The new record of the fastest topping on the IQIYI drama list, seven consecutive days of the Chinese broadcast market share of the first, “New Life Begins (卿卿日常)” has become the biggest dark horse in the early winter drama market with its extremely high popularity.
“New Life Begins” is produced by New Classics Media. In a marriage election, girls from all over the country gather in Xinchuan to marry the young prince of Xin Chuan. The 6th Prince, Yin Zheng (Bai Jingting), who is hiding his light, and Li Wei (Tian Xi Wei), who just wants to go back home and live comfortably, have a laughable marriage.
This drama features a fresh style, a cheerful plot, and delightful characters. It combines love, cuisine, humanities, and history together, supplemented by comedy and laughs, ultimately presenting a life story.
“New Life Begins” is different from the usual sweet comedy, the sweetness and joy presented are not a mindless spoof, but a romantic distillation of the fragments of life. Some people think that this drama wins in the background and the freshness of the persona, but after watching a few episodes, you will be able to feel the deep skills of the team in the creation of life drama, character interaction, line text everywhere see ingenuity, not just win in creativity.
Anti-traditional romantic comedy
After the fresh set of “marriage first and love later” was introduced into web dramas, become the core plot of many sweet dramas. However, marriage first is only a means to place the main characters together. Some marriages are happy beginnings, while others become shackles.
The quality of a sweet drama is determined by how to show the “after love” of the hero and heroine. The reason why “New Life Begins” is so appealing is precisely because the process of “after love” has been carefully sculpted.
A healthy intimate relationship can complement each other's shortcomings. Li Wei and Yin Zheng grew up in very different environments, but the different environments cultivated the right kind of heart to heal each other.
While Yin Zheng is often distressed by the pressure of the court and the prejudice of his relatives, Li Wei is lively and smiling, good at exporting high emotional value, and always able to drive away Yin Zheng's depression.
In life, Li Wei is simple-minded and prone to trouble, while Yin Zheng is tolerant and meticulous, always able to resolve the crisis caused by Li Wei's overstepping the rules. Complementary personalities bring the two hearts closer together, but a two-way love requires mutual respect and honesty.
Before met Li Wei, Yin Zheng never thought that there would be someone who cared so much about him: when he was ridiculed by his elder brother, Li Wei was the first to stand up for him; when his parents were cold, Li Wei was also the first to defend him, saying that Yin Zheng should not have to bear the malice alone.
Li Wei impressed Yin Zheng with her sincerity, and in return, Yin Zheng gave him the same amount of emotion. When they first met, Yin Zheng would not force Li Wei to accept his preferences; after he truly fell in love with Li Wei, he still gave Li Wei the choice to stay or leave despite his heart's concern.
Compare the 2nd prince (Edward Zhang), Hao Jia (Chen Xiao Yun), and the fifth young prince couple, you can see that love will not be worn out by trivial daily life, but the lack of empathy between lovers will make the relationship end quickly.
After Hao Jia marries the 2nd prince, her situation is like a canary, seemingly living a good life, but in fact, her daily life and interpersonal dealings have to depend on the 2nd prince; after Shang Guan Jing (Fan Shuai Qi) leaves, Yin Qi (Chang Long) pursues she to Danchuan then understand the aggravation and boredom brought to her by the rules and restraints of Xin Chuan.
In contrast, Li Wei and Yin Zheng know how to be considerate of each other. Although fate is forced to bind, but does not prevent become each other for the rest of the life of the sun. The long flow of this love is precisely the most moving part of Yin Zheng and Li Wei's relationship.
Female friendship begins with sincerity
Although “New Life Begins” is positioned as an ancient romantic comedy, in addition to love, it also focuses a lot on the character of women. Li Wei is playful and gluttonous, Hao Jia is calm and dignified, Shang Guan Jing is spirited and straightforward, and all of them are interesting. The girls who marry into Xinchuan have very different personalities, but they all exude a lovely, vigorous vitality.
This may stem from their wisdom of living a life of happiness in the midst of hardship. In ancient times, although girls were protected in the hothouse, they were able to use their skills to win a living space for themselves.
The third prince's wife, Dong Hai Tang (Liu Meng Meng), is intelligent and can unite the sisters in the backyard; Li Wei, who first entered the sixth prince's mansion, often fails the female virtue class, but because of knows cooking and agriculture, she not only helps Yin Zheng cure his stomach ailment, but also can give him a few pointers on strategy.
The female characters in Chinese costume dramas always seem unable to escape the family status struggle, as if the only focus of a woman's life after she becomes a wife is her husband. Instead of amplifying same-sex conflicts, “New Life Begins” takes a different approach, painting a warm picture of life instead.
In the drama, women's relationships reach an unprecedented level of harmony. Even the tit-for-tat struggle between wives and concubines is handled in a warm manner.
Although Yuan Ying (Liu Ling Zi) is political marriage to the sixth prince, she never interferes with Yin Zheng's relationship with Li Wei, but helps Li Wei and exercises her ability to manage the family affairs; Hao Jia and Zhao Fang Ru (Chen Zi Han) are at loggerheads with each other at first sight, but when Hao Jia is being difficult by the first prince, Zhao Fang Ru is the first one to stand up for her. This kind of mutual support comes from the empathy and understanding between the same sex, and is also a tacit consensus reached in the same vulnerable situation.
In addition, the gender concept in “New Life Begins”, while avoiding overkill, also goes beyond the depth of conventional sweet drama. These instinctive questions in the face of gender stereotypes are an interrogation of labeling thinking, and remind us once again that the value of life can only be defined by ourselves.
A different kind of storytelling
In addition to the outstanding character feelings and story ideas, the key to the popularity of “New Life Begins” is the new way of writing life dramas that it has created. To create a sense of joy in the small scenes of life, and to add laughs in the daily trivialities, the creator needs to be precise in the density and scale.
The joy of life in this drama, on the one hand, is attributed to the highly ingenious lines. By replacing key information, a sense of contextual dislocation is achieved. On the other hand, the drama also adds many comic interactions, a technique rarely used in costume dramas.
“New Life Begins” also uses food as a central narrative driver.
Each kind of food is linked to the ups and downs of the plot, intentionally digging into the relationship between people and food, a dish is not only the backdrop of the story, but also an important medium for people to maintain their emotions.
“New Life Begins” soothes the hearts of urban weary youth without forcing out values. The sweet love that runs in both directions, and the warmth of women's support, make up a warm and healing poem.
This warm undertone is carried over from the production team's previous work, “My Heroic Husband”. The similar positioning of family drama allows “New Life Begins” to continue the joyfulness of life and the sweetness of “marriage first and love later” of the previous drama. Some viewers said straight away that this winter was healed by “New Life Begins”. This is exactly what the creators had in mind.
Now that we are halfway through the episode, how many more life trials await the Yin Zheng couple? Will the hilarious daily routine of Xin Chuan be able to last from the beginning to the end? Let's keep looking forward to it.
