Ep 1-4
[Cathy]
Welcome to Chasing Dramas! This is the podcast that discusses Chinese culture and history through Chinese historical dramas. We are your hosts, Karen and Cathy.
Today, we are discussing the drama, 鹤唳华亭 or Royal Nirvana. The podcast is in English with proper nouns and certain Chinese phrases spoken in Mandarin Chinese. If you are new to the podcast, please do check out our website chasingdramas.com and feel free to reach out to us on twitter or instagram at Chasingdramas. In addition to transcripts we are working to upload for our podcast episodes, we also do have a number of drama reviews that we’ve written up as well for anyone looking to see what drama they should watch. If you like what you hear in this podcast, please please please do us a favor and leave us a rating on whatever platform you listen to us to!
This is the second of a 4 part series for the drama and today we will discuss the plot, characterization, and history of the first 4 episodes. We’ll break this drama into a few “cases”. The first one revolves around the capping ceremony. As always, I’ll finish with a quick book comparison.
A note for our listeners! The Crown Prince in Chinese is 太子. His name is 萧定权. We’ll be using these rather interchangeably so that we’re not always using “The Crown Prince” in English. Hopefully, our listeners will also pick up on some Chinese too!
[Karen]
The first heart-pounding 20 minutes of the first episode provides the key characters and conflicts we can expect in this 60 episode drama. On one side you have the eldest prince, 萧定棠, who does not want to head to his fief and instead remain in the capital city with his father, the Emperor, and his mother, an imperial noble consort or 贵妃。On the other, you have the crown prince, 萧定权，the 3rd son of the Emperor. Supporting him are his teacher, 卢世瑜, the Minister of Personnel or 吏部尚书 which represents the scholar faction at court and also his uncle, 顾思林，the most powerful general in the Emperor’s command. At the top balancing out these opposing parties is the Emperor.
In the opening scene, the crown prince’s teacher and his cohort of scholars are pushing the Emperor the send the eldest prince, his title is 齐王 or Prince of Qi, to his fief as is customary for a prince who is married and has gone through a capping ceremony. Additionally, they are pushing the Emperor to schedule the crown prince’s own capping ceremony or 元服冠礼。 It is the coming of age ceremony for the crown prince who is now 20 years old. The Emperor has delayed this capping ceremony of the crown prince or 太子 and allowed Prince of Qi to remain in the capital for longer than tradition allows which the scholar officials are pushing back against. There was a stalemate on a cold snowy night where the Emperor and the Crown Prince waited against each other. However, with the heavy handed nudge from 太子’s uncle, the Emperor agrees to the capping ceremony. What does the uncle do? Reveal that there is a large impending military threat along the northwest border that requires his attention. The underlying implication is that the uncle, or general, will defend its border if the Emperor agrees to the ceremony. None of these words were said but in the meeting between the general and the Emperor, the terms of exchange were clear.
So there we have it, 太子 has the backing from both a select number of powerful scholars at court through his teacher and a strong section of the military through his uncle. The prince of Qi has his father and mother’s support.
[Cathy]
With that background, we turn to our first “case” of the drama which encompases the first 4 episodes of the drama. On the Crown Prince’s capping ceremony, his brother, the Prince of Qi or Qi Wang and his father-in-law, plan to denounce him to the world. We’re going to recap what happened in these four episodes and then explain more in detail about the capping ceremony itself. This drama is quite dense in the history and culture portrayed so while we won’t be able to dissect every little detail, this should be a good enough overview. I will say that the drama did a fantastic job of portraying the grandeur of the capping ceremony fit for a crown prince. It feels like you are transported to that time period with the attire, the formations of where people were standing, the gestures etc.
