Empress in the Palace

Empress in the Palace
or
Legend of Zhen Huan

Year: 2011-2012
Episodes: 76
Characters:

Synopsis:

Unwilling to become the Emperor's concubine, Zhen Huan enters the palace hoping for peace and zero attention; however, her beauty and wit quickly capture the emperor's love, as well as, the other concubines' hate. At first, she only wanted to be in love with her husband, but after multiple near-death incidents, she learns to be calculative and power-hungry.

 Zhen Huan (Sun Li) is well-educated, clever, and a great daughter. She enters the palace for her family, because all of the emperor's officers, or like the people that help govern the nation, have to send their unmarried or unengaged daughters to the palace for the emperor to choose his concubines. She didn't want to be chosen, unlike all the other girls, but because she resembles the first empress, the emperor's dead ex-wife, the emperor chose her. She wishes that she would never be in the spotlight, but her intellect and innocence catches the emperor's attention and becomes his most well-beloved concubine. With the emperor's love comes hatred from the other concubines. The once innocent girl who only wanted true love soon learns to become calculative and power-hungry to survive in the treacherous palace.

 Yongzhen (Chen Jian Bin) is the emperor, the son of heaven (he rules everything under heaven). In other words, he is the most powerful person on Earth. Every three years, he chooses a dozen concubines to add to his harem. His first wife, and the only person he considers his main wife, is his favorite wife. He loves her more than he loves Zhen Huan. He has a hard time because his wives are also in a sense linked to his officers, so he is forced to pay special attention to the concubine whose family is helping him out a lot.

 The Empress (Ada Choi, the second runner up for the 1991 Miss Hong Kong Beauty Pageant) is a kind looking wife that loves calligraphy and seems to like peace. However, she is actually evil on the inside and is behind all the fighting in the palace. She is scarier than Concubine Hua, because she hides her evil extremely well. She does have a sad story of her own. Her blood-related older sister was the Emperor's first wife and she was only the second wife. Though her sister died when the emperor was still a prince, she can never replace her sister's place in the emperor's heart. She has no children so she strives to become the guardian of a prince.

 Concubine Hua, or Hua Fei (Jiang Xin), is the only sister of General Nian, arguably the emperor's most important officer, who controls a huge portion of the country's army. She is beautiful and arrogant. Before Zhen Huan arrived, she was the emperor's favorite. Her love for the emperor leads to uncontrollable jealousy. She will kill people, make people lose their preborn babies, or even make them infertile. She also has no children.

 Shen Mei Zhuang (Lan Xi) is best friends with Zhen Huan. She has an elegant voice. She is extremely well educated, mature, and enjoys peace.

An Ling Rong (Tao Xin Ran) was one of Zhen Huan's closest friend but ultimately becomes her enemy after siding with the Empress. She's a great singer.
 Guo Jun Wang, or the 17th prince, is the emperor's favorite brother. He is a skilled flutist and great at poetry, so he gets along well with Zhen Huan, for they both like to recite poems and play instruments. He is kind, intelligent, and loving.

Review:

This is my favorite Chinese period drama and for good reasons.

1. The actors and actresses are superb. I can't explain how well they can act. Sun Li, or Zhen Huan, was nominated for an international Emmy for best actress. 
2. I usually hate dubbing, but the dubbing really adds to this drama. I especially love Zhen Huan's and Mei Zhuang's voices.
3. The costumes are beautiful. The hairstyles are also gorgeous and reflective of their personalities and ranking.
4. The music is good. The music is more traditional. There are lots of Qin and flute scenes. 
5. Poetry. The poetry really adds to the drama in every way. It makes it more romantic at times. At times it is used to bicker with others. It can also help them express their sadness. 
6. The women are evil but in the end, it is all for a man. Their evil can be understood, pitied even. All they really want is for their husband to be theirs and only theirs.
7. History lesson. The plot has almost nothing to do with history, but we can learn about ancient China's culture and customs in this drama. I learn more through this drama than in class.
8. Crazy suspenseful, but I admit it is draggy at times. 
9. Irony. Though women are traditionally considered unknowledgeable, the women in this drama are portrayed as strong, smart women.