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They are not far from actual historical artefacts, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're based items found in China.
OTH I have a feeling that when set department asked
"How unhinged do you want her tea set to be?"
Production answered
"Yes" -
I'm fascinated. Production has skimped left and right, but for some reason they often fork up for fabric with woven patterns instead of printed. In this case I'm pretty sure it's for the closeup - they tend to doll up those. I really like the extra structure in the red lozenges. It's such a small detail, but it takes the piece from good to far above average.
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36 years after the June 4 Tiananmen Massacre Zhang Xianliang, a mother of one of the victims, is still under surveillance by the Chinese party-state
Zhang is a member of the Tiananmen Mothers who gather annually to remember the lives of their children
https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2025/06/02/china-tiananmen-mothers/
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Every pilgrimage to the mountain is a pilgrimage to the self. There is no place to hide, and so we are found.~citing Terry Tempest Williams
#mt_xiangyang #hiking #taitung #taiwan #formosa #photography #向陽山
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Every pilgrimage to the mountain is a pilgrimage to the self. There is no place to hide, and so we are found.~citing Terry Tempest Williams
#mt_xiangyang #hiking #taitung #taiwan #formosa #photography #向陽山
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Love Never Fails (落花时节又逢君) Chinese drama review
“Broadcasting is a victory.” In 2022, Love Never Fails suffered a massive blow when leading actress Yuan Bingyan was officially implicated for tax evasion.
The tax evasion scandal was a big deal in China—so big that it effectively destroyed Yuan Bingyan’s career. In China, if there’s even a hint of scandal around a drama, it could prevent it from airing.
There was a smidgen of hope when the drama got a broadcasting permit. Then nothing. So much so that rumours eventually appeared that investors had written off the dramas as a loss.
Then, around 2024, rumours appeared saying that the production crew was replacing Yuan Bingyan with another actress and that male leads Liu Xueyi and Ao Ruipeng had actually rejoined the crew to reshoot some of their scenes.
I didn’t believe them until the drama dropped with little warning in late April.
What can I say? The drama’s ups and downs were more exciting than the actual plot!
The Story
Jin Xiu, the Flower Deity of the heavenly realm Zhongtian (or Central Heavens), doted on a red camellia flower since childhood. The emperor, displeased that Jin Xiu was developing feelings that could get in the way of his development as the future emperor, destroyed the camellia flower.
However, Jin Xiu managed to save the camellia by piecing back her shattered form with his finger bone. He sent her to the mortal world so that she could grow and cultivate in peace, safe from the schemes of Zhongtian.
Centuries later, Hong Ning, the camellia, achieved human form. One impulsive moment reunited Hong Ning with Jin Xiu. She vowed to find the deity who had saved her life, not knowing that Jin Xiu was the deity!
Their fates were then entwined from that moment on, lasting several lifetimes.
Characters
Liu Xueyi, “the representative of the Three Realms” really embodied the definition of a flower god with his ethereal grace and mannerisms.Jin Xiu (Liu Xueyi): The flower deity whose original form is the golden peony. He is being groomed (or pruned!) to be Zhongtian’s emperor.
Hong Ning (Hu Yixuan): Formerly a red camellia in Jinxiu’s garden, she is sent to the mortal realm to cultivate. She returns to heaven, determined to repay the deity that had saved her.
Kunlun (Ao Ruipeng): Jinxiu’s rebellious and fun-loving brother causes a lot of trouble in the heavens, but he loves his brother deeply.
Lu Yao (Xu Xiao Nuo): Jinxiu’s bethrothed, a nine-tailed fox and Great Maiden of the Northern celestial realm.
Lu Jiu (Jing Yan Jun): Lu Yao’s brother who has been neglected by their father due to him having only three tails.
Bai Cha (James Yang): A white camellia demon and a friend of Hong Ning.
