The Sword and the Brocade (2021)

Survival & empowerment within the husband's harem and politics.

• Contains spoilers, read at your own risk. You can skip to the bullet points if you want a more general review. •

The Sword and The Brocade was nothing like what I expected it to be. When I first heard about this drama, I was a bit skeptical and a bit excited because I wasn't sure how I felt about a concubine's daughter marrying into Marquis Yongping's manor (meaning she'd probably be manipulated and schemed against a lot which came true but less than I thought) but I was excited that it was a Ming Dynasty based drama as they are usually uncommon so it was nice to see something different for a change. Shi Yi Niang proved herself to be quite an independent as well as intelligent woman throughout the entire drama. She married into Marquis Yongping's manor with a motive of investigating her mother's death and ended up catching Xu Lingyi's (Marquis Yongping) attention in the process. She fought through his entire harem (3 concubines) and made them believe that they succeeded in scheming against her when in reality she was the real successful one. She went through constant disapproval of her concubine's daughter status from her mother-in-law as well as her sister-in-law without complaining once about how they were treating her and instead earned their respect from everything she did. She defied the ethics of being a married woman back then when she got involved with Xianling Pavilion with her husband's support rather than approval. I absolutely loved her character because it shows so much female empowerment. It proves that it's not only every successful man has a supportive woman behind him but it shows that it could be vice versa even in ancient times when things like what she was doing were seen as shameful. Most of the drama was focused on family importance, the development of our ML & FL's romance, our FL's intelligent and politics in regards to the sea ban. Some parts of politics were interesting when the scheming was happening but all in all, I try to avoid those as much as possible lol. I would recommend this drama to someone who usually enjoys a slight mix of politics and the scheming tricks of a harem (with an intelligent FL).

To sum it up in bullet points:
• Mix of politics and harem schemes.
• Ming dynasty based drama which is uncommon so it was exciting to see all the different costumes.
• FL is very intelligent and independent which she proves throughout the drama.
• Small but interesting harem schemes.
• Defied societal standards of women in ancient times with her involvement in Xianling Pavilion.
• Message of female empowerment.
• Gained respect from mother-in-law and sister-in-law despite her concubine's daughter status.
• Would recommend to someone who enjoys a bit of politics and harem/family schemes.

OST: Personally I didn't find anything catchy about the OSTs in the drama but I thought they were very suitable to the drama. I have yet to find a drama where the OST doesn't match the development of the drama. It gives calm but slight powerful tunes. I mainly remember the ending song because the beginning of it was the catchiest to me.

Acting: I had actually never watched Wallace Chung in a drama before this one and I can safely say, he was worth the watch lol. I personally think he was a bit too emotionless and could've fixed his facial expressions better when he was upset but overall he did pretty well in his role. I loved Seven Tan's acting in this. She played her young lady role amazingly and her body language/expressions were outstanding. The one thing I think that wasn't that believable was her at the end when she had become an more developed woman (after she had a kid). I think that is due to her sort of baby face though so that may be why.

Ending: It was a happy ending. It fulfilled what the drama wanted to fulfill throughout and it showed one big happy family together. I do wish that Shi Yi Niang had more children with Xu Lingyi because I believe they could've but for the purpose of protecting the eldest son's importance, I think the screenwriter/direction settled with just giving them one child. Overall it was cute though seeing how everyone was happy and the scheming was over.

Rewatch Value: I would definitely rewatch but I don't see it in the near future. I think I'll find myself coming back to this drama when I need a less intense drama to watch that still includes politics and scheming.

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Watchable,, amazing ost, amazing acting, i enjoy the story

## ABOUT ACTING ##

I really admire Tan Songyun's acting skills！！ When she was filming "under the power", I felt a little weird because I havent watch her historical dramas, but when watch it i feel it was not bad ,

but this time it made me admire her! Omaigot! Tan song yun acting is very good! And the othes artists aren't bad either ,, sometimes there are only a few that are annoying, im not sure is too deep in acting or not



##ABOUT EDITING, STORY, PLOT##

at the beginning of the story, in my opinion, the words used are quite complicated and require subtitles, but when it is at the end of the story, as long as you can listeningb Chinese and read the chinese subtittle is easier to understand(i need the chinese sub even i use english sub or my country sub)

### at first there are also scenes that are missed but still acceptable because they are not too important, but hence foward,, the more important and awaited scenes are not shown, very frustrating!!!

