''Hero of the Times'' is a Singaporean-Taiwanese ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

'' television series based on legends about

Fong Sai-yuk Fong Sai-yuk (or Fang Shiyu) is a semi-fictional Chinese martial artist and folk hero from Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province of the Qing dynasty. Fong was also associated with Hung Hei-gun and the Five Elders of the Southern Shaolin Mona ...

(Mandarin: Fang Shiyu), a Chinese

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; an ...

and martial artist who lived during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. It was co-produced by the

Television Corporation of Singapore Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...

and Taiwan's

China Television China Television Company, Ltd. (CTV; ) (Formerly called Taiwan Daytime TV (TDT) in 1969-1975) is a television broadcasting company based in Taipei, Taiwan. It was established on September 3, 1968, by the then-ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) of ...

, directed by Hu Mingkai, and starred Chinese actor

Vincent Zhao Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo (born 10 April 1972), sometimes credited as Vincent Chiu or Chiu Man-cheuk, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. Zhao is best known for playing the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in the '' Once Upon a Time in China'' film ...

as Fang Shiyu. It was first aired in Singapore on TCS Eighth Frequency (now

MediaCorp Channel 8 Channel 8 ( zh, 8頻道) is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel, airing in Mandarin Chinese. It was created by Mediacorp, Television Singapura on 31 August 1963 with experimental broadcasts, before going official on 23 November that ye ...

) from late 1999 to early 2000.

Plot

The series is set in China during the reign of the

Yongzheng Emperor , regnal name = , posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi () , temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung () , house = Aisin Gioro ...

of the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

-led

. The emperor orders Nalan Degang, a Manchu bannerman, to form and lead a secret

death squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are ...

to eliminate the Great Ming Society, a

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

-based underground movement seeking to overthrow the Qing dynasty and restore the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. The death squad is named " Flying Guillotines" after the highly dreaded weapon used by its members. Fang Shiyu is the elder son of Fang De, the governor of Yangzhou. He spends his time enjoying life with his best friend, Nalan Dekai, who is Nalan Degang's younger brother. Zhu Lingce, the Black Guardian of the Great Ming Society, is a descendant of the imperial clan of the Ming dynasty. In the past, he had a romantic affair with Miao Cuihua, Fang Shiyu's mother, but chose to give up on her to pursue his quest to overthrow the Qing dynasty. Although Miao Cuihua married Fang De and bore him two sons, she still has romantic feelings for Zhu Lingce. It turns out later that Fang De is actually the White Guardian of the Great Ming Society and he has been secretly using his position as the governor of Yangzhou to help the society in their anti-Qing activities. Fang Shiyu and Nalan Dekai travel to

Shaolin Monastery Shaolin Monastery (少林寺 ''Shàolínsì''), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a renowned monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the So ...

to learn martial arts and master the ''

Yijin Jing The ''Yijin Jing'' () is a manual containing a series of exercises, coordinated with breathing, intended to dramatically enhance physical health when practiced consistently. In Chinese yi means "change", jin means "tendons and sinews", while jing m ...

''. Their friend, Song Tiezhu, succumbs to the temptation of glory and chooses to join Nalan Degang and serve the Qing government as a spy. When Nalan Degang captures Zhu Lingce, Fang Shiyu and his friends break into prison to save him. However, Song Tiezhu betrays them, causes Zhu Lingce to get killed, and exposes Fang De's true identity as the White Guardian of the Great Ming Society. While Fang De is arrested and taken to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Fang Shiyu manages to escape and he brings along Nalan Dekai, who was injured while helping him, to Shaolin Monastery for treatment. However, Song Tiezhu leads Qing forces to attack Shaolin and capture them. Fang Shiyu defeats Song Tiezhu in a fight and permanently disables him to prevent him from harming others again. The Yongzheng Emperor uses a scheme to create a misunderstanding between Fang De and the Great Ming Society and tricks the society into believing that Fang De betrayed them. Fang De has no choice but to commit suicide to prove his innocence. In the meantime, Fang Shiyu trains hard in martial arts with the aim of seeking justice and avenging his father. He breaks into the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

and tries to assassinate the Yongzheng Emperor, but ultimately gives up on his quest for vengeance when he realises the best option is to spare the emperor's life because there will be further chaos and bloodshed if a power vacuum is created when the emperor dies.

