many years ago i watched “lover of the last empress“. it was based (loosely?) on the life of empress dowager tzu hsi starring chingmy yau, tony leung, and yu rong-guang. it was quite an unforgettable film as it was not the usual funny, light chingmy fare. there were some dark and disturbing scenes. 
a few days ago i saw “empress orchid” sitting at the library and from reading the preview, it was another take on the same empress. i picked it up and finished it today. it was a great read and i love anchee min’s beautiful descriptions of the palaces and the forbidden city! it was so intriguing! i mean power shifts back and forth and heads roll at a moment’s notice…you never know what’s going to happen.
the book is of course, different from the movie and i realized everything is not facts but it still makes for a wonderful read. gaining a bit of chinese history doesn’t hurt too. 
it also made me think of how hard it must be to be someone so powerful. i can’t wait to read the finale to this book, “the last empress”. it’s on request at the local library. 
