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Review: Xiaozhuang Epic (孝莊秘史) (2003)
I found this drama really refreshing, which is ironic because it is considerably older than all of the other TV shows and dramas I've watched lately. This was not a perfect drama, but it focused on its strengths and emphasized them. I thought I wouldn't be able to get over the dated video quality and filming styles but they were surprisingly easy to adapt to.
I would recommend this drama for those who want a strong female character in a historical setting but with a story that is considerably less draggy than many Chinese dramas produced in the past 15 years or so.
Spoilers.
Story
The drama covered Xiaozhuang's life from when she first met Huang Taiji and Dorgon, to when the Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne as a child.
The story was extremely focused. There was usually only one main story line that was focused on at a time, and sometimes I was surprised when I'd realize that a problem that was resolved was only introduced at the beginning of the episode. I really enjoyed this lack of a stretched out story line and felt like my time was well spent while watching the show.
I was expecting the drama to talk more about the Manchurians conquering the Ming Dynasty and establishing the Qing Dynasty. It was barely mentioned, and I actually hadn't realized when it had happened. I suppose this would make sense as Xiaozhuang herself would not have been involved in any of the politics.
In the last ten episodes or so, Xiaozhuang took a bit of a backseat role. I felt that the drama did drag a big when it covered the love story between Fulin and Wanru. I felt that the drama could've told the story in fewer episodes, and I knew the writers were capable of doing this. During these episodes, I'd say that Fulin had become the main character. However, Fulin was nowhere near as strong and likeable as his mother Xiaozhuang, and I was always waiting for her to come back into the story.
The other question mark I have regarding the story was whether it portrayed Manchurian and Mongolian people accurately. Xiaozhuang herself was Mongolian and while the Manchurians did eventually learn Chinese, I'm pretty sure they still spoke their own Manchurian language. A lot of the dialogue felt very Han Chinese in that they brought up concepts that came from Chinese culture. I don't know enough about Mongolian or Manchurian culture, but it was just something I was wary about.
I also wasn't sure how historically accurate this story generally was. Of course, I'm going to take a lot of things with a grain of salt, but if I'm judging this drama as a piece of fiction, I would say that it was enjoyable overall.
Production
Acting
The acting was amazing. Pretty much every on screen character did such a good job. What I noticed about this drama was that it had a considerably smaller cast than many long form historical Cdramas now. However, each character had a lot more lines and were more fleshed out as people. Even simple palace maids would have one or two long monologues to express their feelings.
Of course, the main cast were all stellar. Their characters were consistently written, but the cast played the in such charismatic and characteristic ways.
The acting style also felt a little bit old fashioned (not bad, just old fashioned). Some actors would act in ways that were a little more dramatic, and use more "operatic voices." The first time I noticed this was with Lady Abahai (played by Siqin Gaowa). She used a very high voice, almost like a voice I'd hear in traditional Chinese opera. While no other actors had such a voice level, there were may actors who did have a more dramatic way of acting. This didn't feel out of place though, as the dramatic acting was usually accompanied by similarly dramatic music or editing.
Cinematography
The style of filming was a lot more old fashioned. There were fewer cuts, and I felt the camera didn't move as much. In general, I think the director relied more on the acting quality than the camera framing to tell its story. That being said, it allowed me to really see how good the acting was, because there were no cuts to hide acting errors.
Sound
I wasn't sure if there was any dubbing, but in any case, it felt like there wasn't at most times during the drama. Of course, I think this would be a testament to the actors' skills.
At times, I the audio would go really quiet, which I think would be a microphone/sound editing mistake. Fortunately, there were built-in subtitles in the show, but it was still a bit surprising every time they came up.
The background music that was used was pretty dramatic. When a character said something shocking, it'd be followed by an appropriately dramatic sound bite. It would be considered cheesy now, but it fit in completely fine in this drama.
Costumes
The costumes were pretty nice. It took a bit of time to get used to how they looked in the more older-fashioned lighting and filming style, but once I actually looked at them, I saw that they looked actually quite high quality.
Music
The opening theme song "Ni" (You) by Tu Honggang has been stuck in my head for a while now. It is just so epic. Variations of it were also used as background music throughout the show.
Characters
Da Yu'er/Empress Xiaozhuang
I think Xiaozhuang might be one of my favourite lead female characters in Chinese historical dramas ever. She is strong without overstepping or being overbearing, and she is kind without being a pushover. She knows what her priorities are, and she knows what she needs to do. Everything about her just exudes confidence with grace, and I think that makes her a great role model.
Xiaozhuang's first challenge in life came when she thought Dorgon had died. She had intended to kill herself, but Sumu'er convinced her that she had to keep living to exact revenge for Dorgon. When she found out that Dorgon was alive, she obviously didn't want to marry Huang Taiji, but she'd made the promise already, and backing down from it would cause issues for everyone. I think Da Yu'er realized that her word was everything and that was how one was supposed to build credibility.
I think it was Dodo who said that Xiaozhuang's first priority was the country, her second priority was her son Fulin, and her third priority was herself. Dodo said this to tell Dorgon that Xiaozhuang didn't care about him. In one way, I think this interpretation is kind of correct.
Xiaozhuang knew how to handle responsibility. The moment Xiaozhuang married Huang Taiji (even knowing that Dorgon was alive), she knew that she now had to fulfill her role as Huang Taiji's concubine. As Zhezhe said, she did everything in her power. She conversed with him, took care of him, etc. The only thing she didn't give him was her heart, but in terms of her responsibilities, she did everything, didn't she? Huang Taiji didn't even know that Da Yu'er was in love with someone else until he was told.
As a concubine of Huang Taiji and an Empress Dowager, Da Yu'er's role in politics grew even bigger. She maintained her love for Dorgon, but in all cases, the country had to come first.
Da Yu'er seemed cold because of this, but she never lost her love for Dorgon. She merely knew that she had to put things aside for the country and its citizens. Dorgon asked Da Yu'er who she would save if both he and Fulin fell into a river. Da Yu'er said she'd save Fulin and then jump in to die with Dorgon. I don't doubt that this was false, but this was also contingent on the fact that they were not huge political figures. If they were still regular nobles, I think Da Yu'er would not hestitate. However, because she had an Emperor and a country relying on her, she could not afford to die with Dorgon.
As Da Yu'er and Sumu'er discussed in the last episode, people just needed to learn how to "subdue themselves" and there would be nothing they couldn't do. Da Yu'er learned how to do this long ago, when she married a man she didn't love.
Despite being a strong political figurehead, Da Yu'er retained her kindness. At the very least, she was civil to her peers (e.g. other concubines of Huang Taiji). She was also kind to her subordinates. The only times that she was angry and lashed out were when people stepped out of line, and she was in a position of authority to castigate them. This happened when Fulin and Wanru tried to run away together, and when Namuzhong was finally stripped of Empress status.
I'm pretty sure Da Yu'er was a fictional name made up for the show. Yu'er is a very Han sounding name. I looked up Xiaozhuang's real name, which was Bumbutai. My guess is that the transliterated version would be too long to say in Mandarin, which was why a nickname was created for the show.
Da Yu'er was definitely my favourite character in this show, and made this show so enjoyable to watch.
Huang Taiji
The first thing I noticed about Huang Taiji was that he was very charismatic. I could see why he was considered a leader among his brothers despite being the fourth brother. He was very calm, and thought things over.
Despite that, Huang Taiji was also a forceful and dominant man. He was enraged when he found out that Da Yu'er was actually in love with Dorgon. He had an argument with Zhezhe who defended Da Yu'er, saying that she'd already done everything she could for him. Huang Taiji wanted Da Yu'er's heart, despite the fact that he was hardly monogomous. And I don't think it crossed his mind that Da Yu'er could just choose who she fell in love with.
