Season 1 – Ep 26
Welcome back to Chasing Dramas! This is the podcast that discusses Chinese culture and history through historical Chinese dramas. We are your hosts for today, Karen and Cathy!
Happy new year! We took a little break from Joy of Life because of all the year end recaps and we are now back to the world of the Qing Kingdom and Joy of Life!
Today, we are here to discuss episode 26 of season 1 of Joy of Life. As always, this podcast is in English with certain phrases spoken in Mandarin Chinese. Let us know your thoughts about this episode by reaching out to us on social media or else email us at karenandcathy@chasingdramaspodcast.com
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[Karen]
Episode 26 and 27 are all about the massive banquet the Emperor holds for the diplomatic envoy of Dong Yi city and Northern Qi. Fan Xian’s father Fan Jian gives him a warning that he needs to pay attention to the banquet. Fan XIan originally was just gonna be like, isn’t this just a normal dinner? Only for Fan Jian to point out that ALL of the Qing kingdom is expecting Fan XIan to show off his literary skills. Fan XIan is freaking out over here because, obviously, his most famous poem was stolen by Du Fu. Fan Jian suggests that Zhuang Mo Han, the prime literary master from the Northern Qi here for this diplomatic envoy will likely not give him a hard time. Little do they know, next thing we see is Zhuang Mo Han receiving a note instructing him to ruin Fan XIan’s reputation.
That night, fan Xia and Wu Zhu start planning their next move. Fan Xian wants to use this banquet as cover to sneak into the Empress Dowager’s residence to steal his mother’s key. Randomly, Wu Zhu knows exactly where the key could be stored. In a hidden compartment in the Empress Dowager’s bed. Uhhh interesting. This information came from Fan Xian’s mother. Again, what is Fan Xian and the Empress Dowager’s relationship such that she, and I’m assuming Wu Zhu, can literally go there to look at her private materials.
[Cathy]
The next step is to figure out how to replace the key they are going to steal in order to prevent the Empress Dowager from realizing the key was taken away. Fan Xian invited Wang Qi Nian to find a locksmith for the job. Wang Qi Nian is so shocked and upset to hear Fan xIan’s plan of sneaking into the palace but at least he’s well paid by Fan Xian. He doesn’t have much choice but to go look for that locksmith since, as Fan Xian explains, if Wang Qi Nian rats him out, Chen Ping Ping will be on him like the plague.
The day comes for the banquet. The Princess Royal requests for a seat to the banquet, anticipating a show. The 2nd prince is wolfing down a meal before the banquet since, as he says, he can never eat properly at those types of events. As for the Crown Prince, he’s been standing in residence for quite some time so as not to crease his outfit. Fan Xian and Wang QI Nian are also prepped for the event.
Fan Xian puts on a show even before entering the banquet by helping confiscate a bunch of his own weapons and poisons that he is not allowed to bring into the palace. It’s a little out of place for why he did this. Wouldn’t he know that he shouldn’t bring daggers and needles and poisons? It’s because he wants to give off the vibe that he is unserious but also no longer a threat since he purposefully got rid of his weapons. Not only that, he’s also not in court attire, showing that he doesn’t see this event as exceptionally formal. This will likely help his cover later in the evening.
[Karen]
After some back and forth, Fan Xian heads into the banquet hall. It is a grand set up and he immediately sees that the Princess Royal has secured a seat at the head of the hall as are the Crown Prince and the 2nd prince. Before Fan Xian can sit down, Guo Bao Kun shows up to shout at Fan Xian for a bit. He says that he is here to see Fan Xian’s reputation be ruined. Guo Bao Kun’s father, Guo You Zhi steps in to tell Guo Bao Kun to return to his seat before leaving Fan Xian. Fortunately, the adorable Xin Qi Wu is around to help guide Fan Xian as to where he is supposed to sit.
Shortly after, Yun Zhi Lan, the head disciple of grandmaster Si Gu Jian arrives. He is the teacher of the 2 women Fan Xian killed during his assassination attempt and is here as a diplomat from Dong Yi. As for the dignitaries from the northern Qi? The elderly Zhuang Mo Han also walks into the hall clutching a rolled up scroll. The princess royal, who had summoned Fan Xian for a quick but threatening chat, explains that Zhuang Mo Han is THE most renowned scholar of the land. When everyone is seated, the Emperor arrives. This is also likely the first time that the Emperor is in his dragon robes.
