# The Imperial Coroner (御赐小仵作)
**The Imperial Coroner** (御赐小仵作) is a 2021 Chinese costume mystery-romance web series, 36 episodes long, broadcast on [Tencent Video](https://www.edgepedia.org/tencent-video) from April 30, 2021. Set in the mid-to-late [Tang dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/tang-dynasty), it follows a young woman from a coroner family who travels to Chang'an to take the official coroner examination and joins the capital's chief judicial officer in solving cases, culminating in the resolution of a major case that had run for 18 years.[1](https://xianxiao.ssap.com.cn/catalog/6334967/bookid/1880625.html) • [2](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/kyxhgodt0vx07qw/q0037ctv6ec) Made on a small budget with no star actors and no promotional campaign, it became a word-of-mouth hit, reaching a Douban rating of 8.3 to 8.4 from more than 60,000 users.[3](https://dzb.whb.cn/imgPath/2021-05-19/90519.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 御赐小仵作, translated as The Imperial Coroner[2](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/kyxhgodt0vx07qw/q0037ctv6ec) |
| Broadcast | April 30, 2021, Tencent Video; 36 episodes; costume, mystery, romance[1](https://xianxiao.ssap.com.cn/catalog/6334967/bookid/1880625.html) • [2](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/kyxhgodt0vx07qw/q0037ctv6ec) |
| Source | Adapted from the novel of the same name by Qingxian Yatou (清闲丫头)[3](https://dzb.whb.cn/imgPath/2021-05-19/90519.pdf) |
| Main cast | Su Xiaotong as Chu Chu; Wang Ziqi as Xiao Jinyu, Prince of An; director Lou Jian[2](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/kyxhgodt0vx07qw/q0037ctv6ec) |
| Setting | Mid-to-late Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong; the Three Judicial Offices (三法司)[4](https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s60b8e9b8e4b096953069d226.html) |
| Reception | Douban 8.3–8.4 from over 60,000 users; described as a low-budget "dark horse"[3](https://dzb.whb.cn/imgPath/2021-05-19/90519.pdf) |
| Sequel | The Imperial Coroner 2 (御赐小仵作2), a Tencent production with the original leads returning; Douban 5.5[5](https://gbdsj.gd.gov.cn/attachment/0/559/559992/4493983.pdf) • [6](https://post.smzdm.com/p/arz6p0lg/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and characters
The story is set in the mid-to-late Tang dynasty. Chu Chu (楚楚), a young woman from a hereditary coroner (仵作) family in the remote southwestern region of Qianzhou, comes alone to the capital Chang'an to take the official coroner selection examination. A wuzuo was a government-recognized examiner of the dead, roughly the equivalent of a modern forensic doctor, and the drama presents her ambition as a professional goal rather than a marriage plot.[7](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2021/05-10/9473925.shtml) • [8](https://movie.douban.com/review/13567260/)
She comes to the attention of Xiao Jinyu (萧瑾瑜), the Prince of An, who heads the Three Judicial Offices, the Tang state's top judicial organs. He is written as a rigorous, hands-on investigator who does not fear the powerful, and the screenwriters deliberately gave his standing a professional rather than aristocratic basis; one review notes that he deciphers his father's hidden testimony through the rhyme scheme of classical texts and breaks a rebel cipher through familiarity with the *Book of Songs*.[7](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2021/05-10/9473925.shtml) • [4](https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s60b8e9b8e4b096953069d226.html) The supporting team includes the Dali Temple vice minister Jing Yi (景翊), the swordswoman Leng Yue (冷月), and the general Xiao Jinli (萧瑾璃), five personalities the series develops as an ensemble.[9](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_12797881)
