Scarlet Heart (Chinese: 步步惊心, lit. Startling by Each Step) is a 2011 Chinese television series based on the novel Bu Bu Jing Xin by Tong Hua. It first aired in China on Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) on September 10, 2011.

The series follows the story of a woman named Zhang Xiao who travels through time from the 21st century to the Qing Dynasty during the rule of the Kangxi Emperor. There, she meets the emperor’s sons, who are involved in a long struggle to become the next ruler. Throughout the series, the main character forms relationships with the Eighth Prince and later the Fourth Prince, who eventually becomes the Yongzheng Emperor. The story closely follows the original novel, though the ending of the series is different from the book.

Scarlet Heart was successful in Asia, helping Liu Shishi become famous and helping Nicky Wu’s career improve again. A sequel, Scarlet Heart 2, aired in China on Zhejiang TV on April 22, 2014. A movie version, Time to Love, with new actors, was released in 2015. A Korean version, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, aired in 2016. A Thai version was announced in 2024.

Synopsis

Zhang Xiao (Cecilia Liu), a young woman from the 21st century, has a serious accident that sends her back in time to the Qing Dynasty during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (Damian Lau). She finds herself trapped in the body of one of her past lives: Ma'ertai Ruoxi, a teenage girl who is the daughter of a Manchu general. In this new time, Ruoxi has an older sister, Ruolan (Annie Liu), who is a concubine of the Kangxi Emperor’s eighth son, Yinsi (Kevin Cheng). At first, Ruoxi tries to return to the future, but she gradually adjusts to life in this era. She meets other sons of the Kangxi Emperor, including the fourth prince Yinzhen (Nicky Wu), the tenth prince Yin'e (Ye Zuxin), who falls in love with her, and the fourteenth prince Yinti (Lin Gengxin). She also becomes close friends with the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang (Yuan Hong).

Ruoxi catches the emperor’s attention because of stories about her boldness and bravery. She impresses him with her cleverness and humor. Later, during a ceremony called the "beauty draft," where women are chosen to serve the princes or emperor, conflicting decisions by Yinsi and his wife, Gogoro Minghui (Shi Xiaoqun), lead to Ruoxi being assigned to work for the dowager empress to help maintain peace. The emperor gives Ruoxi a job as his personal tea server, preparing and serving tea to him and his guests.

While living with Yinsi, he falls in love with Ruoxi. She first refuses his feelings but later agrees to marry him if he stops trying to become emperor. This is because Ruoxi knows from history that Yinsi’s ambition will lead to his death in prison after Yinzhen becomes emperor. Yinsi refuses to stop, so Ruoxi ends their relationship. Before leaving, she warns Yinsi about Yinzhen’s plan to take the throne and suggests ways for Yinsi to avoid being caught.

Ruoxi then becomes closer to Yinzhen, and their conversations change her opinion of him. She unknowingly falls in love with him. Meanwhile, Yinsi and his supporters, following Ruoxi’s advice, falsely accuse Yinzhen of plotting against the crown prince, Yinreng (Zhang Lei). Yinxiang steps forward to take blame and is sentenced to house arrest. After this, Yinsi realizes Ruoxi is now romantically involved with Yinzhen. Yinreng is later removed from power and imprisoned for life. Kangxi begins favoring Yinti and offers Ruoxi as a concubine to him. Ruoxi refuses, and as punishment, she is sent to work in the laundry department.

Ruoxi works in the laundry department for many years, and some princes offer her protection. When Kangxi becomes seriously ill, Eunuch Wang brings Ruoxi back to serve him by making pastries and helping improve his appetite. Kangxi forgives her and restores her position as his lead tea server.

After Kangxi dies, Yinzhen, with help from Longkodo (Zhao Jialin) and Nian Gengyao (Xing Hanqing), falsely claims Kangxi named him as the successor, taking the throne from Yinti to become the Yongzheng Emperor. Yinzhen releases Yinxiang from prison and moves Ruoxi into his quarters, eventually starting a relationship with her. He does not marry her, as he wants to live with her daily, avoiding the need to divide his time between multiple estates. Ruoxi is content with this arrangement, as she prefers not to marry and enjoys seeing Yinzhen every day. However, her happiness is disrupted by Yinzhen’s fearfulness and harsh treatment of Yinsi and his followers. She often finds herself caught between the opposing groups of Yinzhen and Yinsi.