Huang Taiji fell in love with Hailanzhu. Zhezhe suspected that it was because Hailanzhu had been abused and saw Huang Taiji as a saviour. Despite Huang Taiji's defenses, that was obviously how it was. In return, Huang Taiji loved Hailanzhu for how she saw him as her everything. It came to a point when she was overly clingy, and he had to comfort her every time he had to leave to attend to the country.
I still think that Huang Taiji was probably a good ruler, seeing as how he did a lot to establish the Qing Dynasty. But in Xiaozhuang Epic, we saw a more personal side of Huang Taiji. We saw how his ambition and dominance in politics translated into an overbearing attitude when it came to personal relationships.
Dorgon
Dorgon was supposed to be the rightful heir to his father's Khanate. Lady Abahai offered the position to Huang Taiji, likely because she saw that he was older and more experienced, and also likely because she thought he'd raise hell if his kid brother was doing this job that he'd know he'd be able to do better.
For much of the show, Dorgon was kept at bay by Da Yu'er. She was always the one to convince him not to rebel. So I think it was made apparent that at the back of his mind, Dorgon always wanted to take back what was rightfully his.
Dorgon became regent when Fulin was too young, and that was a good gig for him. He come to love Fulin because he loved Da Yu'er, and he was happy to protect them as a form of expressing his love.
However, becoming regent gave Dorgon more courage. He never taught Fulin anything about ruling, which angered Fulin when he became old enough to want to become a good Emperor. Later on, Dorgon had instructed Fulin to write an imperial edict to have Xiaozhuang marry Dorgon. I had to do some more asking around about this, but the conclusion I got to was that Xiaozhuang agreed to the marriage in order to placate Dorgon. Though Xiaozhuang was smart, she was never intimately involved with governing the country like Dorgon was. She didn't fight in wars, she didn't have intimate knowledge of laws, etc. So she and a young Fulin still relied heavily on Dorgon.
Dorgon's audacity kept rising, as he wanted to become a "Taishang Wang," and he even had a Dragon robe made for him, which was basically treason.
Dorgon and Da Yu'er made up in the end, and Dorgon went off to battle where he died. It was clear that Dorgon and Da Yu'er still loved each other, but their country and their political ambitions were too important, and it kept them apart throughout their lives.
Zhezhe
Zhezhe was Xiaozhuang's aunt and Huang Taiji's official wife, later the Empress. She was always very protective of Da Yu'er. When Huang Taiji was angry at Da Yu'er for not giving him her heart, Zhezhe insisted that Da Yu'er had fulfilled her duty as his concubine. When Hailanzhu was causing tension in the imperial harem, Zhezhe was also on Da Yu'er's side. Zhezhe was remembered as a kind, just, and fair Empress who placed community unity over everything else.
Gui Taifei
Gui Taifei was Xiao Yu'er's maternal aunt and also one of Huang Taiji's concubines. I think she was kind of a sneaky character. She helped Xiao Yu'er get married to Dorgon, and she also tried to build some alliances for herself and her son Boguo'er.
Despite being civil, Gui Taifei still saw Da Yu'er as an opponent. In the drama, Boguo'er and Fulin were asked a number of questions to determine who'd be crowned the Emperor. Because of this "game," Gui Taifei was convinced that Boguo'er was supposed to be the Emperor anyway, and the only reason that he wasn't was because of technicalities in their little game/questionnaire.
Gui Taifei had also built an alliance with Wukeshan as Boguo'er had wanted to marry Wanru and Wukeshan wanted Wanru out of the way for his own daughter's peace of mind.
Despite her shady deeds, Da Yu'er could obviously sympathize with her when Boguo'er decided to commit suicide as he couldn't have Wanru. This drove Gui Taifei mad.
I feel bad for saying this but I feel that Gui Taifei's crying scene when Boguo'er died was not the most well acted. She was screaming, but her body language was just static, and it looked very strange overal.
Hailanzhu
Hailanzhu was Da Yu'er's older sister and eventually Huang Taiji's favourite concubine. She'd met Huang Taiji when she was visiting Da Yu'er. Apparently, she was previously married to an abusive man and widowed.
Obviously Hailanzhu had been through some trauma, so she was a little emotionally delicate. As I mentioned, I think Huang Taiji kind of liked that, as he could dominate her heart.
Soon it became clear that Hailanzhu was super insecure. As she became Huang Taiji's favourite, she started perceiving every other concubine as a threat, and being super passive aggressive at Huang Taiji when she thought he was spending time with his other concubines. If this was the old Hailanzhu, she never would've had the audacity to go off on Huang Taiji.
Hailanzhu and Huang Taiji had a son, who was declared the crown prince soon after his birth. Obviously this caused a stir because this was a literally baby who hadn't done anything to prove his worth.
Apparently this baby died because he'd inherited poor health from his mother. Hailanzhu took this very poorly, and accused Da Yu'er's son of cursing her son, WHICH HUANG TAIJI BELIEVED. I don't now how popular superstition was at this time, but as an Emperor, I felt he should've known better.
Hailanzhu fell ill as well, and when she was close to her death, she came to terms with her petty behaviour and poor attitude. She apologized to Zhezhe and Da Yu'er for purposely antagonizing them. In the end, I think she was at peace because she came to terms with Zhezhe and Da Yu'er, and also because she could finally see her baby again.
Daishan
Daishan was the oldest brother of the Aisin Gioro family. He was always a pacifist and a mostly reasonable and kind man. This was why Da Yu'er could rely on him to be on her side for most political issues.
In the end, Xiaozhuang had asked Daishan to help her get an oath from Dorgon in which Dorgon would promise that he would never become Emperor. This was Daishan's last deed before he passed away.
Amin
Amin was the second Aisin Gioro brother, and was one of the brothers who was constantly at odds with Huang Taiji and Dorgon. He had also tried to get Dorgon killed in battle. Da Yu'er had intended to get revenge on him, but Dorgon was able to do it himself. He was able to get Amin imprisoned forever, and Amin committed suicide soon after.
Manggultai
Manggultai was the second Aisin Gioro brother, and was also always at odds with Huang Taiji and Dorgon. I kind of forgot what happened to him, but he was out of the picture as soon as Amin was dead.
Dodo
Dodo was Dorgon's younger brother (same mother, I believe). He was supportive of Dorgon throughout their life, and I think he always pushed for him to achieve political greatness.
He eventually succumbed to smallpox. Da Yu'er accompanied him in his dying moments, as she'd also seen him as a younger brother.
Wukeshan
Wukeshan was Da Yu'er older brother, and a legitimate snowplow parent. He had a bigger role in the story when Da Yu'er was considering marriage for Fulin. The best option was Namuzhong, who was Wukeshan's daughter. As a Mongolian princess, this marriage would continue strengthening the political alliance between the Mongolian and Manchurian peoples.
However, we saw that Namuzhong was extremely spoiled. As things built up, Da Yu'er could no longer keep quiet to her brother. She never blew up at him, but it became clear that she did not appreciate her brother meddling in the imperial harem of the Manchurian royal family.
Wukeshan went so far as to personally visiting Wanru to tell her to back off from the Emperor, which is SUCH SNOWPLOW PARENT BEHAVIOUR. You're a grown man telling a young woman to not fall in love with a young man she's already rumoured to have a relationship with?
He himself had revealed to Da Yu'er that he'd sought Gui Taifei's help when trying to get Wanru married off and that enraged Da Yu'er.
I think Da Yu'er's struggles with her brother showed that she was a political figurehead in her own right despite not being a man. She was not a prince like her brother, but she was a representative of the Manchurian Qing Dynasty, and she would not have her authority questioned or disregarded.
