# Ashes of Love (TV series)

Ashes of Love (Chinese: 香蜜沉沉烬如霜; pinyin: Xiāng Mì Chén Chén Jìn Rú Shuāng) is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel Heavy Sweetness, Ash-like Frost (2009) by Dian Xian. It stars Yang Zi as Jin Mi and Deng Lun as Xu Feng in the lead roles. The series premiered on Jiangsu TV starting August 2, 2018 and was available to watch on Netflix until December 2023.
The series reached 100 million views in just 15 minutes after the broadcast of the first episode. As of January 2019, the series has reached over 15 billion views.

## Synopsis

Jin Mi (Yang Zi) is a carefree grape sprite of the Flower Realm whose true identity is that of the daughter of the former Flower Immortal, Zifen (Zhang Yanyan), and the Water Immortal, Luo Lin (Wang Renjun). Born as her mother was dying, Zifen foresaw a love tragedy would effect Jin Mi inj the first ten thousand years of her life and so gave Jin Mi an elixir to make her unable to love. Zifen orders her daughter be raised in secret and be allowed to live a carefree life, Zifen passes away. Jin Mi once attempted to run away from the water mirror along with her friend Rourou(Furou Meiqi) who died protecting Jin Mi and has since been turned into a succulent plant. Saved from the beast Qiongqi (Hu Mianyang) by Lord Puchi (Liao Jingfeng), Jin Mi is told that a high immortal of the Heavenly Realm might be able to revive her friend Rourou.
Fire Immortal Xufeng (Deng Lun) is the son of the Heavenly Emperor Taiwei (He Zhonghua) and Heavenly Empress Tuyao (Kathy Chow). Widely regarded as a God of War, Xufeng harbors no real ambition of replacing his father as Emperor despite his mother's insistence and has no desire to compete with his older brother Run Yu (Luo Yunxi), or to secure his position as Crown Prince by marrying Princess Sui He (Wang Yi Fei) of the Bird Tribe whom he views as a sister. He accidentally disturbs Jin Mi's isolation when he is attacked during his Nirvana that Phoenixes must undertake, and crashes through the Flower Realm's water mirror. Jin Mi helps to restore Xufeng to life by feeding him an elixir which she had cultivated for hundreds of years and as repayment requests that the Xufeng take her to the Heavenly Realm in the hopes of restoring her friend.
The truth of her parentage is ultimately revealed after the Emperor mistakes Jin Mi for his daughter with Zifen, making Jin Mi the target of the grudges of Sui Hei, who loves Xufeng, and Tuyao, who killed Zifen out of jealousy. When it is revealed that Jin Mi is actually the Water Immortal's daughter, an ancient marriage contract to Run Yu is poised to stand in the way of Xufeng and Jin Mi's love which developed after the two experienced a tragic romance together while experiencing hardships in the mortal realm. After his mother is killed by the Heavenly Empress, Run Yu plots to seize control of the Heavenly Realm, and pushes for his marriage with Jin Mi which he uses as an opportunity to launch a coup. Xufeng is killed by Jin Mi at her wedding when she is manipulated into believing Xufeng killed her father, and returns as the Demon King to oppose his brother Run Yu, who has seized the position of Heavenly Emperor. Tragedy befalls Jin Mi as the elixir preventing her from feeling love is destroyed after she kills Xufeng and she realizes that she was in love with Xufeng after all and she becomes caught between the warring siblings.

## Cast
### Main

* Yang Zi as Jin Mi (锦觅)
** A grape spirit, whose real identity is a six-petal frost flower fairy. Daughter of the Flower Deity and Water Deity. She is naive and altruistic but does not understand the true meaning of love due to the magical pill she was given at birth. She later becomes the Water Deity following her father's death.
* Deng Lun as Xu Feng (旭凤)
** Second prince of the Heavenly Realm and the legitimate heir of the Heavenly Throne, the Fire Deity, God of War, and the Commander of the Divine Armies of 8 Directions. He becomes King Yi of Huai Wu Kingdom, a warrior king in the Mortal Realm in his mortal trial. His true form is that of a phoenix. He becomes the Demon King after his rebirth in the Demon Realm.
* Luo Yunxi as Run Yu (润玉)
** Eldest prince of the Heavenly Realm; the Night Deity. A gentle and calm person, he never makes a move without being certain of the outcome. After his mother's death, he becomes coldhearted and ambitious to the point where he usurps the throne. His true form is that of a dragon.
* Wang Yi Fei as Sui He (穗禾)
** Princess of the Bird Tribe; proud and arrogant, she wields great responsibility in securing power within the Bird tribe. A close ally & niece of the Heavenly Empress, she goes on to commit many cruel deeds in her attempt to obtain power and marry Xu Feng. Her true form is that of a peacock.
* Chen Yuqi as Liu Ying (鎏英)
** Demon Princess. A cheerful and forthright girl, and a heroic warrior. She has a tragic romantic relationship with her bodyguard, Mu Ci.
* Zou Tingwei as Qi Yuan (奇鸢), Mu Ci (暮辭)
** A reaper who has double identities. He was forced to commit evil deeds for the Heavenly Empress due to her control and manipulation of him, but he remains kind at heart. He was Liu Ying's bodyguard before he was thrown out of the demon realm, because of his tribe and ability to create an arrow using his blood & bones which can kill any deity. He has a tragic romantic relationship with Liu Ying.

