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TWILIGHT OF A NATION (1988)
CAST
BACKGROUND Filmed in 1988, "Twilight of a Nation", was another big TVB Anniversary production for 1988, with a huge cast. The entire story was 45 episodes long, and covers one of the most interesting periods in China's history, the Opium Wars, through to the emergence of Empress Dowager. The series mainly focus on the "Taiping", rebellion led by Hung Sau Chin, who was played by Liu Leung Wai. Wong Yat Wah, played a former miner who became the "Taiping" Rebel's most powerful General, Yeung Sau Ching. Wong Yat Wah, was evil in this Series as well. Kwok Fu Seng, played Yeung Sau Ching's best friend, Chun Yat Kong. Lau Ching Wan, played the strong "Taiping" General, Siu Tu Gwai. Chan Man Yee, was Hung Tin Kiew, Hung Sau Chin's sister, and wife of Siu Tu Gwai. Seung Tin Ngor, played Hung Sau Chin's first wife, Do Wai Ching. Lee Kwok Lun plays Fung Wan San, a friend of Hung Sau Chin and a fellow scholar. Rong Wai Mun played the duagther of the blacksmith and Hung Sau Chin's second wife. The younger actors appeared later on during the Series. Au Shiu Wai, was the explosives expert, and "Taiping" General, Lee Sau Ching. To Tai Yu, was the 2nd Queen, Yip Ming's lover, Lee Chiu Sau. Au Yeung Chun Wah, was Chow Kwok Ching, a Ching General. Tang Siu Man, played Hung Bo Ying an opera singer who became accepted as the foster daughter of the Moon Lord of the "Taiping" Rebels. Choi Kan Lei, played a scholar village girl who became Yeung Sau Ching's lover, Foo Sin Cheng. Pan Man Kin played the Ching Emperor. HISTORY "Twilight of a Nation", was set during the twilight of the Ching Dynasty (1644 AD - 1911AD). During this period Lum Tuk Tu was made commissioner of Canton in 1839. Commissioner Lum Tuk Tu, initiated the burning of Opium, which had caused the majority of China's troubles. The British was also forced to retreat to Hong Kong. The Opium War which began in 1839 AD, with the introduction of Lum Tuk Tu, ended in 1942 AD, with the signing of the Nanjing Treaty. The Nanjing Treaty gave outrageous rights to all westerners, on Chinese soil. Xain Feng was inducted as Emperor in 1851 AD and his rule lasted until 1862 AD. During Xain Feng's rule China was plagued by corrupt Manchu officials, and the people particularly of Han blood where suffering and starving. The Ching Government had failed to look after the welfare of the people. The people of China also suffered at the hands of westerners due to the Nanjing Treaty. Rebel groups formed and former rebel groups gained strong support to overthrow the Ching Government. Among these where the, "Heaven and Earth Society", and "The Red Flower Society". The strongest group of rebels during this period was the Religious "Taiping", group led by Hong Xiuchuan (played by Liu Leung Wai). The "Taiping Rebellion" began in 1850 AD and ended in 1864 AD shortly after, Hong Xiuchuan's death. Even when the Ching Government crushed the "Taiping Rebellion" in 1864 AD, many rebel groups still existed. This was because the Ching Government continue to fail to provide for its people, and the number of corrupt officials continue to grow. In 1856 AD China engaged in a Second Opium War with Anglo-French, which ended in 1860 AD with yet another treaty titled "Treaty of Tienstin". In 1862 AD, Tong Zhi was inducted by Empress Dowager (1838 - 1908) as King. However Empress Dowager possessed all of the political and military power from 1862 AD until 1908 AD. After the death of Tong Zhi, Empress Dowager inducted her grandson Guang Xu as Emperor (1875 AD - 1908 AD). During her rule Empress Dowager secretly supported the "Boxer Rebellion" (1898 AD - 1900 AD), in order to drive the westerners out of China. However the "Boxer Rebellion", was unsuccessful. The Ching Dynasty ended in 1911 AD when the Last Emperor was killed in favor of a Republic. Western educated Dr. Sun Yat Sin was the major player in the Revolution. SERIES REVIEW SUMMARY The villagers of Canton are rushing to the town square in vast numbers. The excitement in the air is high, and soon the town square is filled with spectators. Master Lo, the Leader of the "Heaven and Earth Society", grabs a local villager and enquires why the villagers are in such a hurry. Master Lo, is told that Commissioner Lum Tuk Tu has seized a large amount of Opium from the westerners, and is planning to burn it in the town square. Master Lo and his two henchmen, decide to follow the crowd of villagers to the town square. There they witness Lum Tuk Tu, personally give the orders to burn and bury the opium underground. The Manchu spectators watching are very unhappy at the sight of million dollars of Opium, going to waste. The Han portion of the crowd are very happy. Master Lo deeply respects and admires Commissioner Lum Tuk Tu. Until now he thought all every in the Ching Government was corrupt. However, Lum Tuk Tu's actions caused the First "Opium War", between England and China. During this time corrupt Manchu Officials, in the Royal Court, gains the King's trust. After years of fighting they advise the King to sign the Nanjing Treaty (mandarin name). This treaty granted outrageous rights to all westerners in China. Lum Tuk Tu was also stripped of his title as Commissioner of Canton. Meanwhile in poor village, the Hung family is preparing to send their 4th son Hung Sau Chin, to an examination held in Canton. He has already taken 3 examinations and failed them all. Hung Sau Chin, is a very hard worker, and has always had ambitions of saving the Han people from hardship by becoming an government official like Lum Tuk Tu. This time he believes that he will not fail, because he has studied extra hard. His mother and farther, treat Hung Sau Chin very well, and gives him full support because they have high expectations of him. His two brothers are forced to make sacrifices, because they are only laborers. The family hopes that Hung Sau Chin will succeed so they can all live a better life. Some of the villagers give Hung Sau Chin, a very hard time, calling him a no hopper and telling him that he will fail. In order to raise money to send Hung Sau Chin, to the exams, his family decides to accept some money from a very rich merchant. In return the rich merchant wants, Hung Sau Chin's sister, Hung Tin Kiew to marry his son. When Hung Tin Kiew returns to the family she is told that she'll marry the rich merchant's son. At first she refuses, but after finding the motive behind the marriage she agrees. She promised hoping