Xiao Yu'er
Xiao Yu'er was Da Yu'er's younger sister. She was bratty and snobbish. She'd loved Dorgon from a young age. She could see that he was in love with Da Yu'er, but that just made her hate Da Yu'er even more.
It was clear from the beginning that Xiao Yu'er and Dorgon were not compatible. She didn't understand his quirks and hobbies. For example, she'd decorated Dorgon's horse stble and dressed up his horses, which Dorgon hated. He ruined the premises, which made Xiao Yu'er mad, but that was the extent of their good relationship.
Gui Taifei had agreed to speak on Xiao Yu'er's behalf with Zhezhe to try to arrange a marriage with Dorgon. Zhezhe had refused as Dorgon had said he wasn't thinking about marriage. Xiao Yu'er pulled strings to get an audience with Huang Taiji himself, which was inappropriate as the Empress was responsible for such issues, but he granted the marriage anyway.
Dorgon was cold with Xiao Yu'er as his wife. He'd even take on concubines, but it was clear that he was always distant with her. Xiao Yu'er was also in a difficult position when Dorgon was rising in power as she obviously hated Da Yu'er, but she also didn't want Dorgon to be taken down by Da Yu'er's opponents.
Dorgon and Xiao Yu'er had a conversation in which he finally admitted that he'd always love Da Yu'er. This actually calmed Xiao Yu'er down as she finally had a straight answer. She said that when Dorgon agreed to marry her, she hoped that he was giving her an opportunity to win his heart, but the fact was that she never had that opportunity. Dorgon had only agreed to the marriage as Da Yu'er had convinced him to do so. Afterwards, Xiao Yu'er committed suicide.
I looked up the actress for Xiao Yu'er and she was very young at the time but I was impressed with her performance. I believe she was only 19, but I felt that she was able to keep up in terms of against opposite more experienced actors.
Haoge
Haoge was Huang Taiji's eldest son. He'd initially accompanied Dorgon on his military missions, but also acted as a "spy" for Huang Taiji. Eventually, Haoge because Dorgon's enemey, and was constantly finding ways to take him down.
Fulin
Fulin was Xiaozhuang and Huang Taiji's son. In his youth, he was a good kid, likely due to the good education he received from Xiaozhuang.
When he grew into a teenager, Fulin became frustrated that he was an Emperor in name only, as he knew nothing about how to rule his country. What was particularly frustrating was that he powerless against his uncle Dorgon, who'd even begun not kneeling when greeting him.
Xiaozhuang arranged for Fulin's education with Hong Chengchou in secret, as their relationship with Dorgon became more tense. Fulin became the kind and intelligent ruler that he and his mother had hoped he'd become.
Fulin's tragic flaw, like his father and his uncle, was that he was very emotional. Fulin was willing to throw away his position of Emperor for Wanru, and this enraged Xiaozhuang. It wasn't his love for Wanru that angered her, as it became clear that Xiaozhuang actually did like Wanru. Wanru was smart and observant in the same ways that Xiaozhuang was in her youth. But Fulin didn't seem to understand the gravity of role, and how the country was supposed to come before everything.
After Wanru died, Fulin was overcome with grief. However, Xiaozhuang said that it wasn't just grief from Wanru's death, but rather grief from all the hardships he'd gone through. Fulin was quite young (24 years old I believe), but he was crowned at a very young age, and thus subject to a lot of duties and shady dealings that no child should have to go through.
Fulin wanted to become a Buddhist monk out of grief. He contracted smallpox and died, but that was in line with what he wanted anyway, because he just couldn't live on without Wanru in his life.
I think Xiaozhuang was angry with Fulin because he valued the position of Emperor so little. Xiaozhuang and everyone in the palace spent so many years developing Fulin into a good emperor who loved his citizens, and he was just going to give all of that away.
Obviously Fulin's death took a huge toll on Xiaozhuang's wellbeing. After Fulin died, she just felt so tired. But as Dodo said, Xiaozhuang always put the country first, and she knew that she had to keep going to guide the next Emperor.
Boguo'er
Boguo'er was Fulin's younger brother and son of Gui Taifei. He was always the rowdier brother of the two. He was not as well educated as Fulin, and thus didn't answer the questions "correctly" when he and Fulin were quizzed to determine who would become Emperor.
Boguo'er fell in love with Wanru, and had asked his mom if she could arrange the marriage on his behalf. We learned that Gui Taifei wasn't sure how to bring up the issue, but she got the backing from Wukeshan and that was how that betrothal came to be.
Of course, Boguo'er had done the right thing, as opposed to Fulin, who'd kept his romance under wraps. As Xiaozhuang said, if she'd known that Fulin had loved Wanru this much, she would've come up with a way to refuse Gui Taifei, but since she didn't think that Fulin liked her that much, she felt it was fine to agree to the marriage to Boguo'er.
Like the other men of the Aisin Gioro family, Boguo'er couldn't accept that he couldn't have Wanru's heart. He was also very bitter that she loved the Emperor. I think Boguo'er had a bit of an inferiority complex, as he insisted that he was the Emperor's equal, and only lost out to him in terms of rank. But as we know, the heart cares for none of that. Boguo'er committed suicide as he couldn't live in a world where he couldn't have Wanru.
Wanru
I believe Wanru was likely a Han Chinese girl. She'd met Fulin as a child but they didn't meet again until they were young adults. (Fun fact: young Wanru was played by Yang Zi)
Wanru, like many intelligent girls, didn't ever want to marry in to the imperial household. She knew it'd be a hard life.
However, as luck would have it, she fell in love with the Emperor, but was betrothed to Boguo'er. I'm not sure what Wanru's plan was before her marriage. She'd feign illness every time Boguo'er came to visit her, but that was not a long term solution.
After Boguo'er died, Fulin wrote an imperial edict without his mother's approval, bringing Wanru into the palace as a concubine. Wanru knew that the way that she was brought in was not a good one, and thus understood everyone's anger at her.
Wanru also understood that Xiaozhuang was under a lot of political pressure. Xiaozhuang herself said that she couldn't even appear to favour Wanru or else it'd look bad for the royal family. Wanru was just focused on playing the waiting game and hoping for Fulin's relationship with Xiaozhuang to remend itself. Wanru tried to help by cooking a dinner, which Xiaozhuang loved.
Over time, Xiaozhuang warmed up to Wanru, and it's clear that they were always going to get along swimmingly. Even as a kid, Wanru was smart and knew how to read the situation, and we saw that time and time again, when Fulin's impulses got the better of him, it was always Wanru who convinced him to do the right thing.
When Wanru and Fulin had a son, Fulin had planned for him to be named the Crown Prince. Out of jealousy, Namuzhong had the baby killed, and that took a toll on Wanru's health. She eventually died, but she tried to tell Fulin that her leaving was not the worst thing in the world, and that he should try to continue living his life. I'm pretty sure Wanru wanted Fulin to continue his life as a good Emperor, but Fulin didn't get the message and wanted to give up his position as Emperor.
Mengguqing
Mengguqing was Wanru's friend. They'd met as kids at the palace, and remained friends. Despite the fact that she also seemed to be a noble, she was kind of reduced to Wanru's snarky sidekick. She always advocated for Wanru, as Wanru was more sudued and quiet.
Namuzhong
Namuzhong was a very snobbish girl, and also unfortunately not the smartest. Da Yu'er had implied that her father had spoiled the heck out of her, which could be classified as bad parenting.
Namuzhong never got along with Fulin, and always looked down upon the Manchurians. She only became Empress because of the agreement between Xiaozhuang and Wukeshan, but she was always crossing the line.
