# Under The Power (锦衣之下)
**Under The Power** (锦衣之下, *Jin Yi Zhi Xia*) is a 2019 Chinese historical mystery-romance television series starring [Ren Jialun](https://www.edgepedia.org/ren-jialun) as the imperial secret police officer Lu Yi and [Tan Songyun](https://www.edgepedia.org/tan-songyun) as the constable Yuan Jinxia, who are ordered to work together to recover missing government funds in the late [Ming dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/ming-dynasty).[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) The 55-episode series aired on Mango TV and iQiyi beginning December 28, 2019, and ran until February 22, 2020.[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) • [2](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/under-the-power/GzTzM65E7nqNT79T4ChIQ7/) It is adapted from the novel *Jin Yi Zhi Xia* by Lan Se Shi (蓝色狮).[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 锦衣之下 (Jin Yi Zhi Xia); English title Under The Power[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) |
| Broadcast | Mango TV and iQiyi, December 28, 2019 to February 22, 2020; 55 episodes of about 45 minutes[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) • [2](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/under-the-power/GzTzM65E7nqNT79T4ChIQ7/) • [3](https://www.cpophome.com/under-the-power-ren-jialun-tan-songyun/) |
| Source | Novel *Jin Yi Zhi Xia* by Lan Se Shi[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) |
| Setting | Late Jiajing period of the Ming dynasty, when corrupt officials dominated the government[4](https://www.iq.com/short/under-the-power-ii1fw4qs84?lang=en_us) |
| Leads | Ren Jialun as Lu Yi; Tan Songyun as Yuan Jinxia[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) |
| Directors | Yin Tao and Liu Guo Tong; screenwriters Hu Na and Lin Yating[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) • [5](https://www.iq.com/wiki/en_us/album/under-the-power-2019-19rrhx7su1) |
| Recognition | Top Ten Television Series, 2020 9th iQiyi All-Star Carnival[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Yuan Jinxia is a gifted female constable of Liushanmen (六扇门, the "Six Doors", a popular name in Chinese fiction for government law-enforcement offices), and Lu Yi is a cold, ruthless officer of the Jinyiwei (锦衣卫), the Ming dynasty's imperial secret police, known in English as the Embroidered Uniform Guard.[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) • [6](https://cdrama.fans/articles/under-the-power-guide) The two clash over a case, then are ordered to work together when funds earmarked for repairing river embankments in Yangzhou go missing; Jinxia is assigned to assist Lu Yi in investigating the theft and recovering the official money.[4](https://www.iq.com/short/under-the-power-ii1fw4qs84?lang=en_us) • [7](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_pxgtjwa0t5.html)
From mutual dislike the pair move to admiration and then love, but the relationship is threatened by an old grievance: Jinxia is the orphan of the Xia Ran case, and her family was massacred by the Jinyiwei, the very organization Lu Yi serves.[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) • [7](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_pxgtjwa0t5.html) In the later episodes the two lovers set aside the family feud to save the people, fight Japanese invaders, and eliminate traitorous officials.[7](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_pxgtjwa0t5.html)
### Cast and characters
- **Ren Jialun** (also billed as Allen Ren) as Lu Yi, a seventh-grade Jingli (经历) and son of the [Commander](https://www.edgepedia.org/commander) of the Jinyiwei Guards, known for his cold personality and methods of investigation[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power)
- **Tan Songyun** (also billed as Seven Tan) as Yuan Jinxia, a kind-hearted, money-loving constable skilled in tracking[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) • [6](https://cdrama.fans/articles/under-the-power-guide)
- **Han Dong** as Yan Shifan, the sly, politically astute son of the Cabinet Master[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power)
- **Ye Qing** as Shangguan Xi, Vermilion Bird Master of the Wu An sect[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power)
- **Yao Yichen** as Xie Xiao, young master of the Wu'an Sect and Jinxia's childhood playmate[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power)
- **Lu Hong** as Yang Yue, Jinxia's senior and close friend at Liushanmen[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power)
The court figures include Ding Yongdai as Emperor Jiajing, Liu Wei as Lu Ting, the Jinyiwei commander and Lu Yi's father, and Li Chengru as the Cabinet Minister Yan Song, Yan Shifan's father.[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) Supporting roles include Han Chengyu as Lan Qingxuan and Xi Xue as Lin Ling.[3](https://www.cpophome.com/under-the-power-ren-jialun-tan-songyun/)
## Production
Director Yin Tao, in an interview with the entertainment outlet Yule Dujiaoshou, described the series as a detective story combined with a sweet romance, saying that investigation and emotion reinforce each other.[8](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-tashuo-feed&id=07fff2d70f4ce526aa7aadd7) He also told People's Daily Online that the adaptation principle was to preserve the spirit of the original novel and strictly avoid distorting it, since the novel had a large fan base whose expectations had to be met while also attracting viewers new to the story.[9](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0204/c40606-31569503.html)
