Fight and Love with a Terracotta Warrior, also known as A Terra-Cotta Warrior, is a 1989 Hong Kong film based on the novel by Lilian Lee

Lilian Lee

Lilian Lee, also spelled Lillian Lee , is a Chinese-language novelist best known as the author of Farewell My Concubine, adapted as a movie by Chen Kaige. She is the author of about ninety books.Lee was born Lee Bak in Taishan, Guangzhou...

, directed by Ching Siu-tung

Ching Siu-tung

Ching Siu-tung , also known as Tony Ching, is a Hong Kong action choreographer, actor, film director and producer, who has directed over 20 films, including the critically acclaimed supernatural fantasy A Chinese Ghost Story .-Career:...

 and produced by Tsui Hark

Tsui Hark

Tsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...

, starring Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....

 and Gong Li

Gong Li

Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....

. The film is about a forbidden love between a court lady and a soldier of the Qin Dynasty

Qin Dynasty

The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...

.

Gong Li plays the female protagonists Dong'er (the court girl) and Zhu Lili (the actress), and Zhang Yimou plays the terracotta warrior Meng Tianfang. This is one of the only two films where Zhang Yimou has a leading role, the other being Wu Tianming

Wu Tianming

Wu Tianming is a Chinese film director.-Biography:Born in Shaanxi Province, China, Wu Tianming attended the Beijing Film Academy, majoring in directing before the Cultural Revolution...

's Old Well

Old Well

The Old Well is a small, neoclassical rotunda located on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus at the southern end of McCorkle Place. The current decorative form of the Old Well was modeled after the Temple of Love in the Gardens of Versailles and was completed in 1897...

.

Plot

The First Emperor

Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...

 searches for the elixir of immortality, and he despatches 500 teenage boys and girls to help him accomplish this task. One of his soldiers, General Meng Tianfang falls in love with one of the despatched maiden by the name Dong'er. When their forbidden love is exposed, the girl reveals she has found the elusive elixir and secretly gives it to Meng. The emperor orders their execution and the soldier is sentenced to death by being encased alive in clay as a terracotta warrior

Terracotta Army

The Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China...

, only to be reawakened in the 1930s when a struggling actress, Zhu Lili, the reincarnation of the girl who remembers nothing of her past life, accidentally stumbles upon the tomb of the First Emperor. The soldier struggles to adapt to a new era while the two are pursued by archeological looters and thugs.

Cast

• Zhang Yimou
  Zhang Yimou
  Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
  
   as General Meng Tianfang
• Gong Li
  Gong Li
  Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
  
   as Dong'er / Zhu Lili
• Yu Rongguang
  Yu Rongguang
  Yu Rongguang is a Chinese actor and martial artist who started his career in Hong Kong. He is best known for the title role in Iron Monkey along with Donnie Yen as well as being featured in films such as The East Is Red, My Father Is a Hero, Musa.Yu is also known for appearing in roles for films...
  
   as Bai Yunfei
• Wu Tianming
  Wu Tianming
  Wu Tianming is a Chinese film director.-Biography:Born in Shaanxi Province, China, Wu Tianming attended the Beijing Film Academy, majoring in directing before the Cultural Revolution...
  
   as movie director
• Lu Shuming as First Emperor
  Qin Shi Huang
  Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...
  
  
• Che Bok-man as Xu Fu
  Xu Fu
  Xú Fú ; was born in 255 BC in Qi, and served as a court sorcerer in Qin Dynasty China. He was sent by Qin Shi Huang to the eastern seas twice to look for the elixir of life. His two journeys occurred between 219 BC and 210 BC. It was believed that the fleet included 60 barques and around 5,000 crew...
  
  / tour guide
• David Cheung
• Chiu Chi-gong
• Choi Hin-cheung

External links

• Fight and Love with a Terracotta Warrior at hkflix.com