Wallace Huo Becomes Immortal for “The Journey of Flower”
The currently filming fantasy-wuxia drama, The Journey of Flower <花千骨>, which stars Taiwanese actor Wallace Huo (霍建華) as a handsome immortal and mainland Chinese actress Zhao Liying (趙麗穎) as his pupil, recently unveiled its first teaser. The Journey of Flower is expected to be released in 2015.
Adapted from a well-known online novel of the same name, The Journey of Flower is the story of Hua Qiangu (Zhao Liying), an orphan who is considered unlucky and was given the name “thousand bones.” In order to avoid the pursuit of ghosts after her father’s death, she decides to take on a deity as her master and soon becomes the sole pupil of Bai Zihua (Wallace Huo). The two travel around to assist the needy, and Qiangu eventually falls for her gentle but heartless mentor, in spite of the many trials standing in their way.
Since its inception, The Journey of Flower has piqued the interest of potential buyers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Singapore. As a result, the production team chose to release a short teaser in order to give audiences a glimpse of the drama. However, producer Tang Lijun (唐麗君) emphasized that the video is not an official preview, since The Journey of Flower is only halfway through the filming process. The drama’s first official preview is scheduled to be released during the TV Festival de Cannes in October.
In a daring move, The Journey of Flower’s production team released two versions of the teaser video: one with the expected Mandarin Chinese dub, and the other with a surprising English voiceover. Although the mix of Chinese names and English dialogue is a little awkward, the translations flow quite well, and the video is sure to be an important step in the future globalization of mainland Chinese dramas.
The teaser also allowed fans to see the elegant and unique style of The Journey of Flower, which brings to life the imaginary and aesthetic concepts of the original novel. Much praise was given to the costumes, designed by Kenneth Yee (奚仲文), who won a Hong Kong Film Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his costume design work in Curse of the Golden Flower <滿城盡帶黃金甲> in 2007.
“The Journey of Flower” Teaser Trailer in Chinese
[vsw id=”12HzCjORke0″ source=”youtube” width=”500″ height=”375″ autoplay=”no”]
“The Journey of Flower” Teaser Trailer in English
[vsw id=”SvPmCMoE4Vo” source=”youtube” width=”500″ height=”375″ autoplay=”no”]
Source: QQ.com
This article is written by Joanna for JayneStars.com.
OMG. I nearly died looking at the photos. OMG. OMG!! I like this pairing. And OMG, obviously my choice and who is more beautiful is obvious but OMG.
Errr the trailer is showing too much and messy looking. But Wallace .. OMG…
OMG! OMG! OMG!
(LOL)
ZLY is a cutie, looking good w/ WH.
meeh! not manly at all!
Who cares about manly? He looks divine! I am so happy he is not rejecting his hotness in an ancient setting. No one can look more at ease and more beautiful as he is as someone from that sort of settings. OMG. Even looks beautiful puking blood.
sometimes you’ve got funny taste.
Huh? Why? He is the reason HDTV exists. He looks good in the pictures. For a long time he didn’t. OMG.
don’t like this type of sissy looking guy, that’s why.
Oh…please, rofl. Everybody has his or her own taste. Otherwise, the world will be boring.
I like his look too, but not the pairing.
admit it you are just jealous,lol.
He does look nice and clean. 😀
I think Wallace Huo is good-looking, especially when he’s not doing those silly goofy characters.
qwerty i agree with you. To me he’s sissy looking and not my type.
as for lol, i can only say “lol”. See qwerty’s comment. He doesn’t float my boat though he obviously does yours. Don’t know how you arrived at the “jealous” conclusion. Rofl!
if you put wallace into tvb now he can easily beat other tvb actors in terms of handsomeness.i think he fits in the class of louis ko,chilam,takeshi kaneshiro.many handsome guys looks a little feminine,good example was leslie cheung the king of handsomeness. i only call one is sissy if they also act like a girl.
Is the character meant to be sissy or do you mean effeminate? Or looking effeminate (like most manga sort of way) but is actually pretty masculine in terms of kung fu and such? Because I can’t see how that can be taken literally and still have a good love story between a girl and guy if the guy is Dong Fang Bu Bai sort of sissy who happens to be a very good fighter but also gay.
Sometimes some can’t be taken literally.
