Story of Yanxi Palace

Story of Yanxi Palace is a 2018 Chinese television series recounting the struggles of a palace maid in the court of the Qianlong Emperor. It was created by Yu Zheng, with original screenplay written by Zhou Mo, and later developed into a novel by Xiao Lianmao. Starring Wu Jinyan, Charmaine Sheh, Qin Lan, Nie Yuan, Tan Zhuo and Xu Kai, the series premiered on IQIYI from July 19, 2018 to August 26, 2018. During its run it was streamed more than 15 billion times.

Distributed in more than 70 markets worldwide, Story of Yanxi Palace became a huge hit, especially in Asia. It was the most googled TV show in the world in 2018, despite Google being blocked in Mainland China, and was streamed over 15 billion times on iQIYI that year. A spin-off/sequel titled Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures was released on Netflix on December 31, 2019.

Plot
During the Qing dynasty, in 18th century Beijing, Wei Yingluo enters the court of the Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) as an embroidery maid in order to secretly investigate her beloved sister's mysterious death.

At first believing the imperial guard Fuca Fuheng to be the prime suspect, Yingluo schemes to approach his sister the Empress, and succeeds in getting transferred from the Embroidery Bureau to her Changchun Palace. She learns that the Fuca siblings are innocent of the crime. Yingluo and Fuheng fall for each other.

Meanwhile, the Emperor's Consort Chun allies herself with the Empress due to her crush on her brother.

Yingluo eventually catches the attention of the Emperor himself. Though she is not of noble birth and is illiterate, the Empress teaches her how to read and write, and 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 maneuvers by her rivals. The two develop a close friendship.

In time, Yingluo discovers that her sister was raped by Prince He, the fifth son of the late Yongzheng Emperor and an younger half-brother of the current Emperor. To cover up the shameful act, the Prince's mother murdered Yingluo's sister. Yingluo successfully hatches a plot to kill the culprit. The Empress feigns anger over Yingluo's defiance and banishes her to the Hard Labor Department to allow Yingluo 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 that put her in a coma. News reaches Yingluo, who visits the Empress' chamber to care for her. Yingluo's devotion touches the Emperor even more. His own feelings toward her cause him to forbid Fuheng and Yingluo from marrying. Yingluo persists in her love despite various punishments from the Emperor, but Fuheng backs down, causing the two to become distant. In order to save Yingluo, Fuheng agrees to marry Erqing, breaking Yingluo's heart.

Meanwhile, Consort Xian drives Noble Consort Gao to commit suicide. The Emperor eventually relents on his tough stance towards Yingluo and allows her to return as a maid to the Empress.

The Empress eventually wakes from her coma and becomes pregnant again, but almost loses her life while giving birth to a son. Consort Chun, insulted by Fuheng's rejection, strives to be the Emperor's new favorite and even bears a son, which places her in direct competition with the Empress. That New Year's Eve, Consort Chun murders the Empress' baby by causing a fire in Changchun Palace and the devastated Empress commits suicide out of grief. After her death, Yingluo is sent to live and guard over her mistress' memorial tablet at the Imperial Gardens. She stays there with Yuan Chunwang until the Emperor and the imperial consorts come to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday, and Yingluo learns that Noble Consort Chun is responsible for the late Empress' suicide. She decides once again to enter the Forbidden City and exact retribution on the evildoers.

In order to achieve her goal, Yingluo skillfully charms the Empress Dowager and becomes part of the Imperial Harem, being bestowed the rank of noble lady (five ranks below the empress). She quickly rises through the ranks, toppling her rivals including Noble Consort Chun, and exposing her role in the late Empress' death, which leads to her death at the hands of the newly named Step-Empress. Yingluo's captivation of the Emperor and rapid promotions bring her numerous threats, especially from her former sworn brother Yuan Chunwang. At the Step-Empress' direction, he makes it known that Yingluo is secretly taking contraceptives. She instantly loses the favor of the Emperor, who has fallen for her at this point.

Yingluo teams up with the Empress Dowager, whose own relationship with the Emperor has been put to the test after the Step-Empress has revealed that the Emperor is not the biological son of the Empress Dowager, but the offspring of Lady Qian, a Han Chinese imperial consort of the late Yongzheng Emperor who had died under mysterious circumstances. It is implied that the Empress Dowager had killed Lady Qian out of jealousy for having a son and then adopted the current Emperor. The two women once most dear to the Emperor go into self-imposed exile, leading the Emperor to feel guilty for doubting his adoptive mother, who is undeniably the one who raised and protected him for years.

