How many of you got pulled into Kmuse and Kdrama Jen’s Ever Night podcast and watched the show? How many of you got confused with all the characters? We’ve got you covered with our Character List!
Ever Night is a Chinese fantasy drama with wonderful production values, magical fights, and beautiful scenery. Our podcap has only covered a fourth of the sixty episodes so far.
The Background
The earth is ruled by both the Heavenly God and the King of Hades. It is prophesied that Hades is sending an eternal night to freeze the earth and kill everyone, and a Child of Hades is coming soon to create chaos. The mystics headquartered in Xiling Shrine, who “cultivate,” or grow magic power, are trying to prevent the darkness.
The Main Characters
Ning Que is a soldier in the Tang army who hunts bandits along the border. His “accupoints” are blocked so he can’t cultivate, but he is a master at martial arts anyway. He has two goals; one is to study with Fu Zi, a sage who is the greatest cultivator. The other is to take revenge on whoever caused the massacre that killed his family fifteen years ago.
Sang Sang is a fifteen-year-old girl who is a servant and “little sister” to Ning Que. He found her after another massacre when she was a baby and has taken charge of her since then. She is cheerful and smart and has somewhat of a birth secret; no one knows who she is.
The Tang Royals
Emperor Li Zhongyi is smart but quiet, and loves his wife and children. He was a follower of Fu Zi and the first leader of the Ichthyosaur Gang, and is still friends with their new leader.
Empress Xia Tian is the new Empress, with a young son. She is very sweet in the presence of the Emperor but is a secret member of the Demon Sect, which has been banned.
General Xia Hou is the brother of the Empress and also secretly of the Demon Sect. He is loyal to the Emperor and was blackmailed by the Grand Priest of Light to find and destroy the Child of Hades.
Princess Li Yu is the daughter of the Emperor and his first wife; her family calls her Yu’er. She was married off to a Khan of the Mongols, nearly killed, and escaped with her young stepson. Ning Que helped her get back safely to Tang. She is trying to groom her younger brother to be the next Emperor.
Prince Li Hunyuan is the Third Prince of Tang. He is ambitious and mean, and his sister Li Yu gets him sent to the Tang Academy to help him grow up.
Grand Prince Li Peiyan is the Emperor’s brother, and secretly plotting to take over the throne. He ordered the massacre that killed Ning Que’s family, under the direction of the Grand Priest of Light.
The Yan Royals
Crown Prince Chong Ming has been a royal hostage to Tang ever since Tang conquered Yan fifteen years ago. He plays the part of a drunkard but is secretly plotting revenge (as who isn’t?)
Prince Long Qing is the Second Prince of Yan, referred to sometimes as the elf-prince. He is a student at the Xiling Shrine learning to cultivate. He is usually calm and very confidant that Light will always overcome the Dark.
Ning Que’s Friends
General Ma Tuxiang is stationed in the northern border town of Wei, and is a friend and father figure to Ning Que. He arranges for him to take the admission test at Fu Zi’s academy and to protect Princess Li Yu on her way back home.
Zhuo Er is a childhood friend of Ming Que. They met when fleeing a massacre of a small village, where they also found Sang Sang. They come across each other again in the capital, where Zhuo Er is in the military and infiltrates the Ichthyosaur Gang.
Chao Xiaoshu is the second leader of the Ichthyosaur Gang (sometimes translated fish dragon), a fellowship of martial artists. He is charismatic, a master swordsman and cultivator, and asks Ning Que to help him in a dangerous battle.
Sect Leaders and Cultivators
Wei Guangming is the Grand Priest of Light, is very concerned about the Child of Hades’ prophecies, and has been ordering the hunt. We first see him imprisoned in the dungeon of the Xiling shrine.
Yan Se is seen first posing as a town merchant, where he is looking for good calligraphers. He is a follower of Fu Zi and is the Grand Priest of Divine Talisman. He thinks Ning Que could be his successor.
Lu Chenjia is a princess of Full Moon State who is in training at Xiling shrine. She is one of three Chi princesses and is called the Flower Maniac. She has a soft spot for Long Qing.
Ye Hongyu belongs to the Monastery of Knowledge and Obeisance and is also in the Justice Department at Xiling. She is another of the three Chi princesses and is called the Daoism Maniac.
Mo Shanshan is a student in the Heaven Decree Academy and an expert in calligraphy and talismans. She is the third Chi princess and is called the Bookworm Maniac.
Li Qingshan is the State Preceptor, a close advisor of the Emperor. He is a cultivator and can sense mystical energy and people from long distances.
He Mingchi: the student of the State Preceptor, who becomes the tutor of the Third Prince. He is secretly a spy of Xiling.
Tang: tribal chief of the Wastelanders and leader of the Demon Sect.
Tang Xiaotang: sister of Tang and Demon Sect Saintess. She secretly wants to be a student of Fuzi.
The Tang Academy
Fu Zi is the dean of the Tang Academy, is a famous philosopher and the most accomplished cultivator. He has many followers and great prestige.
Li Manman is the Senior Brother Disciple of the Tang Academy. He is calm and has the fastest cultivation.
Jun Mo is the Second Brother Disciple of the Tang Academy. He is very strict and excells at the Flying Sword.
Yu Lian is the Third Sister Disciple of the Tang Academy. She is a teacher and grades the entrance exams, as well as being the keeper of the library, called the Old Story Building.
Chen Pipi: is the Twelfth Brother Disciple of the Tang Academy. He is a genius scholar and inventor who was once in the Monastery of Knowledge and Obeisance. He befriends Ning Que.
There you have it. A guide to the characters in Ever Night. Have any questions? Feel free to ask in the comments and be sure to join us for our Ever Night Podcaps which are released every Friday.
Telzeytalks
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi
Oh man, I was searching for one of these when I was watching it! So awesome! 🙂
This is so helpful, especially because Kmuse and I take about four episodes of the podcast to sort out all of the different characters!
I was feeling your pain! But you guys are doing a great job. I don’t usually listen to podcasts (I’m too distractable) but I’ve been listening to yours!
This should be helpful for anyone just starting the drama. I read the novel along the way, so it was easier for me to dechiper who everyone is. Be prepared to add several more names on that list though. 😀
Also, the thing is that some character descriptions vary depending on the translator. The three ‘maniacs’, in the novel translations are called ‘addicts’ and Mo ShanShan is the Calligraphy Addict.
Thank you for your advice. I have only seen this show up to where we are in the podcast. I thought Maniac was a funny name, but I’m going by what the subtitles say, where I’m watching on Viki. I like Calligraphy Addict better than Bookworm at any rate!
I’ve noticed that Chinese is really hard to translate accurately. Like this maniac/addict business. The Chinese word is 痴 and if you go by (online) word dictionary, the simple meaning is ‘sentimental, stupid, foolish, silly’ but that ain’t really what it means in this context, is it. Maybe “she likes books/calligraphy so much that she’s a total fool for it”. And no, I don’t know any Chinese beyond fiew words but sometimes I’m just moved to try and find out what a word or sentence acually means. 🙂
Wish I had the time and energy to learn Chinese but as I’m already strugling to keep going with Korean… maybe some day.
I was thinking that “geek” would be a better term… although maybe it’s too dated? But in various circles I’ve been in where people are engaged deep in the study of a thing, it has been used not as an insult per se, but as a way of saying they do that to the exclusion of all else: music geek, computer geek, drama geek, that sort of thing.
Oh yes, “geek” would be a very good term for it, but I guess it sounds to modern in this context. Can’t think of what would be an accurate ‘ye old english’ kinda one though. 🙂
enthusiast could be a pleasant term.