So, you’ve heard about Sleuth of Ming Dynasty
Come on in, the food is great!
The show follows Tang Fan, a lower-level magistrate; his new friend/partner/boyfriend Sui Zhou, a commander in the Imperial Guards; and Wang Zhi, commander of the Western Depot as they work together and sometimes clash to solve mysteries and maintain the peace and stability of the empire. It is produced by Jackie Chan and based on the BL novel by Meng Xishi.
Here, have one of the official promo photos. No, I don’t know why they’re all in modern dress. The show is a historical drama.
Who’s Who: Tang Fan
foodie twink, prodigy and low-level government magistrate who acts like a child
all he wants to do is eat good food, write erotic novels, and live in a functioning just society! Why must his life be so difficult!
also why is his rent so damn high!
if you have ever wanted to fake your own death rather than go to work, you will relate to TF.
Courtesy: Rungqing
Fandom shorthand: TF
Lower sixth rank official of the Shuntian Prefecture
His official title is “magistrate” (I think?) -- the important thing is that when the show opens he’s a brilliant but low-level bureaucrat
He is super great at deductive reasoning and batting his eyelashes to persuade people not to kill him, which is great because everybody wants to kill him 90% of the time because he just brings out that energy in folks, you know?
(it's a good thing he's cute)
Who’s Who: Sui Zhou
service top, former soldier, Imperial guard with connections to the palace, took one look at Tang Fan and was like "oh this twink is my responsibility now"
Sui Zhou cannot believe he has the bad taste to be so incredibly head over heels for this foodie twink with 0 common sense, but he's Committed now
Sui Zhou
Courtesy: Guangchuan
Fandom shorthand: SZ
Embroidered uniform guard of the Jinyiwei and former Baihu (commander) in the Imperial Army - he saw battle at the Empire’s borders, it wasn’t pretty.
Big Da-ge Energy
He’s SO Soft
Please let him feed people
Tang Fan and Sui Zhou canonically move in together and adopt a daughter
It’s A Lot, Okay?!
please please write me SuiTang h/c fic i am BEGGING YOU
I need you to understand that their meet-cute is LITERALLY tang fan giving sui zhou a verbal and physical once-over (first of many), shortly followed in the second episode by sui zhou boxing tang fan against a wall in a perfectly executed kabedon.
this bathtub scene is a thing. that canonically happens after foodie twink tang fan bullies/annoys service top sui zhou into letting him move into his house.
~ you’re welcome ~
Who’s Who: Wang Zhi
Wang Zhi, imperial palace eunuch, Machiavellian mastermind twink, down to murder, utterly charmed by Tang Fan despite his better judgement because Tang Fan has ZERO political sense and in Wang Zhi's line of work that kind of shit gets you killed.
Important things to know:
He Knows Things
Fandom shorthand: WZ
Wang Zhi, Boss B*tch, cont’d.
he also has the most gorgeous fucking clothes in the entire show, GOD his costumes are just. The Best.
Wang Zhi cares about:
1. Noble Consort Wan
2. His Majesty (see: #1)
3. Children (very well-hidden soft spot)
4. Tang Fan, sometimes, when he's in a good mood
Also he has a little pistol, which is dope.
DONG’ER!!
Baby girl. Actual best bean. Holds the braincells of this show. Everyone would die or kill for Dong’er, and that includes her three big brothers Sui Da-ge, Tang Da-ge, and Wang da-ge.
She starts off as the serving maid of Tang Fan's landlady, but rapidly (like, ep 4 out of 48) becomes SO much more.
Oh, and she's also a child prodigy with an eidetic memory
she WILL throw her older brothers under the bus if you bribe her with candy
Duo’erla
(you’ll sometimes hear her referred to as “Aha,” or “leader”)
Oirat girl who takes one look at TF and is like “oh, he looks like fun to mess with”
Every female character in this show has a crush on her, including me
Other Dramatis Personae
Ding Rong
Wang Zhi’s second in command, snazzy dresser�Has definitely murdered for Wang Zhi
Be Gay Do Crimes etc
Ding Man
Personal attendant/body servant to the Emperor
So Pretty. Just. Really Pretty.
I am putting them on the same slide bc I definitely got them confused on my first watch; they are both pretty, both eunuchs, both serve in the palace, and wear similar uniforms. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON.