Where to begin. It is the day of 太子’s capping ceremony or 冠礼. As he’s getting ready, 齐王 has prepared a scroll that details crown prince’s misdeeds. Namely that he is unfilial and disloyal. The scroll is then handed to a maid referred to as 吴内人 that 齐王 has an amorous relationship with but who is in the cohort of maids responsible for the crown prince’s attire for the ceremony. 齐王 instructs the maid to toss the denunciation scroll out during the ceremony to discredit the Crown prince. This exchange is overheard by another maid, 张内人. She is one of the Crown Prince’s closest allies having worked for his mother since he was just a child. She is a reminder of his mother who passed away three years ago. The big question is whether or not she will tell the Crown Prince about 齐王’s plan. You would expect yes but 齐王 who came to the Crown Prince’s palace to escort him to the ceremony let Zhang 内人 know he knows it was she who overheard his exchange. At threat to her life, she may stay silent.
[Karen]
The capping ceremony begins with the Crown prince walking up to the dais where his father, the emperor and other close relatives are standing with all of court standing watch. At first, you think, oh no, the Crown Prince is going to fall into a trap! But just as his father is about to place the Crown Prince’s hat on his head, he tells his father to wait because he is waiting for Prince Qi’s present. Evidently, the Crown Prince saw through that something was off with 张内人 who ultimately did reveal to 太子 that 齐王 wanted to discredit him. So you think, yay! 太子 isn’t going to fall into a trap that easily! As the crown prince directs the crowd to look to wear he suspected 齐王’s agent, 吴内人 to throw down the scroll, a body falls from the wall with a document as well. It is actually 张内人 who has fallen to her supposed death. It was 吴内人 who pushed her because Prince Qi knew that 太子 was going to accuse him. They also prepared a false note to accompany 张内人 that said the Crown Prince was going to falsely accuse Prince Qi. Now we’re back at, oh no! Prince Qi now has the upper hand and it’s looking really badly for the Crown Prince! The evidence and the dead 张内人 point to the Crown Prince trying to set Prince Qi up and Prince Qi’s father-in-law, the Chancellor even calls to halt the capping ceremony so this can be investigated. Elsewhere, the maid 吴内人 who has the denunciation scroll has escaped, leaving no evidence to the contrary for the Crown Prince!
The capping ceremony is scrapped and the Emperor listens to his two sons confront each other. Prince Qi adamantly decries his innocence in any involvement in this. He proclaims that 太子 set him up in order to force him to head to his fief. Even the Emperor pushes 太子 to admit to his mistake at court the next day. 太子 is saddened to hear that his father will not take his side and refuses to apologize. He reveals that the scroll the escaped maid took and probably destroyed was just a copy. The real one was replaced by 张内人 and currently being searched for by 太子‘s cousin, 顾逢恩。Once that is discovered, the truth will be revealed. The color drains from 齐王’s face. At first he was smirking at his victory but now he has to compose himself. Unfortunately for him, 张内人 who was thought to be dead from her fall actually survived and is awake.
[Cathy]
张内人 is brought to be interrogated by the Emperor and the two princes. However, she claims that she fell herself and that she climbed the gate of her own volition. This then turns the tides against the crown prince once again because he was hoping she would reveal who pushed her and where the original scroll was hidden. Evendiently, she is trying to protect someone or something and before the Crown Prince can ask further, she bites her tongue to prevent herself from ever speaking again. The Crown Prince is distraught at the trauma befallen to someone so close to him and his mother.
He leaves the rooms to discuss next steps with his cousin, 顾逢恩 and using the clue that 张内人 left him right before she bit her tongue, he is able to find where she hid the scroll. It’s a place that is connected to the time he protected her from a misdeed in front of the queen. The Crown Prince sighs a breath of relief to see this evidence while elsewhere, the maid 吴内人 who was doing the bidding of 齐王 is suffocated to death. Clearly, Qi Wang didn’t want her as a loose end. The situation turns from bad to worse as the scroll is revealed to simply be a blank scroll in front of none other than the Emperor himself. Without any evidence that 齐王 wrote anything to demean the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince must own up to his mistake. THere really isn’t much other option.
