Feng Huo Liu Jin / Winner is King / Sha Po Lang 烽火流金 [Pending]

[Tofu]

Feng Huo Liu Jin / Winner is King / Sha Po Lang 烽火流金

 

Chinese Title: Feng Huo Liu Jin 烽火流金

English Title: Winner is King

Novel: Sha Po Lang 杀破狼 by Priest 

Director: Zhou Yuan Zhou (Previously directed Guardian)

Filming Locations: Xiangshan Film City, Hengdian World Studios

Genre: BL, Historical, Political, Action
Episodes: 40

Broadcasting Network: Tencent Video
Airing Date: TBA

 

Synopsis

In the age of the Great Liang Dynasty, the Kingdom of Northern Xuan gained a short reprieve after a war. Chang Geng, who resides in a small town, was attacked by a pack of wolves during an outing but was saved by Shen Shiliu. To repay his kindness, Chang Geng now acknowledges him as his foster-father. The enemy forces, the Heavenly Wolf tribe, waited for an opportunity to invade and set off a war. In a critical moment, Chang Geng discovers that he is the fourth prince of Northern Xuan, and Shen Shiliu is Gu Yun, the commander of the Xuan Tie army. Gu Yun defeated the Heavenly Wolf tribe and escorted Chang Geng to the capital city. (Credit)

 

The current Emperor of Northern Xuan passes away, and Li Feng ascended the throne as the new Emperor. However his foundation is not yet stable. The ambitious Prince of Wei is eyeing his throne, and saw this as an opportunity to create a crisis. Li Feng, wary of Gu Yun's military prowess, sends Gu Yun to guard the boarders. Chang Geng also chooses to join the Lin Yuan Pavilion, and followed the experts of the pavilion around the world to travel and experience life. After several years, he grew up into a someone with lofty ambitions and a talent for governing. At this time, Northern Xuan faces both internal and external problems. Chang Geng returns to the capital, and uses his knowledge and new-found skills to assist the Emperor in securing his reign. However, problems continuously pour in, such as rebellion by the inner court officials, assassination of Li Feng and attack of Jiang Nan by external forces. At last, Chang Geng manages to ascend the throne and resurrect Northern Bei, fulfilling his vision of world peace. (Credit)

 

Drama Information Credit

 

Official Websites:

Baidu | Weibo | Douban

 

 

 

 

[Tofu]

Cast

Tan Jian Ci as Gu Yun

The character Gu Yun (顾昀) is the leader of the Black Iron Camp. His childhood name is Shiliu because he was born on the sixteenth of the first lunar month. Gu Yun is half-deaf, half-blind due to an incident when he was still a child. Two cinnabar-colored beauty marks could be found under the corner of his eye and on his earlobe. He is seven to eight years older than Chang Geng. He has good looks and is often shown to be very confident about it. Gu Yun was sent by Emperor Yuan to the Northern Frontier to look for the missing Fourth Prince and also secretly to look into the information about black markets. There, he chanced upon Chang Geng, who was surrounded by wolves and saved him. From that point, he became Chang Geng’s unofficial ‘yifu.’ While staying in Yanhui, he hid his identity under the name ‘Shen Shiliu.’ After the attack of the Northern Barbarians in Yanhui, they went back to the capital to meet with the dying Emperor Yuan He. The Emperor then made him the official ‘yifu’ of Chang Geng, leaving Chang Geng to his care.

