''Lady of the Dynasty'' is a Chinese epic

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by Cheng Shiqing (writer of ''

Codename Cougar ''Codename Cougar'' (also known as ''Codename: Cougar'', ''Operation Cougar'' or ''The Puma Action'') is a 1989 Chinese thriller film. It was co-directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang. Unlike the bulk of Zhang's early works (ranging from 1986' ...

'') and featuring

Fan Bingbing Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. From 2013 to 2017, she was included as the highest-paid celebrity in the ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list after ranking in the top 10 every year since 2006. She appeared on ''Time ...

Leon Lai Leon Lai Ming SBS BBS MH (born 11 December 1966), is a Hong Kong actor, film director, businessman and Cantopop singer. He is one of the " Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. He uses his Chinese name "Li Ming" or "Lai Ming", whi ...

and

Wu Chun Wu Chun ( zh, t=吳尊; born Goh Kiat Chun, Joseph Wu on 10 October 1979) is a Bruneian actor, singer, and model. He was a member of Fahrenheit, a Taiwanese Mandopop vocal quartet boy band, from its debut in 2005 to June 2011, singing bass. Wu ...

. The film also had a director group including

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

and

Tian Zhuangzhuang Tian Zhuangzhuang (; born April 1952 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, producer and actor. Tian was born to an influential actor and actress in China. Following a short stint in the military, Tian began his artistic career first as an am ...

. The film was released on 30 July 2015.

Synopsis

This is the story of Yang Yuhuan, one of the Four Beauties of China. After Yang Yuhuan performs a dance for the Li Imperial family, the Emperor notices her beauty. His favorite Consort Wu senses this, and selects Yuhuan as the wife of her son, Li Mao. Yuhuan marries into the imperial family, and gradually falls in love with the gentle, kindhearted Li Mao. She is distinctly unique from the other royals and consorts, due to her attraction to the arts. Yuhuan enjoys the affection of her new husband until there is a rebellion against the Crown Prince. However, the plan is revealed and Consort Wu is behind the plot. Consort Wu commits suicide in front of the Emperor and Yuhuan. After her death, Li Mao realizes that the Emperor is enamored with his wife- Yuhuan. Li Mao poisons the pregnant Yuhuan and sents her to a convent. Eventually, the Emperor's servant

Gao Lishi Gao Lishi () (684–762), formally the Duke of Qi (齊國公), was a Chinese eunuch and politician of the Tang dynasty and the Wu Zhou dynasty, becoming particularly powerful during Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's reign. He is believed to have been in ...

brings her back to the palace. Yuhuan rejects the Emperor's affections, and in anger, the Emperor announces that Yuhuan is now his new consort. With the advice of

Consort Mei Consort Mei (), born Jiang Caipin (), is a fictional imperial consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Her name is not found in any official history book and only in "Biography of Consort Mei" (), preserved in a Yuan dynasty anthology and attributed ...

, Yuhuan forgives Li Mao and gives up being a nun at the convent. She reluctantly accepts the Emperor's feelings and is given the honorable title of '' Guifei'' (First rank consort). The Emperor desperately tries to gain Yuhuan's love, and he sends her gifts, such as hand picked lychees from

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin S ...

. He planted lychee trees in her yard, and she reciprocates his feelings. That night, the Emperor tells her about his three uncles, who were poisoned in their sleep. One of them was a previous Emperor, and as a child he suffered from nightmares. Soon, there are rebellions in Chang'an started by An Lushan. Li Mao returns to the Palace and the Emperor gives him a sword as an apology for what he did to Yuhuan. Father and son forgive each other for their respective actions, and Li Mao fights against

An Lushan An Lushan (; 20th day of the 1st month 19 February 703 – 29 January 757) was a general in the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion. An Lushan was of Sogdian and Göktürk origin,Yang, Zhijiu, "An Lush ...

's army. However, Li Mao is killed in battle, and the major city

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...

has been captured. Consort Mei also committed suicide by diving into a well. The Emperor and Yuhuan were forced to flee from Chang'an but he swore he would let her be safe. The Emperor's army had blamed the rebellions on Yuhuan's cousin

Yang Guozhong Yang Guozhong () (died July 15, 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bingshen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Zhide era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on the Gregori ...

who's also a corrupt official. The army wants Yuhuan to die or else they will rebel. Even though Yang Guozhong is executed, the army wants the whole Yang family to perish despite the Emperor's refusal. Yuhuan, who overheard this, decided to persuade the army to not rebel. After having intercourse with the Emperor one last time, Yuhuan consumes poison and strangles herself.

