Drama in the Palace Trivia Quiz

Answer: Qin Shi Huang

"The Legend of Haolan" is a fictional account of Qin Shi Huang's mother. Forced to marry an older man, Li Haolan attempts to escape her fate by begging her first love to marry her. Her stepmother learns of this and orders Haolan's death. Haolan survives the ordeal but learns that her reputation has been besmirched by her stepmother, who claimed that Haolan had eloped with a stranger. Haolan's stepmother then sells Haolan into slavery. She is bought by a merchant Lu Buwei, who has close ties to Ying Yiren, a prince of Qin and a royal hostage of Zhao. Vowing revenge on her family, Haolan forms a partnership with Lu Buwei and they scheme to gain entry into the imperial court. Lu Buwei gifts Haolan to Ying Yiren and she eventually bears Ying Yiren a son, Ying Zheng, who would become Qin Shi Huang.

This question was plotted by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Prime Minister

"The Legend of Lu Zhen" starred Zhao Liying as the titular character and was an adaptation of the novel "Female Prime Minister" by Zhang Wei. The story began with Lu Zhen being framed for the murder of her father by her jealous stepmother and her subsequent acquittal. When the stepmother's original plan to get rid of her failed, Lu Zhen was forced to flee to avoid being married off as a concubine. She then met Prince Gao Zhan (who later became Emperor Wucheng) and used their relationship to secure herself a role at the court of his elder half-brother Emperor Xiaozhao. Despite becoming friends with the Emperor, she played a prominent role in securing the throne for Gao Zhan and was granted the title of prime minister as he was unable to marry her and make her his empress.

Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81 successfully schemed to include this question in the quiz.

Answer: Tang

The series is based on events that occurred in the 7th- and 8th-century Tang Dynasty. The Neil Armstrong clue was a reference to Tang being the drink of astronauts. The series ran for 96 episodes on Hunan TV and was one of the most expensive series in Chinese TV history. Fan Bingbing starred as the Empress and her production company produced the series.

Fan Bingbing plays Wu Ruyi, the character based on the real life Wu Zetian. It follows her rise, fall, and re-entry to the royal court. She goes from consort to nun to co-ruler to outright ruler over the course of the series.

This question was placed in the quiz by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619 who cannot stand the taste of Tang.

Answer: False

Set in the Tang Dynasty, the series centres on Princess Taiping, the daughter of China's only female emperor, Wu Zetian. The princess is a spoilt and pampered young lady who falls in love with a commoner named Xue Shao. Her mother, the empress, is happy to allow the marriage but Xue Shao is already wed and, as a result, turns her down. The empress, seeking to ensure her daughter's happiness, arranges for the murder of Xue Shao's wife. This leads to Xue Shao's suicide in front of the royal family and an awakening in the royal princess as to exactly how much power her mother wields, which leads to a significant change in her life.

First broadcast on CCTV-8 in mainland China, the series starred Chen Hong as the Princess Taiping. It would go on to win several awards at the 2000 China TV Golden Eagle Awards, including Best Television Series.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19, who didn't hear properly when told the series was about power and shouted "Watt".

Answer: Beijing

Tan Yunxian's family had served as court physicians to the Ming rulers for several generations. Played by Cecilia Liu (known for her roles in the television series "Chinese Paladin 3" and "Scarlet Heart") the 50-episode series tells of Tan Yunxian's struggles to undertake medical training after her grandfather was falsely accused of malpractice and the family tradition of becoming a doctor was abandoned. The plot has her romantically involved with two brothers, who are royal siblings and also physicians, in a convoluted love triangle. The series covers some 22 years of Tan's life and recounts how she rose to become the most famous female doctor of the Ming Dynasty.

Cecilia Liu won the Most Influential Actress award in 2016 for her portrayal of Tan Yunxian and was nominated as Best Actress in the 22nd Huading Awards the following year.

The historical person of Tan Yunxian lives on through her book "Sayings of a Female Doctor", but apart from that, the storyline of the series is highly fictionalised. The Forbidden City was constructed between 1406 and 1420; it served as the Imperial residence until 1924, and is where "The Imperial Doctress" series was set.

This question was implanted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's VegemiteKid.

