[Chinese Drama 2012] The Legend of Zhen Huan (Empress in the Palace) 后宫·甄嬛传

[sugarplum892]

Details:

Title:  后宫·甄嬛传 /  Hòugōng·zhēn huán chuán
English title: The Legend of Zhen Huan
Producer:  Zheng Xiaolong
Genre: Ancient, Scheming, Palace
Episodes: 76
Production Company: Hunan TV
Broadcast period: 2011-2012

Cast:

Royal Harem:Liu Xue Hua as Empress DowagerChen Jian Bin as Emperor Yong ZhenAda Choi as Empress Yu Xi Jiang Xin as Concubine Hua (Princess of Glory)/Nian Xing Lan Li Dongxue as Prince of Guo/Guo Junwang/17th Prince 
Betty Sun Li as Chen Huan/Consort Huan/Imperial Noble Consort XiLan Xi as Shen Mei Zhuang/Noble Lady Shen/Concubine HuiTao Xin Ran as An Ling Rong/Noble Lady An/Concubine An
Yang Zi Yan as Consort JinZhang Yameng as Concubine QiConsort DuanNoble Lady Cao
Emperor's Children:Princess Wen YiPrincess Long YuePrince HongliPrince HongyenPrincess Lingxi
Synopsis:Zhen Huan (Sun Li), initially a kind and innocent young lady, enters the palace and eventually finds herself caught in the conflict between the empress and concubines. Zhen Huan discovers that the palace is actually a cruel and harsh place, and learns how to survive on her own.
Detailed Synopsis

 

Spoiler

The story starts off with Emperor Yongzhen (Chen Jian Bin) ascending the throne and the Empress Dowager(Liu Xue Hua) urging him to maintain a relationship with his wives to maintain the continuity of the royal bloodline besides focusing on the official matters alone. The emperor is hardworking and constantly buries his nose in his state affairs; putting the Empress Dowager in an anxiety mode over the future of the next generation and also regarding the heir to the throne. 

To appease his mother, the Emperor then agreed to hold a formal selection for his royal harem and it was then our main protagonists of the series enters the scene. Zhen Huan (Sun Li) is a simple and cheerful girl and the daughter of a middle-ranking official who enters the royal harem though not to her own will but to submit herself to her own fate. (It seems that back then most of the eligible young maidens who have reached puberty and are of noble background are to be sent to the palace for the Emperor to choose from). As she enters the palace grounds, she was delighted to meet her friend, Shen Mei Zhuang (Lan Xi) who was also participating in the selection. They then made a friend in another young but pitiful lady, An Ling Rong (Tao Xin Ran), when Zhen Huan decided to help her against another arrogant lady who was bullying her. As An Ling Rong was from a poorer background compared to the rest of the maidens, she was constantly looked down upon and Zhen Huan helped her by giving her a flower in her hair and also offered her own earrings so that she would look presentable before the Emperor and Empress Dowager. As fate would have it, An Ling Rong was selected as a butterfly sat on her head when she was called upon and the Emperor just selected her; believing that it was good sign. Shen Mei Zhuang caught the ruler's attention with her grace and gentle outlook while Zhen Huan, for some reason, made quite an impression with the Emperor and Empress Dowager as they appear fixated on her when they laid eyes on her though it was not revealed the reason at the beginning of the drama. The Empress Dowager also put her to a test by having her maid spill water on the ground and having her cat run loose while summoning Zhen Huan to approach them yet she remained calm and humble as she took her steps slowly and carefully yet not looking directly up at the king and his mother. For this reason, the Emperor was exceptionally fond of her and even wanted to grant her the title of a Noble Lady (贵人) directly; which meant skipping a few ranks in between. The Empress, Yu Xi (Ada Choi) advised the Emperor against it as it was not appropriate and may raise issues and dissatisfaction among the other concubines in the harem. Besides An Ling Rong who was granted the lowest rank of Second Class Female Attendant (答应), Zhen Huan and Shen Mei Zhuang were both granted the rank of First Class Female Attendant (常在) and thus their stories behind the palace walls begin as they both settled down in their respective houses, awaiting the day when the Emperor would visit them.

Click here to watch episodes with English subs!
OSTs:
Bella Yao - Hóng Yán Jié

 

Liú Huān - Flying Phoenix

 

 

Bella Yao - Púsà mán

 

Bella Yao - Collecting Lotuses 

 

Bella Yao - Jīng hóng wǔ

 

Bella Yao - Burial Clothes

 

Additional Links:
The Legend of Zhen Huan 后宫·甄嬛传 Viki English Subbed Episodes
The Legend of Zhen Huan 后宫·甄嬛传 Raw Episodes
 

**Please use spoiler tags for those who have not seen the episodes yet**

[spoiler ]enter your spoiler here without the spaces inside the brackets[ /spoiler]

[Guest DJG]

The Drama is beyond awesome. One of the best dramas I have ever watched.
They did the impossible, a 70+ episode drama that never dragged even on one episode.
Truly remarkable. I loved this drama so much, I bought the 20 DVDs compilation set ( and I never buy media from any country really).

[sugarplum892]

HBO released its trailer for the US movie version:

[Guest rilim]

this drama is awesome

[halfmoonsmile]

I haven't seen this drama yet. I only saw an article about how HBO is going to broadcast it which surprised me. The new theme song completely subverts the Asian spirit of the drama.
I'm watching the show now. I love the female friendships forming already. Almost every actress playing the concubines, the consorts and the empress are pretty.

[Guest]

I miss this drama man it was sooooo good