Series / The Empress of China

The Empress of China is a 2015 Chinese series starring Fan Bingbing as Lady Wu and Zhang Fengyi (Cao Cao in Red Cliff) as Tang Taizong. The series was reputably the most expensive Chinese drama series ever made, and notable for its endless Costume Porn. Set in the 7th and early 8th centuries during the Tang Dynasty, it tells the story of Wu Zetian ^note However, since "Zetian" comes from her posthumous titles, in-series, she's mostly addressed by her titles at the time, Ruyi (her fictional birth name) or Meiniang (fictionally bestowed upon her by Taizong)., China's only female Emperor, from her days as a teenage concubine in the court of Emperor Taizong, to becoming the undisputed ruler of all China.

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The Empress of China contains examples of:

• Adaptation Expansion: Historically, Wu's time in Taizong's harem is relatively unknown and unremarkable (but long ^note by her contemporaries' standards. She was in Taizong's harem for 12 years, from her early teens to her mid 20s. But, this is a woman who became emperor at an age where most emperors before her or since were long dead (late 60s), and reigned for 15 years.), but it takes up half the series by placing her at the center or near enough to the major events at the end of Taizong's reign.
• Adapted Out: Since the series focuses on Wu Zetian's relationships with her husbands, and skips over her regency and rule, many important characters of that period, such as her daughter Princess Taiping ^note In-series, Emperor Ruizong was known by his non-imperial titles. He was the "Prince of Xiang" in Rui An's reply to Meiniang on her surviving children, the "Prince of Luling" being Zhongzong., her nephews Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi, her secretary Shangguan Wan'er and her various lovers (her last two, the Zhang Brothers, show up only long enough to get killed), get no screen time.
• Artistic License – History: The series heavily romanticized Wu's life to focus on the soap opera of the court intrigues and the love story between Wu and her love interests, which downplays how ruthless Wu really was in real life and pulled some inaccurate depictions of some of the other characters.
  • Historically, the name Taizong gave her was only "Mei". ^note "Wu Meiniang" was the name of a famous song during the Sui-Tang era.
  • Historically, Meiniang's heritage from her mother's side was nothing to be scoffed at. ^note  Her mother, Lady Yang, was part of Sui royalty, and Lady Yang's father Yang Da and uncle Yang Xiong held important positions during the Sui era. In addition, some of Yang Xiong's granddaughters were already in Taizong's harem: one was a jie yu, and the historical xian fei when Meiniang entered the palace, Consort Yan (who later became de fei), was also Meiniang's cousin. As a sidenote, Lady Yang was Wu Shiyue's second wife, and Meiniang's half-brothers had chased her and her daughters out of the household after Shiyue's death.
    • On the topic of Taizong's harem, historical records did not indicate any major disturbances or upheavals. ^note  Probably the most dramatic event was the manner of Xu Hui's death: she refused treatment for her illness after Taizong's death, and died soon after him. Gaozong conferred upon her the posthumous title of xian fei.
  • Historically, there were no records of factions seeking to restore the Sui dynasty during Taizong's reign, partly because the Yangs and Lis were related matrilineally. ^note The mothers of Li Yuan (Tang Gaozu) and Yang Guang (Emperor Yang of Sui) were sisters (surnamed Dugu); Li's and Yang's paternal grandfathers served in the court of the Western Wei dynasty alongside their maternal grandfather. (Dugu Xin and Li Hu were 2 of the 8 Pillars (柱国，"Zhu Guo") of the Western Wei, while Yang Zhong was one out of 12 Generals serving under the Pillars. As a side note, the 8 Pillars and 12 Generals, together with their families, formed the core of what would be known as the Guanlong faction, which vastly influenced imperial politics during the Sui and ealy Tang periods, although historians have disputed their influence during Taizong's era.) Thus, Taizong and consort Yang were Kissing Cousins as well.
  • The historical Du Chuke (Li Tai's advisor) did not perish during Taizong's reign; he passed away in his mid-60s during Gaozong's reign. ^note He was also the younger brother of Du Ruhui; Ruhui was ranked #3 among the 24 men of Lingyan Pavilion.
  • It's highly unlikely that the historical Princess Gaoyang murdered Wu's infant daughter, given that she was executed the year before the child was even born. Historically, Fang Yi'ai rebelled because of his desire for his brother's title, which was inherited from their father. Li Ke was then accused by Fang to be part of the rebellion due to the latter's desire to avoid the death penalty. While Li Ke was innocent, Zhangsun Wuji took the opportunity to make the charges stick, and then killed Ke.
