To be frank, I have no liking for Chinese historical drama, particularly those produced in recent two years as most of them impress me nothing but that a bunch of actors and actresses wearing ancient costumes, speaking modern language and portraying a distorted historic period. I do not reject some historical dramas telling fictionalized tales which loosely based on some actual historic figures and events; whereas, the bottom line is that they are obliged to respect the history, that is, the costumes, the languages, the ceremonies and the etiquettes ought to accord with the then society. Unfortunately, we could scarcely see few latest Chinese historical dramas meet those basic needs until the release of the TV series The Legend of Zhenhuan.

There are three factors contributing to my falling for this TV series. Above all, the plots are unusually thrilling! Since the story tells about the court fights among the wives and concubines of a king, conspiracies, fights, and murders permeate through the whole drama. The protagonist, Zhenhuan, grows from an innocent young woman at the beginning into a ruthlessly calculating queen in the end. Secondly, the lines impress the audience amazingly classical. It’s said the author and play writer is a dedicated fan of the Chinese classic the Story of the Stone which casts considerable influences on her works. Thirdly, those exquisite costumes of Qing Dynasty and carefully presented etiquette of the then society are indeed intriguing.