The banquet starts and the food arrives. Fan Xian takes no hesitation in wolfing down not only the food but also the wine as well. So much so that the Emperor notices. He calls for Fan Xian to step forth and comments on Fan Xian’s gaze which is rather uncentered. Clearly hinting that Fan Xian is getting inebriated. Fan Xian just jokes that he’s a little scared of the grandeur of the event, hence a little bit more drink. The Emperor toasts to Fan XIan for his involvement in not only the war but also the resolution of it.
[Cathy]
But before Fan Xian can sit down, the 2nd prince steps forward. He suggests that given Fan Xian’s contributions and his world renowned poem, Fan Xian should be the head official to administer the Imperial Entrance exam next year. The Emperor pushes back saying that Fan Xian doesn’t have enough experience and Fan Xian is dismissed back to his seat. However, this creates the opening for Zhuang Mo Han to speak up.
He points out that the person in charge of the imperial examinations should be of upstanding character and must be selected with the utmost care. The Princess Royal at this moment stands up. NOTICE – how the Emperor sees that she’s going to speak, doesn’t shoot her down but is rather dismissive of her. He goes back to eating, wondering what kind of plot she’s try to create.
Indeed, the Princess Royal steps forth to more or less defend Fan Xian because Zhuang Mo Han’s words suggest that Fan XIan is NOT of upstanding character and not worthy of being the head examiner. She even calls out Zhuang Mo Han to see whether or not HE could write a poem better than the one that Fan Xian wrote. Rather odd, don’t you think. That the princess royal would step forward to help Fan xian?
It’s all a set up. Because now, Zhuang Mo Han states that while indeed Deng Gao is an unparalleled poem, it was copied. Plagiarized. Fan Xian’s stomach drops and heads back to his seat. The Emperor is now also curious since it doesn’t seem like Fan Xian would be capable of such a poem. But, the Second Prince, the Princess Royal and Guo Bao Kun all step forth in support of Fan XIan in hopes of elevating him. The more they do so, the more they’re trying to ruin his reputation.
[Karen]
Zhuang Mo han at this point states that the last 4 lines of Deng Gao, the poem, were actually created by his teacher. This stuns the room but Fan Xian continues to drink wine back at his seat. The Princess Royal pushes back on Zhuang Mo Han’s words saying that could it be they are falsely accusing Fan Xian?
That is when Zhuang Mo Han opens up the scroll he brought. It was written by his teacher and shows the exact last 4 lines from the Deng Gao poem that Fan Xian recited. Given the age of the scroll, it must mean that Fan Xian plagiarized Zhuang Mo Han’s teacher.
The episode ends there as we see how Fan Xian gets out of this bind. But we see who is all on one team here. The Princess Royal, Guo Bao Kun and hte 2nd prince all put together a stage to elevate Fan Xian only for him to fall with Zhuang Mo Han’s accusations. This is all a set up.
The last point here is that Fan Xian asks Zhuang Mo Han if his teacher was named Du. Because, Deng Gao was written in real life by Du Fu. Given that Zhuang Mo Hand said no, Fan Xian is like, that’s fine. He knows this is a set up and seems prepared for it.
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[Cathy]
There’s a lot of idioms and phrases that are used in the drama so let’s spend some time discussing them!
The first idiom that I want to talk about is right at the beginning of the episode when Fan Jian and Fan Xian have a conversation about Fan Xian getting invited to the Palace for a banquet. Fan Jian says Fan Xian was invited because of his famous poem, and as the Qing Kingdom lags behind the Qi Kingdom in terms of literary output, the Qing Court has invited Fan Xian. Fan Jian says this phrase – 死马当作活马医, 你是死马.
The literal translation is this – treating a dead horse as if it’s a live horse. You, Fan Xian are the dead horse. The treat is to medically treat the horse. This is a phrase that is known as, even though the doctor knows that there’s little chance, but there is that slight chance to save the person or situation, so the doctor will make a last ditch effort to save the person or situation. The whole idiom basically is a last ditch effort to save someone or situation. This phrase originates from Song Dynasty teachings of a Buddhist monk or 宏智禅师广录 around 1000 years ago.
The full phrase is 若恁么会去，许尔有安乐分，其或未然不免作死马医去也. Or If you proceed in this manner, you may find some share of peace and happiness. However, you might have no choice but to resort to trying to treat a dying horse.