Namuzhong complained that her plates and dishes were not gold, and had beaten a palace maid, all within the first three days of being married. Xiaozhuang vented to Sumu'er that even she would eat using old wares. The Emperor was cold to her, which understandably made her feel bad, but as Xiaozhuang said, she could also only do so much. She couldn't force the Emperor to have sex with her.
Namuzhong also enjoyed terrorizing the concubines, and anybody who wouldn't suck up to her. She especially hated Wanru. While Xiaozhuang couldn't control matters of the heart, she repeatedly berated Namuzhong for not being able to read the atmosphere.
When there was a party for Xuanye (the future Kangxi), Namuzhong and Fulin got into an argument. Xiaozhuang told Namuzhong and Fulin to stop bickering in an attempt to stop the conversation and to save the two of the face but Namuzhong continued on. After Fulin stormed off, Xiaozhuang berated her, telling Namuzhong that she'd given her an out but she still couldn't recognize it. We also saw that Namuzhong got extremely angry when everybody was cooing over the baby.
Namuzhong was used by the Prince of Jianjun in order to kill Wanru's baby. She'd instructed an imperial doctor to prescribe something that was bad for the baby. Namuzhong was outed by a maid who'd served her since their youth, as the maid could no longer deal with the consequences of having killed a baby.
That was the last straw for Namuzhong, and Xiaozhuang and Fulin had her demoted from Empress to a regular concubine.
Sumu'er
I really liked that this show gave so much screen time to servants. Many nobles had personal servants that followed them around, and therefore knew them better than their own parents and spouses.
Sumu'er had served Da Yu'er since they were rowdy kids in Mongolia. Sumu'er and Da Yu'er were usually on the same page. The first time that Sumu'er had really acted out on her own was when she posed as a ghost/created a ghostlike apparition to scare Hailanzhu and the Emperor. This protected the Emperor from killing Dorgon, as he believed the ghost was Lady Abahai.
In later years, Sumu'er would take initiative when trying to mend relationships between Xiaozhuang and Fulin. As a palace maid, Sumu'er was also privy to more information that palace servants wouldn't feel comfortable telling a person of authority.
Having been by Xiaozhuang's side for all these years, Sumu'er did also pick up on a lot of wisdom, learning about life principles, and supporting Da Yu'er throughout her troubles.
I much prefer how the servants were portrayed in this show over the Story of Minglan, where servants were just portrayed as yes-men/yes-women as opposed to people with their own abilities and wills. They were loyal, yes, but their loyalties were shown in different ways, which I thought was interesting.
Zhenge
Zhenge was Zhezhe's servant. We didn't see too much of her, and she eventually got married after Zhezhe passed away.
Huige
Huige was Hailanzhu's servant. We saw that a lot of Hailanzhu's shady actions were actually put in her brain by Huige. Huige would drum up drama by telling Hailanzhu lies about other people that she knew would push Hailanzhu to take action against others. The thing was, Hailanzhu was not very smart and would blindly believe Huige.
Hailanzhu reconciled with Zhezhe and Da Yu'er before she died, and I think Huige realized that there wasn't much she could do. She told the Emperor what Hailanzhu had said to the other concubines before her death. I think Huige truly understood that Hailanzhu was not meant to be this hateful sort of being.
Xiaonizi/Wu'erkuni
Xiaonizi was a Mongolian girl who was a servant of Dorgon's. We learned that she had a lover back in Mongolia, but Wukeshan had gifted her to Dorgon after he took an interest.
Xiaonizi had played along as the good servant, but it was part of her plan to get all of the dirt on Dorgon. Xiaonizi sought an audience with Xiaozhuang through Zhenge who was apparently her aunt, and Xiaonizi revealed why she wanted to take down Dorgon.
Even after Xiaonizi was manumitted, she gave all of the dirt on Dorgon to Dorgon's enemies and she killed herself. Xiaozhuang realized that Xiaonizi hated Dorgon so much that she wanted to completely ruin his reputation.
Tang Yizhong/Xiaotang
Xiaotang is so cute! He was Fulin's personal servant. They'd met because Fulin had admired Xiaotang's kites as a kid.
Xiaotang was timid and smiley, but always cared about the Emperor's wellbeing first and foremost. He wasn't the smartest, but he had more common sense than Fulin, who'd been raised as an Emperor from a young age.
As Fulin said, they would've been good friends if they weren't master and subject, but Xiaotang had also stated that they wouldn't have met if they weren't master and subject as Xiaotang had come from a poor family and being a servant was his only way to survive. Xiaotang knew Fulin better than anybody else, and had seen Fulin's entire romance with Wanru from beginning (since they were children) to end (death).
Xiaotang tried to stop Fulin from becoming a Buddhist Monk, and offered to die for him so that he'd return to his post. However, there wasn't much he could do after Fulin contracted smallpox.
After Fulin's death, Xiaotang turned to Buddhism. In a later scene, we saw Sumu'er visiting Xiaotang, along with Tang Daren and the cook, with whom the Emperor, Xiaotang, Wanru, and Mengguqing had spent much time with as young adults.
A-Dai
A-Dai was Namuzhong's maidservant. She'd served Namuzhong from the time they were in Mongolia, and had known about her bad behaviour for a while. Sometimes, A-Dai would try to talk Namuzhong down from acting rude or crossing the line. Fulin even noted that A-Dai was more aware of the rules than Namuzhong was.
After Namuzhong arranged for Wanru's son to die, A-Dai couldn't handle the guilt and confessed to Sumu'er right before committing suicide.
Fan Wencheng
Fan Xiansheng was a scholar who'd helped the Manchurians from the time that Huang Taiji was in power. He continued being a trusted Qing Dynasty advisor throughout the show.
Hong Chengchou
Hong Chengchou was originally captured from the Ming Dynasty, and refused to defect. Xiaozhuang was sent to convince him, and she succeeded. Hong Chengchou became a trusted advisor, and also Fulin's teacher.
Prince of Jianjun
I don't remember whose son he was, but he challenged Fulin's decisions. Fulin was open to Han customs and the advice from Han advisors, provided that they were good for all citizens. However, the Prince of Jianjun was skeptical of the Han, and believed in Manchurian tradition.
He was the one who suggested using the Empress to kill Wanru's son.
Themes
Emotions vs. Responsibilities
Many characters in this story were unable to overcome grief or other emotional issues. Those who were able to prioritize their responsibilities to the country and the people over their personal emotional wants tended to survive until the end (or tragically passed away due to illness).
In the last episode, Xiaozhuang lamented that Huang Taiji, Dorgon, and Fulin were all blinded by their emotions. Huang Taiji was impulsive when it came to Hailanzhu and even named their child crown prince despite it having no basis. Dorgon was always intent on marrying Da Yu'er even after they'd become prominent political figures and it'd look bad on the country if they did marry. And of course, Fulin wanted to give up his position of Emperor to whichever Joe Schmoe because he just wanted Wanru.
On the other hand, women in the olden days were used to putting their other responsibilities before their own feelings. Women were always expected to be mothers and wives first before their own people. In Xiaozhuang's case, she also had to be a political leader before she was a mother. As Sumu'er and Xiaozhuang discussed, women just had to get over this hurdle and they'd be able to survive anything. Perhaps it was because men were presented with the opportunity and possibility of having everything that it destroyed them when they couldn't.
Overall
I quite liked this drama. I liked it most because it was very efficient with its story telling and didn't waste my time with filler. The more old fashioned way that this show was shot made the story, writing, and acting the main focuses of the show, and it really shown a spotlight on these strengths. This show wasn't as grand as many historical Cdramas now (less epic, less glamorous, less luxurious), but the acting was completely unfiltered and showed us how a story can still be so deeply and emotionally told with less. And Xiaozhuang was such a strong character who was also observant and kind. Maybe she is a bit too perfect, but I love how calm and calculated she is without losing the emotional side of herself.
