cooperates in the Empress's poisoning. Prince Jai refuses and kills himself, and as he does so, his blood spills into another cup of poisoned tea that has been brought to the Empress, turning the tea red. Horrified, the Empress slaps the tea away, and the liquid is shown to corrode the table's wood, along with the golden flower image engraved into the wood. Cast Imperial family Chow Yun-fat as Emperor Ping (大王 Dàwáng "King") Gong Li as Empress Phoenix (王后 Wánghòu "Queen") Jay Chou as Prince Jai (Prince Yuanjie (王子元杰 Wángzǐ Yuánjié)), the middle son of Emperor Ping Qin Junjie as Prince Yu (Prince Yuancheng (王子元成 Wángzǐ Yuánchéng)), the youngest son of Emperor Ping Liu Ye as Crown Prince Wan (Crown Prince Yuanxiang (太子元祥 Tàizǐ Yuánxiáng)), the eldest son of Emperor Ping Physician Jiang's family Ni Dahong as Imperial Physician Jiang (蒋太医 Jiǎng-tàiyī), later Governor of Xuju and Commander of Chariots Chen Jin as physician's wife (Mrs. Jiang (蒋氏 Jiǎng-shì)) Li Man as Jiang Chan (蔣嬋 Jiǎng Chán, physician's daughter) Title The Chinese title of the movie is taken from the last line of a poem written by the rebel leader Huang Chao who was also the Emperor of self-proclaimed Qi Dynasty that was at war with the Tang Dynasty. Huang Chao had composed the poem "On the Chrysanthemum, after failing the Imperial Examination" (不第後賦菊/不第后赋菊) or simply "Chrysanthemum": Due to the film's high-profile while it was still in production, its title, which can be literally translated as "The Whole City is Clothed in Golden Armor", became a colorful metaphor for spring 2006 sandstorms in Beijing and the term "golden armor" (黄金甲, huángjīnjiǎ) has since become a metaphor for sandstorms among the locals. Historical perspective The screenplay is based on Thunderstorm, a renowned Chinese play written by Cao Yu in the 1930s. The plot could also be possibly based on Hamlet according to James Berardinelli. The two protagonists are known in the Chinese version as "King" and "Queen", which in the English version has been upgraded to "Emperor" and "Empress". The distinction is not trivial, as the lower title "king" only lays claim to a defined region whereas the supreme "emperor" claims overlordship over the entire (Chinese-speaking) world. The choice of title therefore implies that despite the splendour of its court the polity depicted in the film does not actually rule all of China. The English language version states that this