Written by Hasi Bagen First episode date 21 July 2013 Genre Historical Fiction | Directed by Tsui Siu-ming Final episode date 30 July 2013 Director Tsui Siu-Ming | |
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Also known as 'Legend of Yuan Empire Founder' Presented by Li HuaZhou ShiduYu DongSheng LuosongKong DemingCao FangWu Huai'enWang GuangzhongLiu HongXi HongyiDu DaningHe LingGuo LiLiu ZhanhuiCheng LidongJin TingtingWu WeiminWang JingyiTian JunZheng YuxiaLi YingXiaoningZhang HuayongHou LiWu ZhilingWang LiqiaoLuo Yi Starring Hu JunCharmaine ShehCai WenyanWu YueTang GuoqiangGao FaSteven MaRay LuiBa SenHasi GaowaXie MiaoXu XiangdongDu YihengHe YanniWang HuilaiXu DongmeiHuang JianqunZhang YanDebbie GohLiu XiaoxiaoZhang JingdaJin Tingting Opening theme Qiankun Wu Di Bu Baorong (乾坤无地不包容) performed by Tsui Siu-ming Similar Safe Guards, Where the Legend Begins, The Duke of Mount Deer, Perish In the Name of Love, Young Sherlock | ||
The legend of kublai khan chinese drama preview
The Legend of Kublai Khan, also known as Legend of Yuan Empire Founder, is a Chinese television series based on the life of Kublai Khan and the events leading to the founding of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in China. The series started shooting in 2011. It premiered at the 2013 Shanghai Television Festival from 11–13 June 2013, and was first aired on HBS from 21–30 July 2013. The series was directed by Tsui Siu-ming and starred Hu Jun as Kublai Khan, with Charmaine Sheh, Cai Wenyan, Wu Yue, Tang Guoqiang, Gao Fa, Steven Ma and Ray Lui as part of the supporting cast.
Contents
- The legend of kublai khan chinese drama preview
- Plot
- Production
- Awards
- Controversy over title renaming
- References
Plot
The series, spanning over 70 years, romanticises the life of Kublai Khan and the events leading to the founding of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in China.
Kublai was born in 1215 as a son of Tolui, the fourth son of Genghis Khan. At the time, Töregene, the wife of Ögedei (Genghis Khan's third son), sees Tolui as a potential threat. As Tolui gains more glory for his victories in battle, Töregene becomes worried about whether her husband will be selected by his father as his successor. She also feels uneasy because the young Kublai is highly favoured by his grandfather.
Ögedei eventually succeeds his father as the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. After Tolui is poisoned to death by Töregene, his sons, under the leadership of their eldest brother Möngke, want to avenge their father. Töregene plans to accuse Möngke and his brothers of plotting a rebellion if they seek to avenge their father, and hopes to use the opportunity to eliminate Tolui's family. At this critical moment, Kublai and his mother, Sorghaghtani, manage to calm down his brothers and get them to stay low while secretly building up their forces.
Following Ögedei Khan's death, Töregene becomes the Regent of the Mongol Empire for some years until her son, Güyük, is elected as the new Great Khan. When Güyük dies in a conflict against his cousin Batu, his wife Qaimish takes over as the Regent for a brief period of time until Möngke becomes the new Great Khan.
A few years later, after Möngke dies in a battle against the Song Empire at Diaoyu Fortress, Kublai and his younger brother Ariq Böke engage in a power struggle to seize the succession. Kublai eventually overcomes his brother and secures his position as the Great Khan after defeating all his rivals. He conquers China and establishes the Yuan dynasty with him as its first emperor.
Production
The Legend of Kublai Khan was produced at a cost of about 150 million yuan.
Awards
The Legend of Kublai Khan won the Golden Angel Award for Outstanding Television Series and Best Director of Chinese TV Series at the 2013 Chinese American Film Festival.
Controversy over title renaming
The Legend of Kublai Khan was released under the title The Genius of War – Kublai (打仗天才忽必烈) when it was aired on Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) in July 2013. Apparently, this was done without the approval of the producers, and the reason behind the renaming is believed to be that HBS wanted to attract higher viewership. Director Tsui Siu-ming and lead actor Hu Jun expressed unhappiness over the renaming; Hu even wrote on his weibo, "Who changed the title? What genius of war?", and added an angry emoticon.