  • The series depicted Meiniang being Emperor Taizong's favorite consort and both of them being in love. However, it's the other way around in real life as the real Taizong was said to favor consort Xu Hui for her literary skills while Wu was the unfavorite presumably because of her aggressiveness and frightening intellectual antics at a young age. ^note Historically, Taizong preferred women like Empress Zhangsun, who was known for her Silk Hiding Steel qualities; Meiniang was too much Steel for his taste. However, the series emphasizes Taizong's view that the state is his greatest concern; he left an order to Li Zhi imploring him to execute any child of Meiniang's whom can be attributed to Taizong.
  • The events surrounding Li You's (Prince of Qi) and Li Chengqian's rebellions have been greatly altered.^note Historically, Li You was in his early 20s when he rebelled, and not in his teens as depicted in the series. Also, it was Li You's capture which revealed Li Chengqian's own attempt to rebel. Chengqian had also sent assassins after Li Tai before his attempted rebellion. As for Chengqian's death, he died during Taizong's reign and not during his brother's; in fact, he died about 2 years after Wei Zheng.
  • Historically, Gaozong's trip to Ganye Temple after Taizong's death was to commemorate Taizong's death anniversary, not Empress Wende's. In addition, due to Gaozong having to observe a mourning period for Taizong, Meiniang could not have been made zhao yi so quickly upon her return to the harem. ^note Historically, by the time Meiniang was made zhao yi, she had already gave birth to her eldest son, Li Hong. In the series, it was the other way round.
  • Historically, Lady Helan had a brother (named Minzhi) who was allegedly their grandmother's lover and more importantly was groomed by Meiniang to be her potential successor. ^note As mentioned, Meiniang's half-brothers had driven Lady Yang and her daughters out of the household. Thus, Meiniang was initially reluctant to groom her half-brothers' sons as her successors. However, Helan Minzhi proved to be a liability; Meiniang then turned towards her nephew Wu Chengsi as her successor. Eventually, upon seeing Chengsi's and Wu Sansi's incompetence, along with Di Renjie's reminder that her nephew is unlikely to pay respects to her after her death (an important Chinese custom), Meiniang agreed to reinstate Zhongzong as Emperor after her death.
• Broken Bird: Almost all the concubines eventually become this, along with their Face–Heel Turn. Xu Hui is a notable example, as she becomes broken after her realization that Taizong was using her as a replacement for Meiniang, along with her suspicion that Meinang had deliberately given her a poisoned fan.
• Composite Character: For members of Taizong's harem, the series often combines two historical ladies of the same surname and lineage.
  • Consort Yang is an amalgamation of the historical consort Yang ^note who was Li Ke's mother and the daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui , and Lady Yang ^note the widow of Taizong's brother Li Yuanji (who died in the Xuanwu Gate incident). History did not record down the titles bestowed upon the two consorts (if any).
  • Consort Wei is an amalgamation of the historical consort Wei ^note  Named "Gui", she held the rank of gui fei and had children with Taizong, and her cousin. ^note Named "Ni Zi", she held the rank of zhao rong and had no children.
• Cool Big Sis: This is how Meiniang initially acts towards a young Li Zhi, the future Emperor Gaozong, when they first meet. ^note Historically, Wu was about 4 years older than Li Zhi.
• Costume Porn: Famous for this, and with good reason. The full cast has some 3000 costumes between them, and Fan Bingbing alone has over 260 costumes over the course of the series, the most expensive being the Dragon Robe◊ worn when Wu finally becomes Emperor in her own right.
• Dark Horse Victory: For viewers not versed in the history of the period, it would surprise them that the son to succeed Taizong will be Li Zhi, who was just a kid when first introduced.
• Decadent Court: Between the princes scrambling for the position of Crown Prince, the officials being split between those of aristocratic and lowly birth, and the consorts and women of the harem trying to win the Emperor's favor and the title of Empress, the court is consistently portrayed as a very dangerous place for all involved; not even the Emperor is safe from the intrigues. ^note Ironically, the time period whereby the Tang harem actively interfered with state politics began with Wu, and only ended during her grandson Xuanzong's reign. As one can imagine, the women of the harem became "inspired" by Wu's achievements. However, Xuanzong was determined not to allow women to interfere in state politics.
• Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest: What draws Li Zhi to consort Xiao, is her supposed resemblance to Meiniang. He even paints her in a series of paintings that are clearly inspired by various events from Wu's time in the palace.
  • A major arc early on focuses on a minor concubine's resemblance to the late Empress Wende (Lady Zhangsun), and her family exploiting the resemblance to gain Taizong's favour.
• Downer Ending: The series end with Wu usurping the crown, becoming the first female emperor of China. However, Wu was left with a bitter and forlorn reign as she lost everyone who was precious to her since the day she entered the palace. Her close friends betrayed her, she lost her childhood friend (whom she looked up to as a brother), her sons betrayed her, and eventually she was estranged from Li Zhi. ^note Historically, Wu's final years led to her downfall, as she took to pleasure after restraining herself for many years, and her last 2 lovers stirred up enough trouble for court officials to act; it didn't help that when the coup happened, she was in ill health. After her abdication, it was recorded that she aged so rapidly that Zhongzong had a fright when he met her in her retirement palace.
  Wu Zhao: The 15 years I spent as Emperor, was the loneliest time of my life. Except for power, I have nothing.
• Driven to Suicide: Given it's imperial China and how suicide was common back then, there's bound to be full of this.
• Evil Chancellor: Li Yifu, one of Wu's allies, is openly regarded as corrupt, even by himself, but he makes himself useful to have around.
• Face–Heel Turn: Many characters experience this. Meinang is notably one of them, after she had taken enough of the horrible shit from her enemies after her daughter's murder. She became a cunning, ruthless, power-hungry woman who will destroy those who dare to oppose her.
• The Good Chancellor: Zhangsun Wuji, Taizong's brother-in-law and Gaozong's uncle, while antagonistic to Wu, is nevertheless absolutely committed to the Tang Dynasty. Wei Zheng is also well regarded because he's one of the few people who can point out when Taizong is being unfair and get away with it.
• Historical Hero Upgrade: Many of the more ruthless actions traditionally attributed to Wu are often done instead by other members of the court.^Note Though given how much the historical Wu Zetian wasn't received well by historians during her time and the eras after, the show attempts to remove those aspects that are considered by modern historians to be (most likely) false.
  • The series portrayed Li Chengqian's circumstances as similar to his father's before the Xuanwu Gate Incident, and Chengqian himself as essentially a good (if overly prideful) person. Historically, Chengqian was devious enough to send assassins after his own teacher after he got tired of said teacher's advice.
  • The historical Zhangsun Wuji got drunk on power while on the post of Chancellor; one of the reasons why Gaozong wanted to remove his uncle from power (and enlisted Wu to help him) was that Zhangsun didn't allow Gaozong to exercise much power; at least, he did have some power after Zhangsun's removal, even after having Wu as co-ruler. ^note The later half of Gaozong's reign was marred by his poor health, forcing him to rely more heavily on Wu. As a side note, Empress Wende implored Taizong not to give her brother great power, but Taizong promoted Wuji several times even while Wende was alive.
• Historical In-Joke: Apart from the usual suspects of Empress Wende and Consort Yang, the crescent mark that appears on some Tang era coins was Wu's fault from accidentally pressing her nail into the mould.
  • Wu's names are full of in-jokes ^note "Ruyi" is the second era name used by the historical Wu during her reign as emperor, while "Zhao" was a homonym to the word she would create as her name upon her ascension to the throne.
  • The arc surrounding the "Song of the Prince of Lanling Entering Battle" is a subtle one to the historical Music of the Prince of Qin Breaking up the Enemy's Front ^note In 620, Taizong, then still the Prince of Qin, defeated the army of rebel commander Liu Wuzhou; to celebrate his heroics, soldiers wrote new lyrics and set them to the tune of "Song of the Prince of Lanling Entering Battle", thus creating a new song.
  • Wu's stabbing of Lion Stallion is a nod to the historical Wu's account of the last suggestion she made to Taizong on how she would have tamed the historical Lion Stallion.
  • The Ungrateful Bastard entry below is another one if one considers Zhang Jianzhi's historical fate. ^note Zhang was sent into exile merely a year after Wu's death by Zhongzong's wife Empress Wei, and died from the frustration and injustice.
• I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Li Mu, despite being given a prime opportunity to run away into exile with Wu by Emperor Taizong, allows her to follow the Emperor onto the battlefield.
