Chinese Drama 2019
The Legend of Hao Lan (Chinese Drama Review & Summary)
The Legend of Hao Lan poster
- Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Drama, Political
- Release Date 19 January 2019
- Origin: China
- CDrama: 63 Episodes
Cast:
- Wu Jin Yan as Li Hao Lan
- Mao Zi Jun as Ying Yi Ren
- Nie Yuan as Li Bu Wei
- Karina Hai as Princess Ya of Zhao
- Tong Meng Shi as Ying Sheng
- Ning Jing as Lady Zhao
- Zhang Nan as Princess Qiong Hua
- Tim Pei as Gao Hao Yang [General]
- Hong Yao as Prince Jiao of Zhao / Gong Zi Jiao
- Zhao Yi Qin as Prince Yi of Zhao
- Liu Min as Xuan Hou Fu
This drama is slated to start this Saturday and I reckon it would be full of intrigues and machinations and counter-machinations as what most of Wu Ji Yan’s historical dramas tend to be.
Update: Good news! Apparently, Viki has commissioned this drama so we will have an English translation fairly shortly. Viva Viki!
2 February 2019 Update
I have read some tweets that this drama is not too popular and Wu Ji Yan’s acting was being blamed by Netizens. Apparently even the producers have now decided to release a couple of episodes everyday instead of four days in a week. It is now slated to finish this month instead of March.
This really tickled my curiosity so I am really going to binge-watch it as I really loved her in Untouchable Lovers and Yanxi Palace. She is a charismatic actress.
I must admit I did not jump immediately into watching this drama because I had a quick read about Hao Lan, who seemed to be a real historical figure. Hao Lan apparently was so calculating and only worked for herself that in the end she even turned against her own son, who was devoted to her.
But seeing that many of our visitors were trying to read our summary and review, we are now going to brave this drama.
Episode 1
Hao Lan was told by a younger sister that their father had agreed her marriage to Minister Yu, who was a widower twice over already.
Hao Lan was worried because she already had an understanding with Prince Jiao. Her sister, Xiu Yu, encouraged her to write to Prince Jiao.
Hao Lan wrote the letter advising to meet up by the bridge at midnight. When she turned up, there was someone waiting for her but not the Prince. It was her legal mother, Madam Zhang.
Madam Zhang was so annoyed and vindictive towards Hao Lan, who was a favourite daughter of her husband from his favored concubine.
Madam Zhang had Hao Lan bound by her guards and thrown into the water.
As luck would have it, a boater was watching what was happening and came to Hao Lan’s rescue as soon as Madam Zhang had vacated the bridge.
A month later, Haolan went back to her father’s manor where a wedding was about to take place. Haolan went to look for her mother who was being forced into a well by a couple of guards. Haolan went mad and tried to rescue her mother but Madam Zhang turned up had her mother dropped unceremoniously into the well right before Haolan’s eyes.
Madam Zhang then instructed the guards to throw her out of the manor.
Haolan just passed the wedding ceremony where Prince Jiao is enjoying his wedding to Xiu Yu.
Lu Buwei is a megalomaniac businessman/merchant.
He was attending an auction where he bid for the Mermaid tears for so much money that he can only afford. He then said that he does not really want the mermaid tears orb but actually after the rosewood casing.
The next lot of the auction was the slave girls. Lu Buwei immediately bid for a girl, who had a scarring on her face. Even the auctioneer was surprised how high his bid was for the ‘ugly’ girl when the money he was going to pay could have bought him four prettier girls.
Buwei had the girl taken into his carriage and proceeded to remove the dirt on the girl’s face, it was only fake scarring and she was actually a real beauty. She was of course Haolan.
He brought Haolan to his Lu Manor but she seemed rather suicidal. She was sitting a hunger strike. Buwei had to force-feed her. He told her that she’d better tell him what was bugging her…
Haolan said if she tells him, would he help her?
He arranged for Haolan to see Prince Jiao who was antique shopping with Xiu Yu.
While Xiu Yu was away momentarily, Haolan went to see the prince, who was very surprised and rather uncomfortable to see her.
Then Haolan knew that the prince was not forced to marry Xiu Yu. He willingly chose her younger sister because she is a legitimate daughter. A concubine’s daughter will not help him advance in his position.
Haolan felt like she had lost everything and was contemplating drowning herself but Buwei went mad and dragged her from the water.
He told her that he paid a lot of money for her because he thought she was like him, who can see the bigger picture.
He said that everything owes him something including the stars and the moon and the trees.
Buwei said:
Success is due to your diligence and hardwork.
Failure is from your slacking off and stupidity.
Episode 2
Poor Haolan refuses to become a concubine to Buwei.
She left the Li Manor to live with a blind former servant. Buwei couldn’t understand why Haolan would leave his comfortable manor for a shack.
Anyway, Haolan started to live a life of poverty selling reed slippers. She was on one of this venture when one of the mean girls, friends of Xiu Yu, her sister threw a clay tea mug on her, causing her to fall into the ground with a bleeding head.
Her sister quickly runs to her pretending she was so caring.
Anyway, Haolan snubbed her but Xiu Yu has an ace card up her sleeves. She asked Haolan if she wanted to know where her mother was buried.
This stopped Haolan and asked her sister for the location.
But suddenly her sister became vindictive. She said if Haolan knelt and beg her she might tell her. She wanted to know how it feels to have Haolan kneels in front of her.
Without ado, Haolan dropped on ehr knees and sincerely begged Xiu Yu to her where her mother was buried.
Finally Xiu Yu told her to ask those at the Li cemetary.
When Haolan got there, the guards informed her that her mother was as the pauper graveyard. There she found her own father apologising to her mother.
When he saw Haolan, he immediately embraced her and was concerned of her bleeding head.
Haolan was annoyed at her father. She called him selfish.
It then came out that she was formerly a legitimate daughter. Her mother was his legal wife but because of lack of backbone and but a love of power and strong ambition he downgraded his wife into a concubine and married Madam Gao, who comes from a rich family.
He promised her that he will clear her name but for the meantime she had to hang in there as he is pressured at work which is at stake as well as his reputation if he acts on Haolan’s case immediately.
Haolan told him not to bother, she will clear her own name herself.
Haolan was out buying expensive medicine for her ‘mother’ the old servant that adopted as her mother,. She accidentally dropped her medicine and was helped by a handsome kindly man. He was the Royal Descendant.
The vengeful son of Master Yu came looking for her He pushed the blind woman rather forcefully; she ended up falling over her new reed slippers merchandise which caught fire from the lamp.
Flames rapidly consumed the shack with the blind mother in it much to the distress of Haolan who had just returned.
The next morning Haolan was still kneeling in front of the corpse of the blind woman and the burnt shack.
Buwei came to see her and told her to come live with him.
He was surprised to find an amenable Haolan with revenge burning in her eyes. She asked him if his offer to make her powerful still stands?
Feb 23 2019
This drama has officially ended but not everybody was apparently happy with the ending. They did apparently shoot a happy ending where Buwei and Haolan lived together in their old age, but this happy ending was cut because it goes against real history. Towards the end, I hear, Haolan had a lover, it was her ‘eunuch’ who made her pregnant twice. The lover became rather too ambitious and trie dto overthrow the king, Haolan’s son.
Is this son the same as the character Zhang Bin Bin played in the King’s Woman?