It
was the most Googled television show in China—and then it was yanked from iQiyi,
the Chinese premium streaming service, because the official state media decided
historical dramas were no longer politically acceptable. They phrased it somewhat
differently, but that was the bottom line. Frankly, their reasoning seems
awfully torturous, because the first two episodes do absolutely nothing to
glamorize courtly life. At least viewers will get another chance to see one of
the most popular shows in the world, albeit outside of China, when episodes one
and two of Story of Yanxi Palace screen
today at the Freer Gallery, in conjunction with the exhibition, Empresses of the Forbidden City 1644-1912.
Yanxi Palace is a lot like an
18th Century Chinese Upstairs
Downstairs. Rivalries are fierce amongst the palace servants, but those of
the consorts “upstairs” are even bitterer and potentially more dangerous. In
fact, the matron of the embroidery maids ruefully notes many of the royal
concubines have less freedom and dignity than the young women she oversees.
Wei
Yingluo is one of them, but she is more than she appears. She has risked everything
to infiltrate the palace to investigate the murder of her sister. She does not
understand the ways of the palace yet, but her inherent honesty and resentment
of injustice almost spurs her to intercede in a power struggle waged by Royal
Consort Gao Ningxin against one of the Empress’s loyal allies. Wei’s righteous vibes
also rub many of her embroidery colleagues the wrong way, but they have no idea
what they are getting into when they try to bully her. The battle lines are
clearly drawn and presumably they will also start to cross class boundaries in
later episodes.
Frankly,
Wei is an extraordinarily modern heroine, so the official criticism of the show
will strike open-minded viewers as the hollow doubletalk that it so obviously is.
Wu Jinyan is terrific as the driven, not-the-least-bit submissive, vengeance-seeking
antiheroine. She clearly establishes Wei’s persona, with only a mere two
episodes. It is easy to see why fans were so hooked on her exploits.
Likewise,
Tan Zhuo makes a terrific Joan Collins-esque villainess as the scheming Gao.
However, both the virtuous Empress and her arrogant, pig-headed excuse for an
Emperor are a rather dull duo so far. At this point, we will not even meet Wei’s
prime suspect and potential love interest, who may very well turn out to be one
and the same.
