Cover Whether protecting a granddaughter, preserving a clan or safeguarding an empire, these powerful matriarchs understand something younger characters do not: power isn’t about winning today’s battle (Photo: IMDB)
Whether protecting a granddaughter, preserving a clan or safeguarding an empire, these powerful matriarchs understand something younger characters do not: power isn’t about winning today’s battle (Photo: IMDB)
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In these iconic C-dramas, the grandmothers, powerful matriarchs in their own right, were smarter than everyone else
If you have watched enough historical C-dramas, you know that writers love brilliant strategists.
And when you hear strategist, you immediately think emperors, generals, ministers and scheming princes. But some of the sharpest political minds in the genre rarely sit on the throne at all. They are the grandmothers quietly running aristocratic households, the dowagers preserving dynasties and the mothers who understand exactly how power moves through a family long after younger relatives have convinced themselves they’re in charge.
Unlike ambitious young protagonists, these women—brilliant, ruthless, powerful matriarchs—have already survived the mistakes that destroy other people. They know when to speak, when to remain silent and when to let an enemy walk directly into a trap of their own making. Some are fiercely protective. Others are terrifyingly manipulative. Nearly all of them possess a level of political instinct that makes everyone around them look like amateurs.
From beloved family guardians to formidable palace power brokers, these are the historical C-dramas where the elder, powerful matriarchs quietly control the board while everyone else argues over the pieces.
In case you missed it: Women who refuse to be footnotes: 6 C-drama heroines worth admiring
1. Old Madam Sheng in ‘The Story of Minglan’ (2018)
Above Madame Sheng understands that power is not something you seize in a single dramatic moment. You preserve it through discipline, restraint and by knowing exactly which battles are worth fighting (Photo: IMDB)
Madame Sheng understands that power is not something you seize in a single dramatic moment. You preserve it through discipline, restraint and by knowing exactly which battles are worth fighting (Photo: IMDB)
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The matriarch type: the protector who understands that survival is a skill that must be taught
If there is a patron saint of C-drama grandmothers, it is Old Madam Sheng (Cao Cuifen).
As the most senior woman in the Sheng household, she has spent decades watching wives, concubines, relatives and opportunists destroy one another in pursuit of status. By the time the story begins, she has no illusions left about how aristocratic families operate. That hard-earned wisdom is precisely why she takes a special interest in Sheng Minglan (Zhao Liying), the neglected daughter of a concubine whose intelligence is matched only by her vulnerability.
What makes Old Madam Sheng so fascinating is that she rarely relies on open confrontation. While younger characters obsess over immediate victories, she thinks in decades. She teaches Minglan when to speak, when to retreat and when appearing weak can be more powerful than fighting openly. She understands that the greatest advantage is often patience.
Her influence extends far beyond the household. Every major decision Minglan makes—from navigating family politics to surviving marriage and court intrigue—can be traced back to lessons learned under her grandmother’s watchful eye.
2. Grandmother Fan (Nainai) in ‘Joy of Life’ (2019–present)
Above Nainai understands that protecting someone isn’t always about keeping them safe. Sometimes it's about ensuring they can survive without you (Photo: IMDB)
Nainai understands that protecting someone isn’t always about keeping them safe. Sometimes it's about ensuring they can survive without you (Photo: IMDB)
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The matriarch type: the guardian who protects through preparation rather than comfort
Cao Cuifen somehow managed to create another unforgettable grandmother—and this one could not be more different from the aforementioned Old Madam Sheng.
When you first meet Fan Xian (Zhang Ruoyun), he is living far from the capital under the care of his grandmother in Danzhou. At first glance, Nainai seems distant and somewhat stern. Unlike the openly affectionate grandmothers common in family dramas, she keeps a noticeable emotional distance from the boy she is raising.
The reason, however, reveals exactly why she belongs on this list.
Nainai understands that Fan Xian’s life is in constant danger. Political enemies, assassins and court conspiracies surround him long before he realises it himself. Rather than sheltering him from that reality, she quietly prepares him for it. Every lesson in caution, every insistence on vigilance and every moment of apparent coldness is ultimately an act of protection.
The brilliance of the character lies in how little she needs to say. While ministers and emperors spend entire episodes plotting, Nainai’s influence is felt through the capable, suspicious and highly intelligent young man Fan Xian becomes.
And when the façade finally cracks—most famously in her emotional farewell to her grandson—it becomes clear just how fiercely she has loved him all along.
