Inside the Forbidden City

Inside the Forbidden City 1965

sòng gōng 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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happy; cheerful; to laugh HSK 3
lóng dragon; imperial HSK 3
調 diào to transfer; to move (troops or cadres); to investigate; to enquire into; accent; view; argument; key (in music); mode (music); tune; tone; melody HSK 3
leather; skin; fur; pico- (one trillionth); naughty HSK 3
shì room; work unit; grave; scabbard; family or clan; one of the 28 constellations of Chinese astronomy HSK 3
zuǒ yòu left and right; nearby; approximately; attendant; to control; to influence HSK 3
Cháo abbr. for 朝鲜 Korea HSK 3
chuán to pass on; to spread; to transmit; to infect; to transfer; to circulate; to conduct (electricity) HSK 3
zhí dào until HSK 3
broken; damaged; worn out; lousy; rotten; to break, split or cleave; to get rid of; to destroy; to break with; to defeat; to capture (a city etc); to expose the truth of HSK 3
tòng ache; pain; sorrow; deeply; thoroughly HSK 3
diagram; picture; drawing; chart; map; to plan; to scheme; to attempt; to pursue; to seek HSK 3
jiù to save; to assist; to rescue HSK 3
luàn in confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary HSK 3
huǒ fire; urgent; ammunition; fiery or flaming; internal heat (Chinese medicine); hot (popular); classifier for military units (old); Kangxi radical 86 HSK 3
nán dào don't tell me ...; could it be that...? HSK 3
shì shí fact HSK 3
each; every HSK 3
shēn deep (lit. and fig.) HSK 3
qīn mother; also pr. [mǔ qin] HSK 3
a step; a pace; walk; march; stages in a process; situation HSK 3
bào to announce; to inform; report; newspaper; recompense; revenge HSK 3
suí to follow; to comply with; varying according to...; to allow; subsequently HSK 3
gǎn to dare; daring; (polite) may I venture HSK 3
ān pái to arrange; to plan; to set up; arrangements; plans HSK 3
chéng city walls; city; town HSK 3
father and mother; parents HSK 3
xià to go down; to descend; to go on; to continue; (of a servant) to withdraw HSK 3
jīn gold; chemical element Au; generic term for lustrous and ductile metals; money; golden; highly respected; one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 音 HSK 3
jiǎn dān simple; not complicated HSK 3
àn to press; to push; to leave aside or shelve; to control; to restrain; to keep one's hand on; to check or refer to; according to; in the light of; (of an editor or author) to make a comment HSK 3
yīn thus; consequently; as a result HSK 3
miàn inside; interior; also pr. [lǐ mian] HSK 3
rán sudden; abrupt; unexpected HSK 3
shuāng two; double; pair; both; even (number) HSK 3
zhǐ finger; to point at or to; to indicate or refer to; to depend on; to count on; (of hair) to stand on end HSK 3
rén individual; personal; oneself HSK 3
xià lai to come down; (completed action marker); (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.); (indicates continuation from the past towards us); to be harvested (of crops); to be over (of a period of time); to go among the masses (said of leaders) HSK 3
horse; horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess; knight in Western chess HSK 3
gēn běn fundamental; basic; root; simply; absolutely (not); (not) at all HSK 3
zhuǎi see 转文 HSK 3
lián to link; to join; to connect; continuously; in succession; including; (used with 也, 都 etc) even; company (military) HSK 3
使 使 shǐ to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger HSK 3
shòu to receive; to accept; to suffer; subjected to; to bear; to stand; pleasant; (passive marker) HSK 3
how; what way; what HSK 3
yóu to follow; from; because of; due to; by; via; through; (before a noun and a verb) it is for ... to ... HSK 3
nèi inside; inner; internal; within; interior HSK 3
zhāng to open up; to spread; sheet of paper; classifier for flat objects, sheet; classifier for votes HSK 3
already; to stop; then; afterwards HSK 3
xīn heart; mind; intention; center; core HSK 3