Filming ran from September 2017 to January 2018 at [Hengdian World Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/hengdian-world-studios) and in Suzhou.[6](https://cdrama.fans/articles/under-the-power-guide) Production companies included Impact Media, H&R Century Pictures, Mango Excellent Media, and Hunantv.com Interactive Entertainment Media.[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) • [3](https://www.cpophome.com/under-the-power-ren-jialun-tan-songyun/) Reporting by Jiemian noted that the production's funds were limited, which showed in its technical level relative to other 2019 dramas; director Yin Tao said the limited budget forced a choice to sacrifice special effects in favor of the love story.[10](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3973778.html) • [9](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0204/c40606-31569503.html)
## Broadcast and reception
The series premiered on Mango TV and iQiyi on December 28, 2019, with two episodes each on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at 8 pm, and six episodes released early for members.[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power) • [11](https://dramapanda.com/2018/08/under-power.html) From January 17 the schedule added a Friday broadcast day, with two episodes released Friday through Monday, and extra episodes were released at noon during the Spring Festival period of January 24 to 27.[12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11482096/)
The drama became a commercial success after a slow start. Jiemian reported that after Mango TV acquired it, sponsorship was weak enough that the first broadcast week carried no advertising, with ads appearing only in the second week as popularity grew.[13](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3983722.html) According to the director interview, the show's iQIYI internal heat index passed 8,000, it stayed in the top three in overall popularity across data platforms including Guduo, Maoyan, and Taopiaopiao, the Weibo topic #锦衣之下# surpassed 10.5 billion reads with 5.54 million discussions, and Douban users rated it 7.4.[8](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-tashuo-feed&id=07fff2d70f4ce526aa7aadd7) During its run it entered the Douban Chinese-language weekly reputation chart's top ten for January 8 to 15, with more than 90,000 user comments.[10](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3973778.html) Jiemian's analysis attributed much of the show's appeal to the on-screen chemistry between the leads, noting that the Douban score opened at 7.5, dipped, and returned to 7.5 by February 2.[10](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3973778.html) At the 2020 9th iQiyi All-Star Carnival it was named one of the Top Ten Television Series.[1](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power)
## Historical background
The drama's two institutions come from Ming history. The Jinyiwei, or Embroidered Uniform Guard, was established as the emperor's protective guard by the [Hongwu Emperor](https://www.edgepedia.org/hongwu-emperor) in the fourteenth century; answerable only to the throne, it held the power to detain, question, and discipline anyone, even members of the nobility, and was abolished in 1644 when the Ming dynasty collapsed.[6](https://cdrama.fans/articles/under-the-power-guide) Liushanmen, by contrast, is a loose popular name for government law-enforcement offices used widely in Chinese fiction, and a constable like Yuan Jinxia works for the civil authorities rather than the throne's own police.[6](https://cdrama.fans/articles/under-the-power-guide)
## Availability
Internationally, the series is carried on iQIYI's service with subtitles in many languages, and it streams on Rakuten Viki, Tubi, and AsianCrush; it can be purchased digitally on Amazon Video.[5](https://www.iq.com/wiki/en_us/album/under-the-power-2019-19rrhx7su1) • [2](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/under-the-power/GzTzM65E7nqNT79T4ChIQ7/) • [14](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/under-the-power/GzTzM65E7nqNT79T4ChIQ7/where-to-watch/) Netflix carries a listing for the series in Taiwan with Mandarin audio and Traditional Chinese subtitles.[6](https://cdrama.fans/articles/under-the-power-guide)
## References
1. [Under The Power, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Under_The_Power)
2. [Under the Power – TV Series, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/under-the-power/GzTzM65E7nqNT79T4ChIQ7/)
3. [Under the Power, CPOP HOME](https://www.cpophome.com/under-the-power-ren-jialun-tan-songyun/)
4. [Under the Power, iQIYI (series description)](https://www.iq.com/short/under-the-power-ii1fw4qs84?lang=en_us)
5. [Under the Power (2019) Plot, iQIYI Knowledge wiki](https://www.iq.com/wiki/en_us/album/under-the-power-2019-19rrhx7su1)
6. [Under the Power: A Ming-Dynasty Secret Police Officer, a Constable and 55 Episodes of Cases, C Drama.Fans](https://cdrama.fans/articles/under-the-power-guide)
7. [锦衣之下·精华速看版, iQIYI](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_pxgtjwa0t5.html)
8. [《锦衣之下》：爆款"小甜剧"如何打造而成？｜专访导演尹涛, 百科TA说](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-tashuo-feed&id=07fff2d70f4ce526aa7aadd7)
9. [《锦衣之下》导演：资金有限 舍特效保"爱情", 人民网](https://media.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0204/c40606-31569503.html)
10. [《锦衣之下》：被CP感"拯救"的古装剧？, 界面新闻](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3973778.html)
11. [Under the Power (2019), DramaPanda](https://dramapanda.com/2018/08/under-power.html)
12. [Under the Power (TV Series 2019–2020), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11482096/)
13. [《锦衣之下》或是个例：积压剧"神话"难再复制, 界面新闻](https://www.jiemian.com/article/3983722.html)
14. [Under the Power – Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/under-the-power/GzTzM65E7nqNT79T4ChIQ7/where-to-watch/)
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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 Sp to Z*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license