3. Empress Dowager in ‘The Legend of Zhen Huan’ / ‘Empresses in the Palace’ (2011)
Above The Empress Dowager sees the palace not as a collection of personal relationships, but as a machine that must keep functioning no matter who gets hurt in the process (Photo: IMDB)
The Empress Dowager sees the palace not as a collection of personal relationships, but as a machine that must keep functioning no matter who gets hurt in the process (Photo: IMDB)
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The matriarch type: the institutional survivor
Few characters better embody the phrase “knowledge is power” than the Empress Dowager (Liu Xuehua) of The Legend of Zhen Huan, also known as Empresses in the Palace.
Unlike the younger women battling for favour in the imperial harem, she has already survived every stage of the game. She has been a consort, a political player, a mother and ultimately the most senior authority in the palace. By the time viewers meet her, she has realised exactly how ambition operates because she has spent a lifetime observing its consequences.
That experience makes her one of the most quietly intimidating figures in the drama.
While concubines engage in elaborate schemes and emotional confrontations, the Empress Dowager rarely raises her voice. She doesn’t need to. Her authority comes from institutional memory. She knows every precedent, every hidden alliance and every political vulnerability within the palace. Younger characters may win individual battles, but she understands the larger system they are all trapped inside.
What makes Liu Xuehua’s performance so effective is the balance between warmth and calculation. The character often appears compassionate and grandmotherly, yet there is never any doubt that preserving stability takes precedence over individual happiness.
4. Empress Dowager Liu E in ‘Serenade of Peaceful Joy’ (2020)
Above Empress Dowager Liu E understands that ruling well often means making unpopular but necessary decisions (Photo: IMDB)
Empress Dowager Liu E understands that ruling well often means making unpopular but necessary decisions (Photo: IMDB)
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The matriarch type: the mother whose greatest strength is political restraint
Many historical dramas portray dowagers as power-hungry antagonists. Serenade of Peaceful Joy takes a far more nuanced approach.
Based on the real-life Empress Dowager Liu E of the Northern Song Dynasty, the character, played by Wu Yue, serves as both guardian and obstacle to Emperor Zhao Zhen (Wang Kai). She genuinely cares for the stability of the empire and the well-being of the ruler she raised, yet those same instincts frequently place her at odds with his desire for independence.
Wu Yue’s performance excels because she refuses to play Liu E as either hero or villain.
The dowager understands governance better than almost anyone in the court. She has spent years maintaining political balance, managing factions and preventing instability. From her perspective, every decision is measured against the survival of the state. Personal feelings are secondary. The younger generation may see her caution as interference, but she sees it as responsibility.
What emerges is one of the most sophisticated depictions of female political authority in modern historical C-dramas. Liu E does not fight for power because she wants it. She’s exercising it because she believes someone must.
5. Old Madam Cheng in ‘Love Like the Galaxy’ (2022)
Above Madame Cheng represents a different kind of intelligence. She possesses the gritty survival instinct of someone who remembers exactly what it feels like to have nothing
Madame Cheng represents a different kind of intelligence. She possesses the gritty survival instinct of someone who remembers exactly what it feels like to have nothing
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The matriarch type: the survivor who runs a family like a military supply depot
Powerful matriarchs are not always elegant. They are not always wise either. And that’s exactly what makes Old Madam Cheng (Xu Di) so memorable.
While many historical C-drama grandmothers come from centuries-old aristocratic clans, Old Madam Cheng comes from a family that clawed its way upward through military achievement. She lacks the refinement of palace dowagers and scholarly noblewomen, but she possesses something equally valuable: an instinctive understanding of scarcity.
As the grandmother of Cheng Shaoshang (Zhao Lusi), she spends much of the series frustrating viewers with her blatant favouritism, stubbornness and dramatic emotional manipulation. She hoards resources. She plays family members against one another. She uses guilt with remarkable efficiency.
Yet beneath all the chaos lies a fascinating portrait of a woman shaped by instability. The Cheng family is newly powerful, and she knows how quickly fortunes can disappear. Her obsession with control stems from a lifetime of surviving uncertainty.
Xu Di brilliantly balances comedy and pathos, transforming what could have been a one-note antagonist into a character whose flaws feel deeply rooted in her generation’s experiences.
6. Empress Dowager Xue in ‘Story of Kunning Palace’ (2023)
Above Empress Dowager Xue views every relationship through the lens of long-term family strategy, making her one of the most quietly dangerous figures in the room
Empress Dowager Xue views every relationship through the lens of long-term family strategy, making her one of the most quietly dangerous figures in the room
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The matriarch type: the clan strategist who treats politics like a hereditary obligation
If Old Madam Sheng teaches survival and Grandmother Fan teaches protection, the Xue family matriarch (Liu Min) teaches domination.
The aristocratic Xue clan sits at the centre of some of the drama's most dangerous power struggles, and its older generation understands exactly how influence is accumulated and preserved. The family’s senior matriarch functions as an extension of that philosophy, helping maintain a political machine that prioritises clan survival above all else.
