''Justice Pao'' is a 236-episode television series from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, first airing on

Chinese Television System The Chinese Television System Inc. () is a terrestrial television station in Taiwan and was founded in 1971. Recent milestones of the network are in sports events, including having the distinction to offer exclusive coverage of the 2017 Un ...

(CTS) from February 1993 to January 1994.

Background

The show stars

Jin Chao-chun Jin Chao-chun (; born on 26 November 1951) is a Golden Bell Award-winning Taiwanese actor who achieved regional fame in East Asia and Southeast Asia for his portrayal of the ancient Chinese official Bao Zheng in the 1993 TV series '' Justice Bao' ...

as the legendary

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

official

Bao Zheng Bao Zheng (; 5 March 999 – 3 July 1062), commonly known as Bao Gong (), was a Chinese politician during the reign of Emperor Renzong in China's Song Dynasty. During his twenty-five years in civil service, Bao consistently demonstrated extr ...

. It was hugely popular in many countries in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. The series was originally planned to have just 15 episodes. However, the show had high ratings when the initial episodes aired. Due to its popularity, CTS extended the show to 236 episodes. The rival

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...

and

ATV Home ATV Home () was a free-to-air Cantonese television channel in Hong Kong, owned and operated by Asia Television. It was formed in September 1963 as a result of the split of the bilingual Rediffusion Television subscription service (which was pri ...

networks in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

both bought the series in an attempt to gain viewers. Competition between the two networks during the series’ run was so intense that identical episodes were shown on both channels on the same night. It was also one of the first dramas that used

NICAM Near Instantaneous Companded Audio Multiplex (NICAM) is an early form of lossy compression for digital audio. It was originally developed in the early 1970s for point-to-point links within broadcasting networks.Croll, M.G., Osborne, D.W. and Spi ...

technology ( Dual Sound Switch

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

/Mandarin).

List of cases

Cast

: ''Note: Some cast members played multiple roles.''

Awards

1995 – 30th

Golden Bell Awards The Golden Bell Awards () is an annual Taiwanese television and radio production award presented in October or November each year by the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, a division of Taiwan's Ministry of Culture. It is the ...

* Won –

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

* Won –

Tai Chih-yuan Andy Tai Chih-yuan (, born 7 May 1965) is a Taiwanese comedian, actor, show host and YouTuber. He is a graduate of New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a private research university f ...

, Best Supporting Actor, for the portrayal of Guo Huai (Case 3) * Won – Liu Ming, Best Supporting Actress, for the portrayal of Bao Mian's mother (Case 8)

Theme songs

1. The opening theme, performed by Hu Kua, has the same title as the series. It was originally performed by Chiang Kuang-Chao for the earlier 1974 CTS series also of the same name. * A

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

("願世間有青天") performed by

George Lam George Lam Tsz-Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam ...

with lyrics by

Wong Jim James Wong Jim (; 18 March 1941 – 24 November 2004, also known as "霑叔" or "Uncle Jim") was a Cantopop lyricist and songwriter based primarily in Hong Kong. Beginning from the 1960s, he was the lyricist for over 2,000 songs, collaborating ...

was the opening theme of the series on

in Hong Kong. It was also the opening theme of the 1995 TVB series ''Justice Bao''. * Another Cantonese cover by

Ray Lui Ray Lui Leung-wai ( vi, Lữ Lương Vỹ, born 22 December 1956) is a Hong Kong actor. Born in Chợ Lớn, Saigon, Vietnam, he traces his ancestry to Lianjiang, Guangdong. He is best known for his role as "Ting Lik" in the 1980 Hong Kong te ...

was the opening theme of the 1995 ATV series ''Justice Bao''. * A Tagalog

("Judge Bao") was the opening theme of the series on ABC-5 in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. *

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

covered the song in the 2003 Bao Zheng-related movie ''

Cat and Mouse Cat and mouse, often expressed as cat-and-mouse game, is an English-language idiom that means "a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes." The "cat" is unable to secure a definitive victory over the "mouse ...

''. * Cambodian version was performed by Nou Sib which aired on CTV9 in 1994 and Neay Koy which air on CTN in 2020 (as he performed in 2001) 2. The ending theme was "New Dream of the Butterfly Lovers" (), written and performed by Huang An. * This song became a huge hit in the Chinese-speaking world, and Huang's album with the same name became one of the best-selling albums in Taiwan, selling over a million copies. * Cover versions in many languages exist due to the show's influence in the region.

