{ "id": "epwxv5hnzq", "slug": "the-palace", "title": "The Palace", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "label": "Comedies of 2013 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-j-to-w", "label": "Titles J to W", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-j-to-w" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Palace (宫锁沉香, Gong Suo Chen Xiang) is a 2013 Chinese Qing-dynasty palace romance film directed by Pan Anzi, written by Yu Zheng, starring Zhou Dongyu, Chen Xiao, and Zhao Liying; released 13 August 2013, grossing 54.461 million RMB in mainland China.", "snippet": "The Palace (宫锁沉香, Gong Suo Chen Xiang) is a 2013 Chinese Qing-dynasty palace romance film directed by Pan Anzi, written by Yu Zheng, starring Zhou Dongyu, Chen Xiao, and Zhao Liying; released 13 August 2013, grossing 54.461 million RMB in mainland China.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-j-to-w", "markdown": "# The Palace\n\n**The Palace** (Chinese: 宫锁沉香, *Gong Suo Chen Xiang*) is a 2013 Chinese historical romantic drama film directed by Pan Anzi, written by Yu Zheng, and starring [Zhou Dongyu](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhou-dongyu), Chen Xiao, Zhu Zixiao, and [Zhao Liying](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhao-liying). Set in the imperial palace during the Kangxi era of the [Qing dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/qing-dynasty), it follows two palace maids whose friendship is destroyed when one steals credit for meeting the prince the other loves. It was Yu Zheng's first feature film, extending his Palace (Gong) television series to the big screen.[1](https://www.dianying.com/en/title/22073) • [2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Chinese title | 宫锁沉香 (pinyin: gong1 suo3 chen2 xiang1); also released as Gong Suo Chen Xiang and 궁[1](https://www.dianying.com/en/title/22073) |\n| Director / writer | Pan Anzi (director); Yu Zheng (screenplay)[1](https://www.dianying.com/en/title/22073) |\n| Principal cast | Zhou Dongyu (Chen Xiang), Chen Xiao (13th Prince Yin Xiang), Zhu Zixiao (9th Prince Yin Tang), Zhao Liying (Liuli)[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-palace/umc.cmc.62jg6ifu7l9h4wexi6drvtpst) |\n| Release | 13 August 2013 (mainland China); Taiwan 25 April 2014; South Korea 4 February 2016[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) |\n| Runtime | 115 minutes, Putonghua, color[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) |\n| Mainland box office | Opening day 23.585 million RMB; first week 46.862 million RMB; cumulative 54.461 million RMB as of 24 September 2025[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) |\n| Filming | 4 October to 5 December 2012, at Hengdian World Studios[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nDuring the Kangxi era, the young maid Chen Xiang (Zhou Dongyu) enters palace service and befriends Liuli (Zhao Liying), a maid of the same age. Liuli is ambitious and hopes to rise by attracting a prince, while Chen Xiang simply wants to serve her years and leave the palace for an ordinary life.[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)\n\nOne night Liuli sends Chen Xiang to take her shift in her place. Covering her face with a handkerchief Liuli embroidered, Chen Xiang encounters the 13th Prince, Yin Xiang ([Chen Xiao](https://www.edgepedia.org/chen-xiao)), and the two fall for each other. When the prince later searches the palace for the girl he met, Liuli falsely claims the handkerchief as her own, and the prince believes she is the woman he loves. Chen Xiang, protecting her friend, becomes Liuli's personal maid and hides her feelings.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-palace/umc.cmc.62jg6ifu7l9h4wexi6drvtpst) • [2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)\n\nLiuli also begins a liaison with the 9th Prince, Yin Tang (Zhu Zixiao), who abandons her. The story follows the prince's fall from favor, his imprisonment, and Chen Xiang's devotion to him in disguise, before the deception is revealed and the pair leave the palace together.[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) • [4](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2013/07-29/5095725.shtml) The supporting cast includes Bao Beier as the eunuch Chun Shou, Vivian Wu, Lu Yi as the [Yongzheng Emperor](https://www.edgepedia.org/yongzheng-emperor), Winston Chao as the [Kangxi Emperor](https://www.edgepedia.org/kangxi-emperor), and Dicky Cheung as the chief eunuch.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-palace/umc.cmc.62jg6ifu7l9h4wexi6drvtpst) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-palace)\n\n## Production\n\nAfter the social response to the Palace television series, Yu Zheng wanted to make a Qing-palace work different from the usual solemn treatment, and, having never written a first-love story, folded a pure-romance plot into the late imperial harem setting.[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) The film was shot at [Hengdian World Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/hengdian-world-studios) from 4 October to 5 December 2012, produced by Du Yang, with production companies including Shanghai Tianyu Media and Wanda Media.