Historical Context: Sixteen Prefectures

In Ghost Dragon of Cold Mountain, the Emperor (Ram Chiang) and his minister frequently discuss about how to reacquire the Sixteen Prefectures.

The Sixteen Prefectures (燕雲十六州) is a historical region in northern China. The territory covers modern-day Beijing, Tianjin and parts of the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei. It includes stretches of the Great Wall and was a strategically important region as it guarded central China from northern invasions.

The Sixteen Prefectures were first created as administrative divisions during the Tang Dynasty. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, they were ceded to the Liao Dynasty (遼朝), formed by the Khitans in the north.

Shi Jingtang (石敬瑭) was a military general during the Later Tang Dynasty (後唐, one of the Five Dynasties). Sensing that the emperor was becoming suspicious of him, Shi decided to revolt. However, he was besieged by the Later Tang army. Shi desperately enlisted the help of the Liao and agreed to give them the Sixteen Prefectures in exchange. The joint Shi and Liao forces quickly defeated the Later Tang army, which led to the collapse of the dynasty. The Liao Emperor declared Shi to be the emperor of the newly founded Later Jin Dynasty (後晉). Shi ceded the Sixteen Prefectures as promised. In addition, he openly acknowledged the Liao Emperor, who was ten years younger than him, to be his godfather and sent annual tributes.

During the Song Dynasty, the Song court repeatedly tried to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures, but to no avail. Eventually, the Song allied with the Jurchens to defeat the Khitans and regained possession of seven prefectures. However, they lost control again when their alliance broke down and the Jurchens attacked them. The failure of the Song to control the region left them vulnerable to northern attacks and contributed to their weak state.

The Sixteen Prefectures was reunited with the China proper under the Mongol Empire during the Yuan Dynasty. It would finally return to the control of Han Chinese during the Ming Dynasty, after over 400 years of rule by ethnic minorities.

Historical Context: Always and Ever Characters

Bao Zheng (包拯) was a government official during the Song Dynasty. He was well-known for his honesty and impartiality. He treated everyone who came before his court equally, regardless of their rank or connections. During his career, he impeached many corrupt officials, including his own uncle and that of an imperial concubine. He also implemented changes to make the court system more accessible to commoners. Though he was appointed to high offices, Bao Zheng lived a modest life. He observed filial principles closely, even delaying the start of his career to take care of his elderly parents.

Because of his honourable character, Bao Zheng was adored by the people. They gave him the nickname of “Clear Sky Bao” (包青天), which is to mean that the truth will come out as clear as the sky in any case investigated by him. His name is now synonymous with justice and integrity, the hallmarks of an ideal official. 

Justice Bao is often portrayed in popular culture with a black face and crescent birthmark. In the legends, he has three sets of guillotines, each adorned with the head of a different animal.

-          The dog-headed one was used on commoners

-          The tiger-headed one was used on government officials

-          The dragon-headed one was used on noblemen and royalty

Justice Bao had the authority to execute anyone without requiring the approval of the emperor. He also possesses a golden rod and sword, bestowed by the previous emperor, symbolizing his power to speak out against the emperor’s wrongdoings.


Related: Famous Justice Bao Cases

Emperor Renzong (宋仁宗) was the 4^th emperor of the Song Dynasty. Succeeding his father at age 13, he stayed on the throne for 42 years – the longest of all Song emperors. His reign is generally regarded to be a prosperous era, but also the beginning of the Song Dynasty’s weakening.

Much of his reign was marked by peace, as Renzong agreed to peace treaties with neighboring states. Of course, peace came at a price. Because the Song court was required to pay large tributes to the other states, citizens were burdened with heavy taxes. Also, the government still had to pay the idle army, which accounted for 70% of tax revenues. To his credit, Renzong did not add to the state’s burden with lavish expenditures. For instance, he was once served crab for dinner, but upon hearing that a single crab cost $1000, he could not bring himself to eat it.

The Song dynasty was known to have tolerant policies towards scholars. This was particularly true under Renzong because of his personal interest in Confucianism. He set the precedent of combining the “Four Books” for learning. He also ordered that the imperial library be reorganized and catalogued. This open policy towards scholars allowed for literary and scientific development. Six of the Eight Great Poets of Tang and Song lived during this time. Many important inventions first appeared during Renzong’s reign, such as government-issued paper currency, formula for gunpowder, movable type and the compass.

