The most classic aspect of this drama is that it is the first, and only, ancient costume wuxia drama with a villainous male protagonist in China.
If Jiang Yu Yan represents the pinnacle of female villains.
Then Xiao Ting from "Tian Jian Qun Xia" is the king among male villains.
The saying "It's not the villain you fear, but the villain who is charming and handsome" perfectly describes the character of Xiao Ting.
Back then, when this show premiered, it was astonishing. Who wasn't mesmerized by the charming, handsome, and powerful villainous male lead?
To the point that at the finale, when the female lead and the male lead perished together, many viewers let their morals follow their eyes, scolding the female lead for being too cruel and heartless.
Even more difficult is the cliché of Chinese dramas where, even if the male lead starts as a villain, he eventually redeems himself for the female lead and becomes a good person.
Xiao Ting, the male lead of "Tian Jian Qun Xia," refused to do so. While he loved the female lead, he also loved power.
He didn't abandon his pursuit of ambition and hegemony for the female lead. He refused to be redeemed, sticking to his path until death, with no regrets.
Such a complex and unpredictable villainous male lead, who was both good and evil, was undoubtedly full of charm.
Unfortunately, after the drama was released, it was reported for its "unhealthy values" by a parent.
The parent's reasoning was simple: "Evil cannot triumph over good. The male protagonist should be righteous. Villains cannot be male protagonists, otherwise, it will corrupt children."
Although the production team communicated and coordinated in various ways, the General Administration did not ban the drama. However, they imposed restrictions on future reviews, prohibiting protagonists from being villains.
Subsequently, many directors and production teams wishing to have male or female leads as villains found their applications blocked during reviews.
As a result, the villainous male lead in "Tian Jian Qun Xia" became a unique masterpiece in Chinese drama.
However, it is precisely because of this that this wuxia drama, with its numerous plot loopholes, has become a classic for many in their childhood.
Coincidentally, the actor who played the male lead Xiao Ting in his previous life, twenty years after this drama aired, played the master of Li Guzi, the male lead in "Goodbye My Princess."
Twenty years before being a master, he massacred the entire family of his beloved in the drama, and his disciple followed suit, killing the entire clan of his beloved.
It truly is like father, like son; birds of a feather flock together!
Jiang Ling had a deep impression of this classic.
However, her aesthetic perspective was different from other viewers.
While other viewers liked the charming and handsome villainous male lead, she particularly favored the female lead, Tang Ruo Xuan.
For no other reason than that Tang Ruo Xuan, in her years of work, was the female lead with the most upright values she had ever seen.
Xiao Ting, for the sake of the Five Dukes of the Heavenly Sword, killed Tang Ruo Xuan's entire family. When the truth was revealed, Tang Ruo Xuan did not forgive that man for the sake of so-called love. After failing to persuade him, she chose to be pierced by the Heavenly Sword, taking her unborn child with her, and perishing with the male lead.
You killed my entire family, so I will kill your closest and dearest.
Especially Tang Ruo Xuan's dying words: "You killed so many innocent people, leaving them homeless. I want you to taste the bitterness of a broken home and a ruined family too!"
Back when this drama aired, melodramatic romance dramas were all the rage, and countless viewers were poisoned by the romantic views of naive, kind, and saintly female leads.
Jiang Ling was more or less influenced. Hearing this sentence, she was deeply shaken.
These values were truly, truly upright!
The male lead killed the female lead's entire family, and the female lead retaliated by killing the male lead's most cherished loved ones, not even sparing herself and her unborn child.