''The Imperial Doctress'' () is a 2016 Chinese television series based on the story of

Tan Yunxian Tan Yunxian (; 1461–1554) was a Chinese physician during the Ming dynasty in China. Life Tan's grandmother was the daughter of a physician. One reason Tan's grandfather married her grandmother was to learn medicine himself. Two of her grandpar ...

, a female physician during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

in China. It stars Cecilia Liu as the titular character. The series aired every day at 7.30pm on

Jiangsu TV Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC) () is China's third biggest television network after China Central Television (CCTV) and Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS). The television network is owned by the Jiangsu provincial government. The network is ...

and

Dragon TV Shanghai Dragon Television or Dragon TV () is a provincial satellite TV station. It launched in October 1998 as "Shanghai Television Shanghai Television () is a TV station based in Shanghai, China China, officially the People's Republic ...

, from 13 February to 9 March 2016.

Synopsis

Set in the Ming Dynasty during the rule of Emperor Yingzong,

( Cecilia Liu) came from a long line of medicine practitioners, her family having served as court physicians for several generations. However, the practice for female physicians came to a halt when many were framed for abusing the form. Yet, Yunxian was determined to learn medicine and she did so in secrecy. Through her enthusiasm and persistence, Yunxian overcame many difficulties and rose through the ranks to become the most famous female doctor of the Ming Dynasty. Along the way, she meets and falls in love with Zhu Qizhen (

Wallace Huo Wallace Huo Chien-hwa (, born 26 December 1979) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and producer. He is known for his roles in ''At Dolphin Bay'' (2003), ''Chinese Paladin 3'' (2009), ''Swordsman'' (2013), '' Battle of Changsha'' (2014), ''The Journey of ...

) and Zhu Qiyu ( Huang Xuan), two royal siblings with opposite personalities who enter into a rivalry for the throne.

Cast

Main

* Cecilia Liu as

(譚允賢) **Zhang Zimu as young Yun Xian *

Zhu Qizhen Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in ...

(朱祁鎮) **Lou Yunhao as young Qi Zhen * Huang Xuan as Zhu Qiyu (朱祁鈺) **Wu Ze Jin Xi as young Qi Yu

Supporting

Royals (House of Zhu)

*Li Cheng Yuan as

Empress Qian Empress Qian (; 1426 – 15 July 1468) was a Chinese empress consort during the Ming dynasty, married to the Zhengtong Emperor. She was addressed posthumously as Empress Xiaozhuangrui () Early life There is no record of Empress Qian's birth name ...

(錢皇后), Zhu Qizhen's wife **Hu Shun Er as young Empress Qian *

Gina Jin Jin Chen (, born 5 September 1990), also known as Gina Jin, is a Chinese actress of Hui ethnicity. She is recognized for her role in the web dramas '' Wu Xin: The Monster Killer'' and '' Candle in the Tomb: Mu Ye Gui Shi''. Career Jin debuted w ...

as Wang Meilin (汪美麟), Zhu Qiyu's wife *He Qing as Empress Dowager Sun (孫太后), Zhu Qizhen's mother *He Yin as Empress Dowager Wu (吳太后), Zhu Qiyu's mother *Gu Yan as deposed Empress Hu (靜慈師太) *Sheng Lang Xi as Imperial Consort Zhou (周貴妃), Zhu Qizhen's concubine *Jin Xiang as Consort Li (權麗妃), Zhu Qizhen's concubine *

Leo Wu Wu Lei (, born December 26, 1999), also known as Leo Wu, is a Chinese actor. He is known as the "China's Little Brother" () in China. He made his first appearance in commercials at the age of three. In 2007, officially made his debut in acti ...

as teenage Zhu Jianshen (朱見深), Zhu Qizhen and Empress Qian's son **Xia Zi Yu as child Jianshen *

Yuan Bingyan Yuan Bingyan (; born 17 January 1992) is a Chinese actress. Career Yuan Bingyan debuted with a supporting role in the wuxia drama ''Ip Man''. She also played a role in the popular sitcom '' iPartment 4''. Yuan then played supporting roles in h ...

as Consort Liu

Northern Yuan

*Yuan Wen Kang as Ye Xian (也先), Ruler of the Northern Yuan. He likes Tan Yunxian. *Li Chao as Bayan Temür (伯顏帖木兒), Ye Xian's younger brother and Zhu Qizhen's good friend *Feng Li Li as Tuo Buhua (脫不花), Ye Xian's younger sister. She likes Zhu Qizhen. *Zuo Jin Zhu as Meng Duo (蒙多)

