Deep into Covid, when the bleak, boring landscape of Western media added to the desolation of our quarantined existence, many of us required some source of comfort- people turned to bread-making, embroidery, gardening…or if you were like me, K-Dramas.
Korean shows gave us style-impaired yet lovable female leads; rich, cold and inexplicably available CEOs; and multiple impossible scenarios meant to make us squeal and hide our faces in pillows. But now that the pandemic is behind us and we’re back to to our regimented, survival-driven routine, perhaps it is time to move on to the darker, deeper, more complex worlds of Chinese fantasy where where conflicts stretch beyond individual fates, battles rage for eons, and hair stays miraculously untangled.
So what makes C-Dramas so compelling?
Although I still enjoy the occasional K-Drama, the worlds of Chinese Wuxias and Xinxias feel more relatable to me as a Pakistani viewer. Characters grapple with political and social forces beyond their understanding, where the rules of physics, governance, and cause-and-effect constantly shift—or don’t exist. It’s a lot like living in Karachi: you’re never entirely sure what’s going on. However, unlike the real world, where justice will only be meted out after death, Chinese dramas offer closure that Korean dramas often shy away from, and Pakistani dramas simply lack the scope to explore.
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Punishment for the unjust; reward for the good
Due to strict Chinese censorship, narratives where the villainous win, or the unjust end up unpunished are forbidden from being aired, and while this is a curtailing of free speech, it does gives viewers assurance that the characters they love will find some form of solace or acknowledgement in the end, and the characters they have ample reason to hate WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING. However, Chinese Dramas differ from Korean Dramas in one devastating detail…
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Redemption exists, but so does betrayal
You never really know who the villain is and when/if we will find out they were never that bad in the first place. Motivations are hidden, protagonists are forced into situations they must compromise their morals for, last-minute sacrifices are common, and sympathetic characters fall victim to their weaknesses at key moments. Hearts break in Chinese dramas because characters are more than simply good and evil, they are pawns in the hands of a destiny that is the product of millions of butterflies fluttering their wings at different junctures, and yet these pawns are resolutely seeking to forge their own path, often knowing such attempts are futile.
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Slow-burn romances
Chinese dramas do romance well, but also treat the viewer with sympathy. The leads are usually balanced in surprising ways and care is taken to develop the female characters so that they present as complete people with their own motivations– women are strategic and business-minded, or clear-hearted and hardworking, offsetting the powerful, yet emotionally unstable male lead. There is never the question of why the overpowered male lead likes the fumbling heroine in the first place that often plagues the K Drama viewer.
The relationships are based on mutual respect, with physical attraction occurring after intellectual or spiritual engagement; slow-burns are tantalizing, but satisfying; gestures are subtle but never over-looked, and pairings are obvious from the get-go. The pitiful Second Male Lead trope is put to rest by the presence of a plucky and pretty female friend of the heroine, and although death is very frequently the end-result of the love story, there are enough moments in the journey for viewers to make fan-edits on YouTube that can quell some of the pain.
So how do you begin your journey?
Presenting Your C-Drama Starter Pack!
Level One: Love Between Fairy and Devil
This is the quintessential story for the girl who always falls for the villain (actually, you’ll find a lot of those in Chinese dramas). Naïve, just-a-thousand-years-old Orchid (played by Esther Yu) finds herself accidentally bound to the monstrous Moon Supreme, Dongfang Qing Cang (Wang Hedi’s best role), and must find a way to navigate a millennia long conflict between the Heavenly Realm and the Moon Tribe that seeks to destroy it.
What to watch next:
Till the End of the Moon, followed by 700 fan-edits of Tantai Jin and Li Susu.
Level Two: Story of Kunning Palace
This drama has everything: engaging but not too complex political and social dynamics, equally strategic and beautiful leads, a well-developed redemption arc, and a satisfying ending. Jiang Xuening, ambitious and ruthless Queen of Kunning palace (played by Bai Lu), is given the chance to relive her life and fix the devastating mistakes that lead to her suicide and the fall of the Kingdom to the rebel, Xie Wie (a very grumpy Zhang Linghe). In this new life, she (obviously) learns that she had misjudged, and mishandled many situations and people, and now has a chance to save more than herself.
What to watch next:
- The Princess Royal (not as good, but a decent watch nonetheless)
- One and Only, and Forever and Ever (a two-part love story; cry in the first part, bang your head against the wall in the second)
Level Three: The Double
Melodramatic and atmospheric, The Double was the dark horse of 2023. After a devastating betrayal by her beloved husband (who buries her alive, no less), Xue Fanfei is able to take on the identity of another wronged girl, Jiang Li, and reemerge in the Capital to wreak holy havoc on those who hurt them both. Aided by a gorgeous, fan-waving Duke Xiao Heng, Xue Fanfei in her deep-red lipstick, is the vigilante the Song Dynasty desperately needed.
What to watch next:
- Blossom (more beautiful and complex than The Double, with better drawn characters. This is a drama to savour, but not one to begin your journey with)
- Nirvana in Fire (arguably the best Chinese Drama ever made)
Whether you are looking for intrigue, romance, or fantasy Chinese dramas are a welcome treat!