A Step into the Past

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A Step into the Past
(尋秦記)
Genre Drama
Starring Louis Koo
Raymond Lam
Jessica Hester Hsuan
Sonija Kwok
Kwong Wah
Opening theme "天命最高" by
Louis Koo
Ending theme "我願愛" by
Louis Koo
Country of origin Hong Kong
Language(s) Cantonese, English
No. of episodes 40
Production
Producer(s) Chong Wai Kin
Running time approx. 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Television Broadcasts Limited
Original run October 15, 2001 – December 7, 2001
External links
Official website

A Step into the Past (Chinese: 尋秦記; literal translation: The Chronicles of Finding Qin) is a Hong Kong television drama produced by TVB, released in 2001 and adapted from the novel Xun Qin Ji by Huang Yi. It tells the story of a 21st century special agent who travels back in time to the Warring States Period during the conflicts between the Zhao Kingdom and Qin Kingdom, and finds himself involved in a number of important historical events that eventually led to the first unification of China.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Main cast

[edit] Recurring cast

[edit] Guest stars

[edit] Plot

[edit] 21st century Hong Kong

The story begins in modern Hong Kong, where Hong Siu Lung (Louis Koo) is a 21st century G4 (Very Important Person Protection Unit, 保護要人組) special agent. In the first episode, Hong and his colleagues were assigned to guard an exhibition of Qin Shi Huang's terracotta army figures. One of his colleagues notices that one of the terracotta soldiers has a striking resemblance to Hong. Some time later, wealthy businessman Li Shao Chiu (Tang Yat Kwan) is ambushed at the museum by a maniac angry over money lost in the stock market. Agent Hong rescues Li from the hostage crisis and defuses the situation.

While performing excellently at work, Hong is unhappy. He had broken up with his girlfriend Chun Ching (Sonija Kwok) after a seven-year relationship. She insisted on getting married, but he preferred a life of no commitment. She soon married another man, sinking Hon further into depression.

[edit] Time traveling

Having been impressed with Hong's rescue attempt earlier, Li Shao Chiu recruits him for a secret time travel experiment. Hong agrees to do so in exchange for a chance to travel back in time to repair his romantic breakup with Chun Ching. The plan was to take Hong more than 2000 years back to the Kingdom of Qin, half an hour prior to the coronation of Ying Zheng (the first emperor who unified China and would be later known as Qin Shi Huang). Hong was supposed to document the event with a digital camera prior to a swift departure. However, a critical error occurs during the transportation stage, throwing Hong into the wrong place at the Kingdom of Zhao in 250 BC, at the height of the Warring States Period. He arrived three years earlier than originally planned.

In order to return to the future, he has to make his way across thousands of miles in ancient China to activate a device at a specific location and time. Meanwhile he is warned that even the smallest change in the grand scheme of events will set off a chain reaction of catastrophes that will alter the history.

[edit] Warring States Period

Traveling back to the period, Hong takes part in a series of adventures. His 21st century knowledge, modern day street smart, experience as an elite detective and his physical and martial arts prowess makes him invaluable in the eyes of the kings and nobles of the day. In the process, he befriends Shanrou (Tang Lai Ming), a wandering female assassin; Wu Tingfang (Jessica Hsuan), a beautiful but spoiled rich girl; Zhao Princess Qian (Michelle Saram); Zhao Ya (Suet Lei), the sister of the King Xiaocheng of Zhao (Peter Lai); Ya's son Zhao Pan (Raymond Lam); and a beautiful female scholar named Qin Qing (also played by Sonija Kwok), who looks identical to Hong's ex-girlfriend Chun Ching. He also becomes enemies with jealous Chu agent Zhao Mu (Waise Lee) and his henchman Lian Jin (Kwong Wah).

[edit] Ying Zheng

As Hong's future is dependent on the ascension to the Qin throne by Ying Zheng, who is being held hostage at Zhao with his mother Zhu Ji (Eileen Yeow), his crucial mission is to ensure that this happened. He successfully tracks down the two, only to find out, to his horror, that the real Ying Zheng, who was actually relocated by his mother since birth, is already dead. But it seems that the wheels of history is pre-ordained, with Zhu Ji fatefully mistaking Zhao Pan as her own, having never seen the child since infancy.

The reluctant Zhao Pan is thus forced into and maintained in this illustrious role by a desperate Hong, and the party arrives successfully in the Kingdom of Qin. However for Hong, the danger is not yet over – to ensure Pan's smooth ascension as Ying Zheng, they must battle with the scheming Qin Prime Minister Lü Buwei (who had in fact fathered the real Ying Zheng with Zhu Ji) and Lü's right-hand man Lau Ai (who is actually Lian Jin in a new identity, and knows the truth of Ying Zheng being Zhao Pan).

