The high number of watchers for Legend Of Zang Hai (藏海传) is a foregone conclusion given that it has Xiao Zhan as the male lead. With his popularity and huge fan base, there is bound to be a high level of attention and discussion on the drama. But what is more important to me is the script and its execution. While certain names might make me jump onboard, ultimately it takes more than a handsome or pretty face to make a truly great drama. My Legend Of Zang Hai review below will try to take a closer look at this production which garnered the highest viewing reservations for dramas on the Youku platform so far in 2025.
My rating: 8.5/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Mystery, Thriller
Aired: May 2025
Images credit: Douban Movie
The Cast Of Legend Of Zang Hai
- Sean Xiao Zhan as Zang Hai / Zhi Nu
- Zhang Jing Yi as Xiang An Tu / Princess Rou Yuan
- Liang Chao as Master Gao Ming
- Zhou Qi as Zhuang Zhi Xing
- Huang Jue as Zhuang Lu Yin / Marquis Ping Jin
- Zhao Zi Qi as Jiang Xiang
- Liu Chao as Zhuang Zhi Fu
- Song Yuan Fu as Guan Feng / Hui Jian
- Xing Min Shan as Eunuch Cao Jiang Xian
- Yang Yu Tong as 8th Young Master / Zhao Tong Er
- Sha Bao Liang as Chu Huai Ming
- Qiao Zhen Yu as Prince Yong Rong
- Tian Xiao Jie as Zhao Bing Wen
Main Characters
Zang Hai / Zhi Nu
Zang Hai’s real name is Zhi Nu. His father was Kuai Duo, the director of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau. Zang Hai is his assumed identity after the death of his father. He is a very intelligent man with specialties in construction mechanisms and geomancy. He is also a strategist and quick-thinker.
Xiang An Tu / Princess Rou Yuan
Xiang An Tu is the owner of Zhen Tower which is a popular entertainment centre for the rich and powerful. She has a hidden identity as a princess and has her own agenda. Xiang An Tu is a sophisticated and smart woman who can sense what is beneath the surface. She is good in martial arts and uses a whip as her weapon.
Supporting Characters
Master Gao Ming
Gao Ming is one of Zang Hai’s teachers. He specializes in diplomacy and strategy. He is an amiable man who also acts as Zang Hai’s mentor. Apart from Gao Ming, Zang Hai’s teachers are Xing Dou and Liu Chu.
Zhuang Zhi Xing
Zhi Xing is the second son of Marquis Ping Jin. He is an idler who spends his time fooling around by riding on his family’s wealth and status. Zhi Xing is a son of a concubine. His mother, Shen Wan, died when he was young. His father then became indifferent towards him and he ended up being an idle man with no sense of responsibility.
Zhuang Lu Yin / Marquis Ping Jin
Zhuang Lu Yin is an accomplished general who had won wars for Great Yong by defeating Dongxia and given the title of Marquis Ping Jin. He is a powerful man who is highly cautious and suspicious of those around him. He surrounds himself with 3 loyalists, namely Qu Jiao, Yang Zhen, and Chu Huai Ming who also act as his gatekeepers. Marquis Ping Jin is a ruthless and result-oriented man who will discard those who have failed him in favor of people who can bring him solutions and benefits.
Jiang Xiang
Jiang Xiang is Marquis Ping Jin’s official wife. She appears as kind on the outside but is a scheming woman beneath the surface. Her father was a minister and hence, she comes from a powerful family. Jiang Xiang has a son with Marquis Ping Jin.
Zhuang Zhi Fu
Zhi Fu is Marquis Ping Jin’s eldest son with Jiang Xiang. He is the designated heir of the Zhuang family. He is also the Vice Minister of Works. However, Zhi Fu is a greedy man who is corrupt and shortsighted.
Guan Feng / Hui Jian
Guan Feng was Zang Hai’s father’s disciple. He grew up together with Zang Hai. Hui Jian is his assumed identity. Guan Feng became acquainted with Shi Lei while roaming the streets after his master’s death.