that Hung Sau Chin, would top the exams and become a high government official, and get her out of the arranged marriage. Hung Sau Chin begins the long journey to Canton the following day. Along his journey he sees, the people suffering, and believes the only way to save these people is to become a government official. Meanwhile Master Lo and his "Heaven and Earth Society", attempt to kill the local Magistrate. They are unsuccessful, and the Ching Soldiers gives chase, but Master Lo and his men escape. Not wanting to go back empty handed the Ching Soldiers capture innocent people of the streets, and call them Rebels from the "Heaven and Earth Society". Hung Sau Chin was one of these innocent people captured. Another scholar called Fung Wan San, spotted Hung Sau Chin and recognized that he was another scholar. Fung Wan San, attempted to clear the misunderstanding with the local Magistrate who is also his cousin. But he too is captured, and called a rebel. Luckily both men where saved by an English priest who had witness the whole scene. They are then set free because the "Nanjing Treaty", gives westerners the right to do anything they please. The priest upon seeing that both men are scholars decide to give them a copy of the Holy Bible, in Chinese Characters. Hung Sau Chin then thanks Fung Wan San, for trying to help, and in a kind gesture invites him back to his hotel room. Fung Wan San, is very happy because he had run out of money and had nowhere to stay. Hung Sau Chin had fallen in love with the daughter of the Hotel manager, Do Wai Ching, at this point. The next day the two men took their examinations and went back to the hotel to wait for the results. In the evening Hung Sau Chin went to find Do Wai Ching, to reveal his true feelings for her. Unfortunately Hung Sau Chin, overhears Master Lo's plans to kill the Local Magistrate and is captured. Master Lo then sends Do Wai Ching to capture Fung Wan San also. Both men are tied up, after Do Wai Ching, begged Master Lo to spare the lives of both men. Master Lo's attempts to kill the local Magistrate is foiled once again. This time the Ching Soldiers where well prepared, and many "Heaven and Earth Society", rebels die in the process. Master Lo and his loyal men managed to escape, and they decide to hide at the hotel. Do Wai Ching was captured, by the Ching General Jiu Song Nin. Her mother decides to beg General Jiu to free her daughter, who is also the General's own daughter. Jiu Song Nin agrees, on the condition that Do Wai Ching calls him dad. Do Wai Ching refuses, and Jiu Song Nin becomes outraged. The Local Magistrate summons the General Jiu to bring him the rebels. While General Jiu was gone, Do Wai Ching was set free by her mother. Upon returning General Jiu becomes more outraged, and kills his own lover (Do Wai Ling's mother), in place of his daughter. The evil General Jiu even decides to hang her head in the town square. General Jiu then takes his army and personally burns down the hotel. Mater Lo and his men escapes and hide in the mountains. In the morning Hung Sau Chin and Fung Wan San, decide to go back to Canton to look at the results of the examination. Master Lo, decides to send men to follow them to ensure that Hung Sau Chin and Fung Wan San, won't betray them. Both Hung Sau Chin and Fung Wan San, fail to make the grade to become government officials. Hung Sau Chin, becomes very sick after seeing the results and having failed for four straight times. Fung Wan San, then decides to join the "Heaven and Earth Society", after realizing that being a government official, will not achieve his lifetime ambition, of saving the Han people from suffering. Hung Sau Chin, refuses to join because he believes the only way to save the people from suffering is to become a government official, and influence the Royal Court. Fung Wan San, Master Lo, and the rest of the "Heaven and Earth Society", once again attempt to kill the local Magistrate. They are unsuccessful yet again, but this time they cause a lot of innocent people to die, because the Ching soldiers fired their rifles into the crowd of protestors. They are then forced once again to hide in the mountains. Hung Sau Chin, has an argument with Master Lo, because he thinks what Master Lo is doing is wrong. Hung Sau Chin has always believed that a peaceful nation is better than a nation ruled by a bad Han King. After Hung Sau Chin recovers from his illness he decides head back to his village. Fung Wan San, was worried about his friend and decides to go with him. In the evening Hung Sau Chin has a dream that his entire family and village are laughing at him. In the dream he blames Buddha for not looking after him. Meanwhile the "Heaven and Earth Society", are betrayed by one of their men, and where ambushed when they planned to leave on a boat. Only Master Lo and his two henchmen escape. Do Wai Ching, suffers an injury but is saved by two villagers, who worship God. When Hung Sau Chin arrives back home, another villager manages to pass the exams, and is about to become a government official. The entire villagers celebrate his success and Hung Sau Chin, becomes very sick again. Once he tells his family that he had failed for the fourth time they become very distressed. Except for his sister Hung Tin Kiew. She thinks of a clever plan to delay and avoid getting married to the rich merchant's son, who was in love with a servant. Hung Tin Kiew helps the rich merchant's son to escape with the servant. In town Hung Sau Chin, goes crazy after some villagers give him a hard time about failing the exams. He goes on a rampage and strangles the villagers, including the rich merchant, who gives chase and captures him. But Hung Sau Chin is then saved by his sister. Hung Sau Chin continues to run away, and is later found lying on the beach by his good friend Fung Wan San. Hung Sau Chin, then tells Fung Wan San to take him away from the village. Fung Wan San, carries his friend away on his back in the rain, and they find shelter in an old temple. At the temple Hung Sau Chin, reads the bible given to him by the western priest earlier and becomes sick again, realizing that the exams had been rigged. He also realized that he cannot save the nation from suffering by becoming a government official. In the evening Hung Sau Chin has a dream. In the dream he is given a new heart by angels, and is taken to see God, who then reveals that Hung Sau Chin is his second son. God also instructs Hung Sau Chin to save China from heartache and suffering. He is