Tang Guo Qiang

[Lady Zhuge]

Even greater heights in his career? Whoa, the sky's the limit, then.

If I were to recommend two series where he is at his best, those two are definitely the ones. Some say that TGQ was even better in Yong Zheng Wang Chao than in San Guo Yan Yi, but I disagree. Maybe he was as good, but no one can ever replace his Zhuge Kongming in my mind (or heart, for that matter). BTW, how are you enjoying the YZWC song? Do you like it more than the KXDG one?

If you get a chance, check out some of his other series as well.

[Lingz13]

Yeah.....the sky. As high as he could fly.

He won a Best Actor award based on his portrayal as Emperor Yongzheng. I remember reading in the papers years back that he was disappointed at not winning the award for his portrayal as Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang is his favourite character. That year, he lost to Bao Guo An, the actor who acted as Cao Cao.

Like you, his Zhuge Liang is firmly rooted in my mind. Unsurpassable. I haven't watched KXDG yet so I have to say I feel more when listening to the themesong of YZWG.

Da Tang Qing Shi looks interesting. When given the chance, I will watch it in the future.

[Lady Zhuge]

Originally posted by Lingz13
He won a Best Actor award based on his portrayal as Emperor Yongzheng. I remember reading in the papers years back that he was disappointed at not winning the award for his portrayal as Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang is his favourite character. That year, he lost to Bao Guo An, the actor who acted as Cao Cao.

I may be just a tad bit biased, but he deserves any and all awards for best acting out there. I totally agree with him about Kongming. It was his first major role after he went back to acting school and he worked so very hard to nail the character down. However, if he had to lose out, I'm glad it was to Bao Guo An's Cao Cao. The latter was simply amazing as well. I'm happy that Tang Guo Qiang won for his portrayal of Yongzheng, though. I'm pretty sure that he beat out Chen Dao Ming one year with his portrayal of Mao Ze Dong in The Long March, too. What is the award in mainland China that is equivalent to the Oscars/Academy Awards in the United States called? Is it the Golden Rooster or something like that?

Originally posted by Lingz13
Da Tang Qing Shi looks interesting. When given the chance, I will watch it in the future.

That would be really cool. I'll be watching this series in the summer, so maybe some day we can discuss it.

[Lingz13]

Yupz, Bao Guo An is amazing as Cao Cao. A worthy opponent. TGQ plays Mao Zedong? I have never seen or heard of the serial The Long March. How is it?

I think its the Golden Rooster. Not very sure either.

Do share your views on Da Tang Qing Shi after you are done with it.

[Lady Zhuge]

Originally posted by Lingz13
TGQ plays Mao Zedong? I have never seen or heard of the serial The Long March. How is it?

Yep. The Long March came out in 2001 and TGQ not only played the lead, but also co-directed the series as well.
To be perfectly honest, this is not the type of series I usually find very enthralling. Maybe it's because I didn't understand all the political maneuvers that were taking place. I definitely appreciate it for its historical value and how well it was made, though. The actors all did a great job and I could almost empathize with the genuine hardships of their characters. To put it very nicely, I'm not a big fan of the historical figure Mao Zedong (namely in times of peace), but I've got to give him props for being a military genius and overcoming a Jiang Jie Shi who had so many advantages against the Red Army. Plus, well, my favorite actor portrays him! TGQ looks sooo much like Mao in this series that it's not even funny. Of course TGQ's Mao had no Hunan accent (which is probably a good thing, since I doubt most viewers would be able to understand anything that would be coming out of his mouth ) and I think Mao was physically taller (Mao was really tall, especially for a Chinese man). I really like the theme song, Qi Song Hong Jun. It's very powerful and patriotic. There is a sequel of sorts to The Long March called Yan An Song, also starring TGQ. I haven't seen it yet, though.
Here is its official site: http://www.cctv.com/teleplay/special...01/index.shtml

Some pics from The Long March:


Zhu De and Mao Zedong:
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Mao Zedong:
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Zhou Enlai (the modern-day Zhuge Liang! )
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Here's more info about The Long March series: http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/f/changz.html

Originally posted by Lingz13
Do share your views on Da Tang Qing Shi after you are done with it.