### Plot structure
Unlike a unit-drama format that closes a case every few episodes, the series threads its cases around two continuous storylines: the death of the imperial son-in-law Xiao Heng (萧恒), Xiao Jinyu's father, 18 years earlier, and a southwestern rebellion. Early cases, including the mysterious death of the son-in-law, expose a large counterfeit-coin operation led by the chief eunuch Qin Luan (秦鸾) that disrupts the state's finances, and the investigations gradually reveal the connections among apparently unrelated events.[7](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2021/05-10/9473925.shtml) • [10](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2021/0611/c419388-32128924.html)
The romance is written to follow from the characters' work. Chu Chu praises the prince in professional terms, remarking that "the prince's skull must be very good-looking," and the dialogue mixes investigation, values, and feeling in the same exchanges.[11](https://i.ifeng.com/c/86NfJRdpc8q) • [9](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_12797881) At the end of the series, Xiao Jinyu and Chu Chu marry, and the emperor grants her the personally bestowed title of "imperial coroner" (御赐仵作), fulfilling her ambition.[2](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/kyxhgodt0vx07qw/q0037ctv6ec)
### Sequel
A second season, *The Imperial Coroner 2* (御赐小仵作2), produced by Tencent with Wang Ziqi and Su Xiaotong returning, follows the lead couple's married life. It was registered as a web series with Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Co., Ltd.[5](https://gbdsj.gd.gov.cn/attachment/0/559/559992/4493983.pdf) Its reception diverged sharply from the first season: it settled at a Douban rating of 5.5 against the first season's 8.3–8.4, with cross-platform criticism converging on weakened forensic-and-deduction content, a disproportionate share of screen time for the second prince, and flattened characterization of the leads.[6](https://post.smzdm.com/p/arz6p0lg/) Press commentary attributed the difference to a market that had become far more crowded with costume-mystery titles in the intervening years, leaving the sequel's conservative continuation at a disadvantage.[17](https://www.shobserver.com/wx/detail.do?id=1064945)
## Production
The screenplay took three years to write, and the two screenwriters said they simply followed basic dramatic principles within a standard dramatic structure. Producer Han Bing stated that he respected the writers' creation and restricted his own comments to questions of shooting feasibility.[12](https://cinehello.com/stream/immerse/137717) • [13](https://www.huxiu.com/article/433794.html) The original novel was set in a fictional dynasty; the production chose the Tang dynasty because the plot's political coincidences required a turbulent era.[11](https://i.ifeng.com/c/86NfJRdpc8q)
**Cinematography.** Director of photography [Li Bo](https://www.edgepedia.org/li-bo), who holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from the Beijing Film Academy's cinematography department, joined the production in the summer of 2019 and tested three large-format cameras at Xingxing Yingmei, lighting a test scene with a single candle to match the show's candle-lit night aesthetic. He selected the RED MONSTRO 8K VV for its cleaner shadows and more accurate color, paired with Sigma large-aperture cinema primes, which allowed real candlelight to serve as the key light.[12](https://cinehello.com/stream/immerse/137717) • [14](https://cinehello.com/m/mstream/144932)
**Locations and schedule.** Because the story uses a real historical setting, the crew moved from Hengdian to Xiangyang after principal photography there, rejecting the cheaper option of shooting the remaining scenes in the Qin King Palace; filming lasted more than a hundred days and wrapped in Xiangyang. The COVID-19 outbreak began shortly after wrap, delaying post-production so severely that the editor was replaced; the first completed cut was delivered at the end of 2020, with a second submission cut after the Spring Festival.