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Hero (2002 Film)
''Hero'' ( zh, , t=英雄, p=Yīngxióng) is a 2002 ''wuxia'' film directed, co-written, and produced by Zhang Yimou, and starring Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen and Chen Daoming. The historical background of the film refers to the Warring States Period in ancient China, when China was divided into 7 states. In 227-221 BC, the Qin state was about to unify the other six states, assassins from the six states were sent to assassinate the king of Qin. One of the most famous incidents was Jing Ke's attempted assassination of the King of Qin. The cinematography was by Christopher Doyle, and the musical score composed by Tan Dun. ''Hero'' was first released in China on 24 October 2002. At that time, it was the most expensive project and one of the highest-grossing motion pictures in China. Miramax acquired American market distribution rights, but delayed the release of the film for nearly two years. Quentin Tarantino eventually convinced Miramax to ...
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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. Retrieved 21 August 2008. He is a part of the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, Honorary Doctorate of Boston University and Yale University, Distinguished Professor of Beijing Film Academy. He made his directorial debut in 1988 with '' Red Sorghum''. Zhang has won numerous awards and recognitions, with three Academy Awards nominations for Best Foreign Language Film for '' Ju Dou'' in 1990, ''Raise the Red Lantern'' in 1991, and ''Hero'' in 2003; a Silver Lion, two Golden Lion prizes and the Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the Venice Film Festival; Grand Jury Prize, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival; the Golden Bear, the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury ...
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Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leading producer and distributor of independent films until it became the first company to be acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993. In 2010, the leadership of Disney saw Miramax to be redundant in their directions and on December 3 sold it to Filmyard Holdings, a joint venture of Colony NorthStar, Tutor-Saliba Corporation and Qatar Investment Authority. On March 2, 2016, the company was in turn sold to the beIN Media Group, who then agreed to sell a 49% stake in the company to ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) on December 20, 2019. It was completed on April 3, 2020, and its stake in Miramax got placed under the umbrella of its film division, Paramount Pictures. History Independent era (1979–1993) The company was found ...
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Rashomon
is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/ crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as various people who describe how a samurai was murdered in a forest, the plot and characters are based upon Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s short story "In a Grove", with the title and framing story being based on " Rashōmon", another short story by Akutagawa. Every element is largely identical, from the murdered samurai speaking through a Shinto psychic to the bandit in the forest, the monk, the assault of the wife and the dishonest retelling of the events in which everyone shows his or her ideal self by lying. The film is known for a plot device that involves various characters providing subjective, alternative and contradictory versions of the same incident. ''Rashomon'' was the first Japanese film to receive a significant international recept ...
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Qin Shihuang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor () of the Qin dynasty from 221 to 210 BC. His self-invented title "emperor" ( ') would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia. Historically, he was often portrayed as a tyrannical ruler and strict Legalist, in part from the Han dynasty's scathing assessments of him. Since the mid 20th-century, scholars have begun to question this evaluation, inciting considerable discussion on the actual nature of his policies and reforms. Regardless, according to sinologist Michael Loewe "few would contest the view that the achievements of his reign have exercised a paramount influence on the whole of China's subsequent history, marking the start of an epoch that closed in 1911". Born in the Zhao state capital Handan, as Ying ...
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Shaolin Temple (1982 Film)
''The Shaolin Temple'' (少林寺) is a 1982 Chinese–Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Chang Hsin Yen and starring Jet Li in his debut role (credited as Jet Lee in the film) along with Ding Lan and Yu Hai in supporting roles. The film is based on the Shaolin Monastery in China and depicts Shaolin Kung Fu. The film was among the first major co-productions between Hong Kong and mainland China, and the first to be filmed in mainland China with a mostly mainland cast. The film's plot has an episodic storytelling structure while combining action, comedy and romance elements. It was the first martial arts film to be made in mainland China after the founding of the People's Republic of China; up until then, kung fu films were made in Hong Kong and the wuxia films of King Hu mostly in Taiwan. It was also the first film to be shot at the Shaolin Monastery. It sold an estimated tickets at the Chinese box office, and is estimated to be China's highest-grossing film ever wh ...