[edit] Rise to Power

Whether through fate or by Hong's never-ending efforts, Ying Zheng becomes king after the death of his "father" King Zhuangxiang (Lee Lung Kei). Though his mission completed, Hong's hope of returning to 2001 is ruined at the last minute when his time signaling device dies from an expired battery. Panicked, Hong recalls his school-taught knowledge about electricity and recruits his many friends to create a power source. The experiment is successful, but at the last minute, Hong returns to the sides of Wu Tingfang and Qin Qing, who in Hong's heart had grown from a "replacement double" to a true love.

Hong stays and continues to aid the new emperor of the Qin dynasty, becoming more and more indispensable to him, much to the fear and hatred of other courtiers including Lü Buwei and Lau Ai. Eventually, the king gets rid of his enemies and holds absolute power, but at the expense of the corruption of his soul. The naive and kind Zhao Pan had morphed into the ruthless first emperor Qin Shi Huang as depicted in history.

[edit] Destiny

The emperor, now holding all-encompassing imperial rule, knows just how invaluable Hong would be to his future quests. Hong, however, becomes sad and sorry for the evil he had help create. Also knowing that he is not destined to leave his mark in history (he never saw his own name in history), he refuses to remain at the emperor's side, choosing instead to leave the court with his two wives, Wu Tingfang and Qin Qing, forever.

Taking the view that "if you're not with me then you're against me", the emperor sends his troops after Hong. Reluctant but acting out of self-preservation, the king sends Hong into exile, and decrees that the name "Hong Siu Lung" should never be seen, heard or be spoken of again. All books that mentioned him would be destroyed, an imaginative explanation to the account of Emperor Qin's notorious burning of books and burying of scholars.

Hong, with his wives and sworn brothers, find paradise in the grasslands far from the city, and even has a son with Wu Tingfang. The last revelation is revealed during the final moments of the final episode: Hong's son is in fact Xiang Yu, who would one day overthrow the Qin Dynasty.

[edit] Production notes, public response, legacy

The show was one of the most critically acclaimed TVB production in the studio's history. It received very high ratings during its initial run in 2001, and continued to be highly successful during its midnight re-runs in summer 2005, leading to yet another trend of late-night TV watching after At the Threshold of an Era.

At that time Louis Koo was already famous and popular, and had major roles in countless TV series before. This was the last TV series that he took part in, however, because he decided to concentrate on acting in feature films rather than television. He has since starred in numerous popular films such as the critically acclaimed Election and its sequel.

Raymond Lam, in his first major role, was highly praised for his breakthrough performance as Emperor Qin, and rose to fame quickly. He has starred in numerous leading roles ever since.

While filming in mainland China, Jessica Hsuan was stricken with Cholera, causing her to enter a local hospital. She remained in bed for over a month until she was able to leave and start filming again. This caused Jessica's character to be absent for a while in the series. During her hospital stay, many of her co-stars, including Louis Koo, visited her regularly.

[edit] Home video

After its successful summer 2005 midnight re-run, TVB decided to release the complete series on DVD and VCD for the first time on November 18 of the same year. It also became the second TVB drama to receive a DVD release (after War and Beauty), and the first to receive a non-limited release.

[edit] Time travel antics

  • Hong claimed people use chopsticks. At the time everybody was eating with their bare hands.
  • Hong made a wooden fork and said it was a western utensil. Everybody said there was no such thing in the Western Warring States.
  • Hong used English phrases like "Thank you", "See you later" and "Happy birthday".
  • Hong constantly used modern Hong Kong slangs and nobody understood him.
  • Hong often used Bruce Lee's martial art fighting stance.

[edit] Historical comparisons

  • The fictional stories involving the character Zhao Pan becoming Ying Zheng and all the mistaken identity can be considered an imaginative knockoff of the real-life controversies surrounding the real first emperor. There is much question raised as to who and how legitimate Ying Zheng actually really was.
  • The wealthy businessman Li who invented the time machine (played by Tang Yat Kwan) was a knockoff of the real billionaire Richard Li, the son of wealthy Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-Shing. The resemblance could be interpreted as intentional, as Richard Li was closing a deal to buy out Hong Kong Telecom (then renamed Cable and Wireless HKT) at the time, which was hailed as the largest takeover in Hong Kong history.
  • The mirrors used in the show provide perfect clarity. It is unlikely mirrors of the Warring States Period were this advanced.


[edit] External links

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