Tang Dynasty, Dark Night, Demon Cat.
Chang’an County Magistrate’s Mansion, all is silent, and a demon cat appears.
The county magistrate comes from a military background. Upon hearing the commotion, he drew his sword and stood up, saying, “You bastard, dare you come again
Stab the demon cat with one sword, cut off the curtains, and then use another sword to overturn the verdict. The demon cat ran towards the courtyard.
Chasing out with a sword, a woman’s voice could be heard in the courtyard, “My lord, don’t you remember me
Is it a demon cat speaking? Upon closer inspection, the demon cat transformed into a human form, like a fairy descending from the mortal realm, shining brightly and illuminating the dark night. The fairy was dazzling and dazzling, but a sinister atmosphere suddenly spread.
The county magistrate suddenly felt dazed, letting the illusion approach and gently stroking his cheek.
But he instantly woke up, ‘demon’, and after speaking, he stabbed with a sword. The illusion transformed and jumped onto the beam of the house, “My lord, you are so cruel. Do you want to kill me?” “Demon, I want the people to eliminate demons today
After speaking, the county magistrate leaped towards the beam of the house. But he fell into the water halfway, and suddenly the light and shadow in the courtyard dimmed, and the illusion disappeared.
In the next scene, the county magistrate has been buried in the pool, and a figure walks in. This person will unravel all the truths, and a Tang Dynasty fantasy legend will begin from here.
After reading the opening, I admit that I underestimated it – “The Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty”.
The lineup is indeed top-notch:
The “Soul Ferry” team, producer, Guo Jingyu, actors, includes veteran cast members such as Yang Zhigang, Zhang Zijian, Liu Zhiyang, and Yue Lina, as well as acting talents such as Wang Jinsong, Chen Chuang, Fan Ming, Luo Jialiang, and Yao Anlian.
Adapted from the original work, a novel by Wei Fenghua.
Premiere and directly soar to the top of the platform’s skyrocketing chart.
Is it just a fancy appearance? After watching six episodes in one go, it’s time to stamp: Ancient costume fantasy drama, with a tough guy coming to the end.
Suspense, fantasy, martial arts, everything is lacking. This strong impact is just too shocking, it brought me into the play!
After a long silence, the ancient costume fantasy finally opens again?
Whether a fantasy drama is good or not, the key is to capture the plot.
The fantastic visual effects are dazzling, but at its core, ‘Tang Dynasty Mysteries’ is still a pure suspense and detective drama.
At the beginning of the story, the screenwriter uses a lot of dramatic conflicts to catch the audience’s attention.
The first strange thing: the “Chang’an Red Tea” case.
Under the feet of the emperor, in the city of Chang’an, the mysterious black tea that is rumored to bring people to the immortal realm is highly sought after. One ingot of gold, one or two teas.
There are rumors in the market that evil immortals soar in the dark night, and the ghost market where the lower classes live in groups has become a secret trading place for sky high priced black tea.
Lu Lingfeng (played by Yang Xuwen), the commander of the Jinwu Guard, was ordered to investigate the case, but the former county magistrate of Chang’an County died and was succeeded by Su Wumingxiang, a disciple of Di Renjie who had closed the door.
But before the new official took office and any clues were found, another strange thing happened: the serial disappearance of brides in Chang’an.
Originally, when the groom welcomed him in a large red sedan chair, it was a joyous occasion.
The groom’s family was in decline, and although the wealthy young man who drove for his sister was unhappy, he still followed the rules.
According to Tang Dynasty customs, the groom first goes home to wait for the bride.
But something strange happened here. As soon as the groom left, a strange wind blew, and the bride’s carriage suddenly startled and ran wildly. Strangely, the young man who sent his sister to get married had his servants chase after him, but he himself escaped.
As the camera turned, the carriage in which the bride was sitting ran to an uninhabited wilderness and suddenly overturned. The bride walked out of the carriage to check, but did not notice a masked monster approaching quietly behind her.
Turning around, a scream, a life.
The next scene is Su Wuming rushing to the autopsy.
Seemingly isolated case? But Lu Lingfeng revealed the truth in one sentence: since last year, brides have been missing repeatedly. If this continues, who dares to get married?