Kenny Ho Kenny Ho Kar-king (born 29 December 1959) is a Hong Kong actor and Cantopop/Mandopop singer. He was best known for his role as Zhan Zhao in the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese television series '' Justice Bao'' from 1993 to 2012, and is also known ...

recorded a

version (also "新鴛鴦蝴蝶夢") with lyrics by

Albert Leung Albert Leung (born 7 December 1961, ) is a lyricist and writer based in Hong Kong. Education Leung attended all-boy secondary schools at Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College and La Salle College. He received a bachelor of arts in translation from th ...

, while Huang An and

Loletta Lee Rachel Lee (; born 8 January 1966), previously known as Loletta Lee, is a Hong Kong actress and a Category III film star. She started playing small roles in Hong Kong movies in the 1980s. Her first role as a lead actress was in ''Devoted to You ...

each recorded a different Cantonese version (both titled "愛於錯誤年代" but the lyrics differ). A popular English version from the Singaporean band Tokyo Square was titled "Can't Let Go". Huang An's own English version was titled "When It Comes to Love". There are also versions in

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...

("鴛鴦蝴蝶夢" by Joice Lim),

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

("สุดจะหยุดใจ" by Koong Tuangsith Reamchinda),

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

("Uyên Ương Hồ Điệp Mộng" by Đan Trường), Khmer ("ផ្ការោយមុនរដូវ" by Nou Sib and "ព្រួយជាមួយចន្ទ" by Khemarak Sereymon) and

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

("Melody Memory" by Lavenia), among others. 3. Another ending theme song used for some episodes was "Hand in Hand, Let's Travel the World" ().

International broadcast

*: Channel 9 * : Indonesian Educational Television (1995). *: Myawady Television (1998),

Myanmar Radio and Television Myanmar Radio and Television ( my, မြန်မာ့အသံနှင့်ရုပ်မြင်သံကြား, abbreviated MRTV), formerly the Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS), is the parent of the state-run Myanmar Radio National ...

(2016 - with Burmese dub),

Sky Net SKYNET Direct to Home (DTH) is a Satellite television pay TV operator provided nationwide in Myanmar by Shwe Than Lwin Media Co.,Ltd. It was launched in November 2010. Sky Net broadcasts a total 80 channels via Apstar 7 satellite. It also provi ...

Channel 9 Myanmar (2019) *: RPN (1996-2000), ABC 5 (2007-2008) *: Channel 8 *: Channel 3 (1995-October 1, 2015. *: NEW18 (April 6, 2020 - March 28, 2021 (Every Monday - Sunday from 16: 35-17: 35))

Video game adaptations

On the first few years after its original run ended, at least three video game adaptations of the series were published in Asia. It is unknown if any of them were licensed by CTS. The first adaptation was the homonymous

beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...

包青天 (Bāo Qīng Tiān), published in 1994 by

Bit Corporation Bit Corporation () was a Taiwanese game developer and console manufacturer. Games Bit Corporation produced original software for the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision, which it released worldwide under both its own name and the Puzzy brand, as well a ...

for the

Gamate The ''Gamate'', known as (pinyin: ''chāojí xiǎozi'', literally "Super Boy") in Taiwan and (pinyin: ''chāojí shéntóng'', literally "Super Child Prodigy") in China, is a handheld game console manufactured by Bit Corporation in the early 19 ...

handheld console in Taiwan. It is the only one out of the three that was licensed by the console manufacturer. Its higher quality and overall polish and country of origin may also be a pointer for it being officially licensed by CTS, although that is uncertain. The second and third adaptations were both released in mainland China in 1996 for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

, and it is unclear which went to market first. The most well-known out of the two, usually cited as the first, is a platformer also titled ''Bāo Qīng Tiān'', published by Kai Sheng in Hong Kong and by Family TSI in Thailand. The second is a fighting game titled ''Impartial Judge'', published by Fuzhou Waixing in China.

References

External links

* {{The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants Fictional depictions of Bao Zheng in television 1993 Taiwanese television series debuts 1994 Taiwanese television series endings Taiwanese wuxia television series Fantasy television series Ghosts in television Demons in television 1990s crime drama television series Television shows set in Kaifeng 1990s Taiwanese television series