The Emperor and the Assassin

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Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox film

The Emperor and the Assassin (Template:Lang-zh), also known as The First Emperor, is a 1998–1999 Chinese historical romance film based primarily on Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin, as described in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. The film was directed by Chen Kaige and stars Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi, Li Xuejian, and Zhou Xun. The film was well received critically and won the Technical Prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was the most expensive Chinese film made up to that time, costing US$20 million.<ref>Yang, Jeff Once Upon a Time in China (Atria, 2003) p.204</ref>

Plot

The film covers much of Ying Zheng's career, recalling his early experiences as a hostage and foreshadowing his dominance over China. He is essentially depicted as an idealist seeking to impose a peace or unity on the world. However, his experiencing of various betrayals and losses slowly turn him into a mad tyrant. The story consists of three main incidents: the attempt by Jing Ke to assassinate Ying Zheng in 227 BCE; the (fictitious) rumour of Chief Minister Lü Buwei's having sired Ying Zheng on his concubine before transferring her to become the Queen Dowager; and the story of an official having sired children by the Queen Dowager herself. The first incident is the climax of the film, with earlier scenes foreshadowing it; the other two incidents occur between the fictional genesis and historical manifestation of the first.

In the film, Ying Zheng sends his concubine Lady Zhao to the Yan state as a spy to enlist a Yan assassin to attempt to assassinate him, intending to use that as a casus belli to start a war against Yan. Lady Zhao persuades Jing Ke to perform the assassination. After learning of Ying Zheng's massacre of the children in her home state of Zhao, Lady Zhao desires the assassination in earnest. The attempt fails, but Ying Zheng expresses his fury when his associates make no attempt to stop the assassin and he is forced to kill Jing Ke himself. He is further saddened when Lady Zhao returns to Qin only to retrieve Jing Ke for burial.

Cast

Awards

The Emperor and the Assassin won the Technical Grand Prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and was in competition for the Palme d'Or.<ref name="festival-cannes.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=BBC/> Zhao Fei was awarded the 1999 Golden Rooster Award for Best Cinematography.

Background

Chen Kaige noted upon the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival that he hoped The Emperor and the Assassin would hold relevance to the events of the time, notably the Yugoslav Wars.<ref name=BBC>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Chen Kaige

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