Ancient Love Poetry Review

It has been some time since I last watched a xianxia romance drama. The last one was Love And Redemption which is an epic. So, I was kind of looking forward to Ancient Love Poetry (千古玦尘) although I just completed Falling Into Your Smile which is yet another Xu Kai drama. I know the rating is not too good in China with many complaints raised about the actress. But is the low score justified? Well, we shall see in my Ancient Love Poetry review below.

My rating: 8/10
Episodes: 49
Type: Xianxia Romance
Aired: June 2021
Images Credit: Tencent

The Cast Of Ancient Love Poetry

• Zhou Dong Yu as Shang Gu / Hou Chi
• Xu Kai as Bai Jue / Qing Mu / Bo Xuan
• Jenny Zhang Jia Ni as Wu Huan
• Fu Xin Bo as Mu Guang
• Liu Xue Yi as Tian Qi / Jing Yuan
• Li Ze Feng as Zhi Yang
• Leon Lai Yi as Gu Jun
• Luo Qiu Yun as Yue Mi
• Zhang Ya Qin as Feng Ran
• Huang Jue as Sen Jian
• Leon Zhang Yun Long as Jing Jian
• Zhong Qi as Jing Zhao
• Hao Shuai as Jing Yang
• Liu Meng Meng as Xue Ying
• Zhang Xiao Chen as Xuan Yi
• Huang Yi as Hong Ri
• Lu Peng as Zi Han
• Hankiz Omar as Feng Yan

Main Characters

Shang Gu / Hou Chi

Shang Gu is the designated Chief God who would rule the 3 realms. She has the duty to protect the world from destruction through the Power of Chaos which she has to master. But Shang Gu is young and playful with a weak cultivation base.

Hou Chi is one of the goddesses of the Immortal Realm after Shang Gu’s death 60,000 years earlier. She looks like Shang Gu and is the princess of Qing Chi Palace. But she also has poor cultivation skills despite working hard. Her father is Gu Jun.

Bai Jue / Qing Mu / Bo Xuan

Bai Jue is one of the 4 True Gods of the God Realm. He is dashing but cold and emotionless. Bai Jue is not interested in relationships and can be stern and curt. He is a powerful god who is feared by many. Bo Xuan is his other identity in the Immortal realm.

Qing Mu is Lord of the North Sea and a young immortal with high cultivation powers despite his young age. He looks like Bai Jue who has disappeared years ago.

Wu Huan

Wu Huan is from the Feng Clan. She is a lowly-ranked maid who was chosen by Shang Gu to be her divine beast. Wu Huan is an ambitious immortal who wants to escape being bullied and looked down upon due to her low status in the clan. She shows interest in Gu Jun.

Mu Guang

Mu Guang is Goddess Yue Mi’s disciple. He is picked to be trained at the God Realm due to his skills. He is a good immortal who tries to do the right thing and prefers peace over war. Mu Guang has feelings for Wu Huan.

Tian Qi / Jing Yuan

Tian Qi is one of the 4 True Gods of the God Realm. He is also a Demon God in an era where gods and demons are friends. He can be a little impulsive and likes arguing with Bai Jue but in a good-natured way. Tian Qi cares a lot for Shang Gu and would do anything for her.

Jing Yuan is Tian Qi’s other identity in the Demon Realm after Shang Gu’s death.

Supporting Characters

Zhi Yang

Zhi Yang is one of the True Gods of the God Realm. He is a calm and rational god and is in charge of the 3 realms’ affairs.

Gu Jun

Gu Jun is Shang Gu’s hand-picked disciple. He is Mu Guang’s peer and they are good friends while training in the God Realm. Gu Jun can be very determined and is a highly principled immortal. Qing Chi Palace is his base after Shang Gu’s death while Hou Chi is his daughter.

Yue Mi

Yue Mi is the Star Goddess. She took care of Shang Gu when the latter was young. They have a very close relationship. Yue Mi loves Tian Qi but keeps her feelings hidden.

Feng Ran

Feng Ran is Gu Jun’s loyal assistant. She runs Qing Chi Palace in his absence. Feng Ran is indebted to Gu Jun for sheltering her from her enemies in the past. She is also Hou Chi’s guardian and they have a close bond.

Sen Jian

Sen Jian is the Demon King. He reports to Tian Qi and is loyal to him despite apprehensions over some of Tian Qi’s actions concerning Hou Chi. Sen Yu is his son.

