Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "chinese-history"
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1. Marco Polo (2014–2016)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In a world replete with greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue and rivalry, "Marco Polo" is based on the famed explorer's adventures in Kublai Khan's court in 13th century Mongolia.
Stars: Lorenzo Richelmy, Benedict Wong, Joan Chen, Remy Hii
Votes: 78,655
2. Kingdom (2012– )
TV-MA | 25 min | Animation, Action, Drama
In ancient China, a young boy dreams of becoming the greatest general of the Qin Kingdom.
Stars: Masakazu Morita, Jun Fukuyama, Rie Kugimiya, Yôko Hikasa
Votes: 3,489
3. Farewell My Concubine (1993)
R | 171 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, Gong Li, You Ge
Votes: 33,133 | Gross: $5.22M
4. The Last Emperor (1987)
PG-13 | 163 min | Biography, Drama, History
Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying
Votes: 111,500 | Gross: $43.98M
5. City of Life and Death (2009)
R | 133 min | Drama, History, War
In 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing, the Chinese capital. There was a battle and subsequent atrocities against the inhabitants, especially those who took refuge in the International Security Zone.
Director: Chuan Lu | Stars: Ye Liu, Wei Fan, Hideo Nakaizumi, Yuanyuan Gao
Votes: 11,715 | Gross: $0.12M
6. The Empress Ki (2013–2014)
Action, Drama, Romance
A Korea-born warrior girl had to be a servant at the Mongol Yuan court but somehow overcame her low status to become an empress in another land.
Stars: Ha Ji-Won, Ji Chang-wook, Oh Gwang-Rok, Choi Jung-Won
Votes: 3,589
7. The Flowers of War (2011)
R | 146 min | Drama, History, Romance
An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Tianyuan Huang
Votes: 55,717 | Gross: $0.01M
8. Man Behind the Sun (1988)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, History, Horror
Japanese troops round up Chinese and Russian prisoners of war and take them to unit 731, where they're horribly tortured and experimented on to test new biological weapons.
Director: Tun-Fei Mou | Stars: Gang Wang, Dai Yao Wu, Runshen Wang, Zhe Quan
Votes: 7,274
9. The Grandmaster (2013)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Ziyi Zhang, Jin Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 36,766 | Gross: $6.59M
10. Red Cliff (2008)
R | 148 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.).
Director: John Woo | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 48,492 | Gross: $0.63M
12. Chinese Zodiac (2012)
PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A man searches the world for a set of mystic artifacts. The twelve bronze heads of the animals from the Chinese zodiac.
Director: Jackie Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Shu Qi, Xingtong Yao, Kwon Sang-woo
Votes: 24,498
13. Kingdom 3 (2023)
129 min | Action, History, War
It follows Li Xin and Wang Qi as they stand on the battlefield for the first time to fight off an invasion by Zhao, and it also follows Ying Zheng's unknown past.
Director: Shinsuke Sato | Stars: Kento Yamazaki, Ryô Yoshizawa, Kanna Hashimoto, Ken Aoki
Votes: 1,095
14. 55 Days at Peking (1963)
Unrated | 154 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
During the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, U.S. marine, Maj. Matt Lewis, along with British consul, Sir Arthur Robertson, develop a plan to keep the rebels at bay until an international military relief force can arrive.
Directors: Nicholas Ray, Guy Green, Andrew Marton | Stars: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson
Votes: 7,419
15. Kingdom (2019)
R | 134 min | Action, History, War
In ancient China, a young boy dreams of becoming the greatest general of the Qin Kingdom.
Director: Shinsuke Sato | Stars: Kento Yamazaki, Ryô Yoshizawa, Masami Nagasawa, Kanna Hashimoto
Votes: 4,094
16. The Warlords (2007)
R | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
China, 1860s: Having his army slaughtered, General Qingyun joins 2 bandit leaders in raids on rebels and in blood oath. They form a Qing loyal army with eyes on rebel held Suzhou and Nanjing.
