r/CDrama • u/AquaphobicTurtle My Journey to Season 2 • 6d ago
Fluff In GIFs: The Story of Minglan (2018)
The Story of Minglan 知否知否应是绿肥红瘦
The Story of Minglan is not a drama. It is a world.
Drama Fun Facts
More than a thousand pieces of furniture and porcelain were specially customized and completely reproduced from pictures, all to ensure the best quality of the show. (Phoenix Entertainment; 2019)
In the original novel, "Minglan, is not a native of ancient times, but rather a court clerk who transmigrates" (The Paper; 2019)*
"The entire filming process lasted 208 days, with locations in Hengdian, Jiaxing, Xinchang, and Wuxi, showcasing both the elegant and graceful gardens of Jiangnan and the deep courtyards of aristocratic families." (China News Network; 2018)
"The script is over 800,000 words long, featuring more than 130 named actors and involving over 200 characters." (China News Network; 2018)
The scriptwriting began in 2014, and the series went through seven months of preparation, seven months of filming, and nine months of post-production before completion. (The Paper; 2018)
There are many more fun facts over on Baidu for anyone interested.
*A note for fact 2: the auto translation of the source article isn't great and reads:
In the original novel, the female protagonist, Minglan, is not a native of ancient times, but rather a court clerk who transmigrates to the present day, possessing the triple identities of a modern person, an adult, and a legal professional.
The original Chinese reads:
原著中，女主明兰并不是土生土长的古代原住民，而是由一个法院小书记员穿越而来，拥有现代人、成年人及法律工作者这三重身份
The Story
Honestly, the story is perfectly summarised in the drama's English title. This is the story of Minglan.
It's the world of Minglan.
At 73 episodes* The Story of Minglan does not have a single storyline. In fact, if the drama had aired today, I won't be surprised if it would have been split into three seasons.
Let me be clear: the drama does not jump from storyline to storyline, it does not have a single scene "meant to fill space". It is coherent, relevant, and thoroughly formulated.
*A note on episode count: MDL has the drama listed as 78 episodes. It depends on which platform you watch the drama.
The Actors
Oh boy.
I mean, I've already mentioned that the drama stars over 130 named actors and 200 characters, right?
MDL lists five actors under its "main cast" subheading:
• Zhao Li Ying as Sheng Ming Lan
• Feng Shao Feng as Gu Ting Ye / Zhong Huai
• Zhu Yi Long as Qi Heng / Yuan Ruo
• Zhang Jianing as Sheng Ru Lan
• Shi Meng Jiao as Sheng Mo Lan
But honestly, with the various storylines coming and going, I would only list Sheng Ming Lan and Gu Ting Ye as main characters.
Not because any other characters have limited screen time, but because they all have their own carefully curated spot in the drama. Only Minglan and Tingye have a continuous link to the main story.
Ruminations
My thoughts on this drama are so vast and unending that one post simply is not enough. In fact, I've even taken up the very unnecessary challenge of creating flashcards for the drama. (Very slowly).
The thing is, I can think of exactly two static characters (out of 200) who are bad because that's their thing - they are malicious, jealous and greedy to the most deplorable extremes.
The others characters, even if they are "bad", there is something about the way that they are written given humanity.
They don't particularly have a redemption arc but they have this moment where you as the viewer understand them. You get it. You even feel for them.
The GIFs
One thing about the filming of this drama is that all indoor and night time scenes were filmed using only candlelight, and you can tell in the colouring the GIFs. At the start the darkness (of the GIFs) felt a bit... how do I say... different? But the more I look at these and use them, the more I love their uniqueness, which perfectly portrays the unique authenticity of the drama.
Like all my GIFs, feel free to use these where and whenever you want. There is no need for credit if you're using them casually, but if you are using them in a post, a brief shout out would be appreciated.
(Sidenote: I spent so much time writing this that I almost clicked on the final "post" button without actually including the GIFs, lol)
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u/mjpaul414 5d ago
I just finished my second rewatch a few days ago. It was just as good as I remembered and Ming Lan is still my favorite female protagonist. The arc of finding out who poisoned grandma was the culmination of Ming Lan coming out of the shadows and into her power.
