In the finale of The Wind Blows from Longxi Chinese drama, Chen Gong died. In fact, Chen Gong has long been dead.
The Wei army failed to kill him, the Sect of Five Immortals failed to kill him, and he died of disillusionment with his ideals.
“Restoring the Han Dynasty”, this initial good wish to make the world a better place, has evolved into an extremely fanatical belief. It has become a tool for calculating profits and losses, an imperial sword for shedding the blood of innocents.
Sad, yet sobering!
The Real Ideal
At the beginning of the play, the audiences are told the value of the sacrifices of protagonists as spies through the memories of another protagonist, Xun Xu. From the very beginning, Xun Xu and Chen Gong emphasize that their contribution is for “Revival of the Han Dynasty”.
But when Zhai Yue – Chen Gong’s wife and Xun Xu’s cousin, asks what exactly the “Revival of the Han Dynasty” is, Xun Xu’s answer is the real theme of the story:
The so-called “Revival of the Han Dynasty” is not about a person with one surname becoming emperor, but about countless ordinary people like Chen Gong, Xun Xu, and Zhai Yue, who can be spared the ravages of war, can live a peaceful and prosperous life, without having to go undercover to hostile camps, and don’t have to live with fear.
In the second episode of Zhuge Liang’s reminiscences, he once again conveys a similar message to the young Xun Xu – the so-called “Revival of the Han Dynasty”, is not to let people with the surname of Liu become kings, but to let the people of the world be rich and healthy .
Historical Background
The ancient China was divided by three regimes and the flames of war were ablaze.
The story of The Wind Blows from Longxi begins with Ma Su’s careless loss of Jieting.
Two years ago, Liu Bei suffered a great defeat in the crusade against Eastern Wu and was critically ill in Baidi City. Before dying, he entrusted his orphan to Zhuge Liang and left the famous quote:
You are ten times as talented as Cao Pi, you will be able to secure the country and finally set great things. If the heir can be assisted, assisted; if he is not talented, you can take it yourself.
Of course, there is a saying that is good, don’t look at what a person says, look at what he does.
Liu Bei was not as sincere as his words when he arranged the next leadership team. When he appointed Zhuge Liang as the prime minister (the head of the civil service), he also appointed Li Yan, a nobleman from Yizhou, as the Zhongdu Hu (the head of the military officials). The two represented different interest camps and held different views, so this arrangement can not only restrain each other, but also appease the old people in Shu.
Of course, neither Zhuge Liang nor Li Yan are simple men. Like most “corporate slave”, although they don’t like each other, they can still work together.
This is the story takes place in the background of Shu.
After Liu Bei’s death, Zhuge Liang, after several years of recuperation, wrote the “Northern Expedition Memorial ” with the intention of a northern expedition. The following year, Cao Pi died. Cao Rui was only in his twenties and had just ascended the throne. The political situation in Wei was unstable. At this time, Zhuge Liang had already secretly secured Tianshui, Nan’an and Anding. The three places responded against Wei. If the three places could be held, the Shu army would continue northward, and they would be able to occupy more territory.
In order to resist the counterattack of the Wei army, Zhuge Liang sent Ma Su to guard the strategic location of the three places – Jieting. As a result, it was captured by Zhang He, a general of Wei.
The defeat of Jieting led to the failure of Zhuge Liang’s first Northern Expedition. Ma Su was beheaded. Zhuge Liang wrote a letter to self-demotion, and was also preparing for the second Northern Expedition.
Historically, the defeat of Jieting is attributed to Ma Su’s disobedience to Zhuge Liang’s advice.
But the play gives another imagination: it was due to the intelligence work of Shu army. This leads to the whole story.
Synopsis
The Wind Blows from Longxi has two major main lines: “spy ” and “power“.
Let’s start with the “spy ” line. It can also be unfolded from both Shu and Wei perspectives.
