Legend of Zhen Huan

File:"Legend of Zhen Huan" (甄嬛传).JPEG

TV serial drama "Legend of Zhen Huan"

The 76-episode TV serial drama "Legend of Zhen Huan" (甄嬛传) has been so popular in Chinese mainland over the past months that some describe the situation as "a whole town turns out to watch on its airtime."

This TV serial drama, adapted from a novel of the same name written by Liu Lianzi, focuses on the schemes between Emperor Yongzheng's concubines in the imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Zhen Huan, initially a 17-year-old pure and innocent girl, enters the palace as a chosen concubine and eventually finds herself caught in the fierce conflicts between the empress and concubines. She realizes that the palace is actually a cruel and harsh place, and she has to learn to survive on her own, sometimes by unscrupulous methods.

With her brightness and talents, Zhen Huan fights her way through and wins the emperor's love. At the end of the story, Zhen Huan ascends the throne of highest-ranking imperial concubine and gets unparalleled glory and wealth. However, she becomes a woman with few true friends around, even though her enemies no longer exist.

"Legend of Zhen Huan," directed by Zheng Xiaolong and starred by Sun Li and Chen Jianbin, has been appraised as one of the best costume dramas in Chinese mainland in recent years. Through the thrilling story, people also learn a lot about ancient Chinese poetry, costume, court etiquettes, and herbal medicine. There are many refined lines in the play which netizens like to use to make sentences.

Besides, some people use anecdotes of the past to allude to the present and describe the rivalry tricks as "a treasured book for survival in workplaces." But psychological experts believe that "the reactionary reign of terror is not the distinctive character of workplaces."