The Mandarin Chinese title of the movie is taken from the last line of a poem written by the rebel leader Huang Chao, who had revolted against the Tang dynasty.

[4] The plot is based on Cao Yu's 1934 play Thunderstorm (雷雨 pinyin: Léiyǔ), but is set in the Imperial court in ancient China.

On the eve of the Double Ninth Festival, the Emperor and the second of his three sons, Prince Jai, return from their military campaign to Nanjing so they can celebrate the holiday with their family.

At the same time, Crown Prince Wan has been in an affair with Jiang Chan, daughter of the Imperial Doctor, and is keen on rejecting the throne so that he may run away with her.

Prince Jai notices the declining health of his mother, and is confused by her sudden interest in chrysanthemums, the golden flowers.

As it happens, the woman is Jiang Shi , the Imperial Doctor's wife, whom the Emperor imprisoned a while ago and who was believed dead, but somehow escaped.

When Crown Prince Wan meets with Jiang Chan to say goodbye, she informs him that the Empress has woven 10,000 scarves with golden flower sigils.

Behind him, the courtyard is cleaned with mechanical efficiency by a legion of servants, with bodies being removed, floors being scrubbed and laid with carpets, and pots of yellow flowers being replaced, making it seem as if the entire rebellion never even happened.

[9] Richard Corliss of Time praised the film's lurid operatic aspect: "this is high, and high-wire, melodrama...where matters of love and death are played at a perfect fever pitch.

"[10] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times states: "In Curse of the Golden Flower Mr. Zhang achieves a kind of operatic delirium, opening the floodgates of image and melodrama until the line between tragedy and black comedy is all but erased.

"[11] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times described the film as: "A period spectacle, steeped in awesome splendor and lethal palace intrigue, it climaxes in a stupendous battle scene and epic tragedy" and "director Zhang Yimou's lavish epic celebrates the gifts of actress Gong Li while weaving a timeless tale of intrigue, corruption and tragedy.

"[12] Andrew O'Hehir of Salon said: "the morbid grandiosity of Curse of the Golden Flower is its own distinctive accomplishment, another remarkable chapter in the career of Asia's most important living filmmaker.

"[14] Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing felt that the film was a poor reflection of director Zhang Yimou's acclaimed previous works.

"[17] Gene Seymour of Newsweek said: "Curse of the Golden Flower is to the feudal costumed adventure what Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar is to the Western.