Han Shanxu

In the last years of the Manchu dynasty: After the murder of the revolutionary Yue Sheng, his two sons are separated. Years later, Yue Feng becomes a rebel leader against the Manchu, but his brother Yue Donghua becomes a bodyguard for his fathers killer, without knowing it.

A young woman in the 1920s has a hard life and learns sympathy for her own mother's situation.

Required to retire from his job as a utility man at a Peking Opera theater, Old Han is at loose ends, wandering the backstreets of Beijing looking for something to correct.

The story takes place in Beijing before the Liberation. Beggars’ Gang leader Niu Er, played by Han Shanxu, terrorizes the streets with his gang of thugs. When Sun Douzhi, played by Liang Qinggang, refuses to pay him tribute, Niu destroys his douzhi stall. His hot-blooded son, Sun Liu, played by Wu Weidong, vows revenge. Sun Liu and roast-meat shop owner Boss Liu both fall for Li Shuying, played by Wu Weiling, daughter of Li Wobei, played by Wang Ningsheng. Too poor to compete with Boss Liu, Sun Liu joins the Beggars’ Gang and uses Niu Er’s influence to defeat his rival. Disgusted by his son’s transformation, Sun Douzhi disowns him, while Shuying enters a Buddhist convent. After Niu Er betrays him, Sun Liu sees through his schemes, steals his dragon whip, and becomes the gang’s new leader. His first act is to lead his men in destroying Boss Liu’s shop, prompting Sun Douzhi to declare that he will sever all ties with his son.

Adapted from the classical 14th century novel of the same title by Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is part historical, part legend, and part mythical – romanticises and dramatises the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who tried to replace the dwindling Han dynasty or restore it. The focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han dynasty, and would eventually form the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu.

Journey to the West is a Chinese television series adapted from the classical novel of the same title. The series was first broadcast on CCTV in China on 1 October 1986. The series became an instant classic in China and is still being praised as the best and most authentic interpretation of the novel. Unadapted portions of the original story were later covered in the second season, which was released in 1999.