| Genre: | Historical fiction Political Romance |
| Based On: | The Concubine of Tang: Legend of Pearl by Cang Mingshui |
| Director: | Liu Guonan Yin Tao |
| Starring: | Jing Tian Ren Jialun Wan Qian Shu Chang Yu Xiaowei Qin Junjie Mao Zijun |
| Composer: | S.E.N.S. |
| Country: | China |
| Language: | Mandarin |
| Num Episodes: | 60 (1st season) 32 (2nd season) |
| Producer: | Wang Ying |
| Runtime: | 45 mins |
| Company: | H&R Century Pictures |
| Channel: | Anhui TV Beijing TV |
| Budget: | ¥2.6 billion |
The Glory of Tang Dynasty is a 2017 Chinese television series starring Jing Tian and Ren Jialun. It is based on the novel The Concubine of Tang: Legend of Pearl (Chinese: 大唐后妃传之珍珠传奇) by Cang Mingshui; and tells the fictional love story of Emperor Daizong and Consort Shen, aided by the grandiose historical background of the An Shi Rebellion (755-763).[1] The series was aired for 92 episodes, split into two seasons, from 29 January to 3 May 2017 on Anhui TV and Beijing TV.
The series has been made with a budget of around 260 million yuan ($38.68 million), and shot in 70 sets, with massive digital backup.[2] It received a positive response from the audience for its historical accuracy and storyline. It has a score of 8.3 out of 10 on Tencent[3] and 6.7 on Douban.[4]
The story is about Shen Zhenzhu, the concubine of Emperor Daizong while he was the Prince Li Chu of Guangping. Zhenzhu was an ordinary girl from Jiangnan. Kind-hearted and noble, she stayed behind during the An Lushan Rebellion in order to show solidarity with the Tang citizens. Although she was captured by the opposing forces, she never gave up protecting her people, and remained loyal to her husband despite the pursuit of Moyan Chou, a Uyghur general, and An Qingxu, the son of An Lushan.
After peace was restored, Li Chu was determined to relocate her and bring her back to the palace, ignoring the advice of his fellow officials. However, Zhenzhu refused to return to the palace with him, as she knew her time as a hostage would jeopardize his chances of succeeding the throne. She chose to disappear from the royal court and live among the people she spent her whole life protecting.
| Actor | Character | Introduction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A proper lady from a noble family selected to become the concubine of Li Chu. She uses her intelligence and strength to assist her husband in rising up to a position of power. | |||
| Prince of Guangping. A prideful yet passionate man who bravely and resolutely took down his enemies to ascend the throne. | |||
| Daughter of the Prince of Yunnan. A female general who fought alongside Li Chu. Though she knows that Li Chu does not love her, she still marries him to fulfil his political ambitions. She constantly threatens Shen Zhenzhu and intrudes into her relationship with Li Chu. | |||
| Murong Lingzhi | Daughter of a general, and highly skilled healer. She is also Shen Zhenzhu's good friend. Li Tan fell in love with her at first sight and chose her as his concubine. Despite her kind-hearted nature, she was forced to endure endless pain and humiliation. | ||
| Yu Xiaowei | The khan of the Uyghur tribe. He and Li Chu are good friends. After saving Shen Zhenzhu multiple times, he fell in love with her. However, later, he marries Li Ruo. | ||
