5 Chinese dramas so tragic that only the brave can watch them twice: Ashes of Love to The Rise of Phoenixes

Some dramas make you laugh, some keep you guessing, but these Chinese epics cut straight to the heart and leave nothing but wreckage behind. Ashes of Love, Rise of the Phoenixes and three more unforgettable sagas rip stories apart, stitch them with betrayal, and then break them again. From sweeping romances turned into devastating betrayals to political intrigue laced with heartbreak, these shows turned casual viewers into lifelong mourners. Fans still revisit forums and fan pages, swapping tears over characters who felt too real to lose. Ready to relive the pain? Let’s begin.

Fans still haven't recovered from this one. This is a brutal and painful watch for good reason: Empress Nara, born Ula-Nara Qingying, faces endless challenges during the Qianlong Emperor’s reign. Initially chosen as Fourth Prince Hongli’s primary consort, she is demoted and later becomes his favoured secondary consort, Consort Xian. Jealous rivals, Empress Fuca, Noble Consort Hui, and scheming maid A’ruo, frame her for tragedies, banishing her to the Cold Palace. Despite rising to imperial noble consort, Ruyi’s defiance, including symbolically cutting her hair, strains her marriage. Be warned: This is just the tip of the iceberg. There's no closure.

It's one of the messiest and most deeply-flawed dramas, going by the reviews. But people could never quite get over it. The story: Ning Yi (Chen Kun) is a cunning mastermind hiding behind a perfect smile, scheming revenge and justice for his brother while the court cluelessly bows to him. Feng Zhiwei (Ni Ni), enters, wrongly exiled and ready to shake things up—she cuts her hair, swaps dresses for armour, and crashes Qingming Academy disguised as a man, proving brains always trump beauty. And, you can imagine where this goes. Be warned, Reddit users mentioned that they cried for weeks after the show.

No Chinese drama list is ever complete without The Untamed. It just fits everywhere. From episode one, it drags you into a web so twisted, that you're left with an existential crisis. Wei Wu Xian: mischievous, flute-wielding chaos. Lan Wang Ji: broody, rules-obsessed ice king. Opposites attract, collide, and occasionally punch each other. Cue ancient secrets, murderous conspiracies, and a betrayal so savage it actually kills Wei Wu Xian (yes, he dies—Drama with a capital D). But hold up, he comes back. And who’s there first? Lan Wang Ji, of course. Together, they slay, sleuth, and steer through painful tension.

We won't say much, but this Reddit user's comment says enough: "It wrecked me. The funny thing with ALP is that I came from Falling Into Your Smile before I watched the drama. Cheng Xiao and Xu Kai's chemistry is on a different level - and I was not ready to move on. I can't enjoy the first episodes of ALP, but as I go along and understand the story, it starts to suck me in. Until I find myself crying every episodes, and whenever the background music comes in, I weep. I still visit ALP's page from time to time and I feel a lot better whenever I see watchers like myself commenting that they can't move on."

Want to suffer with someone else? Bring them in too.

Qu Xiaofeng (Peng Xiaoran), the beloved princess of Western Liang, is promised to the Li dynasty’s Crown Prince in a political marriage. Li Chengyin (Chen Xingxu), the fifth prince, disguises himself as a humble tea merchant to win her trust, falling in love with her while secretly plotting to infiltrate her tribe and gain the throne. After massacring her family, Xiaofeng jumps into the River of Forgetfulness to erase the pain, with Chengyin following. Again, that's just the tip of the tragedy iceberg.

Let's just say it battered viewers beyond anything else.