Beauty's Rival in Palace is a 2010 Chinese television series adapted from Xiao Qiying's short story Turbulence in the Empress' Chamber (未央沉浮). It was first broadcast on Shanghai TV Drama on 15 March 2010. The series was one of the highest-rated Chinese TV series in 2010.
Official poster
Empress Dou Yifang, formally Empress Xiaowen (孝文皇后), was an empress of the Chinese Han dynasty who greatly influenced the reigns of her husband Emperor Wen and her son Emperor Jing with her adherence to Taoist philosophy; she was the main support for the Huang-Lao school. She therefore contributed greatly to the Rule of Wen and Jing, commonly considered one of the golden ages of Chinese history. She even continued her considerable influence in the reign of her grandson Emperor Wu, and even her influence in the reign of Emperor Wu was so great that the young emperor did not have the power to decide for himself even one day. She did not allow him to rule because of her grandson's opposition to ancestral laws and favoring Confucianism against Taoist. As a result, according to her influence, the Taoist laws were in force until her death over the empire.
Ceramic female attendants, from the tomb of Empress Dou (d. 135 BC), Western Han dynasty, Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an