also told that Fung Wan San is an angel sent back to earth to help him accomplish his mission. When Hung Sau Chin, wakes up he decides to reveal his dream to Fung Wan San, who thinks he is going insane. Hung Sau Chin decides to leave his friend at the old temple the next morning, to preach the word of God, on the streets of Canton. Fung Wan San, is chased by Ching soldiers, when he searches for Hung Sau Chin. Fung Wan San is then saved the western priest again, who tells him about the story of Jesus and God. After this Fung Wan San, changes his religion from, Buddhism to Christianity, and joins Hung Sau Chin, preaching on the streets of Canton. Later they both decide to set up a church nearby a village. In the process of cleaning an old temple they burn the statute of Buddha, which upsets the local villagers, who thinks the two men will bring them bad luck. The villagers decide to seek the help of a rich merchant to try and drive the two men out of their village. However the rich merchant is only concerned with increasing his own wealth, and tricks the villagers to each hand over $10 dollars so he can build a golden statute to praise his God to help them. The rich merchant's plans are exposed by Hung Sau Chin, who arrives on the day that the rich merchant was going to praise his God. Hung Sau Chin grabs the golden statue of a cow and smashes it onto the ground after a struggle with the rich merchant. The statue had been made of clay and not gold. The villagers began to demand for their money back, but the rich merchant put the blame on his servants. From that day onwards some of the villagers realized that the rich merchant had tricked them, and Hung Sau Chin's church began to fill up with loyal followers. When Do Wai Ching recovered from her injuries, she heard then news of Hung Sau Chin's church from some local villagers and went to find him. Hung Sau Chin is very happy upon seeing Do Wai Ching, and she becomes his 3rd disciple. Shortly afterwards Hung Tin Kiew also comes to the church, to see her brother and becomes his 4th disciple. Meanwhile the rich merchant, cons the villagers once again to give him $10 dollars each, to raise an army to get rid of Hung Sau Chin. The rich merchant only uses half of the money however and keeps the other half for himself. A strong man called Siu Tu Gwai, arrives in the village looking for work. He sees the rich merchant's son signing men up to become bodyguards, and decides to enter. Siu Tu Gwai shows exception power and easily defeats and nearly kills the kung fu expert that was used to test the men's kung fu. The Rich Merchant immediately signs Siu Tu Gwai up, and decides to set a trap for Hung Sau Chin. Hung Sau Chin and his men where ambushed when they tried to save two villagers from being drowned by the rich merchant. Siu Tu Gwai, attacks Hung Sau Chin, and injures him. Hung Tin Kiew then battles with Siu Tu Gwai, but she too is no match for him. During their battle Hung Sau Chin, Fung Wan San, and Do Wai Ching manages to escape. Siu Tu Gwai and Hung Tin Kiew continue to battle. They stop, when Siu Tu Gwai acknowledges the fighting skills of Hung Tin Kiew, who then asks Siu Tu Gwai, why he is following a money hungry master who is taking advantage of the villagers. Instead of becoming a disciple of Hung Sau Chin, who is looking to free everyone from suffering. Siu Tu Gwai does not believe Hung Tin Kiew and leaves. But after seeing how the rich merchant's son deals with the villagers, he begins to change his mind. Hung Sau Chin and his loyal followers are forced to shelter at Lau Ka Chin. Fung Wan San, then decides that in order to save the country from suffering, Hung Sau Chin, must turn his loyal followers into an army and drive out the Manchus from China. Hung Sau Chin agrees and begins his plan to form the "Taiping", army. After his plans of killing Hung Sau Chin fails again the rich merchant, attempts to bribe the local magistrate. The local magistrate however has problems of his own because the miners go on strike and refuse to work, over safety conditions. The local magistrate accepts the gold given to him by the rich merchant but refuses to help. Much to the rich merchant's disgust. The miners elect Yeung Sau Ching (Wong Yat Wah), to represent them in the negotiations. But the local magistrate orders the men back to work without talking to Yeung Sau Ching. Naturally the mine collapses and many lives are lost. When Yeung Sau Ching finds out, he gets his men to protest outside and demand action from the local magistrate. Hung Sau Chin, hears of the miners troubles and decide to take food and medical supplies to the miners. Without a quick solution to the problem, the local magistrate seeks the help of the rich merchant. The rich merchant only agreed to help the local magistrate, on the condition that the magistrate orders his soldiers to capture and kill Hung Sau Chin. Left with no choice the local magistrate agrees. The rich merchant then cons the villagers once again, to give him $10 each to resolve the problem. However as usual, he keeps half, and only gives the families of the dead miners half of the money. In the evening Siu Tu Gwai overheard, the rich merchant's plan to send his own men to kill all of the miner's and Hung Sau Chin as well. In the morning Siu Tu Gwai, pretends to be sick, and attempts to warn the men. However he arrives at the same time as the rich merchant's men and the Ching soldiers. All of the miner's and Hung Sau Chin, thought that Siu Tu Gwai had led the ambush. Except for Hung Tin Kiew, who was saved by Siu Tu Gwai, from an attack by the Ching soldiers. Many of the miners and Hung Sau Chin's men where captured. They manage to escape through Yeung Sau Ching's expert knowledge of the underground mines, and retreat to Lau Ka Chin. In the evening Siu Tu Gwai, decides to free the captured men. In the process he battles with and kills the rich merchant's son. They meet up with Hung Sau Chin at Lau Ka Chin, but Yeung Sau Ching, had not forgiven Siu Tu Gwai, and warns his men not to trust him. Hung Sau Chin believes that Siu Tu Gwai is a good man a lets him stay at Lau Ka Chin, despite Yeung Sau Ching's protest. His hatred of Siu Tu Gwai grows when he discovers that the woman he loves, Hung Tin Kiew, is in love with Siu Tu Gwai. Later Siu Tu Gwai becomes another loyal disciple of Hung Sau Chin. Yeung Sau Ching, and his friend Chan Yat Kong, decide to become disciples of Hung Sau Chin also. Their motive however is to gain power, and build up an army of their own. With