Emperor Renzong died without an heir (his three sons all died young) and was succeeded by his cousin’s son. Emperor Renzong had been widely respected for his benevolent rule. Upon hearing news of his death, Song citizens wept openly in mourning. Even the Liao ruler paid tribute to him and built a memorial for Renzong. Years later, when the Jin invaded Song, they raided the tombs of the Song emperors, but left Renzong’s grave untouched because of their respect for him. Later generations will often learn about Renzong through the stories of Justice Bao. He is the prince referenced to in the case of “Switching Wildcat for Crown Prince” (狸貓換太子).

Princess Hing-Sau (慶壽公主) was the tenth daughter of Emperor Renzong. She was one of the longest-living princesses in Chinese history, living through seven emperors before her death at the age of 86. During the Jingkang Incident (靖康之難), the Jin invaded the Song capital and captured many members of the imperial family. However, the princess was able to evade capture because the Jin thought that a princess from so many generations ago* would surely be dead. With the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, Princess Hing-Sau moved south along with the royal court, where she spent the rest of her life.

*The Jingkang Incident occurred during the reign of Emperor Qinzong, who was the fifth emperor to take the throne after the princess’s father, Renzong. 

Fictional Characters

Zhan Zhao (展昭) serves as bodyguard to Bao Zheng. He is one of the heroes in the novel The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants (七俠五義). As a youth, he roamed the country and helped people in need. He rescued Bao Zheng four times. The grateful Justice Bao recommended Zhan Zhao to the emperor, who granted him the position of a fourth-rank imperial guard and the nickname “Royal Cat”.

Gongsun Ce (公孫策) is Bao Zheng's assistant. He is highly intelligent and knowledgable in many subject areas. Despite this, he did not want to be a government official as he despised their corruption. When he met the righteous Bao Zheng, he finally decided to take up the post of a sixth-ranking law clerk so that he could help Justice Bao solve cases. He often disguised himself as a medicine man or fortune teller to make investigations. He is the designer of Justice Bao's guillotines. 


Related: 
Historical Context: Sung Wong Toi

Hidden Singing Talents

TVB will be producing The Voice 4 in the summer with celebrity contestants. Auditions are underway to find contestants for the show. Here's a sampling of hidden singing talents within TVB:

Ram Chiang began his career as a talented songwriter. Although his songs were big hits, he did not experience the same popularity rise as a singer. Disheartened, Ram abandoned music for television. His duet "相逢何必曾相識" with Rita Carpio is still considered a classic today.

Ram was also part of the duo that sang the famous song "皇后大道東" (Queen's Road East)



Michael Tse was one-third of the 1990s band "Wind Fire Sea", which also included Jordan Chan. This is the theme song of the first Young and Dangerous movie, "我話事" (I Decide). The group disbanded after the Young and Dangerous series.



In recent years, Michael has recorded theme songs for TVB dramas, such as "愛從心" (Love from the Heart) with Niki Chow for Sergeant Tabloid.



Patrick Tang was the first TVB-contracted artist to simultaneously develop a music and acting career. The song "朋友二號" (Friend No.2) is his representative work.



Another song I like by Patrick is "十年後的你" 



Ruco Chan released his debut EP in 1998, but was left without a contract after his record company was bought out. He sung several theme songs while at ATV.  Here, he performs three songs as a guest performer at a concert.



Ruco sang the theme song "小草" (Tiny Grass) for Reality Check earlier this year.



Vincent Wong entered the showbiz as a singer. After two albums, he decided to put his focus on acting. His most recent music works were two duets with Myolie Wu. This following song is called "哪時此刻".



Vincent's other duet with Myolie is "最難過今天" (Most Difficult to Pass Today), a sub-theme song of War of In-Laws II.



Jack Wu won a karaoke singing contest and was promptly signed by a record company. His first song "一個諾言" (One Promise) is a play on his Chinese name (胡諾言). Met with lackluster response, he soon signed on with TVB.



Jack performing "追" (Chase), originally by Leslie Cheung.


Joel Chan is busy with other things these days, but years ago, he was handpicked by Andy Lau to join his record company. His first music video was for the song "ABCD". Also check out Joel's rendition of Raymond Lam's "Searching for You in Loving Memories"

Roger Kwok hit a rough patch in his acting career in 1995, so he decided to try his hand at singing. Perhaps luckily for us, it didn't work out for him, otherwise we wouldn't have the beloved "Ah Wong". Now, Roger sporadically sings theme songs for dramas, such as the theme and sub-theme song for Life Made Simple, both with his "wife" Jessica Hsuan.