I would recommend this drama for those who want a strong female character in a historical setting but with a story that is considerably less draggy than many Chinese dramas produced in the past 15 years or so.
Spoilers.
Story
The drama covered Xiaozhuang's life from when she first met Huang Taiji and Dorgon, to when the Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne as a child.
The story was extremely focused. There was usually only one main story line that was focused on at a time, and sometimes I was surprised when I'd realize that a problem that was resolved was only introduced at the beginning of the episode. I really enjoyed this lack of a stretched out story line and felt like my time was well spent while watching the show.
I was expecting the drama to talk more about the Manchurians conquering the Ming Dynasty and establishing the Qing Dynasty. It was barely mentioned, and I actually hadn't realized when it had happened. I suppose this would make sense as Xiaozhuang herself would not have been involved in any of the politics.
In the last ten episodes or so, Xiaozhuang took a bit of a backseat role. I felt that the drama did drag a big when it covered the love story between Fulin and Wanru. I felt that the drama could've told the story in fewer episodes, and I knew the writers were capable of doing this. During these episodes, I'd say that Fulin had become the main character. However, Fulin was nowhere near as strong and likeable as his mother Xiaozhuang, and I was always waiting for her to come back into the story.
The other question mark I have regarding the story was whether it portrayed Manchurian and Mongolian people accurately. Xiaozhuang herself was Mongolian and while the Manchurians did eventually learn Chinese, I'm pretty sure they still spoke their own Manchurian language. A lot of the dialogue felt very Han Chinese in that they brought up concepts that came from Chinese culture. I don't know enough about Mongolian or Manchurian culture, but it was just something I was wary about.
I also wasn't sure how historically accurate this story generally was. Of course, I'm going to take a lot of things with a grain of salt, but if I'm judging this drama as a piece of fiction, I would say that it was enjoyable overall.
Production
Acting
The acting was amazing. Pretty much every on screen character did such a good job. What I noticed about this drama was that it had a considerably smaller cast than many long form historical Cdramas now. However, each character had a lot more lines and were more fleshed out as people. Even simple palace maids would have one or two long monologues to express their feelings.
Of course, the main cast were all stellar. Their characters were consistently written, but the cast played the in such charismatic and characteristic ways.
The acting style also felt a little bit old fashioned (not bad, just old fashioned). Some actors would act in ways that were a little more dramatic, and use more "operatic voices." The first time I noticed this was with Lady Abahai (played by Siqin Gaowa). She used a very high voice, almost like a voice I'd hear in traditional Chinese opera. While no other actors had such a voice level, there were may actors who did have a more dramatic way of acting. This didn't feel out of place though, as the dramatic acting was usually accompanied by similarly dramatic music or editing.
Cinematography
The style of filming was a lot more old fashioned. There were fewer cuts, and I felt the camera didn't move as much. In general, I think the director relied more on the acting quality than the camera framing to tell its story. That being said, it allowed me to really see how good the acting was, because there were no cuts to hide acting errors.
Sound
I wasn't sure if there was any dubbing, but in any case, it felt like there wasn't at most times during the drama. Of course, I think this would be a testament to the actors' skills.
At times, I the audio would go really quiet, which I think would be a microphone/sound editing mistake. Fortunately, there were built-in subtitles in the show, but it was still a bit surprising every time they came up.
The background music that was used was pretty dramatic. When a character said something shocking, it'd be followed by an appropriately dramatic sound bite. It would be considered cheesy now, but it fit in completely fine in this drama.
Costumes
The costumes were pretty nice. It took a bit of time to get used to how they looked in the more older-fashioned lighting and filming style, but once I actually looked at them, I saw that they looked actually quite high quality.
Music
The opening theme song "Ni" (You) by Tu Honggang has been stuck in my head for a while now. It is just so epic. Variations of it were also used as background music throughout the show.
Characters
Da Yu'er/Empress Xiaozhuang
I think Xiaozhuang might be one of my favourite lead female characters in Chinese historical dramas ever. She is strong without overstepping or being overbearing, and she is kind without being a pushover. She knows what her priorities are, and she knows what she needs to do. Everything about her just exudes confidence with grace, and I think that makes her a great role model.
Xiaozhuang's first challenge in life came when she thought Dorgon had died. She had intended to kill herself, but Sumu'er convinced her that she had to keep living to exact revenge for Dorgon. When she found out that Dorgon was alive, she obviously didn't want to marry Huang Taiji, but she'd made the promise already, and backing down from it would cause issues for everyone. I think Da Yu'er realized that her word was everything and that was how one was supposed to build credibility.
I think it was Dodo who said that Xiaozhuang's first priority was the country, her second priority was her son Fulin, and her third priority was herself. Dodo said this to tell Dorgon that Xiaozhuang didn't care about him. In one way, I think this interpretation is kind of correct.
Xiaozhuang knew how to handle responsibility. The moment Xiaozhuang married Huang Taiji (even knowing that Dorgon was alive), she knew that she now had to fulfill her role as Huang Taiji's concubine. As Zhezhe said, she did everything in her power. She conversed with him, took care of him, etc. The only thing she didn't give him was her heart, but in terms of her responsibilities, she did everything, didn't she? Huang Taiji didn't even know that Da Yu'er was in love with someone else until he was told.
As a concubine of Huang Taiji and an Empress Dowager, Da Yu'er's role in politics grew even bigger. She maintained her love for Dorgon, but in all cases, the country had to come first.
Da Yu'er seemed cold because of this, but she never lost her love for Dorgon. She merely knew that she had to put things aside for the country and its citizens. Dorgon asked Da Yu'er who she would save if both he and Fulin fell into a river. Da Yu'er said she'd save Fulin and then jump in to die with Dorgon. I don't doubt that this was false, but this was also contingent on the fact that they were not huge political figures. If they were still regular nobles, I think Da Yu'er would not hestitate. However, because she had an Emperor and a country relying on her, she could not afford to die with Dorgon.
As Da Yu'er and Sumu'er discussed in the last episode, people just needed to learn how to "subdue themselves" and there would be nothing they couldn't do. Da Yu'er learned how to do this long ago, when she married a man she didn't love.
Despite being a strong political figurehead, Da Yu'er retained her kindness. At the very least, she was civil to her peers (e.g. other concubines of Huang Taiji). She was also kind to her subordinates. The only times that she was angry and lashed out were when people stepped out of line, and she was in a position of authority to castigate them. This happened when Fulin and Wanru tried to run away together, and when Namuzhong was finally stripped of Empress status.
I'm pretty sure Da Yu'er was a fictional name made up for the show. Yu'er is a very Han sounding name. I looked up Xiaozhuang's real name, which was Bumbutai. My guess is that the transliterated version would be too long to say in Mandarin, which was why a nickname was created for the show.
Da Yu'er was definitely my favourite character in this show, and made this show so enjoyable to watch.
Huang Taiji
The first thing I noticed about Huang Taiji was that he was very charismatic. I could see why he was considered a leader among his brothers despite being the fourth brother. He was very calm, and thought things over.
Despite that, Huang Taiji was also a forceful and dominant man. He was enraged when he found out that Da Yu'er was actually in love with Dorgon. He had an argument with Zhezhe who defended Da Yu'er, saying that she'd already done everything she could for him. Huang Taiji wanted Da Yu'er's heart, despite the fact that he was hardly monogomous. And I don't think it crossed his mind that Da Yu'er could just choose who she fell in love with.