When Gogoro Minghui tells Ruoxi that Yinsi acted against Yinzhen years ago because of her advice based on her knowledge of the future, Ruoxi is shocked. Her sadness causes her to lose a child she was carrying and makes her unable to have children again. Yinzhen becomes angry and blames Yinsi and his wife, forcing them to divorce, which leads to Gogoro Minghui’s suicide. Ruoxi fears Yinzhen’s harsh treatment of his brothers and confesses the truth to him and Yinxiang. Yinzhen is surprised to learn why Yinsi opposed him and begins treating Ruoxi coldly. Ruoxi cannot handle the stress and asks Yinti to help her leave the palace. Later, Yinti shows Yinzhen a message left by Kangxi after his death that allows Yinzhen to marry Ruoxi as his concubine, causing Yinzhen to hesitate. Yinsi, knowing Yinzhen will not let Ruoxi leave, reveals details of his past romance with Ruoxi. An angry Yinzhen finally agrees to let Ruoxi and Yinti leave the palace.

Despite Yinti’s care, Ruoxi’s emotional pain harms her health. She asks Yinti to send a letter to Yinzhen, requesting to see him one last time before she dies. However, a misunderstanding between Yinzhen and Yinti causes the letter to be ignored. Ruoxi tries to survive but, after three days, concludes that Yinzhen’s absence means his love for her has ended. She dies. When Yinzhen learns of her death, he rushes to Yinti’s home and regrets his actions, realizing she still loved him.

In later years, Yinsi and Yintang (Han Dong) are imprisoned by Yinzhen, who holds them responsible for everything that happened. Yinxiang visits them in prison and gives them poison, as Ruoxi had asked him to do before she left the palace. Both princes take their own lives. Yinxiang dies a few years later, followed by Yinzhen, whose 12-year reign as emperor was the shortest in Qing history. Yinti lives on but does not marry again. Only Yin'e has a happy ending with his wife (Liu Yuxin), whom he grows to love, watching the Qianlong Emperor ascend the throne.

Back in 2011, Zhang Xiao regains consciousness in a hospital

Cast

• Cecilia Liu as Maer'tai Ruoxi (馬爾泰·若曦) / Zhang Xiao (張曉)
• Nicky Wu as Yinzhen (胤禛)
• Kevin Cheng as Yinsi (胤禩)
• Yuan Hong as Yinxiang (胤祥)
• Lin Gengxin as Yinti (允禵)
• Damian Lau as the Kangxi Emperor (康熙)
• Zhang Lei as Yinreng (胤礽), the crown prince
• Yang Xiaobo as Yinti (胤禔), the First Prince, who was sentenced to life in prison after the Emperor discovered he was responsible for cursing Yinreng and causing him to lose his position as crown prince.
• Chen Jingyu as Yinzhi (胤祉), the Third Prince, who spread false stories that the First Prince used magic to remove Yinreng from his position, which made the Emperor lose trust in him.
• Wang Xiaodong as Yinqi (胤祺), the Fifth Prince
• Han Dong as Yintang (胤禟), the Ninth Prince, who is calculating and rude. He works with Yinsi and plans ways to help him oppose Yinzhen.
• Ye Zuxin as Yin'e (胤礻我), the Tenth Prince, who is cheerful and clumsy. He likes Ruoxi, but they later become close friends.
• Qu Aohui as Hongshi (弘时), the third son of Yinzhen, who opposes his father.

• Dai Chunrong as Consort De (德妃), the mother of Yinzhen and Yinti
• Liu Jie as Consort Liang (良妃), the mother of Yinsi
• Mu Tingting as Lady Ula Nara (乌喇那拉氏), the first wife of Yinzhen
• Lu Meifang as Consort Nian (年妃), the second wife of Yinzhen and the sister of Nian Gengyao
• Shi Xiaoqun as Gororo Minghui (郭络罗·明慧), the wife of Yinsi
• Annie Liu as Ma'ertai Ruolan (马尔泰·若兰), the second wife of Yinsi and the sister of Ruoxi. She was forced to marry Yinsi, who loves her, which led her father to kill her lover to make her marry Yinsi.
• Liu Yuxin as Gororo Mingyu (郭络罗·明玉), the wife of Yin'e
• Li Linlin as Lady Fuca (富察氏), the wife of Yinxiang
• Chai Wei as Princess Chenghuan (承欢), the daughter of Yinxiang and Lüwu