Jing Jian, Jing Zhao & Jing Yang

They are Mu Guang and Wu Huan’s children. Jing Yang and Jing Jian are their eldest and second son respectively while Jing Zhao is their daughter. Jing Yang tends to listen to his mother and is the ruthless one between the 2 brothers. On the other hand, Jing Jian has a kind heart and is an upright immortal. He has feelings for Feng Ran.

Jing Zhao is a spoilt princess who is arrogant. She loves Qing Mu and is adamant on marrying him. She also hates Hou Chi whom she thinks is inferior to her.

Xue Ying

Xue Ying is the Snow Goddess who is obsessed over Bai Jue. She is willing to do anything to be close to him.

Xuan Yi

Xuan Yi is the Devil God who has been imprisoned in the Nether World. He was once the designated Chief God until he rebelled against the God Realm and was banished to the Nether World. Xuan Yi’s ambition is to defeat the God Realm and rule over the 3 realms. Mo Yu is his assistant.

Hong Ri & Zi Han

Hong Ri and Zi Han is Bai Jue’s and Tian Qi’s divine beast respectively. They are very loyal and have been with their respective master for thousands of years.

Feng Yan

Feng Yan is from the Feng Clan and a Fire Phoenix. She is the designated divine beast for Shang Gu. Her love interest is Wu Xi.

Synopsis

The world consists of the God, Immortal, and Demon realms with all being in peace and harmony. There is also the Nether World which has been used to house the devils with a barrier erected to stop them from escaping. Xuan Yi is the overlord of the Nether World and has been trapped to prevent him from creating havoc. Shang Gu is born out of the last breath of the Ancestral God and has the responsibility of becoming the Chief God and obtain the Power Of Chaos. Only she has the means to save the world from destruction.

However, Shang Gu has poor cultivation skills and is a lazy learner. Bai Jue is one of the True Gods and he is tasked to teach Shang Gu. He has a cold personality but many female admirers due to his good looks and status. Shang Gu starts off disliking him but gradually falls in love with him. She manages to melt Bai Jue’s heart and he too begins to fall for her. But this invites jealousy from the Snow Goddess who colludes with the devils to undermine the security of the realms. In the process, she ropes in the insecured but ambitious Wu Huan who is Shang Gu’s divine assistant.

As a result, Xuan Yi is freed from his shackles after Shang Gu sacrifices herself to save the realms from destruction during the Tribulation of Chaos. A war breaks out between the devils and the gods. Bai Jue kills Xuan Yi but disappears thereafter. The God realm is destroyed and abandoned. 60,000 years later, 2 immortals resembling Shang Gu and Bai Jue appear as Hou Chi and Qing Mu respectively. But they have no recollection of the past.

Ancient Love Poetry Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Ancient Love Poetry has a happy ending. Bai Jue returns 500 years later after sacrificing himself to stop the Tribulation of Chaos which could destroy the world. He quietly planned for it and carried out the sacrifice so that Shang Gu doesn’t have to do so as the Chief God. Bai Jue pretended that he doesn’t care about Shang Gu anymore to make her hate him. He thought that doing so would save Shang Gu the heartache when he dies.

Shang Gu was devastated after learning what Bai Jue had done for her. She knelt before the Ancestral God for 500 years to plead for Bai Jue’s return. Her plea was granted in the end. The last scene shows Bai Jue’s re-appearance and their reunion.

Is Hou Chi Shang Gu’s Reincarnation?

Hou Chi is actually reborn from part of Shang Gu’s spiritual strength. During the Tribulation of Chaos, Shang Gu sacrificed herself to protect the world. Bai Jue was unwilling to let her die just like that. He kept part of Shang Gu’s spiritual strength and nourished it together with Gu Jun. After tens of thousands of years, Hou Chi was born and became Gu Jun’s daughter. Gu Jun used to be in a relationship with Wu Huan then and Hou Chi was made out to be their daughter.

Bai Jue had sealed Hou Chi’s spiritual strength when she was born as Shang Gu’s last wish was to live an ordinary life rather than bear the heavy responsibility of being a goddess. That is why Hou Chi has weak cultivation powers.

Hou Chi died after delivering her son and re-awakened as Shang Gu in Episode 43. This is after Gu Jun returned Shang Gu’s original being into Hou Chi’s body in Episode 41. He did it to keep Hou Chi and the baby alive after a sneaky attack by Wu Huan.

