Line #35 Film/TheEmperorAndTheAssassin


1	[[quoteright:241:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_emperor_and_the_assassin.jpg]]
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3	''The Emperor And The Assassin'' (original title: 荊柯刺秦王) is a movie about the rise of the First Emperor, directed by Chen Kaige and released in 1998. At the time, it was China's most expensive film ever produced. It starred Creator/GongLi as Lady Zhao, Li Xuejian as Ying Zheng, and also had Creator/ZhouXun in a supporting role.
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5	In the third century BCE, as China is in the throes of the Warring States era, the ruthlessly ambitious Ying Zheng turns his realm of Qin into a fearsome military machine and poses a growing threat to the existence of the six other kingdoms. Ying's favored concubine, Lady Zhao, suggests a ploy that would give Qin a ''[[PretextForWar casus belli]]'' to invade the rival state of Yan: she will have her face branded and use it as a pretext to defect to Yan, where she will convince the king to send an assassin to kill Ying.
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7	The best hit man in Yan, Jing Ke, is chosen for the mission, but Lady Zhao discovers he has chosen not to kill again, and is living the rest of his life as a beggar. As she learns about the circumstances of his choice, Lady Zhao begins falling in love with Jing Ke, and after witnessing the brutal slaughter of children by the Qin army in her home state of Zhao, genuinely allies with Yan against Qin and wants the assassination attempt to succeed. Jing Ke, however, [[ForegoneConclusion fails to kill Ying]], and the latter is now free to complete his takeover of the land and become UsefulNotes/QinShiHuangdi, the [[ImperialChina First Emperor of China]].
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9	!!Contains examples of:
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11	* ArmorIsUseless: Averted - the Emperor's life is only saved because he's wearing armor under his robes.
12	* TheAtoner - Jing Ke gives up on his life as a hit man after his last assassination involved killing a swordsmith and his entire family. However, he spared the smith's youngest daughter because she was blind. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, [[DrivenToSuicide the girl took her own life]], and dies out of anger for Jing Ke for robbing her of her family]]. Ultimately, he only agrees to kill Ying Zheng because he actually thinks it's the right thing to do.
13	* BatmanGambit - Having Yan send an assassin to kill Ying is a deliberate move to give the latter the excuse he needs to invade Yan
14	* BeardOfSorrow - When Jing Ke becomes a beggar out of sorrow, he sports the requisite unkempt look.
15	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished
16	** Even branded on the face with a hot iron, Lady Zhao remains beautiful.
17	** Granted, the brand only appears on the side of her cheek, but [[RavenHairIvorySkin considering this is Gong Li we're talking about]]...
18	* BystanderSyndrome: When Jing Ke starts attacking Ying, everyone in the Imperial court just watches in shock (someone shouts to draw his sword, but only one court official helps him do so by grabbing the king's scabbard). After Ying fends Jing off and kills him, he herds the ''entire'' court away by angrily yelling at them that not one of them tried to help him.
19	* TheConspiracy - [[spoiler: The Marquis of Qin, Chang Xin, plans a coup d'etat to remove Ying Zheng from power, so as to place one of his sons (which turns out to be Ying's half-brother, due to Chang having fathered two sons...with Ying's ''mother'', no less) on the throne. This is a result of him losing faith in Ying's radical decision-making, which includes starting his war to unite China and removing the Prime Minister Lu Buwei of Qin from office]].
20	* CycleOfRevenge: Ying Zheng is aware of this trope (it [[FromNobodyToNightmare happened to him]] after all) and so orders all the children buried alive so they won't grow up to take revenge.
21	* DeathOfAChild: BRUTALLY enforced. A young girl commits suicide, and all the children in the Zhao capital are BuriedAlive.
22	* DefectorFromDecadence - Ying's head general, who begins to lose faith in his king's methodical ways of eliminating his political opponents.
23	* DirectedByCastMember: Chen Kaige plays Lu Buwei.
