Focus On: Zhao Yunlan's Mother's Death

[thevetia]

This is actually a connected arc from episode 15 through episode 17, covering the introduction of Zhao Xinci (and Zhang Shi) and the origin of Zhao Yunlan’s hostile relationship with his father.

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I think we are meant to understand, if not sympathize with Zhao Xinci’s decisions - he expressly states that he is not a good husband and father but that he believes that it’s his “responsibility to preserve everyone’s stable and peaceful life”. This is actually a good Confucian position, a noble one even, to put the people/country/state ahead of family. It recalls the archetypal Chinese myth of Yu the Great who controlled the great floods, and who labored for 13 years refusing to see his wife and son as long as the people still suffered.

But we also see the story from the pov of Zhao Yunlan, a child who knows his father cares less for him than for his work, and who knows his father deliberately sacrificed his mother’s life.


Questions for thought:

What do you think is the drama’s view of Zhao Xinci? Good father? Trigger-happy xenophobe? Dedicated bureaucrat? Selfish spouse? Does putting them all together make for a plausible character?

Why do you think Zhao Xinci took Zhao Yunlan to the hostage site?

Is Zhao Yunlan’s adult hostility toward Zhao Xinci justified?

What do you think Shen Xi felt about her husband?

How interesting would it be if Shen Xi was herself Dixingren?