''Qiao's Grand Courtyard'' is a 2006 Chinese historical drama television series. The series is set during the late

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

and chronicles the life of

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

financier, businessman and philanthropist Qiao Zhiyong (1818―1907), with artistic license applied. Part of the series was shot at Qiao's Compound, which was Qiao Zhiyong's ancestral home at

Qi County, Shanxi Qi County, also known by its Chinese name Qixian, is a county in the central part of Shanxi Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jinzhong and has a population of approximately 265,310. The county is on t ...

(it was also the chief location for

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

's 1991 film ''

Raise the Red Lantern ''Raise the Red Lantern'' is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaptation by of the 1990 novella '' Raise the Red Lantern'' (originally ''Wives and Concubines'') by Su Tong. The film was later adapted into an ...

'').乔家大院-山西旅游网
The series debuted on

CCTV-1 CCTV-1 (CCTV General Channel) is the primary channel of CCTV, the national flagship terrestrial television network of the People's Republic of China. It broadcasts a range of programs from CCTV Headquarters at East 3rd Ring Road in Beijing and ...

on February 13, 2006 and comprises 45 episodes. It was directed by

Hu Mei Hu Mei (born 2 September 1958) is a Chinese film director, television director and producer. Usually classed as a Fifth Generation director, since she graduated from the Directors' class of the 1982 Beijing Film Academy cohort, she is a classmat ...

, known for her historical dramas ''

Yongzheng Dynasty ''Yongzheng Dynasty'' is a 1999 Chinese historical television series starring Tang Guoqiang and Jiao Huang. The series, spanning 44 episodes, occupied the CCTV-1 prime time slot; after its premiere, there have been many re-runs of the show on telev ...

'' (1997) and ''

The Emperor in Han Dynasty ''The Emperor in Han Dynasty'', also released under the title ''The Emperor Han Wu'' in some countries, is a 2005 Chinese historical drama television series based on the life of Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. It uses the histori ...

'' (2005). Lead actor and actress

Chen Jianbin Chen Jianbin (born June 27, 1970) is a Chinese actor active in television and film. He is most notable for the portrayal of Cao Cao in the 2010 television series ''Three Kingdoms (TV series), Three Kingdoms''; as well as his performance in ''Dec ...

and

Jiang Qinqin Jiang Qinqin (, born 3 September 1976) is a Chinese actress. She is sometimes credited as Shui Ling (), a stage name given to her by Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao while she was involved in the production of the television series ''Tears in Heaven'' ...

won the Audience's Favorite Actor/Actress Awards at the 2006 Golden Eagle TV Art Festival for their roles in this series. The pair was married in 2006. ''Qiao's Grand Courtyard'' clinched Best Drama Series at the 1st

Seoul Drama Awards Seoul International Drama Awards (), simply known as SDA, is an annual award ceremony based in Seoul, South Korea which honors excellence in television drama productions worldwide. Winners Grand prize (''Daesang'') Program Winners are given ...

Plot

The series chronicles the life of late

financier and businessman Qiao Zhiyong, the most famous member of the Qiao Family from Qi County,

. The series start during the reign of the

Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), or by temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing (), given name Yizhu (), was the eighth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigned from 1850 t ...

when Qiao Zhiyong, a young scholar, leaves for

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

for the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

. The death of his sick elder brother Qiao Zhiguang forces Zhiyong to return home without sitting for the papers. His sister-in-law, Madam Cao, compels Qiao to take on the family's business, although he is initially reluctant to do so because he prefers academic studies. But with the Qiao's family business in arrears, Qiao marries Lu Yuhan, daughter of the wealthy Shanxi merchant Lu Dake, against his will, to save his family from bankruptcy. As a result, he forgoes marrying his childhood sweetheart, maternal cousin Jiang Xueying. Under his charge, the family business becomes profitable again. Zhiyong's wife Lu Yuhan wins his heart after a series of selfless acts for his cause. Working in tandem with a former scholar, Sun Maocai, who becomes Qiao's advisor, Qiao Zhiyong opens up tea routes from the

Wuyi Mountains The Wuyi Mountains or Wuyishan (; formerly known as Bohea Hills in early Western documents) are a mountain range located in the prefecture of Nanping, in northern Fujian province near the border with Jiangxi province, China. The highest peak in ...

, the heart of Chinese tea cultivation, to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and becomes a renowned tea merchant. Success with tea merchandising stirs Qiao's interest in banking. With his father-in-law's help Qiao becomes a famous financier, determined to achieve a dream of facilitating national trade by erecting banking posts (票號, an early form of banking institution) throughout China. His fame however lands him in serious trouble with the Qing imperial court and with

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...

, who forces him to finance the government's campaign against the Taiping rebels. The series ends as an elderly Qiao achieves his goal – erecting banking houses throughout China to facilitate trade (汇通天下，货通天下) – but at the expense of spending ten years under ignominious house arrest, and with the country's wealth drained after the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

of 1894-5 and the

Boxer Protocol The Boxer Protocol was signed on September 7, 1901, between the Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces (including Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the Unit ...

of 1901.

Main cast

as Qiao Zhiyong (乔致庸) *

as Lu Yuhan (陆玉菡) *

Ma Yili Ma Yili (, born 29 June 1976) is a Chinese actress. Ma ranked 42nd on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2019. Early life Ma was born in Hongkou District, Shanghai on June 29, 1976, with her ancestral home in Rudong County, Nantong, Jiangsu. ...

as Jiang Xueying (江雪瑛) * Ni Dahong as Sun Maocai (孙茂才) * Lei Kesheng as Lu Dake (陆大可) * Juanzi as Cao Yuezhi / First Mistress (曹月枝/大太太) * Wang Huichun as Hu Ruanpu (胡沅浦) * Ma Weifu as Cui Mingjiu (崔鸣九)

Historical accuracy

While the series follow the chronological events of Qiao Zhiyong's life, screenwriter Zhu Xiuhai employ some artistic license in depicting Qiao's "romances". The characters Lu Yuhan, Qiao's wife, and Jiang Xueying, Qiao's cousin, are fictitious. In reality Qiao Zhiyong had six successive wives (each died after succeeding a previous wife), since he lived a long life.历史上真实的乔致庸
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Notes

External links

{{in lang, zh Television series set in the Qing dynasty 2006 Chinese television series debuts Chinese historical television series Mandarin-language television shows China Central Television original programming Television shows set in Shanxi Television shows set in Inner Mongolia