Inside the Forbidden City

Inside the Forbidden City 1965

宋宫秘史 sòng gōng mì shǐ

It seems that Li Zhenfei was once an imperial concubine, who often found herself competing with her rival Madame Liu for the emperor's sole, undivided attention. When Li gives birth to the Emperor's child, the jealous Liu switches the boy with a cat and commands a servant named Kou Zhu to kill the baby. However, Kou Zhu ignores the order and gives the prince-to-be to the emperor's brother, a decision which eventually leads to the boy being adopted by the emperor himself! But as fate would have it, to go along with his new son, the emperor has a new wife as well - Madame Liu! As this strange new family unit is being constructed, poor Li Zhenfei has been confined to the forbidden palace, condemned to never see or speak to her son, the prince. But destiny reunites her with her son, but will this family reunion be a happy one? And will Madame Liu finally be punished for her treachery?

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6.59 Advanced

Vocabulary

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凭 憑 píng to lean against; to rely on; on the basis of; no matter (how, what etc); proof HSK 5
仔细 仔細 zǐ xì careful; attentive; cautious; to be careful; to look out HSK 5
真相 真相 zhēn xiàng the truth about sth; the actual facts HSK 5
猜 猜 cāi to guess HSK 5
人士 人士 rén shì person; figure; public figure HSK 5
撞 撞 zhuàng to knock against; to bump into; to run into; to meet by accident HSK 5
逃 逃 táo to escape; to run away; to flee HSK 5
可怜 可憐 kě lián pitiful; pathetic; to have pity on HSK 5
厉害 厲害 lì hai (used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible; intense; severe; devastating; amazing; awesome; outstanding; (of a person) stern; strict; harsh; shrewd; tough; (of an animal) fierce; (of a resemblance) striking; (of liquor or chili pepper) strong; (of bacteria) virulent HSK 5
戏 戲 xì trick; drama; play; show HSK 5
难以 難以 nán yǐ hard to (predict, imagine etc) HSK 5
恨 恨 hèn to hate; to regret HSK 5
愿 願 yuàn to hope; to wish; to desire; hoped-for; ready; willing HSK 5
丢 丟 diū to lose; to put aside; to throw HSK 5
鬼 鬼 guǐ disembodied spirit; ghost; devil; (suffix) person with a certain vice or addiction etc; sly; crafty; resourceful (variant of 诡); one of the 28 constellations of ancient Chinese astronomy HSK 5
待 待 dāi to stay HSK 5
居然 居然 jū rán unexpectedly; to one's surprise; go so far as to HSK 5
陪 陪 péi to accompany; to keep sb company; to assist; old variant of 赔 HSK 5
尽管 儘管 jǐn guǎn despite; although; even though; in spite of; unhesitatingly; do not hesitate (to ask, complain etc); (go ahead and do it) without hesitating HSK 5
至 至 zhì to arrive; most; to; until HSK 5
神 神 Shén God; abbr. for 舟 HSK 5
令 令 líng used in 令; used in 狐 (Taiwan pr. [lìng]) HSK 5
其 其 qí his; her; its; their; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) HSK 5
如此 如此 rú cǐ like this; so; such HSK 5
将 將 jiāng will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把) HSK 5
可 可 kě (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very HSK 5
无中生有 無中生有 wú zhōng shēng yǒu to create something from nothing (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 4
千辛万苦 千辛萬苦 qiān xīn wàn kǔ to suffer untold hardships (idiom); trials and tribulations; with difficulty; after some effort Idiom ∼HSK 4
死无对证 死無對證 sǐ wú duì zhèng the dead cannot testify (idiom); dead men tell no tales Idiom ∼HSK 4
秦镜高悬 秦鏡高懸 Qín jìng gāo xuán perspicacious and impartial in judgment (idiom) Idiom ∼HSK 4
怪事 怪事 guài shì strange thing; curious occurrence Xiehouyu ∼HSK 4
错怪 錯怪 cuò guài to blame sb wrongly Xiehouyu ∼HSK 4
苦 苦 kǔ bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly Xiehouyu HSK 4
老婆 老婆 lǎo pó (coll.) wife Colloquialism HSK 4
烧 燒 shāo to burn; to cook; to stew; to bake; to roast; to heat; to boil (tea, water etc); fever; to run a temperature; (coll.) to let things go to one's head Colloquialism HSK 4
抱 抱 bào to hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug; to embrace; to surround; to cherish; (coll.) (of clothes) to fit nicely Colloquialism HSK 4
李 李 Lǐ Li (surname) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
开封府 開封府 Kāi fēng fǔ Kaifeng as the capital of Northern Song dynasty Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
桥镇 橋鎮 Qiáo zhèn Bridgetown, capital of Barbados (Tw) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
包青天 包青天 Bāo Qīng tiān Bao Qingtian, fictional nickname of Bao Zheng (999-1062), Northern Song official renowned for his honesty Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
阎罗 閻羅 Yán luó (Buddhism) Yama, the King of Hell Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
永乐 永樂 Yǒng lè Yongle Emperor, reign name of third Ming emperor Zhu Di (1360-1424), reigned 1403-1424, temple name Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
永康 永康 Yǒng kāng Yongkang, county-level city in Jinhua, Zhejiang; Yungkang city in Tainan county, Taiwan Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
黄泉 黃泉 Huáng quán the Yellow Springs; the underworld of Chinese mythology; the equivalent of Hades or Hell Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
白玉 白玉 Bái yù Baiyü county (Tibetan: dpal yul rdzong) in Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Sichuan (formerly in Kham province of Tibet) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
宣德 宣德 Xuān dé Xuande Emperor, reign name of fifth Ming emperor Zhu Zhanji (1398-1435), reigned 1426-1436, temple name Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
三洋 三洋 Sān yáng Sanyō, Japanese electronics company Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
森罗殿 森羅殿 Sēn luó diàn the Palace of the King of Hell Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
江山 江山 Jiāng shān Jiangshan, county-level city in Quzhou, Zhejiang Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
郭 郭 Guō outer part (of a city); surname ∼HSK 4