The Longest Promise Chinese drama has been on the hot searches on various platforms many times since its broadcast. The most attractive thing is Shi Ying, played by Xiao Zhan, who is surprising both in terms of image and personality.
The Longest Promise is adapted from Cang Yue’s novel “Zhu Yan”, starring Xiao Zhan and Ren Min. It tells the story of the lonely and cold Crown Prince Shi Ying of Kongsang and the passionate and righteous Princess Zhu Yan of the Chi tribe, who are destined to be together and protect Yunhuang.
Review of The Longest Promise
Shi Ying – both an immortal and a mortal
There is a line about “killing gods” at the very beginning of The Longest Promise:
“If a god takes pleasure in seeing people suffer, how can he be worthy of being worshiped by the world? The killing of gods by mortals is unprecedented in ancient times, and it starts with me.” Shi Ying said.
From serving the gods to killing the gods, the story has a sense of mission that goes against the will of heaven from the very beginning.
The heroine Zhu Yan used the hosta to escape from marriage. After successfully escaping, she met the master who came to handle the matter, Shi Ying, who was then Shao Si Ming (divine officer) of Jiuyi Mountain.
He floated in his magic weapon, very much with that transcendent feeling. No wonder many viewers exclaimed: From now on, the gods in Chinese costume dramas have faces.
Although the casting is so stunning, this drama is not about the love and hatred between illusory gods, but about ordinary people who need to cultivate their moral character.
Back when Shi Ying was a child, he was the crown prince of Kongsang. When he first met the heroine, Zhu Yan was not allowed to practice magic because she was a girl. She wanted to ask the crown prince who was praised by the world, but by chance, She was rescued by him and gifted the flower of Xue Han Wei. Shi Ying told her:
“When it comes to guarding the country and protecting the family, there is no distinction between men and women.”
But because of the hero’s compassion and unguarded kindness, he was killed by Qiu Shui, an undercover agent lurking in the palace.
Shi Ying faked his death and saw the evil in people’s hearts.
Zhu Yan’s sacrifice to Shi Ying was originally a kind act, but it involved them in “fate”.
Just because Da Si Ming used magic to cover up Shi Ying’s life star, which was “deceiving the sky”, Zhu Yan’s worship confirmed the fact that Shi Ying died, so Zhu Yan became Shi Ying’s “must-kill”.
The settings in the play all have a theory of cause and effect. Magic cannot be used endlessly. When you borrow power from the time of nothingness, you must repay it at an equal price.
When he grew up, Shi Ying met the person who was his “fatality”. Everyone advised him to kill her before the prophecy came true in order to relieve the prophecy. However, Shi Ying said, “The prophecy is far away, but the virtue comes first.”
He said: “The purpose of cultivation is to protect all living beings. How can we regard human life as nothing?”
This is the Taoist heart that Shi Ying insists on.
He said: “There is indifference in the mountains, and there is sentimentality in the mundane world.”
When Shi Ying opened the door to teach students, he also said, “Learning magic is to save people from danger.” This also elevates the intention of the drama.
After confirming that he fell in love with Zhu Yan and moved his mortal heart, he asked to go to hell, take off his divine robe, and stay with Zhu Yan forever.
Even though Da Si Ming advised him, “Only you know your heart. You can continue to be your Shao Si Ming, so why undergo the most severe trials?”
He still said, “No, God already knows!”.
Don’t deceive the gods and don’t deceive the heart.
Although Shi Ying is cold and aloof, he is also very “humorous”.
For example, he joked with his friend Chong Ming, “It will heal if it is not treated.”
And the cunningness when he tricked Zhu Yan into erasing her memory and not casting a spell on her forehead:
“Why are you covering your forehead? Do you think erasing memory means casting a spell on your forehead?”
“Then where is that?”
“The forehead.”
“It’s great to have high magic skills.”
In addition, there are many scenes that are sadistic.
For example: When Shi Ying thought he had killed Zhu Yan’s lover, Zhi Yuan, he said: “Will you be sad when I die? Will you be sadder than when that person died?”
How many tears did it capture from the audience?
It’s really hard for the audience not to love such a character.
The Longest Promise Ending
Watching The Longest Promise is a memorable experience.
In the finale, Shi Ying sealed Xu Yao, who was good at exploiting people’s dark and selfish obsessions and controlling people’s spirits, in a spiritual barrier formed by using the jade hairpin, and then uses the Huang Tian Hou Tu to enhance the Jiuyi Mountain’s supreme magic, Tian Zhu Qian Shu. , and finally, Xu Yao died, and Shi Ying also turned into the petals of Xue Han Wei flower, with his life and death unknown.
Why unknown?
Huang Tian has the power to destroy, but Hou Tu exists for protection.
Tian Zhu is the supreme offensive spell of Jiuyi Mountain, but Qian Shu is also the supreme defensive spell of Jiuyi Mountain.
Shi Ying finally said to Zhu Yan: “Every year, when the Xue Han Wei flowers bloom, that’s when I come back to see you.”
The next year, the Xue Han Wei flower bloomed, and Shi Ying returned from the petals.
Is it Shi Ying’s soul or Zhu Yan’s longing that returned? The audience debated.
Oriental Aesthetics
The characters in The Longest Promise are well written, the real-life shooting and special effects scenes are very oriental magical, and the worldview is also very oriental fantasy.
The pictures are beautifully made, and this beauty is a light and introverted beauty unique to Eastern aesthetics.
For example, in the setting of the heart bridge, flowers bloom into a bridge when the heart beats, making the heart concrete, and letting the audience clearly know the two people’s feelings without having to express them.
When expressing the complex emotional changes in Shi Ying’s heart, the special effects design accurately captured the unique element of Xue Hanwei, making full use of the ingenious changes in the shape and color of flowers to contribute to the audience with a number of classic special effects scenes, including weather changes, heart bridges, burning clouds, cloud control, spiritual enchantment, red and white flower trees.
These special effects scenes not only allow the audience to immerse themselves in the storyline but also make the entire drama extremely valuable to watch.
The dragon god of the mermaid is very domineering when he appears, the special effects are lifelike. The dedication of the team in front of and behind the scenes can be seen.
The worldview of the drama, such as the settings of Yunhuang and the mermaid, is very similar to the fantasy and romance of “The Classic of Mountains and Seas” and ancient Chinese strange novels.
Most of the spells in the drama are taken from elements of nature, such as water, wind, thunder, fire, etc. This setting is very consistent with the Eastern way of cultivation.
In addition, the play also draws on some Taoist ideas, such as the rules that spells need to borrow power from heaven, earth, and time. These rules are based on the Taoist traditional Chinese philosophy of “the unity of nature and man.”
The most powerful attack spell “Tian Zhu” borrows power from the sky, the most powerful defensive spell “Qian Shu” borrows power from the earth, and Zhu Yan’s “Xing Hui Xue Shi” borrows power from the time of nothingness.
In short, no matter from the perspective of character conception, personage casting, cultural connotation, magical style or emotional expression, and so on many aspects, it has presented an oriental visual feast to the audience.
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