''The Legend of Chasing Fish'' is a 2013

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

romantic comedy television series directed Wu Jinyuan, Chen Guohua and Huang Jintianby, and starring

Zhao Liying Zhao Liying (, born 16 October 1987), also known as Zanilia Zhao, is a Chinese actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in television series ''Legend of Lu Zhen'' (2013), ''Boss & Me'' (2014), ''The Journey of Flower'' (2015), ''The M ...

Kenny Kwan Kenny Kwan Chi-Bun (born December 30, 1980) is a Philippine-born Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor, under the music label Emperor Entertainment Group. He was born in the Philippines but grew up in Hong Kong. At age 20, he and his friend, S ...

, Shirley Dai and Ding Zijun. It was first broadcast on 13 July 2013 in

Hunan Television Hunan Television or Hunan TV () is a provincial satellite TV station officially launched on 29 September 1970 and is currently China's second-most-watched channel, second only to CCTV-1, owned by China Central Television, although Hunan STV occasi ...

in China. The story is based on '' Yulan Ji''.

Plot

It tells the story of the Chinese benevolent fish

yaoguai Yaoguai (妖怪 pinyin yāoguài) is a term for monsters or strange creatures. Yaogui (妖鬼 yāoguǐ, lit. "strange ghost"), yaomo (妖魔 yāomó, lit. " daemon") or yaojing (妖精 yāojīng, often translated as " sprite" or " faerie") are l ...

named Hongling. While on a mission to find the perfect birthday gift for the Azure Dragon Emperor, Hongling befriends youngster Zhang Zen. In an unexpected and heartbreaking twist of events, Zhang Zen's father is murdered, and Hongling fails to pass through the Dragon Gate, which will ascend her to a dragon. The Dragon Prince convinces the king to make an exception should she help Zhang Zen get married and bring back the wedding flower ball. Unfortunately, while troubles continue to appear on his path, Hongling finds herself falling for the youngster and sacrifices immortality for love, not knowing that troubles are still lurking in the corners and will take unimaginative measures to drive them apart.

Cast

as Hongling, a carp

. *

as Zhang Zhen, a scholar. * Shirley Dai as Jin Mudan, a spoiled rich girl. * Ding Zijun as Zhan Feng, the prince in the

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 ...

. *

Waise Lee Waise Lee Chi-hung (born 19 December 1959) is a Hong Kong film and television actor best known for playing the roles of villains and antagonists in various films. Biography Lee graduated from TVB's Artist Training Academy in 1982 and was from the ...

as Jin Chong, the father of Jin Mudan, the prime minister of Song dynasty. * Cao Xinyue as Tang Xin, a village girl who falls in love with the prince Zhan Feng. * Bai Shan as Jin Ruolan, the sister of Jin Chong an Zhang Zhen's stepmother. * Zhang Mingming as the dragon prince.

Other

* Lin Daxin as

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 ...

, a powerful government officer. * Wang Hui as

Zhan Zhao Zhan Zhao (展昭) is a fictional character in the Chinese wuxia classic ''The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants''. Nicknamed the "Southern Hero", he is a righteous knight-errant with incredible martial arts skills, often helping Prefect Bao Zh ...

. * Huang Hai as

Gongsun Ce Gongsun Ce is a fictional character in the Chinese novel ''The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants''. Highly intelligent and very familiar with traditional Chinese medicine, he was an able assistant to the upright official Bao Zheng. Background Profi ...

. * Feng Jin'gao as Emperor Renzong of Song. * Qu Gao as Azure Dragon, king of the Eastern Ocean. * Maggie Li as Guan Yin, goddess of mercy. * Yang Mingna as Xiao Longnu, the dragon princess.

Production

This television series shot the scene in

Hengdian World Studios Hengdian World Studios () is a film studio located in Hengdian, a Chinese town in the city of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province. It is one of the largest film studios in the world. The movie studio is operated by the privately owned Hengdian Group fo ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

Critical response

It received positive reviews. Its audience ratings are very high, and in box-office terms, it was a great success.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legend of Chasing Fish, The 2013 Chinese television series debuts 2013 Chinese television series endings Television series set in the Northern Song Fictional depictions of Bao Zheng in television Television shows set in Kaifeng Hunan Television dramas Chinese romantic comedy television series Shenmo television series