24	* EmpathyDollShot - Subverted as Lady Zhao arrives at a ransacked Zhao capital too late and finds small drums and other children's toys littered across the ground. Upon further inspection, she proceeds to find the kids as well...'' [[BuriedAlive buried alive]]''.
25	* TheEmperor - Ying Zheng
26	* ForegoneConclusion - Since Ying Zheng will become the First Emperor of China, Jing Ke must obviously must fail the assassination attempt.
27	* FrontLineGeneral: A soldier shows his fearlessness in battle against the Han, and a dying officer asks his name so he can be promoted. Turns out he's talking to the king.
28	* GoodScarsEvilScars: The brand on Lady Zhao's face is small enough that it doesn't detract from her beauty, but presumably the severe pain involved was the selling point in her scheme with the emperor.
29	* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Jing Ke gets one at the beginning of the movie when the blind daughter refuses his "pity" and commits suicide cursing him. Ying Zheng will have another at the end of the movie, when [[spoiler: Chang Xin does exactly the same to the Emperor]].
30	* HourglassPlot: The movie begins with Jing Ke after he has crossed his DespairEventHorizon because his HeelFaceDoorSlam, and Ying Zheng, loved by Lady Zhao, is full of hope trying to build TheEmpire because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. The movie ends with Jing Ke dying knowing he is loved by Lady Zhao and that he tried to make up for all his sins, while Ying Zheng crosses his DespairEventHorizon after his own HeelFaceDoorSlam, being LonelyAtTheTop with ZeroPercentApprovalRating.
31	* {{Hypocrite}}: Destined to be TheEmperor. Ying Zheng and ProfessionalKiller Jing Ke both have lost hope a long time ago, but they haven’t cross the DespairEventHorizon until the movie begins: When both of them attempt to PetTheDog, TheDogBitesBack by HeelFaceDoorSlam them, ensuring the emperor and the assassin get a HeelRealization.
32	* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown - When [[spoiler: Chang's]] forces have found themselves surrounded in the palace courtyard, Ying demands their surrender. They don't at first, but a few volleys of arrows convince the survivors to lay down their weapons...at which point, Ying orders [[spoiler: Chang's]] men to be slaughtered, anyways.
33	* LonelyAtTheTop: Ying Zheng succeeds in his goals, but he finds himself isolated and alone, brokenly repeating his 'destiny' to himself, having lost Lady Zhao, his father and any semblance of trust in everyone else.
34	* MeaninglessVillainVictory: All Ying Zheng achieves with all his atrocities? He finalizes his destiny, but is left alone and miserable, with his own courtiers not bothering to defend him from an assassination.
35	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Jing Ke fakes a stumble and pretends to break down in fear to make the royal court underestimate him before he strikes.
36	* PhraseCatcher: Invoked by Ying Zheng, when he orders a servant to always say to him: ''"Remember that your destiny is to unite the six kingdoms"''.
37	* ScheherezadeGambit: Realizing his target is watching him like a hawk, Jing Ke pretends to collapse in fear and confesses he's been sent to kill the Emperor. Ying Zheng is so overjoyed at this (it's exactly the pretext he needs to launch his invasion) that he lets his guard down.
38	* YouCantFightFate: Being a HistoricalFiction, this movie has a ForegoneConclusion. The movie exploits this trope by showing Jing ke and Ying Zheng sincerely trying to refuse to cross the DespairEventHorizon by KickTheDog. So, even when their HeelFaceDoorSlam sets both of them as TheAtoner, Jing Ke continues to be a ProfessionalKiller in an attempt to kill Ying Zheng, and Ying Zheng becomes TheEmperor because [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans all the crimes he had done need to be justified by assuring an Empire with Peace]].
39	* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: EVERYBODY hates Ying Zheng by the time the credits roll. To the point where not a single subject lifts their hand to defend him during the assassination attempt.
40	** More likely a case of BystanderSyndrome.
41	** This is a case of TruthInTelevision. Ying Zheng forbade officials from carrying weapons in the throne room, thus when the assassination attempt occurred, nobody present had any weapon to defend the First Emperor.

Context Film / TheEmperorAndTheAssassin