还珠格格

Rating:

还珠格格 (Huan Zhu Ge Ge) was one of the most popular shows throughout China from 1998 through 1999. This drama tells the story of a street orphan, 小燕子 (Xiao Yan Zi), who grew up with the other homeless. Those who could earn money would gather money through the means of street performances. By chance, in one street performance, 小燕子 meets 紫薇 (Zi Wei). 紫薇 was actually journeying with her servant towards the imperial palace to claim her rightful position as princess. As time passes, the two get to know each other and 小燕子 joins the quest to meet the emperor.

In a series of events, the king mistakes 小燕子 as his daughter. Thus, this drama unfolds a story of love, drama, and comedy as the undisciplined 小燕子 tries to help the reformed 紫薇 claim her rightful position. It doesn’t help that an evil empress is out trying to frame 小燕子 in a number of crimes.

I first watched this show when I was eight and I loved it. The level of Chinese is easy enough for little children to understand. The action scenes also added towards enjoying this series. As a child, I loved watching the flying princes fighting off villains and criminals in attempts to save the helpless maidens. I also remember a number of comedic scenes where 小燕子’s blunder often ended in peals of laughter.

But earlier this summer, when I decided to rewatch a few episodes to remember why I liked this show so much, I couldn’t bare to finish watching even a single episode. There are quite a number of dragged out scenes and in retrospect, the plotline wasn’t that great. In a number of different times, the main characters should have all been beheaded, since they were expressing very disloyal actions towards the emperor.

The acting performed by the cast was also only mediocre. Some of the very soapy and cheesy scenes made the actors and actresses really seem like they were acting instead of actually being in the drama. However, I still enjoyed the comedic scenes and I still loved the music (I can still sing to the opening and ending themes).

Overall, this drama is great for the younger generation. However, for young adults and older teenagers, maybe sticking with a less cheesy-filled and tear-pouring drama would be better.