Shu point of view, of course, the main line is Xun Xu and others’ “hoeing traitor”, with the purpose of uncovering the inner ghost “Candle Dragon” hidden in the intelligence agency of Shu. Otherwise, in this intelligence battle, Shu will be passive overall. From Wei’s perspective, on the one hand, they want to eradicate the undercover agents from Shu. On the other hand, they also send You Xiao to sneak into the interior of Shu to promote the implementation of the “Qingping Plan” and complete the secret layout of the high-level officials in Shu. In this invisible battlefield, the two sides launch a thrilling battle of capture and counter-measure.
On the line of “Power”, it mainly presents a battle for power from the perspective of Shu.
One side is the aggressive Li Yan, and the other side is Zhuge Liang who remains still, around the game between different goals and interests. And Si Wen Cao, the largest intelligence agency in Shu, becomes the main battlefield for all conspiracies. All of them are apparently Shu people, saying that they care about Shu, but in action, they are cheating on each other, each with their own agenda. Whether the protagonist or supporting characters, are trapped in the vortex of factional disputes and can not extricate themselves.
Chen Gong and Xun Xu
Chen Gong – a natural spy
Chen Gong is the most elusive person in the play. He seems to be cynical, but he is the one who carries the most burdens. When he appears, he is surrounded by enemies on all sides. But he is able to move and dodge, and cut a bloody road in the cracks. His road is always bumpy and mixed with pain.
He is a natural spy, and he can survive even the most difficult circumstances. But the moment he saw his wife’s identity exposed and tortured, every cell in his body seemed to be unable to bear it any longer. After all, his strong nerves still have an unreachable area. He is wise and resourceful, pushing the plan along smoothly, but also able to make a killing decision in an instant.
Xun Xu – a pure heart for truth
Xun Xu is upright, but a little too straightforward. He sees people and things as black or white, and likes to be straight-forward when dealing with problems. Once he bites into the problem, he will never let go. He firmly believes in Chen Gong, not because Chen Gong is his brother-in-law, but “what I believe in is my own heart“.
He ventured into Tianshui to investigate Baidi, and his colleagues thought he could not return alive. But he not only came back, but also stirred up a huge wave in Si Wen Cao. He insisted on investigating, arresting Feng Ying, and concealing the truth, just to achieve his goal.
It is because of his persistence that can keep his mind free of distractions.
He is a person with a pure heart, so he easily bypasses the difficulties that others cannot avoid, and resolves problems that others think are insoluble. He does not choose sides, nor does he want to join any side, nor is he willing to join a small group. Even if others think he has already been abandoned, he will not give up. He is in pursuit of the truth, is for his own heart.
Such two people
In order to protect Xun Xu, Chen Gong is willing to die because he also believes in “his own heart”. In his mind, Xun Xu is someone who could represent his beliefs. He believes that Xun Xu is the one who could bring changes to the world.
Although Xun Xu looks clumsy, stubborn, and unpopular, the world needs such people. To go after the truth, to go after fairness and justice, to represent the world and conscience, so that people can believe that even if there is no limit to power, a pure heart is the most precious.
Chen Gong, who was talking with Lin Liang at the end, was very saddened:
“At this point in time, I suddenly can’t tell who is right and who is wrong. Guo Huai, Feng Ying, Li Yan, and Yang Yi all appear in my mind. I suddenly can’t connect what they say and what they want me to do. I’m messed up and I’m tired too, but there is only one thing, I think you should know – Xiaohe(Xun Xu) must live.”
There are three most touching moments in the whole play.
The first is when Yue Er’s identity is exposed, and the two of them are embracing each other at the moment of death; the second is when Chen Gong takes the sword that Yue Er gave him before she died and kills Huang Yu to get revenge, holding the sword in his arms; the third is in the last episode, Xun Xu guesses the truth and says, “This is not speculation, it is because I know you.”. Chen Gong says, “You know, in our work, some secrets have to be taken into the coffin.” Xun Xu hugs him crying after hearing this.
In ancient China, there is an idiom means “give up life to get righteousness“. Not only one person, there are two people for this.
There is also a saying that “die for confidant“. It is also not only one person, but two people for it.
Chen Gong and Xun Xu, they are just such two people.