Who Is Bo Xuan And Qing Mu?

Bo Xuan is actually Bai Jue. He wore a mask and lived in seclusion in Qing Chi Palace to secretly take care of Hou Chi. By then, the God Realm had been sealed up after the Tribulation of Chaos and the war with the Devils.

Bo Xuan subsequently disappeared from Hou Chi’s life. He promised Hou Chi that he will return after 10,000 years. This is because Bai Jue found out a way to cultivate the Power of Chaos which is needed to tame the Tribulation of Chaos. He wanted to be the sacrificial lamb on Shang Gu’s behalf so that she can stay safe.

To successfully cultivate the Power of Chaos, one needs to have both the demonic and immortal powers. As Bai Jue has immortal powers in him, he can’t simply absorb demonic powers without harming himself. Hence, Bai Jue split up from his original being and fell into deep slumber to give rise to Qing Mu. Qing Mu will cultivate the demonic powers in him and when the time comes, he will be merged back into Bai Jue’s being. What Bai Jue couldn’t foresee though is for Qing Mu to gain his own spiritual root and eventually falls in love with Hou Chi.

Bai Jue re-awakened and took back Qing Mu’s body in Episode 38.

What Happened To Wu Huan?

Wu Huan was defeated by Shang Gu, Tian Qi, and Bai Jue when she tried to kill all of them. She didn’t want the True Gods to come back and re-open the God Realm as that would mean that the Immortal Realm that she was ruling together with Mu Guang would be subservient to them. Her past as a lowly maid made her insecure and she wanted to be the ruler rather than be ruled. Moreover, Wu Huan killed Yue Mi and she needed to hide the secret from being exposed.

Wu Huan knew she needed more cultivation power in order to defeat the True Gods. Thus, she switched to cultivating demonic powers until she reached the level of the Devil God. Wu Huan thought she had killed Tian Qi and Bai Jue separately before confronting Shang Gu. But the 2 gods were only putting up an act to trap her. Then, they surprised Wu Huan by combining their powers to defeat her.

Shang Gu punished Wu Huan by reducing her to neither an immortal, demon, or human. She will simply exist and will not grow old or die. In the end, Wu Huan went crazy because her sons and husband left her.

Who Is Feng Ran?

Feng Ran grew up as an orphan. She was abandoned in a swamp when she was a baby. But she is actually Feng Yan and Wu Xi’s daughter which means she is a Fire Phoenix like her mother and destined to be the Feng Clan’s leader. Wu Huan killed Feng Yan and Wu Xi because she was afraid Feng Yan would return to take her place as Shang Gu’s divine beast.

The Fate Of Other Characters

• Mu Guang turned himself into a stone dragon at the border to ensure peace between the immortals and demons in Episode 48. He felt guilty for failing in his duty to watch over the 3 realms entrusted to him by the True Gods when he covered up for Wu Huan.
• Jing Jian died when he sacrificed himself to protect Feng Ran and stop the battle between the immortals and demons in Episode 47.
• Jing Yang left for the Human Realm to make his contribution. He wanted to repent for his mistakes and didn’t agree with his mother anymore in Episode 48.
• Jing Zhao is the only one left to look after Wu Huan who has gone crazy in Episode 49.
• Feng Ran took over Mu Guang’s position as Queen of the Immortal Realm. She still misses Jing Jian.
• Gu Jun died after extracting Shang Gu’s original being from his body and implanting it into Hou Chi in Episode 41.
• Yue Mi died as she shielded Tian Qi from being killed by Wu Huan in Episode 14.
• Tian Qi still thinks of Yue Mi. He decided love is not for him in Episode 49.
• Xue Ying sacrificed herself to kill Mo Yu during the war with the Devils in Episode 16.
• Sen Jian died when Tian Qi withdrew the Purple Moon which the Demons needed for cultivation in Episode 42.
• Chang Qin decided to go to the Human Realm and leave Sen Yu as she felt they couldn’t go back to the past in Episode 49.
• The God Realm is re-opened and Shang Gu re-awakened Zhi Yang in Episode 48.
• Zi Yan died after being killed by Jing Yang in Episode 42.
• Hong Ri was reincarnated as a fox and seen again in human form in Episode 49.

Ancient Love Poetry Review – Need Some Warming Up!

