Beijing Pops: Boys' Love Drama "Word of Honor" Hits Amazon Prime
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Feeling left out when your Chinese colleagues are gossiping about a trending star? Puzzled by those glamorous Chinese faces in subway ads, but can't even tell who they are? Beijing Pops will help you get through it all with the latest pop culture and celebrity news.
What is March's hottest – if not slightly polarizing – online drama? Ask a Chinese friend this question and they'll probably say Word of Honor 山河令 shān hé lìng. Some people love it, others hate it, but rest assured everyone is talking about it. Especially the two über-handsome leading actors, who have all but dominated social media feeds as of late. And now, thanks to Amazon Prime's streaming service, even Westerners can indulge in this hot C-drama with English subtitles and all.
Produced by Chinese streaming giant Youku, this boys'-love novel-turned-drama quietly premiered on Feb 22, with little to no advanced promotion. It’s a typical wuxia story following the adventures of two chivalrous heroes, Wen Kexing (Gong Jun) and Zhou Zishu (Zhang Zhehan). However, the ambiguous romantic vibes between the two male leads have gained a lot of attention, with last week's season finale accumulating more than 100 million views, followed by thousands of fan videos and fan fiction being uploaded to Chinese social media and video platforms such as Bilibili.It's hard to say no to these two pretty faces
The show's success, and its LGBTQ+ themes – known colloquially as "boys' love" stories, are not without precedent. In 2018, another adaption of a novel focusing on queer characters, Guardian 镇魂 zhèn hún, became an unexpected hit. Then, in 2019, a similar story called The Untamed 陈情令 chén qíng lìng brought the genre further into the mainstream and continues to have a devoted following today, similarly spawning an entire cottage industry of videos and fan fiction.
As the LGBTQ+ community continues to fight for greater representation in mainstream Chinese media, viewers have come out in strong support. What's more, fans discreetly use “socialist brotherhood” to refer to the subtle and vague relationship of the two characters, in order to avoid catching official attention.advertisement
Comedy film The Eleventh Chapter (第十一回 dì shí yī huí) held a special viewing party in Beijing last Sunday. Director Chen Jianbin – who played the emperor in renowned costume drama The Legend of Zhenhuan – and leading actors including Zhou Xun, Leah Dou, Dapeng, and Liu Jinshan attended the event, much to the surprise of audience members.
A bomber loaded with missiles ready to strike your nose
The Eleventh Chapter – Chen's second film after his 2015 debut, A Fool 一个勺子 yī gè sháo zi – was met with critical acclaim after it premiered at the 2019 China Film Golden Rooster Awards, and tells the story of an unsolved murder, and the subsequent trauma it causes a family 30 years later. What's more, it has a particularly unique format, adopting the style of a book that's segmented into chapters. Deftly combining dark humor, suspense, love, and allegory, the film has amassed an 8.4 out of 10 on China's movie-rating website Douban.
Apparently Dou inherited some serious acting genes from mom
The Eleventh Chapter will be released on Apr 2.
Beijing mourns the loss of “National Granny,” Zhang Shaohua
Zhang Shaohua passed away in Beijing last Tuesday after a battle with lung disease. She was 75. A veteran of the stage and screen, Zhang was famous for playing the grandmother in countless TV series, earning herself the affectionate nickname, “National Granny.” Having starred in more than 100 dramas and films over her illustrious career, she has long been considered an outstanding actress and was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at 2015’s Domestic TV Series Ceremony.
One more amiable granny goes to heaven
Admittedly, her acting career did not get off to a smooth start. Before entering showbiz, she was a traditional opera actress with one of Beijing's troupes, and it wasn't until 1993 that she got her first role in a TV show. However, she gained national attention for her role as Ma Liqiu in 2000’s phenomenal drama Big Family 大宅门 dà zhái mén, which followed the fortunes of a prominent merchant family engaged in Traditional Chinese Medicine during the waning years of the Qing dynasty. Her character was an illiterate woman from the country, who dreamed of sending her grandson to college. In 2006, she made her first foray into the world of comedy with My Own Swordsman 武林外传 wǔ lín wài zhuàn, in which she played a kungfu master.
Despite her lauded career, Zhang lived a humble and frugal life. She and her husband reportedly lived in an apartment no bigger than 50 sqm for 40 years. However, there are other rumors that all of her money went to purchasing a bigger house for her son, and in order to pay back the mortgage, she continued working long after being diagnosed with lung disease.
Images: Youku, Douban, Weibo
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