#Empresses in the Palace

[guzhuangheaven]

Legend of Zhen Huan :: Sun Li as Zhen Huan

[mydaylight]

SUN LI as Zhen Huan

LEGEND OF ZHEN HUAN (2011) | Episode 65

[plainandgeneric]

Probably no one knows about this show on tumblr but have this:

I need someone to look at me like how Noble Lady Huan and Noble Lady Shen look at each other 😭 Your honour they love each other so much it hurts. (I don't necessarily ship them, but my god their love is beyond platonic or romantic they just love each other so much I think they are soulmates...)

甄嬛传 (Empresses in the Palace/Legend of Zhen Huan) is my number one comfort show ever, even though it's mostly a tragedy. 80% tragedy, 10% comedy, and 10% cathartic moments - but wow when the catharsis hits it hits. I watched it for the first time a few years ago because people say it's the most iconic cdrama ever, and I've been rewatching it on and off since.

All the women in this show is just AH! 😭 Costuming is stunning, acting is amazing, the plot is crazy - not a single dialogue/scene is wasted and the writing is really good. It makes you pity everyone, including the antagonists, love the nuance. The character developments are also absolutely insane. Everyone is three-dimensional and incredibly human. GAH! It's really good I could ramble about it for a long time haha!

[devonaoski]

甄嬛传, 44集

[palaceoftears]

Ooh, I try, I try, I try Try to rationalize People are people But it's like you're made of angel dust

- Lacy, Olivia Rodrigo

[chinesedramaoutfit]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ— Men try to convince us that they are capable of loving a whole harem of women equally. Liars. They are only capable of loving themselves.

[maggiecheungs]

Meimei, you are the jewel in His Majesty’s crown. Anything less than this is not worthy of you.

SUN LI as ZHEN HUAN in LEGEND OF ZHEN HUAN | Episode 67

[xiaoshengnu]

𝕰𝖒𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖘 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕻𝖆𝖑𝖆𝖈𝖊 - final review

overview : episode no - 76 episodes, genre - historical (gongdou)

a timeless classic, the slay to end all slays (and I mean literally and figuratively) empresses in the palace follows the story of zhen huan as she experiences life in the palace, hardening her from a sweet young girl to a stony empress dowager. 

l⃣e⃣ t⃣’ s⃣    b⃣e⃣g⃣i⃣n⃣

when I say you will never find a more iconic show ever in the whole of cdramaland, I mean never. empresses in the palace is an absolute juggernaut of a drama, it is absolutely insane, the writing, the drama, the characters, the absolute minute little details and its respect of the viewer’s intelligence- an A* and beyond. and it's internet and cultural presence in china? IN. SANE. 

o⃣u⃣t⃣     o⃣ f⃣     t⃣ e⃣ n⃣

𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 - 9/10

𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 - 10/10

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 - 10/10

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 - 10/10

𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖 - 9.8

o⃣u⃣t⃣    o⃣ f⃣    f⃣ i⃣v⃣ e⃣

𝖍𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝖌𝖊𝖒 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖚𝖊 - 💎💎💎💎💎

[ I know that when the drama first came out, it was considered pretty unique for how brutally it presented harem life, but even years later and amongst so many newer dramas which have borrowed tropes and ideas from it, I don’t think you’ll be able to find such an incredibly solid drama. a five gem.  ]

𝖗𝖊𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖚𝖊 - ✨✨✨✨✨

[ it is so incredibly long and a pretty emotionally tolling drama - even longer than legend of haolan but it is just incredible, a full five star rewatch value ]

‘keep reading’ for detailed review

oh my god this drama.

oh my god.

where do I even begin? I remember watching my parents watch this drama when was I was still really young so I didn’t know what the show was called and what it was about, and although I didn’t remember the whole of this drama I could still remember some hazy snapshots pretty iconic scenes- like at the end where she does to sleep, or when she gets sent to the island- so when I finally decided to watch empresses in the palace a light bulb went off and I suddenly realised that THIS was the show that I'd remembered from my childhood. THIS was it. so it is quite nostalgic for me. 

it is honestly such a timeless classic, there’s nothing that will ever beat it. nothing. every fucking second of this thing has a purpose, and everything the characters say and do- and even the background of scenes have minute details which relate to the overall plot and trajectory of these characters. like the amount of YouTube videos analysing this one drama is insane. when critics praise a piece of visual art as a “living breathing organism”, “a masterpiece”- they mean this. 

𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 - 9

just. amazing. what can I say. there’s absolutely nothing that can beat this drama with how it wrote the plotting, the intrigue and the absolute cunning the women had to possess to stay alive in the palace. the ending of the drama is literally perfect. SO perfect. younger me thought legend of haolan was good- but compared to this? this is really truly another level. there’s so many instances in the drama where the drama never really tells you what exactly happened, but at the same time gives you just enough information to just guess what had gone on. equally, there are some times where there really doesn’t appear to be any scheming but with close analysis (and with the help of trusty youtubers) suddenly things become thrown into light. 

however, I had to knock down a few points because every plot has flaws and for this drama, I think it was mostly the use of tropes and the ‘female lead syndrome’ that sometimes quite clearly shows in the drama. There are also some areas in the drama where the plot does get shaky, but there is never not a reason why a scene is included in the drama. its just such a watertight drama. if you ever need to learn the art of show but don’t tell, this drama has it all. I love that sometimes it leaves it up to the viewer to work the plot out, which mirrors the way in which the concubines had to guess and predict in order to survive- which wasn’t always for certain or always accurate, almost literally pulling the viewer into the world of harem life.

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 - 10

I LOVE THE CHARACTERS UGH. I love them. they’re slays to end all slays. from zhen huan (the original girl boss, gatekeep, gaslight- FIGHT ME) to su peisheng- honestly so iconic. every single major character was well written, well developed and multi-dimensional, and no-one was evil purely for the sake of earning the drama cash. everyone in the drama gives you a reason to root for them, I found myself even feeling for the emperor in the end. 

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 - 10

the production was beautiful- the lighting, costuming and makeup were literally so perfect it's unreal. so many iconic scenes came out of this drama- like the yimeiyuan (plum blossom garden) scene with it's beautiful moonlit set and plum blossom decked in snow.

 I love the designated colour palettes of the various concubines everything seemed very thought out to fit their personalities. consort hua was decked in bold colours and extravagant patterns, consort jing being calm and gentle was consistently dressed in soft blues and greens, while shen meizhuang is seen wearing mostly purples and pinks. one particular costume that lives in my mind rent free is zhen huan’s blue outfit with the white plum blossom embroidery in the episode 28- absolutely stunning.

𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 - 10

honestly, if you took a shot for every time I've described this drama as perfect, you would definitely be on the floor by this point. The acting was absolutely now flawless. at no point in the drama did I ever feel drawn out of the story by the acting- sun li is jaw-dropping as zhen huan, her duality is absolutely insane and her crying scenes- ugh omg so good. 

.

.

𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖚𝖘!!

favourite character(s) :

zhen huan ( if your favourite character in this drama isn’t zhen huan, what are you doing???? she is an absolute icon in her own right. it’s literally impossible to not root for such a wonderful character- team zhen huan all the way )

consort hua / nian shilan ( ik ik, ik now she’s evil and everything, but I love her- she has a baseline which she will not cross and she does have a loyal heart. she loves the emperor almost unconditionally and while she would kill a concubine, she would never harm an unborn child. she seems to care for her servants, who are loyal in turn and I would argue that her being willing to employ a crippled eunuch is a sign of her more softer and caring side. and do I need even mention her snarky one liners?? slay. anyway that’s my essay in defence of consort hua )

ye lanyi ( a queen fr, she takes no-one’s shit )

.

