September 22, 2018, 05:54 PM 
To give you a highly precise gauge of my Chinese proficiency, here's a conversation I had with my Chinese teacher almost 20 years ago:
Me: Cher, I scored a B3, should I retake my Chinese O level exams and aim for a better grade?
Cher: It's ok. Don't waste your time. This is the best you could do.
And that was the end of my affinity with the language.
Some 20 years later, I'm sucked into a world of backstabbing concubines during the Qing Dynasty speaking Mandarin so archaic even Simplified Chinese subs don't work for me.
That is the power of Yanxi Palace (henceforth known as YP) and after some amateurish googling, I'm super convinced that it is the soft power China craves.
Everyone is cray about it
First things first, I'd like to say that I'm hardly alone in this.
My colleagues, who have already finished all 70 episodes and regained more sleeping time, wrote the following:
In the larger context, here are some numbers, according to South China Morning Post, that would look great in my bank account:
- a total of 530 million viewers tuned in on Aug. 12, 2018 on iQiyi, China's answer to Netflix and produced YP.
- a cumulative 5.6 billion views (and counting) since its release in July.
- an average of 130 million views per episode.
Sure, these numbers are for the domestic audience but check this out:
- it is one of the most widely distributed Chinese drama.
- it is available in more than 70 markets globally, including Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Yes, even *gasp* Taiwan!1!!
Well, we know Taiwan and China aren't exactly best buds but that's not stopping Taiwanese from consuming YP by the buckets.
Now, according to The Telegraph:
Click to read article
It also noted that:
"An annual poll, released by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation earlier this month, showed that for the first time, more respondents had a positive impression of China, rising over four percent to 48.8 percent. Those who saw China negatively dropped from 47.4 percent to 43.9 percent."
And those numbers are based off dramas that are less popular than YP.
In fact, SCMP quoted one Chuang Chia-yin, an associate professor of National Taiwan Normal University:
“Many young people, who used to chase Japanese or Korean entertainment programmes, have now shifted to blockbuster TV dramas and talent shows from the mainland and buy things from the Tao Bao shopping website."
When sovereignty got in the way
Speaking of which, a website in Vietnam actually managed to get episodes that had not been aired in China and actually made addicted viewers answer a quiz about disputed islands in the South China Sea, according to this Reuters article.
“This service is for Vietnamese people only. Please answer the following questions: To which country do the Hoang Sa (Paracel Islands) belong? Vietnam, China, Philippines or Japan?”
Screenshot from bomtan.org
The only way to watch is to answer "Vietnam".
Might as well just have only one option, makes life a lot easier, especially if you don't know or don't really care who owns the Paracel Islands.
Yes, naturally politics got in the way of a series about a bunch of concubines engaging in 70 episodes worth of non-stop politicking.
The fashion of Yanxi Palace
Other than the twists and turns, YP also garnered plenty of praises for its intricate set designs and fashion.
There are makeup tutorials:
Hairdo tutorials...
How-to-look-exactly-not-like-you tutorials...
Wannabe cosplay... (Halloween is coming soon, you are welcome)
Real cosplay...
Vietnamese guy cosplaying Manchu official Fuheng 傅恒 from hit Chinese Drama “Yanxi Palace”. Historical Fuheng was the brother-in-law of Qianlong Emperor, Commander of Qing Imperial Forces in conquering Turkestan (Xinjiang) and Tibet. pic.twitter.com/2IIzC0eDum
— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) September 10, 2018
And it inspired anything from nails...
to hair dye...
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnxRYTwl0gG/
and cakes?
Ultimately, its popularity translates to real life
We all know this scenario:
But for YP fanatics, the fervent behaviour is real.
In marketing parlance, this is the conversion rate that is every marketing professional's wet dream.
The Forbidden City saw a surge in visitors, who wanted to visit the places where the protagonists used to live, reported China Daily.
Click to read article.
Suddenly, everyone wants in on Chinese feudal history. Like this dude.
Such a phenomenon is akin to what the effect of Korean hit series Winter Sonata had on tourism.
The Forbidden Palace's visitors take back more than just selfies -- the Chinese get to understand their roots while tourists bring home knowledge of Chinese culture -- probably the best kind of advertisement for China.
Perfect advert to showcase China's progressiveness
YP is essentially a Qing dynasty drama made for the 21st-century audience.
Viewers tuning in hoping to take in traditional Chinese culture will probably be surprised by its contemporary theme of feminism.
Wei Yingluo, the protagonist, is no damsel in distress, far from that.
In fact, she breaks all the rules and doesn't give a single f*** about pleasing the emperor (unless she's trying to get out of a sticky situation or get what she wants).
Here's Wei, as a palace maid, giving someone with a higher rank a slap:
To prove her badassery, here's a gif of the emperor vomiting blood because of her words:
Not new but YP could be the tipping point
China's push for soft power obviously started way before YP.
In fact, Chinese variety shows kind of kickstarted everything. Elaborate sets, big money, famous superstars. You name it, they've got it.
Earlier this year, China urged overseas Chinese to live and do business in China; the variety shows have also been doing the same.
YP could just be the tipping point.
The end. I shall proceed to episode 40.
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