Keeping abreast of films, TV programs

When TV drama The Empress of China, or Saga of Wu Zetian, returned to the small screen this year after a "temporary pause due to technical problems", it was more about big heads than big breasts.

The TV and film watchdog brought the TV drama back to the "right" track. But the change has created a controversy, just like Jiang Wen's Gone With The Bullets. More importantly, the drastic cuts in The Empress of China show that the authorities want to minimize the number of "frivolous scenes" in TV programs.

But during the period when Empress Wu Zetian of Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) ruled China (she was the only woman to do so), women did wear low-cut dresses. Of course, they dressed in quite a natural way rather than to expose their cleavage, unlike the way many actresses do in contemporary film and TV productions. An apt example is Fan Bingbing in the role of Empress Wu Zetian in one such production.