Ke Huy Quan's The Big Eunuch and The Little Carpenter: A Review

So the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once opened this past year to great critical and box office success, receiving rave reviews for its story, its visual design, and more importantly the acting performances. Of note Ke Huy Quan received plenty of praise for his multi-layered role as Waymond Wang, the beleaguered husband of Michelle Yeoh's Evelyn. It was a long road back for Quan, who was once upon a time a child star noted in films like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and The Goonies (1985). He disappeared from film for well over 20 years in the mid-90s, transitioning more towards work behind the camera, serving as stunt coordinator and later assistant director. He gave several interviews about his circuitous back to acting, many of which referred to a 1993 Taiwan costume drama with the amusing title of The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter.

Now, my parents are from Taiwan, and throughout most of my childhood in the 1990s we received satellite television, and one of the staples of our television viewing are the TV dramas, self-contained series that can extend anywhere from 20 episodes all the way to over 60. I'd certainly remember a show with the title The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter, but I had no memory of it, and as it turns out neither did my parents. Perhaps it never did air in the United States. I decided to do a search on Google, and found some bare-bones information with its Chinese title 大太監與小木匠. More significantly, the series was uploaded in its entirety by the Taiwan TeleVision (TTV) official channel, along with several of their great television drama, such as my childhood favorite Heroic Youth. (英雄少年)

 I pulled up the first episode, and it became evident pretty quickly why the series never made it to the United States. The show opens to a bunch of naked boys crowding a square. Yes, I suppose the boys were all eunuchs and since all eunuchs are by definition castrated they would have no external genitalia. Yet it's still a bunch of naked boys crowding a square. And because this is the first shot of the opening credits, every single episode opens with a shot of a bunch of naked boys crowding a square. And people thought the title was provocative. Yet this aired every weeknight at 8pm on TTV for 40 days from November 1993 to January 1994.

Nevertheless, I decided to watch the rest of the first episode. It's a fairly standard fare where it introduces the characters and the setting, but nothing really stood out for me. I watched about two more episodes and didn't really care for it so I shelved the show for a time. However, as Quan began capturing one critics awards after another, his chances of Oscar glory rose. (And in fact he did wind up with not only an Oscar nomination but also the Oscar victory). And since I can't think of any other Oscar nominated actor who had starred in a Taiwan television drama, I decided to give the rest of the show a chance. And now that I've finished all 40 episodes, I've decided to write perhaps the first English review of The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter. 

So first a little bit about Taiwan television dramas. As I mentioned they are self-contained stories and are very much in the vein of the Japanese and Korean dramas. The Taiwan dramas got their start with the first airing in 1969, and quickly became popular, as viewers relished the chance to watch a show about events that happened in Taiwan. Back in those days there were only three channels, TTV along with its competitors China Television (CTV) and Chinese Television System (CTS). They all began conscripting their own TV dramas, putting the ones with the highest profile at the prime-time hour of 8pm, so much so that these drama gained the name Eight O'Clock Files. (八點檔). Of course in order to attract viewers, the shows need a hook, and for TTV getting Ke Huy Quan to star in one of their series was a really big hook.

Now The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter is a costume drama, a type of television set in the past. Therefore to understand the story requires understanding the historical context in which the series takes place. The show takes place late in the Ming dynasty history. The Ming dynasty is the penultimate Chinese dynasty and ranks as one of the great ones. In the first 200 years of Ming rule since its inception in 1368 (to return power to the hands of the Han people), Chinese influence spread across the globe, largely due to landmark oceanic voyages by the eunuch Zheng He. Yet by 1620 the Ming power has weakened greatly, thanks to the damaging reign of the Wanli Emperor, who for the last 20 years in his 48-years in power neglecting the royal duties and spending more time consorting with his concubines. After his passing in 1620 power eventually landed in the lap of the teenaged Zhu You-jiao (朱有校), the eventual Tianqi (天啟) emperor. Unfortunately for the Ming dynasty, the new emperor also avoided political affairs, preferring to spend his time in his workshop doing carpentry. 

