hong Bin not to excite him. Keep him calm. Keep him safe. But Liu Hong Bin takes him out anyway. I understand it as a parent. He wants his son to be happy. But I spent the entire scene stressed that the child is excited D:
Then it gets worse. Liu Hong Bin is arrested for selling counterfeit CDs.
Then it gets worse. He flees in a car with Liu Yi in side.
Then it gets worse. A truck. Crash. Dead on scene.
At the exact same time, the stage collapses underneath Yi Qin E.
AND IT GETS WORSE. Chef Song jumps to save her and dies there. It's always Chef Song. Every time Lai Di needed someone. Hu San Yuan was on the stage and he wasn't as fast as Chef Song T_T. He was the only father figure Lai Di ever really had.
Then the narration informs us that:Chu Jia He later becomes a successful businesswoman.
Feng Xiao Xiao becomes a renowned stunt director. A good father. A good husband. To some other woman. Why am I learning this through narration?? The actual ending you gave me was bittersweet. Then suddenly a narrator appears to reassure me: "Don't worry. He's happy later." Irresponsible.
Liu Yi's surgery is tomorrow. Yi Qin E tells Liu Hong Bin not to excite him. Keep him calm. Keep him safe. But Liu Hong Bin takes him out anyway. I understand it as a parent. He wants his son to be happy. But I spent the entire scene stressed that the child is excited D:
Then it gets worse. Liu Hong Bin is arrested for selling counterfeit CDs.
Then it gets worse. He flees in a car with Liu Yi in side.
Then it gets worse. A truck. Crash. Dead on scene.
At the exact same time, the stage collapses underneath Yi Qin E.
AND IT GETS WORSE. Chef Song jumps to save her and dies there. It's always Chef Song. Every time Lai Di needed someone. Hu San Yuan was on the stage and he wasn't as fast as Chef Song T_T. He was the only father figure Lai Di ever really had.
Director Shan Yang Ping also dies saving the children.
That day wasn't just the day a stage collapsed.
Yi Qin E's entire world collapsed with it.
Four graves: Liu Hong Bing, Liu Yi, Shan Yang Ping, and Chef Song
Five years later. Yi Qin E still has PTSD. She can't sing or stand on stage.
[Ep47] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
[Ep48] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
Remarks
[First Impression]
I think I had the wrong first impression of this show. I was expecting a story about a little girl growing up and learning Qinqiang (秦腔) opera. I thought we'd spend a lot of time looking into the art by watching Lai Di / Yi Qin(g) E train, struggle, improve, and gradually become a great performer.
Instead, the show is much more macro in scope.
Instead, the show is much more macro in scope.
We focus on the politics on how to get FL to become the FL of qinqiang. It's also interested in Hu San Yuan's life, people being persecuted, separations, deaths, divorces. A lot of the major themes are actually quite sad. But life would keep going in the next episode so even if someone dies, the new episode is another day. And so it's traumatic, but not as traumatic.
I kinda think I got roped into this. (My own fault). Especially with scenes like these:
Zhu Ji Ru sniffs
Hua Cai Xiang sniffs
Mi Lan sniffs
Note: Liu Hao Cun appears in Ep14. And Pre-Ep14 might be my favourite part of the show, lol.
[Cast&Crew]
主角 is directed by Li Shao Fei, known for Growing Pain and The Stage, and both also star Zhang Jia Yi as ML. Truly the 主角 of 主角.
But the 主角 is also Liu Hao Cun. The story is centred around her character becoming the queen of Qinqiang opera (秦腔), a traditional performing art from Shaanxi province.
The producer is THE Zhang Yi Mou. And Liu Hao Cun is his protégé, one of his Moa Girls.
You will recognize a lot of the same supporting cast if you've watched Zhang Jia Yi dramas (e.g. his kid from Growing Together acts as the kid-bully here, and "kids" from Growing Pain 1&2 are now Xiao Ding Zi and Chu Jia He).
Wrapped on August 16, 2025
[Ending]
[A Highlight]
[Review & Rating]
Rating: /5
Recommendations
| Era | Opera | Dreams |
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→ Go to May 2026 post
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