Directors: Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Wai-Man Yip | Stars: Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jinglei Xu
Votes: 27,815 | Gross: $0.13M
17. Red Cliff II (2009)
142 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Second and final part of epic tale about a legendary battle that changed the course of China history.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 25,354 | Gross: $0.63M
18. League of Gods (2016)
PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Fantasy
Based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Feng Shen Yan Yi (The Investiture of the Gods), the story tells of how King Zhou of Shang becomes a tyrant due to the wiles of Daji, a vixen spirit who is disguised as one of his concubines.
Director: Koan Hui | Stars: Jet Li, Bingbing Fan, Zhang Wen, Xiaoming Huang
Votes: 2,965 | Gross: $0.18M
19. The Eight Hundred (2020)
Not Rated | 149 min | Action, Drama, History
In 1937, 800 Chinese soldiers fight under siege from a warehouse in the middle of the Shanghai battlefield, completely surrounded by the Japanese army.
Director: Hu Guan | Stars: Zhizhong Huang, Junyi Zhang, Hao Ou, Xiaoguang Hu
Votes: 7,191 | Gross: $0.37M
20. 1911 (2011)
R | 99 min | Drama, History, War
A historical drama based on the founding of the Republic of China when nationalist forces led by Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty.
Directors: Tao Hai, Wei Li, Guoqiang Tang, Li Zhang, Jackie Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Winston Chao, Bingbing Li, Chun Sun
Votes: 6,527 | Gross: $0.13M
21. Nanking (2007)
R | 88 min | Biography, History, War
Through readings of historical account by actors and the testimony of survivors, the events of the Nanjing Massacre are recounted.
Directors: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman | Stars: Hugo Armstrong, Rosalind Chao, Stephen Dorff, John Getz
Votes: 3,588 | Gross: $0.16M
22. Devils on the Doorstep (2000)
139 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Villagers in World War II China are unsure what to do with the two enemy prisoners who have been left in their care.
Director: Wen Jiang | Stars: Wen Jiang, Kenya Sawada, Hongbo Jiang, Teruyuki Kagawa
Votes: 8,616 | Gross: $0.02M
23. Da hong zha (2018)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
During World War II, five different Chinese people fight their way through Japanese Air Force attacks to protect an important military machine in Chongqing, 1940.
Director: Xiao Feng | Stars: Ye Liu, Bruce Willis, Song Seung-heon, William Chan
Votes: 4,787
24. The Founding of a Republic (2009)
138 min | Drama, History, War
Inspired by true events, Founding of a Republic weaves a rousing tale of one man who fought against the tyranny of a ruler and led his people in battle in the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
Directors: Sanping Han, Jianxin Huang | Stars: Guoqiang Tang, Guoli Zhang, Qing Xu, Jin Liu
Votes: 3,872
25. Three Kingdoms (2010)
45 min | Drama, History, War
Long story of the rivalry, intrigues and wars of the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. Based on the classical Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other related sources.
Stars: Hewei Yu, Yi Lu, Kai Kang, Jianbin Chen
Votes: 1,323
26. The Qin Empire (2009– )
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, History, War
During the Warring States period, Qin state ruler Duke Xiao recruits statesman Shang Yang to help enact bold reforms that transform western China.
Stars: Zhifei Wang, Yong Hou, Yuanyuan Gao, Feihu Sun
Votes: 150
27. San guo yan yi (1995)
TV-14 | 3,840 min | Drama, History, War
In 2nd century China, chaos reigns as warlords divide a land facing famine, drought and invasion. In times of disorder, heroes emerge.