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖗𝖊𝖜 (source mydramalist)

lead actors : sun li, chen jianbin, cha silfun

director : zheng xiaolong 

screenwriter : wu xuelan

[roseunspindle]

C-dramas I've seen at least part of and am working my way through.

Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace I rewatch this sooo much. I love it.

The Story of Minglan - adore. Haven't gotten all the way to the end but soon!

Curse of the Royal Harem - I'm only about 2 episodes in but man they already tried to entomb our main girl, Yee-lan alive.

Royal Feast - got a ways in but adhd struck. I plan to get back to it. Always made me so hungry...

The Legend of Yunxi - this one has a few more comedic moments to balance the serious. I'm enjoying.

The Sword and The Brocade - my current obsession. She's only just married in but ah! (Also nearly boiling her new husband alive.. 🤣)

Love between fairy and devil - I can only watch on YouTube so... I've only seen the first two episodes but I want more!

Consort Meng Arrives - this show is hilarious and I love it. Sadly at a certain point... ep 6 maybe? The subtitles get slow to where I just couldn't watch it 😭

Ashes of Love - 2 eps in I think...need to continue (and not just rewatch ruyi again...)

The Untamed - I actually own this on dvd. Wangxian forever ^_^

New Life Begins - just a few episodes left! So wholesome! I adore it so much.

Empresses in the Palace - enoying mostly just really confused why the put everyone's title in french which makes it harder to figure out who is being referred to.

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty - I love it (kinda ship Su Wuming and Lu Lingfeng)

Story of Yanxi Palace - I just can't attach to this one... uncertain as to why.

[perioddramapolls]

Period dramas dresses tournament: Blue dresses Round 1- Group B: Max, Black sails (gifset) vs Zhen Huan, Legend of Zhen Huan

Propaganda for Max's dress (written by a submitter):

More pics

[hundredthousandtimes]

PERIOD DRAMA APPRECIATION WEEK 2024:

Day 7 - Favourite adaptation(s):

Legend of Ruyi/Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace Bridgerton Little Women Legend of Zhen Huan/Empresses in the Palace The Musketeers

[guzhuangheaven]

Legend of Zhen Huan :: legit the most hilarious joke in this drama

[mydaylight]

The show didn't keep all the book details of Zhen Huan's poisoning of the Emperor in the last episodes, but there was actually quite a lot happening in the years following the aftermath of Yunli and Yuyin's deaths. Zhen Huan has Wei Lin use medicine to render Yongzheng infertile, so that he won't be able to produce any more children to threaten her and her sons. This also enables Zhen Huan - who is the de-facto empress at that point - to use a "divide and conquer" strategy in ruling the harem; she keeps throwing new concubines at Yongzheng to keep him occupied, but none of them are able to ever get pregnant. The result is that all the low-ranking concubines exhaust themselves in petty fights for favor while Zhen Huan's position, as the one with the most kids, is unattainable. At the same time Zhen Huan letting the Emperor have more consorts gets her a reputation for being virtuous and generous. This was actually one of Zhen Huan's most cruel moves towards the end, since she knows none of these girls have any future in the harem, and she's basically just waiting for Yongzheng to die anyways. I think this scene might indicate show!Zhen Huan is using the same strategy, although we don't see it be explained exactly.

(also I have to mention that one concubine comes up pregnant and Zhen Huan immediately knows the baby cannot be the Emperor's but her reaction is basically ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. She couldn't care less and even felt vindicated at hoodwinking him in this way)

[cnladies]

TANG YIXIN 唐艺昕 | Empresses in the Palace 13th Anniversary Event in Macau

Tang Yixin: more photos here event: more photos here

[devonaoski]

甄嬛传，76集

[lakecitysilenceme]

sorority and sisterhood is when you conspire with your fellow concubine so that both of you can protect your children (who are the fruits of an illicit affair between you and the man you both love), kill the emperor and take over the throne by appointing you son as the new emperor, and being named empress dowager