''The Assassins'', previously known as ''Bronze Sparrow Terrace'' or ''Bronze Sparrow Platform'', is a Chinese historical drama film directed by Zhao Linshan, starring Chow Yun-fat as

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

, a prominent warlord who became the ''de facto'' head of the central government in China towards the

end of the Han dynasty The end of the Han dynasty was the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. During this period, the country was thrown into turmoil by the Yellow ...

. The film, released in October 2012, focuses on Cao Cao's life in his later years and depicts two assassination attempts on the warlord. The supporting cast includes

Liu Yifei Crystal Liu (born An Feng; August 25, 1987), better known by her stage name Liu Yifei (), is a Chinese-American actress, singer, and model. She has appeared multiple times on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list and was named one of the New Four D ...

, Hiroshi Tamaki, Alec Su, Annie Yi, Qiu Xinzhi, Yao Lu and Ni Dahong. The film's Chinese title is a reference to the

Bronze Bird Terrace The Bronze Bird Terrace () was an iconic structure in the city of Ye built in AD 210 by Cao Cao, the prominent warlord of the late Eastern Han dynasty. Despite reconstructions after Cao Cao's time that exceeded his in scale, the Bronze Bird Te ...

, a terrace constructed in 210 by Cao Cao in the ancient city of Ye (in present-day

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

, Hebei).

Plot

The film is set in China in the late 210s – the years preceding the

. Over a period of two decades,

had defeated Lü Bu and other rival warlords to gain supremacy in northern and central China. In 216, he is granted the title of a vassal king, the "King of Wei", by Emperor Xian, the figurehead Han ruler controlled by him. He constructs the Bronze Sparrow Platform as a showcase of his power. Lingju is the orphaned daughter of Lü Bu and

Diaochan Diaochan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Although based on a minor historical personage, she is mostly a fictional character. She is best known for her role in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', ...

. She, like many other orphaned children of Cao Cao's enemies, was recruited in her childhood by Cao Cao's rivals to be trained as assassins to kill Cao. She meets Mu Shun, who protects her while she is in training and falls in love with him. Mu Shun is castrated and Lingju and Mu Shun eventually find their way into court life: Lingju is taken by Cao Cao as one of his mistresses while Mu Shun becomes a palace eunuch. There are two major attempts on Cao Cao's life. The first is masterminded by

Empress Fu Shou Fu Shou (died 8 January 215) was an empress of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. She was the first wife of Emperor Xian, the last Han emperor. She is best known for initiating a conspiracy against Cao Cao, the ruler of state of Cao Wei. Fami ...

and her father Fu Wan. This plan fails and Cao Cao has the conspirators – including the empress – executed in front of Emperor Xian. The second is a revolt led by the imperial physician Ji Ben and his supporters, but the rebellion is swiftly crushed. Cao Cao suspects that his son, Cao Pi, is involved in the assassination plots. Mu Shun fails in his attempt to kill Cao Cao, who reveals that he knew all along that Lingju is planning to assassinate him. Cao Cao promises to spare Lingju's life. In return, Mu Shun disguises himself as Cao Cao and rides out of the city, only to be mortally wounded by Lingju, who mistakes him for Cao and stabs him with her father's weapon. Lingju then commits suicide to join Mu Shun.

Cast

* Chow Yun-fat as

as Lingju /

** Zhang Zimu as Lingju (young) * Hiroshi Tamaki as Mu Shun ** Liu Jieyi as Mu Shun (young) * Alec Su as

Emperor Xian of Han Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. Liu Xie was a s ...

* Annie Yi as

* Qiu Xinzhi as Cao Pi * Yao Lu as Ji Ben * Ni Dahong as Fu Wan * Chi Cheng as Xu Chu * Qu Quancheng as Cao Zhi *

Bao Jianfeng Bao Jianfeng (; born November 3, 1975) is a Chinese actor and singer of Mongolian descent, best known in film for portraying Mao Zedong in ''The Road of Exploring'' (2011), Lü Bu in '' The Assassins'' (2012) and Chen Shuxiang in ''The Bloody of ...

as Lü Bu * Peng Jingci as Cao Xiu * Guo Jinfei as Chen Meng * Tian Ruihui as Mu Yan

Reception

The film premiered at the 11th Changchun Film Festival and impressed audiences with its accuracy and attention to historical details, both in terms of story and costumes.

References

External links

* * * *
''The Assassins''
on

Sina.com Sina Corporation (, "new wave") is a Chinese technology company. Sina operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, Sina Mobile, Sina Online, and Sinanet. Sina has over 100 million registered users worldwide. Sina was recognized by '' South ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assassins (2012 film), The 2012 films 2010s Mandarin-language films Films set in 3rd-century Han dynasty Films based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms Chinese historical films 2010s historical films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links