Cast

Yang Guifei Yang Yuhuan (; 26 June, 719 – 15 July 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bingshen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Zhide era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on t ...

as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang *

as Li Mao, Prince of Shou *

Joan Chen Joan Chen (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-American actress and film director. In China, she performed in the 1979 film and came to the attention of American audiences for her performance in the 1987 film '' The Last Emperor''. She is also ...

as Consort Wu *Wu Gang as

Ning Jing Ning Jing (; born April 27, 1972) is a Chinese actress and singer. She is best known for playing Milan in ''In the Heat of the Sun'' (1994), Danzhu in '' Red River Valley'' (1997), Angel in '' Lover's Grief over the Yellow River'' (1999) and Emp ...

*Jin Hao *

Chen Baoguo Chen Baoguo (; born 9 March 1956) is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, Erjia in 1977 and has since acted in many films and television series, including ''The Emperor in Han Dynasty'', ''Da Zhai Men'' and ''Rob-B-Hoo ...

Wen Zhang Wen Zhang (, born 26 June 1984) is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 2006. Wen ranked 58th on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, and 45th in 2014. Career Rising popularity Wen first became known for h ...

as General *

Qin Yi Qin Yi (; 4 February 1922 – 9 May 2022) was a Chinese actress. She gained fame for her stage performances in the war-time capital Chongqing during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the war, she became one of China's most popular film actre ...

*Tu Honggang * Wu Yue *Christian Frix as Ren Tao

Production

In March 2009, ''Yang Guifei'' officially announced, then the production companies included a British company. In April 2011, the film was renamed as ''Tang Crisis'', but when the British production company withdrew its investment, the film turned into a Chinese-Japanese co-production, and confirmed

Kwak Jae-yong Kwak Jae-yong (born 22 May 1959) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He studied physics at Kyung Hee University. He achieved success with his debut film '' Watercolor Painting in a Rainy Day'' in 1989, but the failure of his next ...

as the director. In October 2011, at the

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festiv ...

, it was reported that the film renamed as ''Yang Guifei and confirmed that stars

and

Leehom Wang Wang Leehom (; born May 17, 1976), sometimes credited as Leehom Wang, is an American singer-songwriter, actor, producer, and film director. Formally trained at Eastman School of Music, Williams College and Berklee College of Music, his music i ...

. In January 2012, the film began to shoot. Japanese actor

Shun Oguri is a Japanese actor and voice actor, son of stage director Tetsuya Oguri, and the youngest of 3 siblings, including older brother Ryo, who is also an actor. He started in small roles as extra in the works in which his father and brother worked ...

played Yang Guifei's former husband in this film. But the concepts between the director and the production company were different, the production company intended to replace the director Kwak Jae-yong, who resigned later. It was reported that the production company said Kwak refused to shoot the film according to its requirements which emphasized a traditional Chinese understanding of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

. In March 2012,

participated in this film, but his position was unknown. while Japanese investors announced the divestment. In August 2013, after a year-long script modifications, the film planned to restart. However, only Fan Bingbing remains on the casting list. The film's launch event was held in Beijing on Sunday, September 1, 2013. The shoot period lasted four months, ending on 31 December 2013, according to Fan's weibo. July 22, 2015, at the press conference, Director Chneg Shiqing revealed that Fan Bingbing was so involved in her role that she nearly lost her life once. In return, Bingbing merely admitted that the filming process was hard and did not utter a single complain although the movie took 6 years to finish. Instead, Bingbing said she felt lucky to play the leading role,"I played it 10 years ago in a TV drama. I thought at that time I would agree on any condition if I should have the opportunity to play it again in a movie in the future."

Promotion

During the promotion, it was reported that there was a scene in the film where Yang Guifei (Fan Bingbing) has a tiff with Emperor Tang Xuanzong (Leon Lai) and runs off into the grasslands. The emperor then rides a horse and picks her up with her lying and struggling on the horseback. In the heat of the struggle, the emperor tears off more and more of her dress, revealing her uncensored breast and so on and so forth. Netizens enjoying the scene has termed it love-making on horseback. But the scene was deleted from final cut.

Reception

The film received negative reviews and was a failure at the box office. Derek Elley of '' Film Business Asia'' called it a "stunningly mounted but bloodlessly played drama".

References

External links

* *
''Lady of the Dynasty''
on

Yahoo Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...

Movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

HONG KONG Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

''Lady of the Dynasty''
on Sina Weibo {{in lang, zh-cn 2010s romance films 2010s war films Chinese epic films Chinese historical romance films Epic films based on actual events Films set in 8th-century Tang dynasty Romantic epic films 2015 films China Film Group Corporation films Historical epic films