| Prince of Jianning, a talented hero skilled in horseback riding and archery. He fell in love with Murong Lingzhi at first sight and marries her, but due to his immaturity, accidentally hurts her feelings. Though he possess courage and strength, he is ultimately bound by his fate as a member of the royal family. | |||
| Son of An Lushan. He is calculating and paranoid in nature due to his lack of familial love since young. His greatest purpose in life is dedicated to loving Shen Zhenzhu; and when he doesn't get what he wants, decides to kill his father and take over the throne. |
| Actor | Character | Introduction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Li Chu's grandfather. | |||
| Zeng Li | |||
| Yang Mingna | Lady of Han | Consort Yang's older sister, Cui Caiping's mother | |
| Li Chu, Li Tan and Li Ruo's father. | |||
| Fang Xiaoli | Crown Princess Wei | Li Chu, Li Tan and Li Ruo's mother. Her brother was framed by Yang Guozong, and as a result she was deposed and sent to a nunnery. | |
| Liu Liwei | Evil empress who tries everything to get her secretly illegitimate son Li Shao onto the throne. However, later she strangles her son in order to prevent Emperor Suzong from finding out Li Shao is not his actual son. | ||
| Geng Liming | Royal Consort Pei | ||
| Pu Shuo | Li Xi | Prince of Yue. Li Chu, Li Tan and Li Ruo's step-brother. | |
| Zhang Weina | Li Ruo | Li Chu and Li Tan's biological sister. She is innocent and spirited. Though she has a crush on An Qingxu, she later marries Moyan Chou to assist the Royal Family's political ambitions. | |
| Xu Weiluo | Li Zhao | Li Chu, Li Tan and Li Ruo's step-brother. His actual identity is the son of Shi Siming and Empress Zhang. | |
| Cui Caiping | Niece of Consort Yang. She likes Li Chu and uses her family connections to marry him. Though she's from a wealthy family, she lacks the noble dignity that Shen Zhenzhu has. | ||
| Ma Wenyue | Li Chengcai | Prince of Dunhuang. | |
| Zhang Zheyu | Li Chu and Shen Zhenzhu's son. |
| Actor | Character | Introduction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Du Yuan | |||
| Lu Xingyu | |||
| Ma Xiaofeng | |||
| Chang Cheng | |||
| Wang Boqing | |||
| Zhang Haifeng |
| Actor | Character | Introduction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ma Chengcheng | Hasili | Moyan Chou's wife. | |
| Chen Zhelun | Yidijian | Moyan Chou's son. | |
| Wang Xiaowei | Nibifei | Moyan Chou's brother. | |
| Zhao Dongze | Moyan Chou's god-brother. | ||
| Luo Mi | Zhemiyi | Moyan Chou's god-sister. Li Chengcai's wife. | |
| Chen Guan'ning | A rebel who wants to kill Moyan Chou. | ||
| Guo Ruixi | Aqina | Dongze Bu's lover. |
| Actor | Character | Introduction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shen Baoping | Shen Yizhi | Director of the Palace Library. Shen Zhenzhu's father. | |
| Liu Fang | Lady Jiang | Shen Zhenzhu's mother. | |
| Huang Tianqi | Shen An | Shen Zhenzhu's brother. | |
| Mi Mi | Suci | Shen Zhenzhu's personal attendant. To save her son, she was manipulated by He Lingyi and betrayed Shen Zhenzhu. | |
| Xu Siyu | Hongrui | Shen Zhenzhu's personal attendant, who died saving her. |
| Actor | Character | Introduction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feng Li | Zhang Deyu | Guangping Mansion's head attendant. | |
| Liang Jingxian | He Lingyi | Li Chu's underling. She is actually a spy sent by Empress Zhang. | |
| Cao Yuchen | Feng Shengyi | Li Chu's underling. | |
| Lu Peng | Yan Ming | Li Chu's underling. | |
| Wang Jiusheng | Li Bai | Shen Zhenzhu's teacher. | |
| Zhang Chunzhong | Wan Shitong | ||