### Supporting
## Production

The series began filming in June 2017 and finished in October 2017.

## Reception

This drama was commercially successful, placing first among audience ratings in its time slot and reaching over ten billion views. It also received positive reviews, scoring a 7.7 on Douban. The drama was praised for its light-hearted yet grounded storyline, high production quality of beautiful cinematography and exquisite costumes; as well as the tight pacing of the plot and excellent performance of the actors.

### Ratings

| Episode | Original air date | CSM52 City | CSM52 City | Rank | National Average | National Average | Rank |
| Episode | Original air date | Ratings | Audience share | Rank | Ratings | Audience share | Rank |
| 1–2 | August 2, 2018 | 0.995 | 3.722 | 3 | 0.5 | 2.05 | 7 |
| 3–4 | August 3, 2018 | 1.139 | 4.344 | 3 | 0.63 | 2.52 | 5 |
| 5 | August 4, 2018 | 1.172 | 4.74 | 1 | 0.58 | 2.61 | 4 |
| 6-7 | August 5, 2018 | 1.241 | 4.621 | 1 | 0.67 | 2.67 | 3 |
| 8–9 | August 6, 2018 | 1.384 | 5.203 | 1 | 0.78 | 3.12 | 5 |
| 10–11 | August 7, 2018 | 1.368 | 5.185 | 1 | 0.75 | 3.01 | 5 |
| 12-13 | August 8, 2018 | 1.503 | 5.735 | 1 | 0.88 | 3.49 | 5 |
| 14–15 | August 9, 2018 | 1.44 | 5.455 | 1 | 0.83 | 3.38 | 4 |
| 16–17 | August 10, 2018 | 1.328 | 5.066 | 2 | 0.86 | 3.47 | 3 |
| 18 | August 11, 2018 | 1.249 | 4.912 | 1 | 0.82 | 3.55 | 4 |
| 19-20 | August 12, 2018 | 1.272 | 4.636 | 1 | 0.84 | 3.29 | 3 |
| 21-22 | August 13, 2018 | 1.417 | 5.254 | 2 | 1.03 | 4.05 | 4 |
| 23-24 | August 14, 2018 | 1.374 | 5.047 | 2 | 0.94 | 3.74 | 3 |
| 25-26 | August 15, 2016 | 1.349 | 5.102 | 2 | 0.99 | 4.02 | 3 |
| 27-28 | August 16, 2018 | 1.253 | 4.662 | 2 | 1.04 | 3.96 | 3 |
| 29-30 | August 17, 2018 | 1.148 | 4.415 | 2 | 0.98 | 3.81 | 2 |
| 31 | August 18, 2018 | 1.181 | 4.667 | 1 | 0.99 | 4.07 | 2 |
| 32-33 | August 19, 2018 | 1.176 | 4.205 | 1 | 0.99 | 3.85 | 1 |
| 34-35 | August 20, 2018 | 1.352 | 4.912 | 1 | 1.17 | 4.49 | 1 |
| 36-37 | August 21, 2018 | 1.353 | 5.029 | 1 | 0.99 | 3.76 | 2 |
| 38-39 | August 22, 2018 | 1.508 | 5.384 | 1 | 1.15 | 4.32 | 3 |
| 40-41 | August 23, 2018 | 1.273 | 4.728 | 2 | 1.15 | 4.45 | 3 |
| 42-43 | August 24, 2018 | 1.168 | 4.301 | 2 | 1.08 | 4.13 | 3 |
| 44 | August 25, 2018 | 1.051 | 3.871 | 1 | 0.89 | 3.62 | 2 |
| 45-46 | August 26, 2018 | 1.321 | 4.798 | 1 | 1.13 | 4.2 | 2 |
| 47-48 | August 27, 2018 | 1.396 | 5.003 | 1 | 1.18 | 4.43 | 2 |
| 49-50 | August 28, 2018 | 1.393 | 5.064 | 1 | 1.19 | 4.38 | 2 |
| 51-52 | August 29, 2018 | 1.294 | 4.711 | 2 | 1.3 | 4.85 | 2 |
| 53-54 | August 30, 2018 | 1.283 | 4.612 | 2 | 1.39 | 5.09 | 1 |
| 55-56 | August 31, 2018 | 1.277 | 4.545 | 1 | 1.54 | 5.55 | 1 |
| 57 | September 1, 2018 | 1.315 | 4.414 | 1 | 1.58 | 5.22 | 1 |
| 58-59 | September 2, 2018 | 1.378 | 4.954 | 1 | 1.51 | 5.58 | 1 |
| 60-61 | September 3, 2018 | 1.358 | 5.073 | 1 | 1.64 | 6.46 | 1 |
| 62-63 | September 4, 2018 | 1.322 | 5.093 | 1 | 1.64 | 6.36 | 1 |
| Average | — | 1.301 | 4.82 | — | | | — |
* Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue

### Awards and nominations

| Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 24th Huading Awards | Best Actor (Ancient Drama) | Deng Lun | Nominated |
| 24th Huading Awards | Best Actress (Ancient Drama) | Yang Zi | Nominated |
| 7th iQiyi All-Star Carnival | Popularity Award (Actor) | Deng Lun | Won |
| 12th Tencent Video Star Awards | Popular TV Actor | Deng Lun | Won |
| 12th Tencent Video Star Awards | Popular TV Actress of the Year | Yang Zi | Won |
| 12th Tencent Video Star Awards | Top Ten Series | Ashes of Love | Won |
| Entertainment Capital The 2nd Golden Pebble Award | Best Episode Project | Ashes of Love | Won |
| Media Internal Reference - TV Guide 2018 Mobile Influence Summit Forum | The Most Influential Drama Trader of the 2018 Fingertips List | Liu Ning | Won |
| Media Internal Reference - TV Guide 2018 Mobile Influence Summit Forum | The Most Mobile TV Drama of the 2018 Fingertips List | Ashes of Love | Won |
| Weibo Taiwanese TV series | Weibo 2018 Influence Drama | Ashes of Love | Won |
| V Influence Summit 2018 | 2018 Most Best Drama Producer | Liu Ning | Won |
| TV Drama Award 2018 (Weibo TV Series) | Top 10 Most Popular Drama | Ashes of Love | Top 3 |
| TV Drama Award 2018 (Weibo TV Series) | Top 10 Most Popular Actor | Deng Lun | Top 3 |
| TV Drama Award 2018 (Weibo TV Series) | Top 10 Most Popular Actor | Yang Zi | Top 5 |
| TV Drama Award 2018 (Weibo TV Series) | Most Popular Screen Couple | Yang Zi and Deng Lun | Won |
| TV Drama Award 2018 (Weibo TV Series) | The Most Popular Hot Stalk | ""Have you ever loved me..." "Never" | Won |
| TV Drama Award 2018 (Weibo TV Series) | The Most Popular Hot Stalk | "You are finally my ugly wife." | Top 5 |
| Weibo Award Ceremony | Weibo Annual Hot Drama Honor | Ashes of Love | Won |
| Weibo Award Ceremony | Weibo Popular Artist | Deng Lun | Won |
| Weibo Award Ceremony | Weibo Goddess | Yang Zi | Won |
| Tencent Entertainment White Paper | Popular Television Actress of the Year | Yang Zi | Won |
| Film and TV Role Model 2018 Annual General Rating | Popular Actress | Yang Zi | Won |
| Film and TV Role Model 2018 Annual General Rating | Annual Drama Producer | Liu Ning | Won |
| Film and TV Role Model 2018 Annual General Rating | Annual Drama Director | Zhu Ruibin | Won |
| Film and TV Role Model 2018 Annual General Rating | Annual Drama Series Screenwriter | Ma Jia | Won |
| Influence of Recreational Responsibilities Awards | TV Drama of the Year | Ashes of Love | Won |
| The Third Internet Film Festival | Most Capable Actress | Kathy Chow | Won |
| Seoul International Drama Awards | Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year | Ashes of Love | Won |
| 2020 TVING Awards | Most Popular Overseas Drama | Ashes of Love | Won |