宫斗 (gōng dòu) — Palace intrigue

Example Usage

我们公司的宫斗比甄嬛传还精彩。

The palace intrigue at our company is even more dramatic than Empresses in the Palace.

Cultural Context

Originally describing the intense political scheming between concubines in harem dramas like 甄嬛传. Now used freely for any real-world social environment with hidden alliances, passive aggression, and behind-the-scenes maneuvering — especially office politics.