What I Liked
Hu Yixuan was a natural as a cute pixie, and not grating!- Liu Xueyi and Hu Yixuan are both great actors and had surprisingly good chemistry! They handled the comedic and serious parts deftly. This is especially impressive since they only had two weeks to film scenes together.
- It was pretty funny and entertaining, which was surprising. This was the kind of drama to relax with at the end of a tough day at work. One stand-out moment was when Hong Ning accidentally transforms into Jin Xiu. Watching Liu Xueyi act like a teenage girl was a treat!
- I usually can’t stand cute pixie xianxia heroines (TM), but Hu Yixuan was not just palatable but delightfully cute. I actually miss Hong Ning’s cute naivete as her character became more serious and mature.
- Some side characters had lovely character development, such as Lu Jiu. His ousting from his clan, his gratitude and devotion to Jin Xiu, and then his reunion with his sister were well done.
- For once, we got to see brothers who truly loved each other. I really enjoyed watching Jin Xiu and Kunlun support each other through their many, many trials.
- While a tired trope, I really enjoyed how each “lifetime” reinvigorated the story. It was like watching different stories starring our favourite characters in one drama.
- Hong Ning’s development from a clueless pixie to someone mature and independent was delightful to watch.
- I’m really impressed with the technology involved in replacing Yuan Bingyan. It wasn’t an AI face swap like I had feared. (The face swap in Brocade Odyssey was rather painful to look at.) Instead, actress Hu Yixuan spent two months shooting alone in front of a green screen and then a few weeks to reshoot scenes with Liu Xueyi and other cast members. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be, reacting to nothing but a green screen!
What I Didn’t Like
- The dated xianxia plot. It was indeed tragic that this drama aired at a time when the xianxia genre was declining and people were tired of the “love over several lifetimes” plot. If it had aired four years ago, it could have been a hit.
- The ‘obsessive love’ plot. Watching this after A Moment But Forever was rough! A Moment But Forever was more complex and philosophical, while Love Never Fails was “assembly-line” xianxia, sometimes mockingly called “baby xianxia” by Chinese netizens due to its simpler, more romance-focused plot.
- The repetitive torture of Jin Xiu could get to you. It felt as if they were just torturing him for the sake of it. Jin Xiu taking all that punishment nobly was slightly aggravating towards the end. I wished he could have been less passive and more proactive in protecting Hong Ning and escaping his father’s awful clutches. But no, he just reacted to things.
- Paper-thin villains. Bai Cha, the Heavenly Emperor and Empress—I’m looking at you.
- The repetitive thwarting of our couple’s romance was, well, repetitive. Towards the end, I had to take a break from all that torture before watching the final arc.
- Lord in heaven, must all celestial emperors and empresses be so nasty? It was like a rule in all Cdramaland that heavenly rulers were cruel. I wondered what divine right they had to rule over mortals if they were no better than them. Heck, they were worse!
- How passive Hong Ning and Jin Xue are! They’re often reacting to them instead of being proactive in countering them. I suppose if they had a strategy, it’ll be called “let’s be sitting ducks”.
Thoughts About the Ending
Finally, a successful wedding!*I thought maybe we should have named this drama Wedding Interruptus instead. Never had I seen characters try to marry so many times only to get thwarted each time. It got to the point where when Jin Xiu and Hong Ning finally married in the special episode (only available on Mango TV), I was bracing myself for it to be thwarted yet again.
With Cdramaland’s bad reputation for unnecessarily unhappy endings, I had been genuinely worried things would unexpectedly turn tragic or, horror of all horrors, open-ended.
As I watched the drama, I could only console myself that with a title like Love Never Fails, it would live up to its promise!
Fortunately, no—our lovely couple ended up safely in each other’s arms for all eternity, reincarnating over and over again and falling in love with each other through different lifetimes.
Liu Xueyi had earned a reputation for playing characters who ended up widowers, so I was glad Jin Xiu succeeded in marrying his sweetheart this time. (Though, mind you, he had had another successful marriage in Qing Luo.)