Siu Tu Gwai, Yeung Sau Ching, and Chun Yat Kong aboard, Hung Sau Chin begins to gather men to form the "Taiping" army. Yeung Sau Ching is given responsibility to sign up men and Siu Tu Gwai, is the one charged with training them. As Hung Sau Chin's army grow so does his ability to save the nation from suffering. The Ching General, Jiu Song Nin is sent to crush the Taiping Army before they have the power to begin a rebellion against the Ching Dynasty. The rich merchant, helps the general to accomplish his mission, and at the same time he seek to get revenge for his son. At this time Master Lo, and his "Heaven and Earth Society", arrives at Hung Sau Chin's village. Master Lo, asks Do Wai Ching to leave with him in the morning. However Hung Sau Chin, decides to propose to marry Do Wai Ching in the morning to stop her from leaving. Master Lo agrees to the marriage seeing that his student really loves Hung Sau Chin. However he refused to stay and left for Taiwan. On the day of Hung Sau Chin and Do Wai Ching's marriage, the "Taiping Rebels" are caught off guard and are ambushed by the Ching Army led by General Jiu Song Nin. Hung Sau Chin, and most of his men managed to escape, but Fung Wan San was captured. Hung Sau Chin's men seek shelter at the house of Do Wai Ling's cousin. Her cousin however is very rich and snobby, and treats the Taiping Rebels very poorly. They are forced to live in the barn, and eat vegetables. The man of the house Wai Cheung Fia, discovers from a Ching General that Hung Sau Chin's men are wanted men who are worth $100 each. He becomes very excited, and wanted to increase his wealth by $700, and plans to hand them over to General Jiu Song Nin. Wai Cheung Fia also arranged to meet with the General, as soon as he arrived so that he can claim the reward directly. However he was betrayed by his own servant, who he had treated badly. The servant told General Jiu that, Wai Cheung Fia was hiding wanted men at his house. When Wai Cheung Fia arrived, he was captured. General Jiu then took his men and surrounded Wai Cheung Fia's house. Hung Sau Chin's men managed to escape, with the help of Wai Cheung Fia's wife. Hung Sau Chin, then decides to take his men to save Wai Cheung Fai. Yeung Sau Ching, is the first to locate Wai Cheung Fia, and overhears him talking with a Ching general. At once Yeung Sau Ching captures the General, and asked him to explain what's been going on. Before he had a chance to explain he was killed by Wai Cheung Fia. Yeung Sau Ching, then realized that it was Wai Cheung Fia who had betrayed them. But he decided to keep this a secret. Meanwhile Fung Wan San was saved by Hung Sau Chin. The Taiping Rebels are then forced to hide in the mountains. Rapidly running out of food the Rebels decide to separate into two groups, one led by Siu Tu Gwai and the other by Hung Sau Chin. The men agree to meet at Yeung Sai Ching's village. Siu Tu Gwai's group runs into trouble when, Yeung Sau Ching and Chun Yat Kong attempt to assassinate the Ching General. They fall into a trap but are both saved by Hung Tin Kiew and Siu Tu Gwai. In the process Hung Tin Kiew becomes trapped and is kicked over the edge of the mountain by the General Jiu. Meanwhile Hung Sau Chin's group is unable to escape because of the large Ching presence surrounding the village. Both groups are forced back to the mountain. After days of waiting Do Wai Ching, requests leave the mountain to beg her old man, Jiu Song Nin, to free Hung Tin Kiew. With no alternative available, Hung Sau Chin agrees to let Do Wai Ching leave. Unknown to both Hung Sau Chin and Do Wai Ching, Hung Tin Kiew was never captured by Jiu Song Nin. When Do Wai Ching arrives, she is immediately captured by her farther and taken in for questioning. Do Wai Ching, refuses to tell Jiu Song Nin, the location of the "Taiping Rebels", and is tortured. Jiu Song Nin, also decides to cut her tongue off, to prevent her from swearing at him. Jiu Song Nin, then decides to use his daughter as bait to capture Hung Sau Chin and the rest of the "Taiping Rebels". The "Taiping Rebels" set out to save both Hung Tin Kiew and Do Wai Ching despite realizing that their are bound to be traps. When they arrive, the Ching soldiers try to ambush them, but Hung Sau Chin and his men managed to battle through to save Do Wai Ching. More Ching soldiers charge at the "Taiping Rebels", but they were killed by men from the "Heaven and Society". Hung Tin Kiew was also with them. During this time she had been nursing an injury at Master Lo's hideout. Sadly all their efforts are wasted as Do Wai Ching dies. The "Taiping Rebels" retreat to an old mill. In the evening Hung Sau Chin has another dream, and is told by God to save the nation and kill all of the Manchus. In the morning the "Taiping Rebels", work on a plan to kill General Jiu and get revenge for Do Wai Ching. The "Taiping Rebels" killed and dressed as General Jiu's soldiers. Then lured him into the mountain, where he was captured. Hung Sau Chin then killed General Jiu thus avenging the death of his wife, Do Wai Ching. After this event the "Taiping Rebels" decide to set up their base at Yeung Sau Ching's village. They plan to recruit soldiers and make weapons to make their Rebellion succeed at the village. While wandering around the village Hung Sau Chin, Fong Wan San, and Yeung Sau Ching came across a very intelligent man called Sak Dai Hoa. Hung Sau Chin was impressed and seek to obtained his help. After a series of discussions, Sak Dai Hoa decided to join the "Taiping Rebels", and he was given the responsibility of handling the rebel's military tactics along with Fong Wan San. Yeung Sau Ching was unimpressed by this move because it meant that he did not have much power in the rebel army. During the time at the village the rebel army began to grow in strength and the village became a very peaceful place. The training of the army was going very smoothly, however the "Taiping Rebels" used weapons of poor quality that would break in real combat. Later they obtained the help of an excellent blacksmith and his daughter. In a kind gesture for saving his life the blacksmith, decided to hand over his best sword to Hung Sau Chin. The sword was handcrafted by the blacksmith himself, and was very sharp. Hung Sau Chin was very pleased with the gift. Now with excellent quality weapons and a strong army, the "Taiping Rebels" where ready to drive out the Ching Dynasty. During this time the local Magistrate under pressure from the King to capture the "Taiping Rebels", decides