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?

HSK 1
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6.59 Advanced

Vocabulary

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miàn face; side; surface; aspect; top; classifier for objects with flat surfaces such as drums, mirrors, flags etc HSK 2
sentence; clause; phrase; classifier for phrases or lines of verse HSK 2
wéi to think (i.e. to take it to be true that ...) (Usually there is an implication that the notion is mistaken – except when expressing one's own current opinion.) HSK 2
shēng to be born; to give birth; life; to grow; raw; uncooked; student HSK 2
used in 俟 HSK 2
jiǎng to speak; to explain; to negotiate; to emphasize; to be particular about; as far as sth is concerned; speech; lecture HSK 2
bàn means; method; way (of doing sth) HSK 2
dāng shí then; at that time; while HSK 2
jiā to add; plus; (used after an adverb such as 不, 大, 稍 etc, and before a disyllabic verb, to indicate that the action of the verb is applied to sth or sb previously mentioned); to apply (restrictions etc) to (sb); to give (support, consideration etc) to (sth) HSK 2
qiú to seek; to look for; to request; to demand; to beseech HSK 2
dào road; path; principle; truth; morality; reason; skill; method; Dao (of Daoism); to say; to speak; to talk; classifier for long thin things (rivers, cracks etc), barriers (walls, doors etc), questions (in an exam etc), commands, courses in a meal, steps in a process; (old) circuit (administrative division) HSK 2
zhōng among; in; included among these HSK 2
yǒu rén someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom) HSK 2
zhǐ yào if only; so long as HSK 2
suī rán although; even though (often used correlatively with 是 or 是 etc) HSK 2
xiāng xìn to be convinced (that sth is true); to believe; to accept sth as true HSK 2
jiē to receive; to answer (the phone); to meet or welcome sb; to connect; to catch; to join; to extend; to take one's turn on duty; to take over for sb HSK 2
xìn letter; mail; to trust; to believe; to profess faith in; truthful; confidence; trust; at will; at random HSK 2
yāo qiú to request; to require; requirement; to stake a claim; to ask; to demand HSK 2
hòu after; later; afterwards; following; later on; in the future HSK 2
shì but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed HSK 2
quán all; whole; entire; every; complete HSK 2
wán quán complete; whole; totally; entirely HSK 2
guò (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by HSK 2
tóu head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock HSK 2
chū xiàn to appear; to arise; to emerge; to show up HSK 2
huò maybe; perhaps; might; possibly; or HSK 2
jiàn item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc HSK 2
tiáo strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) HSK 2
rán hòu then; after that; afterwards HSK 2
shì qing affair; matter; thing; business HSK 2
ér qiě (not only ...) but also; moreover; in addition; furthermore HSK 2
míng name; noun (part of speech); place (e.g. among winners); famous; classifier for people HSK 2
chéng to succeed; to finish; to complete; to accomplish; to become; to turn into; to be all right; OK!; one tenth HSK 2
first; number one; primary HSK 2
yào don't!; must not HSK 2
guò only; merely; no more than; but; however; anyway (to get back to a previous topic); cannot be more (after adjectival) HSK 2
zhí straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through HSK 2
dìng surely; certainly; necessarily; fixed; a certain (extent etc); given; particular; must HSK 2
jiā everyone; influential family; great expert HSK 2
dài band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise HSK 2
wèi position; location; place; seat; classifier for people (honorific); classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes); (physics) potential HSK 2
yīng gāi ought to; should; must HSK 2
zhè me so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this HSK 2
xiàng towards; to face; to turn towards; direction; to support; to side with; shortly before; formerly; always; all along; (suffix) suitable for ...; oriented to ... HSK 2
me like that; in that way; or so; so; so very much; about; in that case HSK 2
suǒ therefore; as a result; so; the reason why HSK 2
dāng (onom.) dong; ding dong (bell) HSK 2
xiàng to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) HSK 2
cái ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only HSK 2