''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 Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

and chronicles the life of

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

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 o ...

(it was also the chief location for

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 14 November 1950) is a Chinese filmmaker.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 21 August 2008. A leading figure of China's Cinem ...

's 1991 film ''

Raise the Red Lantern ''Raise the Red Lantern'' is a 1991 period drama 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. A Chinese-Hong Kong c ...

'').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, 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 tele ...

'' (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 and director. He is best known for his roles in television series, including Cao Cao in ''Three Kingdoms'' (2010) and the Emperor Yongzheng in '' Empresses in the Palace'' (2011)''.'' In 2014, ...

and

Jiang Qinqin Jiang Qinqin (; born 3 September 1975) is a Chinese actress. Early in her career, she was credited as Shui Ling (), a stage name given by Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao. Early life and education Jiang was born in Chongqing on 3 September 1975. ...

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.

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), also known by his temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing, personal name Yizhu, was the eighth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper. During his re ...

when Qiao Zhiyong, a young scholar, leaves for

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

for the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

. 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 ( zh, c=武夷山, p=Wǔyí Shān, poj=Bú-î-soaⁿ; formerly known as Bohea Hills in early Western documents) are a mountain range located in the prefecture of Nanping, in northern Fujian, Fujian province near t ...

, the heart of Chinese tea cultivation, to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

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 ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

, 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 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

of 1894-95 and the

Boxer Protocol The Boxer Protocol was a Protocol (diplomacy), diplomatic protocol signed in China's capital Beijing on September 7, 1901, between the Qing dynasty, Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces (including ...

of 1901.

Main cast

as Qiao Zhiyong (乔致庸) *

as Lu Yuhan (陆玉菡) * Ma Yili as Jiang Xueying (江雪瑛) *

Ni Dahong Ni Dahong (; born 18 April 1960) is a Chinese actor best known for his roles as Sima Yi in the historical television series ''Three Kingdoms'', based on the classical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' by Luo Guanzhong; and Su Daqiang in fa ...

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