China The Emperor and the Assassin is a China–Japan co-production — one of only a handful of such cross-border film titles indexed here.
Synopsis
荆轲刺秦王
In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering.
China × Japan Co-Production
Other China×Japan titles
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with The Emperor and the Assassin. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
History + Drama in China
53 China titles in our catalog blend the History and Drama genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding The Emperor and the Assassin itself).
The 1997–1999 China Window
In the crowded 1997-1999 China release window, The Emperor and the Assassin sits at #8 of 12. The leaderboard below contextualises its neighbours.
The 1990s China Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1990s in China, 41 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when The Emperor and the Assassin premiered alongside 2 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 2 other China films in 1998.
The 68th China title from China we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1935).
Our China catalog contains 946 titles in total (747 films).
Audience Engagement
73 audience reviews — more than 72% of China films in our index.
Review volume (72th percentile) outruns trending popularity (51th) — a durable title with sustained audience attention.
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on The Emperor and the Assassin, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- warring states period · 4
- 3rd century bc · 3
- occupying power · 2
- governance · 1
- kingdom · 13
- concubine · 8
- china · 127
- assassin · 47
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #383 of 946 China films indexed here (60th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.2 points above the China average of 6.7/10.
Among China History productions specifically: #24 of 61 (top 39%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | China |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | China, France, Japan |
| Original Language | Chinese |
| Spoken Languages | Mandarin, Polish |
| Production Companies | Hahn Shin Corporation, Le Studio Canal+ |
| Runtime | 2h 42m |
| Release Date | October 8, 1998 |
| IMDb | tt0162866 |