Huang Taiji fell in love with Hailanzhu. Zhezhe suspected that it was because Hailanzhu had been abused and saw Huang Taiji as a saviour. Despite Huang Taiji's defenses, that was obviously how it was. In return, Huang Taiji loved Hailanzhu for how she saw him as her everything. It came to a point when she was overly clingy, and he had to comfort her every time he had to leave to attend to the country.
I still think that Huang Taiji was probably a good ruler, seeing as how he did a lot to establish the Qing Dynasty. But in Xiaozhuang Epic, we saw a more personal side of Huang Taiji. We saw how his ambition and dominance in politics translated into an overbearing attitude when it came to personal relationships.
Dorgon
Dorgon was supposed to be the rightful heir to his father's Khanate. Lady Abahai offered the position to Huang Taiji, likely because she saw that he was older and more experienced, and also likely because she thought he'd raise hell if his kid brother was doing this job that he'd know he'd be able to do better.
For much of the show, Dorgon was kept at bay by Da Yu'er. She was always the one to convince him not to rebel. So I think it was made apparent that at the back of his mind, Dorgon always wanted to take back what was rightfully his.
Dorgon became regent when Fulin was too young, and that was a good gig for him. He come to love Fulin because he loved Da Yu'er, and he was happy to protect them as a form of expressing his love.
However, becoming regent gave Dorgon more courage. He never taught Fulin anything about ruling, which angered Fulin when he became old enough to want to become a good Emperor. Later on, Dorgon had instructed Fulin to write an imperial edict to have Xiaozhuang marry Dorgon. I had to do some more asking around about this, but the conclusion I got to was that Xiaozhuang agreed to the marriage in order to placate Dorgon. Though Xiaozhuang was smart, she was never intimately involved with governing the country like Dorgon was. She didn't fight in wars, she didn't have intimate knowledge of laws, etc. So she and a young Fulin still relied heavily on Dorgon.
Dorgon's audacity kept rising, as he wanted to become a "Taishang Wang," and he even had a Dragon robe made for him, which was basically treason.
Dorgon and Da Yu'er made up in the end, and Dorgon went off to battle where he died. It was clear that Dorgon and Da Yu'er still loved each other, but their country and their political ambitions were too important, and it kept them apart throughout their lives.
Zhezhe
Zhezhe was Xiaozhuang's aunt and Huang Taiji's official wife, later the Empress. She was always very protective of Da Yu'er. When Huang Taiji was angry at Da Yu'er for not giving him her heart, Zhezhe insisted that Da Yu'er had fulfilled her duty as his concubine. When Hailanzhu was causing tension in the imperial harem, Zhezhe was also on Da Yu'er's side. Zhezhe was remembered as a kind, just, and fair Empress who placed community unity over everything else.
Gui Taifei
Gui Taifei was Xiao Yu'er's maternal aunt and also one of Huang Taiji's concubines. I think she was kind of a sneaky character. She helped Xiao Yu'er get married to Dorgon, and she also tried to build some alliances for herself and her son Boguo'er.
Despite being civil, Gui Taifei still saw Da Yu'er as an opponent. In the drama, Boguo'er and Fulin were asked a number of questions to determine who'd be crowned the Emperor. Because of this "game," Gui Taifei was convinced that Boguo'er was supposed to be the Emperor anyway, and the only reason that he wasn't was because of technicalities in their little game/questionnaire.
Gui Taifei had also built an alliance with Wukeshan as Boguo'er had wanted to marry Wanru and Wukeshan wanted Wanru out of the way for his own daughter's peace of mind.
Despite her shady deeds, Da Yu'er could obviously sympathize with her when Boguo'er decided to commit suicide as he couldn't have Wanru. This drove Gui Taifei mad.
I feel bad for saying this but I feel that Gui Taifei's crying scene when Boguo'er died was not the most well acted. She was screaming, but her body language was just static, and it looked very strange overal.
Hailanzhu
Hailanzhu was Da Yu'er's older sister and eventually Huang Taiji's favourite concubine. She'd met Huang Taiji when she was visiting Da Yu'er. Apparently, she was previously married to an abusive man and widowed.
Obviously Hailanzhu had been through some trauma, so she was a little emotionally delicate. As I mentioned, I think Huang Taiji kind of liked that, as he could dominate her heart.
Soon it became clear that Hailanzhu was super insecure. As she became Huang Taiji's favourite, she started perceiving every other concubine as a threat, and being super passive aggressive at Huang Taiji when she thought he was spending time with his other concubines. If this was the old Hailanzhu, she never would've had the audacity to go off on Huang Taiji.
Hailanzhu and Huang Taiji had a son, who was declared the crown prince soon after his birth. Obviously this caused a stir because this was a literally baby who hadn't done anything to prove his worth.
Apparently this baby died because he'd inherited poor health from his mother. Hailanzhu took this very poorly, and accused Da Yu'er's son of cursing her son, WHICH HUANG TAIJI BELIEVED. I don't now how popular superstition was at this time, but as an Emperor, I felt he should've known better.
Hailanzhu fell ill as well, and when she was close to her death, she came to terms with her petty behaviour and poor attitude. She apologized to Zhezhe and Da Yu'er for purposely antagonizing them. In the end, I think she was at peace because she came to terms with Zhezhe and Da Yu'er, and also because she could finally see her baby again.
Daishan
Daishan was the oldest brother of the Aisin Gioro family. He was always a pacifist and a mostly reasonable and kind man. This was why Da Yu'er could rely on him to be on her side for most political issues.
In the end, Xiaozhuang had asked Daishan to help her get an oath from Dorgon in which Dorgon would promise that he would never become Emperor. This was Daishan's last deed before he passed away.
Amin
Amin was the second Aisin Gioro brother, and was one of the brothers who was constantly at odds with Huang Taiji and Dorgon. He had also tried to get Dorgon killed in battle. Da Yu'er had intended to get revenge on him, but Dorgon was able to do it himself. He was able to get Amin imprisoned forever, and Amin committed suicide soon after.
Manggultai
Manggultai was the second Aisin Gioro brother, and was also always at odds with Huang Taiji and Dorgon. I kind of forgot what happened to him, but he was out of the picture as soon as Amin was dead.
Dodo
Dodo was Dorgon's younger brother (same mother, I believe). He was supportive of Dorgon throughout their life, and I think he always pushed for him to achieve political greatness.
He eventually succumbed to smallpox. Da Yu'er accompanied him in his dying moments, as she'd also seen him as a younger brother.
Wukeshan
Wukeshan was Da Yu'er older brother, and a legitimate snowplow parent. He had a bigger role in the story when Da Yu'er was considering marriage for Fulin. The best option was Namuzhong, who was Wukeshan's daughter. As a Mongolian princess, this marriage would continue strengthening the political alliance between the Mongolian and Manchurian peoples.
However, we saw that Namuzhong was extremely spoiled. As things built up, Da Yu'er could no longer keep quiet to her brother. She never blew up at him, but it became clear that she did not appreciate her brother meddling in the imperial harem of the Manchurian royal family.
Wukeshan went so far as to personally visiting Wanru to tell her to back off from the Emperor, which is SUCH SNOWPLOW PARENT BEHAVIOUR. You're a grown man telling a young woman to not fall in love with a young man she's already rumoured to have a relationship with?
He himself had revealed to Da Yu'er that he'd sought Gui Taifei's help when trying to get Wanru married off and that enraged Da Yu'er.
I think Da Yu'er's struggles with her brother showed that she was a political figurehead in her own right despite not being a man. She was not a prince like her brother, but she was a representative of the Manchurian Qing Dynasty, and she would not have her authority questioned or disregarded.
Xiao Yu'er
Xiao Yu'er was Da Yu'er's younger sister. She was bratty and snobbish. She'd loved Dorgon from a young age. She could see that he was in love with Da Yu'er, but that just made her hate Da Yu'er even more.
