''Li Wei the Magistrate'', also known as ''Li Wei Becomes an Official'', is a 2001 Chinese television

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

starring Xu Zheng as a young Li Wei, an illiterate

county magistrate County magistrate ( or ) sometimes called local magistrate, in imperial China was the official in charge of the ''xian'', or county, the lowest level of central government. The magistrate was the official who had face-to-face relations with the ...

who would become one of the most prominent officials during 18th-century

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 ...

. A great commercial success, the series was followed by a 2004 sequel ''Li Wei the Magistrate II'', also starring Xu, and a 2005 sequel ''

Li Wei Resigns from Office ''Li Wei Resigns from Office'' is a 2005 Chinese television historical drama and the last of the Li Wei trilogy, after '' Li Wei the Magistrate'' (2001) and ''Li Wei the Magistrate II'' (2004). It was written by Yuyue, the same writer as the 2001 ...

'', starring

Paul Chun Paul Chun (; born 26 June 1945) is a Hong Kong actor. He has appeared in more than 130 films and television series since 1949. In 1966, he appeared in ''The Sand Pebbles'', an American film produced and directed by Robert Wise. Early life He wa ...

as an older Li. The trilogy takes place during the reigns of 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 ...

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 ...

, and

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

respectively.

Production and broadcasts

The drama is usually considered the

sidequel In media, a spin-off (or spinoff) is a radio program, television program, film, video game or any narrative work, derived from already existing works that focus on more details and different aspects from the original work (e.g. particular topics, ...

of the 1997 epic TV series ''

Yongzheng Dynasty ''Yongzheng Dynasty'' is a 1999 Chinese historical television series starring Tang Guoqiang and Jiao Huang. The series, spanning 44 episodes, occupied the CCTV-1 prime time slot; after its premiere, there have been many re-runs of the show on telev ...

'', returning most of its main cast in their iconic roles. However, whereas ''Yongzheng Dynasty'' is mostly based on history, ''Li Wei the Magistrate'' is almost completely fictional and includes a significant amount of comedy. Filming began in October 2000 in

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 ...

. The series was first broadcast in Taiwan in August 2001. In mainland China, copyrights were sold to many TV stations, which began broadcasting it variously from September 2001 to 2002. *

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 ...

Sanlih E-Television Sanlih Entertainment Television or Sanlih E-Television (SET; ) is a nationwide cable TV network operated in Taiwan which was founded in May 1993. It also produces Taiwanese drama that are broadcast on free-to-air channels e.g. Taiwan Television ...

— August 2001 *

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

- Tianjin Television — September 2001 *

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 ...

Asia Television Asia Television Limited (, also known as ATV) is a digital media and broadcasting company in Hong Kong. Established as the first television service in Hong Kong as Rediffusion Television () on 29 May 1957, it shifted to terrestrial televisio ...

— January 2002 During the series' run in Beijing, Xu Zheng began to be known as "Rookie Comedy King" (喜剧新人王). In Taiwan, he was given the nickname "

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

Dicky Cheung Dicky Cheung Wai-kin (; born 8 February 1965) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Early childhood Cheung grew up with a physically abusive father. His parents divorced when Cheung was 14. Cheung was educated in St Francis Xavier's College in Ho ...

". Lead actress Chen Hao, then still a college student and relative unknown, saw her popularity skyrocket with the drama's airing.陈好：轻舞飞扬的凤凰
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Cast and characters

* Xu Zheng as Li Wei * Chen Hao as Yue Siying *

Tang Guoqiang Tang Guoqiang (born 4 May 1952) is a Chinese actor best known for portraying historical figures in several films and television series. Some of his more notable roles include: various Chinese emperors (e.g. Emperor Taizong of Tang, Yongle Emper ...

as Yinzhen (the future

) *Jiao Huang as

*Xu Min as

Yinreng Yunreng (6 June 1674 – 27 January 1725), born Yinreng, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. He was the second among the Kangxi Emperor's sons to survive into adulthood and was designated as Crown Prince for two terms between 1675 and ...

*Wang Huichun as

Yinsi Yunsi (29 March 1680 – 5 October 1726), born as Yinsi, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty in China. The eighth son of the Kangxi Emperor, Yunsi was a pivotal figure in the power struggle over the succession to his father's throne. Y ...

*Wang Hui as

Yinxiang Yinxiang may refer to: *Yinxiang, Prince Yi (胤祥; 1686 — 1730), a prince of the Qing dynasty * ''Yinxiang'' (magazine), a 1971–1998 Taiwanese film journal *Yinxiang Group The Yinxiang Group (银翔) is an industrial company based in Chon ...

* Du Zhiguo as

Nian Gengyao Nian Gengyao (1679 – January 13, 1726), courtesy name Lianggong, was a Chinese military commander of the Qing dynasty. He was born a member of the Han Chinese Bordered Yellow Banner and had extensive military experience on the western frontier ...

*Li Xiaoyan as Li Wei's mother *Yang Haofei as Yue Xiaoman *Sun Baoguang as Feng Yueqing *Li Yi as Ren Nanpo *Wen Bo as Gu Pan'er * Li Qian as Shiliu

References

External links

Opening Theme
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

2001 Chinese television series debuts 2001 Chinese television series endings Television series set in the Qing dynasty Mandarin-language television shows Chinese historical television series Chinese comedy-drama television series {{China-tv-stub