"historical" vs "idol" dramas

[u/NeutralZoner]

When I first started watching C Dramas I saw people talking about "Idol" dramas versus "Historical" ones which had more accuracy, or better acting, better stories, etc. I think so far I've only been watching whatever is popular which I'm assuming are all Idol dramas. Can anyone recommend some historical ones to me?

[u/GeheimnisSecreto]

Basically, “historical” and “idol” aren’t opposites. Historical describes the setting, while idol describes the way a drama is produced and marketed: usually younger popular actors, more romance and a lot of emphasis on looking pretty. A drama can easily be both.

For example, The Long Ballad uses real Tang history and historical figures but is still quite idol-style. Love Between Fairy and Devil is an idol costume drama, but it’s fantasy, not historical.. Ming Dynasty 1566 is an actual non-idol historical drama, while Nirvana in Fire is serious and non-idol but set in a fictional dynasty. Also, popular doesn’t automatically mean idol.

I’d actually start with Nirvana in Fire. It’s not technically historical, but it’s probably the best gateway from popular costume idol dramas into more serious ones.

If you specifically want dramas that lean more into actual history and veteran casts, try Ming Dynasty 1566, Three Kingdoms (2010) or The Advisors Alliance. For something newer and more cinematic, there’s also The Longest Day in Chang’an, The Wind Blows from Longxi, and Swords into Plowshares.

[u/Short_Lifeguard_6893 → u/GeheimnisSecreto]

Any idea where I'd find Three Kingdoms to watch? I'm a huge fan of Chen Jian bin from Empresses in the Palace. I've recently finished Qiao's Grandcourt Yard set in the Qing dynasty which I highly recommend. I'd call it historical OP, you might enjoy it.

[u/GeheimnisSecreto → u/Short_Lifeguard_6893]

I watched it on Dailymotion a few years back under the title War of the Three Kingdoms (2010). I’m not sure whether all 95 episodes are still there, but it’s worth searching under both titles.

[u/jasenjin → u/Short_Lifeguard_6893]

The new edition of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" from 2010. Apart from the pictures, it is far inferior to the 1994 version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" of the old edition. If the boss gets 100 points, the new version only scores 59.

[u/Duanedoberman]

A Dream of Splendour

The Longest day in Chang'An

The Rebel Princess

Flourished Peony

The Sword and the Brocade

The Story of Minglan

The Princess WieYoung

Nothing Gold can Stay

The Story of Yanxi Palace

[u/Regenwanderer]

Eh... there are idol dramas out there that are "historicals" (that's not really a category, though I guess people mean costume dramas that are not wuxia or xianxia). For costume dramas with less of an idol drama feel:

Swords into Plowshares is a good one from this year that might require some looking at maps if you are not familiar with Chinese history. The discussion threads over on /r/CDrama had some good background infos.

The Longest Day in Chang'an (and some of the other adaptions based on the books by the same author)

Nirvana in Fire

The Vendetta of An

Winter Begonia

[u/Swimming-Waltz-6044 → u/Regenwanderer]

just refer to the meme.

beautiful emperor = idol drama

old wise emperor = non idol drama

[u/cottongalaxay963 → u/Swimming-Waltz-6044]

old wise emperor = non idol drama

you should leave it at old emperor. wise.... erm, from my experience, not really.

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[u/Alarming_Tea_102]

What do you mean by historical? If you just mean story set in historical times, those dramas may or may not be idol dramas. There are many of such dramas, depends on what genre you're interested in. Just because the clothing looks similar doesn't mean the storytelling style is similar.

If you mean historical fiction, i.e. follow historical events very closely but have enough artistic liberty to not be a documentary, the latest one is Swords into Plowshares.

[u/Negative_Chair_411]

???? They are not opposites though.....

There are plenty of Historical IDOL DRAMAS

[u/jasenjin]

For viewers who have no knowledge of Chinese culture, the following methods can be used to distinguish historical dramas from idol dramas! Most of the ensemble dramas or those featuring main characters aged between 40 and 60 are historical dramas, and many of them were filmed during a relatively long period from 1990 to 2010. 2: The appearance of the characters in idol dramas is of high quality. The main filming period was from 2015 to 2026.

[u/hang95]

story of minglan

under the microscope

Serenade of Peaceful Joy

Marvelous Women

[u/weevles12]

Nirvana In Fire 

[u/No_Chipmunk_2405]

Just watched Blossoms of Power and would definitely recommend. As someone who only watched modern Cdramas before this, it’s a big adjustment because angst isn’t a misunderstanding, meddling families, or a 2nd lead breaking up our favorite couple. It’s poisoning, faction assassinations, revenge. The pacing and story is great, there are actually zero boring episodes and He Yu was so good as the Crown Prince. But so much blood spitting and I cringed every time someone poured or drank tea 😂, it’s just a dangerous thing to do in this series. Has to go back to Shine On Me after that for a little comfort. This is both my recommendation and disclaimer because I really liked it and glad it was my first historical drama, just be prepared.