When director Zhang Ting was shooting the opening scene of Legend Of The Magnate, a popular costume drama set in the turbulent 19th century, he thought of Andy Dufresne, the wrongly convicted protagonist of the Oscar-nominated classic The Shawshank Redemption.
The scene takes place in Ningguta, a notorious destination for the banishment of over 1.5 million people, the majority of whom were officials and intellectuals, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Situated over 1,400km from Beijing, many of those exiled did not survive the long, arduous journey, shackled in cangues. Those who did make it faced forced labour and enslavement by locally stationed troops in what was then a remote, impoverished military town.
Much like Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, the protagonist Gu Pingyuan, in Legend Of The Magnate, also written by Zhang, is wrongly convicted and exiled to Ningguta for 15 years. After nearly losing his eyesight to a severe illness during years of forced labour, Gu not only survives but also gradually wins the trust of a military officer, eventually being tasked with handling various situations. Through his intellect and reputation, he also earns the respect of his fellow prisoners.
True to the famous line from the American film, "some birds aren't meant to be caged; their feathers are just too bright", Gu painstakingly plans his escape and succeeds.
Starring A-list actor Chen Xiao as Gu, the 40-episode Chinese drama is adapted from writer Zhao Zhiyu's 2013 novel Da Sheng Yi Ren (The Tycoon).
Refined into a faster-paced, twist-filled narrative, the drama uses only a few episodes to recount Gu's escape. He hides in a wooden barrel filled with water and live fish — cargo belonging to Mabang, an ancient logistics company that used horses to transport goods, from Shanxi.
Later, to repay the mabang's leader, who risks his life to save him, Gu volunteers to lead a group of transporters through a treacherous swamp, delivering plague medicine to a noble on the Inner Mongolian grasslands who urgently needs it to treat his soldiers. This journey marks the beginning of Gu's legendary commercial career.
The sharp-witted protagonist then masters finance knowledge through Shanxi piaohao (family-owned banking firms), enters the tea trade in Anhui, and later ventures into the salt industry in Jiangsu. Step by step, his commercial empire expands until he can negotiate on an equal footing with foreign merchants from Britain's East India Company.
What has made Gu more charming is not how he makes his fortune. Instead, it is the Confucian values and Chinese intellectuals' mark on him that made the role larger than life.
In the series, Gu is portrayed as academically gifted from a young age. A native of Anhui province, he leaves his rural hometown to take the keju, feudal China's most demanding civil service examination, in Beijing, hoping to earn a government post. However, he is tricked into believing that his mother has fallen ill, leading him to attempt an unauthorised early departure from the exam site. As a result, he is wrongfully punished.
"Although Gu later becomes a businessman, he adheres to the principles of a traditional Chinese intellectual. He values benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and integrity. "His strong moral compass makes him a new kind of figure emerging from the old system. That's what I find truly fascinating," Zhang explains.Actor Chen recalls that he absorbed the role's spiritual power.
"Although Gu doesn't appear physically strong, he possesses a resilient spirit. He can endure hardships that others cannot. No matter what difficulties or dangers he faces, he always maintains a pure heart," says Chen.
For Chen, a native of Anhui province, which is also the hometown of his character, the distinctive spirit of the local merchants is something he absorbed quickly, echoing the childhood stories told by his uncle.
Chen explains that he drew upon this traditional ethos to portray the character of Gu as resilient and hardworking.
"Whether in favourable or adverse circumstances, Gu maintains a sense of inner peace. Through him, I learned to never give up hope," Chen says. – China Daily/ ANN
Legend Of The Magnate premieres Aug 10 at 7pm on Astro AEC (Ch 306). It airs weekdays.
