''Battle of Changsha'' (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 战长沙) is a 2014 Chinese television series produced by Hou Hongliang and directed by Kong Sheng. The story is set against the backdrop of the Battle of Changsha in 1939 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Starring

Wallace Huo Wallace Huo Chien-hwa (, born 26 December 1979) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and producer. He is known for his roles in ''At Dolphin Bay'' (2003), ''Chinese Paladin 3'' (2009), ''Swordsman'' (2013), '' Battle of Changsha'' (2014), ''The Journey of ...

and Yang Zi, the series premiered on

CCTV-8 CCTV-8 is the television drama channel of the CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from ...

on 14 July ended its run on 31 July 2014. The series was a critical success, and was the highest rated drama on major streaming website Douban.

Synopsis

''Battle of Changsha'' tells a story about an ordinary family in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, coping with the Anti-Japanese war between 1938 and 1945, reflecting Chinese people's lives during that ill-fated period. With the Japanese air-raid and students’ protest as the background, the drama begins with the narration of Hu Xiangxiang, a 16-year-old high school student, spoiled but innocent and inner-directed girl who is running away from a blind date set up by her brother-in-law, Xue Junshan, who's arranging to marry her off, then leave Changsha to avoid the war there. Besides, Hu Xiangxiang's family also want to find an escape to protect her twin brother, Hu Xiangjiang (also known as Xiao Man). The person for the blind date is Gu Qingming, a senior Kuomintang (KMT) strategy adviser of the battle who is totally different from those people who want to stay away from the war. He is eager to fight against the Japanese even though his family, especially his father is strongly against him to go into the battle instead of going abroad to save his life. They didn't start off on good terms and Xue Junshan had to pick another man as the fiancé for Hu Xiangxiang. In the meantime, then Chinese president Chiang Kai-shek demanded a scorched-earth policy in an attempt to stop the Japanese from advancing, but the policy went terribly wrong. As a result, the whole city was burnt to ashes even before the Japanese troops’ intruding. Approximately 30,000 of people were burned to death in their sleep including Xiangxiang's fiancé and family. 1938 Changsha fire Hu Xiangxiang is still fairly ignorant about what a war is really like and all she wants to do is escape. However, during the times of war, the 16-year-old girl is forced to grow up quickly. After seeing a series of deaths of family members and killings carried out by Japanese troops, Xiangxiang and Xiao Man get themselves involved into the war. She chose to be a nurse in order to save lives as much as possible. They are also deeply touched by the constant help from Gu Qingming whenever needed and his passion to save the country. The romance between Xiangxiang and Gu Qingming blossoms in the most chaotic time of China.

Cast

Main

as Gu Qingming (Gu Shaohuan) :A senior Kuomintang (KMT) strategy adviser attached to the

50th Division 50th Division or 50th Infantry Division may refer to: Infantry divisions: * 50th Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China) * 50th Infantry Division (German Empire) * 50th Reserve Division (German Empire) * 50th Infantry Division Regina, ...

. He holds the rank of Major. * Yang Zi as Hu Xiangxiang :Daughter of a tailoress. Gu Qingming's wife.

Supporting

Hu Family members

*Wang Caiping as Grandmother Hu :Hu Changning's mother. A skilled tailor. *Yang Xinming as Hu Changning :Xiangjun, Xiangjiang and Xiangxiang's father. A courageous and humble intellectual. *Mu Liyan as Liu Duoci :Xiangjun, Xiangjiang and Xiangxiang's mother. A tailor trained by Grandma Hu. *

Niu Junfeng Niu Junfeng (; born 1 December 1992), is a Chinese actor and singer. He learnt Peking opera since young, and later received direct admission to National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts. Niu debuted as a child actor at the age of ten. He successf ...

as Hu Xiangjiang (Xiaoman) :Xiangxiang's twin brother. *Liu Zhenjun as Liu Xiuxiu :Liu Duoci's niece, Minghan's younger sister. *Gao Xin as Liu Minghan :Liu Duoci's nephew, Xiuxiu's older brother. Hu Xiangjun's cousin and former boyfriend. *Ren Chengwei as Xue Junshan :Hu Xiangjun's husband. He is a corrupt security officer, who uses his connections to make a profit. He holds the rank of captain, but wears the rank insignia of a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. *

Zuo Xiaoqing Zuo Xiaoqing (; born 25 June 1977) is a Chinese actress, TV presenter and former rhythmic gymnast. She represented China at the 1992 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. In 1993, Zuo played a minor role in Jiang Wen's directorial debut ''In ...

as Hu Xiangjun :Xiangxiang's older sister. *Ying Yixuan as Xue Ping'an :Junshan and Xiangjun's son. *Wang Yongquan as Hu Bingquan *Wang Hong as Hu Xiaoqiu :Hu Bingquan's adopted son. *Sun Mengjia as Shuilan *Li Zefeng as Hu Xiangping *Zhang Moxi as Jingyan *Zhang Yijie as Hu Xiangshui

Gu Family

*Wang Shuangbao as Xu Quan :Qingming's uncle, Junshan's superior. *Lu Xia as Gu Qinyun :Qingming's older sister.

Others

*Kuang Muye as Little Brother Mo (Su Tie) :Junshan's sidekick, aide, later Qingming's aide. *Ma Bo as Chen Chu (Xiao Hei) :Junshan's sidekick, later a spy for the Japanese. *Li Wenjing as Mu Huarong (Xiao Mu) :Qingming's aide. *Li Peiming as Fang Xianjue :Commander of the Tenth Corps of the Kuomintang. *Ying Zi as Jin Feng :Xiangxiang's classmate, Xiaoman's crush. *Sun Hanwen as Sheng Chengzhi :Xiangxiang's betrothed.

Ratings

* Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue

References

External links

Battle of Changsha's Official Weibo

Battle of Changsha's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Changsha Television shows based on Chinese novels Chinese period television series Chinese war television series Chinese romance television series 2014 Chinese television series debuts China Central Television original programming Second Sino-Japanese War television drama series Television series by Daylight Entertainment Television shows set in Hunan