 

Chen Zhe Yuan as Chang Geng

Chang Geng (长庚) is the Fourth Prince of Great Liang. His childhood name was given to him by his ‘mother’ Hu Ge Er, after the evening Venus, sometimes called Lucifer, which is believed to be an unlucky star. Chang Geng is often likened to have the appearance of jade. He is calm, composed, intelligent, and very thoughtful, especially of Gu Yun. From a young age, he is good at martial arts. When he was very young, Chang Geng grew up with the bandits that kept Hu Ge Er. Even during those times, he had been physically abused and was almost killed repeatedly. After Hu Ge Er escaped from the bandits by killing them, she and Chang Geng found a settlement in Yanhui, a small town on the Northern Frontier. Xu Baihu, the town’s governor, was fond of Hu Ge Er, and he became Chang Geng’s stepfather. Once, Chang Geng tried to escape from Hu Ge Er but was met with a group of wolves. Fortunately, he was saved by Gu Yun at that time. Gu Yun took care of him from then on and became his ‘yifu.’
After the attack of the Northern Barbarians in Yanhui, Chang Geng was informed that he was the lost prince, and they went back to the capital to meet the dying Emperor. Emperor Yuan. He then assigned Gu Yun to be his official adoptive father until he came of age and was crowned. For about two years, Chang Geng lived in the Marquis’ Manor with Gu Yun, Cao Niangzi, and Ge Banxiao. Upon Gu Yun’s departure for the Western Borders, Chang Geng, together with Cao Niangzi and Ge Banxiao, joined Liao Ran in traveling. After the incident in Jiangnan, Chang Geng leaves the manor to learn about the jianghu, where he meets Gu Yun again after four years.

 

Li Hong Yi as Shen Yi

His name is also Ji Ping, he is a general and Gu Yun's right hand man. 

 

Dong Yan Lei as Ge Chen / Ge Pangxiao

One of Chang Geng's childhood friend. He is often referred to as "pang" which means fat because he's a little on the heavy side. In the novel, he had some skills in making things out of iron.

 

Song Ji Yang as Cao Chunhua

Another one of Chang Geng's childhood friend. He likes to dress up as a girl and is often flirting and eyeing handsome men.

 

Sun Anke as Chen Qingxu

Comes from a family of healers, her grandfather was the one who helped prescribed the medicine Gu Yun takes to see and hear. She is one of the leaders of Lin Yuan Pavilion.

 

Yu Cheng En as Liao Ran

Buddhist monk who is part of the Lin Yuan Pavilion.

 

Li Jun Chen as Li Feng

Emperor Long An of the Great Liang dynasty. He is the oldest son of Emperor Yuan He and Chang Geng's half brother. 

 

 

I wrote some of the character descriptions myself based on what I've read from the novel. The majority are from the following places: Drama Information Credit

 

 

[Tofu]

Novel:

Read the English Translation of Sha Po Lang: Northwest Flower

 

Things to Know:

Black Iron Camp

Gu Yun is the general/leader of this group. They are made up of three factions -- Black Eagle, Black Cavalries, and Black Armor. Black Iron Camp is considered an elite military group.

 

Lin Yuan Pavilion

The Lin Yuan Pavilion is a secret society. This society disappears when there is peace and prosperity and rise up in times of chaos and turbulence. The society is filled with gifted people from all backgrounds -- officials, nobles, merchants, servants, etc. They have five leading members who all has a token each. When the tokens are put together, they will form the emblem of Lin Yuan. In times of trouble, the leading members come together and give the tokens to whoever they vote as deserving. When this occurs, that person will have the full support of the secret society. The society will also help support the person lead the nation back to peace and prosperity. 

 

 

 

[Tofu]

Ever since the overwhelming interest/popularity of Untamed, there have been more BL dramas coming out starring some of the most popular young and beautiful looking actors. I can't say I'm a huge fan of BL dramas and I also never finished Untamed, but I do understand the hype among them. 

 

 

Chen Zhe Yuan was asked to explain the drama and basically said it's complicated. 

 

 

[NiteWalker]

On 12/29/2020 at 6:57 AM, Tofu said:

Ever since the overwhelming interest/popularity of Untamed, there have been more BL dramas coming out starring some of the most popular young and beautiful looking actors. I can't say I'm a huge fan of BL dramas and I also never finished Untamed, but I do understand the hype among them. 

 

forgive me my friend....i cant understand the hype.....why the audience love to see BL?

