Meaning of Title
Phonetically, at least in Cantonese, the title sounds exactly like the Chinese phrase "金枝玉葉" (literally translates to " golden branches and jade leaves"). This is a classical Chinese proverb used to describe aristocratic but unmarried women in feudal Chinese society. The proverb is also used to describe a lady from a privileged or aristocratic background.
The title itself is effectively a pun on the original phrase, with the third and fourth ideogram being replaced by two other characters which described the main themes of the entire series. The characters "玉" (jade) and "葉" (leaf) were replaced by the phonetically equivalent "慾" (lust / desire) and "孽" (evilness, nemesis). Thus, the title itself describes the entire plot, which roughly translates to "women from prestigious backgrounds with lusts / desire for power and evilness".
Owing to the prolific use of the character "慾" (lust) in pornographic films and productions, some people believed in the beginning that the show was pornographic in nature. While the show does focus on the workings of Forbidden City's inner harem (which, in turn, invariably deals with sex), the show does not have any elements of pornography.
Read more about this topic: War And Beauty
Famous quotes containing the words meaning of, meaning and/or title:
“The sick are parasites on society. In a certain state it is indecent to go on living. To continue vegetating in cowardly dependence on physicians and machinations once the meaning of life, the right to life, has been lost ought to occasion a deep contempt within society.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“A name with meaning could bring up a child,
Taking the child out of the parents’ hands.
Better a meaningless name, I should say,
As leaving more to nature and happy chance.
Name children some names and see what you do.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Et in Arcadia ego.
[I too am in Arcadia.]”
—Anonymous, Anonymous.
Tomb inscription, appearing in classical paintings by Guercino and Poussin, among others. The words probably mean that even the most ideal earthly lives are mortal. Arcadia, a mountainous region in the central Peloponnese, Greece, was the rustic abode of Pan, depicted in literature and art as a land of innocence and ease, and was the title of Sir Philip Sidney’s pastoral romance (1590)