Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace and Story of Yanxi Palace are two dramas currently airing that are about Emperor Qianlong and his inner court. The story is told from very different perspectives with the heroine in one playing the villain in the other. If we’re keeping count, the story actually goes back further than that as the family ancestry of Emperor Qianlong would have started with his father, Emperor Yongzheng.
Do you remember Nicky Wu in Scarlet Heart? He played the 4th Prince who later became Emperor Yongzheng.
In the same year that Scarlet Heart came out in 2011, Legend of Zhen Huan was released with Chen Jianbin playing Emperor Yongzheng and Sun Li playing Zhen Huan who will eventually become Empress Xiaoshengxian.
In her older years, she will be the Empress Dowager in Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace, Story of Yanxi Palace and Lao Fo Ye in My Fair Princess. It’s funny since My Fair Princess is the oldest among the three since it first aired in 1998. In the photo, you can actually see the physical similarities in the actresses playing the part and you can imagine the character growing older in front of your eyes.
Zhen Huan’s adopted son is none other than Emperor Qianlong. He’s the trending topic now due to two dramas centered around the character, played by Wallace Huo and Nie Yuan.
Qianlong’s first empress, Fu Cha, is played by Dong Jie and Qin Lan.
Qianlong’s second wife, Ulanara, the Step Empress, is played by Zhou Xun and Charmaine Sheh. Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace portrays her as the main character while in the other, she’s a villain.
She was the hated villain 20 years ago too when Dai Chunrong played the Empress in My Fair Princess.
Qianlong’s 3rd Empress, the Imperial Noble Consort, is played by Li Chun and Wu Jinyan. Wu Jinyan has skyrocketed in fame as the main character in Story of Yanxi Palace.
She is also portrayed as a good person when Chen Li played Ling Fei in My Fair Princess.
Of course, it’s not a proper imperial drama without the royal consorts. Here are the rest of the ladies from both dramas –
I personally like the choice of actresses playing the consorts in Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace. I guess they look to be closer in age and somewhat alike so it gives the impression that Emperor Qianlong has a certain type which makes it more realistic.
However, I like the actresses who play the three Empresses in Story of Yanxi Palace. They seem more regal than their counterparts in Ruyi.
I don’t know. It’s just my opinion. What’s yours?
To wrap it up, Emperor Qianlong, played by Zhang Tielin, had kids which paved the way for the 1998 TV series My Fair Princess. Looking at Fan Bingbing, Ruby Lin, Zhao Wei and Alec Su, this was so long ago!
erdeaka
what do you think about the actors who play Qianlong?
Anonymous
Wallace is definitely in the run for the most handsome Emperor
Lovepearl
Yes. Walkace is the most handsome Qian Long ����
Sunny
Seeing that picture of Bu Bu Jing Xin reminds me of when dramas were reasonable length. Only 35 episodes! How I miss those days!
Anonymous
Why is it so hard to access this site? I can’t even read an article without being directed for 5 times! It’s getting really annoying -.-“
Anonymous
try using an adblocker? I don't redirected at all
magarela
thank you for this. very interesting. question: if the dramas are on the same time line and the character are the same, why the clothes and hairstyles are different?
Unknown
Not sure about the other version, but Yanxi palace tried to stick as true to that period. In a long bts video they show they used old the old technique to embroider the patterns. They used old paintings and references to follow hairstyles and customs (3 earings, the reason giving in episode 1/2 why it was uncommon). Because they tried to be as true as possible to made the clothing from scratch and used more subdued colors. Other period series often reuse/borrow from other dramas. Thiuggh zhen huan was a visual gorgeous from the clothing, to hairstyle, hat accessories and makeup and how it changes (light makeup innocent to very fierce and strong later one) , judging by the old paitings, its vastly different
Anonymous
It doesnt work for me. And i only have this problems with phones which I what I mainly use. The format of the comment is getting annoying too. It really discourages readers to leave a reply or interact. I wish they use Disqus so I can reply to people
Anonymous
Zhang Tielin definitely has a very powerful king aura, he'd played as many other kings as well convincingly.
Adam Cheng's young Qian Long was charismatic, he portrayed the king as a cheerful but mature man with decent kung fu. The decorations and styling for both him and Zhang Tielin made everything look extremely grand and impressively majestic.
Maybe the modern ones try to use more expensive items, I really don't know and cannot tell but they just don't make the emperor look as convincingly splendid and dignified…maybe the servants are a bit less than in the past? I don't know but looking back at HZGG and Adam Cheng their kingly status looked really powerful.
Most handsome Qianlong ever should be Nie Yuan!
Anonymous
Wallace is a good looking guy but playing as Qian Long, his character's personality is the type that lacks intelligence and likeableness. It's really hard to root for the main characters in Ruyi and the side characters are only ok. But in Yanxi Gonglue, each and everyone was interesting enough to keep the show going.
