Xia Da is an amazing artist!!! Love this manhua! Read this many times over and even though it is on hiatus it is still worth the read. Her prequel is amazing and the story just pulls you into the era.

Pretty forgettable and confusing at times.

Nonetheless, the characters and the art probably make a fun time waster.

There are some really good historical narratives out there that are amazing, and this is definitely one of them. It reminds me of the likes of Empress Ki and Dae Jang Geum. The plot development and pacing is quick, there's comedy and romance, and the character development is there too: you can see the two MCs grow and change. If this got produced as a drama, I'd watch it hands down.

Warning: The story may be hard to follow. The politics and all the names and historical events are no joke, yet they're important to keep track of because everything is critical to the story. At one point, I drew a character map to figure out all the relationships of the characters. You can probably coast through without fully understanding -- and just hope that it comes together later on, which it will -- but you get to appreciate the hard work the author has put in creating and plotting all this.

This story was put on hiatus on March 2016. The author's contract with SUMMERZOO ended in Sept 2017 and she has since founded her own studio. Until she is able to get the rights back to Chang Ge Xing (and Zi Bu Yu), she won't continue publishing it, but she has promised and reassured that it lives on somehow. It's a legal battle and I sincerely hope it'll go well for Xia Da, because she really deserves full credit to her work. Once this story continues, I'll need to re-read everything. Will definitely be keeping tabs on this manhua!

... Last updated on July 21st, 2018, 5:49am

The BEST historical manhua around! Chang Ge is gifted, skilled in the art of war and diplomacy and can match wits with the main guy Ashina. The art is breath taking and the story fast-paced. As mentioned in the comments below (by tori_no_uta) her character growth is wonderful to watch.
Definitely read all the chapters released. Too bad the fight between Xia Da and her publisher caused this series to go on a hiatus.
Still I eagerly await her next story!

I really, really love this manga. I love Li Chang Ge. She's a strong female lead but she wasn't born that way. Initially, she is haughty and quite pretentious. But being around the people she comes across as she travels and tries to realize her goal, she is humbled and becomes wiser. Her goal becomes less one-track and more to realize a cause for something greater. We see her through her anguish and tears, we see her try and overcome her obstacles, and then we see her become stronger and more mature beyond her years. The manga also spends time explaining that although she may be tomboyish and male like, at the end of the day she is still definitely a girl, and definitely a girl with feelings. I found that I could easily relate to her, and when she cried, i felt like crying.

I love all the characters in CGX, even the minor characters. The author has obviously spent a lot time and put a lot of thought into creating her characters. They aren't used simply as a means to drive the plot or force character development for the female protagonist. Even the minor characters are very well rounded and are not shallow. All in all, it's simply very talented storytelling.

Also the art is stunning, it is absolutely beautiful. I would recommend this manhua 100/10

... Last updated on August 1st, 2018, 2:42pm

@Seregosa You're not even giving this manhua a review so why are you even here?? Take your rant somewhere else, no one wants to hear it. If these people here give CGX 10/10 that's their opinion and you have no right to say they're wrong. 10/10 doesn't have to mean the it's objectively "flawless", it's all the opinion of the reader. As for me, CGX is one of my top three favorite manga/manhua/manhwa so I sure as hell with give it 10/10 and you cant stop me

I was disappointed. So many reviews with a full 10/10, while it's actually worth far less. People need to stop giving out 10/10 for whatever they like. "Oh, I like this, so I'll give it a full score", no, it doesn't work like that. For it to be a 10/10, it has to be PERFECT, no flaws, nothing bad to comment on at all, at the same time as you loved to read it. If there's a flaw, there's no way it's a full score, but people just doesn't give a f**k about giving stuff proper scores so that other people can judge works better, they like it, so they feel it's worth 10/10 even though that means it should be flawless.

Ive read quite some stories of ancient china with female main character, and never i have found anyone close to Li Chang Ge. Xia Da does a very good job on refining her character. She makes mistakes and pays the toll, she learns also and she finds her limit.

