Pursuit of Jade

What’s it about?

A young woman marries a disgraced nobleman to survive. They grow to love each other – but their love is challenged at every turn by political schemes and insidious secrets. They must fight, even go to war, to stay together.

The facts

• Director: Zeng Qingjie
• Language: Mandarin
• Runtime: 40 episodes, each about 45 minutes
• Adapted from the novel Zhu yu, written by Tuan Zi Lai Xi

Why did it get this rating?

This show was self-rated by Netflix. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Suicide

Suicide references are made throughout the show. Stronger scenes include:

• A woman deliberately falls off a cliff to escape capture. We later find out that she survived the fall.
• After being sentenced to death, a man drinks soup, knowing it is poisoned, and vomits. We see blood drip from his mouth as he dies.
• An assassin takes his own life after a failed assassination, deliberately forcing a knife through his palm and then using the knife to cut his own throat. This happens very quickly and not much detail is shown.

Violence

There is violence throughout the show, most of it stylised or in slow motion. Some of the stronger examples contain cruelty, including:

• Villagers are massacred by swords, shot with arrows, and strung up by their necks. Bodies line the streets and we see blood splatter. We hear the villager’s screams and the exaggerated sounds of slashing weapons.
• Throats are cut in slow-motion. We see blood on people’s necks as they die.
• A man threatens to cut the throat of a child until the child’s mother agrees to accept his gifts.
• A man chokes a woman in anger, apologises, and then begs her not to leave him.

Sexual themes

Two characters kiss passionately in a bathtub. Sex is implied but not shown.

Sexual violence references

Men flippantly discuss “bringing women back” as spoils of war.

Content that may disturb

A man deliberately breaks his thumb to release it from its shackle. We hear it crack. He falls from a great height but does not die. We see blood spurt from his lips.

Coarse language

There is occasional coarse language. We hear words like “damn” and “bastard”.

Helplines

The suicide content in this show may be upsetting for some viewers, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences. If you are struggling with what you have seen on-screen, please reach out for help:

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?