Virtuous Empress of the Han Trailer + Wang Luodan turns ethereally beautiful in white as Wei Zifu

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For a mainland Chinese actress, I find Wang Luodan to be rather plain and average in the look department. She can look quite attractive and memorable in modern clothes, but the parted hair that completely covers her ears and almost half of her face in Virtuous Empress of the Han Dynasty does absolutely nothing to accentuate her natural beauty. In the official promotional poster, I thought the bad angle and bad photoshopping even made her look distorted and hideous. Consequently, I was rather disappointed in the casting decision. I felt Wang Luodan does not possess the striking beauty to portray Wei Zifu, the dancing girl who managed to captivate the attention of the tyrannical Emperor Han Wudi. I strongly believe great beauty as well as prudence played a great role in helping this poor dancing girl to climb up the social ladder and to attain the status of empress. To my great surprise, the production finally released these pretty stills to prove me wrong! Wang Luodan is absolutely refreshing as Wei Zifu.

Official Trailer:

More than a decade ago, I thought Raymond Lam to be extremely dashing and commanding in his powerful portrayal of the First Emperor of China in A Step into the Past. In my opinion, Raymond Lam left a much deeper impression than the more reknown Louis Koo at the time. Unfortunately, time has somehow withers away Raymond Lam's commanding presence and I found his screen presence in this drama series rather weak. He does not convince me as the formidable and despotic Han Wudi. Perhaps it's the makeup? He still looks handsome...but meek.


BTS photo of Wang Luodan and Raymond Lam. I am starting to like her extravagant imperial regalia headpiece.


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