The most popular Chinese TV opera series of 2012 would undoubtedly be Legend of Zhen Huan, which depicts a fictional power struggle between the concubines of an emperor during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The red hot TV drama not only swept the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and some Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia, but it is now marching into the US market.
2012最火热的电视剧中，《甄嬛传》可谓首当其冲。《甄嬛传》描述了一个虚构的清朝（1644-1911）宫廷斗争故事。这部大红大紫的电视剧不仅横扫中国内地荧屏，也在台湾以及新加坡、马来西亚等南亚国家风头不减，现如今正要“起驾”进入美国市场。
"It is expected to be broadcast on several US television stations in about six months," said Zheng Xiaolong, director of the show. As a veteran TV director in the country, Zheng's other works include Desire (1990, Zheng was the producer), A Native of Beijing in New York (1996), and Golden Marriage (2006).
该剧导演郑晓龙表示“预计半年之内将会在几家美国电视台播放”。郑晓龙是国内一位经验丰富的电视剧导演，其作品包括《渴望》（1990，担任该片制片人），《北京人在纽约》（1996）以及《金婚》2006。
"The US company watched Legend of Zhen Huan with English captions and were satisfied with it," Zheng told the Global Times in a phone interview, but he refused to disclose the name of the US company or the local television stations that will broadcast the show.
“美国公司看过配有英文字幕的《甄嬛传》，并对此非常满意”郑晓龙在电话采访中这样告诉环球时报的记者，但他拒绝透露该美国公司的名称以及将在美国哪些电视台播放。
"They will re-edit the opera into six episodes, each of which will last from 90 minutes to two hours, and some new music will be added," said Zheng.
“他们将把《甄嬛传》分为六集，每集时长将延长到90分钟到两个小时，并且会加入一些新的音乐，”郑晓龙说。
As a 76-episode drama, women take the lead roles and deliver the utmost of intrigue and scheming among the concubines of the emperor in ancient China. In the opera, Zhen Huan, a concubine played by famous Chinese actress Sun Li, beats all others and even the empress with her wisdom and courage, finally rising to the top position that a woman can reach in the ancient imperial palace.
这部76集的电视剧是以女性为主要角色，讲述中国古代宫廷中嫔妃间争斗的各种阴谋诡计。剧中，甄嬛，由中国著名女演员孙俪扮演，凭借自己的智慧和勇气战胜了其它嫔妃，甚至皇后，最终登上了古代宫廷中女人的最高地位。
A famous and beautiful cast of actresses, fancy costumes reflecting a certain period of old China, and an addictive storyline greatly contributed to the show's popularity among Chinese audiences. But to a US audience, the story will come from a completely different cultural background, and domestic producers are still anxious to find out how Legend of Zhen Huan will be received.
著名的美丽女星参演，中国古代的华美服饰，以及引人入胜的故事情节极大的促成了这部戏在中国观众中的受欢迎程度。但是，对一个美国观众来说，这是一个完全来自不同文化背景的故事，国内的制片人仍然在急切的寻找如何使甄嬛被一个美国观众所接受。
Legend of Zhen Huan was actually already broadcast in the US last year, but was limited to some local Chinese language television stations, according to Cao Ping, producer of the opera.
据这部戏的制片人曹平称，早在去年，甄嬛传就已经在美国播放过了，只是仅是在当地一些中文电视台。
"This time we will not be involved in its reproduction by the US company since we are not familiar with the viewing habits of foreign audiences," said Cao.
“因为不了解外国观众的习惯，所以这次我们不会参与到美国公司的制作中，”曹平说。
It remains to be seen how much a favorite among Chinese viewers will be accepted by foreign audiences.
这部受中国观众喜爱的电视剧会被国外观众接受多少，还是有待观察的。
"I have never heard of this opera, and I think most Americans probably will not know or care too much," said Anna Hill, an American who now works for a media company in Beijing.
“我从未听说过此部电视剧，并且我想大部分美国人并不知道或者并不感兴趣，”一位就职于北京某传媒公司的美国人Anna Hill说道。
On the website asianfanatics - a professional and comprehensive forum on Asian television shows where foreign audiences gather - discussions and downloads about Legend of Zhen Huan are few. But some who already watch the show have recommended it on the forum.
在AsianFanatics网站——一个外国剧迷聚集的专业亚洲影视综合论坛上——很少有关于《甄嬛传》的讨论和下载，但是有一些已经看过该剧的人在论坛里做推荐。
"(It was) very popular in the Chinese mainland in 2012. Very worth watching, although it is historically inaccurate," said Yimi, a member of the forum.
“2012年在中国大陆非常流行，尽管与时事有些不相符，但是仍然值得一看，”论坛会员Yimi说。
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