Within this political climate power is likely to fall on another, and in this case it ended up in the hands of the eunuch Wei Zhongxian (魏忠賢), the Big Eunuch in this story. He joined forces with the emperor's wet nurse Madame Ke (客氏), with whom he had a romantic relationship, and utilizing the intelligence secured from the infamous spy agency Eastern Depot (東廠), together they spread their influence over the Ming government. They punished their political enemies, and garnered so much fear and adoration from the public that they wished him 9,000 years of life, just a step down from the emperor's 10,000 years. This level of power of corruption is such that somebody has to bear witness to it.

Enter Ke Huy Quan's Ba Dajia (巴大家), the Little Carpenter in our tale. Back when the Tianqi emperor was still a crown prince, Ba Dajia was a carpenter that just happened to be fixing a roof in a square where the Crown Prince's playmate was to be selected among a group of young eunuchs. The selection led to a riot (thus the crowd of naked boys in the opening). In the midst of this chaos Ba Dajia ended up falling off the roof right in front of the officials making the selection. In a matter of convenience, Ba Dajia ended up getting picked. Of course, since he was not a eunuch he had to be castrated to become one. Yet through a stroke of luck he wound up keeping his manhood but entered the palace anyways. Thus he finds himself in the middle of a political battleground where he winds up coming face to face with Wei Zhongxian, Madame Ke, the new emperor, his queen, and members of the intellectual Donglin Movement (東林黨) as well as the militant White Lotus Sect (白蓮教). Everybody has their own motivations, and Ba Dajia's is just to survive.

The story isn't quite as simple as that. The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter is a television drama lasting 40 episodes, with each hour-long episode a part of the overall story. Even if we subtract the commercial breaks and the opening and ending theme which is present for every single episode, there is still about 29 hours, or 1,740 minutes worth of material, Naturally, the progression of the story is divided into arcs, or different situations that Ba Dajia has to deal with. The unpredictability of some of the arcs is what, at least theoretically, would keep viewers watching. Of course, the quality of the arcs are fairly varied. Some of the arcs are very well written, such as the first major storyline involving the attempted coup by the concubines of the former emperor. Others aren't quite so riveting, usually because they get thrown to the wayside before reaching a conclusion. For example, at one point Ba Dajia is tasked with spying on Wei Zhongxian and Madame Ke to gather intelligence for the Donglin Movement, but that only lasted one or two episodes.

All of this backcourt dramatics may sound quite serious, especially in a medium called the "TV drama." Yet as one might expect from the title The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter is purely a comedy. The entire series is pretty much played for laughs. While several other comedies end up becoming quite serious near the end as the stakes are higher, the jocular nature persists in The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter. The forms of comedy are fairly diverse. There are slapstick moments, and also puns and other wordplay, sometimes involving Ba Dajia's name (which translates literally into Big House, but it can also mean Everyone.) And yes, there are jokes involving castration as well. However, the majority of the humor comes from situational comedy. Throw a character with absolutely no decorum into an environment where modesty and respect is almost mandated and let the laughter flow.

Ba Dajia the sniper

For example, in what is perhaps the funniest scene of the entire series Ba Dajia is recruited by Wei Zhongxian into a courtyard military demonstration of the 17th century firearms. Of course, neither Ba Dajia nor his eunuch friend Pan Pan were ever told what to do. The two clueless eunuchs were under the impression that the gun was just another fancy club, and had no idea what to do about the gunpowder or the bullets, which Pan Pan stuffs into his pockets. When military commander Ke Guangxian (and brother of Madame Ke in a nepotistic twist) finally loads the weapon, the clueless Ba Dajia ended up facing the wrong way, towards the crowd. I suppose I should feel guilty at laughing given the serious danger posed by guns, but the comedic antics of the two eunuchs is just too hilarious.

