Joy of Life (2019) Review: Court Intrigue With a Grin

Is Joy of Life worth watching?

Yes. Joy of Life is a hugely entertaining costume drama that mixes palace scheming, martial arts and genuine comedy more deftly than almost any Chinese series of its kind. Its hero’s modern sensibility gives a familiar genre a fresh, playful voice, and a deep bench of actors keeps the political chess game gripping. The main reservation is sheer size: two long seasons, dense mythology and a story that is still not finished ask for real commitment.

What is Joy of Life about?

Fan Xian (Zhang Ruoyun) grows up in a quiet coastal town as the illegitimate son of a powerful official in a fictional empire, but he carries something no one around him has: the memories and outlook of a man from the modern world. Trained in combat and poison by eccentric mentors, he is eventually drawn to the capital, where marriage prospects, court factions and unanswered questions about his late mother pull him into the lethal politics surrounding the throne.

He handles it all with a wry, anachronistic wit that sets him apart from everyone around him, whether he is passing off famous classical poems from our world as his own or talking his way out of an assassination plot.

Joy of Life is a Chinese series in Mandarin, adapted from Mao Ni’s web novel with a screenplay by Wang Juan, and it streams internationally on Viki. The first season arrived in 2019 and the second in 2024, for 82 episodes so far. This review covers both seasons; the series is ongoing, and the story is not yet resolved.

A hero who doesn’t play by the genre’s rules

What makes Joy of Life so enjoyable is its tone. Chinese palace dramas often treat every glance as a matter of life and death, and so does this one, but its lead refuses to be solemn about it. Fan Xian questions hierarchy, jokes in the face of danger and treats court etiquette as absurd, and the series finds rich comedy in the gap between his attitude and the deadly seriousness of the people plotting around him.

That lightness never cheapens the stakes. Assassinations, betrayals and power struggles are real threats, and the show is canny about letting comedy lower the audience’s guard before a turn of the screw.

An ensemble with real weight

Zhang Ruoyun is ideally cast, quick-witted and likeable, with enough steel to make Fan Xian’s rise plausible. Around him, the supporting cast is superb. Chen Daoming brings chilling authority to the Emperor, Wu Gang is compelling as the spymaster Chen Pingping, and Xin Zhilei makes a formidable schemer of the princess who controls much of the court’s wealth. Li Qin plays Lin Wan’er, the young noblewoman at the centre of Fan Xian’s romantic life, and Xiao Zhan appears in the first season as the spy Yan Bingyun.

The production is handsome throughout, with confident fight choreography and a well-realised world of rival kingdoms, secret services and old grudges.

The cost of a sprawling saga

The ambition has a price. The mythology is thick, and characters, factions and hidden loyalties accumulate faster than casual viewers can track them. The five-year gap between seasons also shows: the second season has to reconnect a great many threads, and its opening stretch is slower than what came before. Above all, Joy of Life is a story still in progress, so viewers hoping for a complete arc will be left waiting.

Who should watch Joy of Life?

It is an easy recommendation for fans of historical and wuxia drama, for viewers who like political intrigue but want humour with it, and for anyone curious about the biggest mainstream Chinese hits of the past decade. Budget for the long haul: 82 episodes across two seasons, with more to come. Violence is frequent but not especially graphic, and the romance is gentle.

If it wins you over, these make natural next steps:

• Nirvana in Fire for a more serious, masterfully plotted tale of revenge and court politics.
• The Romance of Tiger and Rose for a lighter, self-aware costume comedy.

The verdict

Joy of Life earns its enormous popularity with a rare blend of wit, intrigue and heart, anchored by a charismatic lead and a veteran supporting cast. It is long, dense and unfinished, but few historical dramas are this consistently fun to watch.

Rating: 4/5