Detail good enough ,but sometimes i feel the flashback for explaining how that thing happen a little bit unimportant (not related),,, good enough, but the annoying is when there is a scene that happens directly or i expected to know how its happen,,but is not shown how it happened ,, or the flashback is not related to the scene (ep 19 opening scene ) (ep 45 how shiyiniang can get free?! Omaigot! Frustrated! Im waiting for this but!


### And and the timing was pass very absurd ,, it could shuddenly already passed 1 month and sometimes when flashback how the thing happen the timing is unclear, like when they plan that, and whether the flashback is the 2nd meeting or the same meeting (it is unclear because their clothes are the same, but impossible at the same meeting) like oulixing and xu family spy meeting,, wheb the first meeting xu family spy not knowing about HUPO

and sometimes they seem to plan something but immediately do the plan , and not told out , so didnt know whan the plan is , when ouyanxing help shiyiniang for cure erniang ,,and the most is when oulixing planning something for framing marquis ! not said at all







## the scene that I think happened suddenly (spoiler) ##

1. When yuanniang know the next xu mistress candidate is shiyiniang? ,,, even though it has been changed to erniang,, and change back at the same day when yuanniang be in agony
2. ‎When Shiyiniang was thrown back to Luo manor when investigated yuanniang death
3. ‎when marquis know that erniang hand was injured? And he warn wangyu
4. ‎how can the woman who provoked xianling pavilion worker escaped?
5. ‎when madam luo know about the real cause of yuanniang death
6. ‎when marquis stuck at shandong (It doesn't make sense, suddenly 1 month and Madam Xu just found a clue about what hurt the marquis,and then marquis plan a trap then come back like that)
7. ‎how shiyiniang escape from death?! Omaigot they skip the scene! Frustrating me!

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On how to be the 'perfect' daughter, wife, mother . .

If you want to sit through hours of lessons on how to be the perfect woman centuries ago, then this drama is for you. It was not for me. Shiyi, our main female lead, may gently lose her way but she is always selfless, looking out for others and willing to take blame. Ever patient, she uses her intelligence and skills only in the service of the causes of others.

Everyone around her, from her husband, to her own family, to her inlaws, is frustrating, narrow-minded and stubborn, though there is a nice growth and bond that forms between Shiyi and the Marquis Yongping over time. There's a fair amount of overacting from the side characters.

The music is nice, there really is nothing to rewatch. I grade on other criteria as well:

Complex Themes: 5.0
Be selfless and center others, your family, and your country and you will be rewarded with a contentful, joyful life.

Character Growth: 6.5
Shiyi becomes a more mature character, and her husband loosens up over time, but there isn't much character growth.

Relationships between Women/Complex Women characters: 7.0
On one hand, there's a lot of women, they interact a lot, and the discussion is not quite all about men. On the other hand, they are all stereotypes with very little depth.

Cinematography/Production Values: 8.0
For a smaller period drama, the costume, set and jewelry design is all excellent, really beautiful and creative with interesting flourishes and color combinations. The sets are a bit small and claustrophobic (almost nothing is shot in the 'real world' all on 4 or so established sets). There's very little action or complex scenes. The camera shoots straight on with very little creativity.

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Promising but Fizzled Out

This drama had the potential to be really good with a promising start but fizzling out towards the third quarter. The story has 2 main plots- the FL being a ranking official's main wife managing the harem and the ML surviving political conflicts with his quest for the emperor to end the sea trading ban. Even though the writers connected the plots together, the political scenes gave me a detached feel making me use the fast forward buttons for those. In contrast, I found the harem plot to be rather unique as it shows how the harem/polygamy practice causes pain and suffering not only to the women involved but also to the men. Although the harem premise of this drama is a huge turn-off to many, the redeeming aspect is that the ML realizes he loves only FL/his main wife and fights the system/elders refusing to accept any more concubines. The story became tiring and draggy as the episodes progressed no matter how clever some of the arcs were. I am quite disappointed at how the main characters were written does not show the acting depth of Wallace and Seven. Anyone expecting good romance vibes from Wallace will be disappointed, despite his good acting the chemistry with Seven was off in my opinion. Regarding technicals, production quality is high- location, sets, costumes, makeup, cinematography were excellent. Sadly, the happy ending is lackluster. In summary this drama is an okay one-time watch.

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Harem Drama Lite.

