The Princess Weiyoung
The Princess Weiyoung is a 2016 Chinese television series starring Tiffany Tang in the title role, alongside Luo Jin, Vanness Wu, Mao Xiaotong and Li Xinai. It is adapted from the novel The Poisonous Daughter by Qin Jian and is a fictionalized account of Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei's reign and Empress Feng 's regency. The series aired on Dragon TV and Beijing TV from November 11th to December 9th 2016.
The series received mixed reviews. It was praised for its tight plot and fast storyline and vivid character personas. It was also praised for showcasing the story of growth of a strong and independent female lead, as well as fleshing out the background stories of various supporting characters. Viewership ratings also reached as high as 2%, making it one of the highest rated drama of 2016. However it was criticized for its cliché plot devices, illogical plot details, use of excessive and inappropriate makeup, and dubbing of actors' voices.
Its spin-off/sequel, The Song of Glory, was aired on July 2020.
Synopsis
During the chaotic Northern and Southern Dynasties, in Northern Liang's royal family lived a princess named Feng Xin'er who was kind, carefree and loved by all. Chiyun Nan, a marshal from the Chiyun clan of Northern Wei, takes it upon himself to overrun Northern Liang for his greed and turned it into a bloodbath, killing almost the entire royal family and forcing the princess to survive on her own.Li Wei yang, the daughter of the Prime Minister of Northern Wei, shielded the princess from harm. However, Weiyang dies protecting Xin'er due to the fact that the Chiyun family is not pleased when it is time to recall her back to their family manor, and the latter assumes Weiyoung's identity to reside in her home, where she is disliked and shunned by her half-sister Li Changle and her mother Chiyun Rou. She thus took it upon herself to fight against the Chiyun clan and unexpectedly, became entangled with Northern Wei's prince, Tuoba Jun. She also attracts the eye of Tuoba Yu who sees her as a chess piece to his ultimate aim of being Emperor. Through her struggles, she gains wisdom and is finally able to find peace for her family and live true to her heart.
Cast
Main
- Tiffany Tang as Li Wei Yang / Feng Xin'er
- * Kind, bright and intelligent, she seek to investigate the truth after her kingdom is destroyed and her family is assassinated. Being in reality the princess of Northern Liang, she assumed her friend Weiyoung's identity as the illegitimate daughter of Prime Minister Li, in order be able to avenge her own family as well as Weiyoung. In the process she falls in love with the Emperor's grandson without knowing his status at first, then tries to rebuff him when she realizes who he is.
- Luo Jin as Tuoba Jun, Prince Gaoyang
- * Bright, sunny and compassionate, Tuoba Jun is the Emperor's favorite grandson as well as the deceased Crown Prince's son. As a result, he is targeted by the Emperor's sons, Tuoba Han and Tuoba Yu. However, he doesn’t care about royal politics. His sincerity and unwavering love towards Weiyoung despite her desire for revenge makes her fall for him.
- Vanness Wu as Tuoba Yu, Prince Nanan
- * Cunning, ruthless and cold-blooded, Tuoba Yu's greatest ambition is to become the Emperor and rule the world. He is attracted by Weiyoung's intelligence and wit, and plans to use her as a chess piece to realize his ambitions. However, he soon falls for her, and is willing to go to extreme lengths to have her by his side.
- Mao Xiaotong as Li Changru, Daughter of the 2nd aunt of the Li Family. Weiyoung's younger cousin.
- * She's been in love Tuoba Yu since young. Having been oppressed and overshadowed by her elder cousin Li Changle from young, she becomes ruthless and seeks to topple her cousin. She hides her hypocritical and scheming nature behind her weak and delicate appearance. She treats Weiyoung sincerely at first, but turns against her when she discovered that Tuoba Yu has fallen for her, and as a result she betrays Weiyoung. She eventually becomes pregnant with Tuoba Yu's child.
- Li Xinai as Li Changle, Daughter of Chiyun Rou and Li Xiaoran. Wei yang's older half-sister.
- * Known as the #1 beauty in the capital province, she is arrogant and selfish, believing that no woman is better than her. The appearance of Li Weiyoung makes her insecure and jealous. She seeks to get rid of Weiyoung and marry Tuoba Jun whom she has had a crush on since long ago. After she frames Li Weiyoung for the death of the Crown Princess, she eventually becomes the wife of Tuoba Jun. After it was discovered that she was the real murderer, she was to kill herself as punishment.
