Details
Chinese title: 苍穹之昴 / Cang Qiong Zhi Mao
Japanese title: 蒼穹の昴 (そうきゅうのすばる)
Japanese title (romaji): Sokyu no Subaru
English title: The Firmament of the Pleiades
Genre: Period drama, politics
Episodes: 25 (Japan) / 28 (China)
Viewership rating: 5.1 (NHK dubbed version)
Broadcast networks: NHK (Japan) / BTV (China)
Broadcast period: 2010-Jan-02 to 2010-Jul-10 (NHK subtitled version) / 2010-Sep-26 to 2011-Mar-27 (NHK dubbed version) / 2010-Mar-14 to 2010-Mar-17 (BTV)
Air time: Saturday 22:00 (NHK subtitled version) / Sunday 23:00 (NHK dubbed version) / 2 episodes nightly at 19:42 (BTV)
Theme song (Japan version): BALLAD by Hamasaki Ayumi
Synopsis
In late Qing dynasty China, Chun Er, an impoverished country youth, makes a living picking up manure in order to take care of his sickly adoptive mother Lian Zi and younger sister Ling Er. In a desperate act, Chun Er performs self-castration to obtain reward money from the government to cure his mother's illness. Liang Wen Xiu, the son of a wealthy landowner, discovers that Lian Zi is actually his biological mother, and is extremely touched by Chun Er's sacrifice. He and Chun Er head to The Forbidden City with Ling Er in hopes for a better future. Wen Xiu becomes the top scorer on the imperial exams and is rewarded with an important position in the Qing court while Chun Er would become a top eunuch greatly favored by Empress Dowager Ci Xi. Their fates are intertwined with those of Ci Xi and her puppet emperor Guang Xu as they become embroiled in the political intrigue of a tumultuous era.
Cast
Main
Tanaka Yuko as Empress Dowager Ci Xi
Kan Qing Zi as young Ci Xi
Yu Shao Qun as Chun Er (Li Chun Yun)
Wang He Yu as young Chun Er
Zhou Yi Wei as Liang Wen Xiu
Yin Tao as Madam Zhang
Zhang Bo as Emperor Guang Xu
Zhao Li Ying as Ling Er (Li Ling Ling)
Jiang Yi Yi as young Ling Er
Qing Court Ministers
Chu Xiao as Rong Lu
Wang Yi as Yang Xi Zhen
Qu Yang (屈扬) as Wang Yi
Zhou Jun (周俊) as Shun Gui
Imperial Wives
Sang Sang (桑桑) as Long Yu
Zhang Meng as Consort Zhen
Zhang Xiao Chen as Consort Jin
Wang Hui (王慧) as Yehenara Wan Zhen (Prince Chun's wife, Ci Xi's younger sister)
Eunuchs and Servants
Shi Xiao Man as Li Lian Ying
Li Yan Ming as Lan Qin
Ma Xiao Ning as Chen Lian Yuan
Liu Chang Sheng as Lao De Zi (An De Hai)
Song Zhen Gang (宋振刚) as Dai En Ru
Tian Na (田娜) as Yan Zi
Zhuang Yu Ting (庄玉婷) as Qing Xue
Imperial Family
Wang Wei Jun (王伟军) as Prince Gong
Yang Yi (杨艺) as Prince Chun
Sui Shu Yang as Zai Ze
An Rui Yun (安瑞云) as Dai San
Military Personnel and Scholars
Xue Yong (薛勇) as Yuan Shi Kai
Wang Wei (王衛) as Kang You Wei
Tanaka Ryuzo (田中隆三) as General Shiba
Others
Hirata Mitsuru as Ito Hirobumi
Ozawa Yukiyoshi as Oka Kinnosuke (Japanese reporter)
Zheng Jie (郑洁) as Tom Barton (American reporter)
Xu Bai Hui as Yang Qing Yun (Yang Xi Zhen's daughter)
Chen Yi Sha as Lian Zi
Fu Ya Nan (付亚南) as Granny Bai
Du Fu Yuan (杜福元) as Hei Mu Dan (Black Peony)
Production Credits
Original writing (novel): Sokyu no Subaru by Asada Jiro
Screenwriters: Yang Hai Wei, Huang Ke
Chief producers: Liu De Hong (刘德宏), Zhang Xiao (张晓), Zhang Qiang (张强)
Producers: Luo Li Ping, Zhao Tong (赵彤), Yu Jin Wei (余金伟), Chen Run Sheng (陈润生), Wang Xiao Dong (王晓东)
Director: Wang Jun
Music: Dong Li Qiang
