Joy of Life 2 (2024) Early Impressions

Episodes 1-15

5 years later Zhang Ruoyun reprises his role as the anachronistic Fan Xian in this second installment of the very popular period series that’s punctuated with idiosyncratic beats. There’s little doubt that he immerses himself with all the gusto of a seasoned campaigner in the role as it gives him plenty of opportunities to flex those acting muscles in a wide range of scenarios that’s on offer. It’s fair to say that like the first series, the second is almost entirely about Fan Xian trying to extricate himself from one Catch 22 situation to another. A man who stands out from the crowd is bound to attract his lion’s share of allies and detractors. And the multi-talented Fan Xian has plenty of people who would love to see him very dead.

Spoiler alert…

At the start of part 2, reports of Fan Xian’s untimely demise spread like wildfire. Of course he’s hardly dead. However his attempt to return triumphantly from Be Qi after a successful prisoner exchange is thwarted by the conniving second prince (Liu Duanduan) who plots to have him eliminated. To protect innocents caught in the crossfire Fan Xian fakes his own death. All of Qing is in mourning over the loss of their Immortal Poet and he takes the opportunity of sneaking into Jingdu (the capital) to find a missing family but finds himself entangled in a brothel known as The Embracing Moon. He soon finds out that his profit-driven brother Fan Sizhe and the Third Prince are the joint owners of this dubious entertainment establishment. Unknown to them there is another hand at work — turning this pleasure pavillion into a place of abomination.

Meanwhile Fan Jian, the emperor and his mentor at Qing’s equivalent of the CIA are horrified. Until they start sensing that the whole business smells a bit fishy.

Fan Xian’s developing animus with the second prince Li Chengze escalates progressively in this second “season” into a cold war that spills into the heart of officialdom itself. With a belly full of righteous zeal, Fan Xian witnesses the plight of the common folk who have no place to go to find justice so he uses himself as bait to reel in the biggest fish that will bite. Corruption is a problem everywhere in the so-called public service bureaucracy but clean up must begin in his own backyard, the Inspection and Control Bureau. It’s not an easy feat because the rot is systemic and also the emperor himself has to approve. The monarch continues to be something of an enigma. He has his own agenda undoubtedly pulling strings in the background and even his own children are not free from his machinations.

Like part 1 part of the attraction has to do with Fan Xian himself as the POV and central figure in all the happenings involving people from all spheres of life. He’s a man out of time. A man who isn’t lock step with the world he’s in although his eccentricities are catching. There’s a running gag about his relationship with two women from Bei Qi — the Saintess and Li Sisi but his heart is firmly with Wan’er (Li Qin) the prime minister’s daughter who is also his betrothed. Fan Xian is a busy man because he is a busybody. At least he fashions himself as a crusader of justice for the ordinary folk.

In the first season Fan Xian finds out that his mother was the indomitable Ye Qingmei, a woman with great gifts. Her contributions to Qing made her an object of fascination and even hate. Fan Xian is certainly a chip off the old block and there are hints along the way that cast serious doubts as to whether Fan Jian, the minister for the treasury is really his father. The identity Fan Xian’s biological father though interesting is not that important. Because of their love for Ye Qingmei, all the men who stand by Fan Xian act as father figures that assist him in navigating the rough and tumble of Qing’s complex political arena. Fan Xian’s relationship with these men is certainly a highlight in this strongly male-centred production. It’s obvious that despite all their scheming and plotting, they have great affection for him and that includes the inscrutable unkempt emperor who is either loafing in his quarters or tinkering away at his desk. What’s particularly delightful about this dynamic is not only their effect on him but his effect on them. It’s also highly amusing to watch grown men with beards (bar one) squabble over the best way to raise their favourite son.

As I always tell anyone who asks, Joy of Life is like The Princess Bride set vaguely in a pastiche of different periods of ancient China with a sprinkling of wuxia. There’s even a framing device to keep the censors at bay. While Part 2 is more politics than wuxia, the tongue remains very much firmly in cheek as the subversive elements rear their heads at the most unlikely moments eliciting a chuckle or roars of laughter. The series is intentionally satire but the issues under discussion are pressing and serious. Governance. corruption and justice are among many weighty issues that are featured. And on that subject of governance, as it is with all stories spotlighting power struggles, the narrative is inevitably turns to questions of leadership ie. what makes a good leader.

The emperor is not just the patriarch of a nation but also the father of potential successors to the throne. The next generation’s leadership has to be cultivated and finely tuned in order for the future of the country be assured. The princes under the microscope are clever in their own way but birth order or matrilineage aren’t always any kind of guarantee of succession rights — at least in the world that Fan Xian traverses. Ordinarily one would assume the crown prince (Zhang Haowei) is next in line for the throne but with this emperor, it feels more like a smokescreen. The crown prince plays it safe for the most part but underneath the mask of affability lurks a more sinister side. It then begs the question. What’s the succession game that the emperor is playing? If indeed he is playing one.

Zhang Ruoyun is a great actor. Arguably the best of his generation. His Fan Xian is boyishly gleeful and outraged while being shrewd… as well occasionally ruthless. No doubt he can have his pick of women. But from the way Zhang Ruoyun plays him, he only has eyes for Lin Wan’er. However, it has to be said that there are no bad actors in the franchise. The older members of the cast are particularly good. Wu Gang who plays Chen Pingping, the head of the bureau, Tian Yu as Wang Qinian and Liu Duanduan as the second prince are standouts.

Whatever lies ahead for Fan Xian, obstacles are par for the course because of the kind of man he is and his parentage. He is destined for greatness considering his intellect and ambition but no one… ally or foe… will make the road-that-must-be-travelled easy for him.