Tan (Hang) Household

*Cui Ke Qu as Tan Fu (譚復), Yun Xian's grandfather *Wang Li Yuan as Old Mrs Tan (譚老夫人), Yun Xian's grandmother *Wang Xin Min as Tan Gang (譚綱), Yun Xian's father *Zhang Yi Jie as Tan Yunliang (譚允良), Yun Xian's brother *

Yu Shasha Yu Shasha (, born on 30 May 1985 in Yantai, Shandong, China), is a Chinese actress and host. She had graduation of higher vocational performance at Beijing Film Academy in the year 2003, after debutante on her career. Career and achievements ...

as Zi Su (紫蘇), Yun Xian's personal attendant

Royal Physicians

*Liu Li Wei as Liu Pingan (劉平安), Yun Xian's master *Zhang Lei as Cheng Shisan (程十三), the main antagonist who later betrays the Ming Dynasty *Zhang Hao Ran as Cheng Cunxia (程村霞), Yun Xian's senior

Court Officials and servants

*Zhang Bo Jun as Wang Ying (汪瑛), Wang Meilin's father *Deng Li Min as Wang Zhen (王振), Zhu Qizhen's ally *Lu Sen Bao as Cao Jixiang (曹吉祥), Zhu Qiyu's ally *Yang Guang as Zhao Guogong (趙國公) *Xu Pengkai as General Shi Heng (石亨) *Qu Zhe Ming as Xiao Shun Zi (小順子), Zhu Qizhen's servant *Li Wei Ting as Xiao Ma Zi (小馬子), Zhu Qiyu's servant *

Hu Bingqing Hu Bingqing (, born 25 January 1992) is a Chinese actress who graduated from the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art. She is recognized for her role as Qi Baicao in '' The Whirlwind Girl'' (2015), Gao Yue in '' The Legend of Qin'' (2015) and Dugu Qi ...

as Ru Xiang (如香), Empress Qian's personal attendant *Lu Yuan Yuan as Ding Xiang (丁香), Yun Xian's personal attendant *Ma Xiang Yi as Lan Cao (蘭草), Wang Meilin's personal attendant *Tan Xin Rou as Yu Xiang (玉香), Empress Dowager Sun's personal attendant *Fang Gong Min as Fan Gong (范弘), Empress Dowager Sun's confidante

Others

*Zhu Hong as Chen Biniang (陳碧娘), a dancer at Nan Xi Brothel *Wang Chun Yuan as Wang Daoshi (王道士), Head of Nan Xi Brothel and Yun Xian's master *Lv Liang as Yu Dongyang (于东阳), Yun Xian's godfather *Lu Fang Mei as Madame Yu (于夫人), Yun Xian's godmother *Fang Zi Chun as Luo Da Niang (罗大娘), a female physician who once taught Yun Xian

Historical accuracy

The titular character in the drama series,

, is a real-life historical figure who came from a renowned medical family. She was one of the few female physicians/doctors that was known to exist in history. Before her death, she published a book titled "Sayings of a Female Doctor", which was passed on throughout generations. However, the romance depicted in the drama between Tan Yunxian and the two Emperors is strictly fictional. In reality, Tan Yunxian did not exist in the same time period as

and Zhu Qiyu, and naturally would not be able to work at the Zhengtong Emperor's Palace. The character in the story is actually a combination of

and the historical

Empress Hang Empress Hang (肅孝皇后; d. 1456) was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Jingtai Emperor. Hang was originally a concubine of Jingtai. When the elder brother of Jingtai was taken prisoner by the Mongols in 1449, Han ...

. During the writing of the drama, screenwriter Zhang Wei consulted professional Chinese physicians regarding medical terminology and prescription use. Lead actress Cecilia Liu reportedly took lessons with a traditional physician to learn the basics of Chinese medicine and treatment (such as

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

, taking pulse and massage techniques) in preparation for the role.

Soundtrack

Reception

The series received positive feedback from the audience and topped

Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the l ...

's charts of most popular TV dramas in China. It gained attention for its exquisite costumes, showcase of traditional Chinese medicine and performance of its leads. The series was also noted for featuring a well-respected female figure in China history. The series was also commercially successful, achieving an average ratings of 1.2 on both

and

and placing first in its ratings slot nationally. It was among the highest rated dramas of the year, and ranked #9 on Huading's Top 100 Satisfaction Survey for TV series.

Ratings

* Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imperial Doctress, The Chinese medical television series Chinese historical television series Alternate history television series 2016 Chinese television series debuts 2016 Chinese television series endings Television series by Tangren Media Television series set in the Ming dynasty Jiangsu Television original programming Dragon Television original programming Television series by New Classics Media Television series set in the 15th century Television shows set in Beijing