MyDramaList MDLv6.6
Home→ General Asia→ Legend of Anle→ Show & Movie Discussions→

Legend of Anle vs The Long Ballad : Di Zi Yuan/Ren Anle vs Li Changge

Titania

Many are wondering or assuming that LOA & TLB have the same plot or Dilraba's playing the same character or in the same setting judging from the synopsis, so I decided to create an informative discussion thread to point out the massive distinctions and some similarities they have. This might contain spoilers but not the very heavy conclusive ones that may ruin people's experience in watching or anything.

Plot similarities:
1. Both LOA & TLB drives and sets off the story with the female lead's family & clan getting exterminated by the emperor, propelling them on a path of revenge. 

2. Both are action-packed and war themed pieces showcasing strong, smart & independent female characters and brilliantly written strong & smart male characters complementing and backing the independence of their love interests & marveling at their admirable qualities. The backwardness of ancient girls/women are shattered to pieces by the modern, forwardness of the men & women, worthy of great applause. 

3. In spite of being revenge-driven stories, the protagonists don't lose themselves in cold-blooded lane of exacting revenge losing conscience, rather, both show the protagonists as upright and righteous to the core (in opposite ways). Both have the vision & end goal of establishing a prosperous & glorious nation & to bring peace to the people.

Plot differences:
1. The emperors that set off our protagonists on the path of revenge are polar opposites in LOA & TLB, which is a contributing factor for the different choices of the two characters Di Zi Yuan (Ren Anle) & Li Changge. While the emperor in TLB was worthy of the throne, being a good emperor working for the people, the one in LOA is a complete opposite, not only killing off our heroine's family in cold blood, framing them as rebels & traitors but also got 80,000 soldiers buried in war, never repenting/regretting for his atrocities.

2. The political intrigue, conspiracies & schemes, power struggle & investigations are heavy in LOA, unlike TLB which doesn't delve into such things. TLB can be considered a lighter piece highlighting coming of age & finding their paths, while LOA has the characters established in their paths & maneuvering their well polished tactics.

3. The ultimate goal in TLB was portraying the character growth of Li Changge forsaking her path of revenge & choosing peace & glory for the Great Tang by letting the emperor off, her journey of enlightening & discovering herself & encountering allies along the way. But LOA is more like a Nirvana in Fire, a thorough calculated scheme of chess played to seek justice by our heroine, Di Zi Yuan (Ren Anle) for her clan & army. Of course there are moments outside of her calculation & that's where our male protagonist Han Ye comes in. By no means, forgiveness is an option in the story of Anle, because that would be an injustice to her loved ones & the ones serving them. This is where LOA & TLB diverges boldly & distinctly, but I'd say they converge at one point, that is their goal & dream in establishing glory & peace for their nation.

Character analysis : Di Zi Yuan/Ren Anle vs Li Changge 
1. While both of them are strong & smart characters in their respective settings & circumstances, DZY can be considered matchless & flawless not only in comparison to Li Changge, but almost all female characters we've come across as of yet. Her sheer influence & power in commanding battles & court beat everyone else. While we've seen women assume power reigning over harem or win wars, we get to see Ren Anle as an unbeatable war god & Di Zi Yuan as a General, a Minister, a Marquis, finally a Regent (not as the mother of the crown prince as seen in general but because of her own intellect in ruling & battle exploits), she is hailed as an Emperor figure, a candidate of the throne. 

2. Skills or schemes, court or battlefield, DZY is a character who polished herself to be unmatched in all. We may see them both fighting wars & making strategies, but DZY can be considered a veteran as she is hailed as a War God, winning battles since an adolescent.

3. While gender has always been a barrier to rising to power in court & battles, and so we see our heroines disguising themselves as men to accomplish what they want, as in the case with Changge, for DZY/RA however, its a wholly different case. She has been consistently in power ruling over men, as woman, as herself, never even needing any disguise to gain any convenience. The women empowerment has been taken to a whole different level by Di Zi Yuan and many other female characters in LOA.

In conclusion, Li Changge can be considered a child, an amateur version giving a fraction of glimpse of Di Zi Yuan/ Ren Anle, but by no means or arguments, the whole, or the same as her.

A twitter thread link for the achievements and accomplishments/developments in Di Zi Yuan's extraordinary growth: 
https://twitter.com/Blink_AliceShen/status/1392133500401332224?t=y-RNicmYP88hkjZqZ-pcjA&s=09

edited Quote
mukkanna

Wonderful summary! 

