Zhao Lusi, Yang Zi, and Zhou Xun Make People Cry! Top 10 Most Powerful Female Actresses in Chinese Drama Crying Scenes, Champion Doesn't Shed Tears but Breaks Hearts

In Chinese dramas, the most moving performances are not just about shedding tears but about conveying the character's suppressed emotions and pain to the audience. Zhao Lusi's portrayal of Cheng Shaoshang in 'Starry Sky' and Yang Zi's performance as Xiaotiao in 'Love and Redemption' are prime examples. Zhou Xun's final scene in 'The Rise of Phoenixes' is particularly memorable, where she doesn't shed a tear but conveys heartbreak with a lifeless gaze. These performances have become classic scenes that fans revisit repeatedly. This article compiles the top 10 most powerful female actresses in Chinese drama crying scenes based on discussions from platforms like Weibo and Douban, considering the representativeness of the crying scenes, emotional depth, character completeness, and audience resonance.

Top 10: Liu Shishi in 'A Dream of Splendor' Liu Shishi plays Ren Yiyi, the former left aide of the Imperial Guard, in 'A Dream of Splendor.' She is usually calm and decisive, even in times of injury or danger, she tends to hide her emotions. This restrained character setting makes her occasional vulnerability stand out even more. When Ren Yiyi is injured, remembers the Empress Dowager, and faces the continuous sacrifice of her companions, Liu Shishi doesn't exaggerate her expressions but lets the feelings of grievance, surprise, and despair slowly surface in her eyes.

An audience member commented after watching Ren Yiyi's injury scene: 'She truly portrayed that sense of grievance and despair, it's heart-wrenching and heartbreaking.' Her crying scenes are of the cold type, tears often come slowly, but the emotions linger in the audience's hearts for a long time.

Top 9: Tan Songyun in 'In the Name of Family' Tan Songyun plays Li Jianjian in 'In the Name of Family,' who grew up with two fathers and two older brothers, appearing carefree but actually fearing abandonment. When Lingxiao and He Ziqiou leave one after another, Li Jianjian's lively life suddenly becomes empty. Tan Songyun blends the girl's confusion, grievance, and unacknowledged loss, crying like a child who can't find her family.

A drama fan commented: 'The crying scene when the two older brothers leave is also very relatable.' Tan Songyun's advantage is her realism; she doesn't cry with the beautiful posture of idol dramas but instead frowns, speaks in broken sentences, making Li Jianjian's pain of losing her family feel real.

Top 8: Ni Ni in 'Eternal Love' Ni Ni plays Lingxi in 'Eternal Love,' a character who transitions from a carefree fairy to someone experiencing revelations about her identity, separation, and trials in the mortal world, with a wide emotional range. She rarely relies solely on tears but uses rapid breathing, trembling lips, and unfocused eyes to convey Lingxi's powerlessness in the face of love and fate.

One audience member described it as: 'Ni Ni's crying scene struck my heart.' Especially when Lingxi, despite knowing that Jiuzhen is hiding something, chooses to believe him, her eyes show both hope and fear. The audience knows the tragedy is about to happen, making it even harder to detach.

Top 7: Li Qin in 'The Legend of Haolan' Li Qin plays Princess Yuanchun in 'The Legend of Haolan,' who starts as a cherished innocent girl but undergoes a complete transformation due to national upheaval and personal trauma. Scenes of Yuanchun's wedding being abandoned, kneeling to beg Yanxun to stay, and her emotional breakdown after facing great changes, Li Qin portrays the character's journey from disbelief to desperate pleading, to the birth of hatred, making it one of the most memorable performances in the entire drama.

Even though Yuanchun makes many extreme choices later, there are still audience comments: 'Even if everyone says you brought it on yourself, I still feel sorry for you.' Li Qin's crying scenes show that Yuanchun didn't suddenly turn bad but was a girl who believed in love, pushed step by step into a dead end by reality.

Top 6: Bai Lu in 'Once We Get Married' Bai Lu plays Qi Shiyi in 'Once We Get Married,' who loves Zhou Shengchen but is separated by status and national responsibilities. After learning that Zhou Shengchen is sentenced to the bone-pulling punishment, she goes from refusing to believe, silently shedding tears, to wearing red and walking up the city wall, each layer of emotion carrying near-suffocating despair. Qi Shiyi's final jump from the city wall is not an impulsive act but a moment when she sees no reason to continue living.