She is strong willed and yet her physical body cannot follow, something i can really relate to as a fragile woman.. I admire her, and the smallest details Xia Da does with her little habit, how she composes herself on her daily activity is a really great job. A must read

I can understand why some people thought that later volumes have supposedly 'regressed' in terms of action and strategy, particularly where Chang ge is concerned. I once shared their feelings, but upon reading the series again I find that there’s little ground to back up this claim.

First, there can’t be wars and battles to be fought all the time. The first volume features this theme heavily, but war in itself is not the focus of Chang ge’s journey. It’s about finding herself and finding her allies. This series is elegant and deep, and definitely NOT only about bloodshed, betrayals and vengeance. Second, I want to clear up some possible misconceptions about Chang ge letting go of her vengeance and (so far) dropping her male guise. In what I’d call the second major arc of the story, Chang ge is brought to a peaceful temple, where she learns and reflects her 'Dao’ (path) and 'Shu’ (method). This is where Xia Da pays homage not only to the greatness of ancient Chinese war tactics, but also to its beautiful philosophy. After realising that her vengeance would bring her small personal satisfaction at the cost of her own people and country, Chang ge finally embraces a new goal and her inner desire for peace instead of chaos. It’s not that she forgets and forgives. In her talks with Ashina Sun she still clearly wants to kill Li Shimin, but not knowing how to do so without conflicting it with her new lifelong wish.

As for her disuse of her male guise lately, I like to think that Chang ge is learning more about her own gender identity, which she has been greatly confused about before. Also, her guise is only part of her 'Shu’, as she explained to Sun - they are all the real her. She becomes what is needed in the circumstances to advance her goals.

Okay, after clearing up that point, I’d like to profoundly express how much I admire Xia Da’s work and characters. Chang Ge should be a role model for young girls (and boys) not because she is perfect, but because of she teaches you. She is intelligent and strong, and I mean REALLY intelligent. I’ve read mangas under the tag of 'intelligent/clever female protagonist’ who in reality just falls into the 'shoujo perfect student' trope (good looks, top grades, athletic). Which is not a realistic (or original) portrayal at all. Many shounen manga, on the other hand, is guilty of the opposite. They often mistake a strong female character for just someone who fights as equally as a man. Think about it, how often do you find a female protagonist who is a leader? Who doesn’t need to be one of the best physical fighters in order to be important? ...That’s where Chang ge is awesome.

But Chang ge doesn’t make perfect decisions. She miscalculate, misjudges and pays the price for it. She couldn’t save many people. But through her hardships she grew as a character, always becoming more than the person she’d been from the beginning of her journey. That’s why I believe Chang ge makes a good role model. She isn’t born with perfect talents and the skills. She’s strong because she’s constantly perfecting and remaking herself.

... Last updated on August 7th, 2016, 3:06am

A 'frail, silly and shy girl' is not what the main character becomes. All that happened was that she saw past her hate, realising that revenge would bring her nothing. It would neither restore what had been lost nor would it bring her peace. The series has not lost its path even once.

From the start we meet Chang Ge: skilled, talented, smart and overcome with hate. She is extremely likeable, and for me she is probably one of my favourite female characters of all time. However the author does not leave Chang Ge's character at this point - we get to see her grow and improve through the series.



Moving on from the amazing plot, the pacing and story telling is also amazing. From the first utilisation of a childhood flashback where we see Wei Zheng telling her that 'the line between protecting one's self and bullying others is very thin' (a direct referral to her uncle's actions that we as readers are aware was in order to protect himself) to the most recent chapters, the author never places unnecessary material in the story and everything only serves to widen the world within the story. The only complaint I can think of is that there is a lot of exposition, which is necessary but quite long at times.

Also the art is beautiful. Definite 10/10

... Last updated on October 20th, 2015, 2:35pm