Unknown
Surprisingly I am really liking Yanxi compared to Ruyi, I always found the Step Empress an interesting figure both in reality and on screen. I think the thing I love about Yanxi is the fact that all the characters are different from the usual palace dramas the emperor is not this kind of a dick but still likable especially with the way he is usually aware of when the consorts are trying to lie or manipulate him and I love that Ling is kind of manipulative from the start she is smart and I love the acting of the actresses playing her also the interacrions between her and the emperor is fun to watch from the start.
My main issue with Ruyi is the characters feel a little predictable, but tjis is not really their fault as it is based on history and we know what is going to happen.
Tony Trisno
Based on history I personally like Yanxi Palace rather than Ruyi. Ulanara or Hoifa Nara never gained emperor's love as she buried far from emperor's tomb.
Sorry to say, Wallace Huo doesn't suit to play the role as emperor I Think. ?
Andrea Ignacio
I enjoyed both for what they are, but preferred Ruyi. Yanxi seems cartoonish and simplified. Gao over-acted less believably than Huixian in Ruyi. I started fast forwarding past Gao by the 5th episode. Never felt that way about Jia in Ruyi. Chun and Jia were the same, in Yanxi. Like cartoon characters acting a certain way because it was in the script. In Ruyi they felt *real*. Wei Y in Yanxi was so absurdly a Mary Sue – there’s no way she’d be that educated and competent, but still be illiterate. Whereas the genius actress who played Ruyi was a revelation to watch every single episode. She’s a spectacular actress. Ruyi looked and felt more realistic and expensive – the costumes and colors were beautiful. Yanxi looked like the cheap version – to my eyes. But I’m not Chinese. I read a lot that it’s supposedly more authentic – or more appropriate to the exact timeline – but Ruyi was so much more beautiful. This extended to the sets. Ruyi’s sets were more layered, and detailed, and felt real, whereas Yanxi just felt empty of detail, and simplified. Like a “set”. Like a highschool play vs a major movie. The primary thing I read on most sites is praise of Yanxi by comparison, but I just don’t get it. By the end of Ruyi I loved the people and cried and wanted it to keep going. The end of Yanxi just felt like I’d finished a reeeeeeeally long tv series that wasn’t believable.
M. Kameron
I saw both movies. I watched Yanxi first and really liked it. I found it light, comical, with dips into a more serious, darker tones from time to time. After watching bit parts several times, however, it became a little more “drama” to me. Especially the burning boat scene where everyone came together and the emperor’s brother was apologizing to out loud that he failed, he FAILED, he failed to save the emperor. And oh well, he guess he’s in charge now, everyone see the new Emperor, him (sniff, sniff, alligator tears.) And then then each of the major characters in the story started filing into the scene…and I thought, wow, this is just like a Chinese whodunit! Awesome. The End. Good movie! I liked it.
Then there was Ruyi, and I read that not many people liked it because it was “heftier” than Yanxi, that most of the movie was “negative” and depressing. I thought then and there that I wasn’t watching Ruyi because it would spoil the story satisfaction that I got from Yanxi. But eventually I did check it out…by accident. It popped up in one of my searches causing me to watch without me knowing it was Ruyi. The first scene I ever saw was one of the most emotional ones in the movie. It was when Ling Yunche was kneeling, looking so down and defeated, and Ruyi, who I thought had such a beautiful face, started to cry. Slowly at first, and then that painful sobbing that literally ripped my heart out. Not even 5 minutes into the movie, and I was bawling! It pulled me in hook, line and sinker, and I’m glad I did because the movie was absolutely beautiful! Every episode was so rich and gorgeously shot… it was a feast for the eyes! And the soundtrack and the story itself (thank God for subtitles) left me yearning for more than just watching this story. I just had to do a bit of background research to fully understand the whole era! I know nothing about Chinese royalty, let alone the lives of emperors and concubines. But Ruyi made me cared about the characters, even the villians, to the point, even the emperor…after I called him an asshole quite a few times. Oh! the drama he must have gone thru being surrounded by all that female energy! And.. what’s Love got to do with it when the goal is to have as many children as you possible can because that would truly make you THE MAN! And what about the loneliness all those concubines must have felt. I read somewhere that there were some that was NEVER summoned by the Emperor ever! Man, this would have been a time when the internet would have made some of those lonely hours fly by quicker…but then again, they might get killed for thinking about the Internet more so than you would the Emperor!
And the character Ruyi was the perfect Empress. Calm, collect, smart, tactful, fair, and just all around a great protagonist. I loved her. I wouldn’t mind having her in my corner had I been one of those concubines. The way
she thought over matters, how she handled them especially when the Emperor was just being a complete asshole, the way she worked to gaining Dowager’s trust, the way she connected and assisted those who needed help, even the ones who hated her guts. And the way she gave the last word to those who decided to go against her, visibly regretting their decision in the end… yeah, amazing character. The actress, Zhou Xun, did a great job playing Ruyi. As did everyone in the movie. I thought Prince Rong “Yongqi” was so handsome, I loved Yuhu and RongPei. I felt Ling Yunche’s sorrow. And I eventually even liked Dowager.
Yea. I preferred Ruyi over Yanxi.