| Qu Gang | Zhangsun E | Murong Lingzhi and An Qingxu's teacher. |
| Broadcast date | Episode | Beijing TV CSM52 | Anhui TV CSM52 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rank | Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rank | |||
| 2017.1.29 | 1-2 | 0.362 | 1.19 | 5 | 0.369 | 1.21 | 4 | |
| 2017.1.30 | 3-4 | 0.442 | 1.41 | 6 | 0.304 | 0.97 | 14 | |
| 2017.1.31 | 5-6 | 0.469 | 1.50 | 7 | 0.395 | 1.26 | 10 | |
| 2017.2.1 | 7-8 | 0.485 | 1.49 | 6 | 0.410 | 1.14 | 11 | |
| 2017.2.2 | 9-10 | 0.460 | 1.37 | 8 | 0.376 | 1.12 | 14 | |
| 2017.2.3 | 11-12 | 0.553 | 1.57 | 7 | 0.356 | 1.02 | 14 | |
| 2017.2.4 | 13 | 0.458 | 1.36 | 8 | 0.408 | 1.21 | 11 | |
| 2017.2.5 | 14-15 | 0.602 | 1.7 | 6 | 0.373 | 1.05 | 13 | |
| 2017.2.6 | 16-17 | 0.562 | 1.58 | 7 | 0.403 | 1.14 | 14 | |
| 2017.2.7 | 18-19 | 0.565 | 1.53 | 7 | 0.404 | 1.1 | 14 | |
| 2017.2.8 | 20-21 | 0.538 | 1.47 | 8 | 0.459 | 1.25 | 9 | |
| 2017.2.9 | 22-23 | 0.556 | 1.53 | 8 | 0.469 | 1.29 | 10 | |
| 2017.2.10 | 24-25 | 0.649 | 1.81 | 5 | 0.55 | 1.53 | 8 | |
| 2017.2.11 | 26 | 0.479 | 1.41 | 7 | 0.451 | 1.34 | 9 | |
| 2017.2.12 | 27-28 | 0.612 | 1.73 | 6 | 0.451 | 1.28 | 12 | |
| 2017.2.13 | 29-30 | 0.531 | 1.50 | 9 | 0.514 | 1.45 | 11 | |
| 2017.2.14 | 31-32 | 0.569 | 1.68 | 9 | 0.573 | 1.67 | 8 | |
| 2017.2.15 | 33-34 | 0.607 | 1.72 | 7 | 0.493 | 1.4 | 11 | |
| 2017.2.16 | 35-36 | 0.604 | 1.73 | 7 | 0.462 | 1.33 | 14 | |
| 2017.2.17 | 37-38 | 0.635 | 1.76 | 5 | 0.446 | 1.24 | 14 | |
| 2017.2.18 | 39 | 0.615 | 1.83 | 6 | 0.404 | 1.21 | 15 | |
| 2017.2.19 | 40-41 | 0.79 | 2.19 | 6 | 0.443 | 1.23 | 13 | |
| 2017.2.20 | 42-43 | 0.731 | 2.02 | 6 | 0.556 | 1.54 | 9 | |
| 2017.2.21 | 44-45 | 0.607 | 1.67 | 9 | 0.688 | 1.9 | 6 | |
| 2017.2.22 | 46-47 | 0.306 | 0.85 | 17 | 0.638 | 1.79 | 8 | |
| 2017.2.23 | 48-49 | 0.651 | 1.82 | 7 | 0.582 | 1.64 | 9 | |
| 2017.2.24 | 50-51 | 0.692 | 1.91 | 7 | 0.575 | 1.6 | 8 | |
| 2017.2.25 | 52 | 0.762 | 2.13 | 6 | 0.67 | 1.94 | 8 | |
| 2017.2.26 | 53-54 | 0.598 | 1.67 | 9 | 0.629 | 1.77 | 8 | |
| 2017.2.27 | 55-56 | 0.647 | 1.92 | 7 | 0.551 | 1.64 | 9 | |
| 2017.2.28 | 57-58 | 0.605 | 1.8 | 8 | 0.565 | 1.68 | 9 | |
| 2017.3.1 | 59-60 | 0.75 | 2.17 | 6 | 0.582 | 1.69 | 9 | |
| Average ratings | 0.586 | 1.68 | 0.486 | 1.40 | ||||
| Beijing TV CSM52 City ratings | Anhui TV CSM52 City ratings | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air date | Episode | Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rank | Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rank | |
| 2017.4.3 | 1-2 | 0.293 | 1.698 | 16 | 0.282 | 1.441 | 17 | |
| 2017.4.4 | 3-4 | 0.266 | 1.54 | 17 | 0.219 | 1.2 | 18 | |
| 2017.4.5 | 5-6 | 0.312 | 1.771 | 15 | 0.274 | 1.492 | 17 | |
| 2017.4.10 | 7-8 | - | - | - | 0.258 | 1.496 | 17 | |
| 2017.4.11 | 9-10 | 0.337 | 2.16 | 14 | 0.218 | 1.231 | 21 | |
| 2017.4.12 | 11-12 | 0.341 | 2.033 | 12 | 0.245 | 1.39 | 18 | |
| 2017.4.17 | 13-14 | 0.259 | 1.639 | 17 | 0.242 | 1.321 | 20 | |
| 2017.4.18 | 15-16 | 0.285 | 1.784 | 16 | 0.229 | 1.271 | 18 | |
| 2017.4.19 | 17-18 | 0.294 | 1.979 | 13 | 0.237 | 1.313 | 19 | |
| 2017.4.24 | 19-20 | 0.286 | 1.946 | 16 | 0.329 | 1.842 | 13 | |
| 2017.4.25 | 21-22 | 0.282 | 1.79 | 15 | 0.307 | 1.689 | 14 | |
| 2017.4.26 | 23-24 | 0.269 | 1.719 | 17 | 0.312 | 1.777 | 15 | |
| 2017.5.1 | 25-26 | 0.261 | 2.051 | 19 | 0.429 | 2.481 | 8 | |
| 2017.5.2 | 27-28 | 0.318 | 1.947 | 16 | 0.324 | 1.882 | 15 | |
| 2017.5.3 | 29-30 | 0.356 | 2.259 | 14 | 0.345 | 2.071 | 15 | |