Favorite Period Dramas
in order of favor, not necessarily quality.
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1. Nirvana in Fire
Chinese Drama - 2015, 54 episodes
pretty much peerless
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2. The Romance of Tiger and Rose
Chinese Drama - 2020, 24 episodes
smart and funny; the two leads are great in their roles and the ml is particularly charming with his little pouting face. i hope they can return for the sequel or it won't be worth watching.
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3. Word of Honor
Chinese Drama - 2021, 36 episodes
Beautiful and the chemistry between the leads is stellar. I'm amazed by how much of their interactions are filmed the exact same way het lead couples are framed in standard cdramas and it's so refreshing. CQL who? They're not even in the same category.
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4. The Lotus Casebook
Chinese Drama - 2023, 40 episodes
great triangle dynamic with the leads, decent fight choreo, charming shaoye ponytail flip, what more could you want. funny!
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5. Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy
Chinese Drama - 2017, 75 episodes
beautiful cinematography, great acting, questionable plotline that deteriorates as it goes along.
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6. Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan
Chinese Drama - 2012, 76 episodes
the seminal palace drama
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7. A Journey to Love
Chinese Drama - 2023, 40 episodes
great characters, holds together really well until the last six episodes at which point it sort of all goes to hell. yang ying and yu shisan MVPs.
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8. The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty
Chinese Drama - 2020, 48 episodes
i love everyone in this bar, especially wang zhi
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9. The Blood of Youth
Chinese Drama - 2022, 40 episodes
reminded me how much FUN wuxia can be
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10. Sword Snow Stride
Chinese Drama - 2021, 38 episodes
quite funny, with a very complex father & son relationship at the heart of the series. people apparently are comparing it unfavorably to joy of life, but i actually like this one better.
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11. Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin
Chinese Drama - 2017, 50 episodes
not as good as the original, but still quite good. i love meng qianxue with all my heart.
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12. Dang Jia Zhu Mu
Chinese Drama - 2021, 35 episodes
superb actresses, and a refreshing reversal in the worn out "main wife vs true love" narrative.
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13. The Autumn Ballad
Chinese Drama - 2022, 34 episodes
natural chemistry, well-done slowburn, and xu zhengxi's real voice. some plot hiccups at the end, especially, but still really well done.
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14. New Life Begins
Chinese Drama - 2022, 40 episodes
100% a female empowerment fantasy and i'm ok with that
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15. Meng Xing Chang An
Chinese Drama - 2021, 49 episodes
surprisingly good; cheng yi, as always, excels at suffering.
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16. The Imperial Coroner
Chinese Drama - 2021, 36 episodes
coroner shows are so trendy now, but this one is still my favorite. the illustrated thought processes were really neat and helpful, and the romance is understated and doesn't get in the way of the plot.
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17. Winter Begonia
Chinese Drama - 2020, 49 episodes
the beginning is kind of a slog, but yz is a revelation here. really enjoyed all the opera.
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18. My Heroic Husband
Chinese Drama - 2021, 36 episodes
didn't think i would like this, but it's very good; funny and entertaining. the slowburn relationship between the two leads is very good.
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19. Story of Yanxi Palace
Chinese Drama - 2018, 70 episodes
love this kind of heroine
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20. Legend of Fei
Chinese Drama - 2020, 51 episodes
first couple episodes are boring, but it picks up after that and i love that it's not All About the Romance. the relationship pace is good!! anyone who doesn't think so hates character development and is wrong.
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21. Princess Silver
Chinese Drama - 2019, 58 episodes
kind of refreshing in that the obstacles facing the lead couple at the beginning are what lead to their misunderstandings rather than just not talking to each other or situations created by jealous people. There is some of that, obviously but the beginning of the show, especially, is driven by political plots and machinations. This show has its share of problems but it's a wild ride and fun for the most part. The Rong Qi revelations at the end are heartbreaking.
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22. Love and Redemption
Chinese Drama - 2020, 59 episodes
an fl who just Doesn't Get what romance is and a ml who is deeply devoted to her despite the pain this causes. sifeng is the prototypical self-sacrificing male lead, but with actual charisma. it's the actors and not the plot that make this show enjoyable.
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23. Chang Feng Du
Chinese Drama - 2023, 40 episodes
really cute first arc, good couple, bjt is bratty and adorable here.
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24. Lai Gui Xi Shi
Chinese Drama - 2023, 24 episodes
funny, cute, and heartwarming
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25. Fake Princess
Chinese Drama - 2020, 27 episodes
not the most expensive or inspired show, but just really cute and fluffy.
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26. Eternal Love
Chinese Drama - 2017, 58 episodes
i get so sick of romance dramas where the plot is secondary, but this one was pretty good! definitely the best performance i've seen from yang mi, whom i don't particularly care for.
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27. Story of Kunning Palace
Chinese Drama - 2023, 38 episodes
liked the female lead, liked that they didn't rush the romance though i didn't like the ml/fl dynamic.
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28. The Starry Love
Chinese Drama - 2023, 40 episodes
really funny but also quite touching at points.
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29. Legend of Awakening
Chinese Drama - 2020, 48 episodes
fun young heroes show! the romance is really extraneous for the most part, and one couple in particular is a clear case of pair the spares, but honestly i care most about the sibling relationpship of lu ping and su tang most, followed by da shixiong and lu ping, so.
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30. Song of Youth
Chinese Drama - 2021, 43 episodes
quite funny at times; lots of great actresses, men are mostly useless and yao dizhu is best girl
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31. Ever Night
Chinese Drama - 2018, 60 episodes
ensemble cast is great and chen feiyu just excels at being a pissy little gremlin.
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32. Ancient Detective
Chinese Drama - 2020, 24 episodes
the most charming himbo
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33. Il Lupo
Chinese Drama - 2020, 49 episodes
don't look at me, i got emotionally attached.
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34. The Song of Glory
Chinese Drama - 2020, 53 episodes
the first half, anyway. really promising at the start, but sort of slowly slides into mediocrity after the romance takes center stage.
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35. Bloody Romance
Chinese Drama - 2018, 36 episodes
also for the first half of the show and the general aesthetic. the plot sort of goes off the rails but the set up is great.