Introduction
When I finally got a chance to watch this short drama, I thought that the story was just another typical reborn for a second chance. However, as I finished the drama, the story is quite complex with interesting topics, and the screenwriter used a unique plot device that I haven’t seen in other dramas with a reincarnation theme.
Naturally, this article is better to be savored if you have watched the drama; thus, you recognize what I’ll be talking about. However, no worries if you haven’t watched this drama. I will explain this in the Review section with spoiler tags. It shouldn’t take long to watch the drama either. It only takes about 6 hours of binge-watching. I provided the full version link in the Drama Info below.
Upon the publishing of this article, the drama got a 6.4 Douban score with 6973 raters. This rating is competitive and even higher than many popular Chinese idol dramas with regular length. Usually, we don’t get to see scores of short-length series due to market oversaturation. Such a decent score and popularity tell you something good about Echoes of the Self.
The article title will be explained in The Second Life and The Third Life sections towards the end. These two sections are full of spoilers.
Drama Info
Drama title: Echoes of the Self (Native title: 照镜辞 )
Alternative titles: Zhao Jing Ci
Genres: Historical, Romance, Drama, Fantasy
Aired: 19 Sep, 2025 - 29 Sep, 2025
Episodes: 22 | Duration: 20 min.
Director: Wang Hui ( 王辉 )
Screenwriter: Cao Ru Sha ( 曹茹莎 )
Where to watch: iQiyi and Fresh Drama (full version)
OST: Full album (Fan audio)
Trailer
Synopsis
This drama tells the story of Zhou Ruoxi, who, driven by ambition, abandons her love for Prince Yan, Li Yan, and schemes her way into marrying the crown prince. Just as she is about to wield ultimate power, she is captured in the palace by Li Yan under the charge of “purging the emperor’s court and executing the demon empress.” It turns out Li Yan’s actions were a desperate attempt to save her. He planned to flee with her and start anew. However, the two fall into the emperor’s trap and die beneath the imperial walls. In her final moments, Zhou Ruoxi realizes the error of her ways and vows that if given another life, she would never make the same mistakes. Miraculously, the story resets to the very beginning. This time, Zhou Ruoxi is determined to set things right and protect Li Yan, only to find that her greatest rival… is her former self from three years ago. (Source: iQiyi)
Characters
Main Characters
Sebrina Chen / Chen Yao ( 陈瑶 ) as Zhou Ruo Xi / Fu Wei
Zhou Ruoxi was the illegitimate daughter of Zhou Kui, Minister of Rites of the Yunrui Kingdom. She gradually turned to the dark side after her mother was framed by the first wife and beaten to death for the crime of lending money at high interest rates. She pursued the highest power with all her heart. Ruoxi gave up her feelings for Prince Li Yan and married Li Shu, the crown prince of the Yunrui Kingdom.
After Ruoxi died, she miraculously returned to three years ago as Princess Fuwei of the enemy state Daqing, who came for a marriage alliance with Crown Prince Li Shu. At that time, her mother was being framed by the mistress Zhou for lending money at high interest rates, and was facing the disaster of being executed. Fuwei invited Li Yan to preside over justice in the capacity of a princess and successfully rescued her mother. However, in this time and space, her enemy was herself: Zhou Ruoxi from three years ago.
Quan Yi Lun ( 全伊倫 ) as Li Yan
In the first life, he and Zhou Ruoxi were childhood sweethearts, but she gave up their relationship for the sake of power and married the crown prince. After Ruoxi became the empress, Li Yan raised an army in the name of “clearing the emperor’s side and killing the demon empress”, but in fact, he wanted to take her away and avoid the danger of her falling into the power struggle. However, his plan was seen through by the emperor, and the two eventually died under the imperial city.
Supporting Characters
Li Shu (He Feng Tian) – Crown Prince of Yunrui
Zhou Ruo Yao (Joyin Cai) – Zhou Ruoxi’s half-sister
My Rating
My rating for this drama was based on MyDramaList’s scoring system, which is from 0.0 to 10.0. For any drama/movie/show I completed, I gave a minimum rating of 6.0 to appreciate the hard work of the production team, and to adjust to MyDramaList’s overall score base. From 6.0, this drama has additional scores of:
1.0 for the complex plot and the unique plot device.
1.0 for the acting of Sebrina Chen/Chen Yao.