My thoughts: 

Character analysis (1). Li Changge is strong and smart--for a woman. If she were a man, she'd be second in nearly every aspect to Ashile Sun (in my opinion, mostly because he has a lot more life experience than she does; more actual battle experience, more political maneuvering experience, etc.). Di Ziyuan is strong and smart compared to both other women and men. While there are lots of people who are stronger (but not smarter) or smarter (but not stronger), Han Ye is probably the only person in Yunxia, male or female, who could match her. If they fought seriously, it'd be a toss-up as to which person would end up on top.

Character analysis (3). I don't think gender is really a barrier for Di Ziyuan at all. As a result, from the beginning there was no need to hide her gender by cross-dressing.

In Yunxia, it's not unusual for women to be in positions of power, whereas Li Changge is considered somewhat of an anomaly as a woman who participates in sports, riding, archery, strategy, and martial arts. Her cousin Li Leyan is considered much more of what a princess "should" look like. 

For Di Ziyuan, she's actually only one of the many women in powerful positions. Right off the top of my head there are 3 unmarried women who rule or have ruled nations, 3 women who have commanded armies, and 4 women who are indisputably the chiefs of their influential clans. The single most feared person in all of Yunxia is a woman. And if not for some past events, the first emperor could easily have been a woman rather than a man. Part of the reason why the emperor takes the threat of Di Ziyuan so seriously is because gender is not a barrier to her taking his throne. While all of these women are considered atypical, no one thinks they should not be leading armies or ruling because they're women.

Quote
Titania
 mukkanna:
Character analysis (1). Li Changge is strong and smart--for a woman. If she were a man, she'd be second in nearly every aspect to Ashile Sun (in my opinion, mostly because he has a lot more life experience than she does; more actual battle experience, more political maneuvering experience, etc.). Di Ziyuan is strong and smart compared to both other women and men. While there are lots of people who are stronger (but not smarter) or smarter (but not stronger), Han Ye is probably the only person in Yunxia, male or female, who could match her. If they fought seriously, it'd be a toss-up as to which person would end up on top.

Character analysis (3). I don't think gender is really a barrier for Di Ziyuan at all. As a result, from the beginning there was no need to hide her gender by cross-dressing.

I completely have the same opinion on these analyses. I believe, Li Changge matches/can beat even Ashile Sun in terms of intelligence/smarts, not in terms of strength though. On the other hand Di Zi Yuan is a polished dagger in all terms, literally a formidable individual in all aspects with a characteristic supremacy that is second to none in Yunxia, or even in other fictional worlds or dynasties.

edited Quote
Titania
 mukkanna:
Part of the reason why the emperor takes the threat of Di Ziyuan so seriously is because gender is not a barrier to her taking his throne. While all of these women are considered atypical, no one thinks they should not be leading armies or ruling because they're women.

Agreed. There is no gender barriers in Yunxia unlike the Tang setting as in history.

Quote
Titania

More infos about Di Zi Yuan's life of extraordinary achievements:
https://twitter.com/Blink_AliceShen/status/1392133500401332224?t=y-RNicmYP88hkjZqZ-pcjA&s=09

Quote
mukkanna
 Titania :
I believe, Li Changge matches/can beat even Ashile Sun in terms of intelligence/smarts, not in terms of strength though.

Agreed! I think she has the intelligence but not the experience, resulting in some disasters that probably could have been avoided. I agree she is probably more intelligent than Ashile Sun, but her inexperience leads her to overlook things that I think a more experienced person would have seen.  This is the same reason one would want a seasoned physician to care for them when they're critically ill rather than a medical student. The medical student might be more intelligent, might even have more book knowledge, but might not be as practiced in putting everything together and knowing how one thing can affect something else. 

I also have to say, in case anyone thinks Di Ziyuan is a Mary Sue based on the above analysis, she's definitely not. She shows no evidence of any skill in painting, poetry, musical instruments, embroidery, etc. Her skill set is almost 100% political and martial. She has some definite character flaws:

She is unconventional, arrogant, has poor recognition/acceptance of polite social behaviors (like personal space, as everyone can probably already see from the official BTS trailer), and has one major flaw, which is her very deliberate lack of insight into her own emotions. She appears to actively avoid thinking about why she acts outside her usually very strategic plans, as though if she avoids recognizing the reason, it will not be a problem. If I were to phrase this as a compliment: her denial skills are god-tier! 

Quote
Titania
 mukkanna:
Agreed! I think she has the intelligence but not the experience, resulting in some disasters that probably could have been avoided. I agree she is probably more intelligent than Ashile Sun, but her inexperience leads her to overlook things that I think a more experienced person would have seen. This is the same reason one would want a seasoned physician to care for them when they're critically ill rather than a medical student. The medical student might be more intelligent, might even have more book knowledge, but might not be as practiced in putting everything together and knowing how one thing can affect something else.

