BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese censors should pay more attention to public opinion, a state-run newspaper argued Wednesday, after an online backlash over the removal of all cleavage from a TV show about China's only female emperor.

Empress Of China, about the Tang dynasty ruler Wu Zetian, who came to power at the end of the 7th century, was abruptly taken off the air soon after its debut on satellite station Hunan TV late last month, ostensibly for "technical reasons".

When it returned a week later, the show - which stars actress Fan Bingbing in the title role - had been conspicuously edited so that shots of female characters in mildly revealing period dresses were instead tightly cropped to remove any sight of the bulge of a breast. The move ignited the fury of China's Internet users, who contended that censors had gone a step too far and had sought to rewrite the country's fashion history.

The Global Times newspaper, which is close to the ruling Communist Party, noted in an editorial that while the censorship was "largely done out of moral concerns", the resulting public outcry should serve as a warning for the future. "While it is powerful, censorship lacks authority," it said. "In this sense, when using censorship, more considerations should be given to public opinion to garner support and avoid similar incidents."

The rules governing censorship in China are opaque and reasons are not provided for why cuts are made, but negative portrayals of contemporary politics are often banned, as are revealing scenes and issues that the authorities believe could lead to social unrest.

The Global Times insisted that the system of control was necessary. "The reality is that censorship exists in many countries and it is unlikely to be reversed in China," it wrote.

The strict approval process has been criticised as arbitrary at times, with films and TV series often scuttled at the last moment - and sometimes, as in the case of Empress of China, even after they have begun airing.

Last month, the premiere of acclaimed director Jiang Wen's latest film, Gone With The Bullets, was abruptly delayed due to eleventh-hour demands by censors.

An online survey released by the Sina Weibo microblogging service on Monday found that nearly 95 per cent of respondents disapproved of the Empress of China censorship.

According to the Culture Ministry website chinaculture.org, Tang dynasty women inherited the traditional Chinese ruqun jacket and gown combination "and developed it further, opening up the collar as far as exposing the cleavage between the breasts".

"This was unheard of and unimaginable in the previous dynasties, in which women had to cover their entire body according to the Confucian classics," it says.

"But the new style was soon embraced by the open-minded aristocratic women of the Tang Dynasty."