The Hong Kong version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" was broadcast in 1988, with a total of 45 episodes and a Douban score of 6.8 points.
This TV series has a strong cast and can be said to be star-studded. Lu Liangwei plays the role of Hong Xiuquan, Huang Rihua plays Yang Xiuqing, the king of the East, Liu Qingyun plays the king of the west, Xiao Chaogui, the king of the west, Li Guolin plays the king of the south, Feng Yunshan, Chen Rongjun plays the king of the north, Wei Changhui, Li Hanzhi plays the winged king Shi Dakai, Aaron Kwok plays the king of Yan, Qin Rigang, Ou Ruiwei plays the loyal king Li Xiucheng, Deng Cuiwen plays the righteous daughter of Shi Dakai, Han Baoying, Mao Shunyun plays the wife of Hong Xiuquan, Ye Ling, Liu Jiang plays the commander of the Hunan army, Zeng Guofan, and Ouyang Zhenhua plays Zeng Guoquan.
Stills from the Hong Kong version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom".
Most of the martial arts dramas filmed in Hong Kong are more exciting, but the historical war dramas filmed feel average. The acting skills of the actors of this "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" are absolutely okay, but there are two shortcomings.
First, the war scene is too small, and there is no momentum of thousands of troops at all, dozens or even a dozen people represent tens of thousands of troops, and they look particularly dramatic. What's more, there are very few shots of cavalry battles, and there are few war horses in them, almost all of them are foot battles, probably due to the limitations of the venue, it is said that the filming of this TV series was completed in Hong Kong.
Second, the content of this TV series is too far from historical facts, giving people the feeling of being a joke drama. This drama seriously beautified Hong Xiuquan and smeared Yang Xiuqing. Hong Xiuquan is definitely not a perfect character, he also has a side of indulgence, suspicion, and cronyism, but as long as he has some normal measurements and employment methods, Shi Dakai will not run away in a negative mood, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will not end after 14 years. Yang Xiuqing is not a heinous and unscrupulous cunning villain, he also has a strategic side, it can be said that the main military operations in the early stage of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were decided by Yang Xiuqing, he is a strategist in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a commander-level figure.
Stills from the Hong Kong version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom".
The CCTV version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" was broadcast in 2000, with a total of 46 episodes and a Douban score of 7.0 points, slightly higher than the Hong Kong version.
Let's talk about the main actors of this drama first, Gao Lancun as Hong Xiuquan, Zhang Zhizhong as Yang Xiuqing, He Yongsheng as Feng Yunshan, Liu Bing as Wei Changhui, Wang Shihuai as Shi Dakai, Shi Xiaohong as Li Xiucheng, Yang Tongshu as the female champion Fu Shanxiang, Wang Jinghua as Hong Xiuquan's sister Hong Xuanjiao, Li Jianqun as Su Sanniang, Zhou Xun as Shi Dakai's daughter Shi Yiyang, Sun Feihu as Zeng Guofan, Hou Tianlai as Emperor Xianfeng, and Gai Lili as Empress Dowager Cixi.
CCTV version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" stills
This TV series has grand scenes, a lot of war scenes, horse battles, foot battles, and water battles, which looks more exciting, which is better than the Hong Kong version.
The plot content of the CCTV version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" is relatively close to history, at least the main story line is in line with history, and some important historical events are also presented. TV dramas sometimes have narration or subtitles that tell you what important historical events happened in that year. Watching this TV series can still appropriately increase some historical knowledge, of course, you can't just watch TV series to learn history, that will be biased by the plot.
The soundtrack of this TV series is also good, and the theme song "Hao Hao Qiankun" is sung by Han Lei, which sounds majestic and is more appropriate to the TV series.
CCTV version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" stills
I have watched the CCTV version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" two or three times, and I feel that some clips are not well filmed, so I will list a few points below.
First, Shi Dakai was only twenty years old when he participated in the Jintian Uprising, and he was only thirty-two years old when he died, and he was even younger than Li Xiucheng. In the TV series, Shi Dakai's actor Wang Shihuai is relatively old, and although his acting skills are good, he is not suitable for playing Shi Dakai.
Second, the several "love triangles" that appear in the TV series are inexplicable, and I don't understand what the director's intention is to shoot like this, for example, Xiao Chaogui likes Hong Xuanjiao, and Hong Xuanjiao likes Lin Fengxiang, and for example, Hong Xiuquan likes Su Sanniang, and Su Sanniang likes Luo Xuan.
Third, the "wedding at the execution ground" that appeared made people look at the drama, which did not conform to historical facts and logic. For example, when Lin Fengxiang was captured by the Qing army and was about to be executed, Hong Xuanjiao rushed to the execution ground to hold a wedding with Lin Fengxiang. For another example, when Chen Yucheng was about to be executed by the Qing army general Shengbao, Zeng Wanmei ran to the execution ground and held a wedding with Chen Yucheng. The Qing army and the Taiping army are opposed, and if you go to the execution ground, you will throw yourself into the net, let alone hold any wedding.
CCTV version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" stills
Fourth, some major battles were not meticulous enough, and some were almost brushed aside. For example, the Jiujiang Defense Battle, the Anqing Defense Battle, the Second Breaking Jiangnan Camp and so on.
Overall, the CCTV version of "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" is better than the Hong Kong version. I hope that in the future, a director will make another "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" close to history and show that magnificent history.
(The picture in the article comes from the Internet)