 

i mean....the audience infact mostly consist of girls!!! 

[Tofu]

1 hour ago, NiteWalker said:

forgive me my friend....i cant understand the hype.....why the audience love to see BL?

 

i mean....the audience infact mostly consist of girls!!! 

I think as society become more open to all types of relationships, especially those of LGBTQ+, BL dramas are becoming more widely accepted. Love is love and seeing all types of love portrayed in dramas, films, etc. can be empowering to those who are LGBTQ+. It sends the message that they can see their type of love be represented in the entertainment world too. I also think there is a handful of people who love BL dramas because they fetishize about two beautiful looking men falling in love.

 

I don't normally watch BL dramas, I have nothing against this genre and I appreciate all forms of love. I just haven't found one that I liked or captured my attention right away. I put Untamed on pause because I didn't have the strength to memorize all the characters, but I know my best friend thoroughly enjoyed it (as well as the rest of the world, apparently. LOL!). 

 

To be completely honest, the synopsis for this drama doesn't really excite me. I really like Chen Zhe Yuan's acting (although he needs help in the kissing department haha!) so I'm going to tune in just to see more of him. It'll probably be the same for Immortality with Luo Yunxi and Chen FeiYu too. A bit simple minded, right? 

[NiteWalker]

1 hour ago, Tofu said:

I think as society become more open to all types of relationships, especially those of LGBTQ+, BL dramas are becoming more widely accepted. Love is love and seeing all types of love portrayed in dramas, films, etc. can be empowering to those who are LGBTQ+. It sends the message that they can see their type of love be represented in the entertainment world too. I also think there is a handful of people who love BL dramas because they fetishize about two beautiful looking men falling in love.

 

i can understand that....im not against the genre to be honest....

 

i just dont understand the hype....n what made me withdrawn from them mainly is how those shipper actually fight against each other for this type of genre....

[Tofu]

8 hours ago, NiteWalker said:

i just dont understand the hype....n what made me withdrawn from them mainly is how those shipper actually fight against each other for this type of genre....

What?! Shippers fight against each other for this type of drama? That's absurd. Is it because their oppa is paired up with someone they don't like? 

[NiteWalker]

9 hours ago, Tofu said:

What?! Shippers fight against each other for this type of drama? That's absurd. Is it because their oppa is paired up with someone they don't like? 

 

no because they like it so much that they start having all sort of writing :x

[Tofu]

3 hours ago, NiteWalker said:

no because they like it so much that they start having all sort of writing :x

As in fans will start writing fanfictions on the characters? I think that's typically normal for fans to do but that requires a lot of dedication -- something I am not. Haha! Maybe because of how things are censored nowadays in China, they probably create the stories to show more skinship? I don't know. 

[NiteWalker]

5 hours ago, Tofu said:

As in fans will start writing fanfictions on the characters? I think that's typically normal for fans to do but that requires a lot of dedication -- something I am not. Haha! Maybe because of how things are censored nowadays in China, they probably create the stories to show more skinship? I don't know. 

 

i dunno....maybe im a prude hahaha

[Tofu]

7 hours ago, NiteWalker said:

i dunno....maybe im a prude hahaha

Haha!! I think I'm just a bit immune to this kind of topic. I understand that the entertainment business need to cater to the fans because that's what bring in money. With Untamed bringing in so much, everyone is trying to get in on that too. I'm sure the actors are getting paid a decent amount if the drama does well and the amount of exposure/popularity for them also increase too. Zhang Zhe Han is even going to be in a BL drama too! Whoever Priest is, she is making lots of money with these adaptations of her BL novels. 

 

I can't tell if these are BTS released for the drama or fan made. Nevertheless, something to look at? 