[Karen]
At court the next day, the Crown Prince publicly announces that the chaos from the prior day was all his bidding. He wanted to push his brother to head to his fiefdom which is why he did what he did. Taking this opening, Prince Qi’s father-in-law demands that the Crown Prince be punished harshly. The Emperor does not have much choice but to agree as this is related to the reputation of the crown. Even though the Emperor at this point wants to protect the Crown Prince from the aggression from the Chancellor, there’s not much he can do.
Eeek! Nooo! 太子! It’s not looking good! He might even be on the verge of losing his title!
But before he can be escorted out to fulfill his punishment, the Crown Prince loudly proclaims that he actually has evidence to help explain everything that’s happened! The crowd is stunned as 吴内人, the agent for 齐王 and was killed the prior evening, is escorted into the hall. No one is more stunned though than 齐王 himself. He thought she was dealt with! How is she still here? 太子 now is in his element. He has the scroll and witness to the events. In a quick paced back and forth almost as if we were witnessing a legal deposition, the Crown Prince pushes Prince Qi on whether he has the guts to show the world what exactly is in the scroll. The Prince is now scrambling and sweating under the pressure. How could this have happened! Under the immense pressure of this barrage from the Crown Prince, he turns to his father for support. He retorts that “EMperor, the scroll I gave her clearly didn’t—!” And before he could say anything further, the Emperor cuts him off.
YAAAS. I love this scene. The Emperor looks down and smirks while Prince Qi’s father-in-law, the Chancellor closes his eyes in despair.
[Cathy]
Prince Qi has lost. He just admitted the existence of the original scroll which means that everything the Crown Prince has said is true. Prince Qi did write a scroll to discredit the Crown Prince and the series of events that happened afterwards ultimately involved Prince Qi.
In front of all of court, 齐王 is revealed to have conspired against 太子。 Now I think all of us would have wanted 太子 to punish his brother harshly especially after our journeys watching Empresses in the Palace and The Story of Ming Lan but that is where 太子 differs. We already know he’s quite capable but in this moment, he is also still soft hearted. Instead of punishing his brother, he gives him the opportunity of doubt that allows him to escape punishment. It’s because 太子 saw his father’s facial expressions at seeing what would befall his eldest son and didn’t want his father to be too hurt. Therefore, 太子 let his brother go.
Sigh….
[Karen]
But that’s not to say he is going to get off TOO easy. In a private conversation, the Emperor releases his fury against his eldest son. The Emperor knew for a while who ultimately was the culprit in this drama and forcibly tells 齐王 that it was 太子 who let him go. It was his guilty conscience that caused him to utter that lined that betrayed him because the scroll was actually a blank scroll. The maid? She can no longer speak. There was no real evidence against 齐王 but he played himself. I do think it’s probably like those a ha moments at court. Reminds me of Legally Blonde a bit. Haha.
With that, the case of the capping ceremony is resolved. It turns out that 吴内人 is the daughter of 张内人 which is why she sacrificed herself to save 吴内人。太子 successfully completes the ceremony and Prince Qi is revealed to not be quite on the same wave length as his younger brother. This case was quite exciting with many twists and turns but ultimately we see that 太子 is quite capable of taking care of himself in political battles. Not only that, we see his kind hearted nature which may be to his detriment. These episodes also highlight the conflicted relationship the brothers have with their father as well. It is evident that the Emperor is testing 太子 and also wants to protect him. But it is in a much more reserved manner than 齐王. The reason being is as the Emperor states. 齐王 is first his son, then his courtier. 太子 is first his courtier then his son. The Emperor in these episodes is testing the Crown PRince and so far, he is passing the exam.