Here’s to more successful weddings in the future!
* Annoyingly, the wedding takes place in the first extra episode that you can only watch on the MangoTV. It’s about 16 minutes long, and I think it’s worth it.
Conclusion
My friends, watching this after the deep and philosophical A Moment But Forever had been rather… difficult.
Love Never Fails was everything I hated about xianxia: a dumbed-down, shallow, romance-focused plot with passive, “love-brained” heroes and a cookie-cutter, assembly-line story I’d seen a million times before.
Honestly, without Liu Xueyi, there would have been very little to attract me to this drama. He was known for his powerful acting, and while he didn’t have as many powerhouse scenes here, he still grabbed me due to his sheer talent and charisma (and, er, looks).
I was a little kinder to it than I would have been if it hadn’t been led by the capable Liu Xueyi and Hu Yixuan. I was especially impressed with her because she had spent two months shooting with just a green screen and no castmates, only filming with Liu Xueyi for two weeks.
This drama’s difficult production history had also earned it some sympathy points from me.
Still, despite its unimaginative plot, it was charming in its own way. It was a relatively stress-free drama to watch after a hard day’s work. (Okay, fine, maybe not completely stress-free, but the first ten episodes had been especially sweet and funny, and our leads had great comedic chops.)
I’d say just watch this without many expectations, and you’ll be entertained.
Final rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
#25Stars #CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama #Fantasy #LiuXueYi #LiuXueyi #loveNeverFails #netflix #review #reviews #romance #TV #Xianxia
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It's been a long time since I said anything about a candleholder (several days, at least). That combined lantern and candelabra in the background though, *chef's kiss!* beauty!
Could probably be built out of concrete reinforced papier maché, so if I ever need a rest from my millions of other projects I know what to make.
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#KungFuSat 🐯🐲 #CTHD He did NOT mean the Xian god
Look left... THOSE are the gods of China
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A serene tapestry of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers unfolds in this exquisite piece. The misty mountains and tranquil rivers embody the harmony of nature. What emotions does this landscape evoke for you?
#ClevelandArt #ChineseLandscape #ArtAppreciation
https://clevelandart.org/art/2015.470 -
Just finished “A Moment but Forever” 🌸 It is a good xianxia drama, because the gods, the humans and war demons are locked in a battle for power which is made worse by disgruntled people. No one is inexplicably evil, though, and they all get along in the end.
Liu Xueyi shows nuance is portrayal of Yuanzhong but the chemistry with Tiffany Tang isn’t there. The side couple is more convincing. But the world-building is beautiful.
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Just watching Liu Xueyi going through the fires of hell for his beloved. Again 💀
This is what we women live for, I guess 😄
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Just watching Liu Xueyi going through the fires of hell for his beloved. Again 💀
This is what we women live for, I guess 😄
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Just watching Liu Xueyi going through the fires of hell for his beloved. Again 💀
This is what we women live for, I guess 😄
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Just watching Liu Xueyi going through the fires of hell for his beloved. Again 💀
This is what we women live for, I guess 😄
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CW: Death mention (A Moment But Forever toot)
You know, I'd probably enjoyed our basic training in theology and philosophy more if it featured more god trapping gadget and ~villain monologueing, and less 'Here's how we distinguish between Tillich, Descartes, and Maimonides*'
(*Maybe not a literal seminar subject, but I hope you get the idea. Also, apparently Sweden's big contribution to philosophy is that Descarte died of pneumonia at Tre Kronor in Stockholm)
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Since I have found the person who lights the candles in wuxia and xianxia I now have a new mission; finding out who in xianxia land operates the soft light beam when the main couple kiss. I may have to watch a lot of C-drama to succeed, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
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It's a pointed scene, but I can't concentrate because I keep looking at the huge carpet behind Zhi Dai. It looks like it's actually got a pile instead of being POD fabric. Oth the pattern is not in relief. My best guess is that it's a 'Wilton rug' - ie a machine bound piece in synthetics. Needless to say I want one. Let me lose at the prop magasines at Heng Dian World Studios and I'll definitely try to stuff it in my handbag.
