On Chinese social media Weibo, the "worst work" of Chinese historical dramas became a topic, and producer and screenwriter Yu Zheng (于正) made a statement acknowledging his responsibility.

Based on user opinions and ratings on Douban (douban), a drama and film information review site, the "worst work" chosen as number one was "鳳囚凰 〜陰謀と裏切りの後宮〜", released in 2018. Yu Zheng, known as a hitmaker in the Chinese drama industry and the producer of the said work, recently posted a long message on Weibo. He admitted his responsibility and reflected on how he was asked to change the cast right before filming began, and how his own misjudgment affected the quality of the work.

According to Yu Zheng, the script for "鳳囚凰" was originally written to suit the lead couple initially planned, but a month before filming began, he was asked by the sponsors to replace the female lead. "I lost in the negotiations, and in my rush to achieve results, I tried to give everyone more screen time and promote as many actors as possible quickly. As a result, the story gradually deviated from its original form," he explained.

Regarding the criticism of the work itself, he commented, "I started receiving various criticisms when audiences began to tire of my aesthetic of color, and in trying to find a breakthrough, I went in a somewhat extreme direction." On the other hand, he also stated that this trial and error became the driving force behind his subsequent popular works such as "瓔珞〜紫禁城に燃ゆる逆襲の王妃〜", "君、花海棠の紅にあらず", and "墨雨雲間～美しき復讐～".

Works mentioned as "worst works" include "龍王の恋 永遠なる誓い", "雲中歌～愛を奏でる～", "思美人〜戦国の世に散った永遠の愛〜", "封神演義（19年版）", "上古情歌", and others.

Criticism also extended to parts other than the story, with suspicions arising that "孤高の花 ～General＆I～" extensively used stand-ins and composited separately filmed footage. This was ridiculed as "fake acting" and became a big topic. Furthermore, "重耳伝奇", which had the lowest Douban score among the "worst works," was criticized for its costumes, hair and makeup, and art direction being "completely detached from reality," despite being set in ancient China. Harsh criticism was also raised regarding its adaptation, which significantly deviated from history. (Mathilda)