Wallace is a beautiful man when he is in those ancient costume. The hair in this series suits him perfectly and his costumes give him an air of grace. But just because he is beautiful doesn’t mean he is effeminate. Women can still fall deeply for him because deep within this beautiful look, there is a sense of masculinity of the ancient sense.
I am excited about this series purely because of Wallace and the looks in this series. All I can say is he looks heavenly without being inaccesible to women folk.
I totally agree….OMG!! Wallace is the personification of a living God with his flawless and exquisite features.
His character was describered as a sissy man.
Actually I think Wallace isnt as not pretty enough like how the character was describered. Andy Chen Yi is my choice for Bai Zihua.
not just referring to this character.
Google that name and luckily the casting director had more taste and vision.
@Funn Lim: It was because you havent read the novel. Andy Chen Yi might be not the best actor but he suits the character very well and he has been done similar character.
Your taste is not always the best and your gods are not always the most suitable.
Here are some drawing of Bai Zi Hua:
http://images-fast.digu.com/f0b58fbf182949bc965015a571f337ad0007.jpg
http://l.paipaitxt.com/118851/09/12/24/104_9811911_3da4326845dc3d0.jpg
This one was voted as best cosplay of Bai Zi Hua in Hua Quian Gu:
http://www.tfdms.tk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/8e2a8cbab9a4f6f0acf4324fd4b7a93e.jpg
Look very similar to Chen Yi:
http://f.ptcdn.info/115/013/000/1386589765-69266546jw-o.jpg
Reading the plot above and the trailer, none of these actors have the gravitas to be a master and none of them beautiful in a masculine way. To think that Wallace is called sissy, I see the others voted as best suited looked worse. Sorry, luckily the casting director looked beyond literal sense. Wallace is perfect looks wise, gravitas wise, acting I don’t know yet.
Bai Zi Hua is describered as a fairy-like beautiful man, not a masculine man. The girl in the novel thinks he is a beautiful woman at first glance.
I still think Wallace is a miscast for the look. First, he is a bit too dark for Bai Zi Hua. Second, he looks like a witty scholar more than a man over flower. The pale makeup doesnt make him fairy.
It was similar to the Lan Ling Wang of William Feng. William Feng is handsome, but he doesnt look Lan Ling Wang. Chen Yi as Lan Ling Wang was welcomed more for that reason.
Acting wise is a diferent story.
alluka,after looking at your links,i have to agree with funn that wallace is a better choice than yours, although your choice is “sissy” enough but im missing the x-factor what wallace does have.he simply have more charisma to attracts me to watch this drama.
“Actually Im exactly a lawyer, fully certificated.”
Why would a blood sucking lawyer wasting time here. 😀 🙁 LOL!
Agreed that Andy Chen Yi would’ve been a better fit for Bai Zihua – they’re both super sissy looking. What is UP with Chinese stories these days requesting such SISSY faces. Omg. Are they so affected by Japanese mangas that they now see men with pointy-elf features as “manly” and “beautiful”? Well honey, they don’t do a thing for me.
I’m SO glad Wallace Huo was picked. If it was a direct translation of the story, the male lead alone would’ve left a huge distaste in my mouth and I wouldn’t even be interested.
Wallace is a huge heartthrob – even now. I like him better with bangs though.
@Moncheri: The new trend of male lead in Chinese love novels now are man over flower. I think it is affected by the look of Korean stars.
I choose Andy Chen Yi because he has exactly that look for Bai Zi Hua as describered in the novel. As for the cosplayer, his name is Xiao Xiao Bai and he was voted as the best cosplayer of Bai Zi Hua, however I like the other version of Bai Zi Hua more (cosplayed by 欣赏http://upload.cccnews.com.cn/2012/0411/1334114050513.jpg)
If any of you saw Princess Of Lanning King, you will see that Andy Chen Yi has that potential. He suits the roles of beautiful man.
However, Bai Zi Hua is indeed not my most favourite character. In fact the four supporting male characters are more interesting than him. In the trailer you can see two, but I dont know if their parts will be as good as the novel.