Yeah very great analogy. Li Changge, is certainly extraordinarily brave, strong & intelligent but yeah, she's not a veteran, she has certainly displayed the ability to survive with her superior abilities & turn the tables around & keep adverse situations under her control & trap them based on her limited knowledge & talent, but she doesn't have firsthand experience in all these, her circumstances trap her & manage to victimize her for all she never experienced. She might turn into a Di Zi Yuan, with years of experience, training & polishing. Di Zi Yuan, is a veteran, with years & years of dealing with adversities, polishing her daggers & setting up her game, only striking when things are in her favor, conrolling everything from above.

edited Quote
Titania
 mukkanna:
I also have to say, in case anyone thinks Di Ziyuan is a Mary Sue based on the above analysis, she's definitely not. She shows no evidence of any skill in painting, poetry, musical instruments, embroidery, etc. Her skill set is almost 100% political and martial. She has some definite character flaws:

She is unconventional, arrogant, has poor recognition/acceptance of polite social behaviors (like personal space, as everyone can probably already see from the official BTS trailer), and has one major flaw, which is her very deliberate lack of insight into her own emotions. She appears to actively avoid thinking about why she acts outside her usually very strategic plans, as though if she avoids recognizing the reason, it will not be a problem. If I were to phrase this as a compliment: her denial skills are god-tier!

Good point. I actually completely forgot to point these out haha. I guess Li Changge & Di Zi Yuan, do have similiarities from this aspect, they're both bad at these.

But I think, as to her feelings, I'd say, its not that she avoids thinking about the "why", but she can't bring herself to spare a thought, she knows & understands the "why" very clearly, but facing it would only make things more complicated, unbearable, not to mention she can't afford to think about such thoughts when she basically lived to put those strategic plans into actions.

Quote
Gizzy

Agree with everything here and thanks for the analysis which I enjoyed reading very much. 

Quote
Titania
 Gizzy :

Agree with everything here and thanks for the analysis which I enjoyed reading very much. 

You're welcome! Glad I came up with this hehe

Quote
mukkanna
 Titania :
Di Zi Yuan, is a veteran, with years & years of dealing with adversities, polishing her daggers & setting up her game, only striking when things are at her favor, conrolling everything from above.

True that she definitely tries to do this! But two thoughts:

1 - I think she actually has two algorithms for behavior, and this is only one facet. There's "everything-is-within-my-control" Di Ziyuan and "what-the-@#*$^&-Han Ye!" Di Ziyuan. A character said, "I didn't know that letting you enter the capital and meet him again would make him a calamity in your life." No lies detected.

2- I think it's also important to note that Di Ziyuan is only one of four characters in the book with excellent foresight and planning skills. Two of them have their own agendas and things they're trying to protect, and it's the alliances and conflicts between these three  people at various points in the story that drive the plot. While Di Ziyuan is awesome, her opponents are equally awesome in terms of intellect, resources, and long-term planning. She's not an over-powered heroine who can just trounce the opposition on her way to get her hair done; both her victory and her survival are legitimately in question. 

edited Quote
Gizzy

Wow!  I can only imagine the stir this role will create for Reba even more so than TLB, and for the other imp characters in the drama too.  It is the most anticipated drama of the year and rightly so.

I better get reading it up to the chapters that have been translated bcos it seems like I'm missing out on a really exciting story.

Quote
Titania
 mukkanna:
I think she actually has two algorithms for behavior, and this is only one facet. There's "everything-is-within-my-control" Di Ziyuan and "what-the-@#*$^&-Han Ye!" Di Ziyuan. A character said, "I didn't know that letting you enter the capital and meet him again would make him a calamity in your life." No lies detected.

That was probably Luo MingXi who said it. And truth 100%

Quote
Titania
 mukkanna:
While Di Ziyuan is awesome, her opponents are equally awesome in terms of intellect, resources, and long-term planning. She's not an over-powered heroine who can just trounce the opposition on her way to get her hair done; both her victory and her survival are legitimately in question.

Beyond doubt. She had to pay her prices for victories too. And her survival as you said was also not guaranteed. She walked on a thin thread, even had to gamble with her own life. That was the extent her opponent pushed her to.

Quote
Titania
 Gizzy :
I can only imagine the stir this role will create for Reba even more so than TLB, and for the other imp characters in the drama too. It is the most anticipated drama of the year and rightly so.

The potential and the scopes for showing excellent acting chops are huge. If only the writing & directing do the novel & character justice & glorify her accordingly.

Quote

Recent Discussions

Hottest Discussions