 

[NiteWalker]

11 hours ago, Tofu said:

Haha!! I think I'm just a bit immune to this kind of topic. I understand that the entertainment business need to cater to the fans because that's what bring in money. With Untamed bringing in so much, everyone is trying to get in on that too. I'm sure the actors are getting paid a decent amount if the drama does well and the amount of exposure/popularity for them also increase too. Zhang Zhe Han is even going to be in a BL drama too! Whoever Priest is, she is making lots of money with these adaptations of her BL novels. 

 

yes ever since Untamed became a success, it seems to be a trend for more guy actors to drop into BL drama one or two along the way

[Tofu]

13 hours ago, NiteWalker said:

yes ever since Untamed became a success, it seems to be a trend for more guy actors to drop into BL drama one or two along the way

With so many actors, maybe they have to capitalize on anything that can potentially lead to more opportunities? But anyway, shippers can be pretty intense. I saw some comic drawings of Sha Po Lang and I want to pretend I never saw anything. Some of them have dirty minds.  By the way, how heavily censor are the BL dramas? I know skinship is one of them, but how much skinship is censored?

 

More BTS photos released:

Spoiler

 

 

[NiteWalker]

7 hours ago, Tofu said:

By the way, how heavily censor are the BL dramas? I know skinship is one of them, but how much skinship is censored?

 

honestly im not too sure....cause i dont really follow them....i know back then when it first hit, the main war was in between Timmy and Johnny fans...i think they were one of the first era of BL drama...

[Tofu]

2 hours ago, NiteWalker said:

honestly im not too sure....cause i dont really follow them....i know back then when it first hit, the main war was in between Timmy and Johnny fans...i think they were one of the first era of BL drama...

I did some research into this earlier today because whenever I'm curious about something, I have to try to find an answer to satisfy my curiosity. Haha! 

 

There is no official ban on LGBTQ+ in the media. They have been allowed to exist if it's shown in a way where that type of lifestyle is not appealing, so think as a comedic relief and such. The line is drawn when they are shown to be happy, basically anything that would make someone who's exploring their sexuality think that lifestyle is ok. If there are skinship, they have to be in a way where it's not suggestive of there being a romantic relationship -- so no kissing, sexually explicit scenes, and sometimes even no holding hands. I read that if a project is small enough and doesn't intend on hitting mainstream, you can have most of those things and be good. If the project is planning on a mass release, they can get banned if those scenes exist. Most BL dramas are promoted as "bromance" because they cannot call it BL otherwise it'll be banned. 

 

Timmy Xu and Johnny Huang for Addicted Heroin, right? I remembered my friend talking about it when she was talking to me about Untamed. It was after this one that they censored BL dramas even more, right? And this one was banned?

 

To not stir so far away from Sha Po Lang, here are more BTS photos/videos released: 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Credit: https://m.weibo.cn/status/4588649692270627?

[Tofu]

More leaks for Sha Po Lang -- everyone looks really nice but I'm not sure if it's because of the filter on the photo. Haha!

Spoiler

Credit

 

 

[Tofu]

More photos were posted of Tan Jian Ci...

Spoiler

Credit

 

[Tofu]

Some more BTS updates. =)

 

 

 

[Tofu]

More filming locations:

 

[Tofu]

Chen Zhe Yuan talking about how much he likes his role in Sha Po Lang. I read that he talks about Cheng Geng often, he seems to really like that character/role. 

 

[Tofu]

More BTS posted, the armor are something to look at. 

 

Chen Zhe Yuan

 

 

[NiteWalker]

kaching.....found the last C-artist lols

[Tofu]

I heard that they were going to be stricter on all the BL dramas too. I wonder what that means for all the hundreds of BL dramas that are currently filming, in the editing process, have yet to filmed, etc.? Maybe less suggestive scenes? None of those slow-mo scenes? Hahaha! 

 

Spoiler

Yay for finding your last Chinese actor! 

 

[Tofu]

More Chen Zhe Yuan BTS photos:

Spoiler

 

 

 

His hair is so long. I hope it doesn't become a distraction like it was in Renascence. It always seemed like he was trying to move his hair out of his way in that drama. Haha!