Eunuch Cao Jiang Xian
Eunuch Cao is the head of eunuchs in the palace. He is a very powerful and influential eunuch due to his proximity to the Emperor. However, he is also corrupt and ruthless. He has a few foster children who does his bidding including Lu Jin, Lu Yan, and Lu Ran. Eunuch Cao is also an opera lover.
8th Young Master / Zhao Tong Er
8th Young Master is a popular behind the scene storyteller in Zhen Tower. She is actually a woman impersonating a man to do what she loves. She has to hide her identity as she comes from a noble family. Her real name is Zhao Tong Er and she is Xiang An Tu’s best friend since young.
Chu Huai Ming
Chu Huai Ming is the director of Imperial Astronomy Bureau. He took over the position from Zang Hai’s father after the latter’s death. He was Kuai Duo’s student but betrayed him and switched camp to become Marquis Ping Jin’s underling to climb the ranks.
Prince Yong Rong
Prince Yong Rong is the Emperor’s younger brother. He is an antique coin collector. He has his own powerful clique and many would bribe their way to be in his circle.
Zhao Bing Wen / Lord Zhao
Lord Zhao is the Minister of Revenue and Deputy Chief Secretary. He is a senior and respected member of the government administration. Lord Zhao appears as a responsible and hardworking minister. Another senior official is Shi Yi Ping who is the Chief Secretary.
Synopsis
Zang Hai witnessed his whole family being killed by Marquis Ping Jin when he was a boy. Marquis Ping Jin had demanded for a relic which Zang Hai’s father refused to give. Hence, his whole family was massacred. Zang Hai survived because he was hiding in an underground tunnel and was subsequently saved by a masked man who claimed to be his father’s friend.
Zang Hai’s savior sent him to study under a few masters in preparation for his revenge. His face was also changed to ensure his identity remains untraceable. 10 years later, he returns to the capital to start his revenge plot. In order to do so, he has to scheme to get close to Marquis Ping Jin. He rises through the ranks to become his advisor but has to delay his plan of killing the marquis when he learns that there are more people involved in his father’s death. Thus, Zang Hai has to flush out the other hidden conspirators amidst a corrupted administration system.
Along the way, Zang Hai befriends the rich Xiang An Tu who runs an entertainment centre in the capital. Unbeknownst to him, Xiang An Tu is a hostage princess from Dongxia who has her own secret agenda.
Legend Of Zang Hai Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)
Legend Of Zang Hai has a happy ending. Lord Zhao who is the final villain dies in the mountainous shrine where the Gui Seal was found by Kuai Duo. When Zang Hai and Xiang An Tu explored the shrine earlier, they found out that the paint used for the murals can make people hallucinate that they are being attacked by ghost soldiers. They also found a manuscript that explains that a mixture of blood and Gui Seal will produce a rare poison that can make people invincible which is how the ghost soldiers come about. But they won’t be able to distinguish friend from foe which is why the relic must not be used. Only the royal blood of the Dongxia Queen could detoxify the poison.
After the Emperor obtained all the fish tokens to open the Gui Seal, he couldn’t contain his curiosity and greed. But he dies after opening it. Hence, the relic falls into the hands of Lord Zhao who wants to use it to turn Dongxia laborers into ghost soldiers for his imperialistic ambition. However, Lord Zhao doesn’t know that the ghost soldiers cannot be controlled. So, Zang Hai tricks him to venture into the shrine to look for the secret to control the ghost soldiers. Lord Zhao dies when he hallucinates that he is being killed by ghost soldiers in the shrine while Zhi Xing helps Zang Hai to neutralize Lord Zhao’s men.
Drama Ending
Zang Hai takes possession of the Gui Seal and vows to make it vanish after studying all its secrets. He returns to the capital with Zhi Xing who is rewarded for helping to bring down Lord Zhao. Zhi Xing is now a marquis and gets to go back to his old home. Liu Chu is seen offering prayers at Gao Ming’s tomb. Zang Hai has left Guan Feng and Shi Lei money and the house in the capital. He has requested to resign and retire as an official from the new Emperor who gives his consent. Zang Hao then leaves the capital with Xiang An Tu.
Who Is Xiang An Tu & 8th Young Master?
