Whenever we have studied different periods in history I have always tried to find ways for the kids to learn more about the everyday life and customs of that time period. I think it helps to make the history come alive and it helps them to understand why events happened (e.g. if a class of people are being treated unfairly then they are probably going to resist and may even revolt). When we learnt about the Anglo-Saxons we read a number of excellent historical fiction books (Shield Maiden, The First King of England and Winter of Wolves spring to mind) and we visited the Sutton Hoo site. So when we chose our IGCSE History topics I tried to do the same thing, I looked for books and documentaries but when it came to our China topic I found that a bit more challenging. I found a few books but after I started reading them I knew they would be too upsetting for my daughter, I managed to find some documentaries but I still felt like we were missing out on understanding why China changed from their dynasties to the warlords and then communist China. We (my daughter and myself) wanted to get a better understanding of every day Chinese life and customs under the dynasties and under the warlords but we struggled to find interesting material. And then I stumbled upon Chinese TV series.

There is a whole world of TV series that depicted their lifestyles and customs. I searched and started watching a few but ended them because I found the abuse towards women too much (and I knew my daughter would not enjoy it), and then as luck would have it I stumbled upon a series called The Sword and the Brocade (you can watch it with English subtitles on Amazon Prime and on YouTube). It felt like it was suitable for my daughter so we watched it and both my daughter and I were quickly enthralled in this new world.

Quick idea of what it is about – A young girl (Shiyiniang) who is a concubines daughter, ends up marrying a lord and has to now navigate the world of being a wife while dealing with his concubines and his mother who is bias towards one of his concubines. She endures everything because she wants to find out the truth behind her mother’s death and her sister’s poisoning. The husband is not in love with her at first but he does trust and protect her and he does slowly fall in love with her.

So why did I think this series was okay when I rejected the others? Yes there are concubines and there is some scheming and plotting that happens, but the fact that the husband is actually fundamentally a good person means he always protects his young wife and once he marries her he does not let the concubines (who is mother made him marry) get away with their tricks. So although their are concubines in this series (we are not fans of series with concubines in) it is actually tamer than a lot of the other ones. And there are no explicit scenes. In fact you get to watch a very sweet love story slowly develop between the couple. I also want to add the fight scenes are not over the top, we did try a few series where the fight scenes were so strange that they put us off the series (like flying through the air and walking on top of trees).

What do I think we gained by watching a series like this? My daughter gained an appreciation for how different the old Chinese customs were. We had never studied the Chinese Dynasties before and we did nor know about their customs and way of life so by watching a TV series like this we actually learnt a lot about a different culture. The series itself prompted lots of discussions: we spoke a lot about the concubine set up, we spoke about the class differences and how it was almost impossible to change the position you were born into, how boys were favored over girls, how the old Madam had almost absolute power and within her family could really do anything that she wanted (she could have someone beaten and tortured and because it was a family member that was considered fine). We spoke about the way their food and eating habits were completely different to ours, the clothing and hairstyles, their home layout and set up with different courtyards and the furniture (which was stunning), even the scenes where the Emperor is featured and you see the officials discussing matters with him. You really do get a good glimpse into this life, which for us was totally new and different.

How did it relate to our history? Obviously it is not something that was essential to our History topic, in fact this was about a time period before, but it was about understanding what life was like and why changes may have been needed and wanted by so many people. For us it was about broadening our understanding about a culture and time that we really did not know anything about. And it was an excellent series, the script was good, the actors were world-class and the settings were all stunning.

We really enjoyed the series and I do think it helped us to understand some background to one of our History topics.

Oh and if you like this idea we have started another series (also on Amazon Prime) called The Rebel Princess, we have not finished it but so far it is another good one.