Historical Drama

Jean-Luc Nguyen

16 Historical Drama – 歷史劇 (lìshǐjù)

Jean-Luc Nguyen

simplified Chinese: 歷史劇; pinyin: lìshǐjù

历史剧 (lìshǐjù), also known as a historical drama, has played a crucial role in the development of Chinese entertainment throughout the years. Historical drama signifies episodes that revolve around historical China, strongly emphasizing costumes and fantasy themes. As a result, this includes things such as magical powers, heaven, and many more. Such themes are essential in Chinese culture; therefore, these dramas allow viewers to reconnect with Chinese history. Additionally, “historical serials have been the dominant genre on prime-time television. The trend peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with many palace (also known as “Qing”) dramas shown on television” (Wikipedia). In today’s society, dramas have reached their all-time high in terms of popularity. Furthermore, with the recent pandemic, many people seek entertainment through watching shows; thus, many discover historical dramas. Also, because of the rapid spread of popularity, there is countless Chinese historical drama on Netflix and other popular streaming platforms for users to watch. This idea illustrates how not only did historical drama dominate China’s entertainment industry, but it was also able to industrialize itself into the international market.

The images I provided below are the selections of historical drama you can view on a popular streaming platform such as Netflix. Although we are in the United States region, the streaming platforms provide users with many historical Chinese dramas to choose from; this demonstrates the high demand and impact that historical drama has built upon globally. I also provided another image that showcases a glimpse of the film “Eternal Love.” This is one of the most popular Chinese historical dramas that has touched the hearts of many fans worldwide. Moreover, you can see the characters’ unique clothing, which differs greatly from the modern drama. Furthermore, I provided a scene showing the character exhibiting magic. These factors make Chinese history with a fictional twist come to life compared to drama in the modern world. Because of this, it attracts many viewers as it is different and has the ability to hook the reader with its episodes. Fans use a popular phrase: “What are some good historical dramas I should watch.” If you look on the internet, countless websites provide a variety of suggestions on different historical dramas fans should watch as they dive deeper and explore the endless entertainment that historical drama can provide for them.