On June 18, at the Nanchang station of the "Dynasty of Prosperity" creative team fan meeting, after Gong Zhengye, the actor playing Li Yifu, scratched his ears and cheeks while mimicking the scene of Wu Yuanzhao dying from poison-induced itching, the host announced that this fan meeting had trending on social media.
Arriving at the Seoul station in South Korea, another wave of "famous scenes" emerged. For example, the famous Korean influencer "Stand-Up Brother," upon seeing Yao Chi, the actor playing his long-awaited character "Li Tai," was so excited that his legs gave way, leading netizens to jokingly post about him "kneeling due to handsomeness," which garnered a large number of likes on the Xiaohongshu platform.
On June 26, at the Wuhan station of the "Dynasty of Prosperity" creative team fan meeting, discussions once again flooded social platforms regarding the high alignment of the actors' personas, makeup, and styling both in and out of character, as well as the thoughtful and heartfelt entrance and exit segments.
These fan meetings can all be described as "marvelous." Before this, interactive film and television works had become popular trends, but never had a work possessed such powerful dissemination and influence as "Dynasty of Prosperity." On June 14, just five days after the release of the "Empress Chapter" of "Dynasty of Prosperity," the total sales volume of the series reached 3 million sets. By June 20, while the warmth of this fan meeting had not yet dissipated, this number broke through 4 million. As of now, the total sales volume of the "Dynasty of Prosperity" series has exceeded 5 million sets, setting a global sales record for live-action interactive film and television works and shattering the genre's "ceiling."
From a performance perspective, the wave of enthusiasm stirred up by "Dynasty of Prosperity" is somewhat different from the past.
In the past, the explosive popularity of film and television works often relied on some bizarre themes or controversial topics, but the heat generated by such works was usually intense, extreme, and short-lived. The user ecosystem demonstrated by "Dynasty of Prosperity," however, shows a significant difference. Discussing the plot, political strategies, character relationships, and potential user choices, the users of "Dynasty of Prosperity" have always kept their focus on the charm of the characters in the drama, rather than crossing over the work to focus on the actors' appearances and figures themselves—
Take Li Yifu, for example.
Below the recap video of the Nanchang station fan meeting, there was an interesting phenomenon: the appearance of many characters in the drama drew support from users, but compared to those roles with more screen time and performance, Li Yifu, who appeared relatively less in the drama, was constantly mentioned in the comments section, even occupying the center position.
This is a phenomenon rarely seen in previous works, but in "Dynasty of Prosperity," it seems understandable—the actors' performances and the characters' charm were indeed interpreted to perfection in this work.
Li Yifu was initially introduced as a cynical character, but later on Wu Yuanzhao's path to the throne, he remained not only loyal and capable but even unhesitatingly sacrificed his life to assist her. The contrast between his frivolous persona and his recognition of and loyalty to the female lead's journey endowed this character with a complex and layered arc, leading to his two kneeling farewells to Wu Yuanzhao being constantly praised in the user community.
Therefore, when Gong Zhengye, as the first member of the creative team to appear on stage, huge cheers erupted from the audience below.
The unexpected popularity of Li Yifu effectively illustrates the characteristics of "Dynasty of Prosperity." The tight story pacing, strongly conflicting plot design, outstanding level of costumes, makeup, props, and filming quality, along with the actors' dedicated performances, have raised the gaming experience standard of this interactive film and television work significantly, creating a generational gap compared to previous similar works.
Compared to the ups and downs of the plot, the most outstanding aspect of "Dynasty of Prosperity" lies in how fully it conveyed the rich emotions of the characters to the users, not only through the plot but also through gameplay and the most important trait of interactive film and television—interaction.
For example, the "friendship of a lifetime" between Wu Yuanzhao and Gao Yang is one of the most touching parts, aside from the emotional entanglements between Wu Yuanzhao and the two princes heavily depicted. This is because the production team, through gameplay design and plot arrangement, successfully intertwined their friendship with Wu Yuanzhao's life experiences. Wu Yuanzhao's struggle for survival in the palace before entering Ganye Temple transformed her from an originally innocent girl into a chess player who broke her shackles. In this process, she constantly faced betrayal from relatives and friends, continually severing ties with these basic emotions.
To some extent, it was the equally innocent Gao Yang who saved her, becoming the support for her stable core. And at the end of the "Meiniang Chapter," the production team used timeline gameplay mechanics to allow users to travel through time multiple times, yet still fail to save Gao Yang's love despite numerous attempts.
Cherishing friendship and love often outweighs mere profit and power struggles in the hearts of the general public. This emphasis by users became the final piece completing the narrative performance in this segment. Facing Gao Yang's desperate screams, users who tried multiple times yet remained powerless to help her situation could undoubtedly empathize with Wu Yuanzhao's emotions at that moment.