Xiang An Tu’s flashback in Episode 11 confirms her identity as the Princess of Dongxia. After Dongxia’s defeat in the war, she was brought to Great Yong as a hostage princess. Her identity is exposed when she walks into a trap set by Zang Hai to flush out the 3rd villain who killed his family in Episode 24. Zang Hai captures and imprisons her in his residence after knowing her identity. He is told by Zhi Xing that her mother, the Queen of Dongxia, is the 3rd villain.
In Episode 21, 8th Young Master is revealed to be the daughter of Lord Zhao who is the Minister of Revenue. Both the 8th Young Master and Xiang An Tu are friends from young.
When Did The Leads Get Together?
Zang Hai and Xiang An Tu become closer after cooperating a few times. They become good friends in Episode 15 after she helped him to kill Eunuch Cao’s foster son who has found out his identity is suspect. Xiang An Tu hints to Zang Hai about their feelings for each other in Episode 18 but he is hesitant due to his plan to gain revenge. He uses her anger at his nonchalance to create a distance between them in Episode 19 so as not to drag her into his mess.
When Zang Hai discovers that Xiang An Tu is a Dongxia Princess in Episode 24, he imprisons her as he thought her mother was involved in his family’s killing. Xuang An Tu is both angry and disappointed that Zang Hai refuses to believe her in Episode 25. In Episode 28, Xiang An Tu is worried for both her mother and Zang Hai when he seems resolute in his quest for revenge. She is afraid that he is no match for her mother and could get himself killed.
Xiang An Tu pleads with Zang Hai to escape together and forget about their identities and mission in Episode 29. He turns her down. She offers her own life in place for her mother’s when Zang Hai is about to kill the latter in Episode 30. Her mother stops her and knocks her unconscious. By the time she awakens, the misunderstanding between Zang Hai and the Queen of Dongxia has been resolved. The queen is not a villain. With that knowledge, Xiang An Tu and Zang Hai become a couple after a heart-to-heart talk in Episode 31.
Zang Hai’s Identity Reveal
The first person to know Zang Hai is Zhi Nu is Zhi Xing in Episode 11. This is after Zang Hai’s scars on his back become exposed which confirms Zhi Xing’s suspicions. Zhi Xing wants to expose Zang Hai’s identity but changes his mind in Episode 12 after learning that his mother was poisoned to death with his father’s knowledge. His father needed the backing of his official wife’s family to gain political power and hence, neglected his mother. The official wife, Jiang Xiang, also framed Zhi Xing’s mother for having an affair with her physician.
Zang Hai reveals his secret to Xiang An Tu in Episode 24 after setting a trap to flush out the 3rd villain. He is shocked when it turns out to be Xiang An Tu who admits that she has a deal with Eunuch Cao to look for the relic but denies her involvement in his family’s massacre.
Zang Hai also reveals his identity to Marquis Ping Jin after the latter was imprisoned for a bribery case in Episode 26. Eunuch Cao is suspicious of him after he set a trap to try to kill the eunuch in Episode 29. Zang Hai reveals his identity to Eunuch Cao in Episode 32 when the latter arrives with his men to grab the Gui Seal which he has stolen from the palace. Eunuch Cao knows his moves because Shi Quan is his spy in Zang Hai’s astronomy bureau.
Zang Hi is forced to confess to the Emperor his identity as Kuai Duo’s son in Episode 33 in a desperate gamble to save Xiang An Tu who has been imprisoned for the Gui Seal’s theft. To clear her name, Zang Hai confesses to the Emperor who he is and why he had stolen the relic.
The Villains’ Identity
Zang Hai learns that there are 3 people involved in his father’s death in Episode 10. This is after his reckless plot to kill Marquis Ping Jin is foiled by his secret savior who tells him to be patient and uncover all the conspirators first. Zang Hai is told that Eunuch Cao is the second figure behind his family’s killing apart from Marquis Ping Jin. However, the 3rd villain is still a mystery.