This drama is all about political machinations, maneuverings, and consolidation of power for the Emperor. As you watch the drama, please keep in mind the following. The Emperor claimed the throne after essentially deposing his brothers. He currently doesn’t have military power. That is currently controlled 太子’s maternal uncle the 顾思林, the Marquis of Wu de. He also doesn’t have much money in the treasury because he has been gifting it to his ministers in return for loyalty. This puts the Emperor in a VERY precarious position. He also knows that court is a political minefield for 太子. The Emperor is in a very conflicted position. He wants to train the Crown Prince so that he will be ready when the day comes for 太子 to become Emperor, but the Emperor cannot risk the Crown Prince in gathering to much support in court just yet. So, what does he do? The Emperor plays a game of chess and pits the Prince of Qi against 太子. This is to both train the Crown Prince but also allow the Emperor to see just who is on who’s side. By the end of the whole capping ceremony fiasco, it’s clear that the Prince of Qi has the Chancellor on his side and the Crown Prince has his tutor on his camp. The Emperor must maintain control on the both of them. Tiring right? Yes and that’s how the rest of the drama will play out.
Read this https://www.jianshu.com/p/01b58f38828e
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That was a lot of plot that we covered today! Let’s now move onto history!
[Cathy]
Let’s first start off with episode 1. We are introduced to 陆文昔. She has painted two Cranes and recites two lines from a ballad.
舞鹤赋 – dancing cranes rhapsody
唳清响于丹墀chí，舞飞容于金阁
The poem was written during the Northern Southern Dynasties time period by the poet 鲍照 who lived approximately from 416 to 466 AD. He actually hails from the Southern Song Dynasty of that time period. 南朝宋（420年—479年）was the first of the Southern Dynasties during that time period.
The rhapsody is a rather sad one. It starts with the heavenly cranes, once noble and regal as if dancing in the air, were captured in a net and sent to the human world below. While there, the cranes only saw despair. On the palace stage, the cranes let out a cry and began to dance in the golden pavilion. The dance enraptured all. The subsequent dancers at the party knew they would never be able to surpass this beauty. But it wasn’t a happy ending. The cranes were stuck in the human world.
Now the two lines from the rhapsody are 唳清响于丹墀chí，舞飞容于金阁. For my translation it is, the crane’s cry was heard at the red-painted floor above the steps leading to the palace, the dance illuminated the golden pavilion.
The character 陆文昔 then says – sometimes the crane is stronger than the eagle. She doesn’t know the Crown Prince well so it’s kind of a tossaway metaphor right now from her. My interpretation of her saying these words could be that the Crane will lit the palace or to not underestimate the Crown Prince.
That might be all good and well but this dancing cranes rhapsody is quite prophetic as the Crown Prince will be forever stuck in his palace.
[Karen]
冠礼 – Capping rites
This traditional Chinese custom dates back all the way to the Zhou Dynasty, some 3000 years ago. When a man reaches the age of 20, then he must perform the capping ceremony. The capping ceremony is also the first time that the man will participate in proper rites.With the completion of the ceremony, the man will now enter society. He can now marry and attend society events.
Typically, the man must reach the age of 20 for his capping ceremony, however, sons of the aristocracy can have the ceremony earlier, especially if it’s a prince from the royal family. The reason? The royal family needs princes to either marry earlier or else participate in court earlier. The prince needs to be a “man” in order to do so. For the Crown Prince or 太子, it’s even more important to have the capping ceremony because it is only until he has the capping ceremony is he able to participate in court and, should the emperor die, rule without a regent. In episode 3, when the Crown Prince tries to make a statement to save his teacher, the Emperor point blank says “do not interfere with politics”.
The rites and rituals of the Capping rites or 士冠礼 can be found in 仪礼 or the Book of the Etiquette and Ceremonial. This text was written and compiled during the Zhou Dynasty and contains information about propriety, rites, and customs of people during that time. It contains information about the capping ceremony, including what would have been said, nuptial rites, banquet rites, mourning rites etc.