They can not only sacrifice their lives for the righteousness of the country, but also die generously for each other. Their end is predetermined from the very beginning. The “final farewell” in that prison pushes the life-and-death friendship between the two brothers to a top. Xun Xu’s “I can read your heart” has broken many hearts of viewers in front of the screen.
Feng Ying and Yang Yi
If everyone else in the play is just a chess piece, Feng Ying and Yang Yi can be regarded as people holding chess pieces. They are both in high positions and can control the life and death of some people. They do both choose to sacrifice others because of the “restoration of the Han Dynasty” and the “great justice” in their hearts.
Feng Ying, at times, is a wise and calculating senior official, at times, a well-coached elder brother, at times, a hypocritical and sycophantic subordinate, and at times, a middle-aged greasy man who is attracted to sex. What is even more terrifying is that he also has a firm belief that he can not only survive in the chaotic world, but also fulfill his ambitions wholeheartedly.
He is deep-rooted and poisonous. When handing tea to Xun Xu after being tortured, his expression and language were without ripples. There is not a trace of guilt for the wrongful accusation and detecting Xun Xu. Speaking as usual, while chatting about business, he was still feeding poison secretly, making insidious things happen unknowingly. He was able to cooperate with enemy and sacrifice the life of his subordinate spy, You Xiao, without scruples. Secretly, he makes a deal with Guo Huai from Wei to exchange some innocuous information, and mutually consolidated their respective positions in the court.
A line at the end of the play characterizes Feng Ying:
“The heart is as deep as the sea, the means is as poisonous as a scorpion.”
There was also an unexpected scene here, Feng Ying’s monologue. When he faced his armor in the middle of the night, a personality that had never been shown appeared – he still had such loyalty and courage, waiting for the last moment to die for the country. I don’t know how many people like Feng Ying are standing in the wind one by one. Indifferent to blood, indifferent to tears, indifferent to life and death.
The role of Yang Yi, on the other hand, is very clear. His “righteousness” can be replaced by any element of madness. His purpose may be great, but his methods are too cruel.
There are some lunatics in history, not for their own interests and well-being, but for the sake of crazy ideas, they can sacrifice countless people. This is carried out in Yang Yi. Except for him, everyone has a human side, but Yang Yi does not.
This reminds me of The Three-Body Problem. Feng Ying and Yang Yi’s ruthlessness towards individuals is comparable to that of Zhang Beihai and Wade.
This leads to the eternal moral question:
Whose interests are sacrificed for the real righteousness? How many people’s sacrifices are enough to pile up the final victory?
In The Wind Blows from Longxi, although most people have selfish interests and desires, in order to achieve their goals, they can sacrifice others or even sacrifice themselves. We do not judge whether this concept is right or wrong, but can only say that it deeply reflects the reality of the time.
Feng Ying and Yang Yi are the ones holding chess pieces, but why are they not the chess pieces in their own hands? They are decision makers, but they are also executors. They will sacrifice other people’s lives, but they do not spare their own lives either.
The Sorrows of Small Potato
In the play, there are countless sacrifices of chess pieces that may not even be called small potato in the eyes of the superior. They are all full-figured and lively people, but in the end, they are just tools in the hands of others. Those big men choose to sacrifice them one after another for the so-called “restoration of the Han Dynasty” and “righteousness”.
For thousands of years, how many people have been sacrificed in this way by “taking care of the overall situation”, and their names are not even kept.
For this reason, we can’t help but sigh, how much will we have to pay for the so-called “overall situation”? How many people will be sacrificed?
And is the “overall situation” that these exchanged for really worth it? Especially when seeing Chen Gong watching his long-lost beloved wife being tortured and dying in his arms; being threatened to kill his best buddy; Chen Gong falling in Xun Xu’s arms saying, “I beg you not to investigate any further”…
The play is fake, the cost is real. The big men guide the country, take people as chess pieces, achieve big things informally. Who cares about the life and death of ants?
The world is chess. Whether the players, chess pieces, or onlookers, are in the chess game.
The story ends, and all eventually turn into a cloud of smoke.
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