Is it really haunted? Of course not. But if it’s kidnapping, why isn’t anyone asking wealthy families for money? If trafficking women, why kill beautiful women?
The case is shrouded in fog, but a bigger mystery has emerged: the two main suspects in the case, the groom and the wealthy young master.
A person who violated curfew was killed by Jin Wuwei without warning by shooting an arrow through the chest.
Another one hanged himself at home.
The clue was cut off at this point.
As Su Wuming dug deeper, he unexpectedly found the remains of more than ten missing brides in Chang’an City. What are the secrets behind them?
Don’t worry, stop.
Returning to the black tea case. Each clue points to the ghost market.
There are no ghosts in Ghost Market, it’s just that the crust of Chang’an City has sunk, gradually giving rise to an underground world where people from the bottom gather and trade, hence the name Ghost Market.
In director Tsui Hark’s “Detective Dee,” this eerie and dark underground ghost market is unforgettable at first glance.
In this drama, this remains the key to solving puzzles.
Since it’s the people from the ghost market causing trouble, of course we need to level this place down.
In the darkness of the night, Lu Lingfeng secretly laid out his plan, waiting for the people from the ghost market to take the bait.
There was no concealment from the first second of the series.
Next, it will inevitably be high-energy.
Do you think you’ll see a shocking fight? Unexpectedly, it was not humans, but tigers, who entered the trap set by the heavy troops of the Jin Wuwei.
Next is a 3-minute large-scale action scene.
The scene of the battle between humans and tigers is intense yet not chaotic.
A huge tiger with realistic special effects and imposing momentum. Just a second ago, Jinwu Wei was still confident, but suddenly his formation was disrupted by the fierce tiger.
Escape, battle, and confrontation can be called a visual feast.
The audience follows into the world depicted in the series, and the immersive feeling is dizzying and soul shaking, unable to extricate themselves. It’s amazing!
But how could there be tigers in Ghost City? Su Wuming revealed the mystery: Where is such a big tiger?
But such fantasy duels are meant to drag the audience into strange illusions time and time again, unwilling to leave.
In the end, the fierce tiger turned into dust and dispersed. The witness that Jin Wuwei wanted to protect jumped out of the window during the chaotic battle, but fell into the mechanism set up by a mysterious person.
Who is behind the scenes manipulating the situation?
The puzzle is huge, and one wave after another has not yet subsided. The clues of the black tea case point to the ghost market, and the missing bride case and the mysterious black tea were introduced to Chang’an almost simultaneously? What is the connection between the two cases? Why did the mastermind behind the black tea case use illusions to stir up trouble?
The puzzle has been revealed, next is——
To break the deadlock, someone must first be present.
Let’s first organize the affirmative team:
The first one, Lu Lingfeng, the proud son of heaven who longed to make achievements but repeatedly encountered setbacks, was a crown prince and a red man. He was the middle ranking general of the Jinwu Guard and had a promising future, but after falling into the black tea case, he became an abandoned son of the crown prince and had his military power taken away. To investigate the case, he had to rely on official officials from Chang’an County.
The second one is Su Wuming, a disciple of Di Renjie and a talented detective. He is a small county magistrate, but he is respected by all parties. Because he was recommended by the princess of the current dynasty, he is a princess’s person? Not really.
Thirdly, there is a mysterious person named Fei Chicken Master who is drunk this morning and only seeks one chicken every day. He is knowledgeable about ghost markets and has excellent medical skills. Su Wuming only carried a piece of clothing from the murdered bride with him when he discovered it.
What exactly does he come from?
It is not difficult to see that this Tang Dynasty investigation team consists of a core character, a genius and a warrior, a cold and hard character, a soft and gentle character, a brain teaser and a hands-on character, which is a typical configuration of suspense dramas.
The two male leads follow the clues of the case, leading to multiple mysteries and confrontations.
The first layer is the secret struggle between the righteous and evil factions.
In the first six episodes, the biggest villain is naturally the mastermind behind the Black Tea Case and the Bride’s Disappearance Case, with scenes of both sides resorting to violence.
The mental confrontation is not satisfying, and the screenwriter has increased the intensity for the male lead. The antagonist who is proficient in illusions repeatedly creates illusions and interacts head-on with the protagonist group.
The second layer: It’s a scene where the protagonist team doesn’t play and doesn’t know each other.
