''The Price of Peace'' is a Singaporean television drama set in Japanese-occupied Singapore 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 opposin ...

. It starred Rayson Tan, Xiang Yun, Chen Shucheng,

Jacintha Abisheganaden Jacintha Abisheganaden (born 3 October 1957), known professionally as Jacintha, is a Singaporean singer, actress, and theater practitioner who studied at the National University of Singapore and received a degree in arts, majoring in English li ...

, James Lye, Lina Ng,

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

Ivy Lee Ivy Ledbetter Lee (July 16, 1877 – November 9, 1934) was an American publicity expert and a founder of modern public relations. Lee is best known for his public relations work with the Rockefeller Family. His first major client was the Penns ...

Carole Lin Carole Lin () is a Singaporean actress. She was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1995 to 2009. Career Lin joined MediaCorp after taking part in Star Search Singapore 1995. She shot to fame for her role in ''The Price of Peace'' an ...

and

Ryan Choo Ryan Choo (born in September 1969 or 1970) is a Singaporean agriculture, businessman and former actor. He is best known for his role as Yan Dao in the comedy sitcom ''Right Frequency''. He is also greatly known for his contributions in agricu ...

. The series is based on a 1995 book of the same title (published by

Asiapac Books Asiapac Books is a Singaporean publisher that publishes educational comics and illustrated books on Asian culture, history, philosophy, health practices, art and literature. Established in 1983, its publications are now sold in more than 20 count ...

), which contains numerous first-hand accounts of war veterans and eyewitnesses. It was first aired on Television Corporation of Singapore's (TCS) Channel 8 on 30 June 1997. The drama was then dubbed in English and then broadcast on TCS's Channel 5 in 1999. The drama has been rerun on MediaCorp Channel 8 several times since its premiere Starting 1 August 2020, it was made available for streaming on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

along with over 100 Singapore-made films and series. The whole series is also currently viewable via Mediacorp's official streaming website ''

meWATCH meWATCH is a Singaporean digital video on demand service brand owned by Mediacorp. It was launched on 1 February 2013 as an over-the-top media service and an entertainment and lifestyle website Toggle. On 1 April 2015, xinmsn, an internet por ...

''.

Plot

Outline

The plot is divided into seven parts, each focusing on distinct themes and events.

Synopsis

On 7 July 1937, the

Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria ...

sparks off the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

launches a full invasion on

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 ...

. Dida Cheng, a deserter from the Chinese army, flees to Malaya, where he meets Cuicui, a

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

actress, and Hideko, a Japanese woman. The three of them are drawn into a complex love triangle. Xie Guomin, an anti-Japanese activist, and Zhou Wenlong, the asthmatic son of a tailor, both fall in love with the porridge vendor Wang Qiumei. After Wang is publicly humiliated by an evil businessman, she is saved by Zhou and decides to marry him. However, she is already secretly pregnant with Xie's child. Their relationships become very strained. After the Japanese occupied Singapore in 1942, the Sook Ching Massacre takes place when thousands of Chinese deemed to be anti-Japanese activists are rounded up and executed. Following his arrest by the Kempeitai, Xie Guomin becomes a ''

hanjian In Chinese culture, the word ''hanjian'' () is a pejorative term for a traitor to the Han Chinese state and, to a lesser extent, Han ethnicity. The word ''hanjian'' is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any cou ...

'' and informer after succumbing to the enemy under torture. On the other hand, Dida Cheng becomes a resistance fighter and an ally of

Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's Or ...

, and he continues to fight the Japanese invaders to liberate Singapore. Historical figures such as the war heroes

Lim Bo Seng Lim Bo Seng (; 27 April 1909 – 29 June 1944) was a Chinese-born resistance fighter based in Singapore and Malaya during World War II. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, he was a prominent businessman among the Chinese community in Singap ...

Elizabeth Choy Elizabeth Choy Su-Moi ( née Yong; 29 November 1910 – 14 September 2006) was a Singaporean educator and councillor who is regarded as a war heroine in Singapore. Along with her husband, Choy Khun Heng, she supplied medicine, money and mess ...

and Sybil Kathigasu, the philanthropist Tan Kah Kee, as well as notorious Japanese military figures such as Ishibe Toshiro and Yoshimura Ekio, are also featured as semi-fictional characters in the drama.

Cast

Main cast

* Rayson Tan as

* Xiang Yun as

* Chen Shucheng as Tan Kah Kee (Chen Jiageng) *

as Sybil Kathigasu * James Lye as Chen Dacheng * Lina Ng as Zhang Cuicui *

as Xie Guomin *

as Xiuxiu / Natsuki Hideko *

as Wang Qiumei *

as Zhou Wenlong

Other cast

Chen Guohua Chen Guohua, born Tan Kok Hwa, is a Singaporean actor and contracted artiste under MediaCorp. Career Chen graduated from the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation 5th Year Artiste Training Class. He was trained by veteran theatrical teachers such ...

as Zhang Ada * Hong Huifang as Wang Jinfeng * Brandon Wong as Fang Qinghua * Ken Tay as Zhou Ren * Chunyu Shanshan as Miura Kiyoe * Guo Yikai as Ishibe Toshiro * Wang Jinlong as Yoshimura Ekio * Wang Kangwei as Zhuang Huiquan * Xu Bing as Gan Choo Neo (Yan Zhuniang) * Yang Yue as Konoe * Li Shuyi as Ji Qiuxiang

Music

The opening theme song, which shares the same title as the series, was sung in Mandarin by Sebastian Tan (Chen Ruibiao). The main theme of the 1997 Hong Kong film ''

The Soong Sisters The Soong sisters () were Soong Ai-ling, Soong Ching-ling, and Soong Mei-ling, three Shanghainese (of Hakka descent) Christian Chinese women who were, along with their husbands, amongst China's most significant political figures of the early 20 ...

'' and Shanghai Grand is also extensively used in the series.

Filming locations

The series was shot on location in Singapore at the now-defunct TV World in

Tuas Tuas is a planning area located within the West Region of Singapore. It is bounded by the Western Water Catchment to its north, Pioneer to its east and the Straits of Johor to its west. Tuas also shares a maritime boundary with the Western Island ...

, Tan Teck Guan Building, Danish Seamen's Church, St. Andrew's School, Chung Cheng High School (Main),

The Chinese High School The Chinese High School () was an independent school in Singapore offering secondary education. The school merged with Hwa Chong Junior College on 1 January 2005 to form the integrated Hwa Chong Institution. Founded on 21 March 1919, The Chine ...

, and HQ Tanglin Barracks (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building), among others. Extensive filming was also done in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Accolades

References

External links

''The Price of Peace'' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price Of Peace, The Singapore Chinese dramas 1997 Singaporean television series debuts 1997 Singaporean television series endings World War II television drama series 1990s Singaporean television series Channel 5 (Singapore) original programming Channel 8 (Singapore) original programming