• Xing Hanqing as Nian Gengyao (年羹尧), a trusted official of Yinzhen and the brother of Consort Nian
• Zhao Jialin as Longkodo (隆科多), a trusted official of Yinzhen
• Gao Sen as Li Guangdi (李光地), a trusted official of the Kangxi Emperor
• Ye Qing as Yu Tan (玉檀), a tea servant who works for Ruoxi and is a spy for the Ninth Prince
• Deng Limin as Li Dequan (李德全), the head of the internal department who serves the Kangxi Emperor
• Zhou Yancheng as Wang Xi (王喜), a student of Li Dequan
• Cao Xinye as Qiao Hui (巧慧), a maid who works for Ruolan and Ruoxi
• Qi Qinglin as Li Fu (李福), a eunuch who serves Yinsi
• Hu Zhonghu as Gao Wuyong (高无庸), a eunuch who serves Yinzhen and later becomes the head of the internal department
• Shen Baoping as Zhang Qianying (张千英), the head of the washing department
• Lian Teyue as Imperial Physician He (何太医)
• Kang Mingtong as Yun Xiang (芸香)
• Huo Dongdong as Yan Ping (艳萍)
• Zao Yang as Xiao Shunzi (小顺子)
• Ji Xue as Mei Xiang (梅香)
• Guo Jinying as Ju Yun (菊韵)

• Guo Xiaoting as Princess Suwan Guwalgiya-Minmin (苏完瓜尔佳·敏敏), a Mongolian princess who falls in love with Yinxiang
• Ba Sen as Prince Suwan-Guwalgiya (苏完瓜尔佳王爷)
• Zheng Kai as Prince Irgen Gioro Zuoying (伊尔根觉罗·佐鹰)

• Guo Zhenni as Lüwu (绿芜), a courtesan and close friend of Yinxiang. She later dies by suicide when she realizes her low birth status will prevent Yinxiang from achieving success.
• Wang Xiaodong as Chang Qingshan (常青山), the lover of Ruolan, who was killed by her father.
• Ma Tianyu as Huang Di (黄棣), the present-day boyfriend of Zhang Xiao.

Deviations from the novel

The show's producers have stated that the series will mostly follow the novel Bu Bu Jing Xin by Tong Hua. However, there are some differences:

• At the beginning of the story, in the novel, Zhang Xiao is a 25-year-old office worker. Her other identity, Ma'ertai Ruoxi, is 13 years old, not 16, as shown in the television series. Another difference is that Zhang Xiao comes from the year 2005, not 2011.
• In the novel, Ruoxi cannot return to her own time and eventually dies from her illness. Yinzhen dies ten years later, hoping to reunite with Ruoxi after death. The story ends with Yinzhen’s son, Hongli (born to Lady Niohuru), becoming the Qianlong Emperor. In the television series, after Ruoxi and Yinzhen’s deaths, Ruoxi’s spirit returns to her life in the 21st century. While dealing with the pain of her time-travel experiences, she meets a man who looks like Yinzhen and may be a modern-day version of him. The man does not recognize her but asks if they had met before. Zhang Xiao feels guilty about everything that happened when she was Ma'ertai Ruoxi. She decides not to speak and watches the man leave, crying.

Soundtrack

• "Love's Ripples" performed by Ailiya & Alicia [04:30]
• "Sculpture of Love" performed by Zheng Jiajia [03:35]
• "Snowflakes and Red Plum Blossoms" performed by Gong Shujun [04:14]

Remake

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo is a South Korean remake directed by Kim Kyu-tae. It is Universal Studios' first Korean drama project and has a budget of $13 million. The drama started on August 29, 2016, with 20 episodes. It received criticism for its story, direction, and acting, but was well received in other countries. In China, the series was broadcast at the same time as the Korean version on Youku and Mango TV. It also aired in Hong Kong on LeTV and in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia on ONE TV ASIA under the title Scarlet Heart. Because it was shown at the same time as the Korean broadcast and had a large publicity campaign, including a fan meeting with Kang Ha-neul before it started, the drama was popular in Singapore and Malaysia. It has 2.5 billion total views on Youku, China's largest video platform.