Zang Hai then schemes to create a rift between Marquis Ping Jin and Eunuch Cao in Episode 14 in order to flush out the last villain. He obtains Marquis Ping Jin’s total trust in Episode 16 after Chu Huai Ming’s geomancy reading is proven wrong while his is right. Chu Huai Ming is exiled and subsequently, dies. The rift between the 2 powerful men breaks out into the open in Episode 23 after Zang Hai deceived Eunuch Cao that Marquis Ping Jin already has the item they are looking for through a clueless Zhi Fu.
The rift between the 2 men results in Marquis Ping Jin’s downfall. The marquis then has to rely on Zhi Xing to obtain back the family’s power. So, he tells Zhi Xing about the Gui Seal. Zhi Xing then tells Zang Hai that the 3rd villain is the Queen of Dongxia in Episode 26 which is not true.
The 3rd Villain
The 3rd villain is also Zang Hai’s savior. Lord Zhao reveals himself to Zang Hai in Episode 34 after the latter has already confessed his identity to the Emperor. He claims in Episode 35 that he kept his identity hidden from Zang Hai because he didn’t want their connection to be exposed. He also says that he owed Kuai Duo a debt of gratitude for past support.
Lord Zhao then tries to lead Zang Hai to conclude that Lord Shi is the last villain but fails. Zang Hai pretends to want to resign and leave the capital instead in Episode 36. As he has the third fish token to open the Gui Seal box, whoever tries to make him stay would naturally be a suspect. Lord Zhao happens to persuade him to stay.
Zang Hai’s investigation then reveals that Lord Zhao, Eunuch Cao, and Marquis Ping Jin were ex-classmates. He confronts Lord Zhao who admits that he is the last villain in Episode 37. The 3 men were already allies back in school because they were looked down upon by their noble classmates. This made them believe in the importance of power. After killing their bully, Eunuch Cao was expelled for suspected involvement. That was why he took the route to become a eunuch. While Kuai Duo had helped Lord Zhao before, they weren’t friends as implied earlier.
The 3 villains story was created to push Zang Hai to continue living with revenge in mind because Lord Zhao needs him to locate the Gui Seal eventually. With the reveal, Lord Zhao has also plotted to have Zang Hai arrested and killed in Episode 38. But Gao Ming saves Zang Hai and gets him out of the city. Gao Ming then dies after having drunk Lord Zhao’s poisoned tea.
What Happens To Marquis Ping Jin?
Zang Hai’s maneuverings caused a rift between Eunuch Cao and Marquis Ping Jin. The corrupt Zhi Fu is used by Eunuch Cao to force Marquis Ping Jin to hand over the relic. Zhi Fu is then tortured and crippled during the corruption investigation in Episode 24. He becomes a mentally-retarded cripple. With the open fight between the 2 old men, the Emperor strips Marquis Ping Jin of his titles and position in Episode 25.
As a result, Marquis Ping Jin listens to Zang Hai and makes Zhi Xing his legitimate heir to replace Zhi Fu. This incurs the wrath of his official wife, Jiang Xiang, in Episode 26 who then reports him to the Emperor for bribery in his effort to elevate Zhi Xing.
Consequently, Marquis Ping Jin is imprisoned and the family assets are seized as punishment in Episode 27. Jiang Xiang then poisons her son and daughter-in-law to death and commits suicide following the family’s downfall. Marquis Ping Jin is seen as rebelling after his soldiers were tricked by Zang Hai to rescue him from prison. Zhi Xing tries to stop him. As they fight, Marquis Ping Jin grabs Zhi Xing’s sword and pierces it into his own body to kill himself in Episode 28. Thus, Zhi Xing is seen to have killed his own father who is a rebel so that he won’t be implicated and still has a chance to revive the family’s name.
What Happens To Eunuch Cao?
After learning that the relic is in the Emperor’s private hall, Zang Hai steals it in order to flush out the last villain. When Eunuch Cao knows Zang Hai has successfully taken the Gui Seal out, he grabs it from him in Episode 32. The Queen of Dongxia and her subordinates try to stop Eunuch Cao and his men. The fight results in the death of the queen when she uses her body to block Xiang An Tu and Zang Hai from shots fired by Eunuch Cao. But she manages to fling her sword at Eunuch Cao before she dies. The eunuch ends up severely injured.