Cast

as Fang Shiyu *

Leanne Liu Liu Sue-Hua, also known as Leanne Liu, is a Golden Bell Award-winning Hong Kong actress. She first starred in Shaw Brothers films in Hong Kong, but moved to Taiwan in the 1980s to focus on her television career. She is particularly famous for ap ...

as Miao Cuihua *

Vincent Ng Vincent Ng Cheng Hye (born 6 December 1975), also known as Weng Qinghai, is a Singaporean martial artist and former actor. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp actor from 1997 to 2007. He is best known for acting in Chinese-language televisi ...

as Nalan Dekai *

Yvonne Lim Yvonne Lim (, born 28 September 1976) is a Singaporean actress. Early life and education Lim was born to Hokkien-speaking family. She studied at CHIJ St Theresa's Convent and graduated with a Diploma in Electronic, Computer & Communication E ...

as Lei Xiaoti *

Ix Shen Ix Shen (, formerly ; born 11 March 1972), also known as Shen Qing, is a Singaporean former television actor, now working in film production. Career Shen began his acting career in TCS (now Mediacorp) in 1995 after emerging the male winner ...

as Nalan Degang * May Phua as Princess Fulu * Chunyu Shanshan as Song Tiezhu * Shirley He as You Hongxiu *

Rayson Tan Rayson Tan (; born 12 January 1965) is a Singaporean actor. Career Before joining MediaCorp, Tan worked as a flight attendant with Singapore Airlines. In 1990, he emerged as the 2nd Runner-Up in Singapore's Star Search Singapore talent compet ...

as Zhu Lingce * Li Wenhai as Fang De * Cai Yiwei as Fang Shaoyu * Wang Huichun as the

* Huang Chung-kun as the Fourteenth Prince * Chen Guohua as Murong Yixiao *

Xiang Yun Chen Cuichang (born 27 October 1961), better known by her stage name Xiang Yun, is a Singaporean actress & television host. She is commonly referred to as MediaCorp's first "Ah Jie" (Senior actress) for being among the first locally trained arti ...

as Wu Hua'niang *

Lin Meijiao Lin Meijiao () is a Singaporean actress. Life and career Lin was educated at Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School. Lin has acted in many drama serials and is a multi-nominee for the Best Supporting Actress category at the annual Star Awards. She ...

as Abbess Babao *

Elvis Tsui Elvis Tsui Kam-kong (born October 12, 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and artist. Tsui is primarily known for his roles in erotic films and martial arts films, where he's more often cast as villains. Some of the famous characters he has portrayed repe ...

as Ao Tianwei * Qian Zhigang as Lei Laohu * Wang Ailing as Xiantao * Lau Shun as the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

* Chen Wencong as Zhu Qifeng * Dai Peng as Xie Junyuan * Zhou Quanxi as Princess Fulu's father * Chen Zhiguang as Yaoba * Fan Wenjie as Jinbo * He Saizhou as Yinhuan * Wang Xiuyun as Zhima Dama * Hong Zhaorong as Du Liaoliao * Liang Tian as Wuliuye * Zheng Wen as Feng Haichao * Yang Tianfu as Jiang Changzhi * Li Zhizhou as Sima Jin

External links

''Hero of the Times''
on MediaCorp's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hero of the Times 1999 Singaporean television series debuts 2000 Singaporean television series endings 1990s Singaporean television series 2000s Singaporean television series Singaporean wuxia television series Taiwanese wuxia television series Channel 8 (Singapore) original programming

Plot

Cast

See also

External links