Zhan Zhao Adventures or 雨霖铃 has its origins as a piece of fanfiction based around an older novel called The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants which has been adapted to the small screen several times. Zhan Zhao has been such an integral part of Justice Bao lore that I just keep expecting the famed statesman to make an appearance in this drama. The fact that he doesn’t is suggestive. Although this new addition to the Justice Bao universe has all the appearance of a detective story in the vein of all the others, the narrative has more pressing concerns. Zhan Zhao, a respectable representative of the legendary Kaifeng court, epitomizes a rare breed of heroism in a world ready to succumb to the temptations and corruptions that is the path of least resistance. More than a good investigator, he is a good man or perhaps it is more accurate to say that because he is a good man, he has the perspicacity to be an excellent investigator.
When Zhan Zhao stumbles onto a large scale conspiracy with ramifications for national security, the testing of his character comes into focus. The aforementioned “adventures” is actually a protracted discovery of not only the game that’s afoot but soon becomes the trial of the man whose reputation precedes him. Can he pass the greatest test of his life? Can his reputation as a martial arts pugilist and justice warrior stand up to intense scrutiny and assaults from all directions? Will he maintain his cherished principles when the people around him get hurt?
The stature of a hero is arguably determined, to a large extent, by the company he keeps. Or the kinds of followers/companions that he gathers around him. How does he inspire loyalty? To what lengths would they go for him? Would they even … perish the thought … make the ultimate sacrifice? Judging from Zhan Zhao’s relationship with Bai Yutang (Alen Fang) and Huo Linglong (Zhang Ruonan), the brand of heroism that he represents brings out the best in them. A loose canon and a sheltered heiress become his minders, trying to keep him alive come hell or high water. There’s no romance just good old fashion camaraderie. And why not? Friendship is a lost art in dramas catering to the appetites of their target audience.
Huo Linglong is at first not a particularly discerning character. She’s too eager to prove herself on her first outing into jianghu (the martial arts world) and make hasty simplistic judgments about various encounters. However, while everyone seems to insist that she’s enamoured with Zhan Zhao’s heroics, what’s far more important is that her admiration for Zhan Zhao’s character makes her a wiser candidate for the Huo clan’s leadership position. Out of the comfort zone of Linglong Mansion she soon realises that even her family’s success is shrouded in murky secrecy. She’s challenged repeatedly to choose sides. Furthermore it’s noteworthy how the villains frame the so-called dilemma. It’s Zhan Zhao or us, they would say. Of course for the morally compromised that would be their paradigm. They paint the conflict as two morally neutral sides in an existential struggle and may the stronger side win. The truth is much clearer than that. Otherwise what’s the point of law enforcement and a judiciary. Linglong, Bai Yutang and Tang Tianhao represent a new generation in jianghu rising from the ashes of what was razed to the ground by an old guard that have lost their way. The more recent progeny trade on the reputation of what the past generations built without the nobility that underpinned their success.
There are reverberations of The Blood of Youth here. The problems of jianghu can be attributed directly, on the one hand, to the influence of the show’s mastermind. On the other hand, the main reason why he is able to have such a strong grip on jianghu’s prominent families are the compromises and various unseemly transactions they’ve indulged in for the last decade and a half. It’s led to a tangled morass of corruption so it’s up to Zhan Zhao and friends to undertake the Herculean task of cleaning out the jianghu stables. Even the seemingly admirable desire for one’s clan to build/maintain a legacy can become the devil’s foothold for something quite insidious indeed.
I can hear Tina Turner’s husky vocals swirling around in the o’l cranium, “We don’t need another hero”. But Zhan Zhao’s skirmishes say otherwise. Heroes are always needed as long as we understand even the best of us have clay feet and Achilles’ heels. His opponents are keen to deconstruct Zhan Zhao the hero which is why he is constantly injured and poisoned. Superman has kryptonite to depower him so Zhan Zhao has to be crippled to prove that there’s more to the man than his fighting skills.
For a crime aficionado, the various mysteries are not complicated puzzles that require much brain power to unravel. Rather it is about the who’s who and the why. And what they all add up to. The mastermind is revealed relatively early and although one has an inkling of what he might be after, it’s how he’s trying to achieve his ultimate goal that is the mystery.
Yang Yang’s Zhan Zhao certainly has the physicality that brings the character to life. He’s adequate to the task and he doesn’t need to be much more. Visually he plays off Alen Fang’s Bai Yutang with the right kind of restrained mirth. He’s quietly amused with the other man knowing that the outbursts come from a heart of gold. Alen Fang who left no doubts about his comedic chops in A Journey to Love reliably brightens up the scenery with his cutting remarks and braggadocio. Like my Chinese aunt who nagged relentlessly at my total disregard for cleanliness as a child, it is left to Bai Yutang to wag his fingers when Zhan Zhao lurches from crisis to crisis with no thought to the state of his injuries. Zhang Ruonan doesn’t particularly stand out nor is she misplaced. Her boisterous naivete and lack of elegance is exactly what’s called for here.
Zhan Zhao Adventures is unabashedly old school wuxia in that the fight scenes are part of the storytelling not just filler or just attention grabbing fanfare or an overabundance of testosterone seeking an outlet. How practitioners fight in a wuxia says plenty about who they are. The different schools develop styles in accordance to their beliefs and principles which they propagate with pride. Poisons are also part of the weaponry of the various sects and their ubiquity is a reminder that for many the end justifies the means. There’s no such thing as a fair fight if an advantage can be found. Low blows are par for the course in a continuing bid for supremacy.
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Thank you for the in-depth review of this drama. I'm a fan of wuxia stories and on my way to watch this. Partly because Kenny Ho's Zhan Zhao back in the 90s was one of my childhood crushes 😆, but after peeking into the first episode I already knew I would love this adaptation 😉.
Love you blog anyway!