Supporting
Northern Wei
People in palace
- Canti Lau as Tuoba Tao, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei. He was betrayed by Zong Ai at the end.
- Wan Meixi as Empress of Northern Wei
- Ding Ziling as Lu Zhaoyi
- * Tuoba Tao's concubine and Tuoba Yu's mother.
- Wang Yujing as Tuoba Huang, former Crown Prince.
- * Tuoba Jun's deceased father. He was framed by Zong Ai and imprisoned by the Emperor, and died of acute illness shortly after.
- Xu Rongzhen as Crown Princess, Tuoba Jun's mother.
- Zhang Tianyang as Tuoba Han, Prince Dongping
- * He tries to murder Tuoba Jun on the hunting grounds by setting a hidden trap, which Changle uses as well to get rid of Weiyoung after discovering it. In an attempt to take down Tuoba Yu, who he saw as a threat in his ambitions to become the successor, Tuoba Han frames Weiyoung for attempting to poison the Empress. When the truth of all his schemes and the collusion with local authorities to enclose lands for personal gains was exposed, the Emperor was about to have him and those involved executed, but instead he was abolished as a civilian and confined in his own manor.
- Chen Yuqi as Tuoba Di, Ninth Princess
- * She initially dresses as a man to make fun of Li Minde, thinking he was the one who wanted her hand in marriage. After learning archery and spending time with him, she falls in love with him. Although her love was initially un-reciprocated, she takes it in stride and continued to help Li Minde protect Weiyoung. In the end, she gets together with Li Minde after nearly losing her life.
- Hou Ruixiang as Zong Ai, The Emperor's personal eunuch.
- * He is actually Tuoba Yu's underling. He is discovered for his betrayal after trying to steal the account record that proved the Crown Prince's innocence.
- Meng Fei as Gao Yun
- Rui Weihang as Cheng De, Tuoba Jun's subordinate. He likes Jun Tao.
- Wu Hong as Cheng An, Tuoba Yu's subordinate.
- Zhang Yuechi as Jiang Zuo, Tuoba Han's subordinate.
- Guan Shan as Qiu Yi, Personal servant of Crown princess.
- Jiang Zhen as Xiaolinzi
- Liu Fenggang as Physician Liu
- Han Yan as Head Attendant Liang
- Li Jiaxi as Cai Ping
Li Household
- Wang Liyuan as Old Granny Li, Li Weiyoung's grandmother.
- Bai Fan as Li Xiaoran,
- * Prime Minister of Northern Wei. Li Weiyoung's father.
- Lily Tien as Chiyun Rou
- * First lady of the Li family. Li Xiaoran's wife; Li Minfeng and Li Changle's birth mother. An evil woman who conspires to kill Weiyoung so that she will not overshadow Changle. She dies from poisoning herself in a scheme to rid of Weiyoung.
- Hu Caihong as Wen Weiyi
- * Second lady of the Li Family. Li Changru and Li Changxi's birth mother.
- Wang Wanjuan as Zhou Xuemei
- * Third lady of the Li Family. Li Minde's adoptive mother. She is killed by Chiyun Rou, who plotted to deliberately infect her with a highly contagious disease.
- Liu Jie as Seventh Madame
- * Li Weiyoung's birth mother. A kind woman, she discovers that Xin'er is not the real Weiyoung but helps keep her secret, and decides to consider Xin'er as her daughter after she confronts her for the truth.
- Nan Fulong as Li Minfeng
- * Eldest son of the Li family. He is power-hungry and manipulative. He uses Zi Yan to harm Weiyoung, and dumps her after that. He is killed by Jun Tao after an elaborate plot set up by Weiyoung to avenge Zi Yan's death at his hands.
- Li Yixiao as Li Weiyoung
- * Second mistress of the Li household. She was thrown out of the Li household as she was born on an inauspicious date. Li Weiyoung saves Feng Xin'er's life and is killed not long after. After Weiyoung's death, Xin'er assumes her identity to avenge both the murder of her father and grandmother, and also Weiyoung herself.
- Peng Doudou as Li Changxi
- * Fourth young mistress of the Li family. She likes to eat, and often sucks up to Li Changle.
- Zhou Meiyi as Chun Ming
- * Chiyun Rou's accomplice and personal servant.