The trailer of princess of lanling king seems boring :/ true that Chen yi looks good as lan ling wang, but William feng was masculine :0 which I find attractive, he will be my only lan ling wang lol. A lot of the korean male stars that are boy over flower, also still very masculine, not sissy. None of their male characters that i see are sissy, it’s all “beautiful but masculine”. (Attitude wise anyway)
@Alluka – what does that mean? “Man over Flowers”? Korean guys might be somewhat girly looking, but they still exude manliness. I don’t get the same sense of manliness from Andy…he lacks the muscles lol. Some ppl can pull off the tranagendered look, but to me, Andy is not one of them.
“Man over flower” is a term appeared after Hana Yori Dango (Man over flower) is adapted. It means the man who is very beautiful, more beautiful than the flower.
Technically “man over flower” is “hana yori DANshi” (花より男子). It’s a play on a Jap proverb “Hana Yori Dango” (花 より 団子), means “dumpling over flower” or to take the practical over the aesthetic.
“Man over flower” doesn’t mean man is more beautiful than flower. It’s a preference to chose man over flower, just as it burrowed from the original proverb to chose practical thing (dumpling) over the aesthatics (flower).
I never thought Wallace good-looking until this drama. He looks SO hot here♥♥♥♥♥!!!! Definitely my most anticipated drama next year.
I just saw some of Zhao Liying’s pictures and she is not pretty and cute at all. There is something about her face that looks very “plastic.” It doesn’t look natural.
Before and after pictures:
http://www.wantinews.com/news-4747714-Zhao-Liying-Zheng-Shuang-girlhood-plastic-surgery-before-and-after-actress-Yang-Mi-Shots.html
http://www.hinews.cn/news/system/2013/06/17/015774517.shtml
she looks exactly the same in the comparison pictures you posted -_____________-
http://www.hinews.cn/pic/0/14/38/42/14384282_866670.jpg
Just look at the chin, lips, nose, and eyes.
I think she may have had some things done,but they were likely very minor so she still overall looks like her old self and not the typical plastic doll look from extensive PS.
I also think she looks the same like how she was in the past except perhaps she was much younger and no make up. Maybe she did touch up a bit but her make up is not helping her much. Her nose and eyes seem touched up.
I personally do not care. We are in 2014 now. A little surgery here and there is so common place now. It is just so old news. I love natural beauty but there are less and less on telly now. No big deal. As long as the person still looks good and not plastic, their acting skills are more important to me. Liying is a good actress I enjoy watching almost all the dramas she stars in apart from Secret of the wife.
True, but what people hate most is when they lie about having PS. If you have the courage to do it why not have the courage to admit it?
I also think LiYing is very cute and pretty and I enjoy all of the series that I have seen her in. I just saw her in Shan Shan lai le and really enjoyed her performance,she was so funny and cute. Was the Secret Of the wife that bad?was that the one with Hawick?
Secret of a wife has bad plot to make it a bad series.
Really? I will give that series a skip then since I cannot endure a series with a bad plot regardless of the cast.
Yap, Alluka is right. Good cast but very bad plot. I skip more than half the drama. I hate excessive mother-in-law bullying in dramas. Just watched the last 10 ep.
I really cant understand the intention of the scriptwriter for Secret of a wife. Hawick has a bad role. Li Ying looks the worst in that series amongst all series she acted in.
my-oh-my, he’s so hot
Why do they have to dub it like it’s an episode of the Power Rangers? Soooo stupid.
wow i cringed so hard during the trailer’s english version
Same xD but it sounded so funny as I had no idea what they were saying. But I’m looking forward to this drama! 😀
This looks really good. I like Wallace as well as this pairing. If there’s a Chinese drama to watch after so many years, this must be it.
LIKE! LIKE! LIKE! the english version … now I understand fully 😀
I am looking forward to this series! Wallace looks so pretty! Heh Woo. I like ZLY, she is very cute!
This one was a quite good novel :). Comparing it to Huo si yan, this Huo has better story. This is why I look forward to watch it. Luckily the outfit doesnt look as funny as Huo si yan.
BTW, where is Huo si yan? Im still waiting for it to be aired.
The english sounds super weird. They sound like kids reading from a script.
Totally agree and that was the feeling that I got too.
