Songs of the Prosperous Times

In 712 AD, Li Longji came to the throne as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty after a fierce palace coup. He was full of lofty ambitions and determined to eradicate bad governance and restore the glory of the Tang Dynasty. The script uses the replacement of prime ministers such as Yao Chong, Song Jing, Zhang Shuo, and Zhang Jiuling as the overt line, and Xuanzong's psychological changes from diligent governance to extravagant and tired administration as the underline, showing the arrival and hidden worries of the "Kaiyuan Heyday", the peak period of Chinese history. The whole play weaves a grand historical picture through the four dimensions of palace, court, frontier fortress and market. Here you can see Prime Minister Yao Chong's "Ten Things to Say" reform plan; there is the ever-famous Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling's character of "the grass and trees have their own heart"; there is the beginning of the conflict between the eunuchs and the border generals; there is also the prosperity of Chang'an West City where Hu merchants gather in an endless stream. However, with the death of Concubine Wu Hui, the entry of Yang Yuhuan into the palace, and the rise of Li Linfu and An Lushan, under the curtain of the prosperous age, undercurrents of power struggle and rebellion are surging.