1.0 for the visuals: costumes and makeup.
My final rating was 9.0/10
Review
Plot
The review about the plot contains spoilers. Therefore, I will not put them here but in separate sections, The Second Life and The Third Life, below.
Themes and Messages
Themes
- Power hunger and its consequences. In the first life, Zhou Ruoxi’s initial intention to seek higher power was to avenge her mother. After the sweet taste of power, she was hungry for more power to rule over the kingdom.
- Second chance and redemption. After her tragic death and reborn, Zhou Ruoxi was allowed to right her past mistakes as the foreign Princess Fuwei.
- The internal conflict of oneself. Zhou Ruoxi, as Princess Fuwei, has to confront herself, the younger version of Zhou Ruoxi. Her biggest obstacle is: this young Ruoxi was still ambitious despite the initial intention to avenge her mother, which had been resolved.
- Love versus power. The reborn Zhou Ruoxi, as Princess Fuwei, was still in conflict between genuine love and personal advancement.
Messages
- Self-reflection is key to growth. The reborn Ruoxi was more mature and wise than the Ruoxi from three years ago. This maturity is not because she was three years older than Ruoxi from the second life, but because she reflected on her vain life.
- Don’t succumb to fate. Even if we don’t get a second chance through reincarnation like Ruoxi, destiny is not immutable. By changing her actions and mindset, Zhou Ruoxi used the second chance to correct the error of her ways.
- Love is more valuable than power. Ultimately, in her reset life, Zhou Ruoxi, as Princess Fuwei, realizes that love and personal connection are more fulfilling than the fleeting nature of political power.
Acting
As the main protagonist in this drama, Sebrina Chen/Chen Yao’s performance is key to the drama’s emotional richness. She skillfully portrayed the same role with three different characteristics. The Zhou Ruoxi in the first life was arrogant and stubborn. The reborn Ruoxi in the second life, as Princess Fuwei, although she also conveyed a sense of superiority, she was also calm, wise, and thoughtful. The original Ruoxi in the second life was emotional and immature.
This was the first Quan Yilun’s first main role. He had acted in several mainstream dramas as a supporting character before. In this drama, he was impressive with his acting, especially his micro-expressions. He was on point in his portrayal of complex emotions like fury and love-sickness.
Visualization (Costume and Makeup)
The visuals for Echoes of the Self are high-quality, comparable to mainstream dramas, with good cinematography and elaborate costumes. The royal costumes are detailed and befitting of a full-length drama! The series features a dramatic aesthetic and is visually polished.
Below is the exotic and exquisite Eastern-style costume of Princess Fuwei.
My favorite royal costume was Zhou Ruoxi’s winter robe in the second life as the Crown Princess. Notice the haughty demeanor, which was different from Princess Fuwei’s royal forbearance in the above image.
I specifically love Zhou Ruoxi/Princess Fuwei’s eye makeup as shown in detail when she closes her eyes.
My Critics
- Fu Wei knew that she herself was the biggest enemy in the first life, but in the second life, she tried to correct the external threats, such as her mother’s family (Wang family) and her father’s first wife. She didn’t spend much time with her younger version, Zhou Ruoxi, who didn’t change. Zhou Ruoxi, in the second life, turned ambitious and even tried to kill Fu Wei for a power struggle.
- The palace politics in the second life, which include the final villain, were not executed well towards the end, which caused confusion for the viewers. Too bad, because it’s quite interesting and serves as a plot twist.
The Second Life: The Beautiful Undead
The synopsis you read in any source only tells about Zhou Ruoxi’s first life. Thus, there is more than the eyes can see. The second life, although its setting is the same, but there are some basic differences and clarifications from the first life. The screenwriter wrote a quite complex story with a unique plot device that might confuse viewers with its logic. I will clarify them in the spoiler tags in the form of Q&A. For the ones who haven’t watched it yet, read with discretion.
Who is Fu Wei actually? [major spoiler!]
On paper, Fu Wei was the princess of the enemy state Daqing. In reality, she was the reborn Zhou Ruoxi. The real princess didn’t want to marry, so she hired the reborn Zhou Ruoxi to be her impostor. We will see the real princess later, who, thank goodness, is not Zhou Ruoxi’s look-alike.
