“The Empress of China” Censors Cleavage After Re-broadcast
Fan Bingbing’s (范冰冰) new drama The Empress of China <武媚娘傳奇> was halted in its broadcast last week. Although Hunan TV claimed it was due to technical difficulties, many speculated that it was due to the excess amount of cleavage that was shown in the series. After re-editing, The Empress of China resumed broadcast on January 1, 2015. Viewers noticed that the screen zoomed in on close-ups of the actresses’ faces and cleavage shots were largely absent since its rebroadcast.
While some viewers were thrilled after the series resumed its broadcast, some netizens were displeased with the amount of editing that was done. Prior to editing, the female cast wore eye-catching Tang costumes with plunging necklines. Since the rebroadcast, wide shots and close-ups were heavily employed to minimize the amount of cleavage. Some netizens commented, “They’ve turned into big-headed dolls!”
However, despite the re-edits to please The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), the viewership ratings of The Empress of China remains at an all-time high, proving that Fan Bingbing’s presence on the small screen still trumps all.
TVB has also acquired the broadcasting rights for The Empress of China from air. TVB executive Tsang Sing Ming (曾醒明) stated that the drama will be repackaged for appropriate editing and voice dubbing.
This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.
She still look unattractive after the plastic surgery
i’m a girl and i find her attractive. she looks like a doll. you must be jealous
@michelle
Listen just because she looks pretty to you, it doesn’t mean she looks attractive to everyone else. Her Nose is So Freaking Fake!!! Plastic surgery it is!
i find her less attractive with the heavy make up. makes her look like a geisha. everything looks painted on.
I find her attractive too but c’mon, that is a really immature reply.
I just find that FBB looks too immaculate in here. The sets and costumes are so pretty that it seems fake and enhanced. “The Legend of Zhen Huan” had pretty sets as well but it seemed more real than this.
What plastic surgery? She has always looked that way even during hzgg” maybe a bit of botox or something but nothing to alter her same face.
And got cleavage complain no cleavage complain.
If broadcast in malaysia definitely censored version
I kinda agree, not trying to defend her for having plastic surgery or not or idk cause I really don’t know lol
But in these instagram pictures she looks natural..
http://instagram.com/p/gr6dtTO_kr/
http://instagram.com/p/ifhGtru_qN/
During HZGG, her eyes were smaller than now. Also, her nose looks different, too. She looks much better now though.
Smaller? My god! HZGG was famous for 3 actresses with HUGE eyes! Maybe it is make up. I doubt she actually did surgery.
My issue with her is actually she looks more like a maid than an empress. Sorry Bing Bing but you look like the girl next to the empress.
Check out her hzgg picture, one can clearly see her nose got shaved smaller, her eye browns got pulled down to earth instead of up in the moon. And granted her eyes are quite big, but a lot of her face feature, nose and chin, eyebrowns got done
I thought Chinese have small eyes. Unless there is some other nationality in the genes. Its very hard to get big eyes. So I have always had the view that chinese actresses with big eyes have plastic surgery before entering entertainment industry.
My eyes are medium sized/large sized eyes and i’m Chinese, meaning i don’t have any european ancestry (none that I know of). And I did not get plastic surgery.
Agreed, I’m full Chinese and my “natural” double-folded almond-shaped eyes are medium/large sized.
it’s a stereotype that chinese only have small eyes.
there’s a great diversity of looks..
@ msxie:
Yep. I agree with you that not all Chinese have small eyes.
So does that mean its very normal to have big eyes like the 3 actresses in HZGG? I seriously have not seen any in person. Not where I live or when i visited HK and China.
The main reason why i have this view is because back in the days (mid 90s back) the actresses seem to have normal size eyes and after that big eyes actresses keep increasing.
Plastic Surgery is so easy to get now. I dont know what is real and what is not anymore.
What is considered medium to big eyes?
@ 1ni:
I think their eyes look bigger because part of that is the makeup technique. Also in some Chinese dramas that I watched – I see them put a tiny, strip tape on the actresses’ eyelids to make those creases bigger also – they do make their eyes look bigger. Most of the time you can tell when someone has double eyelid surgery (see the attached link).
https://www.google.com/search?q=double+eyelid+surgery&rlz=1C1RNAN_enUS444US463&espv=2&biw=1745&bih=838&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=uKasVPakM4_toAS6y4CABA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ
It is not normal nor is it strange. Chinese generally do not have small eyes. But hzgg deliberately cast actresses with bug round eyes.
Yeh ive seen alot of obvious eye lid surgery when I was in Korea. 90% of the female shop assistance had it done.
Big eyes in this case is not eye lid surgery. Eyelid surgery wouldnt have the same effect. Plus these actresses doesnt have define double eye lids. I was thinking of cutting the eyes 2 make it bigger. Is there such thing?
Out of the 3 actresses vicky’s eyes is the most unnatural.
^That awkward moment when I’m an Asian and have big eyes and I’m reading all of this..
I’ve never been to China so I don’t know what people look like lmao
Zhao weI? Eyes are natural. She was plucked from academy to be in hzgg. Back when her teeth was yellowish she already had big but gold fish sort of eyes. Ruby is nicer.
“I was thinking of cutting the eyes 2 make it bigger. Is there such thing?”
Currently, no. They can’t even perfect double eyelid surgery, which is less risky than what you’re referring to.
“Out of the 3 actresses vicky’s eyes is the most unnatural.”
Vicki’s eyes reminds me of someone who has Hodgkin’s disease. I don’t know whether it was a side effect of the treatment or the medication but the eyes looked similar. I don’t know how to describe the eyes except it looked like Vicki’s eyes.
@MW, yes there is. The procedure is called epicanthoplasty something like that. The Korean plastic surgeons apparently specialise in that.
OMG! I see so many “botched” eyelids, it’s pathetic/scary. And now, more “botched” eyelids are coming?
Rachel: u still sounds jealous lol
I wonder if the censorships will affect ratings. Lol!
I’m sure it will hurt the ratings. I watched the 1st episode and all the “cleavage exposures” are very distracting. I’m glad that they edited those parts. Hopefully it won’t hurt the story though.
If some cleavage is able to distract you from the drama itself, then the problem is really with you and not the drama.
@ Mt:
It’s a matter of opinion in this matter. This is a 1st ancient drama that I’m watching that has all these “cleavage exposures” and I’m not used to it. They are all over the place. It took away the beauty and modest feel of the ancient Chinese women. Also the makeup made them look so white/unnatural (at least in the 1st episode). They did make FBB look like a geisha.
White skin was always a symbol of beauty in China and Asia. FBB’s skin is naturally white and anemic looking.
I wonder how Hollywood movies gets broadcast in China? There’s always a lot of cleavage specially in action packed movies. Or is it ok if it’s overseas productions but not local?
I just want to point out that Fan Bing Bing I’d the producer of the series. So does this mean she wanted to show off her cleavage?
*is
Do some research on Tang Dynasty fashions. There are lots of paintings and statues of Tang ladies that show up on web searches.
Dear ignorant posters here, that “geisha” look is a cultural rip-off from how upper-class Han Chinese women made themselves up in the Tang Dynasty. Same goes for their dress-style “showing” cleavage – it was the norm in the era. Fact is, the traditional Japanese women dress culture was largely inspired (aka plagiarized) from that historical Han Chinese dynasty. Please get educated before passing such ignoble comments. If you’re Chinese, you ought to learn your history before attributing your own cultural innovations & mores to another race or ethnic group. Thank you.
Props to you Andy.
Too many Chinese are ignorant of their own history.
How many people know that China had a huge soft power influence throughout Asia from the Han to Ming dynasties? Japan and Korea preserved much of traditional Chinese arts and culture that disappeared in China.
@ andy:
Please calm down. The reason I said they made FBB look like a geisha – I was talking about her makeup. It’s too white that’s all.
she looks scary! glad the series come back on TV.
Removing cleavages does not impress me.
Weak Sauce
Even though cleavage showing clothes were consistent with Tang Dynasty period, it may not be appropriate for public broadcasting at prime time. High born ladies during Queen Elizabeth I wore dresses with bodice down almost to the nipples to demonstrate they were virgins. Even the Queen had to follow the ‘dress code’.
But such period dramas don’t show that amount of cleavages. I think this drama’s producers should have been aware of their target audience’s and censorship’s tolerance.
Such a pity too because so much time and money were spent on the ladies’ costumes and wide shots won’t do them justice. I suspect TVB will also employ similar tactics for public broadcasting. Don’t want to get DVD just to view the costumes in their full glory.
Can’t TVB just broadcast it at the adults time of 9:30pm.
She looks like she’s about to fall asleep and drown herself in that picture.
The cleavage is mild unless they go naked
Funny how they allow billboards n ads on bus of models wearing nothing but undies but don’t let drama that only shows cleavage air.