Stars: Guoqiang Tang, Yanjun Sun, Guoan Bao, Jing-fei Li
Votes: 1,018
28. The Message (2009)
118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Following a series of assassination attempts on officials of the Japanese-controlled puppet government in 1942 Nanjingn (Nanking), the Japanese spy chief gathers a group of suspects in a ... See full summary »
Directors: Kuo-Fu Chen, Qunshu Gao | Stars: Xun Zhou, Bingbing Li, Hanyu Zhang, Xiaoming Huang
Votes: 4,218
29. Luoyang (2021)
TV-PG | 45 min | Drama, History, Mystery
Gao Bingzhu (Huang Xuan) is involved in a case by mistake and becomes a suspect. When he tries to prove his innocence, he meets Baili Hongyi (Wang Yibo), who wants to find out the truth ... See full summary »
Stars: Xuan Huang, Yibo Wang, Victoria Song, Long Jiang
Votes: 925
30. God of War (2017)
Not Rated | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A maverick commander and a young general join forces to battle pirates who pillage small villages in 16th-century China. The violent clash of wits and weapons will ultimately decide who rules the land.
Director: Gordon Chan | Stars: Wenzhuo Zhao, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Regina Wan, Keisuke Koide
Votes: 2,407 | Gross: $0.05M
31. Legend of the Demon Cat (2017)
TV-14 | 129 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
When a demon cat appears and breaks the peace of Chang'an City, causing a series of strange events, poet Bai Letian and monk Kukai join hands to investigate the death of the emperor's concubine by following the trail left by the cat.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Xuan Huang, Shôta Sometani, Yuqi Zhang, Hao Qin
Votes: 3,045
32. The Glamorous Imperial Concubine (2011)
Drama, History, Romance
Ma Fuya is a princess of the Chu state in 10th-century China. In this time of warring kingdoms and political upheaval, Fuya's uncle usurps the throne, and brutally wipes out her family. ... See full summary »
Stars: Zhen Zhao, Ruby Lin, Yikuan Yan, Jennifer Ling Hung
Votes: 201
33. Bodyguards and Assassins (2009)
Not Rated | 139 min | Action, Drama, History
In 1905, revolutionist Sun Yat-Sen visits Hong Kong to discuss plans with Tongmenghui members to overthrow the Qing dynasty. But when they find out that assassins have been sent to kill him, they assemble a group of protectors to prevent any attacks.
Director: Teddy Chan | Stars: Xueqi Wang, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Jun Hu, Bo-Chieh Wang
Votes: 8,543
34. Peking Opera Blues (1986)
TV-14 | 104 min | Comedy, Action
The movie is set in chaotic 1920's China, when warlords fought each other for power while Sun Yat-Sen's underground movement tried to establish a democratic republic. The movie tells the ... See full summary »
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh, Cherie Chung, Mark Cheng
Votes: 2,660
35. The Return of Iljimae (2009)
TV-Y | Action, Drama, Romance
This drama centers the life of Iljimae, a young man who fights the government for people.
Stars: Jung Il-woo, Jin-Seo Yoon, Kim Min-jong, Jung Hye-young
Votes: 122
36. Legend of Miyue (2015–2016)
Drama, History, Romance
A drama about Mi Yue, the outstanding female politician in Chinese history, who made a great contribution to the unification of China two thousand years ago.
Stars: Li Sun, Tao Liu, Chuyue Chen, Yu Shen
Votes: 410
37. 1921 (2021)
138 min | Drama
The film will be about the establishment and creation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which is now commonly known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), 100 years ago.
Directors: Jianxin Huang, Dasheng Zheng | Stars: Xuan Huang, Ni Ni, Renjun Wang, Wenkang Yuan
Votes: 410
38. Yao-Chinese Folktales (2023– )
20 min | Animation, Short, Fantasy
A collection of 8 animated short stories that shows traditional Chinese culture, Chinese philosophy, imagination, aesthetic and Chinese society development. It spans various genres including fantasy, science fiction, romantic and drama.
Star: Yunming Zhang
Votes: 376
39. Startling by Each Step (2011– )
TV-14 | 46 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
After a car accident plunges a woman into the dreamy Chinese past that gave the whole life in the Beijing imperial palace after that she returns to her life in the modern world.