Not a fan of the actress, the trailer looks good. But legends of swords trailer looks really good, too, and that show disappointed me and so bad that I gave up after 2 episode, so I don’t think this one will fair much better, will try, but I wouldn’t hold my hope up >_> Wallace looks too good lol, and other characters look either too gay or too weird >_>
They should sub the English version, cant figure what what they talking about
It looks better than expected but the casting for 杀阡陌 is still very disappointing. They have also removed some characters from the original novel and I was hoping to see them in the drama initially.
Agree! Sha Qian Mo was my most favourite character and the cast for him looks disappointed. And look like they cut out few side stories. I know it is hard to adapt a novel like Huo Quian Gu but it is sad to see the absence of some characters I like.
The trailer looks promising! Wallace is suppper cute. I am looking forward to this drama ^^
@ the english dubs – when you replay the dialogue in english, everything sounds so dramatic lol. we don’t really notice the difference in chinese, maybe ’cause we’re so used to it, but when you rephrase the whole thing in another language, lord we’re such drama queens.
WALLACEEEEEE!!! yessss
Sigh. I wonder when they will ever stop dubbing him or her or everyone else.
Can anyone give a summary on the story and characters? Like how old is this immortal? Etc etc.
I believe Wallace’s character BZH should be low or mid-20’s. Once a person achieves immortality, they can stay looking at that age forever.
In the novel, HQG actually uses magical powers to retain her childlike looks for the majority of the novel because she fears things would change between BZH and her if she grows up. It’s not until HQG becomes the Demon-God that she transforms into her adult form.
[SPOILERS about the novel]
The story revolves around HQG, who was born with the strange fragrance that attracts evil spirits. After her father dies, she journeys to find someone who would accept her as a disciple so she can learn to fight off evil spirits. By chance, she meets BZH and is accepted into his sect, of which he is the leader. BZH is renowned throughout the immortal world but has not accepted a disciple until HQG. As BZH and HQG gradually spend time with each other as master and disciple, HQG falls in love with BZH, but she knows the love is forbidden so she stays silent.
During a fight against an enemy, BZH is accidentally injured by HQG. The only way for HQG to save him is to steal various weapons kept by different sects and join them, which will enable her to save BZH. The problem with this is joining the weapons can also brings forth the Demon-God, an entity so powerful that can destroy everything.
Even knowing the risks, HQG steals the weapons. She manages to cure BZH, but unfortunately, the Demon-God is also awakened and by accident, transfers its power to HQG. The only reason her body can tolerate the power is because she is the last living God, which is why she constantly as a strange fragrance which attracts evil spirits.
As punishment for stealing the weapons and releasing the Demon-God, the bones in her body are broken and she is blinded before she is thrown into a wilderness. People sent to the wilderness have never returned. Here, HQG meets other people who have committed wrongs against the good sects and banished like herself. Finally, they manage to escape and HQG becomes their leader.
At this point, HQG has the power of the Demon-God but it’s kept under control. HQG has a very cute caterpillar that speaks. The two have been friends for a long time so when the caterpillar dies while trying to save HQG, at this point HQG transforms into the Demon-God out of grief.
In the end, the good sects led by BZH and the “evil” sects led by HQG have a final battle. BZH kills HQG, thinking she is using her powers to destroy everything. It turns out that HQG only created that illusion. BZH becomes mad with grief when he realizes what he has done, but it’s too late. He has killed HQG.
Years pass. BZH has given up his position as sect leader and searches for HQG everywhere, not believing she has died. And his hunch is right. Another guy who also loves HQG saved a sliver of her energy as she was dying and sends it to be reincarnated. So HQG is reborn again, but she is dumb because she is missing the other parts of her energy.
Finally, BZH finds HQG. He also manages to gradually gathers all of her missing energy and HQG is cured. Happy ending.
lidge, thanks for the summary. Honestly, I thought it sounds messy and complicated and very very weird with obssession over youth and child like characters. Hopefully the scriptwriter will do a good job in summarising and taking out the unnecessary elements. Reading this summary, I am quite doubtful if the leading lady can do ALL that.
I recently finished the novel and loved it, which is why this is my most anticipated drama next year. Maybe I just did a bad job summarizing the plot for you, haha.
I recently finished a drama called Boss & Me with Zhao Yi Ling as the leading female and she impressed me so I’m not too worried with ZYL as Hua Qian Gu. The author of the novel is also the scriptwriter for the drama. I think that’ll be good because the drama will stick closely to the novel plot.