kill and capture innocent people from a nearby village. This sparks Hung Sau Chin and his "Taiping Rebels" into action. They prevent the village from another attack from the cowardly Magistrate. The local Magistrate and the landlords where all killed or driven off in the process. Back at the Royal Palace the King was beginning to worry about the "Taiping Rebels". Left with no choice, the King decides to recall and send Magistrate Lum Tak Tu, to deal with the "Taiping Rebels". This causes a lot of unrest amongst the "Taiping Rebels", especially Hung Sau Chin, who had always respected Lum Tak Tu's actions. At this time Master Lo, also came to see Hung Sau Chin. Sak Dai Hoa, Fung Wan San, and Master Lo all agreed with Hung Sau Chin that joining forces with Lum Tak Tu was the best solution to bringing peace to China. Yeung Sau Ching however disagreed and wanted to kill Lum Tak Tu instead. The others attempt to persuade him, however Yeung Sau Ching went his own way. With the help of Chun Yat Kong, Yeung Sau Ching attempted to assassinate Lum Tak Tu. They where nearly successful, however Sak Dai Hoa and Fung Wan San prevented them from killing Lum Tak Tu. Instead the two men took Lum Tak Tu back to the rebel hideout. When Lum Tak Tu recovered from his injuries, Hung Sau Chin, proposed his plan of joining forces and restoring peace to China. Lum Tak Tu refused to listen stating that he was a Manchu and government official. Lum Tak Tu wanted nothing to do with the heartless "Taiping Rebels" who had captured him. Yeung Sau Ching then took this opportunity to assassinate Lum Tak Tu. Although Lum Tak Tu did not accept his proposal, Hung Sau Chin still respected him and decided to send the blacksmith and Siu Tu Gwai to protect Lum Tak Tu. Master Lo had thought ahead and rescued Lum Tak Tu much to Yeung Sau Ching's disgust. Back at the rebel hideout Yeung Sau Ching was still furious with Master Lo and the rest of the men's decision to set Lum Tak Tu free. Outside Yeung Sau Ching saw a solar eclipse, and pretended to be God. When Hung Sau Ching and the Rebels went to see what was going on Yeung Sau Ching, summoned Hung Sau Ching to kill all of the Manchus and to get rid of Master Lo because he had betrayed them. Thinking that it was a message from God Hung Sau Ching carried out Yeung Sau Ching's instructions and Master Lo was forced to leave. The rest of the "Taiping Rebels" where certain that Yeung Sau Ching was pretending to be God but they had no proof. They attempted to persuade Hung Sau Chin, but he was blind and ignorant. Hung Sau Chin also began to loose his direction. Meanwhile Yeung Sau Ching became stronger then ever, and gained more followers. He was beginning to plan for his succession as the Rebel's leader. While praying one day Hung Sau Chin got received another sign from God and regained his direction. He also decides to marry the blacksmith's daughter. Hung Sau Chin decides to strengthen his rebel group by dividing the male camp from the female camp. Siu Tu Gwai, Hung Tin Kiew, and Yeung Sau Ching are given the responsibility over the training of the soldiers. Sak Dai Hoa and Fong Wan San where responsible for signing up more soldiers and handling military tactics. The blacksmith was given the responsibility of making more weapons. Wai Cheung Fai and Chun Yat Kong handled uniforms and supplies. Shortly after Lum Tak Tu dies before even having an opportunity to deal with the "Taiping Rebels". Once again another Manchu General is sent to deal with the Rebels. During this time the two "Heaven and Earth Society" men, left behind by Master Lo betrayed the "Taiping Rebels" and joined the Ching general. The Ching General underestimated the "Taiping Rebels", abilities and was defeated. The "Taiping Rebels" captured his post and decided to form their own country, titled "Tai Ping Tin Kwok", or Heavenly Peaceful Country. Hung Sau Chin was inducted as the first King of the country. The Ching Emperor dies shortly afterwards of illness and his oldest son is inducted as the next Emperor. However there is trouble in the Royal Court because the Emperor favors sending a Han General working for the Ching Government, Chow Kwok Fat, to deal with the "Taiping Rebels". The Royal Family attempts to stage a coupe, which was unsuccessful. Meanwhile the "Taiping Rebels" used the unrest between the Royal Family, to plan an attack on another nearby town. Yeung Sau Ching and Chun Yat Kong take their men in a quick attack of the nearby town. Hung Sau Chin decided to send Siu Tu Gwai to take men to protect them. Yeung Sau Ching leads his men to victory and the town is captured by the "Taiping Rebels". Immediately Yeung Sau Ching decides to separate gold and money to the Han people in the village, in an effort to enhance his strength and win their hearts. By the time Hung Sau Chin arrives, the villagers are praising Yeung Sau Ching for his bravery and shouting out his name. Sak Dai Hoa and Fung Wan San then came up with an idea, of dividing the "Taiping Rebels", which will delay Yeung Sau Ching's efforts to gain power. Hung Sau Chin then decides to name four lords who are each given equal military strength and power. Yeung Sau Ching was made East Lord, Siu Tu Gwai was made West Lord, Fung Wan San was made South Lord, and Wai Cheung Fai was made North Lord. Sak Dai Hoa was made the Moon Lord, and retained control over military tactics. This however did not prevent Yeung Sau Ching from attempting to form alliances with West Lord and North Lord. With the power of 3 Lords behind him Yeung Sau Ching could easily overthrown Hung Sau Chin. In order to prevent this from happening, Sak Dai Hoa and Fung Wan San, decide to suggested a marriage between Hung Tin Kiew and Siu Tu Gwai, who where lovers. This made Yeung Sau Ching extremely furious, because he too was in love with Hung Tin Kiew. He then vowed to get revenge on Fung Wan San, who had foiled his plans. The Ching Emperor decided to give Han General, Chow Kwok Fat, full military power to deal with the "Taiping Rebels". The Emperor hoped that by sending a Han General to deal with the "Taiping Rebels", less Han people would rebel and kill an official of their own blood. Chow Kwok Fat blamed China and Han people's suffering solely on the "Taiping Rebels". He also wanted to prove to the Manchu Emperor that Han people are very clever and useful. Chow Kwok Fat also thought that after eliminating the "Taiping Rebels", more Han people would be given higher posts in the Royal Court, and therefore be able to control