Two of the most beloved Chinese historical dramas — *Empresses in the Palace* (*The Legend of Zhen Huan*) and *The Legend of Mi Yue* — open and close each episode with songs that are far more than background music. In Chinese drama, the theme is a distilled statement of the whole story, and these are some of the finest ever written. Below is a short guide to each: what the song means, and the centuries-old poetry hidden inside it.
*(Each guide explains the song’s meaning and paraphrases its sense in my own words; it does not reproduce the copyrighted lyrics. The ancient poems quoted are public domain.)*
## *Empresses in the Palace* (*The Legend of Zhen Huan*)
The story of Zhen Huan, who enters the harem of the Yongzheng Emperor and rises to the summit of the court — winning everything, and losing what she most wanted.
**Opening theme — “Hongyan Jie” (The Doom of Beauty).** Why the Buddhist word *jié* turns beauty from a blessing into a curse, and how the song mourns every flower in the harem.
→ Read: **[Hongyan Jie — The Doom of Beauty, Explained](（https://en.satoe3.com/empresses-in-the-palace-theme-song-hongyan-jie-the-doom-of-beauty/）)**
**Ending theme — “Feng Huang Yu Fei” (The Phoenixes Fly Together).** A 2,500-year-old wedding blessing from the *Book of Songs*, turned inside out into a song of farewell — the secret love song of Prince Guo and Zhen Huan.
→ Read: **[Feng Huang Yu Fei — The Ending Song, Explained](（https://en.satoe3.com/feng-huang-yu-fei-the-ending-song-of-empresses-in-the-palace-explained/）)**
## *The Legend of Mi Yue*
The story of Mi Yue, who rose from a mistreated palace girl to become Queen Dowager Xuan of Qin — the first woman in Chinese history to rule as regent, four generations before the First Emperor.
**Opening theme — “Full Moon” (Mǎn Yuè).** The song of a woman at the very summit of power, who hears her own loneliness in the fullness of the moon.
→ Read: **[Full Moon — The Theme Song, Explained](（https://en.satoe3.com/full-moon-man-yue-the-meaning-behind-the-legend-of-mi-yues-theme-song/)**
**Ending theme — “Yiren Rumeng” (The Beloved, Like a Dream).** Its title reaches back 2,500 years to a single famous line: *the one I long for is across the water.*
→ Read: **[Yiren Rumeng — The Ending Song, Explained](https://en.satoe3.com/yiren-rumeng-the-ending-song-of-legend-of-mi-yue-its-meaning-and-the-2500-year-old-poem-behind-it/)**
**The poem behind it — “Jianjia” (The Reeds).** The 2,500-year-old love poem from the *Book of Songs* that gave “Yiren Rumeng” its title and its ache.
→ Read: **[Jianjia (The Reeds) — A 2,500-Year-Old Love Poem](https://en.satoe3.com/jianjia-the-reeds-a-2500-year-old-love-poem-from-the-book-of-songs/)**
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