《逐玉》 Pursuit of Jade – Romance between a noble and a village girl

Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 took the world by storm as the most-watched and most-talked-about Chinese historical drama of 2026, globally!

I started watching Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》, just as the negative comments about the male lead’s pretty face, and the drama gained global attention. If you’re not aware of this, I will discuss this a bit more later…

So does Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 live up to its hype, and is the male lead too pretty for the role?

Synopsis

Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 follows the story of a butcher’s daughter, Fan Changyu (樊长玉), and Xie Zheng (谢征), a fallen noble seeking revenge.

Fan Changyu (樊长玉), unknownly, saves the famous Marquis of Wu’an (武安侯), Xie Zheng (谢征), and soon they agreed to a fake marriage in order to preserve Fan Changyu’s (樊长玉) assets. Their fake marriage eventually turns into true love, but war tears them apart.

Determined, Fan Changyu (樊长玉) wields her butcher’s knife on the battlefield, searching for justice and her husband.

Meanwhile, Xie Zheng (谢征) reclaims his title, fighting to protect his country and love. Reunited in battle, they stand together, defying fate and uncovering the truth.

The visuals, music and camera work

The visuals, music, and camera work are the highlights of Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》. Aesthetically, Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 is absolutely stunning!

The village where the main female character, Fan Changyu (樊长玉), lives is the best area of the whole show. So visually pleasing. Most of the villagers are also very nice and heart-warming to watch. Honestly, I could watch 40 episodes of their lives in that village!

I’ve rewatched so many scenes because they’re incredibly pleasing to the eye.

The director behind Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 is Zeng Qingjie (曾庆杰), who started his career directing short dramas. Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 is his second full-length drama, and his previous works are equally striking.

His style suits Chinese historical dramas well, so I’m looking forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

The Story

Like many Chinese historical dramas, Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 is set in a fictional world that mimics ancient China, and although it reflects many aspects of historical cultures and customs, don’t take it as real history.

The negatives

Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 suffers the same fate as most Chinese historical dramas, which is a great beginning, but a rough end.

As the plot moves from simple, peaceful village life to war and politics, many political characters and groups are mentioned in conversations but are not properly introduced until much later. I found this very difficult to follow, and was often lost on who they’re discussing. When it comes to TV shows, I’m one of those who need to match a face to a name for me to remember who they are.

As more characters got involved and as more complex plots unfolded, it became faster-paced and messier.

In the second half, there were many time-skips, which were difficult to follow at times if one isn’t fully paying attention. Many side characters, whose development was progressing well, suddenly disappeared and then reappeared in a brief scene many episodes later.

It felt that many scenes were cut to fit into the 40-episode limit. Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 is a drama where a few additional episodes would help improve the experience in the second half.

The character developments are generally good, except for the main female character, Fan Chang Yu. Her development felt rushed, and in the first half, she had a few ruthless moments that didn’t match her naive village girl character at the time – she hadn’t been through much hardship, so where did her sudden ruthlessness appear from?

The positives

Overall, it’s not all negative. Despite the inconsistent pacing, the story is well-told, with amazing main and supporting characters, many strong female characters and a healthy relationship.

The main male character, Xie Zheng, is a wonderful romantic partner; he’s very supportive and understanding. Without him, we would be dealing with endless misunderstandings! Maybe I’m biased because I like his looks (and I have a weak spot for noble x village girl romance), but in my opinion, his character carried the romance and their relationship!

The acting from all the cast is top-notch, particularly from those who played the bad characters. Amazing and convincing performance from them.

With a decent story, strong characters, beautiful costumes, visuals, and music, Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 is a wonderful show to watch.

Of course, we can’t discuss Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 without talking about the eye candy, and if he’s your type, it’s extra brownie points for the show…

The male lead

The main reason Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 exploded and caught the international audiences’ attention was due to the main male character, Xie Zheng, played by Zhang Linghe (张凌赫).

Zhang Linghe (张凌赫) looks undeniably stunning in Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》, and the director has done an amazing job at capturing all his beautiful angles; he looks much better than he did in other shows. The hairstyle, makeup and costumes really suited him.

A rich noble, particularly a handsome one, falling for a village girl is a weak spot of mine. So Xie Zheng (谢征) in Pursuit of Jade hits all the right spots; he’s handsome, has a hidden identity, and secretly helps the village girl – everything I love!

Sadly, attention always means negative comments. Many netizens say Zhang Linghe (张凌赫) is too pretty for the role of a general and have dubbed him the “foundation” general (foundation, as in the makeup people use to make their faces smooth and clear).

They say that even after a battle, he’s unscathed and still looks completely pristine, which doesn’t reflect how a real general would look after a battle.

My opinion on this is that I don’t mind this, and in fact, I enjoy the pretty face.

Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 is no doubt an idol drama. And idol dramas are created to target a specific audience and to feature famous, popular idols. They tend to have a simple plotline with beautiful aesthetics.

I tend to watch a lot of historical idol dramas because I enjoy the escape from reality, and I want to see pretty faces and beautiful aesthetics while relaxing to a simple plot. I also watch dramas while I’m doing chores around the house, and idol dramas with a simple (often mindless) plot are the perfect medium for this! Realism is not what I’m after.

Some audiences, particularly young teens, will take this too far, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. There is a huge idol culture in Asia, where young people spend a lot of time chasing their favourite idols. So it’s understandable that there’s concern that the focus on appearance and aesthetics over acting and storytelling is driving an even stronger and more obsessive idol culture.

I don’t chase idols, or am part of any fan club, I’m simply just someone who enjoys watching Chinese historical dramas with pretty aesthetics. My opinion is that it doesn’t bother me if characters are too pretty and not realistic, but what are your thoughts on this?

Difficulty for a Chinese learner

The general language used in most of the dialogue has a medium amount of historical flavour.

The difficulty of this drama lies in the number of characters and groups mentioned but not introduced until much later. It will be challenging to follow, as remembering names in a foreign language is not easy.

I would recommend this show to a Chinese learner with decent proficiency in Chinese and experience watching historical dramas with a light political setting.

My Final Thoughts

Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》 is not the most amazing show; it’s a decent historical drama, and I will recommend it to those who enjoy visuals and aesthetics, as it’s really stunning!

There is a lot of hype and negative comments around this show, but do note that it’s hyped due to the romance and appearances of the characters, not the storytelling, so don’t expect the most amazing plot you’ve ever seen.

Regarding the controversies, I recommend forming your own opinion. If you have a subscription to iQiyi and Netflix, where Pursuit of Jade can be streamed from, definitely give this a go, and decide for yourself if it’s a show that you enjoy or not.

Remember, if you are learning Mandarin Chinese, any input, regardless of quality, helps advance your language skills. You do not need to watch “serious proper” shows to improve. Idol dramas, perhaps mindless ones, are a great medium for language learners; they tend to have simpler plots and easier dialogues, which is exactly what you need as a language learner.

If you’ve seen Pursuit of Jade 《逐玉》, leave your comments below. I want to hear your thoughts.