Raymond Cho released three albums with mediocre success. He had better luck as an actor, becoming known with his role in the Healing Hands franchise. A song "不惜一切" from his third album.

Edwin Siu had a strong start to his singing career, winning multiple newcomer awards. Unfortunately, he was forced away by negative press. Currently a rising star at TVB, he has a chance to revive his music career. Two recent theme songs by Edwin: Bullet Brain and A Great Way to Care 2

Lee Tim Sing first gained recognition from the audience as "Street-sweeper Mau" in Enjoy Yourself Tonight. As that character, he recorded a few songs that were put into compilation albums, including one called "黃賭毒歌" (Prostitution, Gambling, Drugs Song).


Check out the female list!

Review

Producer: Marco Law

Genre: Medical, crime

Cast: Alex Fong, Tavia Yeung, Yoyo Mung, Ben Wong, Edwin Siu, Ram Chiang

Plot:

Rape, murder, murder, murder. A typical crime investigation series, but with psychiatrists solving the cases instead of police, forensics or lawyers. This is a bloodier continuation of A Great Way to Care. The theme this time is “sane criminals pretending to be insane".

Review:

Watching A Great Way to Care 2 made me go back to watch the prequel and I must say the original was better. First thing to mention is how there was a bunch of reused actors, although that doesn't necessarily affect the entertainment value of the series. Recycled actors aside, there were a lot of similar cases, such as the religious cult, the schizophrenic (which has now been severely overused in police dramas), and the vigilante. The most important reason is because the original had a lot more focus on psychology. The sequel feels like a normal police investigation series. The first series had Alex Fong predicting the criminal’s next move or trying to elicit the truth from a suspect via psychological analysis. Here, Alex or the police solve cases by noticing clues that others have missed. In most cases, it was actually quite apparent that the criminal wasn't a psycho.

Comparing Tavia and Kate as the female leads in the first and second series, Tavia certainly had the more interesting character to work with. She was very impressive as the undercover prostitute and equally good as a crazy killer who took justice into her own hands. Alex Fong as male lead wasn't much different from the last series. At times, I find him to be a little slow-reacting, although maybe his character calls for that. I enjoyed his casual scenes with Yoyo Mung. Yoyo, though technically co-female lead, serves only as Alex’s love interest, and for the “daring” sperm donation request. I think she is at her best when she plays this type of loud-spoken independent character. Yoyo looks more compatible with Alex than Kate.

Why, oh why, does every sequel need to have a love triangle? Edwin Siu is arguably the real male focus of the show with plenty of screen-t. While I liked his witty, self-assured buck-toothed character, it was a drag to go through his love indecision. It was not helped by the fact that his partners were awful to watch. Aimee Chan still has very wooden expression and unexpressive speech, whether it is love scenes with Edwin or emotional scenes with her brother. Her Cantonese seems to be improving though. Or maybe it’s because Christine Kuo was worse. I can usually tolerate bad accents, but I honesty could not make out a lot of what she said. The Edwin-Aimee-Christine line took up too much screen-time that other relationships didn't get proper development. Namely, I wanted to see more of Tavia and Ben Wong because their relationship is actually important to her decisions in the end.

Other characters: Ben Wong actually had a huge personality change from the first series where he was extremely hot-tempered. This time, there is less spark in his character and performance. Ram Chiang doesn't have much to do in terms of solving cases and his relationship with Leanne Li was unnecessary because nothing happened in the end. Oscar Leung, Power Chan and Eric Li are mostly just sidekicks, but Oscar and Power manage to grab some attention with little habits. I liked Henry Lee’s character after he got friendly with the other doctors, especially that nosy look he has when trying to find out gossip.

In terms of case characters: Matthew Ko was not convincing as the religious cult leader and he smirks at all the wrong times. Pierre Ngo was a better cult leader in the original. Hugo Wong really let loose as a wild “Zeus”. Otto Chan did an admirable job as Aimee’s autistic brother; the way he communicates seems very real. The little scene in the end with his girlfriend was cute. Lee Yee Man tried too hard to look evil with the deathly stare.

