| Qiao's Grand Courtyard 乔家大院 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Written by | Zhu Qiuhai |
| Directed by | Hu Mei |
| Starring | Chen Jianbin Jiang Qinqin Ma Yili |
| Theme music composer | 乔家大院交响组曲(Chinese Symphony Suite – Qiao's Grand Courtyard) by Zhao Jiping |
| Opening theme | 乔家大院交响组曲(Chinese Symphony Suite – Qiao's Grand Courtyard) by Zhao Jiping |
| Ending theme | 《远情》sung by Tan Jing |
| Composer(s) | Zhao Jiping |
| Country of origin | China |
| Language(s) | Mandarin |
| No. of episodes | 45 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Meng Fanyao |
| Location(s) | Qiao's Compound |
| Running time | 45 minutes per episode |
| Production company(s) | Shanxi Radio TV Station China Wencai Audio-Visual Publishing Corporation Beijing China Visual Culture Corporation |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CCTV |
| Original airing | February 13, 2006 on CCTV-1 |
Qiao's Grand Courtyard (simplified Chinese: 乔家大院; traditional Chinese: 喬家大院) is a 2006 Chinese historical drama television series. The TV series is set during the late Qing Dynasty and chronicles the life of Shanxi financier, businessman and philanthropist Qiao Zhiyong (1818―1907), with artistic license applied. Part of the series was shot at Qiao's Compound, which was Qiao Zhiyong's ancestral home at Qi County, Shanxi (it was also the locale for Zhang Yimou's 1991 film Raise the Red Lantern).[1][2]
The series debuted on CCTV-1 on February 13, 2006[1] and comprises 45 episodes. It was directed by Hu Mei, known for her historical dramas Yongzheng Dynasty (1997) and Han Wu Dadi (2005).
Lead actor and actress Chen Jianbin and Jiang Qinqin won the Audience's Favorite Actor/Actress Awards at 2006 Golden Eagle TV Art Festival for their roles in this series. The pair was married in 2006.[3] Qiao's Grand Courtyard clinched Best Drama Series at the 1st Seoul Drama Awards.[4]
Contents |
The series chronicles the life of late Qing Dynasty financier and businessman Qiao Zhiyong, the most famous member of the Qiao Family from Qi County, Shanxi. The series start during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor when Qiao Zhiyong, a young scholar, leaves for Beijing for the Imperial Examination. The death of his sick elder brother Qiao Zhiguang forces Zhiyong to return home without sitting for the papers. His sister-in-law, Madam Cao, compels Qiao to take on the family's business, although he is initially relunctant to do so because he prefers academic studies. But with the Qiao's family business in arrears, Qiao marries Lu Yuhan, daughter of the wealthy Shanxi merchant Lu Dake, against his will, to save his family from bankruptcy. As a result he forgoes marrying his childhood sweetheart, maternal cousin Jiang Xueying.
Under his charge, the family business becomes profitable again. Zhiyong's wife Lu Yuhan wins his heart after a series of selfless acts for his cause. Working in tandem with a former scholar, Sun Maocai, who becomes Qiao's advisor, Qiao Zhiyong opens up tea routes from the Wuyi Mountains, the heart of Chinese tea cultivation, to the Russian Empire and becomes a renowned tea merchant.
Success with tea merchandising stirs Qiao's interest in banking. With his father-in-law's help Qiao becomes a famous financier, determined to achieve a dream of facilitating national trade by erecting banking posts (票號, an early form of banking institution) throughout China. His fame however lands him in serious trouble with the Imperial Court and with Empress Dowager Cixi, who forces him to finance the Manchu's fight against the Taiping rebels.
The series ends as an elderly Qiao achieves his goal – erecting banking houses throughout China to facilitate trade (汇通天下，货通天下) – but at the expense of spending ten years under ignominious house arrest, and with the country's wealth drained after the Jiawu War of 1894-5 and the Boxer Protocol of 1901.
While the series follow the chronological events of Qiao Zhiyong's life, screenwriter Zhu Xiuhai employ some artistic license in depicting Qiao's "romances". The characters of Lu Yuhan, Qiao's wife, and Jiang Xueying, Qiao's cousin, are fictitious. In reality Qiao Zhiyong had six successive wives (each died after succeeding a previous wife), since he lived a long life.[5]