# Listening Snow Tower (听雪楼)
**Listening Snow Tower** (听雪楼) is a 2019 Chinese wuxia romance television series adapted from Cang Yue's (沧月) novel of the same Chinese title, starring Qin Junjie as the tower master Xiao Yiqing and Yuan Bingyan as Shu Jingrong, the "Daughter of the Blood Demon"[1](https://www.cpophome.com/listening-snow-tower-qin-junjie-crystal-yuan/). It premiered on [Tencent Video](https://www.edgepedia.org/tencent-video) on May 6, 2019, and ran for 56 episodes[2](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/155712456614971.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 听雪楼 (also romanized Ting Xue Lou)[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/42103/listening-snow-tower) |
| Run | 56 episodes of about 45 minutes; premiered May 6, 2019, finale June 13, 2019, on Tencent Video[2](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/155712456614971.html) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/42103/listening-snow-tower) |
| Directors | Yin Tao (total director) and Liu Guotong[1](https://www.cpophome.com/listening-snow-tower-qin-junjie-crystal-yuan/) |
| Source | Cang Yue's novel series, written from 2001 and published by New World Press in January 2007[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC/3869755?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Main cast | Qin Junjie (Xiao Yiqing), Yuan Bingyan (Shu Jingrong), Han Chengyu (Qing Lan / Jia Ruo), Yuan Liling (Ming He), Lin Yuan (Chi Xiaotai), Zhao Dongze (Qing Yu / Gao Mengfei)[1](https://www.cpophome.com/listening-snow-tower-qin-junjie-crystal-yuan/) |
| Production | H&R Century Pictures (欢瑞世纪) with co-producers; filmed at Hengdian World Studios[5](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC%E3%80%8B/17767542?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Reception | The novel holds an 8.7 rating on Douban; the drama adaptation drew mixed reviews and a far lower Douban score[6](https://www.readbetweenthesubtitles.com/post/listening-snow-tower-spoiler-free-mini-review) • [7](https://hn.cnr.cn/whly/20190806/t20190806_524720453.shtml) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story is set against the rise and fall of the Listening Snow Tower, a martial-arts organization in the jianghu (the world of wandering warriors)[1](https://www.cpophome.com/listening-snow-tower-qin-junjie-crystal-yuan/). The Baiyue Cult (拜月教) spreads terror through the martial world, and three great masters, Bai Di (the White Emperor), Xue Gu (Snow Valley), and the Blood Demon, join Xiao Shishui, master of the Listening Snow Tower, against it[5](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC%E3%80%8B/17767542?fromModule=lemma_inlink). The cult leader Hua Lian and her high priest use the sacred relic Hua Hualing (the Flower-Protecting Bell) to invade the Blood Demon's mind, driving him to kill his wife and take his own life[5](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC%E3%80%8B/17767542?fromModule=lemma_inlink).
His daughter Shu Jingrong is taken in by Bai Di and grows up alongside Xiao Yiqing, Xiao Shishui's son. After the deaths of her senior brother Qing Lan and her master, she believes she carries an ill-fated destiny. She takes up her father's sword Xuewei (Blood Wei) and joins the Listening Snow Tower, where she and the young master Xiao Yiqing destroy the Pili Hall and fight the Baiyue Cult to protect ordinary people[5](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC%E3%80%8B/17767542?fromModule=lemma_inlink). When the cult's protector Gu Guang is turned against the sect, he helps Xiao Yiqing unlock the wordless book left by his father, revealing the cause of his parents' deaths; Xiao vows revenge, and the two ultimately destroy the Baiyue Cult together[5](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC%E3%80%8B/17767542?fromModule=lemma_inlink). Xiao Yiqing is praised in the martial world as a "dragon among men" (人中龙凤), and the pair are known jointly as the "dragon and phoenix"[2](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/155712456614971.html).
## The source novel
Cang Yue, a leading author of the "mainland new wuxia" movement, began the *Listening Snow Tower* series in 2001, and New World Press published it in January 2007[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC/3869755?fromModule=lemma_inlink) • [7](https://hn.cnr.cn/whly/20190806/t20190806_524720453.shtml). The novel consists of three books, *Blood Wei* (血薇), *Flower-Protecting Bell* (护花铃), and *Wilderness Snow* (荒原雪)[8](https://www.sohu.com/a/314911895_159592). Rather than a single continuous novel, it reads as a collection of short stories under one shared world setting, and the story of Xiao Yiqing and Shu Jingrong does not occupy the largest share of the text[8](https://www.sohu.com/a/314911895_159592).
In the novel's plot, the two lead the Tower together wielding the Xuewei sword and the Xiying blade, but suspicion grows between them, and they ultimately die together at the instigation of Shi Mingyan; the Tower itself falls generations later under Xiao Tingyun, besieged by the Baiyue Cult and the Wind-and-Rain organization[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC/3869755?fromModule=lemma_inlink). Critics describe the series as driven by intense, sharply aesthetic emotion rather than intricate plotting, in keeping with Cang Yue's graceful, ornate prose style[9](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0516/c40606-31087223.html). On Douban the novel accumulated a rating of 8.7, and readers called it a classic wuxia of a generation[7](https://hn.cnr.cn/whly/20190806/t20190806_524720453.shtml).
