View source for The Firmament of the Pleiades

[[File:CangQiongZhiMao.jpg|thumb|250px|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):''' [[Wikipedia:You Were.../Ballad|''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 [[Wikipedia:Forbidden City|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==
<vote type=1/>

==Cast==
[[File:SokyunoSubaru-chart.png|thumb|320px|Correlation chart]]
;Main
*[[Tanaka Yuko]] as [[Wikipedia:Empress Dowager Cixi|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 (1982)|Zhang Bo]] as [[Wikipedia:Guangxu Emperor|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 [[Wikipedia:Ronglu|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 [[Wikipedia:Empress Dowager Longyu|Long Yu]]
*[[Zhang Meng (1988)|Zhang Meng]] as [[Wikipedia:Imperial Consort Zhen|Consort Zhen]] (voiced by [[Zhang Ai]])
*[[Zhang Xiao Chen (actress)|Zhang Xiao Chen]] as [[Wikipedia:Imperial Consort Jin|Consort Jin]]
*[[Wang Hui (Actress)|Wang Hui]] (王慧) as Yehenara Wan Zhen (Prince Chun's wife, Ci Xi's younger sister)

;Eunuchs and Servants
*[[Shi Xiao Man]] as [[Wikipedia:Li Lianying|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]] as [[Wikipedia:Yixin, 1st Prince Gong|Prince Gong]]
*[[Yang Yi]] (杨艺) as [[Wikipedia:Yixuan, 1st Prince Chun|Prince Chun]]
*[[Sui Shu Yang]] as [[Wikipedia:Zaize|Zai Ze]]
*[[An Rui Yun]] (安瑞云) as [[Wikipedia:Daišan|Dai San]]

;Military Personnel and Scholars
*[[Xue Yong]] (薛勇) as [[Wikipedia:Yuan Shi Kai|Yuan Shi Kai]]
*[[Wang Wei]] (王衛) as [[Wikipedia:Kang Youwei|Kang You Wei]]
*[[Tanaka Ryuzo]] (田中隆三) as [[Wikipedia:Shiba Gorō|General Shiba]]

;Others
*[[Hirata Mitsuru]] as [[Wikipedia:Itō Hirobumi|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 [[Wikipedia:Jirō Asada|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==
{| class="ratingtable"
! 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
|-
! colspan=2 | Average || 5.1
|-
|}

==External Links==
*[http://www.nhk.or.jp/drama/archives/subaru NHK Official site]
*[[Wikipedia:ja:蒼穹の昴#テレビドラマ|Japanese Wikipedia]]
*[http://ent.sina.com.cn/f/v/cqzm Sina]
*[http://baike.baidu.com/view/2429686.htm#sub6418532 Baidu baike]

[[Category:CDrama]] [[Category:CDrama2010]] [[Category:Beijing TV]] [[Category:JDrama]] [[Category:JDrama2010]] [[Category:NHK]]
[[Category:Historical]]
[[Category:HualuBaina Film & TV]]