political matters. Chow Kwok Fat then set out to deal with the "Taiping Rebels" using the dirtiest tactics ever. His brother Chow Kwok Chin, disagreed with his brother and sided with the "Taiping Rebels". He reluctantly followed his brother to deal with the rebels. In the meantime the Manchu General attacked Hung Sau Chin. Outnumbered Fung Wan San and Sak Dai Hoa thought of a clever plan that enabled the Rebels to escape through the mountains. The blacksmith and his daughter volunteered to go back into the castle to spy on the Manchu General. However they were discovered and chased by Ching soldiers. They are then saved by, Lee Sau Ching, a peasant who is an expert of explosives. Lee Sau Ching later decides to join the Rebels. With Lee Sau Ching's help, Hung Sau Chin and his men easily defeated the Manchu General and reclaim the town. Lee Sau Ching is then made into a General for his efforts. In the meantime, Chow Kwok Fat, obtains the help of Kong Jong Yim, who is a very intelligent man with top kung fu. Kong Jong Yim in turn obtains the help of two mountain robbers, who are sent in to spy on the "Taiping Rebels". With the help of the mountain robbers Kong Jong Yim and Chow Kwok Fat are able send the "Taiping Rebel" on decoy attacks. At the same time the mountain robber burns the "Taiping Rebels" food supplies. Yeung Sau Ching was the first to discover that the mountain robbers are spies for Chow Kwok Fat, but decided to keep it a secret. Surrounded and running out of supplies Fung Wan San, volunteered to seek help from Sak Dai Hoa who was signing men at another post. Yeung Sau Ching then revealed this secret plan to the mountain robbers, who in turn told Kong Jong Yim. Yeung Sau Ching then sent his friend Chun Yat Kong to seek help from Sak Dai Hoa. On his journey Fung Wan San was ambushed and killed. The next morning Fung Wan San's head was on a stake over the town. Yeung Sau Ching was pleased that his plan had worked. In the meantime Hung Tin Kiew becomes pregnant, but she becomes very distressed learning of Fung Wan San's death. Hung Sau Chin also becomes depressed but in the evening he has a dream, and sees Fung Wan San who instructs him to go on with his mission. Kong Jong Yim too is a master of dirty tactics, sending fake information into the villagers, who then begin to doubt God. The villagers begin praying Buddha again, much to Hung Sau Chin's disgust. Yeung Sau Ching saw this as the perfect opportunity, to pretend to be God and expose the mountain robbers as traitors. The traitors are then killed and their heads sent to Kong Jong Yim's camp. Kong Jong Yim, then decides to use canons to attack the castle. With no method of dealing with the canons, the "Taiping Rebels" were defeated and driven out of the castle. Kong Jong Yim and his soldier’s gives chase hoping to kill each and every one of the "Taiping Rebels". Siu Tu Gwai is heavily injured during the attempted escape. The "Taiping Rebels" manage to find refuge at an old house, but they are quickly discovered. Chow Kwok Chin, is captured and because he respects the "Taiping Rebels", he agrees to help them escape. Chow Kwok Fat, lets the rebels go in return for the safety of his younger brother. After his brother is safe Chow Kwok Fat, sends men to capture the "Taiping Rebels". Trapped and surrounded by Ching soldiers, the heavily injured Siu Tu Gwai decides to sacrifice his life for the safety of the "Taiping Rebels". In the meantime Hung Sau Chin takes his men through the back of the house, while Siu Tu Gwai, straps dynamite all over his body and charges at the Ching soldiers. He is shot many times in the chest, but still manages to complete his mission and destroy the two canons. Hung Tin Kiew becomes very upset over the death of her husband, and always a very rash person decides to run off to get revenge. All the stress and movement causes Hung Tin Kiew, to loose her baby. Hung Tin Kiew becomes very sick, and tired causing unrest amongst the "Taiping Rebels", who wanted to flee from the Ching soldiers. Hung Sau Chin decides to split the "Taiping Rebels" into groups, and they agreed to meet up at Sak Dai Hoa's post. Hung Sau Chin decides to stay behind to look after his sister, Yeung Sau Ching decides to take his men head up in another direction. Wai Cheung Fai decides to leave with his wife also. Sak Dai Hoa decides to give Hung Tin Kiew more days to rest and decides to leave Hung Sau Chin and head back to his own post alone. He stops at a restaurant on his journey. At pretty girl, named Hung Bo Ying, is singing in the restaurant to make some money. A rich merchant's son decides to create trouble, but the Hung Bo Ying is untroubled. Infact she decides to flirt with the man, who takes her back home. However the Hung Bo Ying is very cunning and ties the man up and steals all of his money. Later the Hung Bo Ying's uncle over hears that the Ching soldiers are sending men to capture Sak Dai Hoa. They rush to warn him and in the process of escaping, Hung Bo Ying's uncle is killed. Sak Dai Hoa then decides to accept Hung Bo Ying as his foster daughter. While running away from the Ching soldiers Hung Bo Ying steps on a trap set by a hunter. By some twist of luck the trap manages to save her life as the Ching soldiers run by without spotting her. Later the young hunter, Chan Yuk San, is surprised to see that he had captured a young girl and decides to makes jokes of her. Unimpressed Hung Bo Ying battles with the hunter, but they are stopped by Sak Dai Hoa. Upon finding that Hung Bo Ying and Sak Dai Hoa are from the "Taiping Rebellion", the Chan Yuk San decides to invite them back to his house. Meanwhile Yeung Sau Ching becomes the hero of a small village after protecting them from an attack by mountain robbers. Yeung Sau Ching then becomes the leader of the mountain robbers and stays at the village in an attempt to strengthen his army. An intelligent rich merchant's daughter, Foo Sin Cheng, falls in love with Yeung Sau Ching. The unlucky Wai Cheung Fai and his wife also manage to run into the mountain robbers, but are saved by Yeung Sau Ching. Wai Cheung Fai then joins forces with Yeung Sau Ching. Lee Sau Ching wants no part of Yeung Sau Ching's plans and sets off by himself to look for Sak Dai Hoa. On his journey he runs into the young hunter, Chan Yuk San. They have a misunderstanding and battle with each other. Both men show equal kung fu skills. They eventually sort out the misunderstanding when Lee Sau Ching meets up with Sak Dai Hoa. They both then become good friends, but