Therefore, when the actress Lin Xiaozhai appeared dressed as the young Princess Gao Yang, holding a kite and revealing her healing, brilliant smile, the real-world fan meeting seemed to respond to the regrets felt by the audience within the work, drowning the scene in continuous calls of "Gao Yang!" "Gao Yang!"
The power embedded in the work is one of the reasons why "Dynasty of Prosperity" is so popular. It features an excellent form of interactive film and television, quite good gameplay quality, and its essence as a drama is sufficiently moving. This is also why the influence of this work has not only spread domestically but has also crossed language and cultural boundaries to propagate internationally.
Amidst the热潮 (wave of enthusiasm) for "Dynasty of Prosperity," Korean and Japanese users' admiration for this work was equally fervent. This is a prosperous scene rarely seen in previous domestic interactive film and television works. Many Japanese users continuously praised the quality of this work on social media, with some even using it as a goal for learning Chinese.
And in South Korea, the welcome received by "Dynasty of Prosperity" was even greater. After the announcement that the crew would hold an offline fan meeting in Seoul, the Korean user community exploded almost overnight. The comment sections under official social media posts resembled wish walls in temples, filled with dense user expectations. To secure a ticket, they were even willing to give up their seats and sit on the ground.
Scene from the Seoul, South Korea station of "Dynasty of Prosperity"
Based on observations of social media, the several offline fan meetings held by "Dynasty of Prosperity," whether domestically or overseas, almost every one featured similar scenes. This actually indicates to a certain extent the breakthrough nature of the work "Dynasty of Prosperity"—
Because in the past, similar scenes almost exclusively belonged to some particularly traditional entertainment industries, such as movie premieres or concerts. Today, "Dynasty of Prosperity," in a quite novel form as an interactive film and television work, has received flowers and applause from the cultural and entertainment market.
On domestic social media platforms like Xiaohongshu, after the fan meeting concluded, many user interaction posts emerged. In their accounts, attending the "Dynasty of Prosperity" fan meeting was almost a tangible highlight of their wonderful holidays.
What they praised most was the "attentiveness" of the "Dynasty of Prosperity" work team. Whether inside or outside the venue, "Dynasty of Prosperity" had many details that moved the users on site.
For instance, the actors' makeup and costumes perfectly replicated those in the work, aiming to provide the attending audience with the most immersive fan meeting experience, making the characters seem to break the fourth wall and step directly from the deep palace drama on screen into everyone's view.
And within the flow of the fan meeting, the core theme guiding the entire process was actually a response to the enthusiasm of the users.
Just like the theme phrase in the fan meeting—"It was originally an ordinary world; because of you blooming, it becomes a Dynasty of Prosperity."
The production team of "Dynasty of Prosperity" made the topics discussed in the user community the main focus of this fan meeting. In addition to personal shares from the core creative team, all the prepared projects were derived from popular memes and segments frequently discussed by users in the community.
For instance, bringing memes derived from the original work onto the stage for the creative team to reinterpret; or having the creators recall lines from classic segments in the work, performed by actors other than the original portrayals; or having the actors on stage take a group photo with all the audience members below.
There seemed to be very few segments in this fan meeting where the creators spoke from their own perspective; almost every part involved dialogue between the creators and the users present. In the actors' shares, although their experiences varied and their feelings towards their roles differed, what was almost invariably included was gratitude towards the users who supported them. It was their support that made these characters a part of the actors' life imprints.
From the "Meiniang Chapter" to the "Empress Chapter," there are approximately 1500 minutes of plot, equivalent to more than thirty episodes of a TV series. While there are many interactive film and television works, which have become an industry trend in recent years with blockbusters appearing periodically, works with a volume comparable to traditional TV series like "Dynasty of Prosperity" are rare. Furthermore, traditional film and television works offering an interactive experience of the quality found in "Dynasty of Prosperity" are unprecedented.
But for "Dynasty of Prosperity" to step by step ascend its own "ladder to divinity," achieving breakthroughs in both popularity and sales, and reaching another milestone for the IP, it relies on the actors' performances, the work team's creation, and the support of the users.
And this fan meeting, to a certain extent, was both a grand gathering for all supporters of "Dynasty of Prosperity" and a mutual journey between the work team and the users.
At the end of the fan meeting, the production team carefully designed the exit format for the cast members. Huang Yi, who played Empress Wu Yuanzhao, stood in the center of the stage, while those who had played important roles in her life exited one by one from both sides, leaving her alone under the spotlight, looking back suddenly.
This plot highly condenses Wu Yuanzhao's life in the work. She ultimately achieved her life ideals, severed all shackles binding her, and reached the pinnacle of worldly power where one person equals the world. However, another aspect of her life journey was the successive departure of those close to her, leaving her alone between heaven and earth.
This is a process from "everyone" to "one person."
But pulling the camera back to see the full panorama of the fan meeting, what Wu Yuanzhao, about to depart, looked back upon was the countless users in the audience below. This carries another meaning; "Dynasty of Prosperity" seems to say that their success—
It is a process from "one person" to "everyone."