BASED ON THE TV SERIES ‘LEGEND OF ZHEN HUAN’——EXPLORING SHEN MEIZHUANG’S LIES AND THE HAREM WOMEN’S SURVIVAL PREDICAMENT IN A IMPERIAL SOCIETY

Abstract

The Legend of Zhen Huan is a Qing dynasty drama produced by 2012, adapted from the novel ‘the Legend of Zhen Huan’ by Liu Lianzi, about the struggle between the Empress, Concubine Hua, and Zhen Huan during the Yong Zheng period of the Qing dynasty, and is based on the story of Zhen Huan's journey from an innocent girl to her old age, experiencing a series of stories such as being selected, taking favor, being framed and fighting back. The author uses literature research method and textual research method to obtain relevant information and conduct a combing and analysis study. This paper first analyzes the background and character of Shen Meizhuang, one of the female characters, and then analyzes the fate of women in the harem of the imperial society from Shen Meizhuang's three lies, exploring the conflicts between a woman and herself, others and the surrounding environment in the imperial society, and revealing the survival plight of women under the gloom of the imperial society. This paper analyzes the specific manifestation of the harem women's survival dilemma in the patriarchal society and the reasons behind it, so as to provide the audiences with a new perspective and a better and multi-faceted understanding of the harem dramas.