后宫甄嬛传

後宮甄嬛傳

Hòugōngzhēnhuánzhuàn

popculture

Meanings

1 Empresses in the Palace (2011 Chinese TV drama)
2 also known as 甄嬛传; 76-episode Qing palace drama directed by Zheng Xiaolong

Characters

imperial consort; rear

(used in names)

biography; tale

Examples

《后宫甄嬛传》是最经典的宫斗剧。

《Hòugōng Zhēn Huán Zhuàn》shì zuì jīngdiǎn de gōngdòujù.

Empresses in the Palace is the most classic palace intrigue drama.

孙俪凭甄嬛传走红。

Sūn Lì píng Zhēn Huán Zhuàn zǒuhóng.

Sun Li became famous thanks to Empresses in the Palace.

她每年都要重刷一遍甄嬛传。

Tā měi nián dōu yào chóng shuā yī biàn Zhēn Huán Zhuàn.

She rewatches Empresses in the Palace every year.

Tips

culture

Aired 2011-2012, set in the Yongzheng Emperor's (雍正) reign. Spawned a massive meme culture called 甄学 — fans dissecting scene subtleties. Core vocabulary to know: 小主 (concubine address form), 臣妾 (consort self-reference), 本宫 (ruling-lady self-reference). Defined the 宫斗剧 (palace intrigue drama) genre.

mistakes

The name character 嬛 here reads huán, not xuān or qióng. 甄嬛 is a fictional character name.

In Pop Culture

孙俪 Sūn Lì

Sun Li

Lead actress playing 甄嬛; her career-defining role.

郑晓龙 Zhèng Xiǎolóng

Zheng Xiaolong

Director of the show, one of China's top mainstream TV directors.

Stroke Order

后 hòu

宫 gōng

甄 zhēn

嬛 huán

传 chuán