• Incest Subtext: A lot of Li Zhi's relationship with Meiniang is driven by wanting her to rely on and love him as she did his father. It actually concerns Zhangsun Wuji, his uncle and a leading official of the court, since the relationship is technically considered incestuous under Confucian morality. ^note Historians have speculated that Li Zhi may have saw Meiniang as a mother figure due to her forceful personality, as well as him lacking one since his mother Empress Zhangsun passed away when he was about 8 years old.
• Lonely at the Top: The series culminates in the coronation of Meiniang after she eliminated all of her rivals through war, intrigue and backstabbing over the course of the series, resulting in this exchange:
  Wu Meiniang: Where are my enemies?
  Rui An: Dead
  Wu: And my friends?
  Rui An: Dead as well.
  Wu: What about my husband and my children?
  Rui An: Your Majesty, other than the Prince of Luling and Prince of Xiang, the others are dead too.
• The Lost Lenore: Throughout the series, no matter how in love with Wu he seems to be, Taizong is clearly still grieving for his late wife Empress Wende. Similarly, after his own death, Meiniang remains very much devoted to him for the rest of her life. ^note Just like in history, Taizong never elevated another woman to the position of Empress after Empress Zhangsun's death.
• Love Father, Love Son: Wu Meiniang is imperial wife to Li Shimin and his son Li Zhi. Although it should be noted that, while tender and utterly devoted to Li Zhi, she says, in the penultimate episode (in a fit of rage) that his father is that one she always loved. They seemed to work it out off-screen.
• Love Ruins the Realm: Since this has historical precedent in Chinese Imperial History, many members of the court are of course suspicious when Wu quickly becomes popular with both Emperors; the prophecy below only works to confirm their fears once it becomes widely known.
• Naïve Newcomer: Wu Meiniang and Xu Hui. Consort Yang mentions that Consort Wei, of all people, was once this in the beginning.
• The Needs of the Many: If a courtier isn't motivated by their own ambitions, they are motivated by the needs of the State. Zhangsun Wuji, a major chancellor under both Emperors, sabotages his own faction's plans and standing in court, when he realizes they are motivated by a need to preserve their own aristocratic positions and privileges, rather than the actual needs of the state.
• Noblewoman's Laugh: Consort Wei's laugh. Though at some point, almost all the consorts manage to get one out.
• Nouveau Riche: Court officials of humble origins, like Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong, were seen by the Guanlong faction as this. While Meiniang was portrayed as this, it's not entirely true historically. ^note As mentioned above, Meiniang's mother is part of Sui royalty. Historians have speculated that Wu Shiyue had married Lady Yang as his second wife in order to advance socially.
• Old Retainer: Wang De and Rui An. Wang served Taizong and later Gaozong. Rui An served Meiniang since her days as a cai ren in Taizong's court and was present when Meiniang finally crowned herself Emperor at the age of 67.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Li Zhi, for the early years of his reign, is always being reminded of how great an Emperor his father Taizong was by everyone, Meiniang included.
• The Prophecy: The prophecy stating that after the third generation, the Tang will fall to a woman ruler named Wu, haunts Meiniang for most of the series since it gave her enemies a powerful tool to plot her downfall and enlist the aid of Tang loyalists, like Zhangsun Wuji.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Wu Meiniang is energic, outspoken and rash, while Xu Hui is gentle, kind and sensitive.
• Roman à Clef: The "northern expedition" is a reference to Taizong's invasion of Goguryeo. While the names of places and persons have been changed, the part about a despot killing his predecessor is a rather clear reference to Yeon Gaesomun killing King Yeongnyu.
• Romantic Runner-Up: While Xu Hui initially enjoys her rising favour with Emperor Taizong, it soon becomes clear to her that he's just using her as a replacement for Meiniang who is currently too caught up in a scandal to be safely near him.
  • In some ways, Li Zhi is this with regards to Meiniang, as he grows up and falls in love with Wu, he begins to notice how much she relies on his father, and confides in Li Mu.
• Ruling Couple: Gaozong and Meiniang. ^note Historically, they were known as the "Two Sages". Modern historians have argued that many actions attributed to Meiniang, especially in the first half of Gaozong's reign, could not have happened without Gaozong's approval (tacit or otherwise).
• Secret Test of Character: Taizong often does this before making important decisions.
