Farewell My Concubine (1993)

both set in the same time period and about chinese opera. tragedy lurks in the shadows, but the censorship hatchet cut every controversial theme

Not similar story wise but both movies have great cinematography.
Both are with an historical setting and about old traditions.
The Peking Opera in Farewell My Concubine and Yoshiwara in Japan with its courtesans in Sakuran.
Also the movies are more suitable for a mature audience.

If you liked the Peking Opera in Farewell My Concubine, there is a minor story arch in Story of Yanxi Palace that covers it. They mention a few of the opera pieces by name (including Farewell My Concubine), play out some of the scenes, and even explain a few of the stories briefly. Peking Opera is later banned from the palace though, so it only shows up in the first 1/3 of the show.

Same time period and sequence of events, just different stories, both equally great.

Both movies feature a pair of men, one more manly, and one very effeminate, that are actors together. In both, they start out poor, but climb the social ladder by performing for the high society. They achieve this mostly through the unusual charm of the effeminate character, who is torn between his ambiguous relationship with the other male lead, and the advances he receives from rich and powerful men. Although they are very different eras (and countries!), both take place in difficult political contexts in which the characters become entangled, but that their theatre plays reenact metaphorically. Both characters cross-dress and play woman characters on stage. However, The King and the Clown is more comical, whereas Farewell My Concubine is more thoughtful, artistic and tragic.

Both has beautiful female lead that live end up sad and alone in palace.
Both historical
Both has jealous young king
True story.

Both were historical
Both involve story inside the palace
Both has a beautiful female lead
Both has sad ending

Both female lead were favor, but has sad ending.
Both female lead were kind, beautiful
Both young ming were down jealous, no confidence, palace politic

both chinese movies from the 90s have a chinese opera element (Farewell my Concubine revolves heavily around Chinese opera and in Raise the Red Lantern one of the characters was an opera singer) and that connection to opera also shows in the osts. The stories start in the 1920s where our main protagonists get send off by their mothers, have a kind of betrayal element and dont end happily. Also Dong Li stars in both films.

Both are epic romance movies about Peking opera.................................................................

Both are depressing historical movies which, among other things, touch upon how Chinese opera can intersect with queerness (both gender and sexuality).

Both films star Gong Li and Zheng Feng Yi.

Life does not always give you lemon. Took place in China; both actors and actress goes through history (war, famine, reconstructions).

Both films are about the lives of a homosexual opera singer in China before, during and after WW2. His talents attract the attention of an obsessive patron and he is forced to sacrifice himself again and again for the sake of his troupe. He is also inlove with another man who is involved with a woman.