Will do.

[Lingz13]

Hey, thanks a lot for the information and pictures on The Long March. I have to admit too that this is not the kind of dramas that would usually interest me. But since TGQ is in it, I shall give it a try. Moreover, I believe after watching the serial, my knowledge of modern history of China will be better, right? I only know about Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and the Cultural Revolution through novels and textbooks. Its time to see some motion .

[Lady Zhuge]

No problem. Definitely give The Long March a try if you're interested in political and military strategy, a short, but very crucial period in Chinese history, and of course some pro-Mao propaganda (). Plus, Tang Guo Qiang is in it, so you can't go wrong there. I didn't know anything about Zhou Enlai before watching this series, but I developed an interest in learning more about this upstanding man after watching it and noted how much he had in common with Zhuge Liang.

[Lady Zhuge]

The summer is almost over and I still haven't had a chance to watch Da Tang Qing Shi yet!!!

But, I did finally get to watch Xiao Hua (Little Flower) the other day, though. It was pretty good for an old 1970's film. Tang Guo Qiang was very hot in there. His acting was solid, too. Joan Chen won an award for her role of Xiao Hua in the movie, and Liu Xiao Qing was so jealous. They both played Xiao Hua, but there could only be one winner, I suppose.

[Lady Zhuge]

Continued from the Chen Dao Ming thread...

Okay... I was cut off before. I like RTK the best in the middle, after Zhuge Liang comes and before Guan Yu dies. Anything before and after I dont' particularly like, especially the ends...

I liked the first episode when the three brothers met a lot, but then the unstable power struggles in the late Han court and evil eunuchs didn't appeal to me as much. The best parts were all the scenes with Zhuge Liang in them.
Guan Yu is my second favorite character, and it was so sad when he died and even during the events leading up to it.
Did you notice how after Liu Bei died, Zhuge Liang hardly ever smiled any more? My heart ached for him sooooo much. Everything went pretty much downhill after the Nanman campaigns. There were so many times when I just wanted to kill Liu Shan.

I heard that they were making another version of RTK which they're not going to use the ancient language and transform it into everyday langauge. I find that kind of insulting because one of the beauties of RTK is the complex language. Basically, in my mind no version can get better than the first one, no matter how hard they try.

I heard that they're making a new version too, but it sucks if they're going to transform the whole thing into every day language. What's going to become of classic scenes like Kongming's debate with the southern scholars?
The 1994 version definitely rocks, but there were admittedly a few drawbacks, such as the changing of actors for certain characters, and sometimes even numerous times.

Tang GX was really really really good in Yong Zheng Wang Chao. I simply loved that series... all the actors were sooooooooooooooo good!!! They like played everything perfectly, same applies for RTK, but I don't think its even necesary for me to point it out.

I like "Yong Zheng Wang Chao" better than "Kang Xi Di Guo" too. Both of them were well-made, but I found YZWC more interesting. I actually didn't understand the whole thing very well the first time I watched it because of all the political maneuvers going on, so I had to see it again. In fact, it's a show worth owning just to be able to see it as many times as you want. The whole cast is awesome, especially Tang Guo Qiang and the actors who played the 13th and 8th brothers. How do you like the theme song? It's one of my favorites.
Have you seen "Qian Long Wang Chao"? It's the only one of the three that I haven't watched yet. The actor who played Kang Xi in YZWC plays Qian Long in it.

[LiYuanZhi]

yup... 13th brother and 8th brother were both really good, they weren't PLAYING the character... it was like they WERE the character...

I haven't seen the third one either. When you say Kang Xi, did you mean the old guy (sorry it might sound kind of rude... but I can't remember his name... was it like Jiao Huang or something like that?) because he was really good! Didn't he win some kind of award? I don't know anyway, mum is probably going to end up renting the series out so I'll probably watch it as well.

