The most evil woman in Chinese history or a medieval Cinderella? Jonathan Clements examines the life and films of Empress Wu.

The opulent, sumptuous world of China's Tang era (618-907 AD) saw an end to centuries of civil unrest, and great wealth arriving down the Silk Road from the west. The setting is a character in itself in modern epics like The House of Flying Daggers and The Curse of the Golden Flower. But the dynasty's most famous figure flourished in its early days, when a lone woman fough