Answer: Kangxi

"Xiaozhuang Epic", or "Xiaozhuang Mishi" in Mandarin, chronicles the life of Dayu'er and her ascent through the Qing royal family. In the drama series, Dayu'er, whose name means jade, is a Mongol princess who is in love with Dorgon, the son of a Jurchen (Manchu) chieftain. However, she is given in marriage to Dorgon's older brother, Hong Taiji, the eventual founder of the Qing Dynasty, for political reasons. Hong Taiji is aware where with whom Dayu'er's affections lie and his relationship with Dorgon is further strained upon the forced suicide of Dorgon's mother. Dayu'er has a son, Fulin, with Hong Taiji. With Dayu'er's help, the young Fulin is enthroned as Emperor Shunzhi after Hong Taiji's death. Dorgon acts as Regent to Shunzhi but is stripped of his power when Shunzhi comes of age. Shunzhi's health declines and he passes away, leaving behind his young son Xuanye, who becomes Emperor Kangxi.

In history, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang wielded much influence in the Qing court and she was highly respected for her wisdom and political acumen. She is credited with grooming Shunzhi and Kangxi into their position as emperors, and Kangxi eventually became one of the greatest emperors of the Qing Dynasty and in Chinese history. "Xiaozhuang Epic" focuses on Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's wisdom and resilience in the face of opposition as she does what is best for her son, grandson and ultimately the Qing empire.

Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing tried to polish this question but was jaded.

Answer: A near fatal car accident

Our heroine is Zhang Xiao, a 21st-century woman involved in a car crash, who finds herself in the body of one of her past incarnations, Ma'er'tai Ruoxi. She has travelled back to the Qing Dynasty, becomes involved with the sons of the Emperor, and sits smack bang in the centre of a massive battle for the throne.

The series was released in China on Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) in 2011 and was such a critical and commercial hit that a sequel followed hot on its heels. A "time slip" is a literary device that send a character either backward or forward in time by some unknown means. The 2006 TV series "Life on Mars" is built around a police officer in 2006, involved in a serious car accident, who wakes up as a police officer at the same station in the 1970s.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who joined a time-travelling club. Their next meeting is being held last week.

Answer: The Yongzheng Emperor

The Yongzheng Emperor, also known as Aisin-Gioro Yinzhen, was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty and reigned from 1722 to 1735. In real life his court included a harem consisting of numerous official consorts, concubines and other attendants, and it was the politics and machinations within this group that formed the basis of both the novel "Empresses in the Palace" by Liu Lianzi and the 2011 Chinese TV show based on it. The main protagonist Zhen Huan (played by Sun Li) moved up the ranks of the Emperor's harem as she gained his love and became a favourite. However, as a result she also became a target of a jealous rival who orchestrated her downfall and exile to a nunnery. She later fell in love with the Emperor's brother, but believing him to be dead, rejoined the court and regained the Emperor's trust, eventually rising to the position of leader of the Imperial Harem.

In "Empresses in the Palace", Zhen Huan (later known as Noble Consort Xi) conspired to murder the Emperor after he began to suspect that he was not the father of her children. The real Yongzheng Emperor is believed to have died of poisoning - but ironically most likely as the result of an overdose of an "elixir of immortality".

This question was concocted by Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81.

Answer: Redress

In "Story of Yanxi Palace", Wei Yingluo follows in her sister's footsteps and enters the palace as an embroiderer. Her sister had died with her honour besmirched and Yingluo's goal was to discover the truth of her sister's death and to clear her sister's name. Empress Fuca takes a liking to Yingluo and arranges for Yingluo to be her personal maid. The two of them develop a close relationship and Yingluo is devastated when Empress Fuca passes away. Yingluo discovers that Empress Fuca's death was caused by the emperor's other consorts and she resolves to have the culprit punished. In order to do this, Yingluo charms the emperor and becomes one of his consorts. With her newfound position, Yingluo succeeds in exposing the people responsible for Empress Fuca's death. Yingluo also discovers the identity of the person who wronged her sister and her revenge was complete with the execution of that person.

Yanxi Palace is the abode assigned to Yingluo when she was made consort.

"Story of Yanxi Palace" was a hit with viewers. Instead of an amiable female, the heroine is uncompromising in her principles and does what it takes to achieve her goals. The series was also praised for its attention to costume and setting, accurately depicting Qing Dynasty palace life at that time.

This question was stitched together by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: My Fair Princess

Fan Bingbing was one of the breakout stars of "My Fair Princess", a low-budget Chinese TV series that became a massive hit in East Asia and Southeast Asia. The series was based on the legend of an adopted commoner-born daughter of Emperor Qianlong during the 18th-century Qing Dynasty. Fan Bingbing played a supporting role as Jinsuo in the series.

Eliza Doolittle was played by Audrey Hepburnn and is the star of "My Fair Lady".

This question was fairly written by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.