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The TV drama The Empress of China is hot among audiences recently. Actress Fan Bingbing, who plays the role of Empress Wu Zetian, is a fabulous beauty. What did Wu Zetian, China`s only female monarch, look like in real life? Let`s explore the possibilities. 电视剧《武媚娘传奇》成了观众们的新宠。扮演武媚娘的范冰冰可谓美若天仙。而现实中，这位中国唯一的女皇帝到底容貌如何？且让我们一探究竟。 The famous Chinese scholar Guo Moruo researched this, and he thinks that a plump empress portrayed in a painting by Tang Dynasty painter Zhang Xuan is Wu Zetian. Zhang left many famous paintings, such as Paintings of Lady of Guoguo on a Spring Outing of the Tang Dynasty, Court Ladies Preparing Newly-Woven Silk and Lady of Wei. 我国著名学者郭沫若曾对此做过考证，他认为唐朝画家张悬笔下（《唐后行从图》）体态丰满的“皇后”正是武则天。张悬曾留下了许多著名画作，包括《虢国夫人游春图》、《捣练图》、《卫夫人像》等。 It is guessed that Zhang Xuan was a court painter and had met Wu Zetian before, so the portrait by him is quite reliable. （由于多绘宫中仕女）有猜测认为张悬曾作为宫廷画家见到过武则天本人，因此，他画中的武则天应较为可信。 Another frequently seen image of Wu Zetian is the block-painted edition of Images of Ancient People in History, created in 1498, during the reign of Emperor Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty. However, as the painting was recreated by Ming people, it is not very reliable and possibly a portrait born out of imagination. | 