What makes her particularly intimidating is her mastery of social power. She doesn't command armies. She doesn’t need to. Marriage alliances, family obligations, etiquette, reputation and generational influence are her weapons of choice.
In a court filled with ambitious young schemers, she represents something even more formidable: institutional memory. She knows how aristocratic families endure because she has spent her life ensuring her own does.
The younger generation may dream of changing the system. She understands that surviving inside it is often far more difficult.
7. Madam Wang in ‘The Story of Minglan’ (2018)
Above Madam Wang reveals how much unseen labour and political manoeuvring go into maintaining a powerful household long before court politics ever enter the picture (Photo: IMDB)
Madam Wang reveals how much unseen labour and political manoeuvring go into maintaining a powerful household long before court politics ever enter the picture (Photo: IMDB)
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The matriarch type: the household general whose emotions constantly threaten to outrun her strategy
Few characters in historical C-dramas inspire as much simultaneous frustration and affection as Madam Wang (Liu Lin).
As the principal wife of the Sheng household, she holds enormous authority. She controls the domestic sphere, manages servants, oversees family affairs and fiercely protects the interests of her own children. Unfortunately, she is also prone to emotional decision-making, making her a fascinating contrast to the composed Old Madam Sheng.
Liu Lin turns the character into one of the drama’s secret weapons. Beneath the temper tantrums and impulsive schemes lies a woman who understands exactly how vulnerable a wife can become within a large aristocratic family. Her mistakes often come from fear rather than malice.
Unlike many younger characters chasing advancement, Madam Wang’s primary goal is preservation. She wants her children to be secure. She wants her position protected. She wants her branch of the family to thrive. And that urgency makes her endlessly compelling to watch.
8. Empress Xiaoshengxian in ‘Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace’ (2018)
Above Empress Xiaoshengxian is well aware that in imperial politics, individuals are temporary—but institutions are everything (Photo: IMDB)
Empress Xiaoshengxian is well aware that in imperial politics, individuals are temporary—but institutions are everything (Photo: IMDB)
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The matriarch type: the institutional realist who understands that the palace is not a home, but a system that must be maintained
In a drama defined by shifting alliances, emotional devastation and the slow collapse of intimacy inside the Qing imperial court, the Empress Dowager (Vivian Wu) stands slightly apart from the chaos.
Unlike the younger consorts who fight for affection, status or survival within the emperor’s personal favour, she operates on a far more detached level. Her perspective is shaped not by romance or rivalry, but by dynastic continuity.
Wu plays her with quiet authority rather than overt dominance. She does not need to intervene in conflicts because her power is inherently structural. When she does speak, it is usually to redirect emotional impulses back toward political necessity—reminding both the emperor and his consorts that personal desires are secondary to the survival of the state.
What makes her particularly compelling is the emotional restraint of the performance. She is not a villain, nor is she a warm protector. She is something rarer in palace dramas: a figure who has long accepted that governance often requires emotional sacrifice.
9. Sun Ruowei in ‘Ming Dynasty’ (2019)
Above Sun Ruowei demonstrates how matriarchs are made. They are not born wise, strategic or resilient. They become that way by surviving long enough to learn what power truly costs (Photo: IMDB)
Sun Ruowei demonstrates how matriarchs are made. They are not born wise, strategic or resilient. They become that way by surviving long enough to learn what power truly costs (Photo: IMDB)
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The matriarch type: the woman who evolves from survivor to institution
Unlike most entries on this list, Sun Ruowei doesn’t begin as a matriarch.
She becomes one.
When viewers first meet Tang Wei’s heroine, she is a young woman caught in the aftermath of a political catastrophe. Her family has been destroyed, her future is uncertain and survival requires constant adaptation. Over the course of the drama, however, she undergoes one of the most remarkable transformations in C-drama.
Through marriage, court intrigue, succession struggles and national crises, Sun Ruowei gradually evolves into a figure whose priorities extend beyond herself. Personal grievances become secondary to dynastic stability. Emotional impulses give way to political calculation.
Tang Wei’s performance brilliantly captures this evolution. The character never loses her humanity, but she increasingly learns that leadership often demands compromise. By the latter portions of the story, she possesses many of the same qualities seen in the great dowagers and clan elders who came before her.
She has become the person younger generations turn to for guidance—even when they don't realise it.
Sasha Lim-Uy Mariposa is a lifestyle journalist who is known for her food writing. Based in Manila, she also covers entertainment and dining, as well as a broad range of topics. She was the former digital editor at Esquire Philippines and was the digital managing editor at Spot.ph, and now writes for the different Tatler Asia markets as a contributing writer for T-Labs.