Is this you? Have you just read a certain fanfic for a certain fandom that is a Harem AU and now the story hasn’t updated for weeks and you are just craving that good concubine no. 3 feels? Are you really tempted to watch one of those big harem dramas like Yanxi palace but you see the 70+ episode count and you feel like it’ll be less painful to take your organs out of your body with your bare hands than sit through that many episodes? Are you just itching to watch a bunch of stir-crazy people fight over who gets to sleep with an average/mediocre/ok-maybe-he’s-cool dude? THEN BOY DO I HAVE A SHOW FOR YOU!
With a humble 45 (GOOD GOD! FORTY-FIVE?!?!?!?) episode count, the sword and the brocade gives you all that good “my love, I may have many in my harem, but there’s only you in the harem of my heart” feels while not actually making you want to crawl up a wall from all the palace intrigue melodrama. This is a show about two sourly yet genuinely good people slowly falling in love while every single character around them gets b*tch slapped by Karma! It’s fun…until it’s not.
I can’t in good conscience recommend this show though, mainly because I had such a negative experience making it through the last fifteen episodes of this show. It starts really well, it’s very gripping and there are so many delicious feelings throughout but the pace slows around episode 25 and just about becomes unbearable after episode 36. So maybe watch this only if you are very desperate for a Harem drama that isn’t as cut-throat or extreme as those palace ones.

You should watch this if you like:
1. Harem dramas
2. Murder mysteries
3. Happy endings
4. Meddlesome mother-in-laws (the real villain, everyone!)
5. Arranged marriage
6. Enemies to lovers but not very intense
7. Cinderella stories
8. Ming dynasty misogyny
9. Pro-monogamy harem plot…
10. Sewing (?)

Summary: The main character is the daughter of an unfavored concubine. Now it has come the time for the official mother to marry off her unfavorable concubine-born daughters in the most politically advantageous way. But best-laid plans of mice and men, everything goes the exact opposite way as she wanted, so now her least favorite daughter is married off to a beautiful, jade-like marquis of a man, instead of an abusive, drunkard womanizer and that’s karma for you! There’s a murder mystery, a skippable political plot, lots and lots of concubine drama, and the MOST unlikable, meddlesome, STUPID mother-in-law in the whole world, there too.

The story: I will give them a little credit. They were trying to say something, about women’s lives in the olden times, the terrible conditions of concubinage, the unfairness of the social hierarchy and they do manage to do that for the most part but it’s just so weak and it seems like they gave up on nuance very early on as they fall into the pitfalls of cliches and cinematic stereotypes of catfights that have proven to bring in excited viewers in the past. That’s my way of saying, they tried to be woke but realized it’ll make more money if they just go for the good old melodrama. I think Yanxi palace tried to do a similar thing but they achieved it with a lot more grace and elegance and the point was more solid there (even though that had its melodrama shenanigans too). There's also this bait-and-switch plot that is used too many times to show the change of tides in the plot that was cool the first time but got annoying when they did it over and over again.
The story also has something to say about getting lost in traditions and rules that can lead to denying people their agency to make choices for their own life. The show starts with this truly jaded man who has been forced into marriage and taking concubines and just putting up with all of this, even though he really couldn’t care less. He’s completely disillusioned about women and sees them as opportunistic people who will use sexuality and beauty to gain money and power. This is the best detail of the show because you can see how the female lead changes his perceptions throughout the show and finally makes it possible for him to figure out what he wants and what his problems were all along and how to ask for things that he wants.
But this also means that the female lead barely had a character arc! She was a pretty smart and level-headed person from the start and she is validated all the way to the end of the show. Her only change in the story is to fall in love but other than that she is a fully formed woman with a great understanding of herself and her principles from the very beginning.

The acting: Despite all the problems I had with the plot, I actually liked the two main actors. I prefer the more subdued and calm acting that Seven Tan did here and I also liked Wallace Chung’s acting. Not sure about the couple's chemistry, though. One was more into the romance than the other, I thought. I’ve also decided to add a new criterion to how I judge the acting, by judging the ensemble’s acting as a whole and basically judge how well everyone’s acting worked together. I have to say, here the acting was very homogenous. Everyone was on the same level. Shout out to He Hong Shan’s acting, she gave this very bratty voice to her character and it was brilliant. It made you want to slap her so bad! I also feel bad for Daddi Tong. I didn’t like his character but he did a good job and I hope he’ll get male leads in the future so he can be less pitiful.

The music: This is probably the best part of this show. The background music is just okay but the soundtrack is very romantic and it really worked well for the romance. As a whole the production was fine. Nothing special to say about it.