Thanks for the summary lidge! I want to read the novel but way too lazy and busy to right now. I just finished watching Boss and Me too. Loved that series and finally I see a modern series from China that I actually like. I love her with Zhang Han and they have great chemistry. Hope they can collaborate again in the future in an ancient series. I love her in Female Prime minister too. She and Chen Xiao are sweet too. That was my first time seeing her. She looked like a younger version of Rebecca Wang which I think may be one of the reasons she was chosen for the role of Qing Er in the new Huan Zhu Ge Ge.
Thank you very much for taking the time to summarise the story.
Thanks for detailed summary. Sound like a good drama. Will be a challenging drama.
Is this based on a novel?
Here is the name of the novel: 仙侠奇缘之花千骨
Link to the book: http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=316358
Thanks for the info!
I have been watching wuxia movies for decades/ever since I was a little kid. I have never come across a man who looks incredibly good looking in ancient costumes ie. Wallace Huo. I became a ‘fangirl’ (even I am too old to be one) after watching Vigilantes in mask- Yi Zhi Mei. Wallace has beautiful features. IMO, he has the chiselled face of Andy Lau, expressive eyes of Tony Leung and the ‘ancient costume grace’ of Adam Cheng.
Have you watched this? The Glamorous Imperial Concubine? The character is despicable but Wallace…. OMG. And don’t forget Yan Kuan or whatever is his new name now. Omg, not quite OMG simply because of preference.
Yan Kuan is absolutely stunning to look at in ancient dramas. Thankfully, he’s never done Qing Dynasty dramas which don’t look flattering style-wise to any man.
Maybe he will be the one to make that sort of hairstyle look good? You will never know!
Not even the most handsome man can make the pigtail/shaved head style look good.
The pigtail was a symbol of subjugation to the Manchus and is responsible for the persistent racist and negative images of Chinese males in the west.
Yuan Hong is still handsome in qing hairstyle with half a shaved head. Have ypu watched BBJX? (Drooling over 13th) Han Dong was handsome as well.
Hmm. Qing Shi Huang Fei. Ok plot, bad endong but gorgeous eye candy for women. Had the most bautiful blood spitting scenes ever from Yuan (Yi) Kuan and Wallace Huo.
Durian City may be a violent wife-basher but he is the most beautiful evil king ever. Had shed many tears over Durian City & Meng Gas(祈佑≈滊油). Clap-clap to Ruby for the perfect male leads casting!
Seriously, these two should go and play Prince of Lan Ling. William Feng does not have the wow effect and the other guy looks like a woman. Wallace and YK fit the perfect ancient handsome gentleman. Handsome, clean yet not sissy.
“Durian City may be a violent wife-basher but he is the most beautiful evil king ever. Had shed many tears over Durian City & Meng Gas(祈佑≈滊油). Clap-clap to Ruby for the perfect male leads casting!”
Agree! Agree! I actually pitied Durian City for how he died and I also pitied Qiyou for the writers dismissing him again and again and again. That man got no proper love! Ever notice Ruby chosen the handsomest men BUT the least attractive women to costar with her? Ahhh smart girl!
I may dislike or even hate QSHF but you know, I do think of it fondly because of those 2 handsome men and gorgeous costumes. I am excited again for Wallace in this new series. So beautiful.
Durian City, I MISS YOU!!
Wallace is chosen for the drama for many reasons. Apart from his looks, he is a very experienced actor and I believe he will make a good Bai Zi Hua. There is huge expectations on this drama and lots of money invested in producing this drama. Who would pick a new Actor- Andy Chen Yi to be a lead role over Wallace. That will be drama suicide. Wallace has marketing value and acting credibility. He may not be the best actors, (I prefer Deng Chao). But he has all the right ticks needed for this drama. He has a huge fan base and his name invites lots of interest in overseas boardcasting buyers. The casting of Bai Zi Hua is well chosen.
Andy Chen Yi leads a drama before, and one more in the making?
I also like Deng Chao’s acting.
@hohliu – wow hi5 for mentioning deng chao. Not many ppl know of him cus i dont think he really does a lot of idol dramas (tbh it’s cause it’d be a waste of his talents.) He’s an amazing actor.
