After I mentioned that the kids and I had watched The Sword and the Brocade and we watched it as a way to gain a better understanding of what Chinese life would have been like during the Ming Dynasty, I received quite a few comments and questions.

For us watching a series like the Sword and the Brocade while we were studying China’s history is just like us watching 1917 when we studied World War One or watching Dunkirk when we studied World War Two. Allowing the kids to watch these programs just gives them a better sense of those times, what life during that time would have been like and why a class of people may have wanted change. When the kids can put faces (even an actors face) and places to people and events it really does help them connect with what they are learning about (and as the one guiding them through their learning it really helps me to understand the topic and be able to give them better background).

So keeping with that thought and following on from some of the question about other series that we would recommend I wanted to mention a few that I think are really good.

Staying with our Chinese history, The Rebel Princess which you can also watch on Amazon Prime is another excellent series. We are about two-thirds of the way through and all of us are loving it. It is more complex that the Sword and the Brocade in terms of plots and family connections and is a lot longer but we are loving the story line, the development of the characters (and I have to say the actors are doing an amazing job with their characters) and the settings for the different scenes are stunning. It ranges from being inside the palace, to private residences to battles fields and all are just exquisitely portrayed with a lot of detail and care.

The main character (Awu) is the niece of the Emperor and has grown up with a very close relationship to her uncle. The story starts with her disappointment at not being able to chose her marriage partner and being married off to a General who she has never meet. But as the story develops she comes to realize that the General is a good person and the story follows not only the development in their relationship but also the power struggle between the 3 Princes and Awu’s own father.

I like the fact that although they do discuss concubines and the palace harem it is not a main topic (I am not keen on the series where there is a lot of concubine fighting). Awu (the main female lead) and her husband are in an arranged marriage but it turns out to be a good marriage and they end up with a healthy relationship (a big plus for me, I am not a fan of letting my kids watch series where there are arranged marriages that are toxic). Also the fight scenes are good, none of the crazy fighting while suspended in midair stuff that you sometimes find in cdramas.

The age rating for The Rebel Princess is 16+ but really I have come to realize that most of the age ratings on the Chinese shows are a lot stricter than what I am used to. There are no explicit adult scenes and although there are some battle scenes it is nothing hectic. Honestly I am watching it with my very sensitive 16 year old and my 14 year old and it is totally fine (I think a 12+ age rating would be what we would expect for it).

I have started to watched a few of the cdramas set in the Warlord times but I have found those tend to be filled with toxic relationships and lots of abuse towards the female characters, so I tend to stop watching them without finishing them. At the moment there are none in the Warlord times that I feel I could recommend. If you are looking for a modern day Chinese drama which shows some of the cultural differences I would recommend Forever and Ever (also on Amazon Prime). It is a lovely story, great characters and the actors are brilliant.

I did search for Japanese series to link in with a Japanese topic and so far I have only found two which I think are really noteworthy. The first is Shogun, which is NOT a family show. It is a series on Disney+ and I must admit it is one of the best series that I have watched in the past 12 months but it really does deserve the 18+ age restriction (there is NO way my kids will watch the whole series), there are lots of very explicit scenes and the violence is very in your face. I did feel that it was a great Historical fiction drama for that period and I thought the entire production was excellent (the sets and costumes were truly first class), they really went all out but I want to stress the age restriction on this one is VERY valid. Although I did not show the series to my kids I did show them some specific scenes from the series just to give them a visual reference of certain things.

The only Japanese show which I have found so far (I am still searching for more) that I was happy for the kids to watch was My Happy Marriage (also called – As long as we both shall live), it was on Amazon Prime but has been removed and now I can only find it on YouTube. This does give you a feel about Japan, their culture and way of life but it does have a fantasy/ supernatural element in it. There are people with super-powers and strange creatures (my kids are not fussed by that). The female lead grows up in a cruel family and there is one scene where she is almost drown. The main lead does rescue her in time but I wanted to mention it as some younger kids may find it a bit intense. Overall it is a lovely story and the actors did a good job. I enjoyed the historical references and we did not mind the fantasy parts. It is teen-friendly and although there are some violent scenes there was nothing that I felt was too much for my kids (mine are 14-years and 16-years old).

We enjoy finding shows which give us a glimpse of different cultures and ways of life that are very different from ours. And for us learning about different cultures and different Histories (in other words not just the History of the country that we live in) is all part of our home education.