The way I see it is that there are 2 main reasons why you might end up abandoning Ancient Love Poetry after a few episodes. One is the actress. It is a case of love or hate. If you love Zhou Dong Yu as Shang Gu, it is easier to enjoy the story. This is because everything that happens revolves around her. Hence, if you think she was wrongly casted as the female lead, then it might just turn you off as you watch. For me, I don’t think she is perfect for the role. It took me some time to warm up to her and the way she portrayed the role with her smiles. She just doesn’t have the aura of a Chief God to me.

Two is the slow start. The beginning plot is very typical of a xianxia drama. The presence of an imprisoned Demon Lord trying to break free and a young goddess falling in love with a more matured and cold god actually remind me of Love And Destiny and Eternal Love Of Dream. So, the familiar storyline is there but the good news is it is condensed to about 16 episodes before the second arc begins. Nevertheless, that is still 16 episodes to sit through if you find the start to be boring.

In short, Ancient Love Poetry will need some warming up for a section of viewers before the story starts to get more captivating and you begin to get used to the female lead. Basically, some patience is needed if you can’t get into the story from the word go.

Interesting Overall Plot

Despite the familiar opening plot, I find the story takes a more refreshing turn after 16 episodes. There is a certain anticipation of how Hou Chi, Bo Xuan, and Qing Mu are related to Shang Gu and Bai Jue. You know there is a connection there which would make you look forward to the moment everything is revealed. So, the boredom dissipates by the time you reach the second arc of the story.

In addition, the supporting characters are interesting to give a more complete and satisfying drama. Despite being gods and immortals, they have their struggles and selfishness to protect the person they loved such as Tian Qi and Mu Guang. Most dramas do not have well-developed supporting characters but not Ancient Love Poetry. I think the team did well to give more life to these characters to heighten the viewers’ emotions to the story.

Acting And Chemistry

As mentioned, I’m not too gung-ho about Zhou Dong Yu’s portrayal of Shang Gu. It has nothing to do with her looks. Instead, the switch from a playful to a more commanding goddess is not obvious when required. She doesn’t have the screen presence to carry that aura of a Chief God convincingly. In contrast, I think Yang Mi did it better in Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms as one can see her character’s commanding nature when the scene calls for it.

In a way, Zhou Dong Yu’s performance seems to be overshadowed by Jenny Zhang’s portrayal of Wu Huan to me. Wu Huan is a hateful but insecure character due to her past experience. But the way Jenny Zhang displays Wu Huan’s regal stature and deceit is very persuasive which is why it is easy for viewers to hate her.

As for Xu Kai, playing Bai Jue or Qing Mu isn’t really a problem to him anymore. He is a pretty versatile actor and can be cold or mischievous like in Dance Of The Sky Empire. At least, I can detect a difference in Xu Kai’s portrayal of Bai Jue and Qing Mu which are 2 different characters in the drama.

The chemistry between Zhou Dong Yu and Xu Kai isn’t off the charts but good enough to make it watchable to me. There are sad moments for the couple in the drama and their watery eyes could break your heart. This is where this couple could hook you and make it hard for you to let them go after the drama is over. But generally, I find that the teasings, quarrels, hugs, and kisses are like most on-screen couples which is nothing really extraordinary.

My Verdict – Watch!

Ancient Love Poetry isn’t perfect but the overall plot is good enough to keep you interested once you have warmed up to the story and actress. It is the initial stage that you possibly need to get over to go on to enjoy the drama. Moreover, not everyone will find the first arc to be boring. It really depends on your tolerance level for recycled plots. It is also obvious that this is a high budget production compared to the usual romance dramas. The CGIs are realistic and costumes look beautiful. All these little details add up to give viewers a quality production.

My opinion is not to let the actress and first few episodes to bother you too much if those are what make you hesitant. Be a little patient to wait for the story to unfold. I know 16 out of 49 episodes is a little long to gauge if it is worth watching but I think the characters will grow on you as you follow their journey. I see this as a plot-driven drama and the supporting characters also have their own backstories to keep things more engaging.

For this Ancient Love Poetry review, I would give it a score of 8/10. Some would love it while others would end up dropping it. I’m not crazy over it like some fans and I don’t think this is the best drama for 2021 because the chemistry could be better and the ending is rather predictable and simplistic especially the last scene. But it is still worth a watch for the plot and well-developed characters. Don’t be swayed by the high ratings by international audience and the low ratings by Chinese viewers. To me, it is somewhere between the 2 and that is a fairer assessment for Ancient Love Poetry.