both are in love with Hung Bo Ying. Hung Sau Chin was staying at a monastery, but was discovered and chased by Ching soldiers. His wife becomes pregnant also, but they manage to escape and meet up with Sak Dai Hoa. Yeung Sau Ching decides to meet back up with the "Taiping Rebels" after the mountain robber’s attempt a revolt against him. On the way back Yeung Sau Ching's men pass a village under attack from the Ching soldiers. They run into a peasant, Lee Chiu Sau, who directs them on a safer path to Sak Dai Hoa's post. Yeung Sau Ching discovers a map in Lee Chiu Sau's possession and takes it from him. They later discover that the map, leads to an old military weapons camp. There they find several canons and guns. Taiping general Lee Sau Ching is able to restore the canons and make more explosives. At the same time as the discovery Hung Sau Chin's wife has a baby, who is given the name Hung Tin Wai Fok. With the discovery of the canons, all of the "Taiping Rebels", spirits are lifted and they combine their efforts. However Yeung Sau Ching was eager for success and took his army to attack a nearby castle. Hung Sau Ching decides lead the "Taiping Rebels", on a rescue mission. Hung Sau Chin saves Yeung Sau Ching's life in combat. In the process they easily capture the castle. Shortly after capturing the castle the "Taiping Rebels" join forces with the "Heaven and Earth Society". The "Taiping Rebels" decide to put the canons into action. After many battles the "Taiping Rebels" end up capturing the south half of China. The Ching Emperor after consultation with the Royal Court decides to send in the Manchu Royal Guards to deal with the "Taiping Rebels". After capturing half of China the "Taiping Rebels" began to relax. Hung Sau Chin begins to fall in love with an opera actor called Yip Ming. From the beginning Yip Ming had motives of becoming the female ruler not only of the "Taiping Rebels", but all of China. She puts her acting skills to good use by coming up with ways to get closer to Hung Sau Chin. After an unsuccessful attempt to sleep with Hung Sau Chin, Yip Ming begins to plot the downfall of the Queen. Her plan eventually works and Hung Sau Chin, marries Yip Ming and names her as his second Queen. However Yip Ming was still unsatisfied, and with the help of Lee Chiu Sau planned to kill the Queen. Meanwhile Yeung Sau Ching, begins to gain strength. Foo Sin Cheng is named the female scholar over Hung Bo Ying. Yeung Sau Ching was also aware of Yip Ming's plans and manages to save the Queen from Lee Chiu Sau's assassination attempt. The Queen is later killed by Yip Ming upon returning to the palace to look for her son. Yeung Sau Ching also continues to pretend to be god, ordering Hung Sau Chin to kill all those who oppose his decisions. Hung Sau Chin by this stage had become a very blind man, powerless against Yeung Sau Ching and tricked by Yip Ming. "Tai Ping Tin Kwok" was in chaos, during the power struggle between Yip Ming and Yeung Sau Ching. Chow Kwok Fat begins to win back most of the land the "Taiping Rebels" had conquered. Sak Dai Hoa is then sent to war by Yeung Sau Ching, who has attained control over the Royal Court. Kong Jong Yim suffered his first defeat at the hands of Sak Dai Hoa and was killed in a duel by Chun Yuk San. The "Taiping Rebels" then attack Chow Kwok Fat's post but was unsuccessful. Lee Sau Ching's attempts to use dynamite to blow the castle wall was also foiled by Chow Kwok Fat. Meanwhile back at "Taiping Tin Kwok", Hung Sau Chin and Yip Ming are held hostage by Yeung Sau Ching, and who obtains full dominance of the "Taiping Rebels". Yeung Sau Ching then sets out to deal with Wai Cheung Fai who manages to escape but his wife is captured and tortured. Meanwhile Sak Dai Hoa is pushed back by Chow Kwok Fat, and Master Lo dies in the battle. Sak Dai Hoa, Hung Tin Kiew, and Lee Sau Ching then hears of the trouble back at "Taiping Tin Kwok" from Wai Cheung Fai. Sak Dai Hoa immediately plans to take his army back to the palace. They attempt to battle through the Ching soldiers, but only Hung Tin Kiew, Lee Sau Ching, Hung Bo Ying and Chan Yuk San manages to battle through. Lee Sau Ching and Chan Yuk San then make an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Yeung Sau Ching. Later Sak Dai Hoa and Wai Cheung Fai manages to return to "Taiping Tin Kwok". With the help of Yip Ming's lover, Lee Chiu Sau, they are able to arrange a secret meeting with Hung Sau Chin to deal with Yeung Sau Ching. They play Yeung Sau Ching against Chun Yut Kong. Yeung Sau Ching is led to believe that Chun Yut Kong is having an affair with his girlfriend Foo Sin Cheng. Yeung Sau Ching immediately accuses Chun Yut Kong of treason and kills him in front of all of the Taiping Lords in a display of power. By doing this Yeung Sau Ching had fallen into Sak Dai Hoa's trap as he was surrounded. Yeung Sau Ching makes an attempted escape and seeks the help of Lee Chiu Sau who stabs him in the chest. Hung Sau Chin then strikes the final blow splitting Yeung Sau Ching in half with his powerful sword. Foo Sin Cheng was captured by Yip Ming but committed suicide shortly after. Having gotten rid of Yeung Sau Ching, Sak Dai Hoa is accused of treason by Yip Ming and forced to leave the country. Hung Tin Kiew and Hung Bo Ying decides to leave with Sak Dai Hoa. Yip Ming then slowly poisons Hung Sau Chin who handed over the Royal Court to her. Wai Cheung Fai begins to act like Yeung Sau Ching and slowly gains power. The land is in chaos with Wai Cheung Fai and Yip Ming in control. Shortly after the Ching Emperor dies, and Empress Dowagers sends Chow Kwok Fat back to deal with the "Taiping Rebels". After being made East Lord by Yip Ming, Wai Cheung Fai and his wife is unexpectedly accused of treason and killed. Hung Sau Chin has a dream hearing Wai Cheung Fai's pleas for help and begins to become suspicious of Yip Ming. One day Hung Sau Chin wanders the streets and sees his country in chaos. After talking to the villagers, Hung Sau Chin, realized that Yip Ming had ulterior motives of becoming the sole ruler. Back at the Royal Palace, Hung Sau Chin, overhears Yip Ming and Lee Chiu Sau's plans, of obtaining the throne by killing him and his son. Hung Sau Chin then realized that he had been slowly poisoned. With the help of his son, Hung Sau Chin, is able to deliver a military order to Lee Sau Ching and Chan Yuk San. The following day Lee Sau Ching and Chun Yuk San capture and kill Lee Chiu Sau. Having heard of the bad news Yip Ming attempts to kill