It was clear from the beginning that Xiao Yu'er and Dorgon were not compatible. She didn't understand his quirks and hobbies. For example, she'd decorated Dorgon's horse stble and dressed up his horses, which Dorgon hated. He ruined the premises, which made Xiao Yu'er mad, but that was the extent of their good relationship.
Gui Taifei had agreed to speak on Xiao Yu'er's behalf with Zhezhe to try to arrange a marriage with Dorgon. Zhezhe had refused as Dorgon had said he wasn't thinking about marriage. Xiao Yu'er pulled strings to get an audience with Huang Taiji himself, which was inappropriate as the Empress was responsible for such issues, but he granted the marriage anyway.
Dorgon was cold with Xiao Yu'er as his wife. He'd even take on concubines, but it was clear that he was always distant with her. Xiao Yu'er was also in a difficult position when Dorgon was rising in power as she obviously hated Da Yu'er, but she also didn't want Dorgon to be taken down by Da Yu'er's opponents.
Dorgon and Xiao Yu'er had a conversation in which he finally admitted that he'd always love Da Yu'er. This actually calmed Xiao Yu'er down as she finally had a straight answer. She said that when Dorgon agreed to marry her, she hoped that he was giving her an opportunity to win his heart, but the fact was that she never had that opportunity. Dorgon had only agreed to the marriage as Da Yu'er had convinced him to do so. Afterwards, Xiao Yu'er committed suicide.
I looked up the actress for Xiao Yu'er and she was very young at the time but I was impressed with her performance. I believe she was only 19, but I felt that she was able to keep up in terms of against opposite more experienced actors.
Haoge
Haoge was Huang Taiji's eldest son. He'd initially accompanied Dorgon on his military missions, but also acted as a "spy" for Huang Taiji. Eventually, Haoge because Dorgon's enemey, and was constantly finding ways to take him down.
Fulin
Fulin was Xiaozhuang and Huang Taiji's son. In his youth, he was a good kid, likely due to the good education he received from Xiaozhuang.
When he grew into a teenager, Fulin became frustrated that he was an Emperor in name only, as he knew nothing about how to rule his country. What was particularly frustrating was that he powerless against his uncle Dorgon, who'd even begun not kneeling when greeting him.
Xiaozhuang arranged for Fulin's education with Hong Chengchou in secret, as their relationship with Dorgon became more tense. Fulin became the kind and intelligent ruler that he and his mother had hoped he'd become.
Fulin's tragic flaw, like his father and his uncle, was that he was very emotional. Fulin was willing to throw away his position of Emperor for Wanru, and this enraged Xiaozhuang. It wasn't his love for Wanru that angered her, as it became clear that Xiaozhuang actually did like Wanru. Wanru was smart and observant in the same ways that Xiaozhuang was in her youth. But Fulin didn't seem to understand the gravity of role, and how the country was supposed to come before everything.
After Wanru died, Fulin was overcome with grief. However, Xiaozhuang said that it wasn't just grief from Wanru's death, but rather grief from all the hardships he'd gone through. Fulin was quite young (24 years old I believe), but he was crowned at a very young age, and thus subject to a lot of duties and shady dealings that no child should have to go through.
Fulin wanted to become a Buddhist monk out of grief. He contracted smallpox and died, but that was in line with what he wanted anyway, because he just couldn't live on without Wanru in his life.
I think Xiaozhuang was angry with Fulin because he valued the position of Emperor so little. Xiaozhuang and everyone in the palace spent so many years developing Fulin into a good emperor who loved his citizens, and he was just going to give all of that away.
Obviously Fulin's death took a huge toll on Xiaozhuang's wellbeing. After Fulin died, she just felt so tired. But as Dodo said, Xiaozhuang always put the country first, and she knew that she had to keep going to guide the next Emperor.
Boguo'er
Boguo'er was Fulin's younger brother and son of Gui Taifei. He was always the rowdier brother of the two. He was not as well educated as Fulin, and thus didn't answer the questions "correctly" when he and Fulin were quizzed to determine who would become Emperor.
Boguo'er fell in love with Wanru, and had asked his mom if she could arrange the marriage on his behalf. We learned that Gui Taifei wasn't sure how to bring up the issue, but she got the backing from Wukeshan and that was how that betrothal came to be.
Of course, Boguo'er had done the right thing, as opposed to Fulin, who'd kept his romance under wraps. As Xiaozhuang said, if she'd known that Fulin had loved Wanru this much, she would've come up with a way to refuse Gui Taifei, but since she didn't think that Fulin liked her that much, she felt it was fine to agree to the marriage to Boguo'er.
Like the other men of the Aisin Gioro family, Boguo'er couldn't accept that he couldn't have Wanru's heart. He was also very bitter that she loved the Emperor. I think Boguo'er had a bit of an inferiority complex, as he insisted that he was the Emperor's equal, and only lost out to him in terms of rank. But as we know, the heart cares for none of that. Boguo'er committed suicide as he couldn't live in a world where he couldn't have Wanru.
Wanru
I believe Wanru was likely a Han Chinese girl. She'd met Fulin as a child but they didn't meet again until they were young adults. (Fun fact: young Wanru was played by Yang Zi)
Wanru, like many intelligent girls, didn't ever want to marry in to the imperial household. She knew it'd be a hard life.
However, as luck would have it, she fell in love with the Emperor, but was betrothed to Boguo'er. I'm not sure what Wanru's plan was before her marriage. She'd feign illness every time Boguo'er came to visit her, but that was not a long term solution.
After Boguo'er died, Fulin wrote an imperial edict without his mother's approval, bringing Wanru into the palace as a concubine. Wanru knew that the way that she was brought in was not a good one, and thus understood everyone's anger at her.
Wanru also understood that Xiaozhuang was under a lot of political pressure. Xiaozhuang herself said that she couldn't even appear to favour Wanru or else it'd look bad for the royal family. Wanru was just focused on playing the waiting game and hoping for Fulin's relationship with Xiaozhuang to remend itself. Wanru tried to help by cooking a dinner, which Xiaozhuang loved.
Over time, Xiaozhuang warmed up to Wanru, and it's clear that they were always going to get along swimmingly. Even as a kid, Wanru was smart and knew how to read the situation, and we saw that time and time again, when Fulin's impulses got the better of him, it was always Wanru who convinced him to do the right thing.
When Wanru and Fulin had a son, Fulin had planned for him to be named the Crown Prince. Out of jealousy, Namuzhong had the baby killed, and that took a toll on Wanru's health. She eventually died, but she tried to tell Fulin that her leaving was not the worst thing in the world, and that he should try to continue living his life. I'm pretty sure Wanru wanted Fulin to continue his life as a good Emperor, but Fulin didn't get the message and wanted to give up his position as Emperor.
Mengguqing
Mengguqing was Wanru's friend. They'd met as kids at the palace, and remained friends. Despite the fact that she also seemed to be a noble, she was kind of reduced to Wanru's snarky sidekick. She always advocated for Wanru, as Wanru was more sudued and quiet.
Namuzhong
Namuzhong was a very snobbish girl, and also unfortunately not the smartest. Da Yu'er had implied that her father had spoiled the heck out of her, which could be classified as bad parenting.
Namuzhong never got along with Fulin, and always looked down upon the Manchurians. She only became Empress because of the agreement between Xiaozhuang and Wukeshan, but she was always crossing the line.
Namuzhong complained that her plates and dishes were not gold, and had beaten a palace maid, all within the first three days of being married. Xiaozhuang vented to Sumu'er that even she would eat using old wares. The Emperor was cold to her, which understandably made her feel bad, but as Xiaozhuang said, she could also only do so much. She couldn't force the Emperor to have sex with her.