That's enough about the story. Since the reason most people have heard of this show is due to Ke Huy Quan's involvement, I'm sure most people are curious about Quan's performance as Ba Dajia. Well, in order to properly assess his performance, it's important to discuss two major caveats. The first is that Ba Dajia just isn't a very likable character. You'd think the writers would try to give the main character some redeeming traits, but they are curiously absent. Ba Dajia is lazy, stupid, lecherous, and greedy. He is quick to deflect any responsibility, yet also quick to soak up credit for any praise. Sure, some of these negative traits get toned down fairly early on and by the second half he actually does some some honorable things, but he's still largely the same useless fellow by the end of the series. That isn't any fault of Quan, most of the blame can be placed on the writer, but it sure detracts from the performance.

And the second caveat is that Ba Dajia is dubbed throughout the entire series. Ke Huy Quan is certainly capable of speaking Mandarin Chinese. He proved it in his performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and also showed it in multiple interviews that he did promoting the show with TTV around the time of the series' release. However, he does speak with a thick Cantonese accent, a fact that was brought up many times in the latter interview. As a result the producers felt it better if his lines were dubbed over. This isn't uncommon at all in these TV dramas. There were several other important roles that were dubbed over, including the empress and the emperor's brother that both turned out to be key allies against Ke-Wei, as well as the eunuch friend Pan Pan. Nevertheless, it does somewhat limit Quan's performance. And to top it off, while the dub voice Shi Banyu is celebrated in Taiwan, his voice is quite grating to ears.

Wah!

So Ke Huy Quan is playing a very annoying and unlikeable character, and isn't even allowed to use his own voice to do so. Where exactly does that leave us? Thankfully, Quan does have a special skill, one that he shows off numerous times in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and that is that he is a master at physical acting. Each of his actions are quite exaggerated, but it helps to highlight Ba Dajia's characteristics. He sits with his feet hanging over the side of the chair, showing off his lack of court decorum. He struts when he's feeling haughty and shrinks when he cowers at the sight of Wei Zhonxian and Madame Ke. And of course there is his trademark look of surprise, when his mouth an eyes open up wide and he yells "Wah!" Unfortunately Quan isn't given an opportunity to show off his martial arts skills as there are a few action scenes, but he is never shown to participate in any of them. Nevertheless, Quan does manage to make the most of the opportunities he is given.

Of course it helps that Quan is surrounded by a strong ensemble cast. Actresses Kuang Mingjie (況明潔) and Chi Chin (季芹) are very good as Ba Dajia's love interests Yuan Xiaoyu (袁小玉) and Zhang Qian (張倩) respectively. Kuang's Xiaoyu has more of a kind and patient type of chemistry, but Chi's Zhang Qian and her abusive tendencies is more humorous. Meanwhile veteran actors Zheng Shaofeng (鄭少峰) (who also serves as the director of the series) and Chiang Ming (江明) are also solid as Xiaoyu's grandfather Yuan Bufan (袁不凡) and Zhang Qian's father Zhang Benru (張本儒) respectively. Their treatment of Ba Dajia hilariously run counter to that of Xiaoyu and Zhang Qian, with Yuan Bufan treating the little carpenter with stern disapproval while Zhang Benru constantly showers Dajia with praise. 

Meanwhile two-time Golden Horse winner Ku Feng (谷峰) shines as the real-life figure of Wang An (王安). His strict, no-nonsense control of the administration under the Tianqi emperor runs counter to the lust for power of Wei Zhongxian. At 25 years old, Chiu Shin-chih (邱心志) is probably a little too old to play the Tianqi emperor, who was only a teenager for most of his reign, but even so he does a great job portraying the weak-minded emperor whose lack of interest in government affairs and blind mistrust in Ke and Wei led to the political chaos, yet infuses him with a sympathetic air. Comedic actor Fang Zheng (方正) is terrific as Ba Dajia's sleazy uncle Ba Dazhu (巴大朱), whose greed dwarfs that of his hapless nephew to the point that he ingratiates himself towards Ke and Wei, yet manages to remain hilariously charming in spite of his slimy personality.