Stars: Kei Gambit, ShiShi Liu, Nicky Wu, Kevin Cheng
Votes: 616
40. Battle of Changsha (2014– )
History, Romance, War
Set during the ill-fated Anti-Japanese war between 1938 and 1945. Xiang Xiang, a fun ordinary 16 yr old girl and Gu Qing Ming, a strict Intelligence Officer in the Nationalist Army start off on bad terms, however romance begins to blossom.
Stars: Wallace Huo, Zi Yang, Muye Kuang, Lu Liu
Votes: 251
41. Beginning of the Great Revival (2011)
Not Rated | 124 min | Drama, History
A chronicle of the events that led to the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
Directors: Sanping Han, Jianxin Huang | Stars: John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat, Bingbing Fan, Daniel Wu
Votes: 6,405 | Gross: $0.15M
42. The Coming War on China (2016)
TV-PG | 113 min | Documentary, History
From award winning journalist John Pilger, reveals what the news doesn't - that the world's greatest military power, the United States, and the world's second economic power, China, both nuclear-armed, may well be on the road to war.
Director: John Pilger | Stars: Franklin Blaisdell, James Bradley, Bruce Cumings, Dana Rohrabacher
Votes: 1,689
43. Confucius (2010)
TV-MA | 125 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life story of the highly-influential Chinese philosopher, Confucius.
Director: Mei Hu | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Xun Zhou, Jianbin Chen, Quan Ren
Votes: 3,989
44. Brotherhood of Blades (2014)
Not Rated | 111 min | Action
This is a movie set in the late Ming Dynasty. The 3 main characters are all elite guards for the palace. One of their fellow guardsmen goes bad. His former companions must now forget their ... See full summary »
Director: Yang Lu | Stars: Chang Chen, Qianyuan Wang, Yuan Nie, Shih-Chieh King
Votes: 3,705
45. 16 to Life (2009)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Romance
Romantic comedy. A small town teenager's angst about sexual inexperience drives a comic quest for love and understanding on a birthday to end all birthdays.
Director: Becky Smith | Stars: Hallee Hirsh, Theresa Russell, Shiloh Fernandez, Mandy Musgrave
Votes: 507
46. Shadow of China (1989)
PG-13 | 131 min | Drama
A Chinese political refugee tries to make his way to the top as a businessman in Hong Kong while his former radicalism is transformed into cynicism. His past comes back to haunt him.
Director: Mitsuo Yanagimachi | Stars: John Lone, Kôichi Satô, Sammi Davis, Vivian Wu
Votes: 168
47. Yi tian tu long ji (2002–2003)
48 min | Drama
This popular tale of the martial arts world, set in 14th century China, centers around two legendary wuxia weapons - the Dragon Slaying Sabre and the Heavenly Sword - whose wielder, legend ... See full summary »
Stars: Alec Su, Alyssa Chia, Tielin Zhang, Ashton Chen
Votes: 428
48. Don't Cry, Nanking (1995)
120 min | Drama, History, War
In December 1937, during the Second Japanese-Sino War, a Chinese doctor, his Japanese pregnant wife, their teenage daughter and their young son travel from Shanghai to Nanjing seeking ... See full summary »
Director: Ziniu Wu | Stars: Han Chin, Ai Saotome, Rene Liu, Tao Bai
Votes: 273
49. Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1990)
115 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Canadian surgeon Dr. Norman Bethune (Donald Sutherland) journeys 1,500 miles into China to reach Mao Zedong's eighth route Army in the Wu Tai mountains where he will build hospitals, ... See full summary »
Director: Phillip Borsos | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Helen Mirren, Helen Shaver, Colm Feore
Votes: 414
50. The Untold Tale of the Three Kingdoms (2020)
113 min | Comedy, History, War
A new interpretation of "Records of the Three Kingdoms," which is historical text of the three states of Wei, Shu, and Wu in China.
Director: Yûichi Fukuda | Stars: Shinnosuke Abe, Kazuaki Hankai, Kanna Hashimoto, Satoshi Hashimoto
Votes: 232