Namuzhong also enjoyed terrorizing the concubines, and anybody who wouldn't suck up to her. She especially hated Wanru. While Xiaozhuang couldn't control matters of the heart, she repeatedly berated Namuzhong for not being able to read the atmosphere.
When there was a party for Xuanye (the future Kangxi), Namuzhong and Fulin got into an argument. Xiaozhuang told Namuzhong and Fulin to stop bickering in an attempt to stop the conversation and to save the two of the face but Namuzhong continued on. After Fulin stormed off, Xiaozhuang berated her, telling Namuzhong that she'd given her an out but she still couldn't recognize it. We also saw that Namuzhong got extremely angry when everybody was cooing over the baby.
Namuzhong was used by the Prince of Jianjun in order to kill Wanru's baby. She'd instructed an imperial doctor to prescribe something that was bad for the baby. Namuzhong was outed by a maid who'd served her since their youth, as the maid could no longer deal with the consequences of having killed a baby.
That was the last straw for Namuzhong, and Xiaozhuang and Fulin had her demoted from Empress to a regular concubine.
Sumu'er
I really liked that this show gave so much screen time to servants. Many nobles had personal servants that followed them around, and therefore knew them better than their own parents and spouses.
Sumu'er had served Da Yu'er since they were rowdy kids in Mongolia. Sumu'er and Da Yu'er were usually on the same page. The first time that Sumu'er had really acted out on her own was when she posed as a ghost/created a ghostlike apparition to scare Hailanzhu and the Emperor. This protected the Emperor from killing Dorgon, as he believed the ghost was Lady Abahai.
In later years, Sumu'er would take initiative when trying to mend relationships between Xiaozhuang and Fulin. As a palace maid, Sumu'er was also privy to more information that palace servants wouldn't feel comfortable telling a person of authority.
Having been by Xiaozhuang's side for all these years, Sumu'er did also pick up on a lot of wisdom, learning about life principles, and supporting Da Yu'er throughout her troubles.
I much prefer how the servants were portrayed in this show over the Story of Minglan, where servants were just portrayed as yes-men/yes-women as opposed to people with their own abilities and wills. They were loyal, yes, but their loyalties were shown in different ways, which I thought was interesting.
Zhenge
Zhenge was Zhezhe's servant. We didn't see too much of her, and she eventually got married after Zhezhe passed away.
Huige
Huige was Hailanzhu's servant. We saw that a lot of Hailanzhu's shady actions were actually put in her brain by Huige. Huige would drum up drama by telling Hailanzhu lies about other people that she knew would push Hailanzhu to take action against others. The thing was, Hailanzhu was not very smart and would blindly believe Huige.
Hailanzhu reconciled with Zhezhe and Da Yu'er before she died, and I think Huige realized that there wasn't much she could do. She told the Emperor what Hailanzhu had said to the other concubines before her death. I think Huige truly understood that Hailanzhu was not meant to be this hateful sort of being.
Xiaonizi/Wu'erkuni
Xiaonizi was a Mongolian girl who was a servant of Dorgon's. We learned that she had a lover back in Mongolia, but Wukeshan had gifted her to Dorgon after he took an interest.
Xiaonizi had played along as the good servant, but it was part of her plan to get all of the dirt on Dorgon. Xiaonizi sought an audience with Xiaozhuang through Zhenge who was apparently her aunt, and Xiaonizi revealed why she wanted to take down Dorgon.
Even after Xiaonizi was manumitted, she gave all of the dirt on Dorgon to Dorgon's enemies and she killed herself. Xiaozhuang realized that Xiaonizi hated Dorgon so much that she wanted to completely ruin his reputation.
Tang Yizhong/Xiaotang
Xiaotang is so cute! He was Fulin's personal servant. They'd met because Fulin had admired Xiaotang's kites as a kid.
Xiaotang was timid and smiley, but always cared about the Emperor's wellbeing first and foremost. He wasn't the smartest, but he had more common sense than Fulin, who'd been raised as an Emperor from a young age.
As Fulin said, they would've been good friends if they weren't master and subject, but Xiaotang had also stated that they wouldn't have met if they weren't master and subject as Xiaotang had come from a poor family and being a servant was his only way to survive. Xiaotang knew Fulin better than anybody else, and had seen Fulin's entire romance with Wanru from beginning (since they were children) to end (death).
Xiaotang tried to stop Fulin from becoming a Buddhist Monk, and offered to die for him so that he'd return to his post. However, there wasn't much he could do after Fulin contracted smallpox.
After Fulin's death, Xiaotang turned to Buddhism. In a later scene, we saw Sumu'er visiting Xiaotang, along with Tang Daren and the cook, with whom the Emperor, Xiaotang, Wanru, and Mengguqing had spent much time with as young adults.
A-Dai
A-Dai was Namuzhong's maidservant. She'd served Namuzhong from the time they were in Mongolia, and had known about her bad behaviour for a while. Sometimes, A-Dai would try to talk Namuzhong down from acting rude or crossing the line. Fulin even noted that A-Dai was more aware of the rules than Namuzhong was.
After Namuzhong arranged for Wanru's son to die, A-Dai couldn't handle the guilt and confessed to Sumu'er right before committing suicide.
Fan Wencheng
Fan Xiansheng was a scholar who'd helped the Manchurians from the time that Huang Taiji was in power. He continued being a trusted Qing Dynasty advisor throughout the show.
Hong Chengchou
Hong Chengchou was originally captured from the Ming Dynasty, and refused to defect. Xiaozhuang was sent to convince him, and she succeeded. Hong Chengchou became a trusted advisor, and also Fulin's teacher.
Prince of Jianjun
I don't remember whose son he was, but he challenged Fulin's decisions. Fulin was open to Han customs and the advice from Han advisors, provided that they were good for all citizens. However, the Prince of Jianjun was skeptical of the Han, and believed in Manchurian tradition.
He was the one who suggested using the Empress to kill Wanru's son.
Themes
Emotions vs. Responsibilities
Many characters in this story were unable to overcome grief or other emotional issues. Those who were able to prioritize their responsibilities to the country and the people over their personal emotional wants tended to survive until the end (or tragically passed away due to illness).
In the last episode, Xiaozhuang lamented that Huang Taiji, Dorgon, and Fulin were all blinded by their emotions. Huang Taiji was impulsive when it came to Hailanzhu and even named their child crown prince despite it having no basis. Dorgon was always intent on marrying Da Yu'er even after they'd become prominent political figures and it'd look bad on the country if they did marry. And of course, Fulin wanted to give up his position of Emperor to whichever Joe Schmoe because he just wanted Wanru.
On the other hand, women in the olden days were used to putting their other responsibilities before their own feelings. Women were always expected to be mothers and wives first before their own people. In Xiaozhuang's case, she also had to be a political leader before she was a mother. As Sumu'er and Xiaozhuang discussed, women just had to get over this hurdle and they'd be able to survive anything. Perhaps it was because men were presented with the opportunity and possibility of having everything that it destroyed them when they couldn't.
Overall
I quite liked this drama. I liked it most because it was very efficient with its story telling and didn't waste my time with filler. The more old fashioned way that this show was shot made the story, writing, and acting the main focuses of the show, and it really shown a spotlight on these strengths. This show wasn't as grand as many historical Cdramas now (less epic, less glamorous, less luxurious), but the acting was completely unfiltered and showed us how a story can still be so deeply and emotionally told with less. And Xiaozhuang was such a strong character who was also observant and kind. Maybe she is a bit too perfect, but I love how calm and calculated she is without losing the emotional side of herself.