Even some of the characters with more limited roles are fantastic. The veteran Mongolian actress Siqin Gaowa (斯琴高娃) is very good as the scheming Li Kangfei (李康妃), one of the concubines lusting for power following the death of the previous emperor. Her cold cunning early on serves as a contrast for Ke and Wei who outdoes her in every way later in the series. Actor He Tai (何台) makes a strong impression as Ba Dajia's one-time boss Bao Dachun (包大椿). His curt way of speaking and his lack of tolerance for Ba Dajia's antics is such a breath of fresh air it's a shame he was written out so quickly. Vicky Chen Hsiao Hsuan (陳孝萱) is also solid as one of Tianqi's concubines who feeds information to Wei Zhongxian. Her courageous stand against Wei is inspirational even if it would end up costing her life.

Of course every show has to have its share of antagonistic characters, and the villains of The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter are all very memorable. Cheng Ping-chun (鄭平軍) is the very definition of intimidating as the military leader Ke Guanxian (客光先), especially as the Bas and the Yuans struggle for survival late in the series. Chien Te-men (乾德門) also phenomenal as the titular Big Eunuch Wei Zhongxian. He has his share of intimidating moments, yet has enough bumbling to make it a memorable performance. Yu Heng (于恆) is possibly even better as Wang Tiqian (王體乾). The old eunuch is initially portrayed as a funny old homosexual pervert, yet quickly proves to be much more ruthless and cunning than anybody could have imagined.

Yet the series MVP ends up being Hsi Man-ning (席曼寧) as Madame Ke. She makes her glorious entrance in an action-packed fight scene near the end of the first episode. She is cold and calculating, and proves herself to be the mastermind in the Ke-Wei collaboration, She is always quick to provide guidance and can even stop even Wei Zhongxian and her brother with just one little glance. Yet she also shows tenderness towards the emperor. Initially it seems like her fealty towards the emperor is only to help her gain power, yet by the end of the series it becomes clear that her care for him is genuine. It almost makes you feel sorry for her in her defeat, a feeling you don't quite get with the other antagonists.

That's probably enough about the acting. Being a high-profile costume TV drama, you'd expect the production values to be quite high, and for the most part it is. The costumes are all quite exquisite, even if the characters rarely ever seem to change. The sets are a little bit more varied. The indoor sets within the palace are all pretty exquisite. However, some of the outdoor sets leave more to be desired, especially one later on in a series of underground tunnels. The music is fairly nice. Much of the music is an instrumental remix of the opening theme (provocatively titled "I was Hip Checked by Youth"...it is kind of a bop). Of course, the Studio Ghibli fan in me quickly recognized two songs from the Kiki's Delivery Service soundtrack, namely "I Can't Fly" which appears numerous times. and "Jeff" which appears only once in episode 23.

Anyways, I have no idea if The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter was a rating success for TTV. I do know that when the television awards in Taiwan, the Golden Bell Awards, announced its nominees for the year the show aired, The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter only picked up one nomination, within the Sound Mixing category, which it didn't even win. By the end of this year it would be 30 years since the show aired in Taiwan, and The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter currently occupies a largely forgotten part of Ke Huy Quan's acting career. All people really remember about it is its funny title. Perhaps it's best left there in the forgotten lands. After all, Ba Dajia is a role he had to take due to the lack of opportunities in America. Nevertheless, if you're a die-hard fan of Ke Huy Quan, and you're in the mood for some comedy, and you have a passing knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, and you have about 29 hours to spare, then perhaps The Big Eunuch and the Little Carpenter is worth checking out. Just don't expect me to embed it. After all, it's got naked boys crowding a square in every episode.

Hooray! This review is over!