[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)\n\nDuring the shoot, Zhou Dongyu and Chen Xiao fell from their horses while filming a riding scene; Zhou Dongyu injured her back and Chen Xiao was unharmed. Chen Xiao, whose prince is skilled in music, calligraphy, riding, and archery, trained in horsemanship and calligraphy before filming. It was Zhu Zixiao's first film and first villain role; he reportedly lost a large amount of weight during production from insomnia and dieting.[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)\n\n## Release and box office\n\nThe film opened in mainland China on 13 August 2013, the [Qixi Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/qixi-festival), the Chinese Valentine's Day. Baidu Baike records an opening day of 23.585 million RMB and a first-week total of 46.862 million RMB; a Sohu Entertainment report the next day gave the opening day as about 21 million RMB and described the performance as below expectations despite strong screening support from the Wanda cinema chain, on a national single-day market of roughly 122 million RMB led by *Tiny Times 2*.[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) • [6](https://yule.sohu.com/20130814/n384112000.shtml) Cumulative mainland gross reached 54.461 million RMB as of 24 September 2025.[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)\n\nIt was released in Taiwan on 25 April 2014 and in South Korea on 4 February 2016.[2](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma) It is available on streaming services including Rakuten Viki and Amazon Video, and on Netflix in some regions.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-palace) • [7](https://www.netflix.com/tw/title/81519403)\n\n## Reception and interpretation\n\nPre-release screenings drew mixed notices. A *Modern Express* report from a Nanjing screening gave the film 7 out of 10, praising a clear plot line and moderate dramatic conflict, but noted that many scenes felt familiar, resembling the television series *Empresses in the Palace* in the mutual torment of the two maids and the pure love between the heroine and a prince.[8](https://www.qingdaonews.com/content/2013-08/07/content_9908240.htm) A Beijing Youth Daily review was sharply negative, arguing that the film's contrived misunderstandings, such as the prince failing to recognize the voice of the woman he spent a night with, and its cartoonishly divided good and evil characters, drained the story of credibility, and that the succession-struggle backdrop was treated frivolously.[9](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2013-08-20/15563991833.shtml)\n\nAn academic article in *Masterpieces Review* (2014) read the film as a retelling of the [Cinderella](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinderella) motif, from Yu Zheng's novel of the same name: Chen Xiang endures abuse and trials, is identified through a special token, and marries a prince, but the story drops the fairy's magical aid, presenting self-reliance, kindness, and devotion to love as the path to happiness.[10](https://m.fx361.com/news/2014/0429/27165394.html)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Film: The Palace (2013), Chinese Movie Database](https://www.dianying.com/en/title/22073)\n2. [宫锁沉香, Baidu Baike](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%AB%E9%94%81%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99/8833875?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)\n3. [The Palace, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-palace/umc.cmc.62jg6ifu7l9h4wexi6drvtpst)\n4. [《宫锁沉香》8月13日上映 周冬雨出演\"沉香\", China News Service](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2013/07-29/5095725.shtml)\n5. [The Palace (2013), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-palace)\n6. [七夕节单日票房1.22亿, Sohu Entertainment](https://yule.sohu.com/20130814/n384112000.shtml)\n7. [宮鎖沉香, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/tw/title/81519403)\n8. [电影版《宫》被指与《甄嬛传》情节相似, Modern Express via Qingdao News](https://www.qingdaonews.com/content/2013-08/07/content_9908240.htm)\n9. [《宫锁沉香》：刻意虐心的于正电影, Beijing Youth Daily via Sina Entertainment](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2013-08-20/15563991833.shtml)\n10. [论《宫锁沉香》对灰姑娘母题的书写, Masterpieces Review (2014)](https://m.fx361.com/news/2014/0429/27165394.html)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2013 to 2014 › Titles J to W*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-palace", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-palace.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Palace\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-palace. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Palace](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-palace)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-palace](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-palace). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Palace\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-palace. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Palace is a 2013 Chinese Qing-dynasty palace romance film directed by Pan Anzi, written by Yu Zheng, starring Zhou Dongyu, Chen Xiao, and Zhao Liying; released 13 August 2013, grossing 54.461 million RMB in mainland China." }