Lu Lingfeng and Su Wuming didn’t like each other from the beginning, but they became partners by chance, and the other group members gradually integrated into the team in the maze.
The third layer: Break away from the confrontation between good and evil and the illusion of magic, and enter another more complex system: power struggle.
Don’t forget the place where the story takes place, Chang’an, the capital of the mid Tang Dynasty.
The prosperous Tang Dynasty has gradually shown signs of fatigue, with various filth, decline of the aristocracy, and corruption in the officialdom. As an official, he indulges in mysterious black tea every day. The secret battle between the princess and the crown prince treats human life as worthless, stirring up chaos in the court and the market, and also affecting the fate of all the characters in the protagonist group.
The ingredients of Chang’an black tea contain prohibited items such as Western Regions fantasy grass. Wearing it can lead people into a fantasy realm, gradually causing dependence. Those behind the scenes can not only plunder wealth through tea, but also control the minds of many powerful people.
But is the black tea case really just an investigation? When power struggles are also mixed in, the situation will inevitably become more complex, with various forces and complex issues waiting to be resolved!
Pay attention to the beginning of the popularity of “Chang’an black tea”, and all tea drinkers will add one sentence: Princess (played by Yue Lina) is drinking it.
So, who did the Crown Prince order Lu Lingfeng to investigate this case secretly?
The princess recommended Su Wuming to be appointed as the magistrate of Chang’an County. What are you looking for?
That’s why when Lu Lingfeng and Su Wuming teamed up to solve this case and helped the court eliminate a major threat, they were not rewarded, but arrested and imprisoned.
Who is manipulating the storm? Who is the mastermind behind the scenes?
This is the foundation for finding stories, suspense, and restoring the changes in people’s hearts from historical facts.
Both protagonists seem to be hunters of the ‘truth’.
But at the same time. They are also the “prey” of the vast, strict, and treacherous Chang’an city, with nowhere to escape.
The story twists and turns layer by layer, but the deepest subversion is the fundamental reversal of the entire drama.
After watching the first six episodes, three major impressions touched me.
One is the texture.
The exquisite costumes and makeup showcase the former prosperity of the ancient capital.
Exquisite camera editing is a true cinematic quality that allows you to immerse yourself in the movie in just one second. The most ruthless thing is not to let go of the meticulous craftsmanship of every frame. Whether it’s the bustling streets of Liangjing, the eastern and western markets, the eerie and eerie “ghost markets”, or the deserted wilderness and remote towns of Xiazhou, the series presents a rich and three-dimensional and layered Tang Dynasty.
Exquisite and magnificent, but as the trendy capital of the world at that time, the entire city was permeated with a fantastic sense of grandeur.
Take a picture and you’ll understand what I mean.
But the texture is not only exquisite, but also includes clothing, lighting, color matching, and setting
As small as the costume design of each actor
They all secretly convey the “class” behind the story.
In the Tang Dynasty, there were numerous aristocratic families, and people from wealthy clans were respected even if their official positions were not high. On the other hand, if their family status declined, they were discriminated against.
Su Wuming is only an eighth rank official, but he is highly valued by the princess, so no one dares to neglect him. He faced Lu Lingfeng’s blade without fear, because although his official position was small, he was a legitimate official, while the opponent’s official position was large, but only a subordinate official in Chang’an.
The atmosphere of the entire drama is well created, with a visual style that highlights “strangeness” and “strangeness” while maintaining a sense of life and the times. The greatest quality is to immerse the audience in the glorious and shadow reborn Tang Dynasty.
The second is special effects.
What shocked me at the beginning of the drama was the transformation technique of Yin Shiyi Niang. The illusion technique mentioned in the original work is impressive: “Its use of medicinal talismans can make people fly up and down. Implicit in the elemental formula, smiling represents a woman, frowning represents an old man, squatting represents a child, holding a staff represents a forest…” The flying and transformation techniques of Yin Shiyi Niang in the drama are both eye opening.
Another highlight brought by special effects is action scenes.
The Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty “is one of the best Chinese costume dramas that combines special effects and realistic actions.
Let’s talk about the scene of Lu Lingfeng’s second confrontation with a mythical beast.
He led the county yamen officials to carry the bride and lure the monster to appear. In the darkness of Chang’an Street, the monster suddenly appeared.
