Nowadays, people enjoy talking about the Tang Dynasty as if China is in its second heyday, with the new administration and a strong economy, and China’s historic greatness is alive again today. Sure, this kind of show serves as patriotic propaganda to please nationalists and the central government. Yet it has also gained grass-roots support for its entertainment value.

Chinese audiences are obsessed with emperor stories. It’s true that communism is supposed to advocate egalitarianism. It’s true that the last emperor of the Manchu Dynasty was driven out of the Forbidden City at the beginning of the 20th century and China has been a republic ever since. It’s also true that Chinese’s desire for royalty has never died out. Why is that? There is a Chinese saying feng gu yu jin, “using history to mirror the current situation.” When you cannot talk about politics openly and freely, talking history becomes a means of expressing artfully what you wish to say about sensitive aspects of the present.

Imperial stories tend to follow standard formulas. First, the Emperor's concubines and courtesans fight each other to gain favor. With China’s fast-growing economy, the second wives phenomenon has been in existence for some time. Many young women would rather take the position of a rich man's mistress than be a poor man’s wife. Corrupt government officials now fallen from disgrace have often been found to have had many mistresses when they were in power. Viewers enjoy watching the cattiness of emperors' concubines. The jealousy is something modern women still relate to.

The second important element is the men, the ministers, the good ones and bad ones and their opposing factions. Emperors in soap operas tend to favor those of their followers who flatter them profusely. They may not get the job done, but they keep getting promoted because they have mastered the art of ass-kissing. The ones who tell the truth often end up being wronged. Factional infighting is also important. A minister is not evaluated based on his job performance, but rather based on "whose people is he?" This is still somewhat true in politics in all levels in China, including common office politics and positions of power.

Lastly, the emperors make all of the decisions, not the system. This is rule by the ruler, not the law. Again, the shows have something to say about an issue very alive in China today.

The bottom line: creators of such TV shows can express their political views or mock the current situation through historic figures without getting themselves into trouble. And whether they agree with the commentary or simply like the acting, the public watches them.