| The Emperor and the Assassin | |
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| Traditional | 荊軻刺秦王 |
| Simplified | 荆轲刺秦王 |
| Mandarin | Jīng Kē Cì Qín Wáng |
| Directed by | Chen Kaige |
| Produced by | Han Sanping Chen Kaige Kadokawa Tsuguhiko Furukawa Hiromitsu |
| Written by | Chen Kaige Wang Peigong |
| Starring | Gong Li Zhang Fengyi Zhou Xun Li Xuejian Chen Kaige |
| Music by | Zhao Jiping |
| Cinematography | Zhao Fei Zheng Hua Shang Yong |
| Editing by | Zhou Xinxia |
| Studio | Beijing Film Studio |
| Distributed by | China Star Entertainment Group (H.K.) Sony Pictures Classics (U.S.) Columbia Pictures (U.K.) |
| Release date(s) | October 8, 1998 (China) December 15, 1999 (H.K.) December 17, 1999 (U.S.) July 21, 2000 (U.K.) |
| Running time | 162 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
The Emperor and the Assassin, also known as The First Emperor, is a 1998 Chinese historical romance film based primarily on Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin, as described in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. The film was directed by Chen Kaige and stars Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi, Li Xuejian, and Zhou Xun. The film was well received critically and won the Technical Prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.[1] It was the most expensive Chinese film made at the time, costing US$20 million.[2]
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The film covers a great deal of Ying Zheng's life, from his early life as a hostage to his dominance over China, and depicts him essentially as an idealist seeking to impose a peace or unity on the world and defeated by various betrayals and losses. Its story consists in the main of three incidents: the attempt by Jing Ke to assassinate Ying Zheng; the rumour of a Chief Minister's having sired the latter before transferring his concubine to become Queen Mother; and the (possibly fictitious) story of an official having sired children by the Queen Mother herself. The first incident is shown only at the end of the film, but is foreshadowed in early acts; whereas the other two occur between the fictional genesis and historical manifestation of the first.
In the film, Ying Zheng sends his concubine Lady Zhao to the Yan state as a spy to enlist a Yan assassin to attempt to assassinate him, and use that as an excuse to start a war against Yan. Lady Zhao persuades Jing Ke to perform the assassination. After witnessing Ying Zheng's massacre of the children in her home state of Zhao, the lady desires the assassination in earnest. The attempt fails, but Ying Zheng is furious when none of his associates attempt to stop the assassin and he is forced to kill Jing Ke himself, and further saddened when Lady Zhao returns to Qin only to retrieve Jing Ke for burial.
The Emperor and the Assassin won the Technical Grand Prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and was in competition for the Palme d'Or.[3][4] Zhao Fei was awarded the 1999 Golden Rooster Award for Best Cinematography.
Chen Kaige noted upon the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival that he hoped The Emperor and the Assassin would hold relevance to the events of the time, notably the Yugoslav Wars.[4]
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