- Mu Le'en as Bai Zhi
- * Li Weiyoung's loyal servant. She later dies at the hands of Li Changru.
- Tian Yixi as Zi Yan
- * Li Weiyoung's personal servant. She betrays Weiyoung after being manipulated by Li Minfeng. She falls pregnant with his child, and ends up in his household where she is mistreated daily by him. She was rescued by Zhou Xuemei, and died in Weiyoung's arms.
- Peng Yingying as Cui'er, Seventh Madame's personal servant.
- Jin Pohan as Rong'er
- * Li Changru's loyal servant who is her accomplice in killing Bai Zhi.
- Chang Shixin as Tan Xiang, Li Changle's personal servant.
- Wang Tianhong as Liu Hong, Li Changxi's personal servant.
- Dai Chunrong as Madame Liu, Li Weiyoung's care taker.
- * She mistreats Weiyoung and after her death, agrees to help pass Xin'er off as Weiyoung to prevent her family from being harmed. She later betrays Xin'er and reveals the deception after being threatened by Chiyun Rou.
- Zhu Xingyu as Ping An, Li Minde's subordinate.
- Tan Songmei as Mother Luo, Old Granny Li's personal servant.
Chiyun Household
- Tang Jiayang as Old Granny Chiyun
- Jin Han as Chiyun Nan
- * Great general of Northern Wei. Chiyun Rou's nephew. He plotted and framed King Hexi of Northern Liang for rebellion in order to satisfy his greed. He eventually works for Tuoba Yu after he saves his life.
- Ji Xiaobing as Chiyun Si
- Zhang Shenghao as Chiyun Wei
- Yang Zuqing as Hong Luo
- * Chiyun Nan's faithful follower who is in love with him.
Northern Liang
- Leanne Liu as Queen Dowager
- * Feng Xin'er's loving grandmother who sacrifices herself to protect her granddaughter.
- Tan Kai as King Hexi of Northern Liang
- * Feng Xin'er's father who was framed for staging a coup and killed by Chiyun Nan.
- Sun Wei as Uncle Ming
- * Head of the royal guards. Jun Tao's father. He killed by Chiyun Nan.
- Wang Yanzhi as Jun Tao
- * Feng Xin'er's royal bodyguard. She later continues to stay by her side as a confidante, after Xin'er assumed Weiyoung's identity. She likes Cheng De.
- Zhang Hengping as Fortune Teller Monk
Rou Ran
- Liang Zhenlun as Li Minde / Prince Yuan Lie, Crown Prince of Rou Ran.
- * He was adopted as the second young master of Li Family by Zhou Xuemei. He likes Weiyoung initially, but later falls for Tuoba Di.
- Wang Wei as Princess An Le, Yuan Lie's younger sister.
- Li Ang as General Jiao
- * Minister of Rou Ran Kingdom. He secretly trails and protects Li Minde / Yuan Lie.
Soundtrack
- If Heaven Has Compassion – A-Lin
- Heavenly Gift – Tiffany Tang and Luo Jin
- Next Life – Li Qi
- Fate Because of Me – Jin Han
- Growing Old Interdependently – Jin Chi and Sun Bolun
- Illuminating Jade Treasury of Wisdom – Cui Zige
- A Lifetime of Waiting – Hana Kuk
Reception
Ratings
- Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue
Controversy
According to Beijing News, a group of volunteers compared The Poisonous Daughter with more than 200 other novels. They found that out of 294 chapters, only nine chapters were original.
On May 8, 2019, the Chaoyang District People's Court has declared Qin Jian is guilty of infringing the works of Shen Wenwen, who wrote the novel 身历六帝宠不衰 that The Poisonous Daughter has copied from. Qin Jian has to compensate Shen Wenwen a total amount of 136,500 yuan for economic loss and intellectual copyright protection within 10 days from the verdict. Moreover, she must immediately cease sales and distribution of the novel upon the day the sentence that is handed down.
Awards and nominations
International broadcast
- 8TV – 21 February 2017
- MediaCorp Channel 8 – 3 June 2017
- TVB Jade – 23 January 2017
- Chunghwa TV – 19 December 2016
- GTV Drama – 8 May 2017
- Oh!K – Coming Soon
- ThaiPBS – 13 January 2019
- NTV7 – 4 June 2019