Lee

YouTube video by Stone Music Entertainment 이효리 (Lee Hyori) - Bad Girls (배드 걸스) MV

Day 8:

A more recent hit from a Gen 1 queen who I've been listening to for a long time:

Bad Girls - Lee Hyori

youtu.be/kLyfHxNDeVM?...

Can we have a moratorium on people confidently describing what cdramas are until they've watched at least a few that aren't from a single genre and time period?

Also the writer's description of cdramas is painful but I guess that's what happens when you're only exposed to slop.

I wanna play this so bad.

Directed by the great Zhi Zhu, who made some of my favourite micro dramas.

Right???

YouTube video by 肖战影音会DAYTOY•Xiao Zhan CCTV News Weibo: Xiao Zhan's heartfelt performance of the namesake theme song "Gezhi Town".

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HQs...

XZ sings the theme song for #GezhiTown. I was not expecting such a bop!

#XiaoZhan

Soccer is cool, it doesn’t matter if you have tired legs and a bunch of bum players and bad tactics, if you have Lionel Messi you can just win the game anyway

the assist to help clinch it

YouTube video by YoYo English Channel God of poetry! 100 poems over night | Joy of Life EP 27 Clip

This is probably one of the most famous poems among Chinese speakers but Western cdrama folks probably know it from a very famous scene in Joy of Life where the protagonist, Fan Xian, steals it 😂

youtu.be/KLzvDlmjBtg?...

天生我材必有用,
千金散盡還復來

Heaven gave me these abilities, it must be for a purpose /
I spent a thousand gold easily, but they'll come back around

From the GOAT Li Bai's 将进酒

eastasiastudent.net/china/classi...

I loathe "it's not that deep" people because literally nothing is ever that deep to them.

YouTube video by 湖南卫视芒果TV官方频道 China HunanTV Official Channel 【姐姐SHOWTIME】《佳人》于文文/张蔷/赵梦/刘恋/唐诗逸全员旗妩媚感十足 台上台下反差感好强！ 《乘风破浪》Sisters Who Make Waves S3丨HunanTV

Bonus bonus: the definitive performance of the above song, on Sisters Who Make Waves s3 by Kelly Yu, Zhao Meng, Liu Lian, Tang Shiyi and Zhang Qiang

youtu.be/YmeVOQzNPeY?...

YouTube video by Pop Music Station 鬼卞 - 佳人『都是鏡花水月喲 幾夜飲血誰解愁』【動態歌詞Lyrics】

Bonus:

佳人 by Chinese rapper 鬼卞 (Guibian)

A really cool combination of hip-hop and an opera voice hook

youtu.be/HglJtFunPvI?...

Xiao Zhan looking up

Xiao Zhan looking serious

Xiao Zhan looking up holding a microphone

Xiao Zhan shot from the side

More great fansite pics

#xiaozhan

Xiao Zhan at the Yichang event in a black Gezhi Town shirt

Two photos of Xiao Zhan with the child actor who plays his son and Zhou Yiran

Xiao Zhan at the Beijing premiere

Xiao Zhan with the child actor who plays his son

Some lovely pics from the #GezhiTown preview event in Yichang and the premiere event in Beijing

#xiaozhan

a thing I really love about Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the way that characters will warp the genre of the story around them due to the way the narrative is based on folklore. Whenever Zhuge Liang is onscreen it's either ace attorney debate time or absurd, borderline-magic levels of prediction

XG’s Cocona Comes Out as Transmasculine, Nonbinary The 20-year-old rapper announced the news in an Instagram post: “I was born and perceived as female, but that label never represented who I truly am. I live in a way that feels more masculine and true...

Actually somewhat-massive news, COCONA, one of the members of the all-Japanese based-in-Korea group XG, has come out as non-binary transmasc and having had top surgery

Which for an active idol in either country is just unheard of, never mind one at such a big group. They look amazing!

YouTube video by SMTOWN Girls' Generation 소녀시대 'I GOT A BOY' MV

Day 7:

This to me represents a key moment in the development of a "kpop" sound. Incredible banger.

I Got A Boy - Girls' Generation

youtu.be/wq7ftOZBy0E?...

(You never see me post about GG because I'm a OT9 extremist and Jessica stan.)

When I first got into this fandom via CQL I kept seeing people say that XZ didn't know he was hot and it took me a while to realise they just don't understand Chinese culture.

You're meant to respond to compliments by insulting yourself and to rate yourself low! Hence the "Versailles" thing.

XG’s Cocona Comes Out as Transmasculine, Nonbinary The 20-year-old rapper announced the news in an Instagram post: “I was born and perceived as female, but that label never represented who I truly am. I live in a way that feels more masculine and true...

this is seriously so cool to see a transmasc idol come out

XZ later referenced the use of heavy makeup (to "resolve some appearance-related issues") and joked that he was pulling a "versailles".

(To pull a Versailles is basically a humble brag. You complain to show off i.e. "it's hard being too hot for everyman roles" 😂)

#XiaoZhan

#GezhiTown director Kong Sheng says he initially didn't want to cast someone as handsome as XZ (making XZ laugh), but saw that he had the required qualities regardless.

#XiaoZhan

He demands to be addressed with his proper rank 😂

(In Chinese culture it's extremely rude for a younger person to not use the proper form of address for someone generations above them.

So if someone is your dad's generation, they have to be addressed as "uncle", if they're in your granddad's they're "grandpa" etc.)

Presenter talking to the child actor playing XZ's son: So when you were on set, Xiao Zhan-gege -

XZ (correcting him): -Shushu [uncle].

[Laughter]

Presenter: Or Xiao Zhan-baba [dad].

#XiaoZhan

A special connection:

#GezhiTown was filmed in Yichang and the plot has the Mo family escape the Nanjing Massacre to Yichang.

In ancient times Yichang was known as Yiling.

#xiaozhan

Poster for Gezhi Town showing the Mo family fleeing war

#GezhiTown has its premiere in Beijing today!

#xiaozhan

Honestly it's hard to find a Japanese, Korean or Chinese artist whose name begins with E 😂

A classic and as a bonus I associate it strongly with WWX

Poster for Gezhi Town showing international release dates

#GezhiTown will be available in theaters from:

18 December for Australia and New Zealand
19 December in the UK and Ireland
20 December in the US and Canada

#xiaozhan