@moncheri,
It is not true that Deng Chao is not known. Many that watch China series do know him and he is pretty famous, but of course if you do not watch China series at all or only see a few then you will not know him. Those who watch only tvb or Hk series only would of course not know him.
Actually, you used the right word- Idol dramas. Deng Chao is more of a Movie star now. He is doing less TV dramas. The dramas he picks are not idol dramas either. He pick very heavy weighted dramas to star in. He is definitely a actor that love a good challenged. He is not afraid to act in heavy weighted theme dramas. And the drams will focus on his good acting skills and not how he presents himself. He draws his audience into the drama with his acting. Mesmerizing.
@hohliu: I like Deng Chao from his debut, but the sequel of The Four movie is a mess. Deng Chao cant save it.
@FunnLim, the styling for Wallace in Glamourous Concubine was breathtaking.
@Alluka, LOL, if the novel’s men are all sissies, might as well get women to act in these roles – just dressed them as males. 😉
I absolutely hate it when women act in men roles. I saw that in quite a few series back then and it gave me goosebumps. For example,in The Legend of the White Snake with Angie,Maggie and Cecilia. Angie and Maggie were both beautiful but Cecilia as Xu Xian really creeped me out. Couldn’t they find a handsome actor to play that role? They later casted her as the son too. I was so disappointed. I do not mind if the men are sissies but just have real men play the roles.
Back in the black and white movie days, many females play the male roles in ancient wear dramas. I suppose it was acceptable those days as classical dramas require special training on movements and most experts were women then.
I agree that seeing a woman dressed up as a man gives a different feel. I as a female certainly won’t swoon over a female dressed up as a man no matter how ‘beautiful’ it looks. I will swoon if it is a man. 😉
@Mango Tango. I love the older shows with female axress as Male lead. I have almost the complete collection of my all time favourite Ling Bo’s dramas. She is one of the best Female actress that deserves the Flower Boy label(I know it is a irony but one has to watch her drama- Three Smiles to understand why I said it.
Mango Tango, looks like we are from similar generation….
Go further back. Ivy Ling Bo was a good actress who acted the role of a male lead well. I could not bear to watch the later shows like The Legend of the White Snake with Angie,Maggie and Cecilia either. It was just not good.
They only look beautiful (and sometimes describered as sissy) but they still love woman :P, this is why a woman shouldnt be casted.
I have never seen a dammei is adapted into series :P.
Watch Ling Bo’s Three Smiles. It is a very old drama but it is very fun to watch. There are other adaptions but Ling Bo’s is definitely the best.
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/GuvwVw7fyEw
Thanks for the clip, hohliu. Interest clip.
Aiyoh, I still hope a dammei will be adapted into series :P.
The storyline sounds interesting.Great to see Li Ying and Wallace paired up. I had a feeling that they would eventually pair up so glad that it is coming true.
I agree, they are both actors that are capable of creating great good chemistry with their partners in all their previous dramas. The age difference between them is going to be very interesting to watch.
First time watching Li Ying. She has this innocent wide eyed look. She looks fitting for this role? Wallace has been paired with many beautiful ladies. I love his chemistry with Tiffany in Perfect Couple. And the unfulfilled love of Xu Changqing and Zixuan in CP3. Throw in the beautiful song, Promise Not Love Me this couple became my favourite. 🙂
@hohliu, yes I remembered Ling Po’s three smiles movie. It’s with Li Ching (hope I remember the name correctly) right? I enjoy that movie when I was a kid. Ling Po acted well as a ‘man’. Maybe, she could have passed off as a man. She wasn’t very beautiful so she didn’t look too fake to be a man. IMO, a man is a man. The drawings of BZH in the novel looks more like a woman than a man. Why must a ‘beautiful man’ look like a woman? LOL, not my idea of a ‘beautiful man’.
I always wonder why the Chinese/Japanese/ Korean draws beautiful men in their artwork. The Westerner will be big muscular men. I personally like a man to look normal and not like a female. What is the attraction? I wonder.
Looking at the comics, most characters have big dowey eyes and pointed chin! They look alike. 😉
I don’t like big muscular men. Find them scary.
They are ideal men in yan qing novel trend. They are called suai ge or nan shen. However regardingless their woman-like face, they are musclar men with six-pack. Overall, the yan qing male lead are angel face, devil body.