definitely agree with you on the importance of knowing the cultural history. i'm used to dramas that either take place during the qing dynasty or take place in a more fictional setting (such as new life begins), so while i know who wu zetian is (she's an iconic historical figure, after all), i had no idea what i was getting myself into. i've been doing a lot of research while watching this drama, and so far i'm almost enjoying that even more than the drama, but that's mostly because i really like deep-diving. ...and because the english subtitles are atrocious.