Benjamin Kang Lim writes,

China has pulled the plug on a popular television series set almost a century ago because it upset President Hu Jintao, Communist Party and television industry sources said on Thursday.

Hu, struggling to emerge from the shadow of his predecessor Jiang Zemin, was worried the portrayal of court politics in the series "Marching Towards the Republic" may be seen as an allegory justifying Jiang's powerful role behind the scenes, they said.

Plans for a rerun of the 59-part drama on state-owned CCTV and to show it on provincial networks were axed because it portrayed Dowager Empress Cixi (1835-1908) in a favourable light, said the sources, familiar with the decision to axe the drama.

"Hu was unhappy," a Communist Party official who asked not to be identified told Reuters.

"Hu's written instructions were that 'Marching Towards the Republic' did not conform with historical truth and ran counter to history's final verdict on Cixi," the official said.

"Hu was worried people would think it was necessary and even good for Jiang to rule from behind the curtain and that the boy emperor was incompetent," the official added.