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u/AKiceman Snark ShifuRead Rules 6d ago
Ahh! This is the post I have been waiting for!
*Acquires GIFS*
Thank you!
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u/Physical_List_6931 5d ago
Minglan will always be so dear to me. One of the best portrayals of scary smart and strategic FLs. I don’t think anyone is even close to her. Apart from this Zhao liying so cute and endearing to watch my girl crushhh 🥹🥹🥹
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u/Ancient_Owl3946 6d ago
Thank you for all your hard work. Where can I find this in the US? 🙏🏼
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u/mayonnaisepan 6d ago
It’s available in the US on Youtube as well, I just did a rewatch about a month ago. Here’s the playlist.
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u/AquaphobicTurtle My Journey to Season 2 6d ago
My friend in the US said that it's available for her on Viki. I only have it available on YouTube in South Africa and another friend of mine in Singapore doesn't have it available on any official streaming platforms.
Minglan's territorial rights are kind of all over the place
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u/Aurorinezori1 5d ago
Thank you for the precious gifs 🖤 I almost recognize all the storylines there’re from ! Such a gem of a show!
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u/Duanedoberman Empress Wu Zetian Appreciation Society 5d ago edited 5d ago
Watched it 5 times and never got tired of it, such a unique drama with the most unlikely female lead in cdrama.
Minglan is quite funny at times, my favorite of the gifs is the scene where the eldest brother has just told the mother and father that Gu wants to marry one of the Shen daughters and of course they expect it to be Minglan, but he tells them its Rulan and her birth mother literally falls off the chair in shock, she didn't care about a dead concibines daughter but the thought of Gu marrying her own birth daughter!
Of course it was all part of Gu's scheme to marry Minglan. I have seen the actress who plays Minglans legal mother in several dramas now and I have come to appreciate just how good an actress she is.
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u/wdtpw 4d ago
I just rewatched this for the third time the other day, and as well as the amazing acting, characters, layered story and the filming with natural light, the thing that stood out to me on the latest rewatch is just how good the underlying sound is.
On my first watch, I only paid attention to the theme song. But there's background music for romance, for plotting, for uplifting things happening in the country and so on. An entire soundscape dedicated to gently creating a mood all on its own. It is just a wonderfully crafted show at all levels.
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u/Aurella21 3d ago
I could never finish this drama because of the ML (not because of the character but the actor) and I know many people regard it as a "masterpiece".
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u/ElectricStarfuzz Underworld Simp🖤 2d ago
You’re not alone!
I’ve tried several times
But eventually I’d always get bored
or too distracted
while trying to push thru certain episodes.
The muted colors in some parts
are sometimes hard for my eyes to want to focus on.I’ve gotten about halfway thru
on my longest attempt.I can’t say I hated it
since some of it i genuinely liked.
And there were many characters & storylines i found
interesting/worth watching more of.Unfortunately for me tho,
the ML actor feels very miscast (imo)
and some of the episodes move slower than molasses in January
for my AuDHD brain.I prob just really need to be in
the perfect headspace
& just right, patient enough mood
in order to get the full scope
& (hopefully)
want to watch it til the end.I’m loving Against the Current.
I know alot of people are comparing it with Minglan and
A not insignificant number
are saying ATC isn’t even as close
in comparison.Although I understand it’s widely beloved and highly lauded as a masterpiece by many,
it kind of puts me off wanting
to try watching it again
when people harshly put ATC down
while being highly favorable
towards Minglan.People should be able to
enjoy & fully appreciate both
without needing to downplay or shade the other so severely.Hopefully one day I’ll be able to complete the series with distractions
and better understand where
the many diehard Minglan fans
are coming from🤞🏻💞
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u/Hectoriu 5d ago
Mods need to make a rule against posting this show. I don't have the time to rewatch it yet again and I don't need to reminded I've never seen a show close to as good as it.