Joy of Life (2019)

oVERVIEW

Based on the hit 2017 web novel Qing Yu Nian by Mao Ni, Joy of Life (庆余年) tells the story of Fan Xian (Zhang Ruoyun), who wakes up as a baby in the Qing Dynasty with the knowledge of a 20-something year old man from the 21st century. Armed with his quick wit and natural intellect, the story follows Fan Xian’s adventures in this new world as he rises to be a hero in his own right, eventually coming head-to-head with the Emperor (Chen Daoming) himself.

This show premiered on Tencent Video and iQiyi in November of 2019 and ran for 46 episodes in total. This is the first season of three, and will only cover part of the original web novel. Joy of Life received very positive reactions from viewers, who were especially impressed with how well the novel was adapted into the pacing of the show. The cast is stacked with some of China’s most well known actors and actresses, and the writing has a perfect blend of drama and comedy. Check out the trailer in the video below:

Comments and Thoughts

I’m so excited to be recapping this show for you guys! My mom was actually the one who started raving about Joy of Life to me back when it aired in 2019, and after I started watching it I was hooked. So hooked… that I binged all 46 episodes in the span of a week (you guys do that too, right?), and was devastated when I found out it was only Season 1 of 3 and I had a lot more waiting to do until we got to the end.

The trailer above gives you a glimpse of how beautiful the show is, and they really hit it out of the park with the production quality. The sets, costumes, and action choreography are all stunning, and the casting is also spot on for each character. The trailer does make the show out to be heavier than it really is though - there are some awesome comedic moments in the show, some of which made me laugh out loud.

Now that Season 2 is scheduled to come out in the first half of 2024, I re-watched Season 1 over the holidays and was once again captured into the rich and details world of these characters. Hopefully these recaps will bring you up to speed and ready to dive into Season 2!