All in all, the cases aren't the most unique or memorable, but it’s enough to keep the series moving at a good pace. Sequels rarely live up to original expectations, but at least this one didn't completely fall flat.

Rating: 4/5. Worth the time. 

Related posts:
Overview and Preview of Cases
Theme Song "Enclosure" by Edwin Siu

Reincarnations in A Great Way to Care 2

A Great Way to Care 2 - Preview of Cases

Case #1 - Nightclub Undercover
Tavia Yeung goes undercover at a nightclub to search for evidence against a criminal organization. It is extremely dangerous and Tavia is suffers repeated attacks as revenge.




Case #2 - Religious Cult
Matthew Ko is the leader of a religious cult that uses Professor Law Lok Lam's "Doomsday Theory" as their teachings. Coincidentally, Law Lok Lam is now missing and several followers have been murdered, leaving everyone to feel unsettled.




Case #3 - The Riddle of Zeus
An explicit video of Hugo Wong (nicknamed "Zeus") claiming he can help his sexual partner restore spiritual purity and a video of an allegedly possessed person has gone viral online. Aimee Chan publicly comments that she is disturbed by Hugo's actions. Aimee's brother, Otto Chan, can accurately foresee and draw out what Hugo will do next. When Hugo is attacked, Otto, who has autism, is impacted as well.




Case #4 - Doctor Fraud
Wealthy heir Dia Yiu Ming habitually runs afoul of the law. His lawyers use mental illness as his defense. Forensic psychiatrists Edwin Siu and Oscar Leung are heavily slandered in the process. With a distaste for the rich, they deliberately alter their psychiatric assessment. The typically honest Ram Chiang is dragged into the case and he, too, lies for self-interest.




Case #5 - Utility Knife Murder
The police have determined that Ronald Law is involved in an utility-knife serial murder case, but cannot find any evidence. Alex Fong suggests to Tavia that she should investigate Ronald's girlfriend, Lee Yee Man. This leads Tavia into a trap where she is captured for bloodletting.



See Overview - A Great Way to Care 2

Official Poster for A Great Way to Care 2

Comment: The poster looks nice, but I don't get the analogies. They're all on a beach? And why the bent-up clocks?

There's been some lackluster dramas lately and this one looks to be a welcoming change. I hope this series turns out as good as the trailers make it sound. I really want to see if Tavia can convince me that she is Best Actress material with such an interesting role. 

Overview - A Great Way to Care II

Overview - A Great Way to Care II

After the death of his wife, Alex Fong joins the Department of Forensic Psychiatric. He works with his colleague Yoyo Mung to diagnosis and treat patients. In one case, they uncover crimes involving a religious cult and become acquainted with CID sergeant Tavia Yeung. The two departments begin to have a close working relationship. Tavia will often ask for Alex’s help in many complicated cases. Yoyo also looks to Alex for comfort from her relationship problems. In addition, with the support of good friends/colleagues Ram Chiang and Edwin Siu, Alex busily re-establishes his new life. Suddenly, a horrific serial murder case creates troubling waves and Alex discovers that Tavia is somehow implicated in the case…

See Preview of Cases

Character Map:

Overview - Missing You

This is a story about an organization that specializes in helping to reunite families after war, disaster or forced migration. A team consisting of a paranoid Linda Chung, optimistic Jason Chan, keen Cilla Kung and computer whiz Calvin Hung work under the leadership of cool-headed Ram Chiang. As they embark on journey after journey to search for missing persons, they also find the opportunity for self-reflection.

The two rookies, Linda and Jason, cooperate seamlessly. Even though they often hit dead ends, they understand that they cannot easily give up, for they should not offer false hope to the people seeking their help. As they work together, Linda gradually develops feelings for Jason, but unfortunately he already has a girlfriend (Lin Xia Wei). Thus, the only thing she can wish for is to bring greater happiness and blessings to others…

Comment: Sounds like a very heart-warming and emotional series... can you bore me to death any faster? Featuring a cast of young actors, which seems unappealing. A definite skip for me.

Is it just me or does Lin Xia Wei look like Sire Ma?


Jason's favourite gesture...
   

Raymond Wong and Elaine Yiu will be guest stars.