Rewatch value: None. Unless you’re THAT desperate for a harem drama that isn’t in the palace actually.

The negative: There’s a lot of weak writing in this show. For instance, there’s an attempt made to connect the political stuff with the harem stuff and the murder mystery all together, and yeah they’re connected but I don’t think anyone who was watching cared even a little for that political stuff, and for good reason. It was boring and very simple and it just took up a lot of space that had nothing happening in it. The other problem was the pacing. The show has a lot of little arcs and these did not mesh well together. Instead of having one big arc and small arcs intertwined together, each tiny arc is resolved separately. This means that we end up with the same story over and over again. Getting rid of a bad concubine? Three separate arcs that are solved one at a time, fighting over the second male lead being a potential homewrecker but with different intensities? Five different arcs! It just makes the show feel like a broken record because they keep arguing over the same things over and over again. After episode 25, everything just turns into a Groundhog Day. Everyone just goes around each other repeating the same issues again and again and each time only one thing is resolved until FINALLY, it’s all over. Really this show should have been 30 episodes. It was too long.
There was a lot of nothing in the show too: getting on and off carriages, purring tea, just moving from one place to another. You’d expect them to omit these in editing.
There’s also a bit of a negative bias in the story. Those women were all victims. The mother-in-law was a monster and she created this poisonous environment that only nurtured poisonous snakes. But the story somehow puts the main character on a moral high ground over these other victims. Even though there was no reason for her to be holier than the others. It’s not even her fault, it’s just that the show gets so twisted around itself that it ends up reaffirming the traditional values of women that the show was criticizing at first.

Overall: This show came into my life just as I needed it. I did binge some twenty-something episodes of it like my life depended on it. It’s a skippable watch unless you know mandarin and can just let it play in the background then maybe it'll be better. Just be ready to get annoyed.

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One of the best C drama I have watched.

I am a really big fan of costume historical-based C drama and this drama is one of the tops on my favorite list.
I like dramas with her emotions and this drama conveys it the best. The male and lead female leads did the best job through their acting.
I never felt any boring moment throughout the whole drama. The whole cast did a wonderful job. The story itself is worth watching. The drama is like something you have watched but haven't felt that thing till you watch this drama. It is worth watching I think you should all watch this. If you like drama that has a smart female lead and the supporting male lead who every time supports the female lead(even if he likes her he doesn't try to ruin male lead's relationship) then you must watch this drama!

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Worth the Wait and Effort

I waited a long time for the ML & FL to take the plunge, and boy was it worth it! This was my very first CD and I am hooked forever now. The costumes, set design, mannerisms and cultural settings - breathtaking! It transports you back to a time when there were rules and customs and honor (even though some of it was pretty weird and pretty warped). I loved this drama. The chemistry between the lovers was so real and believable. I will watch it again and again. Some of those characters were so evil it was cringe-worthy (in a good way) and it was nice to see them get their karma.

Loved the music too. The opening theme and the closing music, but most especially the love song.

I was a little disappointed that the final episode felt a little rushed - and left too much undone, or loosely tied up. I would have liked a little more detail, a little more closure. But I suppose a happy ending is a happy ending.

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This drama infuriates me to the point of no return

I'm not even going to bother write a long descriptive review for this drama. That would simply be a waste of my effort.

Among the cast I really used to like the ML, saw him in General and I, as Chu Beiji. He was really cool there. But here he appears annoying solely due to the story. I absolutely hate the Fl and Tan Song Yun's face doesn't help at all. This is the most infuriating FL I've come across in a while (and I've read tons of crappy transmigration novels, none of them are this bad).

This kind of dog blood dramas should be banned. People have nothing to do than just get up and scheme all day long with the most annoying tone of voice ever. I have seen many many palace dramas, and none of them harem schemes are as bad as this. This is just plain boring and dumb. The FL lead has such a annoying face, makes my blood boil. I really wanted her to suffer more but she didn't. The ML looks attractive in other dramas is reduced to a pig trotter here. What sword and brocade, rename this to “The Green tea b1tch and the pig trotter+ his 101 useless concubines”.

The only likable thing about this drama is not even in the drama, it's a teaser trailer with the red string of fate concept. Though I'd appreciate if it didn't include the Fl's face.

0/10 would never come close to anything like this.

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Simple but Meaningful Story of Mutual Relationship

-- Review :



First of all, don't read this review if you hate a review that loves comparing things and stuffs.