I didn't really understand YZWC either, but I watched it with mum, and she kept telling me everything. She also watched it a second time, and that time I understood way more. It's one of those series that you can watch again and again and never get bored of (well... almost never)

Onto the subject of Zhu Ge Liang. I wish that he had just become emperor, because then Shu would've probably won. When Liu Bei died, he told ZGL that if his son wasn't the right type, then he should become emperor. But ZGL was too faithful and he didn't. *sigh*... it was so sad in the end. The only mistake he ever made was to use Ma Su. But because of it, he used 'Kong Cheng Ji' which was so awesome. I think I watched the 94 version when I was seven... and I still remember that scene. Absolutely loved it... when I was young... ZGL was like my idol, him and Zhao Yun because he was so good at fighting.

I still remember that scene where Zhang Fei faced Cao Cao when they were all escaping Xin Ye. He stood on the bridge (know which scene I was talking about?) and there were soldiers behind him dragging branches along and making dust so it looked like there were lots of soldiers. And then one of Cao Cao's soldiers fell over and vomited and died. I was really young when I watched that and I was sooo freaked. I couldn't sleep that night because I was worried I'd die as well.

Anyway... speaking of Cao Cao, Bao Guo An was brilliant. i read earlier in this thread that he got the best actor award.... I'm so glad because he gave a stunnign performance.

Just getting back to YZWC for a second, there is a series called "Li Wei Dang Guan" which stars them as well, but as the support cast. The main character is Li Wei and it is really funny. Though it lacks the depth of YZWC, it's really great to see the almost exact same cast as YZWC in it (like 13th brother, 8th brother and Kang Xi). Have you seen it?

This has got to be one of my longest replies yet!!! There's just so much I can talk about TGQ. It really does suck that he gets so little recognition here. For example, if you look at the thread for Alec Su, it's like massive. I don't mean anything, I really like Alec Su and all, but quite frankly, his acting is nowhere near as good as TGQ. His fame comes mostly from his looks and I find it quite unfair. The fact that people these days value looks over skills and talent really annoys me.

I'll definitely keep supporting this thread!!!

[Lady Zhuge]

I've seen the actor who plays the 8th brother (Wang Hui Chun) in several other series aside from YZWC and YZWC-related shows, but not the actor who played 13th brother (Wang Jun). From his performances, I can say that Wang Hui Chun is definitely another solid mainland actor, but I really want to see how Wang Jun does in other roles.

I haven't seen "Li Wei Dang Guan", but I have watched about 8 episodes of "Li Wei Dang Guan II". It contradicts YZWC in that in part II, which supposedly takes place 4 months into Yong Zheng's reign, the 13th brother is already ill. That didn't happen until awhile into YZWC. I like the Li Wei in LWDG better than the one in YZWC. How about you?

Yes, the Kang Xi I was referring to in YZWC was played by Jiao Huang. He did a really good job. I'm not sure if he won an award, though. Please let me know how you like "Qian Long Wang Chao" if you do watch it!

I think the part I had the most trouble understanding in YZWC was at the climax towards the end when the 13th brother had to rush to get to the court despite being severely ill and Zhang Ting Yu made a long and powerful speech in defense of Yong Zheng despite the 8th brother's and his cronies' efforts to topple the emperor.

Now on to Kongming. The thing is, if Zhuge Liang just got rid of Liu Shan and took over, his loyalty to the Han could be legitimately questioned. Shu was supposed to represent the last stand of the Han dynasty, and Kongming's surname was Zhuge and not Liu. In the novel and series, I do agree that Shu probably could have won since Liu Shan called Kongming back at the worst times possible when he was on the brink of major victories, but historically, I don't think Shu really stood a chance against a much more powerful Wei and an unstable ally in Wu no matter who was emperor.

The Ma Su at Jieting part pissed me off so much, as did when it started to rain at Gourd Valley when Sima Yi and sons were trapped by fire, when Wei Yan rushed into Kongming's tent, letting the wind blow out the destiny candle, and of course when Liu Shan fell for Sima Yi's trick and called Kongming back when he could have scored successive victories against Wei.

I absolutely love the Empty City Stratagem episode! The build-up with the music and then the breaking of the string of the lute was so exciting. I never wanted it to end. Good thing Sima Yi was so cautious, hehe. Zhuge Liang is and always will be one of my idols.