Character Map:

Historical Context: Cao Cao Camp

Cao Cao is the leader of Cao Wei. He is revered for his military brilliance, but feared for his cruelty. For example, he massacred thousands of civilians as revenge for his father’s death. He essentially held Emperor Xian, the last ruler of the Han Dynasty, hostage to secure his power. This move is called 挟天子以令诸侯. However, it is interesting to note that Cao Cao vowed to never personally take the throne and end the Han Dynasty, because it is not honourable as he was a servant of the Han imperial court. He had no objections to his son, Cao Pi, completing the task though. 

Sun Yuk is the top strategist serving Cao Cao. On many occasions, he advised Cao Cao of threats and opportunities to securing the northern territory. For example, it was he who suggested using Emperor Xian as a puppet ruler. However, he fell out with Cao Cao later on and died shortly afterwards, never living to see the official establishment of the Cao Wei state.

Interesting Note: When Cao Cao met Sun Yuk, he remarked “This is my Chi-fong” in reference to Cheung Leung, the famous strategist for Liu Bong (founder of the Han Dynasty). In The Conqueror’s Story, Ram Chiang plays Cheung Leung, and now he plays Sun Yuk. Cao Cao, indeed, finds a Cheung Leung!



Xiahou Dun is a military general under Cao Cao. It is speculated that he is related to Cao Cao, as some accounts say Cao Cao’s original family name is Xiahou. Xiahou Dun is most widely depicted with an eye patch, after he lost his eye in battle. He is more known for his lost battles than victories, such as the Battle of Bowang where he lost to Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang despite commanding a much larger force.



Sima Yi is a politican in the Cao Wei state. He fought Zhuge Liang in the latter's Northern Expeditions. In the fifth (and last) battle, he was famously scared away by a dead Zhuge Liang (死諸葛嚇走活仲達). Sima Yi seized power from the Cao clan and his grandson officially ended the Cao Wei state to begin the Jin Dynasty.

Check out other Histoical Context posts!

Related:
Sun Quan camp
Liu Bei camp

Pictures:  TVB.com

Witness Insecurity Review

Producer: Lau Ka Ho
Genre: Modern, police
Cast: Bosco Wong, Linda Chung, Paul Chun, Ram Chiang

Plot:

Bosco is a Witness Protection Unit (WPU) officer assigned to protect Linda, the daughter of a rich businessman (Paul Chun). Linda has depression but she slowly opens up as she falls in love with Bosco. Paul Chun conducts business in questionable ways and has something to hide about his past. He will stop at nothing to protect this secret…

Review:

Hurrah, a new police show! Wrong. It is a family drama disguised as a police drama. I should have gotten the hint because the producer is Lau Ka Ho, aka Mr. Family Drama specialist. Now someone correct me if I’m wrong: Promotional clips showed two witnesses being killed shortly before a trial – one run over by a car and one thrown off a building. I never saw these scenes, or anything resembling it, in the entire series. False advertising? Yeah. Like I said, this is hardly a police drama. If you signed up for one, just watch the first and last five episodes and skip everything in between.

Well, at least those wishing to see romantic sparks between Bosco and Linda can rejoice? Err… First of all, they were never officially together. Second, I’m not sure if they were even that in love with each other. Linda has been isolated all her life until Bosco appears and he bears resemblance to her dead elder brother. She’s just channeling her emotions for her brother towards Bosco. As for Bosco, he didn’t have feelings for her at the beginning. I’m not sure how he realizes he loves her all of a sudden. If these two were truly in love with each other, Bosco’s struggle between love and righteousness (of bringing her father to justice) would have been much more intriguing. But here, there was never wasn’t difficulty in choosing.

So failed police show and failed romance story. What’s good? Ram Chiang was definitely a highlight. He was hilarious every time he appeared. The investigation into Paul Chun’s past was also very interesting. They should have made that part longer. Maybe more people involved, more action of him trying to kill Bosco, or even how he tries to fight off the charges instead of meekly giving in to his conscience (because the shady businessman is not supposed to be like that). Just please don’t give me more Linda crying/agonzing scenes.

Linda has been in 5 recent series, so some people complained about being tired of seeing her. Yes, especially when she is crying all the time. Seriously, she needs a different role, like evil or something, and not always playing the weak girl. Bosco makes me laugh whenever he stands politely holding his hands in front of him. It makes him look like a servant instead of a respectable police officer.

The ending… watch it yourself, I don’t want to spoil it. Don’t understand how they would let him walk away like that. And there was no reason for them to do that either.

Recommendation: Time filler. 3/5




Check out an article about TVB Police Shows!