• Sketchy Successor: Wu Zetian's third son, Li Xian (Emperor Zhongzong) does not nearly have half of her talent and intelligence, leading Wu Zetian to wonder why Zhang Jianzhi is so loyal to him. ^note Historically, Meiniang tried to groom her nephews Helan Minzhi and Wu Chengsi as her successors; knowing their incompetence, she gave up and instead chose Zhongzong as her successor towards the end of her reign as Emperor.
• The Stoic: Taizong, due to him having Seen It All. When he does raise his voice, someone's going to be in deep trouble.
• Succession Crisis: One of the driving conflicts in the series under both Emperors surrounds the struggle for the title of Crown Prince. ^note Historically, while crown princes in imperial China always have had to watch their backs, the Sui-Tang era was notoriously lethal towards crown princes. The first crown prince of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Yong, lost his position due to his brother's scheming. Said brother, the later Emperor Yang, then killed Yong and other brothers during his consolidation of power. Emperor Yang's crown prince Yang Zhao died in his early 20s, which was probably a good thing, as his father ran the empire into the ground. Once the Tang was established, the fratricide continued with the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Then, came Meiniang's machinations, resulting in the deaths of two sons. Zhongzong's son became emperor for 17 days, after the death of his father under suspicious circumstances. His uncle Ruizong regained the throne and it was Ruizong's son Li Longji who finally became the first crown prince during the Sui-Tang era who was their predecessor's first crown prince, and managed to inherit the throne and reign in his own right (as Xuanzong). Even then, Longji's elder brother Xian notably refused the title of crown prince; after his death, Xuanzong posthumously honored him as Emperor Rang (让，signifying his giving up of the throne).
• Take a Third Option: Narratively, neither Meiniang nor Empress Wang was responsible for the death of Meiniang's daughter. Princess Gaoyang murdered the baby in order to set the two women against each other and destabilize Gaozong's rule in order to overthrow Zhangsun Wuji.
• Time Skip: There are several over the course of the series to fit the nearly seventy years of Wu's life in the palace into 95 episodes. The largest time skip being the fifteen years between Wu's usurpation of the throne and her deposition.
• Token Religious Teammate: Yin De Fei, Virtuous Consort to Emperor Taizong, is a devout Buddhist and pretty much the only character seen parttaking in religion.
• Ungrateful Bastard: When Wu Zetian is about to abdicate, she tells Zhang Jianzhi this about her descendants:
  The descendants of the Li clan will wear fancy clothes and have feasts, ride gallant horses and own beautiful women, but they won’t remember who gave them their wealth and rank.
• Viewers Are Geniuses: Hoo boy. The series assumes that the audience have at least a passing knowledge of Tang history from Taizong's reign to Wu's. While the Xuan Wu Gate Incident was at least explained, concepts like the 24 officials enshrined in Lingyan Pavilion ^note These 24 men were regarded by Taizong to have been the most vital to his ascension of the throne. Of the characters who appeared in the series, Zhangsun Wuji was ranked #1, Wei Zheng was #4, Fang Xuanling was #5, Hou Junji was #17, Cheng Zhijie was #19 and Li Ji was #23. Xiao Yu, who had a bit role petitioning against Fang in one episode, was ranked #9. and the northern expedition ^note which was first discussed during Li Zhi's debut court session. The producers of the series made this particular reference even more obscure as the names of Korean places and persons have been changed; the "despotic ruler" was very likely a reference to Yeon Gaesomun, who was highly regarded by Korean nationalists due to his resistance towards Tang China. are just mentioned without further context. Also, good luck trying to know the time in-story, as the series uses the traditional Chinese system.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Because of the time skips, Wu Zetian's last two lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, appear in the final episode only to be killed by supporters of her son, the former and soon-to-be again Emperor Zhongzong. In the edited version, they're instead Killed Offscreen.
• We Used to Be Friends: Xu Hui and Meiniang. Xu's jealousy and suspicions of Meiniang eventually drove her to backstab Meiniang.
• World of Badass: During the first half of the series, many characters who are merely mentioned in passing or only have bit roles in the story are actually important figures during Taizong's and his father's reign. One example is Xiao Yu, whose role in the story was merely to petition against Fang Xuanling in one episode, is actually enshrined in Lingyan Pavillon as well.
• Worthy Opponent: When Zhangsun Wuji sabotages his own faction for the sake of the state, he and Meiniang confess their mutual respect and dedication to the Tang Dynasty, even if that same dedication made them oppose each other, before his exile.

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