Yes, of course I remember that scene with Zhang Fei hollering at Changban bridge. His voice held back an entire force. If that part scared you, did the scene when Cao Cao opened the box containing Guan Yu's head and the eyes opened scare you too?

I totally agree with you about Bao Guo An's performance as Cao Cao. If TGQ had to lose out to another actor the year he played Kongming, I'm glad it was to BGA. He was simply magnificent and I haven't yet found a person who has disagreed. I recently rewatched the beginning of "Wu Ze Tian" and noticed that BGA played Li Shimin in there. Have you seen that show? This relates to TGQ, since TGQ played Li Shimin in "Da Tang Qing Shi".

I'm not being biased or anything here (), but TGQ ownz Alec Su. It's unfair to compare their looks now, since TGQ is in his fifties and Alec Su is only in his early thirties. Have you seen the movie Xiao Hua or any of TGQ's earlier films? XH was made in the 1970's and TGQ looks sooooo handsome in there. The screencaps I posted really don't do him justice. He was definitely a "pretty boy" in his younger days, but it's his superior acting ability as a result of his hard work and dedication that has perpetuated his long and successful career. To me, Alec Su is cute at best, but I'm just neutral about him. Did you know that TGQ is also a very talented calligrapher?

I'll definitely keep supporting this thread!!!

[LiYuanZhi]

Li wei is better in LWDG definitely because it's about him and the producers were more careful in choosing the actors. Is there a LWDG II already? I was waiting and waiting for it come out. I'll have to see. As to the part where it contradicts... LWDG is more of an entertaining show rather than YZWC, which is a more of a history type show. So I'm not really fussed about it being wrong. I definitely will let you know if I watch the third instalment, and you vice versa!!!

I felt that the end of YZWC was really sad because everyone hated YZ. I just felt so bad for him.

Anyway... I'm rushing this coz the battery on my lap top is running out... sorry...

you're probably right in the sense that Shu wouldn't have won, but one cant' help but wonder. And I really really hated Liu Shan because he was stupidly agrivating. At the end of the Shu reign, they lost so many of their really good fighters and Kong Ming realy didn't have much choice left, did he? It was obvious that they were losing power and he was really the only one sustaining it, at least that's how I felt anyway.

I don't think I watched the bit where CC found the head... I think my parents might've learnt a lesson when I kept them awake for a whole night because I was afraid I was only six back then!!! *a vague attempt to keep some dignity*

BGA, I've seen this movie where he played Lin Ze Xu (an official in the late Qing). he was burning Ya Pian... once again, BGA was really good. The standard of acting in the older actors are amazing really.

Okay... running out.. gotta go.

I'll reply more tomorrow @ school.

[Lady Zhuge]

Yep, LWDG II has been out for awhile now. I don't really mind that it contradicts with YZWC since their styles are totally different, but I just felt the need to point it out.
I probably won't have a chance to watch QLWC for a long time, but if I do see it before you, I'll let you know how it is. There's also a TVB series about Qian Long, starring Louis Koo.

I admire YZ for what he did, despite all the pressure and knowing that he would make a lot of enemies. He had to collect the debt from the officials to help the country and its people and he had to kill one of his other sons in order to pave a smooth road to the throne for Hong Li, especially after his own experience with his conniving brothers.

Yes, the series gave me the feeling that Kongming was one of the only people sustaining Shu towards the end. If he had just gotten more support, things might have been different. Unfortunately, Shu was so much smaller than Wei, so their chances to recruiting fresh talent was also more slim.
I also felt really sorry for the Jiang Wei in the series after Kongming died. Stupid eunuchs...

I've also seen BGA in a movie as well, but not the one you saw. I forgot the name of it, but it had to do with the opium war. Of course I didn't know who he was at the time, since it was a long time ago.

Take your time with the reply.

[LiYuanZhi]

I think it could be the same... unless it was in a different time period? (BGA movie)

I think I saw a TVB version about Qian Long Da Di. It was more wu xia though. Usually anything TVB produces is (no offense to them) not really historically correct. What they produce is mainly for the purpose of entertainment, and not other stuff. I find TVB series lacking the depth and intelligence that mainland series has.