A few years later, another threat in the form of newcomer Concubine Shun, a beautiful and cunning woman, calls Yingluo back to the Forbidden City. Yingluo sets out to reclaim the Emperor's favor, but finds herself befriended by her rival. However, Concubine Shun has her own agenda. Framing Yingluo for attempted assassination, she teams up with the Step-Empress to put Yingluo under house arrest. Nevertheless, Yingluo is able to reverse her situation, reveal Concubine Shun's treachery, and reclaim the Emperor's affections for her. Around the same time, Yingluo is discovered to be pregnant with the Emperor's child, much to his happiness. Having reached stalemate at this point, Yingluo negotiates a truce with the Step-Empress on the condition that both of them will not harm any imperial offspring in spite of their rivalry.

Yingluo, who also raises the Fifth Prince Yongqi, goes on to bear two daughters and two sons over the next ten years, but one of her sons dies in infancy and her health also slowly deteriorates.

Yuan Chunwang, now the Step-Empress' trusted servant, betrays his new mistress by causing a series of mishaps in the palace that destabilize her rule and affect her sanity. He gradually uses Prince He's affection for the Step-Empress to instigate a rebellion; they plot to sabotage the southern tour in order to seize power and, in Prince He's mind, free the Step-Empress from her eroding position. One night, a band of rebels suddenly storms onto the imperial boat just as a fire engulfs the Empress Dowager's cabin, prompting the Emperor to charge into the flames to save his mother and seemingly perishing in the process.

The next morning, as Prince He gallantly appears to restore order from the overnight coup, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager emerge safely from a secret passageway designed by Fuheng and expose the plan of treachery. As it turns out, Prince He was betrayed by the Step-Empress, who has always loved the Emperor and wants to use the rebellion to prove her devotion to her husband. Just then, Yingluo comes out of hiding under the protection of the Emperor's guards, the only imperial consort to receive such protection. This clear favoritism, after all of her years of devotion, causes the Step-Empress to break down into a fit of jealous rage and cut off her hair, a taboo in Manchu tradition.

After the Emperor sentences Prince He to confinement and the Step-Empress is dragged away, Yuan Chunwang proclaims his innocence, only for Yingluo to reveal the real reason behind his hate for the Emperor. Yuan Chunwang believes he is an illegitimate son of the late Yongzheng Emperor, because of the imperial clothes that were left behind to his family. The Empress Dowager loudly denies this and claims that he is the offspring of a bandit who killed the Emperor's biological mother and later raped Yuan Chunwang's own mother, and asserts that the clothes were the same ones Lady Qian exchanged with the Yongzheng Emperor and wore to distract the bandits. Yuan Chunwang is driven into madness upon realizing that he has been misled by a lie, which led him to choose to be castrated and enter the Forbidden City for revenge. Although the Emperor desires to execute Yuan Chunwang by lingchi, the Empress Dowager suddenly asks the Emperor to spare him. When he protests, the Empress Dowager tells him to trust her this one time and it is implied that she was lying about Yuan Chunwang's backstory. Yuan Chunwang is banished to the Hard Labor Department for life, never recovering his sanity.

Back when Yingluo was being punished to work in the Hard Labor Department, the then-Consort Xian had saved her life by ordering an imperial physician to attend to her after she collapsed from illness. To repay this kindness from long ago, Yingluo pleads for leniency for the Step-Empress, who is permitted to keep her title, but loses the authority to manage the Inner Palace and all of the Emperor's affection. Prince He is given poisoned wine by the Emperor, who orders him to go back to his mansion after drinking it to make it look like he died of an illness. With Prince He executed for his crimes, Yingluo's revenge for her sister is finally complete.

Yingluo is elevated to the rank of imperial noble consort (one rank below the empress), and given the authority to manage the Inner Palace.

Main

 * Wu Jinyan as Wei Yingluo
 * Embroidery Maid → Maid of Empress Fuca → Maid of the Hard Labor Department → Junior Maid of Empress Fuca → Maid of the Imperial Gardens → Noble Lady → Concubine Ling → Consort Ling → Noble Consort Ling → Imperial Noble Consort
 * An upright, strong and cunning woman who is ahead of her time in terms of knowledge and reasoning. She enters the palace to investigate the murder of her sister. Here, she uses her innate skills to rise above the tangles of conventional palace rivalries and defeat her enemies.
 * Charmaine Sheh as Hoifa-Nara Shushen
 * Consort Xian → Noble Consort Xian → Imperial Noble Consort → Empress
 * The second wife of the Qianlong Emperor. She is initially a kind-hearted woman who desires only peace, but soon realizes that her kindness only results in her being stepped on.
 * Nie Yuan as Aisin-Gioro Hongli
 * Qianlong Emperor
 * The fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty, who rules sternly but justly.
 * Xu Kai as Fuca Fuheng
 * Head of the Imperial Guards and younger brother of Empress Fuca. Due to his good looks and outstanding reputation, he is enormously popular among the various palace women.

