Story of Yanxi Palace

Plot

Embroidery Bureau (Episode 1–7)

During the Qing dynasty, Wei Yingluo enters the court of the Qianlong Emperor as an embroidery maid to secretly investigate her older sister Wei Yingning's mysterious death. Yingluo survives the machinations of other embroidery maids jealous of her skills and impresses Empress Fuca with her wit.

Changchun Palace I (Episode 8–27)

At first believing the imperial guard Fuca Fuheng to be the prime suspect, Yingluo schemes to approach his older sister, the Empress Fuca, and succeeds in getting transferred from the Embroidery Bureau to Changchun Palace. Yingluo serves the Empress together with head palace maids Erqing and Mingyu, where she eventually becomes a trusted confidante of the Empress and learns that the Fuca siblings are innocent of the crime. Yingluo and Fuheng also fall for each other in the meantime.

Yingluo eventually catches the attention of the Emperor himself. Although she is not of noble birth and illiterate, the Empress teaches her how to read and write, as well as the proper etiquette and mannerisms for noblewomen. The Empress also saves her several times from punishment for probing too deeply into her sister's death. In turn, Yingluo helps the Empress survive a series of schemes by her rivals. The two develop a close friendship.

Over time, Yingluo discovers that her sister was raped by Prince He, the fifth son of the late Yongzheng Emperor and a younger half-brother of the current Emperor. To cover up the crime, the Prince's mother, Consort Dowager Yu ordered Yingning to be put to death. Yingluo hatches a plot that leads to Consort Dowager Yu's death by a lightning strike.

Hard Labour Department (Episode 28–36)

The Empress feigns anger over Yingluo's actions and banishes her to the Hard Labor Department, allowing her to escape a potentially more severe punishment from the Emperor. There, Yingluo befriends a conniving eunuch, Yuan Chunwang.

Without Yingluo, the Empress falls victim to the machinations of Noble Consort Gao, which puts her in a coma. News reaches Yingluo, who visits the Empress' chamber to care for her. Her devotion, quick wit and defiance attracts the Emperor. Developing an infatuation, he forbids Fuheng and Yingluo from marrying, pointing to Yingluo's lowly origins and cunning character. Despite this, Fuheng persists in his feelings. However, when Yingluo faces a death sentence after being schemed against by the jealous Consort Chun, Fuheng backs down to appease the Emperor and agrees to marry Erqing, breaking Yingluo's heart.

Cast and characters

Supporting

Embroidery Bureau and Hard Labour Department

Palace Eunuchs

Others

Production

Many of the props and costumes were made using traditional Chinese crafts that are dying out, with few experts remaining to pass on their skills to the next generation. The acquisition of these skills requires a lifetime of commitment, since they are unsurprisingly labor-intensive, demanding a sharp eye and tireless hands.

Velvet flowers (ronghua)

The velvet flower headwears used by the main characters were designed based on historical documents or antiques housed in the Palace Museum. Each adornment was created according to the characteristics of individual women. Zhao Shuxian, one of the few craftsmen still making velvet flowers, created all the pieces in the show. The technique dates back to the Tang dynasty (618–907) and refers to the creation of not only floral displays, but also animal shapes made of silk on a twisted wire frame.

Jeweled hairpins (tian-tsui)

Worn by the imperial consorts as status symbols of opulence, these are hairpins of a particular vibrant blue hue, made from the preserved feathers of the wings and back of the kingfisher bird. The technique resembles cloisonné, and when inlaid with pearls and other gemstones, the jewels are especially eye-catching.

Soundtrack

The original soundtrack was released as an extended play on July 23, 2018. "Willows of the Palace" by Li Chunai was released independently from the album.

A 70-track studio album titled The Story of Yanxi Palace TV soundtrack (延禧攻略 影视剧配乐) was released on July 19, 2018, containing the instrumental music of the series composed by Chen Guoliang. The music was recorded in J Productions House, and features flute player Tan Baoshuo, violin player Leslie Ryang, pipa player Liu Tuotong, erhu player Huang Leting, and Li Junzhu as the female voice. A total of 129 pieces were used in the show.

In the Philippines, "Aahon" JMKO was released under ABS-CBN Star Music and was the show's theme song.

Reception

The series generated online buzz for its engaging plot of a "Cinderella" tale with Chinese characteristics. It set the single-day online viewership record in China with a total of 530 million views, and had attracted a cumulative 13 billion views as of August 2018. It was streamed more than 15 billion times on iQIYI in 2018, and was the most watched online drama in China for 39 consecutive days over the summer.

Many viewers praised the story, because unlike the amicable heroines they were used to seeing, the main character Wei Yingluo fights fire with fire and outmaneuvers her opponents. It also received praise for its well-developed characters and exciting interpretation by the actors, beautiful cinematography and intricate costume design, as well as its accurate portrayal of the Qing dynasty setting. Owing to its success, there has been an increased number of visitors to the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Ratings

Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue

Controversy

There was uproar in China after a Vietnamese website managed to acquire episodes not yet shown in China and asked visitors to the website to answer questions confirming their Vietnamese identity before the website loads. "This service is for Vietnamese people only. Please answer the following questions: To which country do the Hoàng Sa Islands (Paracel Islands) belong? Vietnam, China, Philippines or Japan?". The only correct answer to the question was "Vietnam". Copies of the episodes were later removed from the platform.

Censorship

On January 25, 2019, the Beijing Daily, an official government newspaper, criticized the program for failing to promote socialist values. Four days later, on January 29, the Chinese government cancelled the program and similar programs such as Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace. CNN and other media outlets quickly reported on this incident, calling it Chinese censorship. A Hong Kong professor stated that the show was censored because it became too popular and defied social norms.

Sequel

On December 31, 2019, Netflix released the six-episode spinoff Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures, which covers the marriage of Wei Yingluo's daughter, Zhaohua.

Main Cast

Wang Herun as Princess Zhaohua

Wang Yizhe as Fuca Fuk’anggan

Wang Yuwei as Lhawang Dorji, Prince Chaoyong

Xu Xiaonuo as Princess Siwan

Wu Jinyan as Wei Yingluo, Imperial Noble Consort Ling

Nie Yuan as Aisin-Gioro Hongli, Qianlong Emperor

Recurring & Guest Cast

Zhang Tianyun as Zhenzhu, personal maid to Imperial Noble Consort Ling

Xu Yuan as Chisu, personal maid to Princess Zhaohua

Wang Chenyixian as Dingxiang, personal maid to Princess Siwan

Liu Enshang as Li Yu, Head Eunuch

Chang Cheng as Desheng, eunuch in service to the Qianlong Emperor

Zheng Long as Xiao Quanzi, eunuch in service to Imperial Noble Consort Ling

Wei Yankan as Fuca Fuqian, uncle of Fuk'anggan