Special effects action scenes, difficult actors to play, difficult photographers to shoot, complex light source design
But if all of these can be handled properly, the disadvantage will immediately become an advantage.
Suppressed space can become a catalyst for killing intent.
The strength of a large-scale event lies in its momentum and level, while a small-scale event emphasizes speed and strength.
Let’s talk about speed first.
Facing the monster, Lu Lingfeng jumps back and forth with light skills, holds a steel gun, and draws an arc with his right arm to exchange speed for potential energy;
The goal is to kill with one blow, without giving the monster a chance to breathe.
Seize the opportunity (loophole) and aim at the monster’s head with a sudden poke.
The camera starts with a close-up of the protagonist’s hand and ends with a panoramic view of the street, gradually increasing in size to adjust the rhythm.
After Lu Lingfeng’s Nth unsuccessful attempt, he had a sudden inspiration and jumped high above the monster, descending from the sky and piercing through the air.
This time, the monster finally transformed into powder. It turned out that behind the Tiger Illusion Technique was Yin 11 Niang.
Under the combination of multiple shots, a sense of fantasy overflows the screen.
This sharp action scene alone is already rare in Chinese dramas.
The third is suspense.
Generally speaking, since a large amount of fantasy elements are used, efforts will be made to achieve a thrilling effect of “surprise and shock”; Since it is a duo of male leads, it is necessary to provide the audience with a CP to play with, but the story of “Tang Dynasty Mysteries” has never deviated from the focus of investigation and puzzle solving.
The case firmly attracted the audience’s attention.
The whole drama introduces the audience to the plot with a case, then raises questions, and the protagonist team works together with the audience to solve the case. The clues are gradually revealed, and the suspenseful atmosphere is also rendered to the extreme. Multiple brain burning settings attract you to look down and guess further.
The truth keeps reversing, like a thin mist drifting in a ghost market. You think you have seen everything clearly, but when the mist disperses, you find that there are still mountains behind the mountains.
At the end of the story, fantasy and murder are not the underlying suspense of the series, the true core lies in the human heart behind fantasy.
So when the case is solved and the protagonist is imprisoned, the audience feels extremely scared by the lingering thoughts – just like at some crossroads in the story maze, where magic and secret history blend together.
Strange things are ultimately stories about people, whether it’s Liaozhai Zhiyi or Tang and Song Dynasty notes and unofficial histories, they are all reflections of the world.
There are no ghosts in the world.
The human heart beneath the skin is the real trick of black and white that is difficult to distinguish.
After the end of director Tsui Hark’s “Detective Dee” series, although various “Detective Dee” continued to appear, the peak of ancient costume fantasy genre has passed. Unexpectedly, this drama has brought me back to the feeling of the past.
After 6 episodes, although the plot is clich é d, it has both suspense and horror. The original work of “Tang Dynasty Strange Stories” is based on Tang Dynasty novel collections such as “Youyang Zazu” and other supernatural notes, exploring the dark and eerie stories behind that bright era.
But the screenwriter expanded and integrated the story during the adaptation process. Fantasy has its own cause and effect, and as the plot slowly progressed, the struggle between the Princess and the Crown Prince slowly surfaced. The rhythm was not too fast, the comedic effect was good, and the fight scenes were not vague. The special effects were carefully crafted.
Yang Zhigang’s lines still have strong personal characteristics, but surprisingly match the style of the drama. Chen Chuang’s performance was divided into minutes, allowing people to immerse themselves in the Laughing Sky Dog and Yellow Eyebrow King.
In a nutshell, the series may have many flaws, but the sincerity is sufficient.
In the camera, the two main characters overlook from a high altitude, with Qionglou Yuyu extending for a hundred miles around, and the grandeur of Chang’an City.
This is a Tang Dynasty that I am willing to believe in.
A magical era destined to disappear into the vast smoke of history.
The story is certainly not perfect. But under current market conditions, it can still provide you with vibration satisfaction in terms of visual and fantasy sense.
The audience seemed to follow the two historical guides, Lu Lingfeng and Su Wuming, step by step, traversing through fantasy and arriving at the hidden corners of history.
I know you’re definitely looking forward to more, but in reality, this may be the best costume fantasy drama we’ve seen so far.