Eunuch Cao passes the Gui Seal to the third villain in his critical state. He is found dead in his mansion together with his men in Episode 34.
The Secret Relic
Marquis Ping Jin opens up about the relic to Zang Hai in Episode 17. This is after he mistakenly thought he could trust Zang Hai. He also thinks Zang Hai could help him to locate the item with the latter’s geomancy skills. The relic is the Gui Seal and belongs to Dongxia.
The Queen of Dongxia had used it to control a group of ghost soldiers which was why they lost the first war with Dongxia. However, Dongxia lost the protection of the seal 6 years later which resulted in their defeat in the next war. Marquis Ping Jin believes Kuai Duo took the Gui Seal and had hidden it. He killed Kuai Duo and his family because Kuai Duo refused to hand it over. Zang Hai’s savior believes both Eunuch Cao and Marquis Ping Jin want the Gui Seal because it can help them to solidify their power in Episode 28.
Dongxia’s Treasure
In Episode 30, the Queen of Dongxia tells Zang Hai that she and his father were friends. She was saved by Kuai Duo while being chased by rebels following Dongxia’s defeat in the war with Great Yong. When Kuai Duo found the Gui Seal, he was rushing back to Great Yong and refused to hand it over to the Queen of Dongxia who warned him that the relic is ominous. It seemed that Kuai Duo knew about the seal and was under the Emperor’s orders to retrieve it.
In Episode 31, the queen further reveals that legend has it that the relic belonged to the tribe’s ancestor, Lady of Kunlun. Years later, the tribe’s female general was seen carrying the seal while conquering lands and became the first ruler of Dongxia. But her body changed and she suffered backlash due to the seal. So, she ordered for the relic to be sealed up and buried with her when she died.
300 years later, the queen’s mother found it and used it in the war against Great Yong. But a tragedy ensued and she also suffered a backlash after using the Gui Seal. Hence, the previous queen hid it again and decreed that it mustn’t be found and used until Kuai Duo got his hands on it. Kuai Duo must have given the relic to the Emperor as ordered but he kept the 3 bronze fish tokens which are the keys to open the seal box. Each of the villain has taken a token each after Kuai Duo was killed.
The Relic’s Location
After clearing their misunderstanding, Zang Hai and the Queen of Dongxia become allies in looking for the Gui Seal in Episode 31. With the queen’s special compass and Marquis Ping Jin’s bronze fish token, it points to the Emperor’s private hall as the seal’s location in Episode 31. Through his spies around the palace, Eunuch Cao also comes to know where the seal is hidden after they observed Zang Hai wandering around the palace grounds.
Legend Of Zang Hai Review – Whodunit Thriller
By and large, Legend Of Zang Hai is an entertaining historical thriller drama. Zang Hai saw his family being killed when his father refused to hand over an item that the killer demanded when he was a boy. He was saved by a masked man who claimed to be his father’s friend. Zang Hai was then sent to be taught by mainly 2 masters to prepare him for revenge 10 years down the line. So, this story is about revenge and how Zang Hai unearths the people responsible for his family’s killing.
Revenge plots are certainly not new. Kill Me Love Me and The Story Of Pearl Girl are 2 of many dramas with revenge in the storyline. But what sets Legend Of Zang Hai apart is the path it takes and its execution. It is modeled as a whodunit with the identity of the last villain being kept hidden all the way until the last few episodes. Along the way, you are left guessing who it could be with a few possibilities being thrown at you. Thus, the chase factor is pretty high for this drama as you will watch one episode after another to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Apart from flushing out all the villains (and Zang Hai’s savior), it is also about how to take them down and the mystery behind the item that his father gave his life to protect. All these tie up well by the end of the drama. Every character has a reason to be there no matter how minor. And many of them will make you wonder if they are good or bad with their brand of storytelling.
Immersive Watch
Legend Of Zang Hai is a very addictive drama if you are into conspiracies, mystery, and revenge. Often, you have to wonder if a particular character can be trusted or otherwise. As the story moves forward, the addiction increases as the last villain remains a big mystery. Hence, the drama doesn’t feel draggy at all. It is not only about the villains but the mind games that go on behind the scenes to achieve the characters’ aims.
