Main Cast: Jiang Wen, Ge You, Xu Qing, Ge Zhijun, Wang Qingxiang
Release Year: 1996
Country: CN/HK
Run Time: 116 minutes
Plot
The most expensive film ever made in China up to the time of its release, Qin Song (1996) is an historical epic of that country's first emperor. Jiang Wen stars as Ying Zheng, king of China's Qin province in the third century B.C. Determined to unite the land's six disparate kingdoms under his control, Qin has embarked on a campaign of conquest and unification. In the kingdom of Yan, however, Qin orders his men to spare the life of Gao Jianli (Ge You), a childhood companion whose mother cared for and even nursed both boys. Jianli is now a musician, and Zheng has plans for his old friend. Desiring a national anthem, Zheng commissions Jianli to compose such a tune, but the crafty and righteous Jianli has other plans, wooing Zheng's paralyzed daughter, Princess Yueyang (Xu Qing), who is promised to a high-ranking general. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Cast
Jiang Wen - Ying Zheng
Ge You - Gao Jianli
Xu Qing - Ying Yueyang
Ge Zhijun
Wang Qingxiang
Wang Ning
Credit
Cao Jiuping - Art Director, Zhang Daqian - Art Director, Dou Guoxiang - Art Director, Tong Huamiao - Costume Designer, Liu Jing - First Assistant Director, Zhou Xiaowen - Director, Zhong Furong - Editor, Jimmy Tan - Executive Producer, Zhao Jiping - Songwriter, Lu Gengxin - Cinematographer, Chen Kunming - Producer, Zhang Pimin - Producer, Hong Yi - Sound/Sound Designer, Lu Wei - Screenwriter
Set in third century BC China, the story of Emperor's Shadow revolves around the relationship between Ying Zheng (Jiang Wen), king of Qin, and later First Emperor; and the musician Gao Jianli (Ge You). The two grew up together in the same household but were separated after the former returns to his state of Qin to become king. After reaching adulthood, King Zheng embarks on a series of wars to fulfill his plan of unifying China. He kidnaps Gao Jianli from a rival state to compose a powerful hymn for the new state. The two conflict over the new composition, the construction of grand public works, and King Zheng's daughter, Princess Yueyang (Xu Qing).
Music and themes
The political use of music and of the arts in general is one of the major themes in the film. In one of the climaxes of the movie, the king states his belief that through music he can "control the minds and hearts of the people", echoing Mao Zedong's Yan'an talks of 1942. Music is perceived by the monarch as being as important as military power. Whereas his armies can conquer his rivals, he needs the arts to exert spiritual and ideological control. At the premiere of the film on 7 June 1996 in Beijing, director Zhou Xiaowen noted: "Chinese rulers have always wanted to control our spirit. But they cannot succeed in doing so."[1]
Reception
After The Emperor's Shadow was released in five major Chinese cities, it was banned by state authorities without any clear reason being given. Eight months later permission was given for re-release.
The film has been criticised in China for its many historical inaccuracies. Chief among these is the distortion of the character of Gao Jianli. According to Sima Qian's Shi Ji, Gao was a friend of the assassin Jing Ke, who fails in an attempt upon King Zheng's life. Other minor errors, mostly of academic interest, also contribute to the film's lack of historical authenticity. The director Zhou Xiaowen defended his film by saying that it was an exploration of ideas and values for the present day and was not intended as a strictly historical depiction of the First Emperor. In a 1999 interview, he said "I don't like history; I just like the buildings, the palaces, the dress."
The film influenced the creation of the 2006 opera "The First Emperor".
^Baranovitch, Nimrod (2003). China's New Voices: Popular Music, Ethnicity, Gender, and Politics. University of California Press. p. 194. ISBN 0-5202-3450-2.
