A sumptuous feats for the eyes with some mildly hammy overacting

I stumbled upon this years ago looking for titles with Fan Bingbing, and I’ve always been fascinated by the vicious rumors in history surrounding Wu Zetian. Where they true? We’re they lies spread by her detractors? Or could a woman be so heinous as to commit terrible atrocities against her own kids for the sake of retaining power? The sad fact of the matter is that female history was not, in my opinion, given the same importance to recorded detail as that of their male counterparts, so we’re left having to guess or fill in the blanks with what we cheekily call “historical fiction”- stories based on the little facts we have while building some drama around it. “Empress of China” is no different.

Here, we meet young Wu Ruyi (Fan Bingbing), brought to the palace to serve in the harem (history states she was actually 14 at the time). Early in, she scores a “ride or die” bestie in Xu Hui, but also quickly learns that the treachery of the harem is just as hard, if not worse, to navigate than political affairs. After some poor decisions, Ruyi is pigeon holed in the title of Cairen (“Lady of Talent” only 4 up from the bottom slot) while her bestie continues up the harem ladder. The attention she is suddenly given from the Emperor makes her an even bigger target, threat or pawn (depending on which court figure you are) and Ruyi’s life is almost extinguished many times. In the interim, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with the Emperor’s youngest son Zhinu, who has a puppy dog crush on her and remains smitten for the rest of his life. Eventually, the seemingly string sisterhood between Ruyi and Xu Hui becomes strained, especially after Ruyi’s heroics and valor earn her the honorific name Meinang. Unbeknownst to Meinang, Xu Hui begins to plot against her all in the hopes of making the Emperor despise and forget her. Clearly Meinang is too clever for all that and, eventually, the friendship completely dissolves. After the death of Emperor Taizong, Meinang (after a stint as a nun) becomes the Zhaoyi (Imperial Consort) to Zhinu, the emperor’s successor and now Emperor Gaozong. But drama in the harem never ceases, and Meinang, although much beloved, must dodge intrigue to protect herself and her position.

What I do like about this drama is that is gives us an alternative explanation to who Wu Meinang was, rather than rely on the story certain history books have told. There is absolutely no proof that Meinang strangled her own infant daughter to gain favor over and frame Empress Wang. Instead, this drama puts forward another possibility. Seeing as Meinang was not popular with those that would not see her in power, it does stand to reason that maybe, just maybe, the powers that be etched that reputation on her in history as one last “sticking it to her”. We’ll never really know. Beyond that, I did love the costumes and the music, but some of the overacting, particularly by the easy in the eyes but ham-fisted Zhinu (Aarif Rahman) had me rolling my eyes at times. Beautifully done, love great actors like a Zhang Fengyi and Janine Chang.

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