The Legend of Hao Lan (Chinese: 皓镧传, Hào Lán Zhuàn) is a 2019 Chinese series set in the Warring States period, starring Wu Jinyan as Li Hao Lan, Nie Yuan as Lü Buwei, and Mao Zijun as Ying Yiren. It follows the journey of Hao Lan, a disgraced daughter of an official whose quest for power is fuelled by her will to survive.
The series was highly anticipated following the success of Story Of Yanxi Palace as the two dramas share many of the main actors.
It can be watched on YouTube
and on Viki with English subtitles.
The Legend of Hao Lan provides examples of:
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Occurs quite frequently throughout the series. Princess Fan Ya’s to Yiren certainly counts, particularly since she’s keen to spread the anguish around.
- Awful Wedded Life: Almost every royal marriage. Queen Li and King Zhao's marriage ends with murder-suicide. Prince Jiao and Xiuyu is a disaster and ends with her committing suicide rather than be poisoned by him. Eventually Haolan and Zichu end up like this, due to Zichu's lingering jealousy and Siluo's scheeming.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Li Xiuyu wanted to steal Prince Jiao's affections from her sister. She succeeds in marrying him, but the ambitious prince has no love for her and would happily kill her to gain an advantage.
- Driven to Suicide: Often enforced as a penalty for treason (or failing to get away with it) or just angering the wrong person.
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Hao Lan and Xiu Yu got along fine as children and young teens but as they grew up they got caught up in a game of one upmanship and Xiu Yu grew extremely bitter at always coming short to her sister.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Queen Li of Zhao is cold hearted, vicious, cruel and ambitious. Once she realises that her husband will never love her back and likely never loved her in the first place she loses her rationality and launches a coup that culminates in a palace massacre.
- Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: Men having multiple wives and concubines is nothing new even if their principal wives feel bitter about it. Women cheating is a huge crime. Hao Lan catches Queen Li having sex with a man that is not King Zhao.
- Green-Eyed Monster:
- Li Xiuyu is bitterly and psychotically jealous of her sister.
- Concubine Mi Siluo is also extremely jealous of Hao Lan.
- Hidden Depths: Consort Han is a spy for her the king of Han, King Zhao Dan is not the lustful fool he pretends to be. Queen Li deeply loves the king and is extremely hurt that he does not love her back. Yin Yiren is nowhere as harmless and pleasant as he pretends to be.
- I Have No Son!: After seeing his daughter Hao Lan dancing in the street to earn money, a humiliated Censor Li begs her to come home. When she refuses, he disowns her.Censor Li: "Since you have chosen the wrong path, there is nothing I can do to save you. Today, in front of all these people in the street, I sever our relationship! From this day forward, you are no longer my daughter!"
- Love Triangle: A Type 7 example between Lyu Buwei, Hao Lan and Yiren. An interesting example as for most the series the two men are perfectly aware of each other’s feelings for Hao Lan and remain on decent terms, even helping one another politically.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: King Zhao Dan at first glace he seems like a lustful and careless monarch, easily led by beautiful concubines or clever courtiers. In actuality this is just a mask, he is extremely calculating, very astute to the point of even having his highly intelligent and shrewd queen fooled. When his throne is in danger, he shows his true self.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: On the eve of Hao Lan and the Prince of Qin (Yiren)’s marriage (which he proposed), Princess Fan Ya attempts to stab Hao Lan.
- Royally Screwed Up: Pretty much every monarch in the show considers their children to be expendable and said children are eager to see their parents die to obtain the throne. They also consider any siblings to be just obstacles.
- Starcrossed Lovers: Yin Xiaochun, a genius female doctor and Prince Yi. Not only they are a commoner and a prince but also her father was pressured by Queen Li to help poison Prince Yi's mother Consort Yuan. Filial piety does not allow Xiaochun and Prince Yi to have anything to do with one another.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: Requisite in a costume drama, lots of people die because poison found its way in their food or drink. Prince Jiao brings his disgraced and politically embarasing wife a poisoned meal. To add insult to injury he does not even know her favorite foods, but brings her her sister's favorites instead.
- Wicked Stepmother:
- Gao Min goes as far as to attempt to murder her stepdaughter, and when that fails, sell her in slavery.
- Also the Empress Dowager of Qin, plots with Concubine Mi Siluo to get rid of Yiren.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Lyu Buwei is a master. When Princess Consort Li Yiuyu catches him, Yiren and Haolan sneaking around he quickly turns the situation around and accuses her of cheating, resulting in her being imprisoned and forced to commit suicide.
- Yandere: Princess Fan Ya towards the hostage Prince of Qin, to quite a frightening degree. The princess gets it from her mother Queen Li towards King Zhao Dan. Queen Li is the main reason Zhao Dan gained the throne and he has been wary of her ever since. In order to regain his affections she launches a coup against the dynasty.
- Prince Jiao would rather see Hao Lan dead than see her happy and in love with another man.
- Young Future Famous People: Hao Lan's son Ying Zheng is none other than the future Qin Shi Huangdi.
- Your Favorite: Her own husband not even knowing her favorite foods and giving Yiuyu Haolan's favorites as a last meal instead is what drives Yiuyu to kill herself with Haolan's hairpin.
