Empress of China

Empress of China

I’ve been wanting to watch this series since its first debut. I just didn’t have the time to do so until my holiday vacation came. I had the entire half of December of last year for vacation, and I spent it all on watching TV series I’ve been wanting to watch. Empress of China is the first one I’ve seen when my vacation started.

The Empress of China is a Chinese TV series based on the life of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor or empress regnant in the entire history of China. She ruled in the year 684 to 705, which interrupted the Tang Dynasty in the middle. Nobody knows why she insisted on becoming an “emperor” at her late age and why she left a blank tablet (also known as “Wordless Stele”) when she died. Wu Zetian’s greatest achievements are probably her political and military achievements in the expansion of China and extending the court to allow the lower classes to be a part of it instead of it being exclusively only headed by nobles.

I think, she wanted to became an “emperor” herself, just because she wanted to prove that despite being a woman, she can rule the empire as effectively as any man in the same position. In her entire reign from empress consort to empress regnant herself, when you look at things objectively, she ruled better than some male emperors did. However, since in ancient China, women are considered as inferior to men, she was looked down upon and insulted her entire reign.

I love historical dramas, and Empress of China is probably one of the best historical dramas I’ve seen. I like everything in this series from the characters down to the plot. I especially love how detailed the setting and costumes are — they show how extravagant the imperial court was during the Tang Dynasty. The only thing about this series that I didn’t quite like is how the timeline suddenly jumps at weird paces, especially around the last few episodes. There are times when I get lost with scenes and details. Though I’m not entirely sure if it has something to do with my copy being that it’s the censored version. There are two versions of this TV series, the original one and the edited part where there are scenes that were taken out due to censorship in China. Other than that, I have no other complains.

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2 Comments

  1. Oh nice! I’m not that much into chinese dramas (taiwanese rather) but I love watching chinese kungfu movies with dad 😀
    Is this RL story? Women really before are treated so low. Some other countries are still like that which is sad 🙁 My sister is a sushi chef but can’t manage to go to Japan or authentic japanese restos because japs don’t allow women as chef. LOL! But not all naman~ unless Filipino may-ari XD

    1. Yes, Wu Zetian was a real life person who became the first and only empress regent of China. Although, the drama, of course, probably just dramatized her life a bit more or less. 🙂

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