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
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
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
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
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
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