Empresses in the Palace

Empresses in the Palace
After watching Master Ip and gathering ideas about how to use it as another resource for teaching, I was eager to find other movies to present to my students. Empresses in the Palace caught my eye because of the pictures, synopsis and time period. This series takes place in the Imperial Palace during The Qing Dynasty. During the first episode, I felt like I was reliving one of my lectures. The Palace was elaborate and had the gold rooftops that were shown during class. The characters in the series are concubines, eunuchs, The Emperor and Empress. The costumes are amazing and beautiful, down to the shoes, hairstyles and details such as fingernails and headpieces. The concubines traveled in the boxes that we learned about during our lectures and it is easy to visualize the times period through all of the detailed elements.
This is a series that could be used to show the early Chinese culture and history to students. Personally, I was engaged in watching the series because of time period, costumes, food, sets, and content. I think this would be a great tool in bringing the history to life. For example; if you are talking about eunuchs, you can show a clip about the eunuchs. Students will be able to see what they wore, how they spoke, and what their role was in this time period. Students can also visualize what the palaces were like and how daily living was for the elite of China. I like to think of it as the Asian “Downton Abby”, with the roles of the servants and masters portrayed.