The Empress of China

The Empress of China

official poster
Also known as

Wu Ze Tian

Traditional 武媚娘傳奇
Simplified 武媚娘传奇
Genre Historical fiction
Created by Fan Bingbing
Directed by Go Yik Chun
Starring Fan Bingbing
Zhang Fengyi
Aarif Rahman
Janine Chang
Country of origin China
Original language(s) Mandarin
No. of episodes Original version: 82; Hunan TV: 96
Production
Executive producer(s) Wu Hongliang
Meng Qinghan
Li Zhao
Producer(s) Fan Bingbing
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 40min~50min
Production company(s) Fan Bingbing Studio
China Film Group Corporation
Zhejiang Talent Television & Film
Evergrande Film Co.
Duzhe Publishing Media Co.
Broadcast
Original channel Hunan Television
Picture format DTMB1080i
Audio format stereo
Original airing December 21, 2014

The Empress of China is a Chinese television drama based on events in 7th and 8th-century Tang dynasty, starring producer Fan Bingbing as the titular character Wu Zetian—the only woman in Chinese history to rule as an emperor.

It is the third television production by Fan Bingbing Studio and boasts of a budget of over ¥300 million (roughly US$49.53 million).[1] As such, it is believed to be the among most expensive TV series in Chinese history,[2] beating the previous record of ¥280 million by Heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasties (2013).[3] The television series was first broadcast on Hunan Television on 21 Dec 2014 in mainland China.

Cast

Production

Zhejiang Talent Television & Film, China Film Group Corporation, Evergrande Film Co., Duzhe Publishing Media Co., Jilin Television, and Guangxi Television co-financed the TV series.

A project-starting press conference held on December 28, 2012. Then, the director was Liu Jiang,[4] who quit the project later due to a busy schedule.

The character photos for the TV series were released on February 12, 2014. The release of the photos was a gift sent by the crew to the TV audience for the Chinese New Year. Fan said the role was one she had always dreamed of playing and every generation had different interpretations and she hope she could interpret the character in her own way.[1]

Filming began on December 28, 2013,[5] and ended on August 16, 2014. Filming locations included Wuxi,[6][7] Hengdian World Studios, Nanjing, and Shaoxing.[8]

A broadcasting press conference was held in Beijing on December 18, 2014.[9] The TV series has more than 260 sets of clothing for Fan Bingbing and more than 3,000 sets of clothing for the whole crew, with the most expensive piece being the dragon robe at over 500,000 CNY. Wu Hongliang, one of the producers, said the crew had more than 600 people, shooting lasted for almost 10 months, and several writers worked on the script for three years.[10]

Name

The series' Chinese name was initially Wu Zetian, and then renamed to The Legend of Wu Zetian. Just two days before the broadcasting date, it was renamed again as The Legend of Wu Meiniang. This was required by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT).

Music

The series' musical score was composed by Dong Dongdong, who previously wrote the music to No Man's Land and Beijing Love Story. At the first, the production company intended to invite musicians from Korea, Japan and China mainland, but the idea was changed due to China's censorship policy on TV series changing. Initially, one TV series could broadcast on four satellite channels, but in 2015 it was revised to allow broadcasting on two satellite channels. Considering the cost recovery and the busy post-production schedule, the production company invited the native composer Dong Dongdong.

The theme song was called Wu Zi Bei (Chinese: 无字碑; literally: "Wordless Tablet"), sung by Jane Zhang, lyrics by Vincent Fang, music by Aarif Rahman. The song premiered during a Sina live stream session on 16 December 2014 and topped the New Song Chart as the most listened song with the view count exceeding 1.37 million.

The opening song was called Qian Qiu (Chinese: 千秋; literally: "For Thousands of Years"), sung by Sun Nan.

TVB in Hong Kong opening song was called "The Queen", sung by Joey Yung.

Broadcast

The Empress of China began airing from December 21, 2014 exclusively on Hunan Television in mainland China, and will be broadcast on Chung T'ien Television in Taiwan, TVB in Hong Kong, and Golden Town Film Co., Ltd in Thailand.

The TV drama was suspended for four days from December 28, 2014 to January 1, 2015. Hunan Television said on its official Sina Weibo account that the "TV drama The Empress of China will stop from Sunday on due to 'technical' reasons but will return to the screen on January 1, 2015".[11] However, it was reported that the actual reason for this suspension was because the dresses were 'too exposing', especially in the chest region and the broadcasting authorities demanded the broadcaster edit the TV drama and then submit again for censorship.[12][13][14] The show returned to screens on January 1, 2015, but with edited scenes that removed much of the shots of cleavage area.[15] Wide shots and close-ups were heavily employed to minimize the amount of cleavage.[16] Chinese Internet users responded by complaining about the censorship on Weibo. Several complained that they would not be able to see the hundreds of costume changes by Fan Bingbing.[17] Some reports noted that the Tang Dynasty was one of the greatest dynasties in ancient China, and women were known to wear revealing attire.[14]

Likewise, any scenes showing intimacy or affection between the protagonists were completely cut (like the bath tub or kissing scenes), which makes following the drama's storyline difficult at times.

Reception

The Empress of China has been a commercial success. The show's first episode broke records for TV drama viewers.[11] Despite the re-edits to please SARFT, the viewership ratings of The Empress of China remained at an all-time high.[16]

The drama received mixed reviews. The audiences praised the beautiful costume, but complained the slow narrative rhythm.[18] Some reports noted that the drama was a kind of Mary Sue story.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Fan Bingbing's Empress Wu Zetian Makeup Released". womenofchina.cn. February 12, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  2. ↑ (Chinese) 范爷3亿“讨”江山
  3. ↑ (Chinese) 《隋唐演义》2.8亿刷新最烧钱电视剧纪录
  4. ↑ 《武则天》启动 范冰冰与刘江合作 (in Chinese). 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "范冰冰亮相《武则天》开机仪式 俏皮装束卖萌". hexun.com. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  6. ↑ (Chinese) 电视剧《武则天》无锡开机 女神范冰冰亮相
  7. ↑ "Fan Bingbing flaunts full bust for new role "Wu Zetian"". msn.com. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  8. ↑ (Chinese) 范冰冰在绍兴拍《武则天》 粉丝跟紧紧(图)
  9. ↑ "TV Series Featuring Fan Bingbing as Empress Wu Zetian to Air Soon". womenofchina.cn. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  10. ↑ 《武则天传奇》年底登陆湖南卫视. 163.com (in Chinese). 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Hit show's suspension leads to widespread speculation". http://english.sina.com''. December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Chinese drama 'The Empress of China' taken off air for being 'too sexy'". http://www.shanghaiist.com''. December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  13. ↑ "TV drama cut over too-sexy outfits". thestandard.com.hk. December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "The Empress Of China returns to TV without cleavage". dramafever. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "TV show 'The Empress of China' returns". china.org.cn. January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "The Empress of China" Censors Cleavage After Re-broadcast". jaynestars. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "Sexy China TV drama busted, returns to air more sedate". Reuters. January 3, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  18. ↑ "《武媚娘传奇》一波未平一波又起". qnsb.com. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "新版武媚娘 换个马甲的甄嬛？". why.com.cn. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ↑ "武媚娘"拦截"一剧四星末班车". why.com.cn. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.

External links