Finally, a Chinese drama that is not just beautiful to look at, but is well acted, authentic, and celebrates womanly ideals and the female gaze.

The story

Zhao Pan’er, an intelligent and resourceful teahouse owner stumbles on a big conspiracy when she happens to be on the site of an ambush. Gu Qianfan, a leader of the elite Capital Security Office and nicknamed the “Living Devil”, forces her to help him escape.

This fateful meeting changes her life forever.

After that terrible night, Pan’er life takes an unexpected turn. Her fiancé Ouyang Xu, whom she had supported for many years, has abandoned her for a woman of higher social standing after gaining a prestigious position in the Capital.

Pan’er decides to travel to the Capital to find out the truth. She ends meeting Qianfan again. On the run from people who want him dead, he ends up having to rely on her to survive. (Unexpectedly, so does she.)

They are later joined by her two friends, Sun San Niang and Song Yin Zhang, who were both wronged by their husbands as well.

When they reach the Capital, all four have to face numerous trials. Fortunately, they now have each other.

The episodes (slight spoilers)

Episodes 1-16

My favourite arc of all. Our lovers meet, and what a messy meeting it was! Pan’er stumbles on Gu Qianfan as he is fleeing for his life. Instead of being the noble hero, he strikes Pan’er with a dart and tricks her into helping him escape. This one incident forces the two to rely on each other for weeks as they try to achieve their own goals. Qianfan wants to find out who is trying to get him killed. Pan’er wants to find her good-for-nothing Ouyang Xu who ditched her for a noblewoman once he became the Third Scholar.

Episodes 17-26

Our lovers have now confessed their love for each other and despite needing the keep their relationship secret, they are openly being lovey-dovey all over the Capital … not that I’m complaining, but I really doubt this was how people behaved in ancient China. But I forgive all things because Chen Xiao and Crystal Liu have such chemistry that, seriously, who cares about history and cultural norms when the guy can make your ovaries melt with a gaze?

Episodes 27-34

The “troubled” episodes. After such a strong and solid start, it’s as if the writer ran out of ideas to raise the stakes, so she throws the most eye-rolling plot contrivances imaginable including a period of noble idiocy from our until-now faultless Qianfan. Also, the jealous and half-insane Ouyang Xu returns to plague our couple with nefarious and frankly, stupid schemes. Various other political shenanigans get in the way of our couple’s happiness, and so on until the bitter end.

A reviewer on Youtube commented that it was best to forget everything that happened after episode 27 and just end it there. Can’t help but agree with her!

What I liked

1. The leads’ natural, explosive chemistry. Far too often I cringe at kissing scenes or the skinship in Chinese or Korean dramas. But Qianfan and Pan’er not only has explosive chemistry but a very mature relationship where they (gasp) discuss things. I was particularly impressed by Pan’er’s refusal to flirt any further until Qianfan tells her what’s his true intentions were. When he finally declares it, he does it in such a charm and chivalrous way you can help but sigh with happiness.
2. The exploration of Chinese tea culture. This is sad but I never knew that the Chinese had such a deep culture around tea. In this drama, we learned how tea was made and celebrated among the masses. I really appreciate that.
3. It’s all about Girl Power but not it’s not in your face. I really enjoy watching the three women overcome their humiliation at the hands of men they loved and finding confidence in their abilities.
4. The beauty of the costumes, the sets, heck, even the food. I love that the filmmakers stayed as a true as possible when it came to the period’s clothing and architecture. I felt as if I was looking at a painting.

What I disliked

1. That noble idiocy arc. Communicate, people! After doing so well in the first 27 episodes, our couple suddenly stops communicating with each other. I totally understand why Qianfan was afraid to face Pan’er, but to do what he did felt out of character. Fortunately, the two regains their marbles and starts talking like adults again, but after far too many episodes of not communicating. That arc should’ve been cut short.
2. Ouyang Xu as a villain. He was, at first, a sympathetic villain. I almost understood why he did what he did. He was a weak man with little courage to go against social norms to really have a life with Pan’er. He never deserved her in the first place, but for him to suddenly go all mustache-twirling villain in the last ten episodes was not very believable nor convincing.
3. The plot stumbling towards the end. It’s truly odd how the show stumbled towards the end. The stumble wasn’t catastrophic and it certainly didn’t render the show unwatchable, but it had been so perfectly crafted until episode 30 or so.

Last verdict

Is it worth watching? Most certainly. It also has a good ending, if you’re one to worry about that. (Chinese dramas have a very notorious reputation of turning tragic at a dime)

Mastodon log (spoilery)

I occasionally post my thoughts to social media. Here’s my log (please forgive the spelling mistakes!)

19 March 2023

Everything about A Dream Of Splendor is stunning. The sets, the costumes, the music, the actors…yes I am shameless enough to say that the eye candy is a big part of why I am enjoying the show.
Too few Chinese Dramas have this standard. And I wonder why they don’t bother reaching this level.
I also love Pan’er, the female lead in this one. Strong, witty, yet flawed … She’s not the typical squeaky-voiced female in a CDrama I hate so much 😆

23 March 2023

Sanniang eavesdropping on our couple;  Gu Xianfang’s “logical” explanations on why it is ok for him to take off Pan’er’s robe to “see if her injuries have healed” and his reminder that she already took off his clothes before, so what’s the fuss? And Sanniang’s scandalized expression to this – priceless!!

Enjoying this CDrama so much!

Spoilers ahoy – from 5:33

25 March 2023

Can these two get any swoonier?

PS: Spoilerific video

But seriously this amount of public skinship is not a thing in ancient China and would probably land these two in a lot of trouble.

But do I care?
NOOOOAAAAHHHH

7 April 2023
That besotted look in Xianfang’s eyes when he spies Pan’er dancing – first, at the tea house during a a tea ceremony, and then alone under the moonlight. Can’t blame him for being smitten, of course!

13 April 2023

What I love about A Dream Of Splendor is that I can enjoy it at a leisurely pace. I love the natural chemistry of the main couple and learning about China’s ancient tea culture. It’s a slice of life drama so some people complain about the pacing, but I find it perfect. I just watch an episode a day and feel satisfied. Maybe this is something I need at a time like this when life is so hectic.

https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202206/24/WS62b57126a310fd2b29e686a8.html