The Best Chinese Dramas of 2023 (Second Half of the Year)

Need to seriously relax while recovering from a holiday food coma? Look no further, cause RADII has prepared a list of the best Chinese dramas from the second half of the year, following up on our roundup back in July.

From martial arts mysteries to an intense medical drama, here’s what was a hit with viewers over the past six months:

Ripe Town (繁城之下)

This Ming dynasty-set story unfolds across two timelines, featuring Lu Zhi and Qu Sangeng as parallel protagonists who are astute yet somewhat morally ambiguous, each holding access to hidden truths. In their respective circles, they are influenced by a formidable father figure, a scholarly friend, and a more straightforward individual with a strong sense of morality. The narrative is tightly woven, and the dialogue is infused with understated dark humor, complementing the story’s serious and suspense-filled ambiance.

The story highlights the immense challenge of being a decent individual, in particular when striving to meet Confucian moral standards. In a feudal hierarchical society, where the voice of a scholar overshadows that of a servant and the justice system is so labyrinthine that it fails even exceptional talents, many find themselves on a slippery slope of morally dubious compromises.

Ripe Town boasts a Douban rating of 8.5, and can be watched on Youtube.

The Heart (问心)

This drama about cardiologists stands out in part due to its strong casting choices, with Mark Chao playing a stoic doctor, and Kim Scar (Jin Shijia) playing a younger and more naïve one. Sharp and efficient editing quickly establishes the characters’ personalities and relationships in just a few shots, proving that domestic production teams can indeed produce good medical dramas. Notably, the portrayal of the hospital environment as outdated and messy adds a touch of realism to the plot.

The Heart features intense dramatic conflicts, posing the question of whether doctors be indifferent to life and death, constantly maintaining extreme rationality and reverence for medical skill, or if they should always empathize with their patients and strive to heal with emotion. In doing so, the drama highlights the dilemmas that arise from the conflict between doctors’ professional ethics and human relations.

The Heart is available on Youtube, and has a strong Douban rating of 8.4.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook (莲花楼)

Combining the martial arts genre with aspects of a detective story, Mysterious Lotus Casebook is enlivened by actor Cheng Yi’s excellent portrayal of protagonist Li Xiangyi. The show is based on the novel Auspicious Pattern Lotus House by author Teng Ping. Compared to the original, the logical reasoning behind the mysteries in this adaption are less complex, and themes of horror, violence, and ethics are significantly reduced, possibly to censorship concerns. However, instead of simply focusing on martial arts and Jianghu (the outlaw milieu of the martial arts world), Mysterious Lotus Casebook looks at what it means to say “farewell” in life.

Before he leaves this world Li Xiangyi seeks to resolve the emotional entanglements of everyone connected to him, bidding them a solemn farewell. Being able to gently and calmly say goodbye to the world is the most meaningful aspect of this character. Such a transparent character is indeed hard to portray, and clearly required a subtle touch from Cheng Yi, along with the series’ scriptwriters and directors Guo Hu and Ren Haitao.

Check out this Wuxia mystery on Youtube.

Be With You (我有一个朋友)

The premise of this martial arts series is quite interesting: a group of four friends including fallen knight Meng Sanxi open a store to support themselves, while also taking justice into their own hands, killing to stop killers. They punish everyone who has killed or done evil deeds. This might seem righteous and noble in some senses, yet the show is shaded with moral ambiguity. The four partners also run up against the government of Muyun City.

Director Bi Xinye does an excellent job in Be With You: his vision and the manner in which he crafts the characters overcomes the sometimes-limited skills of the actors. Still, the show has earned a high Douban rating of 8.6.

Watch the series on Youtube.