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Prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's office, department, or area of control is called a prefecture, but in various post-Roman empire cases there is a prefect without a prefecture or ''vice versa''. The words "prefect" and "prefecture" are also used, more or less conventionally, to render analogous words in other languages, especially Romance languages. Ancient Rome ''Praefectus'' was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking officials in ancient Rome, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) but conferred by delegation from a higher authority. They did have some authority in their prefecture such as controlling prisons and in civil administration. Feudal times Especially in Medieval Latin, ''præfectus'' was used to ...
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Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor () of the Qin dynasty from 221 to 210 BC. His self-invented title "emperor" ( ') would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia. Historically, he was often portrayed as a tyrannical ruler and strict Legalist, in part from the Han dynasty's scathing assessments of him. Since the mid 20th-century, scholars have begun to question this evaluation, inciting considerable discussion on the actual nature of his policies and reforms. Regardless, according to sinologist Michael Loewe "few would contest the view that the achievements of his reign have exercised a paramount influence on the whole of China's subsequent history, marking the start of an epoch that closed in 1911". Born in the Zhao state capital Handan, as ...
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Tianxia
''Tianxia'' (), literally meaning "(all) under Heaven", is a Chinese term for a historical Chinese cultural concept that denoted either the entire geographical world or the metaphysical realm of mortals, and later became associated with political sovereignty. In ancient China and imperial China, ''tianxia'' denoted the lands, space, and area divinely appointed to the Chinese sovereign by universal and well-defined principles of order. The center of this land was directly apportioned to the Chinese court, forming the center of a world view that centered on the Chinese court and went concentrically outward to major and minor officials and then the common subjects, tributary states, and finally ending with fringe "barbarians". The center of this world view was not exclusionary in nature, and outer groups, such as ethnic minorities and foreign people, who accepted the mandate of the Chinese Emperor were themselves received and included into the Chinese ''tianxia''. In classic ...
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Zhao (state)
Zhao () was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han and Wei, in the 5th century BC. Zhao gained significant strength from the military reforms initiated during King Wuling's reign, but suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Qin at the Battle of Changping. Its territory included areas now in modern Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces. It bordered the states of Qin, Wei and Yan and various nomadic peoples, including the Hu and Xiongnu. Its capital was Handan, in modern Hebei Province. Zhao was home to administrative philosopher Shen Dao, sophist Gongsun Long and the Confucian Xun Kuang. Origins and ascendancy The Zhao clan within Jin had accumulated power for centuries, including annexing the Baidi state of Dai for themselves during the mid-5th centuryBC. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin was divided up between t ...
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Xianyang
Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metropolitan area, one of the main urban agglomerations in northwestern China, with more than 7.17 million inhabitants, its built-up area made of 2 urban districts (Qindu and Weicheng) was 945,420 inhabitants at the 2010 census. It has a total area of . Xianyang is the seat of the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, the main airport serving Xi'an and the largest airport in Northwest China, and one of the top 40th- busiest airports in the world. Xianyang is one of the top 500 cities in the world by scientific research outputs, as tracked by the Nature Index. It is home to the main campus of Northwest A&F University (NWAFU), one of the world's top universities in agriculture science related fields, and a member of " Project 985" ...
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Qin (state)
Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted expansion and development that was unavailable to its rivals in the North China Plain. Following extensive "Legalist" reform in the fourth century BC, Qin emerged as one of the dominant powers of the Seven Warring States and unified the seven states of China in 221 BC under Qin Shi Huang. It established the Qin dynasty, which was short-lived but greatly influenced later Chinese history. History Founding According to the 2nd century BC historical text '' Records of the Grand Historian'' by Sima Qian, the Qin state traced its origin to Zhuanxu, one of the legendary Five Emperors in ancient times. One of his descendants, Boyi, was granted the family name of Yíng by Emperor Shun. During the Xia and Shang dynasties, the Yíng cl ...
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Warring States Period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin's wars of unification, Qin wars of conquest that saw the annexation of all other contender states, which ultimately led to the Qin (state), Qin state's victory in 221 BC as the first unified History of China#Imperial China, Chinese empire, known as the Qin dynasty. Although different scholars point toward different dates ranging from 481 BC to 403 BC as the true beginning of the Warring States, Sima Qian's choice of 475 BC is the most often cited. The Warring States era also overlaps with the second half of the Eastern Zhou Period, Eastern Zhou dynasty, though the Chinese sovereign, known as the king of Zhou, ruled merely as a figurehead and served as a backdrop against the machinations of the warring states. The "Warring St ...
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