Chasing Dramas

A seemingly harmless garden viewing party at the Empress's palace ends in chaos when the Empress's cat "accidentally" attacks the pregnant concubine, causing her to have a miscarriage. This accident was orchestrated by none other than the Empress herself and her new pawn, An Ling Rong. In a surprise twist, Zhen Huan, the main character, finds out she is also pregnant. While she is very pleased, it...

Episode 23 and 24 is focused on the plague that rocks the imperial palace. Even though everyone is trying to find a cure, Consort Hua manages to infect Shen Mei Zhuang with the disease as a way to get rid of her for good. Fortunately, Zhen Huan steps in and asks her friend, the imperial doctor, Wen Shi Chu to help. Zhen Huan is also able to help clear Shen Mei Zhuang's name after the fake pregnanc...

Hua Fei's side hustle is working quite well for her. She is making a fortune accepting bribes. Everyone at the Palace more or less knows what's happening but will anyone stop her? Meanwhile, Zhen Huan and An Ling Rong continue to drift apart. It's almost the New Year so the concubines head to the opera! We'll discuss Peking Opera and exactly what the ladies pick to watch. Only in this drama do the...

Hua Fei humiliates the main character Zhen Huan and An Ling Rong after summoning these two ladies to perform for her and the Emperor. We analyze the two poems that were performed. This humiliation, coupled with the fact that a cute, younger concubine named Chun Er is becoming closer to Zhen Huan, creates deeper chasms between Zhen Huan and An Ling Rong. By the end of the episode, we start seeing A...

In this jam packed episode, Zhen Huan finally wins a round against Hua Fei. She unknowingly flirts with a handsome Prince and confronts a backstabbing sister. Even though Hua Fei seems to have regained favor, it's not all flowers and roses for her. The Imperial Court and Imperial Harem are closely linked. Does anyone understand the pieces on the board?

It's looking like Zhen Huan has solidified her position in the Imperial Harem as her friend An Ling Rong gains favor from the Emperor. Hua Fei plots to destroy Zhen Huan, using the princess as a pawn. The princess's mother has no choice but to agree. After a few close calls, Zhen Huan finally realizes that there's a mole in her palace. Who could it be?

Things are getting desperate for some ladies in the Imperial Harem. New alliance need to be made while cracks are starting to from in others. Zhen huan must push another woman into the Emperor's bed. Who does she choose? How do they do it? To catch the Emperor's eye, you need more than just singing and flowers.

All the excitement and happiness around Shen Mei Zhuang's pregnancy unfortunately turns out to be...fake. She's the victim of a scheme to get her killed and she fell for it. Her "fake pregnancy plot" was uncovered right in front of the Emperor and he has her punished. Zhen Huan tries to protect herself from the fallout and save her friend but has to endure humiliation from all sides.

Zhen Huan just dazzled everyone with her dance the last episode but Hua Fei steals her thunder to regain favor with the Emperor. An Ling Rong receives some bad news about her father. The three ladies must weigh their options to save An Ling Rong's father. Alliances are created and cracks are formed. Who wins this round?

The ladies of the Imperial Harem have settled down in the Summer Palace. All seems quiet but Hua Fei's not going to stay out of favor for long. There's a birthday celebration for a princess and we get to meet a lot of princes. At the birthday bash, Zhen Huan performs one of the most iconic dances of the drama. Will that be enough to secure her favor with the Emperor?

Following all of the recent drama, the Emperor decides to take a summer retreat with several ladies in his imperial harem. They head out to the beautiful Yuan Ming Yuan (圆明园) Gardens. Zhen Huan and her friend, Shen Mei Zhuang, marvel at the luxurious amenities of this summer palace, which unfortunately, no longer exist today. Though calm on the surface during this trip, we see displays of the E...

Episode 11 of Empresses in the Palace sees the main character, Zhen Huan, and her friends putting on a show to root out the main culprit behind the plot against Zhen Huan's life in the last episode. The ghost show is successful and causes the main antagonist, Hua Fei, to lose an ally. This episode is very fun to watch and we have an even more enjoyable time discussing ghosts, superstitions and tra...

Zhen huan investigates a murder attempt. She finally decides to enter the battlefield that is the imperial harem with surprisingly good results

We discuss episode 9 of 后宫甄嬛传 Empresses in the Palace. Zhen Huan has received a lot of attention from the Emperor, causing much strife within the rest of the Imperial Harem. There's a murder attempt to one of our main characters and it becomes quite obvious that life within the Palace is perilous.

We are discussing episode 8 of 后宫甄嬛传, Empresses in the Palace. The Emperor and Zhen Huan finally have a romantic getaway. The Emperor spends much of this episode showcasing how much he favors her, much to the dismay of the other concubines in the Imperial Harem.

In Episode 6 and 7, the Emperor is enjoying spending time with, what we're calling as a Level 1 opponent, Yu Ying Er. She is a maid that is pretending to be the person the Emperor overhead in the plum garden. But of course, we know that person was actually Zhen Huan. Yu Ying Er is now a favored concubine in the Imperial Harem and is flaunting her favoritism everywhere, much to the annoyance of not...

It's winter time and the main character, Zhen Huan, is still "sick". This results in disrespect by not only her own servants, but servants who are supposed to provide her with much needed materials to survive through the cold. Luckily, her good friend, Shen Mei Zhuang, steps in to help. Meanwhile, at the New Year's Celebration, the Emperor decides to take an evening stroll to see plum blossoms. He...

In this episode, Zhen Huan decides to feign illness to avoid attention from the Emperor and confrontation by the other concubines after discovering remnants of a sinister plot against the previous inhabitant of her pavilion. We discuss this sinister plot and how it's related to Chinese medicine. In her absence, Zhen Huan's close friend, Shen Mei Zhuang, starts receiving attention from the Emperor....

Zhen Huan and the newly selected concubines are settling into the palace. They quickly find out how deadly and dangerous the imperial harem, or hou gong, can be after just one formal court greeting in front of the Empress and Hua Fei.

In Episode 2, we discuss Zhen Huan's deliberation by the Emperor and Empress Dowager as to whether or not she has a spot in the palace. The latter tries a few interesting tricks to keep Zhen Huan from gaining entrance while the Emperor is smitten Spoiler alert: Zhen Huan gets chosen to become a concubine. We also meet the rest of the ladies in the Imperial Palace which makes for an entertaining te...

Chasing Dramas analyzes the episode 1 of hou gong zhen huan zhuan (后宫甄嬛传), Empresses in the Palace. The show begins in 1722 during the Qing Dynasty under the reign of Yong Zheng. We meet several key players in the palace and learn about how ladies are selected to be concubines in the imperial harem

Welcome to Chasing Dramas! We are excited to start discussing Empresses in the Palace 后宫甄嬛传. This episode will provide some historical background on the Qing Dynasty and cultural norms for the Imperial Harem before we jump into discussing the actual show.

Welcome to Chasing Dramas! This is a podcast that discuss all things Chinese dramas! Karen and Cathy are two Chinese drama enthusiasts who discuss the latest in the Chinese entertainment industry and explore Chinese history through historical Chinese TV shows! This episode introduces basic information about ourselves, Chinese Dramas, and the shows that we will discuss.