Plot
The series is set in a mythical Chinese world populated by humans, dragons and demons. In the past, the dragons had saved the humans by helping them defeat the demons. However, the human Emperor feared that the dragons posed a threat to him so he turned against the dragons and imprisoned the Dragon King in ice.
Yuanbao, a young orphan, was raised by Wang Jili, a street performer. He lives with Wang Jili and his daughter, Wang Mingzhu, and gets along well only with Feicui, an ugly-looking but kind-hearted fellow orphan. One day, Yuanbao accidentally frees the dragon princess, Shuilinglong, who had been trapped in an enchanted ball. Shuilinglong feels grateful towards Yuanbao so she possesses Feicui, who has fallen into a coma after an injury, and takes over Feicui's identity and changes Feicui's appearance to that of a beautiful woman.
Li Bin, the human crown prince, is good-natured and benevolent unlike his father, the ruthless Emperor, and he often ventures out of the palace to interact with commoners. He is close friends with Yan Cheng, who is engaged to Wang Mingzhu but actually loves Feicui. After Shuilinglong takes over Feicui's identity, she falls in love with Li Bin. Yan Cheng does not know that she is not really Feicui so he feels very sad upon seeing that "Feicui" apparently loves Li Bin now. Li Bin reciprocates Shuilinglong's feelings towards him, but feels somewhat guilty for stealing "Feicui" from Yan Cheng.
While searching for her father, Shuilinglong encounters and reunites with her fellow dragons, including her childhood playmate Xiaobailong, who has disguised himself as a human called Yao Lie. Yao Lie works for the First Princess, the Emperor's sister, and secretly plans to save the Dragon King and avenge the humiliation suffered by the dragons. Wang Mingzhu and Yao Lie also start a romance after they meet each other.
With Shuilinglong's help, Yuanbao discovers that he is not really an orphan: his mother is actually the First Princess and his father was executed by the Emperor for his close relationship with the Dragon King. Yuanbao, who was then still very young, was saved by an immortal when the Emperor tried to kill him, and was subsequently adopted by Wang Jili. The First Princess has been secretly holding a grudge against the Emperor for her husband's death and her son's disappearance, so she has been plotting to kill Li Bin and the Emperor. However, she gives up her desire for vengeance after she reunites with her long-lost son.
Shuilinglong and Xiaobailong train hard to increase their powers and eventually manage to rescue the Dragon King. The conflict between humans and dragons seemingly comes to an end when both sides grudgingly agree to a marriage between Shuilinglong and Li Bin upon seeing how much they love each other. However, in a twist of events, the Emperor breaks the truce and kills the Dragon King, and later gets killed by Yao Lie in turn. Yao Lie, in his quest to increase his powers, betrays Wang Mingzhu's love for him and turns evil. He tries to force Shuilinglong to marry him instead. Shuilinglong, Yan Cheng, Li Bin and the others join forces to find an icy arrow to counter Yao Lie and defeat him. Yao Lie realises his misdeeds and repents.
In the end, Shuilinglong sees that Yan Cheng truly loves Feicui so she leaves Feicui's body and uses her powers to revive the real Feicui. Her spirit continues to wander around freely. Li Bin gives up his royal status and leaves to join Shuilinglong. Yao Lie leaves with Wang Mingzhu to lead a peaceful life. Yuanbao becomes the new emperor and promises to be a good ruler.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, personal name Li Longji, was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. Through two palace coups, he seized the throne and inherited an empire still in its golden age. He was initially assisted by capable chancellors like Yao Chong, Song Jing and Zhang Yue who were already serving as government officials before Xuanzong ascended the throne. However, under Emperor Xuanzong, the empire reached its turning point and went into sharp decline and near collapse, due to numerous political missteps throughout his long reign, such as over-trusting Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan, with Tang's golden age ending in the An Lushan Rebellion.
Journey to the West is a Hong Kong television series adapted from the 16th-century novel of the same title. Starring Dicky Cheung, Kwong Wah, Wayne Lai and Evergreen Mak, the series was produced by TVB and was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in November 1996. A sequel, Journey to the West II, was broadcast in 1998, but the role of the Monkey King was played by Benny Chan instead, due to contract problems between Dicky Cheung and TVB. Cheung later reprised the role in another television series The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra (2002), which was broadcast on TVB but not produced by the station.
The Book and the Sword is a 2008 Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. The series was first broadcast on CETV-3 in China in 2009. It starred Qiao Zhenyu, Adam Cheng, Niki Chow, and Liu Dekai.
Journey to the West is a Chinese television series adapted from the 16th-century novel of the same title. The series was directed and produced by Cheng Lidong and starred Zhenxiang, Victor Chen, Xie Ning and Mou Fengbin in the leading roles. It was first aired on Zhejiang Satellite TV (ZJSTV) in China on 14 February 2010. This version is not to be confused with the 2011 television series of the same title produced by Zhang Jizhong.
