# The Long Ballad (2021)

> A woman disguised as a man joins the frontier army to raise forces for revenge against the Tang emperor who destroyed her family.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/101451

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 49
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: action, drama, romance
- Created by: Xia Da
- Network: Tencent Video
- Cast: Dilraba Dilmurat, Leo Wu, Liu Yuning, Zhao Lusi, Fang Yilun, Yi Daqian, Cao Xiyue, Wu Chongxuan
- TMDB rating: 8.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14390970/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: earnest, romantic, melancholic, tense, sincere

## Synopsis

The Long Ballad (2021) is a Chinese historical romance drama series created by Xia Da for Tencent Video, adapted from a manhua. Dilraba Dilmurat plays Li Changge, a woman who disguises herself as a man to rise through the ranks of a frontier army in Shuo Province, secretly planning to raise troops and kill the Tang emperor responsible for her family's murder. Leo Wu plays Ashina Sun, a general of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate who captures her after she loses a siege and takes her into his service as a personal military strategist. Their uneasy alliance, built on rivalry, wary respect and shifting loyalties, forms the emotional core of the story. Liu Yuning, Zhao Lusi and Fang Yilun fill out a large cast of court figures and comrades. The series unfolds across forty-nine episodes of single-season storytelling, combining battlefield maneuvering with palace intrigue and a patient, slow burn courtship. Set in Tang dynasty China and its northern borderlands, it balances the grandeur of military campaigns with intimate moments of concealment and longing. Its tone is earnest and romantic, with a melancholic undercurrent of grief and vengeance. Fans of Story of Yanxi Palace, Nirvana in Fire and The Untamed will find much to savour here.

## Shows like The Long Ballad

- [Legend of Fuyao (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/66492)
- [A Dream of Splendor (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/125972)
- [Moonlit Reunion (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/158877)
- [The Empress of China (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/55193)
- [The Wolf (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/84062)
- [The Princess Weiyoung (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/60010)
- [Legend of Fei (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/80898)
- [The Legends (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/73287)
- [The Rise of Phoenixes (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/69851)
- [Arsenal Military Academy (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/78419)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt