Han Wu Da Di

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Han Wu Da Di
Han Wu Da Di
Format	Historical Drama
Created by	Hu Mei
Starring	Chen Bao Guo Gui Ya Lei Lin Jing Jiao Huang Yang Tong Shu Tao Hong
Country of origin	PRC
No. of episodes	58
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CCTV
Original run	January 2, 2005 – ???

Han Wu Da Di (Great Emperor Wu of Han; Traditional Chinese: 漢武大帝; Simplified Chinese: 汉武大帝; Hanyu Pinyin: Hàn Wǔ Dà Dì) is a TV series from mainland China about Han Wu Di (born Liu Che), the sixth and most famous emperor of the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220). The series has five actors playing his character from his boyhood to his old age. Of these, Chen Bao Guo gets the most screen time, playing the young emperor, and donning a moustache to play the middle aged emperor.

Han Wu Da Di covers the life of Emperor Wu from his early childhood to his death, as well as significant personalities and events in the reign of his father, such as the Rebellion of the Seven States. It also follows the conflicts that defined the pivotal war between the Han and the Xiongnu, part of a long-standing enemity between the two, in which Han victories under Wu Di's rule marked the emperor's reign. Numerous historically significant figures from the period make their appearances in this historical drama, including:

Han Jing Di (father)
Empress Wang Zhi (mother)
Grand Empress Dowager Dou (paternal grandmother)
Princess Pingyang (sister)
Empress Chen Jiao (cousin, spouse)
Princess Piao (aunt and mother-in-law, mother of Princess Chen)
Empress Wei Zifu (spouse)
Consort Zhao (spouse)
Wei Qing (brother-in-law by Wei Zifu, 2nd husband of Princess Pingyang, and chief commander of the Han army)
Huo Qubing (nephew to Wei Qing, and general in the Han army)
Zhou Yafu (general in the reign of Emperor Jing)
Liu Rong (deposed crown prince, Liu Che's brother)
Liu Wu, King of Liang
Li Guang (general in the Han/Liang army)
Zhang Qian (explorer-diplomat)
Tian Fen (maternal uncle, Han court minister)
Sima Qian (Han court minister and historian)
Liu Ju (son)
Liu Fuling (son)
Su Wu (loyal Han emissary)

Emperor Wu of Han as depicted in this TV show

Production value ran high (budgeted at 50 million yuan, the drama claims to be "the most expensive historical drama"), with sweeping battle scenes, period costumes, armor and props, and huge palace backdrops set up for the series. Filming in various scenic locations (from Inner Mongolia to Hebei to Henan to Zhejiang) captured the expanse of the Han empire and its frontiers. While liberties were taken with some of the historical details, the series was generally well received by viewers.