Imperial Harem

 * Qin Lan as Fuca Rongyin
 * Empress → Empress Xiaoxian
 * The first wife of the Qianlong Emperor. Kind, gentle and virtuous, she mentors Yingluo while the latter serves in Changchun Palace.
 * Tan Zhuo as Gao Ningxin
 * Noble Consort → Imperial Noble Consort → Imperial Noble Consort Huixian
 * The highest-ranked imperial consort after Empress Fuca. She is ruthless, sly and manipulative, and will do anything to cause suffering to anyone who dares to oppose her.
 * Wang Yuanke as Su Jinghao
 * Consort Chun → Noble Consort Chun → Second Class Attendant
 * Described as gentle, sophisticated, and talented by many, she is actually a supremely intelligent schemer.
 * Jenny Zhang as Niohuru Chenbi
 * Noble Lady Chang → Concubine Shun
 * Beautiful and charming, she is gifted to the Qianlong Emperor as a diplomatic gesture by a vassal state.
 * Lian Lian as Keliyete Ayan
 * Noble Lady Yu → Concubine Yu → Consort Yu → Nun
 * Timid and cowardly, she remains reticent about the abuse she suffers until Yingluo comes to her protection.
 * Xu Baihui as Lady Huang
 * Concubine → Concubine Yi
 * Consort Yu's closest friend at the beginning of the series.
 * Pan Shiqi as Lady Jin
 * Concubine Jia → Noble Lady Jia → Second Class Attendant
 * Noble Lady Jia → Concubine Jia → Consort Jia
 * Two sisters, the younger of whom becomes an imperial consort sometime after the elder one's death.
 * Li Chun'ai as Nalan Chunxue
 * Noble Lady → Concubine Shu → Consort Shu
 * One of the imperial consorts who is handled by Yingluo early on and over the course of the series becomes comic relief.
 * Li Ruoning as Lu Wanwan
 * First Class Attendant → Noble Lady → Concubine Qing → Consort Qing
 * Quiet but self-assured, she is a reserved person who can nevertheless effect big changes.
 * Liu Lu as Lady Barin
 * Noble Lady → Concubine Ying → Consort Ying
 * A well-informed lady with good intentions who is a conformist.
 * Wang Xinhui as Lady Chen
 * Noble Lady → Concubine Wan → Consort Wan
 * Fu Xiaoyu as Lady Socoro
 * Noble Lady Rui

Female servants

 * Su Qing as Hitara Erqing
 * Senior Maid of Empress Fuca → Madame Fuca → Duchess Zhongyong
 * Initially well-regarded as the Empress's most trusted maid, she later manipulates Fuca Fuheng into marriage, but struggles with her husband's disinterest and hostility, and resorts to ever more drastic measures.
 * Jiang Zixin as Mingyu
 * Junior Maid of Empress Fuca → Senior Maid of Empress Fuca → Maid of Noble Consort Chun → Senior Maid of Consort Ling
 * Outspoken but dim, she is unreservedly loyal to Empress Fuca, and later becomes Yingluo's reliable friend and co-conspirator.
 * Fang Anna as Zhen'er
 * Senior Maid of Empress Hoifa-Nara
 * Shi Yufei as Zhilan
 * Senior Maid of Noble Consort Gao
 * Chen Mo as Yuhu
 * Senior Maid of Noble Consort Chun
 * Ren Wanjing as Fangcao
 * Senior Maid of Consort Yu
 * Qian Chenjie as A'shuang
 * Senior Maid of the elder Concubine Jia
 * Liu Shitong as Lan'er
 * Senior Maid of the younger Concubine Jia
 * Gao Rui as Bailing
 * Senior Maid of Dowager Noble Consort Yu
 * Zhang Jie as Yizhu
 * Senior Maid of Concubine Shun
 * Li Jiawei as Aunt Liu
 * Senior Maid of the Empress Dowager
 * Zhang Yixi as Jixiang
 * Gao Yu'er as Jinxiu
 * Chen Ruoxi as Linglong
 * He Jiayi as Supervisor Zhang
 * Head of the Embroidery Bureau
 * Yin Xu as Fang Nizi
 * Deputy Head of the Embroidery Bureau
 * Zhang Tingting as Supervisor Liu
 * Head of the Hard Labor Department
 * Deng Sha as Wei Yingning
 * Yingluo's deceased elder sister. While in the embroidery bureau her name was changed to A'man to avoid the naming taboo (as "ning" sounds similar to a character in Noble Consort Gao's personal name, Ningxin).
 * Yang Jingru as Hupo
 * Maid of Empress Fuca → Palace Maid → Maid of Noble Lady Wei → Maid of the Hard Labor Department
 * Zhang Tianyun as Zhenzhu
 * Maid of Empress Fuca → Palace Maid → Maid of Consort Ling → Senior Maid of Noble Consort Ling
 * An An as Manao
 * Zhao Mengjie as Feicui

