Dynasties & Dreams: Mastering Chinese through Costume Epics

Learn Chinese through iconic dramas while exploring culture, idioms, and emotional expression.

Learn Chinese in an immersive and culturally rich way—through the stories of China’s most beloved costume epics.

What you’ll learn

• Unlock beautiful, authentic Chinese by learning from the most stunning lines in China’s most popular costume dramas..
• Fall in love with Chinese through dramatic stories, royal intrigue, and unforgettable characters—from palace queens to legendary generals..
• Gain real cultural insight while mastering vocabulary, grammar, and sentence patterns used in elegant historical and romantic contexts..
• Transform boring language study into a cinematic adventure—learn Chinese the way fans binge dramas: with passion and emotion..

Course Content

• Dream of the Red Chamber（红楼梦） –> 3 lectures • 19min.
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms（三国演义） –> 3 lectures • 19min.
• Journey to the West（西游记） –> 3 lectures • 13min.
• Outlaws of the Marsh（水浒传） –> 3 lectures • 13min.
• The Legend of Zhen Huan（甄嬛传） –> 3 lectures • 18min.
• The Story of Minglan（知否知否应是绿肥红瘦） –> 3 lectures • 17min.
• Bending at the Waist（折腰） –> 3 lectures • 11min.
• The Grace of Peony（国色芳华） –> 3 lectures • 13min.
• Empress Wu（武则天） –> 3 lectures • 19min.
• Love Like the Galaxy: The Stars Are Brilliant, the Moon Rises Over the Sea（星汉灿烂） –> 3 lectures • 14min.

Requirements

• Learn Chinese in an immersive and culturally rich way—through the stories of China’s most beloved costume epics.
• Explore 10 iconic dramas, including Dream of the Red Chamber, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, Empresses in the Palace, and more.
• Master commonly used vocabulary, idioms, and emotional expressions drawn directly from historical scripts and character dialogues.
• Understand the deeper meanings behind Chinese expressions as you connect language learning with cultural, historical, and literary knowledge.
• Improve your listening and speaking skills through dramatic scenes filled with powerful emotions, court intrigue, and poetic narration.
• Practice interpreting and using language tied to major themes such as love and betrayal, power and loyalty, identity and tradition.
• Gain insight into Chinese dynasties, social hierarchies, and values through guided analysis of authentic characters and storylines.
• Develop cultural fluency by learning how Chinese language reflects etiquette, gender roles, family dynamics, and philosophical thinking.
• Build confidence in expressing yourself with clarity and elegance by mastering emotionally rich vocabulary and expressive sentence patterns.
• Designed for intermediate learners, heritage speakers, or anyone fascinated by Chinese culture, drama, and language.
• By the end of this course, you will be able to use vivid, nuanced Mandarin with confidence—and understand China through the language of its most unforgettable stories.