What I find that is ironical about RTK is that in the end it was Si Ma that got the country... Si Ma Yi's grandson or something... (I'm not that good with later parts of RTK). But I just think that after everything they did, in the end it was someone else. *sigh* fate does wonders...

[Lady Zhuge]

Hmm, I think you're right. It was probably the same movie. I still can't recall the title of it, though.

I haven't watched many ancient TVB series, but I do like most of the modern ones that I've seen. I definitely think that mainland makes the best historical series, though. Have you noticed that even a lot of the heavily promoted TVB actors seem to depart from TVB and look to do more mainland productions? I wonder if they feel the same way we do?

Yeah, in the end, Sima Yan (Sima Yi's grandson) ended the period of the three kingdoms and founded Jin.

Since you seem to like historical series a lot, have you seen "Dong Zhou Lie Guo Chun Qiu Pian"? It's about the spring and autumn era in Chinese history and is composed of a series of stories. Tang Guo Qiang is in the first one as PM of Zheng.

[LiYuanZhi]

Sorry I haven't been replying. I've used 90% of my download quota at school and that only gets replenished monthly, so I'm forced to use internet at home.

I'm really glad that nowadays a lot of films tend to incorporate actors from all three parts (mainland, tvb, taiwan). It's good that they're mixing everything up so we're not just getting the same thin over and over again.

I find that often tvb plotlines are very cliche and also they're acting conventions are that of what I would use in drama this year. And trust me, that's not a very high standard. It's overexaggerated, but I do find myself enjoying it because it's funny.

Anyway... I haven't seen the series you were talking about. It sounds good though. Have you noticed taht they tend to make series all in the same period right after one another? All that in the Qing, and I think now they're going back to Han and before. It's weird... but good in a way so you don't confuse things.

have you seen a series called "San Shi Liu Ji"? I've seen the clip for the theme song, and it looks pretty good because I think it describes the thirty-six strategies one by one or something. It looked interesting, but I haven't seen it. have you?

[Lady Zhuge]

Hi LiYuanZhi! Don't worry about it. Just reply any time you want. No pressure or rush at all.

Maybe you should give "Greed Mask" a try. It's a TVB drama that is definitely not cliche.

There are a ton of series on the Qing dynasty and its emperors already, so I really hope that they will expand the horizons. I'm interested in learning more about the lesser known periods in Chinese history, like the Sui dynasty.

Are you referring to "Sun Zi Bin Fa Yu San Shi Liu Ji"? If so, yes, I've seen that show and really enjoyed it. It incorporates all 36 strategies into a 95% fictional, but still entertaining tale centered around the rivalry between Sun Bin and Pang Juan. I didn't like the ending, though.

[LiYuanZhi]

yeah, that's the series I was talking about.

Can you actually name all 36... I've been trying to remember them, but I think 15 is as far as i got.

Yeah, I hope they make series about all dynasties, because I learn 90% of my chinese history from tv series.

[Lady Zhuge]

I can't name all 36 strategies either. I doubt I can even list 15 off the top of my head. They are all listed here, if you're interested. Definitely watch this series if you get a chance. It's very impressive how they were able to incorporate all 36 strategies without making things dull. Of course they had to borrow events like crazy from various other time periods in order to do that, but I didn't mind. The Sun Bin actor is really good, as was the one who played Pang Juan (even though I loathed the character). There are so many talented mainland actors!

I guess some time periods are not all that interesting, so producers don't want to waste their time on a show that not many people would want to see. They probably do Qing so much because there were basically 3 major emperors, each of whom ruled a significant amount of time whereas some dynasties go through so many different rulers, which would mean having to hire more actors. Plus setting is more convenient to find and costumes can be recycled, etc.

Are you watching any series right now?

Have you heard of this show?

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Tang Guo Qiang plays Huang Tai Ji in it. There are a lot of other big names in the cast, like Chen Dao Ming, Wang Gang, and Chen Bao Guo. There's a summary of the story and some pictures here.

[FaMoonLau]

Hi Lady Zhuge, where did you find this show? It seems quite interesting but can't find it on yesasia. Is it a new serie?