One mark of a truly great drama is dialogue that lingers in the mind long after the episode ends. Pursuit of Jade (逐玉) is exceptionally quotable, blending classical Chinese literary elegance with sharp modern wit — particularly through Yu Qianqian's delightfully anachronistic observations. Below is our curated collection of the drama's most iconic lines, presented with the original Chinese, pinyin romanization, and English translation.
Xie Zheng (谢征)
"我这条命，不值几个钱，但既然还没死，就不能白活。"
"My life isn't worth much, but since I'm not dead yet, I won't waste it."
— Episode 3
"宁阳侯府的门槛虽低了，但脊梁没有弯过。"
"The threshold of the Ningyang Marquis's household may have lowered, but our backbone has never bent."
— Episode 7
"你不必怕我。这世上要怕我的人很多，但你不在其中。"
"You don't need to fear me. Many in this world should fear me, but you are not among them."
— Episode 11
"锦州的雪，年年都下，可那一年的血，再也洗不干净。"
"Snow falls on Jinzhou every year, but the blood from that year can never be washed clean."
— Episode 19
"从前我以为活着是为了报仇，如今才知，活着是为了你。"
"I used to think I lived for vengeance. Now I know I live for you."
— Episode 34
Yu Qianqian / Fan Changyu (虞千千 / 范长玉)
"日子嘛，穷有穷的过法，富有富的过法，关键是要过得明白。"
"Life can be lived poor or rich — what matters is living it with clarity."
— Episode 2
"我嫁过来不是来守寡的，是来过日子的。所以侯爷，您得活着。"
"I didn't marry into this family to become a widow. I came to build a life. So, my lord — you need to stay alive."
— Episode 4
"别人笑我出身低，我笑别人看不起猪肉。猪肉多好吃啊。"
"Others mock my lowly birth. I mock them for looking down on pork. Pork is delicious."
— Episode 6
"账本里藏着的秘密，比情书里的还多。"
"Account books hide more secrets than love letters."
— Episode 10
"你保护天下苍生，我保护你。分工明确，效率很高。"
"You protect the people of the world. I protect you. Clear division of labor — very efficient."
— Episode 28
Qi Min (齐珉)
"棋盘上最危险的不是车马炮，而是那些你以为无害的卒。"
"The most dangerous pieces on the board aren't the chariots and cannons — they're the pawns you thought were harmless."
— Episode 15
"我和谢征本是同一种人，只是他选择了光，而我选择了影。"
"Xie Zheng and I are the same kind of person. He chose the light; I chose the shadow."
— Episode 25
"这世道，好人活不长，坏人死不了。所以我决定不做好人。"
"In this world, good people don't live long, and bad people refuse to die. So I decided not to be good."
— Episode 20
"真相？真相是最廉价的东西，因为没有人愿意为它付出代价。"
"The truth? Truth is the cheapest commodity — because no one is willing to pay the price for it."
— Episode 30
Other Characters
"侯府的院墙挡得住风雨，挡不住人心。"
"The walls of the marquis's estate can block wind and rain, but they cannot block the human heart."
— Xie Zheng's Mother, Episode 9
"做皇帝难，做一个好皇帝更难，做一个不被骗的皇帝，难上加难。"
"Being an emperor is hard. Being a good emperor is harder. Being an emperor who isn't deceived — that is the hardest of all."
— The Emperor, Episode 22
These quotes represent only a fraction of the drama's memorable dialogue. What makes Pursuit of Jade's writing exceptional is how it balances registers — moving seamlessly between Yu Qianqian's colloquial warmth, Xie Zheng's restrained classical phrasing, and Qi Min's dangerously polished rhetoric. The result is a drama where every character has a distinct linguistic identity, and where the dialogue itself becomes a source of pleasure independent of the plot it serves.