#AMomentButForever #FurnitureFandom #PropDesign #Xianxia #CDrama
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I try not to use Western pop culture references in my commentaries*, but the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail _really_ comes to mind here.
(*it's unreliable how they land when they travel between cultures)
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My inner illuminator is going "Ooooooooooooooh!'
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I'm starting to think my education is a hamper when I'm watching A Moment But Forever. My basic training in theology and philosophy centered heavily on German thinkers - those who love overcomplicating things while putting all the verbs last. We also did some dives into Hinduistic philosophy, and of course I could't write about the imperial couple's religious roles without reading up on Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Chinese folk religion. ->
(1/2)
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Tale as old as time; everyone's confident in how to handle babies - until they're actually _have_ to handle one.
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Yuanzhong's plan to beat Pei up until he happily agrees to become his disciple seems to have some major flaws.
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Want to join the Chengxian Reverse Bang?
Artists signups remain open until the 13th, and writer signups are now open as well, until the 14th.
Get your signup in!
Writer signup: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSds8HkIitneYyUQpfrMyVV0rUf0d_wGh5AIg14wAQTuy43cDw/viewform?usp=header
Artist signup: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdV2aYcX2bpwkja7nNJlr9D5L2kkf0TP2KTHjTrRtIVgHuHrQ/viewform?usp=sharing
More info: https://omiixcx.tumblr.com/
#chengxian #xiancheng #mdzs #theuntamed #jiangcheng #weiwuxian
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And in today's slow news filler more 💩
Chinese chess: Xiangqi champion suspended for bad behaviour
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Want to celebrate WIPs?
Join ChengXianCheng Heaven's WIP It!
Whether you're a writer or a reader, you can play bingo by commenting, adding to your word count, betaing, and more.
You can use our premade bingo cards for writers or customize your own. Try to fill out squares throughout February, and see how many bingos you can get!🎨 Go to Canva to create your own! 🎨
⏬ Or try the premades! ⏬ Cards by the wonderful Pallas, thank you!
#chengxian #xiancheng #mdzs -
There’s a string of small vignettes with Tan Jianci as Xiang Liu 🌸
#Cdrama #LostYouForeverS2 #TanJianci
https://x.com/aleen__leen/status/1816981827208511812?s=61&t=_6Vl19mdC8mo7cl0R3kjyA
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Chinese RISC-V project teases 2025 debut of advanced chip
｢ Xiangshan designs would therefore be free, a contrast to Arm’s license-based business model and the closed proprietary products from Intel and AMD. One only needs to consider how Linux came to dominate the operating system market to understand the potential for Xiangshan to shake up the industry and make trouble for established chipmakers ｣
https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/08/chinese_riscv_project_teases_2025/
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One of my favorite places to do fieldwork: the massive Xinantecatl #volcano in central Mexico. Here we are trekking around the summit looking for fulgurites, rocks struck by #lightning. The best part is the #pulque waiting for us when we come off this 4700 m tall mountain.
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https://wdldiamond.blog/2024/12/31/xians-encounter/
Xians Encounter - Short Stories, Mystery - Free to Read on W.D.L Diamond Blog
#Blog #Writing #Reading #Stories #Shorts #Short #StoryTelling #BlogWriting #WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #Fiction #Mystery #Encounters -
Version 4.4 Event Wishes Notice - Phase I
#GenshinImpact #Xianyun #Nahida
Dear Travelers, the event wishes "The Crane Soars Skyward," "The Moongrass' Enlightenment," and "Epitome Invocation" will be available on January 31!
See more details here: https://hoyo.link/89rgFBAL
Check…:sys_twitter: https://twitter.com/GenshinImpact/status/1751820826171850925