Second, I'm writing this from female lead point of view

Third, Lets separated it from the novel version because it's a drama despite they said it's adapted (or loosely adapted) from the novel.



FL Female Lead = Shiyi

ML Male Lead = Lingyi



In short, this story is about an independent lady that has talent in embroidering, kind heart but not easily bullied.

As she never thought she would love a person through arranged marriage, more over when she has bad impression for him, but later found out her husband is just that good (ehm perfect) so she finally fell for him and convinced to give all out to manage the family well, went through thick and thin together. Just like the synopsis said. Lol.



Shiyi :

1. Find the killer of her mother

2. Deal with trivial matters (concubine daughter status, harems, sisterhood issues, mother in law, offsprings etc)

3. Together with husband deal with bigger matters/politics/etc

4. Keep embroidering



Lingyi:

1. Lift the sea ban policy + revenge his father's death caused by Ou family + be a good govt official

2. Help Shiyi finds the killer

3. Only wish for one heart despite he got some concubines (it's usually two people said they'd love each other and would be faithful but then the male taking other concubines/cheating, while in this story the male got concubines already but then find his true love--and finally no concubines left in the house, lol).

I don't like point no. 3, but since it's set in historical time, rich people did have 3-4 wives that time.

And also, this is not Lu Yi from Under The Power who said "having one wife is enough because two or more will troublesome"



---Scores :



Story 9.5

It's rather typical, harem conflicts (but not as serious as Yanxi Palace or Ruyi, more or less similar like Minglan Story's harem conflicts), light politics (just like Under The Power but a little bit more serious politic).



The good points are how good the male lead toward female lead while herself isn't overaly dramatic person.

Two people with same moral and virtue, same vision about good governance and serve people, avoid unnecessary conflicts, such a pair made in heaven.


Acting/Cast 10

Male lead is veteran actor, experiences are priceless, his acting skill is unquestionable, while female lead is a well known actress that could deliver different expressions. So good watching them together.



Music 10

Love ALL the OSTs

Too bad not duet, each only sings their own song.



Rewatch Value 10

To be honest, because it's a generally simple storyline, not overly long, not overly dramatical and not tears drenching, it is trully rewatchable. Drama Goodbye My Princess, who's dare to rewatch? Me no. I need almost a year to forget the tragic ending. Also Rises of Phoenix, what a "brutal" ending. No rewatch. Lol.



I should add other scores:

1. Biased: 10 (fan of the actor and actress)

2. Adaption: 7 (to be honest, if the novel to be adapted, it might need 100 episodes and i don't think it's would even getting far and far away from genre idol drama, coz too many "strategies". lol)

3. Ending: 10 (THEY BETTER MAKE IT HAPPY)

4. Costume: 10 (because they retain the crucial points of make ups, clothing, background, etc during Ming dynasty).

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If It's from Wallace Chung It Must Be Good!

I would watch every drama series if WC is the main male protagonist. I like his simplicity in acting, his mysterious smile when looking at the woman he loves, his beguiling smiling eyes when intending to fool someone. Other actors would go over the top, use all energy in expressing emotions but with WC, a simple glance or smile would say it all. I would say his face value may not equal to the handsomest of all but his charm that appeals to the audience is undeniable. This is why in this specific drama series where he is portraying a cold-blooded General and a facial expression is vital, he is the best actor to be casted. The story itself is good, not unique but at least not boring. I don't like ST as the female lead but WTH, WC is there so I've going for it.

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harem, harem and harem!

harem!!
the drama theme that i mostly avoid watching becauze harem is always full of backstabbing women and bullying. but this time i gave it a try.
turned out just like i thought. full of bullying and backstabbing. but i managed to make it to ep 43 with lots of skipping scenes.

story:
doesnt suit my taste. harem, harem and harem. the story flow feels too draggy. it could've been better if it only had 30 eps. 47 eps full of backstabbing is just too much for me.

casts:
- tan song yun is good. she suits for the role. she looks very mature. i like it when she smiles. however i feel like something is a bit off.

- wallace chung is a bit dull here. idk. probably the character needed him to. i dont like him here despite his good acting.

- daddi tang xiaotian, this is the first time i watch his drama. his acting is a bit stiff, but he has potential, not so disappointing.

music:
music is good. especially the one that zhou shen sings. he always amazes me. every song he sings sounds so beautiful.

is it recommandable?
i might say yes, but not much. if you can handle 47 eps of backstabbing then you're good to go. if not, i doubt that you will enjoy this drama.

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