The Rise of the Tang Empire is a Chinese television series based on the events in the Zhenguan era during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty. The 50 episodes long series is directed by Zhang Jianya and written by Ah Cheng and Meng Xianshi. It was first broadcast on BTV in China in December 2006.
The Patriot Yue Fei is a 2013 Chinese television series based on the life of Yue Fei, a Song dynasty general widely regarded as a patriot and national hero in Chinese culture for his role in defending the Song empire against the Jurchen campaigns. While the plot is based on historical sources, it also includes elements of fiction and draws ideas from the novel General Yue Fei (說岳全傳) and other folktales on the general's life.
The Legend of Yang Guifei, also known as The Secret History of Concubine Yang, is a Chinese television series loosely based on the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty and his consort Yang Yuhuan. The series was directed by You Xiaogang and starred Yin Tao and Anthony Wong as the couple. It was first broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV from April to May 2010.
Beauty World, also known as Tang Gong Meiren Tianxia and World of a Beauty, is a Chinese fantasy-supernatural television series set in the Tang dynasty. It was directed by Lee Wai-chu, produced and written by Yu Zheng, and starred Zhang Ting, Ming Dow, Li Xiaolu, Mickey He, Zheng Guolin, Yang Mi and Tong Liya in the leading roles. The series is regarded as a counterpart to Beauty's Rival in Palace, a similar 2010 television series set in the Han Dynasty. It was first aired on 21 October 2011 on Guangzhou Zonghe Channel in mainland China.
The Empress of the Dynasty is a Taiwanese television series based on the life of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. Directed by Li Yueh-fung and produced by Lin Hui-chun, the series starred Angela Pan as Wu Zetian. It was first broadcast in Taiwan on CTV from 18 November 1985 to 10 January 1986.
Legend of Lu Zhen is a 2013 Chinese television series based on the novel Female Prime Minister (女相) by Zhang Wei. Directed by Li Huizhu, Zheng Wei'en and Liang Guoguan and produced by Yu Zheng and Mu Xiaohui, the series stars Zhao Liying and Chen Xiao. It was first broadcast on 5 May 2013 in China and subsequently aired in other Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan.
My Fair Princess III, also called My Fair Princess III: Heavenly Earth, is a 2003 television drama and the sequel of the 2-season series My Fair Princess (1998–1999). A joint production between Ho Jan Entertainment International Limited (可人國際影視文化傳播有限公司) in Hong Kong and Hunan Broadcasting System in Mainland China, it was also written by Taiwanese novelist Chiung Yao.
Eternal Love, also known as Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, is a 2017 Chinese television series starring Yang Mi and Mark Chao, directed by Lin Yufen. It is based on the xianxia novel of the same name from 2015 by Tang Qi Gong Zi. The series was broadcast on Zhejiang TV and Dragon TV from 30 January to 1 March 2017.
General and I is a 2017 Chinese television series based on Feng Nong's novel A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated. Directed by Ju Jueliang and written by Zhang Yongchen, the series stars Wallace Chung, Angelababy, Sun Yizhou and Gan Tingting. General and I aired on Hunan Television from 2 January to 10 February 2017.
The Legend of Dragon Pearl is a 2017 Chinese television series starring Yang Zi, Qin Junjie, Shu Chang and Mao Zijun. The series premiered on Anhui TV and Beijing TV on 8 May 2017. It aired airing two episodes per day from Monday to Wednesday at 22:00 (CST). VIP members of Youku get to view 12 episodes per week, released every Sunday at 3:00 (CST).
Goodbye My Princess or Eastern Palace is a 2019 Chinese television series based on the novel Eastern Palace by Fei Wo Si Cun; starring Chen Xingxu, Peng Xiaoran, and Shawn Wei. It aired on Youku starting February 14, 2019. It had a score of 7.5 points on Douban.
Court Lady is a 2021 Chinese television series produced by Yu Zheng, starring Xu Kai and Li Yitong.
Love and Redemption is a 2020 Chinese television series based on the novel Liu Li Mei Ren Sha (琉璃美人煞) by Shi Si Lang (十四郎). It premiered on Youku and Mango TV on August 6, 2020. It stars actors Cheng Yi as Yu Sifeng and Yuan Bingyan as Chu Xuanji.
The Queens (母仪天下) is a 2008 Chinese historical television series based on the life of Wang Zhengjun, an Empress of the Han dynasty who lived during the reign of seven Emperors.
Fake Princess is a 2020 Chinese television series starring Zhao Yiqin, Eleanor Lee, Garvey Jin and Chen Si Yu. The series aired on Mango TV from May 17 to June 1, 2020.
Love Like the Galaxy is a 2022 Chinese television series based on the novel, "Xing Han Can Lan, Xing Shen Zhi Zai" by Guan Xin Ze Luan (关心则乱). It stars Wu Lei and Zhao Lusi. The series is split into two parts, with first part starting on July 5, 2022. The second part premiered on July 27, 2022.
