Yongzheng Emperor - in Fiction and Popular Culture

In Fiction and Popular Culture

  • The Yongzheng Emperor is mentioned in Qing Dynasty writer Wenkang (文康)'s wuxia novel Ernü Yingxiong Zhuan (兒女英雄傳). It was adapted into the 1983 Hong Kong television series The Legend of the Unknowns (十三妹), and the 1986 Chinese film Lucky 13 (侠女十三妹).
  • A popular legend tells of the Yongzheng Emperor's death at the hands of a female assassin Lü Siniang (呂四娘), a fictitious granddaughter (or daughter, in some accounts) of Lü Liuliang. She did so to avenge her grandfather (or father), who was wrongly put to death by Yongzheng. The legend was adapted into many films and television series.
  • There were two legends about the origins of the Yongzheng Emperor's son and successor, the Qianlong Emperor. The first, more widely circulated in southern China, says that Qianlong is actually the son of Chen Shiguan (陳世倌), a Qing minister from Haining, Zhejiang. Shortly after birth, Qianlong was exchanged with one of Yongzheng's daughters and raised as Yongzheng's son and eventually succeeded to the throne. Wuxia writer Louis Cha (Jin Yong) adapted this legend for his novel The Book and the Sword. The second legend on Qianlong's origins, more popular in northern China, stated that during a trip to the Mulan Hunting Ground (木蘭圍場) in Rehe Province, Yongzheng had an illegitimate affair with a palace maid and they conceived a son, who would become the Qianlong Emperor.
  • The Yongzheng Emperor is featured as an important character in Tong Hua's novel Bu Bu Jing Xin and he had a romantic relationship with the protagonist Ma'ertai Ruoxi. In 2011 the novel was adapted into the Chinese television series Scarlet Heart.
  • The Yongzheng Emperor appears in the romance fantasy novel series Meng Hui Da Qing (梦回大清) by Yaoye (妖叶).
The Yongzheng Emperor in film and television
Year Region Title Type Yongzheng Emperor actor Notes
1975 Hong Kong The Flying Guillotine
血滴子
Film Chiang Yang Produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio
1980 Hong Kong Dynasty
大內群英
Television series Alex Man 57 episodes
1988 Hong Kong The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty Season 2
滿清十三皇朝2
Television series Wai Lit 50 episodes
1994 Mainland China The Book and the Sword
书剑恩仇录
Television series Liu Dagang 32 episodes
1995 Hong Kong Secret Battle of the Majesty
九王奪位
Television series Kwong Wa 40 episodes
1996 Taiwan 雍正大帝 Television series Tou Chung-hua
1997 Taiwan Legend of YungChing
江湖奇俠傳
Television series Adam Cheng 58 / 59 episodes
1997 Hong Kong The Hitman Chronicles
大刺客
Television series Eddie Cheung 35 episodes
1997 Mainland China Yongzheng Dynasty
雍正王朝
Television series Tang Guoqiang 44 episodes
2001 Taiwan 玉指環 Television series Chin Han alternative Chinese title 才子佳人乾隆皇
2001 Mainland China Emperor Yong Zheng
雍正皇帝
Television series Liu Xinyi 31 episodes
2002 Mainland China Li Wei the Magistrate
李卫当官
Television series Tang Guoqiang 30 episodes; also known as Li Wei Becomes an Official
2002 Mainland China Jiangshan Weizhong
江山为重
Television series Liu Guanxiong 31 episodes; alternative Chinese title 大清帝国
2003 Mainland China Palace Painter Master Castiglione
宫廷画师郎世宁
Television series Kenny Bee 24 episodes
2003 Hong Kong The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow
九五至尊
Television series Kwong Wa 20 episodes
2004 Mainland China 36th Chamber of Southern Shaolin
南少林三十六房
Television series Zhang Tielin 32 episodes
2004 Mainland China Huang Taizi Mishi
皇太子秘史
Television series Zhao Hongfei 32 episodes
2004 Mainland China Li Wei the Magistrate 2
李卫当官2
Television series Tang Guoqiang 32 episodes
2005 Mainland China Shang Shu Fang
上书房
Television series Kou Zhenhai 52 episodes
2005 Mainland China The Juvenile Qianlong Emperor
少年宝亲王
Television series Zhang Guoli 40 episodes
2008 Mainland China The Book and the Sword
书剑恩仇录
Television series Shen Baoping 40 episodes
2010 Mainland China Hou Gong Zhen Huan Zhuan
后宫甄嬛传
Television series Chen Jianbin 76 episodes
2011 Mainland China Scarlet Heart
步步惊心
Television series Nicky Wu 35 episodes
2011 Mainland China Palace
宫锁心玉
Television series Mickey He 35 episodes
2012 Mainland China Palace II
宫锁珠帘
Television series Mickey He 35 episodes

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