[15](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_5737990122_15602c7ea01900sopz.html) The production also favored practical effects: the burning of a funeral hall was a real fire on set, and the producer removed a planned CGI enlargement of the flames because the composite looked fake.[15](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_5737990122_15602c7ea01900sopz.html)
## Reception and significance
The series premiered with what Chinese media called a "three-nothing" profile: no big investment, no star actors, and no promotion, with costumes and props that critics described as plainly budgeted. It nonetheless climbed through audience recommendations, so-called "self-watering" word-of-mouth on Weibo, Douban, and WeChat, repeatedly topping Weibo hot searches and holding first place among Douban's trending new dramas, with views passing 300 million within about three weeks of release.[3](https://dzb.whb.cn/imgPath/2021-05-19/90519.pdf) • [14](https://cinehello.com/m/mstream/144932) • [9](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_12797881)
Commentary highlighted two aspects. First, the series was read as a workplace drama in period dress, in which the heroine's competence at autopsy and reasoning, rather than romance, drives the plot, and lines such as "women protecting women is only natural" drew a large female audience.[11](https://i.ifeng.com/c/86NfJRdpc8q) • [7](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2021/05-10/9473925.shtml) Second, industry analysis treated it as evidence that production quality and script could succeed without traffic stars; a case study in the *China Internet Audiovisual Industry Development Report (2022)* framed it as breaking through a market saturated with "sweet pet" costume dramas by fusing forensic and mystery genres with romance, and by weaving in themes of Chinese views on life and death, occupational discrimination, and gender equality.[1](https://xianxiao.ssap.com.cn/catalog/6334967/bookid/1880625.html) • [13](https://www.huxiu.com/article/433794.html) On the overseas platform VIKI it was noted as a "sweet pet" drama that combined romance with suspense and detection, a type fusion that helped it stand out among Chinese romance dramas abroad.[16](https://dzb.whb.cn/imgPath/2021-12-24/91224.pdf)
## References
1. [网络剧《御赐小仵作》案例分析, 张维肖, 中国互联网视听行业发展报告（2022）, 社会科学文献出版社](https://xianxiao.ssap.com.cn/catalog/6334967/bookid/1880625.html)
2. [御赐小仵作 - WeTV series page](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/kyxhgodt0vx07qw/q0037ctv6ec)
3. [文汇报 2021年5月19日](https://dzb.whb.cn/imgPath/2021-05-19/90519.pdf)
4. [《御赐小仵作》：网剧回归专业性, 北京日报](https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s60b8e9b8e4b096953069d226.html)
5. [广东省广播电视局: 重点网络影视剧信息备案表](https://gbdsj.gd.gov.cn/attachment/0/559/559992/4493983.pdf)
6. [豆瓣8.0的清流跌到5.5：御赐小仵作2播完半年补剧指南, 什么值得买](https://post.smzdm.com/p/arz6p0lg/)
7. [抓住观众的心 小成本网剧《御赐小仵作》比流量剧还香, 中新网转齐鲁晚报](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2021/05-10/9473925.shtml)
8. [甜宠剧外表下的出色推理，豆瓣评分8.3的《御赐小仵作》有多香？, 豆瓣剧评](https://movie.douban.com/review/13567260/)
9. [凭口碑逆袭，《御赐小仵作》做对了什么？, 澎湃新闻](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_12797881)
10. [小仵作迷人法则：真正的完美人设是为理想赋形, 中国作家网转北京青年报](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2021/0611/c419388-32128924.html)
11. [又“破”又“穷”，8.4分的《御赐小仵作》是如何炼成的？, 凤凰网](https://i.ifeng.com/c/86NfJRdpc8q)
12. [《御赐小仵作》摄影指导李博：以后的项目中适马镜头依旧会成为我的好伙伴, 影视工业网](https://cinehello.com/stream/immerse/137717)
13. [谁把《御赐小仵作》定为B级？, 虎嗅网](https://www.huxiu.com/article/433794.html)
14. [专访《御赐小仵作》摄影指导李博老师, 影视工业网](https://cinehello.com/m/mstream/144932)
15. [无明星，非头部IP改编的《御赐小仵作》，为什么比流量剧还香？, 新浪新闻](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_5737990122_15602c7ea01900sopz.html)
16. [文汇报 2021年12月24日](https://dzb.whb.cn/imgPath/2021-12-24/91224.pdf)
17. [新民艺评·金刺猬｜卜翌：盛名之下，为什么《御赐小仵作2》“不好看”了？, 上观新闻](https://www.shobserver.com/wx/detail.do?id=1064945)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › East Asian web and streaming serials › Titles Cr to In*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license