So, being a drama that is heavy in conspiracies and strategies, it could well be boring for some people. Because the story is layered and the characters are not always what they seem, you can get lost if you don’t concentrate while watching. Romance is also minimal in this drama although some might expect a love story with the female lead’s presence. Whatever romance is there, it is light and simplistic with much of the screen time devoted to the conspiracies and revenge strategies.
While Legend Of Zang Hai is good, it doesn’t have the same depth as Nirvana In Fire and Joy Of Life. The mind games are more compelling in the former and more elaborate in the latter. But the whodunit factor in Legend Of Zang Hai is still very intriguing and it will keep you watching to the end. However, the one complaint that I have also has to do with its ending.
Rushed Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
To me, the ending of Legend Of Zang Hai feels a bit rushed. The last arc seems to have been put together in a way to make it fit exactly 40 episodes rather than in a manner that gives the story a better finish. For instance, what the male lead intends to do to the relic that started the whole revenge saga is only given a cursory account towards the end. It is a dangerous and powerful relic but we are not told exactly how the male protagonist will deal with it and all its secrets. We are just told that he will study it and then make it vanish. Just like that, the relic which forms the cornerstone of the story is reduced to a mere footnote in the end.
A lot is stuffed into the last few episodes that elaborate schemes that define the drama in the earlier parts are replaced by convenient and quick happenings towards the end. Although we get an ending that is sensible, it would have been better if an episode or two have been added to smooth things out.
One other thing that bothers me is how the Emperor died. It is not shown what happened to him. A logical assumption is he is poisoned by the villain but this is not made clear to the viewers. You just have to make your own deductions for certain events along the way. Not everything is explicitly spelled out for the benefit of the viewers including the male protagonist’s masters’ backstories.
Acting
I have to say that Xiao Zhan is remarkable in his role as Zang Hai. I prefer his acting here than in The Longest Promise. Zang Hai is a strategist who has to put on an act in front of different people. He is also someone who hides his innermost hurt where his family is concerned. Xiao Zhan is able to consolidate these different facades and emotions of the character to give us a very convincing Zang Hai. Throughout most of the drama, he is a calm official who is always thinking a few steps ahead. But for the scenes where he has to cry in agony for his lost parents, the emotion seems so real.
The 2 men who played the marquis and eunuch also deserve compliments. The marquis has the aura of a general that befits the character while the eunuch appears creepy with the actor’s gripping portrayal.
While I do like Zhang Jing Yi’s acting in Blossoms In Adversity, somehow I feel that she is somewhat lacking playing a princess in Legend Of Zang Hai. Maybe the role doesn’t really give her the opportunity to rise up as she is always playing second fiddle to Xiao Zhan’s Zang Hai. If I’m not mistaken, she doesn’t even appear in every episode. So, she is overshadowed by him in my opinion.
My Verdict – Watch!
I believe most people would enjoy Legend Of Zang Hai. This has nothing to do with the fact that Xiao Zhan is the male lead although he did well in his role. Even for a non-fan, this drama has the right ingredients for a revenge and mystery thriller. From the array of characters to make you suspicious to the mystery behind an ancient relic, they will make you hooked from start to finish. The way in which the conspiracy and villains are tied together will also leave you marveling at the cleverness of the plot. Deceptive strategies with brilliant storytelling that blur the truth means you would be guessing who is good and who is evil. As the villain puts it in the drama, the best deception is to mix mainly truths with one lie.
On the flip side, the romance in this drama is a big meh. It is indeed only a subplot but at times, it also feels flimsy. There is no real foundation to the couple’s love. Therefore, you can skip this if all you want is a good romance. This drama is also not for those who want to see more action. It is more of a slow climb towards vengeance. In that sense, you need patience to watch as this is very much a plot-driven drama.
For this Legend Of Zang Hai review, I would rate it 8.5/10. I like it for its gripping tale and the guesswork needed to figure out the last villain. It is definitely worth your time if you are into intelligent political revenge dramas. It is a satisfying watch to see the male protagonist outsmarting those more powerful than him. He is a flawed hero consumed by vengeance for sure. But you will still find yourself rooting for him nonetheless.
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