Chronicle of Life is about a palace maid named Lin Lang who captures the attention of the Emperor. But when Lin Lang was a child, she witnessed her family being brutally murdered, and it turns out the Emperor was responsible. After the attack, Lin Lang encounters the Emperor, but is unaware of who he is. They rescue each other and grow close, but she later ends up with amnesia and doesn’t remember him.
The Emperor’s loyal subject and friend Rong Ruo took care of Lin Lang during this time, and he eventually fell in love with her. As Lin Lang grows closer to the Emperor in the present, her tragic past threatens to come between all of them.
Chronicle of Life is my third completed Chinese drama following Wu Xin: The Monster Killer and Love O2O. There were a lot of different aspects that I enjoyed, and I really loved it overall.
Lin Lang (Zheng Schuang) is that kind soul who always puts others before her. Because of her relationship with the Emperor she is constantly persecuted from all angles. She is blamed for things she didn’t do and even has many threats against her life. But she is so forgiving of everyone, and she accepts it and looks for the best in people. Selfless to a fault.
The Emperor (Lau Hawick) is such a sweet guy! Right from the beginning he is so nice and lovable. He also never holds back in showing his love for Lin Lang, even amidst her constant protests. This guy is adorable, and he was so great to have as a lead. Although I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the awful hair in Chinese historicals, lol.
The Emperor and Lin Lang are such a beautiful couple. They go through so much heartbreak because it seems that the world is completely against them being together. But when they have a chance to just be with each and enjoy each other’s company, their adorable love shines bright. Their relationship is a mix between lighthearted fun and tragedy. It was definitely an interesting journey to go on with them.
I really enjoyed the story of the evil eunuch, Chang Qing (Zhang Edward). At first, he’s your classic villain whose sole purpose in life is to get revenge on the Emperor for the death of his family. And for the most part, he stays that way.
But the latter third of the drama really develops his character. When he draws the affections of one of the maids, Yi Chu, things begin to change. She is his complete opposite: pure, innocent, naive, and kind. At first, he his annoyed by her, but eventually he finds himself developing feelings for her in return.
While he continues with his plans, he finds himself worried for her and what her involvement with him could do to her. This relationship of opposites was something I really enjoyed, and my heart broke for them as I knew their finding happiness would be quite a challenge.
Rong Ruo (Zhang Vin) is Lin Lang’s childhood friend, and he loves her dearly. He protects her however he can no matter the cost. Their relationship was very interesting to watch play out.
Rong Ruo is also the Emperor’s closest friend, so when the Emperor takes a liking to Lin Lang, Rong Ruo must deal with his conflicting loyalties to the Emperor and his feelings for her.
Everything about how this drama was filmed is absolutely gorgeous. This was a drama where I just found myself constantly in awe of what I was seeing. There were just so many rich, beautiful colors in all of the sets and costumes as well as such stunning outdoor shots with lush green hills, flowers, and multi-colored blossom trees. I just loved looking at each and every scene. Chronicle of Life also has a lot of beautiful music to really add to the setting.
I adored the funny interactions between our main couple in the beginning of the drama. Before Lin Lang knows he is the Emperor, the two bicker a lot, and many times she even feels annoyed with him. It was so much fun, and I loved it!
The middle stretch of the drama does get a tad repetitive with Lin Lang constantly being persecuted, almost dying, and needing to be rescued repeatedly. But there were a lot of positive elements during this time between our couple as well as the thickening revenge story, so I was never bored.
The latter third then really picks back up with the emotions of everyone running high as evil plans come to a head and secrets are revealed. I was fully invested and involved in the story all the way through.
ENDING SPOILERS BELOW
The Emperor and Lin Lang really go through a lot during the drama. Everyone always seemed to be against them, and their love just seemed completely ill-fated. The ending was absolutely heartbreaking.
After losing Rong Ruo and her brother, the Emperor and Lin Lang are forced to live out their lives separately, never seeing each other. One of the final scenes depicts the two lovers residing in the palace but separated by a wall as they longingly reach out for each other. It was so beautiful and tragic.
Chronicle of Life was a feast for the senses in many ways. It was filled with so much beauty and felt so rich and full. I loved the Emperor and Lin Lang so much and could never get enough of their love story. It is definitely a beautifully tragic story that left a lasting impression.
My Rating: 7.5/10
Click here for more Kdrama Reviews.
Sign Up to receive email updates of kdrama reviews, casting news, trailers, and more.
Kdrama Kisses 
I am avoiding this post…I am avoiding this post…(nope…too late, and another show added to the list 😂). All kidding aside, great post. I have watched a lot of historical Chinese movies, but not yet a complete series. This looks very cool, but it is with all the things coming and that I still have to watch, not very likely I’ll be seeing this one soon. Great read though: thanks for sharing 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m very new Chinese dramas as a whole. It’s a little harder to work them in sometimes since they are usually longer than kdramas. But I’m really liking the historicals. While Chronicle of Life is good for a more traditional historical, I think you would like something like Wu Xin: The Monster Killer maybe even more. It has a big fantasy element with the main guy being immortal and having to battle spirits and monsters. It was pretty fun, and that one is only 20 eps of about 40 min. each. It’s on DramaFever for me. Sorry, I couldn’t resist mentioning it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha…great 🤔 No, don’t apologise, I can never get enough recommendations. This month I have just to much too watch and other things planned as well (the holidays are ofcourse coming up), but in january, I will probably have a week off so I can catch up on a few things 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Same here. I just collect recommendations, lol. Yes, December is jam packed. I have so much stuff with the blog at the end of the year. But then January has like 7 or so drama premieres I’m interested in. So I’ll be catching up on some of the dramas airing now and then start to work my way through 2017 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The problem is besides K-dramas, I also love Anime, movies, books, regular tv shows, and boardgames. Maybe next year I am going to make some kind of spreadsheet planning everything out (but I already know a project like that is probably doomed to fail anyway 😂)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, it’s difficult with divided interests. I do watch some regular tv shows, but they tend to be pretty meh. So most of my focus is on kdramas (with some cdramas & jdramas here and there). But even when mostly focused on just kdramas, it’s still impossible to keep up with all of the dramas I want to watch. I don’t have a spreadsheet, but I guess I have one in my head since I’m pretty disciplined and scheduled in my drama watching, hehe. It does help me to know how much time I have available when making drama choices 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Korean Drama Update for October 2016 | Kdrama Kisses
Nice review. 🙂
Fiew exceptions aside these longer traditional c-historicals are not really my thing, I tend to loose interest at some point. They do look pretty though. Viki has this one as well.
Btw. WuXin is going to have a 2nd season, but no idea when it’ll be out. Hopefully sometime next year.^^
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks 🙂 Yeah, I think that can be a problem with any longer drama, with a few exceptions of course. And this one did get a bit repetitive in the middle, but luckily it then went out strong. But yes, gorgeous to look at! It definitely helps me if the drama is just so-so but has nice visuals to engage me.
I’m excited about Wu Xin! I just saw that about a month back and was surprised and happy. We don’t see a lot of 2nd seasons, so it’s hard to know what to expect in terms of a quality story. But I’m thrilled that they’ve got most of the original cast back and will hope for the best 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Best Korean Dramas of 2016 | Kdrama Kisses
I have two recommendations for you. 1) Scarlett Heart 2) Nirvana in Fire.
Whichever one you’ll chose, you’ll lose alot of sleep either way….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the recommendations 🙂 I loved the Korean version of Scarlet Heart, so I definitely need to watch the Chinese one. I’ve also heard lots of good things about Nirvana in Fire. Sounds like I should prepare for a lack of sleep, hehe
LikeLike