八卦 – talked about it in episode 4
[Karen]
Next up is 祈年殿 – this is the location of where the banquet will be held. Fan Xian goes and asks Wang Qi Nian if this palace has anything to do with him because 王启年 and 祈年殿 sound the same. However, the Qi is a different character. 祈年 by itself means 祈祷丰年 or pray for a bountiful year. 祈年殿 or Qi Nian Palace as a place still exists today in China. 祈年殿 was were the Emperor prayed to the gods and performed animal sacrifices. This was a sacred place and used by the Imperial family to pray for good fortune during the major holidays.
It is the main structure for the Temple of Heaven located in Beijing or else known as 天坛. 祈年殿 was originally constructed in 1420 and over the past 6 centuries has undergone a few destructions, fires, and renovations. As recent as 1970, the main structure caught fire from lightning and had to be reconstructed. It is now one of the main tourist attractions in Beijing. Most people head over to the Forbidden Palace, the Summer Palace, and then head over to the Temple of Heaven. I can’t even remember the last time I went because I was REALLY young. The grounds are cool but the structure itself is a bit lonely in the center of the park.
[Cathy]
Next – let’s talk about a fun series of idioms that oftentimes used in conjunction with 怨妇 or Scorned Wife. That part was hilarious in the drama because Guo Bao Kun is all huffy and puffy that Fan Xia doesn’t remember him and Fan Xian says – you’re behaving like a Yuan Fu or Scorned Wife, to which Guo Bao Kuni immediately dismisses but then goes on to behave like a Scorned Wife all throughout the banquet.
Well – Guo Bao Kun threatens Fan Xian that he wants to see Fan Xian 万劫不复 and 身败名裂.
万劫不复 when translated literally means to suffer ten thousand trials with no redemption. This comes from the Brahmajāla Sūtra from Buddhism and was first introduced to China during the Jin Dynasty – so think 3rd to 5th century CE. It’s in the intro and in chinese as such 一为人身，万劫不复. Once the human form is lost, ten thousand of trials cannot redeem it
万劫不复 is often used to describe a person who has done something so bad, that his reputation cannot recover from it. A traitor of a country is an example.
The next idiom is 身败名裂 which translates to destruction of name and reputation. This originates from the famed Song Dynasty poet 辛弃疾 who lived in the 12th century CE. In his poem – 贺新郎·别茂嘉十二弟 that was written as a parting poem, the first line is as such 将军百战身名裂. This poem is in reference to the Han Dynasty general 李陵 who surrendered to the Xiong Nu and was prisoner for a time, but married the daughter of the Chan Yu and became a Xiong Nu aristocrat. In his early years, Li Ling was praised as a great leader in the army. However, after his surrender, his reputation came crashing down and became known as a traitor. I mean, more than 2000 years later, we still know his name as the one who surrendered. So, this Song Dynasty poet 辛弃疾, who is sending off his good friend off to his new post in gui Lin, writes of this episode in history. 身败名裂 is commonly used on a person who has crossed moral boundaries that cannot be redeemed. Yes, that includes being a traitor to one’s country, being corrupt, and being a cheater.
The two phrase, 万劫不复 and 身败名裂 are often used together to describe someone who has been discovered as a fraud or a cheater. Guo Bao Kun is hoping to catch Fan Xian as a fraud. HOWEVER, it can also be used to describe a gentleman who has a clean image but is discovered to be a cheater to his wife, which adds to the scorned woman role played by Guo Bao Kun.
[Karen]
Lastly, I want to talk about 云之澜. He’s the Ninth Rank martial artists that’s introduced in the episode. Fan Xian makes a comment that the name sounds like a wine. That’s because there’s actually bai jiu brands in China called 海之蓝、天之蓝、梦之蓝. These are all created from the same manufacturer in 江苏 in the early 2000s. The trio translates to The Blue Sea, The Blue Sky, and The Blue Dream. The character of 云之澜 sounds like it could fit well in this line of drinks although the Lan as a character is different. So that’s just a small callout
[Cathy]
Let’s now conclude with book differences
In the book, Xing Qi Wu isn’t with Fan Xian, it’s another man who guides him through the evening. The Empress is also in attendance. The Northern Qi delegates spend much of the evening trying to get him drunk in which Fan Xian then make a whole scene to outdrink most everyone in attendance. Otherwise, much of it is the same and will build up to the climax in the next episode.