[Cathy]
The actual ceremony is quite complicated. Usually, it is held at a temple or shrine, most likely the family shrine. An auspicious day will be chosen by divination for this ceremony. Older male relatives also play a crucial part in the ceremony. Typically the person overseeing the ceremony, master of ceremony if you will, is the boy‘s father, but sometimes, masters can also take that place. Early in the day, the boy must bathe and have his hair done. The boy must present himself to the group. There is also information on what clothes the boy needs to wear, both before the ceremony and during the ceremony. Now for this ceremony, the boy must change clothes three times and change caps three times. We don’t really see it here in this drama. Please actually go and watch 雪中悍刀行 Sword Snow Stride – there’s a pretty good capping ceremony there where you see the changes in clothes and changes in caps.
There is then a short declaration found in the Book of the Etiquette and Ceremonial which is spoken to congratulate the new man. After the capping itself, the man must then pay respects to his parents. The master of ceremony will then bestow a courtesy title to the man.
[Karen]
Next let’s talk about courtesy names or 表字. We talked about it in Episode 6 of the Story of Ming Lan. Let’s give a refresher. This is a name that is typically bestowed to men when they come of age. It is typically disyllabic or composed of two characters. Women also can have courtesy titles but it is more rare as they would just be referred to by their husband’s last name or just by their last name.
When men and women come of age, it was viewed as disrespectful to refer to each other with their given names. If someone has a courtesy name, that will be used instead. In this drama, the Crown Prince, 萧定权 is given the courtesy title of 民成。 Now, as the Crown Prince, this name won’t be used too often but nevertheless it is still important for him to have this title.
Let’s take a look at the setting for the drama itself. The ceremony itself was truncated due to plot purposes. However, we see the whole ceremony as a grand affair with instruments, ministers, and officials to perform the rites. The Crown Prince, or 太子, and the Emperor were both elevated on the stage. They are always one level above the ministers. The crown prince then has to walk to the Emperor and prostrate himself to his father, again to show respect for his father, the Emperor, and this specific ceremony.
[Cathy]
玉珠九旒
Next let‘s move onto the Prince’s headgear or crown that the Emperor was about to place on the Crown Prince’s head during the capping ceremony. This is probably the common idea that people have for the Chinese Emperor’s crown. Think the cartoon version of Mulan. The Emperor in that movie was wearing a version of this. In the drama, they call it 玉珠九旒, which means jade bead nine-tasseled crown. The Nine-tasselled Crown is a type of 冕冠, a crown that was traditionally worn by the Emperors of China and other parts of East Asia. 冕冠 is the overall term for the crown or headdress that we see in the drama. There is a 12-tasseled crown or 十二旒. This is written in the Book of Rites 礼记 and that’s reserved is reserved only for the son of heaven, or the King.
The Nine-tasseled Crown can be worn by the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and other sons of the Emperor. There’s currently only one that has survived to today. It is the crown of prince 朱檀, the 10th son of Emperor 朱元璋, the founding Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The prince lived only a short life, dying at the age of 20. The Nine-tasseled crown was uncovered in his tomb. This crown had 9 strings in the front and the back, with 9 jade beads on each string, for a total of 162 beads in total. The 玉珠九旒 in the drama looks remarkably like the one in the photos. In general this 冕冠 was only worn during the most important of ceremonies. That’s why you’ll see that the Emperor in this drama rarely wears it. That was also the case in The Story of Ming Lan. The use of 冕冠 was discarded during the time of the Qing Dynasty.
玉带
Jade belt – I was doing some research and it’s not true that only the Emperor and the Crown Prince could wear a jade belt. Indeed, during the Song dynasty, officials above the 3rd rank were allowed to wear jade belts. During the Ming Dynasty, only princes and officials of the 1st rank were allowed to wear Jade belts. Now since this drama isn’t 100% historically accurate, I think it’s ok. This point of a jade belt is also definitely a big plot point in the book so I guess the drama just kept it as such.