Pei Huai
Also “Lao Pei”
TF’s best friend
Fills the medical expert role in the detective drama
Ombre robes on point
Big Sexy
Bisexual Disaster
His Majesty (the Chenghua Emperor) and Noble Consort Wan
listen i KNOW the Mandate of Heaven is a racket, but. His Majesty can Get It.
Noble Consort Wan knows how to play the Game, also she leads a squad of ladies in armor MULTIPLE TIMES it is extremely badass
they are a power couple and i would let them bang me like a screen door in a hurricane.
Somebody said they were confused, so:
Noble Consort Wan:
Dowager Empress:
I think it's important that you know that there is an entire mystery arc where Tang Fan must go undercover at a brothel for Reasons
... AS A COURTESAN
he makes a very pretty prostitute. sui zhou thinks so too.
wang zhi is greatly amused.
Other Cool Things To Know
Mmkay but why should I watch this show?
Found Family
a family can be a foodie twink, his service top boyfriend, their machiavellian murder twink boyfriend, their little sister, the first boyfriend's older sister, her son, and her bisexual disaster boyfriend who is also the first boyfriend’s best friend, and their friends from a noted outgroup and persecuted minority
Seriously if you love the Found Family trope you will love this show.
Thanks @Suibian_gongzi for the photo!
They have dinner together ALL THE TIME
Mmkay but why should I watch this show?
Love Through Acts Of Service (Especially Feeding People)
I can't watch this show without wanting to cook something. Feeding other people is the love language of this show.
This show loves food the way i love food: Truly, Madly, Deeply.
Have something tasty to eat as you watch. You have been warned.
Good pacing
There are mysteries that have a 4-5 episode arc, but also as you go through each arc you slowly realize that various things are related, and there's an underlying thread of...
… Palace Intrigue
Love me that sweet, corrupt, backstabbing political filth!!!
High Production Value
This is Jackie Chan's first web drama production, and his talent for picking the right people for the job really shows. The lighting and framing in this show is drop-dead gorgeous, there's great use of color and visual motifs, and the action scenes are super fun and well-choreographed.
You can see a lot of this in the official trailer (right)
This scene (link to video posted on Twitter) is quintessential Jackie Chan.
the production value of this primer is low, but the production value of the show is high!
Humor
It's funny! There's witty banter and fantastic use of physical humor.
This is technically a behind-the-scenes video, but uhhhh also a crossdressing TF canonically wanders around for a few hours with an arrow sticking out of his boob, so.
Okay, But Is It Gay?
I mean, it's a web TV production subject to Chinese government censorship, so Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are not gonna kiss on screen. But it is based on a BL novel. The story is a genre blend of mystery, historical fiction, and BL.
There is a metric fuckton of TF, SZ, and WZ making sacrifices for each other in secret, staging dramatic rescues, yelling at each other because they care so much, etc etc.
If you are fluent in Acts Of Service as a love language, you will pick up what this show is putting down.
There are also some fantastic secondary ships but uhhhh SPOILERS, mind yourself if you go searching on ao3.
How do I watch it?!?!
Watch free on viki: https://viki.com/tv/36690c-the-sleuth-of-the-ming-dynasty?locale=en… (I recommend using Chrome+UBlock Origin to avoid ads)�
The first 5 eps are on iqiyi (rest are vip locked) https://iqiyi.com/intl/share.html?mod=intl&id=251175901…
The novel: The fourteenth year of chenghua https://novelupdates.com/series/the-fourteenth-year-of-chenghua/… (English, partial translation) | https://zhenhunxiaoshuo.com/chenghuashisinian/
Huge shoutout to @xiuzianzhe on Tiwtter for these links!
but Singeli, i like to Know Things before i watch.
Me too!! I am all about that Historical Context, Babey.
However, I went into this show knowing exactly N O T H I N G about the Ming Dynasty, and I was still able to follow the plot and enjoy.
If you crave that sweet, sweet historical context, however, I encourage you to follow @jacytheblue on Twitter, who has put together a helpful thread on the jurisdiction of different government agencies. It’ll help you figure out who’s who and who owes allegiance to whom.
In Conclusion, Watch Sleuth of Ming Dynasty!