It was THE RISE OF PHOENIXES 天盛长歌(TROP) which got me into C-drama. Before TROP, I had never watched any C-drama
nor had I any interest to. Truth be
told, it was my non-Chinese speaking husband who got hooked onto TROP first. When he is not paying you attention, the
competition has to be investigated. That
left me glaring at what the heck was he watching, to staring longer at the
intriguing scenes - till eventually I was all in.
Initially, what caught my eye were the exquisite costumes
and the beautifully crafted sets that formed mesmerising picture frames on my
TV screen.
Then, I realised that a pretty intense plot was going down. The
scenes were compelling. I was inexorably shipped into the unfolding story. Hubby thoughtfully shuffled sideways to grant
me space on the TV couch. I couldn’t help
but sit down to watch.
TROP is a period drama about power struggles in the imperial
palace and rivalry amongst the princes of the Emperor.
The main character is Ning Yi, the 6th son of the
Emperor - a multi-faceted, unpredictable contradiction of cunning villainy and
hopeless victim, whose tragic past and vulnerability hooks you in. You find yourself rooting for him to succeed
in his plans and feeling sad when he feels sad.
I was stoked to discover that the name, ‘Ning Yi’ has
significance. Ning Yi in Chinese is宁弈 where
'Ning' 宁 is the
character’s surname and 'Yi' 弈is
his personal name. In fact, the word 'Yi' 弈 means ‘Go’ (i.e. Chinese chess), an
ancient board game played with black and white pieces on a 19×19 grid of lines containing 361
points. TROP is replete with references
to the game of Go in dialogue and many scenes feature characters sitting across
each over a game of ‘Go’. Clearly, the
reference to ‘Go’ is a metaphor for the games – the schemes, conspiracies and
manipulations – which the characters plot, play and pit against each other.
Ning Yi is played by celebrated actor, Chen Kun 陈坤. After watching TROP, I will say that Chen
Kun’s fame and acclaim is well-deserved.
The way Chen Kun portrays Ning Yi is really something to watch. He can make us see Ning Yi processing a range
of different and conflicting emotions in one moment. Chen Kun’s performance is so masterful that
we are pulled to join Ning Yi as he goes through his dilemmas and tribulations.
Incidentally, Chen Kun is helming the 2021 movie, 'The Ying
Yang Master' 侍神令 (not to be confused with the 2020 movie, 'The Yin-Yang
Master: Dream of Eternity' 阴阳师:
晴雅集). Both movies are now streaming on Netflix with
English subtitles.
The second main character is Feng Zhiwei, who is an equal to
Ning Yi’s intellect and happens to be female. Feng Zhiwei is played by the
luminous Ni Ni 倪妮. Standing a statuesque 1.7m tall, Ni Ni wears her
period costumes so magnificently. Such a
visual treat. More pertinently, Ni Ni
has acting abilities to match Chen Kun’s and her portrayal of Feng Zhiwei is
captivating.
The relationship between Ning Yi and
Feng Zhiwei is the golden chord which runs through TROP and the biggest
gift of TROP is the amazing on-screen chemistry between Chen Kun’s Ning Yi and
Ni Ni’s Feng Zhiwei. From what Ning Yi
and Feng Zhiwei say or do not say to each other - to what they do, risk and
sacrifice for each other - it is spellbinding drama enthralling to watch. Every time those two characters share a
scene, magic happens.
Overall, TROP has a rich plot that is full of action, with many
exciting twists and dramatic turns. Viewers will be glued from episode to episode. The main characters all undergo major changes
as they make choices which determine their fate or when other characters make
decisions which impact them, ensuring that viewers get a high dose of drama, irony
and emotional payoffs.
When I was watching TROP, I knew next to nothing about the
actors or those behind the production of TROP.
Later, I found out that not only are the main leads of TROP A-list
actors in mainland China, TROP also feature many veteran and well-known actors
in the secondary roles. No wonder the
level of acting is so outstanding.
After TROP, I went on to watch many other C-drama
serials. Recently, I went back to
re-watch TROP. Now that I have more yardsticks to compare with, would I still
be impressed with TROP? Yes, even after
having watched many other worthy C-drama serials, I still think that TROP is a first-rate
production.
For great acting, eye-popping costumes and sets, an intricate
plot, unforgettable characters with a sizzling love story in the midst – TROP
delivers.
TROP is currently streaming on Netflix with English
subtitles. Check out the trailer for TROP here: https://youtu.be/DyAsfo6rEz0
__________________
Born and bred in Singapore, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss left
school achieving the distinction of being practicably unable to read, write or
speak Mandarin despite 10 years of studying the language. Her mono-lingual
world ended when she stumbled into the land of Chinese drama during lockdown.
To date, she has binge watched quite a number of C-drama serials already, all
thanks to English subtitles, without which she would not have come this far.
If you are a C-drama fan from the English-speaking, do hit
"Like" at her Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/EngSubsPls to
connect and chat with her.