An audience member wrote after watching: 'Why did I also feel the pain and death with her?' Bai Lu portrays Qi Shiyi's crying scenes as a long-term internal injury, the more restrained and dignified she is in the beginning, the more unbearable the climax becomes.

Top 5: Zhao Lusi in 'Starry Sky' Zhao Lusi plays Cheng Shaoshang in 'Starry Sky,' who was left by her parents as a child and, even after they return, there is still a long-standing estrangement between them. Cheng Shaoshang is sharp-tongued on the surface but deeply craves love. She cries differently when facing her mother's favoritism, the death of Empress Xuan, and Ling Budai's choice to leave for revenge. She is like a child when feeling wronged and her eyes lose their luster when her heart is broken.

An audience member said, Zhao Lusi's 'drunk and crying scenes are impressive.' She can portray the stubbornness of holding back tears and completely breaking down when hurt by loved ones, making Cheng Shaoshang's loveless yet unyielding personality more complete.

Top 4: Sun Li in 'The Palace' Sun Li plays Zhen Huan in 'The Palace,' a character who evolves from a naive girl to a shrewd empress. Her crying scenes also change with the character's growth. She cries directly when hurt by love, shows the collapse of losing a close friend when Meizhuang dies, and in the emperor's final moments, she reveals the truth after many years, and after his death, she collapses to the ground in tears, her emotions mixed with hatred, exhaustion, and the sadness of her life.

An audience member described it as: 'Every time, I feel a strong sense of empathy in her tears.' Sun Li's skill lies in her ability to make the same character cry in completely different ways at different stages of life. The audience doesn't see Sun Li crying but Zhen Huan's losses throughout her life.

Top 3: Zhao Liying in 'Story of Yanxi Palace' Zhao Liying plays Sheng Minglan in 'Story of Yanxi Palace,' who lost her mother at a young age and grew up under her grandmother's protection, learning to hide her emotions early on. When her grandmother is poisoned, Minglan sits by the bedside, holding back tears, forcing herself to find the truth. She doesn't lose control immediately but suppresses fear, anger, and self-blame in her trembling voice. This scene also shows that Minglan, who is usually calm, considers her grandmother more important than anyone else.

A drama fan talked about the scene of the grandmother's poisoning: 'The infectious power is too strong, I cried several times.' Zhao Liying didn't make Minglan cry uncontrollably but portrayed a woman who has long been accustomed to endurance, still having to hold up the family when the most important person might leave.

Top 2: Yang Zi in 'Love and Redemption' Yang Zi plays Xiaotiao in 'Love and Redemption,' who was separated from her family as a child, experienced hundreds of years of wandering and suffering, and has long been accustomed to saying 'no one to rely on.' Her crying scenes are explosive, from reuniting with Jingxin, doubting her mother's abandonment, to recognizing her mother, her long-held resentment instantly collapses. Yang Zi can make Xiaotiao question while retreating to the child waiting for her mother to come home. After the recognition scene was filmed, she even cried until her eyes were swollen, and the character's long-held grievances were completely released in this scene.

An audience member described her performance as 'I can feel the pain from Yang Zi,' and another drama fan said: 'I didn't know the plot before and after could also be infected.' Yang Zi's crying scenes are emotionally clear, and the audience can quickly understand what the character is losing even if they only see a short clip.

Top 1: Zhou Xun in 'The Rise of Phoenixes' Zhou Xun plays Ruyi in 'The Rise of Phoenixes,' from her youthful acquaintance with Qianlong to the complete breakdown of their marital love due to suspicion, power, and betrayal. Her performance rarely uses loud crying to remind the audience of the character's pain but often lets Ruyi sit quietly, using a lifeless gaze to watch a relationship end. In the final episode, Ruyi's heart is already dead, calmly waiting for life to end, with no tears on her face, but the audience can feel that she has bid farewell to love, the queen's status, and her former self.

An audience member described Zhou Xun's performance as: 'She didn't shed a single tear, but you were already in tears.' The highest level of crying scenes is not necessarily the actress crying the most, but the character can't cry anymore, and the person in front of the screen has cried all her tears for her. Zhou Xun thus won the championship in this ranking, truly embodying 'not shedding tears but breaking hearts.'