The Firmament of the Pleiades

Soukyu no Subaru

Details

Title: 蒼穹の昴 (そうきゅうのすばる)
Title (romaji): Soukyu no Subaru
Title (Chinese): 苍穹之昴 / Cang Qiong Zhi Mao
Title (English): The Firmament of the Pleiades
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Historical, 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.

User/Viewer Ratings

3.86

(7 votes)

Cast

Correlation chart

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 (voiced by Zhang Ai)
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

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

Episode Information

Episode	Subtitle	Ratings (Japan - NHK dubbed version)
01	The Forbidden City	4.6
02	Mother and child	5.3
03	Apprenticeship	4.8
04	Selection of the empress	3.8
05	To the imperial court	3.6
06	The emperor's favorite	6.2
07	Hearsay	4.5
08	Song of the dragon's jade	6.0
09	The spirit of love	4.0
10	Wedding gift	5.2
11	The first interview	5.2
12	Each battle	5.8
13	Outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War	4.3
14	The waves of revolution	4.5
15	Assassination plan	4.1
16	Yang Xi Zhen's death	3.7
17	Revenge	5.0
18	Identity of the mastermind	6.2
19	Rushed reform	5.9
20	Yuan Shi Kai	4.3
21	Betrayal	5.2
22	Mid-Autumn Festival banquet	6.8
23	Bloody coup	5.6
24	Begging for mercy	7.1
25	Eternal Pleiades	6.3
Average		5.1

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