Hung Sau Chin. However Hung Sau Chin was well prepared and in one fowl stroke struck her in half with his sword. Having gotten rid of Yip Ming, Hung Sau Chin had regained control over the palace, and ordered the return of Sak Dai Hoa and Hung Tin Kiew. Unfortunately a traitor was amongst the "Taiping Rebels" once again, and Chow Kwok Fat, got news of Sak Dai Hoa's location. Chow Kwok Fat surrounded Sak Dai Hoa with all of his forces. Without supplies the "Taiping Rebels" become weak and tired. Hope begins to fade and Sak Dai Hoa decides to send his Rebels on one final suicide mission. They attempt to fight through the Ching army led by Chow Kwok Fat and return to the palace. Sak Dai Hoa battled bravely but is eventually outnumbered and killed. Hung Tin Kiew decides to protect Hung Bo Ying's passage by battling with the rest of army giving chase. Hung Tin Kiew's female soldiers are eventually defeated and all are killed. Hung Tin Kiew manages to struggle on, despite suffering many bad injuries. Her last thrust manages to kill the pursuing Ching General before she dies. Hung Bo Ying is injured badly but manages to return to the palace. After informing Hung Sau Chin of the bad news, she too dies in Lee Sau Ching's arms. Having seen each of his loyal followers die one by one, Hung Sau Chin makes one final plea to God for help before taking some poison which instantly kills him. Lee Sau Ching is left in charge of the "Taiping Rebels" and is instructed to protect Hung Sau Ching's son, Hung Wai Tin Fok, with his life. The traitor of the "Taiping Rebels" then burns the rebel’s supplies and sends fake information to Lee Sau Ching. Chan Yuk San then volunteers to steal supplies from Chow Kwok Fat. However he fell into the traitor’s trap and was killed in the battle. In the morning the traitor opened the gates of the palace, and Chow Kwok Fat's men rush in and capture the castle. The remaining Lords of the "Taiping Rebels" protect Lee Sau Ching's passage and he manages to escape with Hung Wai Tin Fok. Lee Sau Ching then decides to hand Hung Wai Tin Fok over to another Lord and returns to battle with Chow Kwok Fat, but was captured. A few weeks later Hung Wai Tin Fok was also captured. Both where to be executed the following day. Before being taken out to be executed, Lee Sau Ching , begged Chow Kwok Fat to have mercy on Hung Wai Tin Fok who was only 3 years old, by letting him live. Chow Kwok Fat refused stating that he was carrying out Empress Dowager's orders. Chow Kwok Fat also stated that in order to get rid of all the rebellions all "Taiping Rebels" must be killed. Lee Sau Ching then began to laugh very loudly, stating that killing all of the "Taiping Rebels" will not prevent others from rebelling. Lee Sau Ching states that unless the Ching Government are in a better position to look after the welfare of all the people in China, there will always be rebellions. Chow Kwok Fat did not believe one word of this and immediately orders men to take Lee Sau Ching out for execution. Chow Kwok Fat then begins to laugh loudly having accomplish his life time mission. Later a very proud and happy Chow Kwok Fat, went into the palace expecting to a big promotion from Empress Dowager. Chow Kwok Fat also thought that he had finally did some good for Han people by getting rid of the "Taiping Rebels". Upon arriving Chow Kwok Fat is ordered back into the battlefield to deal with another rebel uprising. Only then did Chow Kwok Fat that he was powerless as Ching Government Official to save the nation and Han people from suffering. At the end only the heroics of the "Taiping Rebels", are remembered in songs sang by the villagers. RATING (7) Twilight of a Nation", is one of the most epic stories I have ever watched. The story consisted of many historical events and historical figures, which I found very interesting. The plot was very refreshing and there was plenty of action throughout the series. At 45 episodes there were some dead spots. What was ironic about this story was that Hung Sau Chin formed a Rebellion based on western Religion. At that period the Westerners and Opium introduced by Westerners caused most of China's problems. It was equally ironic that Chow Kwok Fat thought that he could help Han people by being a Ching Government Official and killing his own people. At the beginning Hung Sau Chin also thought that becoming an official was the only way to free China from suffering. He then saw the light that China was suffering because of the corrupt Officials of the Ching Government. The acting in this series was pretty exceptional. Liu Leung Wai was very good in his portray of Hung Sau Chin. Chan Man Yee, made a good performance as the strong willed female General Hung Tin Kiew. Lau Ching Wan, Au Shiu Wai, Kwok Fu Seng, and Choi Kan Lei where also brilliant as was the rest of the supporting cast. The music and theme song was appropriately chosen to reflect the mood of the series. The costumes chosen where very fitting in distinguishing the Taiping army in terms of rank. A recommended series for all those interested in China's history. WONG YAT WAH AS YEUNG SAU CHING Yeung Sau Ching was another evil role that Wong Yat Wah played in the late 1980's. In this he demonstrated another side of his acting talents, the ability to play evil roles. Yeung Sau Ching is a very dominant character, who is obsessed by power and status. Throughout the series Yeung Sau Ching always worried about his status in the Taiping Rebellion, and used many methods in order to increase his power. Yeung Sau Ching was also a very jealous man, which eventually led to his downfall. Yeung Sau Ching also strives for more than what he deserved. This made him a very hateful character. Wong Yat Wah was very good at expressing this side of Yeung Sau Ching's character. Despite his attempts to achieve power, Yeung Sau Ching, can be considered a hero. He refuse to let the mountain robbers steal adhering to the 10 commandments, "thou shall not steal". Yeung Sau Ching, is partly responsible to the Taiping Rebel's success because of his ability to lead the army, even though the tactics are worked out by Sak Dai Hoa and Fong Wan San. Plans need action, and Yeung Sau Ching represented the action. Wong Yat Wah's performance in this series was superb from beginning to end. His eye movements and tone of voice suited this role well. His glaring stares made him look real jealous and evil. However credit must also be given to the entire cast also.
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