Igniting Tradition
An Internet drama kindles audiences’ passion for intangible cultural heritage
he Story of Yanxi Palace, a 70-episode Internet drama which takes place during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and recounts the transformation of Wei Yingluo from a lady-in-waiting to a royal concubine to the mother of the future emperor during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-99), has proven to be a huge hit.
The show, which aired on Iqiyi.com and ended on August 26, was viewed nearly 14 billion times by August 28 and was also available in over 70 other countries and regions in Asia. In addition to its enthralling plot and the actors’ skills, traditional cultural elements, such as embroidery and velvet flowers, which permeated the drama also aroused the public’s interest.
In the drama, imperial concubine Gao dies of burns caused by melted iron fireworks which she had prepared in celebration of the birthday of the emperor’s mother. Melted iron fireworks are a provincial intangible cultural heritage from north China’s Hebei Province with over 500 years of history originating in Yuxian County in Zhangjiakou City.
It is said that in ancient times, blacksmiths who couldn’t afford fireworks threw melted iron from spoons at the city walls creating images that resembled a tree with its branches spread out. That is why the art form is called dashuhua, which means striking tree flowers, in Chinese. Performers wear wet straw hats and thick sheepskin coats in order to prevent burns.
At the beginning of the show, the protagonist, Wei Yingluo, is shown to be one of the best embroiderers in the palace workshop. Beijing embroidery, also known as palace embroidery, can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618907) and had been thriving during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing dynasties. It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2014.
In addition, many of the costumes in the show employed Beijing embroidery. Zhang Hongye, a Beijing embroidery inheritor, said that over 50 embroiderers participated in the mak- ing of the show’s costumes. One single dress for Emperor Qianlong took half a year to finish, using four kinds of techniques in Beijing embroidery in order to demonstrate the emperor’s dignity.
Zhang said the drama has given her inspiration for spreading traditional embroidery. “Today, very few people born after 1990 choose to learn embroidery, but the drama has provided opportunities for intangible cultural heritage to exhibit its charm and attract attention from the public,” she said.
In the show, Empress Fucha often wears velvet flowers instead of jewelry and jade in her hair in order to practice frugality and set an example for the concubines. Made of silk and copper wire, velvet flowers have auspicious connotations, since their Chinese name ronghua is also a homophone for “glory.”
Velvet flowers were offered as tributes to the imperial palace during the Tang Dynasty and gained popularity among ordinary people during the Ming and Qing dynasties when they were