The Legend of Xi Shi

The Legend of Xi Shi follows the life of Xi Shi, the foremost of China's Four Great Beauties. Set against the rivalry between the states of Wu and Yue during the Spring and Autumn period, it tells the story of a village girl who bears the weight of her homeland, leaves her native soil for the courts of Wu and Yue, and stays true to herself amid political intrigue and tangled love and hate. The series delicately portrays her transformation from an innocent silk-rinsing girl into a remarkable woman who carries the great cause of her nation, recreates the turbulent era of the Wu-Yue struggle for supremacy, and depicts the patriotic devotion of historical figures such as Fan Li and Goujian. Eschewing vulgar sensationalism, it offers a positive interpretation of a woman's fateful choices and her sense of duty to her homeland amid chaotic times, with a plot full of twists and turns and richly layered emotions.