## Adaptation and controversy
The drama's changes drew complaints from novel fans soon after its May 6, 2019 premiere. In the series, Xiao Yiqing and Shu Jingrong meet in childhood, earlier than in the novel, and Shu Jingrong's characterization as a tough, independent figure was weakened[10](https://www.bbtnews.com.cn/2019/0508/299769.shtml). On May 8, 2019, total director Yin Tao responded on Weibo, saying that adapting the novel required a clear storyline, so the team reorganized the novel's timeline and story lines in chronological order so that a broader audience could follow it[10](https://www.bbtnews.com.cn/2019/0508/299769.shtml). Yuan Bingyan, in an interview, said the drama fills in Shu Jingrong's life experience, since "no one is born strong or born carrying such a heavy responsibility," and argued the rewrite is more realistic[11](https://ent.ifeng.com/c/7mjDj80CV1t).
A People's Daily Online commentary argued that the adaptation's difficulty is not unique to this work: the novel's power lies in emotional intensity, and commercial television formulas reduced its emotional climaxes to plot conflicts, leaving dialogue that had felt natural on the page sounding deliberate on screen[9](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0516/c40606-31087223.html). A scholarly review of wuxia television similarly placed *Listening Snow Tower* in the line of adaptations of female-oriented web wuxia, noting that the novel portrays the growth and character of a swordswoman with fine emotional detail, while television versions of such works tend to emphasize romance formulas at the expense of martial action and chivalric ethics[12](https://cul.china.com.cn/2021-01/26/content_41451794.htm).
## Production and visual style
The production researched architectural designs from the Wei and Jin dynasties for its two main sets, the Listening Snow Tower and the Moon Sect. Art director Liu Ziyi said the Moon Sect set was designed as a sacred place of belief, with no curtains, to give it a cold and solemn aura, while the Tower's main hall was built around a concept of tranquility, drawing on old Chinese gardens and paintings[13](https://dramapanda.com/2019/06/behind-visual-splendor-of-listening.html). Qin Junjie said the series applies a very modern perception of beauty to a standard wuxia, praising its simplicity and uniformity of color[13](https://dramapanda.com/2019/06/behind-visual-splendor-of-listening.html). Chinese press coverage likewise highlighted the costume palette and set design as markers of a "new wuxia" aesthetic[7](https://hn.cnr.cn/whly/20190806/t20190806_524720453.shtml).
The soundtrack includes the opening theme "Xue" (Snow), the closing theme "Beixi Lou" sung by He Shengming, and insert songs including "Xuewei" and "Jinse," the last performed by Qin Junjie and Yuan Bingyan[5](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC%E3%80%8B/17767542?fromModule=lemma_inlink).
## Release and availability
The series aired on Tencent Video from May 6 to June 13, 2019, with two episodes released Monday through Thursday at 20:00[2](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/155712456614971.html) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/42103/listening-snow-tower). It later streamed internationally on WeTV and appeared on platforms including Prime Video and Viki[1](https://www.cpophome.com/listening-snow-tower-qin-junjie-crystal-yuan/) • [14](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/tv-show/listening-snow-tower). In Japan it was licensed as *Chōsetsurō: Ai to Fukushū no Kangeki* (聴雪楼 愛と復讐の剣客) and began streaming on BS11+ on May 19, 2024[15](https://bs11plus-topics.jp/chosetsuro/). A CMS industry report listed it among the top ten dramas on Tencent for 2019[16](https://img3.gelonghui.com/pdf/554d2-829d4a44-a7e3-416b-a582-d110ac9b2ef5.pdf).
## References
1. [Listening Snow Tower – Chinese Drama 2019, CPOP HOME](https://www.cpophome.com/listening-snow-tower-qin-junjie-crystal-yuan/)
2. [网剧《听雪楼》开播，秦俊杰袁冰妍上演虐恋, 新京报](https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/155712456614971.html)
3. [Listening Snow Tower, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/42103/listening-snow-tower)
4. [听雪楼（沧月创作的小说）, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC/3869755?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
5. [听雪楼（2019年秦俊杰、袁冰妍主演的武侠浪漫传奇剧）, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AC%E9%9B%AA%E6%A5%BC%E3%80%8B/17767542?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
6. [Listening Snow Tower: Spoiler-Free Mini Review, Read Between the Subtitles](https://www.readbetweenthesubtitles.com/post/listening-snow-tower-spoiler-free-mini-review)
7. [欢瑞世纪倾星打造武侠魅力，秦俊杰袁冰妍联袂奉献《听雪楼》, 央广网](https://hn.cnr.cn/whly/20190806/t20190806_524720453.shtml)
8. [《听雪楼》开新武侠影视改编先河, 搜狐](https://www.sohu.com/a/314911895_159592)
9. [《听雪楼》口碑不佳 大陆新武侠改编难在原著情感体验, 人民网](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0516/c40606-31087223.html)
10. [听雪楼导演回应改编争议：为了补全男女主成长线索, 北京商报](https://www.bbtnews.com.cn/2019/0508/299769.shtml)
11. [袁冰妍《听雪楼》专访回应质疑, 凤凰网](https://ent.ifeng.com/c/7mjDj80CV1t)
12. [为国为民精神的荧屏表达——当下武侠剧的创新与困境, 中国网](https://cul.china.com.cn/2021-01/26/content_41451794.htm)
13. [Behind the Visual Splendor of Listening Snow Tower, DramaPanda](https://dramapanda.com/2019/06/behind-visual-splendor-of-listening.html)
14. [Listening Snow Tower – streaming tv show online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/tv-show/listening-snow-tower)
15. [中国時代劇「聴雪楼 愛と復讐の剣客」を5月19日よりBS11+で配信スタート, BS11+トピックス](https://bs11plus-topics.jp/chosetsuro/)
16. [公司研究报告（2019年剧集排名）, 格隆汇](https://img3.gelonghui.com/pdf/554d2-829d4a44-a7e3-416b-a582-d110ac9b2ef5.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Chinese wuxia and martial-arts serials*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license