Bu Bu Jing Xin

Startling by Each Step, also known as Bubu Jingxin (Chinese: 步步驚心), was Tong Hua's debut novel. Originally published online in 2005 on Jinjiang Original Network (晉江原創網), it was later published by Ocean Press (海洋出版社), National Press (民族出版社), Huashan Arts Press (花山文藝出版社), Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House (湖南文藝出版社), and Yeren Culture Publishing (野人文化出版社). Tong Hua revised the novel in 2009 and 2011. The latest edition contained an additional 30,000 word epilogue.

Synopsis

Twenty-first century woman, Zhang Xiao, encountered traffic collision after work that sent her back in time to the Qing Dynasty during the Kangxi Emperor's reign (in the year 1704). She found herself trapped in the body of a young daughter of a Manchu aristocrat, Ma'ertai Ruoxi, younger sister of Ma'ertai Ruolan, who was a concubine of the emperor's eighth son, Yinsi. Stranded in the past, Ruoxi acquainted with Kangxi's other sons, including the fourth prince Yinzhen and his full brother, the fourteenth prince Yinti. She forged a close friendship with the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang. Using charm and wit, Ruoxi won the emperor’s favor and became his lady-in-waiting, attending to the monarch and his family.

Scarlet Heart

Scarlet Heart, also known as Startling by Each Step, is a Chinese television series based on the novel with the Chinese title 步步惊心 “Bu Bu Jing Xin" by Tong Hua. Filming for the series started on 6 December 2010 in Shanghai and ended on 22 March 2011. It first aired in China on the Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) on 10 September 2011.

A sequel, Scarlet Heart 2, officially began filming in Tianjin, China, on March 2013, and first aired in China on the Zhejiang Satellite TV on 22 April 2014.

Plot

Zhang Xiao (Cecilia Liu), a young woman from the 21st century, suffers a near-fatal accident that sends her back in time to the Qing Dynasty during the Kangxi Emperor's (Damian Lau) reign. She finds herself trapped in the body of one of her previous incarnations: Ma'ertai Ruoxi, the teenage daughter of a Manchu general. In this new timeline, she has an elder sister, Ruolan (Annie Liu), who is a concubine of the Kangxi Emperor's eighth son, Yinsi (Kevin Cheng). Ruoxi initially tries to return to the future, but she soon adjusts to life in this era. She meets some of Kangxi's other sons, including the fourth prince Yinzhen (Nicky Wu), tenth prince Yin'e (Ye Zuxin), and fourteenth prince Yinti (Lin Gengxin). She also forges a close friendship with the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang (Yuan Hong).