Male servants

 * Lawrence Wong as Suolun Hailancha
 * Imperial Guard and Fuca Fuheng's closest friend.
 * Liu Enshang as Li Yu
 * Head Eunuch of the Qianlong Emperor
 * Chang Cheng as Desheng
 * Eunuch of the Qianlong Emperor
 * Wang Maolei as Yuan Chunwang
 * Eunuch of the Hard Labor Department → Eunuch of the Imperial Gardens → Head Eunuch of Consort Ling → Head Eunuch of Empress Hoifa-Nara
 * A mysterious person with a wicked mind. He believes that he and Yingluo are two of a kind, and will do whatever it takes to make her see it his way.
 * Zheng Long as Xiao Quanzi
 * Eunuch of Consort Ling → Head Eunuch of Noble Consort Ling
 * Sun Di as Wu Shulai
 * Head Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department
 * Tan Xuqi as Cigiya Qingxi
 * Imperial Guard and Wei Yingning's acquaintance.
 * Yong Yi as Ye Tianshi
 * A talented travelling doctor. He becomes an imperial physician.
 * Wu Lihua as Imperial Physician Zhang

Imperial Family

 * Wang Huichun as Aisin-Gioro Yinzhen
 * Yongzheng Emperor
 * Father of the Qianlong Emperor. Deceased and only seen in flashbacks.
 * Ma Chunyan as Lady Ula-Nara
 * Empress Xiaojingxian
 * Wife of the Yongzheng Emperor and thus the Qianlong Emperor's legitimate mother. She chose Fuca Rongyin as his primary consort. Deceased and only seen in flashbacks.
 * Song Chunli as Lady Niohuru
 * Empress Dowager Chongqing → Empress Xiaoshengxian
 * One of the Yongzheng Emperor's high-ranked imperial consorts. She raised the Qianlong Emperor and as his official mother she became the empress dowager upon his accession to the throne. She is a pious Buddhist who prizes a stable empire above all and actively pursues a stable Imperial Harem, but also a force to be reckoned with.
 * Fang Yangfei as Aisin-Gioro Yongcheng
 * Fourth Prince → Prince Lü of the First Rank
 * Fourth son of the Qianlong Emperor by elder Concubine Jia; raised by Empress Hoifa-Nara.
 * Chen Youwei as Aisin-Gioro Yongqi
 * Fifth Prince → Prince Rong of the First Rank
 * Fifth son of the Qianlong Emperor by Consort Yu; raised by Noble Consort Ling.
 * Zhou Yicheng as Aisin-Gioro Yongcong
 * Seventh Prince → Prince Zhe of the First Rank
 * Seventh son of the Qianlong Emperor by Empress Fuca.
 * Tang Jiatong as Aisin-Gioro Yongyan
 * Fifteenth Prince → Prince Jia of the First Rank
 * Fifteenth son of the Qianlong Emperor by Noble Consort Ling; raised by Consort Qing.
 * Wang Herun as Aisin-Gioro Zhaohua
 * Seventh Princess → Princess Hejing of the First Rank
 * Seventh daughter of the Qianlong Emperor by Noble Consort Ling; raised by the Empress Dowager.
 * Bai Shan as Lady Geng
 * Dowager Noble Consort Yu
 * One of the Yongzheng Emperor's high-ranked imperial consorts and Prince He's biological mother. She is regarded as a pious and devout Buddhist.
 * Hong Yao as Aisin-Gioro Hongzhou
 * Prince He of the First Rank
 * The Qianlong Emperor's younger half-brother. He puts on an apathetic, foolhardy demeanor to conceal his ambition and lifelong disappointment of always being second to the Qianlong Emperor.
 * Cheng Junwen as Aisin-Gioro Hongxiao
 * Prince Yi of the First Rank
 * The Qianlong Emperor's cousin.
 * Gong Fangmin as Aisin-Gioro Yuntao
 * Prince Lü of the First Rank
 * The Qianlong Emperor's uncle. He is critical of Prince He's behavior.

Production
Many of the props and costumes were made using traditional Chinese crafts that are dying out, with few master-level 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 (portrayed by Wang Herun).