Who is the reborn Zhou Ruoxi actually? [major spoiler]
She is what I call the Beautiful Undead, because she was neither human nor ghost. This is a unique plot device. She was the undead, given some limited time to atone for her sins. As she told Li Yan, she didn’t belong in the world. Right after she was ‘reborn’, she found out that she didn’t have any pulse (carotid, radial, apical). When Zhou Ruoxi killed her by stabbing her chest, she didn’t die. The miracle doctor who checked her later also mentioned that. She only lived because of her strong wills/obsessions, initially to avenge her mother and later to change Zhou Ruoxi. Moreover, every time she felt discouraged with Zhou Ruoxi’s stubbornness, the reborn version felt pain in her chest like she would die.
Is there any love triangle between Fu Wei, Li Yan, and Zhou Ruoxi in the second life?
No. In the first life, some synopses say that Zhou Ruoxi and Li Yan used to be childhood sweethearts. In the second life, the real Zhuo Ruoxi and Li Yan were not in a romantic relationship; they just knew each other.
Will Fu Wei marry Li Shu, as per the marriage alliance agreement?
No. Because of her ambition, Zhou Ruoxi killed Fu Wei and disguised as the princess to marry Li Shu.
Who did Li Yan end up with?
Fu Wei. Because Zhou Ruoxi disguised herself as the princess, that made Fu Wei become Zhuo Ruoxi. Li Yan asked the emperor to issue an edict to marry ‘Zhuo Ruoxi’ and was granted. At this time, he already knew about the identity switch and who Fu Wei really was. They got married.
How does the second life end?
Because of the showdown between the protagonists and the antagonists, Li Yan protected Fu Wei, and both died from arrow shots, like in the first life. Their deaths, although considered a sad ending, were actually justified and made sense. After Li Yan gave his blood to prolong Fu Wei’s life after being killed by Zhuo Ruoxi, their lives were connected. If one dies, the other one dies. Besides, when Li Yan died, Fu Wei no longer had any obsession left to live.
If the screenwriter let them live, that won’t do either. Fu Wei was an impostor for the real princess, as well as for Zhuo Ruoxi, as the real Zhuo Ruoxi faked her way to marry the Crown Prince. The reborn Zhuo Ruoxi didn’t have any identity; she might face punishment for deceiving the emperor.
The Third Life: The Reincarnation
How does the drama end?
This was the drama end to please the NRTA review and pass the censorship. The Female Lead, without a name, wrote a romantic novel about the first and the second life. You can argue that it was only her created fiction, but I see it more like writing about her past lives. Upon finishing the novel, a mysterious woman wearing a cosplay cloak gives the Female Lead an invitation card for the Chinese cultural festival event. When she arrived there, she saw a couple walking by in Chinese hanfu costumes, who looked like Crown Prince Li Shu and Zhou Ruo Yao. Moreover, she saw a lantern Li Yan gave Zhou Ruoxi in the second life. A man walking by dropped something, which was the sachet Li Yan gave Zhou Ruoxi in the first (and second) life. She called the man to retrieve his item. When he turned around, he was none other than the Male Lead. In awe, they were holding the sachet together with smiles on their faces.
Why is the drama ending a third life and a reincarnation?
This was not a coincidence, in my opinion. The mysterious woman, who gave the Female Lead the invitation that led her to meet the Male Lead, watched the two reunite. Who was she? You can call her fate, Amor, Cupid, heavenly messenger, angel, or even the original Zhou Ruoxi, who time-traveled.
Other signs of reincarnation were:
- The look-alikes of the crown prince and Zhou Ruoxi’s sister, who were lovers in both their first and second lives. When the Female Lead saw the lovey-dovey couple walking by, she was shocked to see them, as if she recognized them.
- She was also surprised to see the lantern, similar to the one Li Yan gave Fu Wei.
- The similar sachet as Li Yan and Zhou Ruoxi’s love token in the first and the second lives, which now belongs to the Male Lead in the third life.
- Their last statement, “So between us, it wasn’t just a chance encounter, but a bond spanning lifetimes.”
Conclusion
Despite the ending, I was actually pleased to see the screenwriter’s effort to write a beautiful love story that transcended lives, to tweak a boring reborn-to-revenge trope with a fresh and unique plot device, and to create complex palace politics (although it was not well-executed with the short drama time frame). And I also low-key hope to see Sebrina Chen/Chen Yao and Quan Yilun again in the modern-day romance, because they will look so good in it!
