Master Ma

Master Ma
	Master Ma intertitle
Traditional	馬永貞之爭霸上海灘 /; 馬永貞之英雄血
Simplified	马永贞之争霸上海滩 /; 马永贞之英雄血
Mandarin	Má Yǒngzhēn Zhī Zhēngbà Shànghǎitān /; Má Yǒngzhēn Zhī Yīngxíong Xuě
Literally	Ma Yongzhen: Conquering the Shanghai Bund /; Ma Yongzhen: Blood of the Hero
Genre	Period drama, martial arts drama
Screenplay by	Wai-ma Group
Directed by	Fan Sau-ming; Wong Kun-fai
Starring	Kenny Ho; Yu Hsiao-fan; Anita Lee; Cheng Pei-pei; Chan Hung-lit; Norman Chu; Fan Bingbing; Howie Huang
Theme music composer	Wong Bong-yin
Opening theme	Tit Huet Nam Yee (鐵血男兒) performed by Ngan Chun-lam
Country of origin	Hong Kong; Taiwan
Original language(s)	Mandarin
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	22 (season 1); 20 (season 2)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Lau Man-ban; Luk Bo-chuen; So Kwok-leung
Producer(s)	Fan Sau-ming; Ngai Ho-wo; Chow Hiu-fung; Choi Yu-ban; Ma Kit; Chow Ling-gong
Production location(s)	Hong Kong; Taiwan
Cinematography	Lau Tat-shing; Kwok Chi-yan; Chow Chun-lun
Editor(s)	Chiu Hung-shing
Running time	45 minutes per episode
Production company(s)	ATV; CTV
Release
Original network	ATV; CTV
First shown in	1998

Master Ma is a two-season 1998 Hong Kong-Taiwanese television series produced by the television stations ATV and CTV. It is loosely based on the life of Ma Yongzhen (馬永貞), a Hui Chinese martial artist who lived in the late Qing dynasty. The series was directed by Fan Sau-ming and starred Kenny Ho as the eponymous character.

Plot

Season 1

The series is set in the Warlord Era of the early 20th-century China. Ma Yongzhen and his mother, Ma Daniang, live in Shandong Province, where they raise horses for Marshal Duan's army. One night, the stables mysteriously catch fire and the horses are lost. Marshal Duan's men arrest Ma and his mother, but they fight their way out of the prison and escape. Ma makes his way alone to Shanghai to earn a new living.

In Shanghai, Ma becomes famous after winning a horse race and a martial arts tournament. However, he also gets into trouble with the most powerful gangs in Shanghai: White Gang (led by Bai Laili) and Wuhu Gang (led by Xue Changchun). At the same time, he starts a romance with Xue's mistress, the opera singer Liu Juchi, but has no chance to be with her. With the help of Duan Lengcui and others, Ma creates Zhendong Gang. Unlike the other gangs, Zhendong Gang aims to help the poor and fight injustice. At the end of Season 1, Ma eliminates Wuhu Gang and makes peace with White Gang.

Season 2

Season 2 revolves around a rivalry between Ma Yongzhen and Bai Laili. Bai resorts to various cunning means in his attempt to eliminate Ma and Zhendong Gang. First, he sends his goons to infiltrate Ma's gang and steal a shipment of foreign goods stored in Ma's warehouses. Next, he orders his henchman Tang Biao to assassinate the French consul and frame Ma for the murder. Eventually, with the help of Duan Lengcui's father, who turns out to be Marshal Duan, Ma succeeds in clearing his name and resolving the problems. With Marshal Duan as his ally, Ma manages to keep Bai Laili and White Gang at bay for some time.

At the same time, Ma's feelings for Liu Juchi gradually diminish as he becomes more romantically involved with Duan Lengcui. Ma and Duan Lengcui are engaged to be married. Marshal Duan and the Japanese consul convince Ma to support them in opening a hospital to provide medical services for the poor in Shanghai and improve Sino-Japanese ties. However, Ma and his friends discover that the hospital is actually being used for sinister purposes. Marshal Duan is collaborating with the Japanese to develop biological weapons in the hospital. In return, the Japanese will aid him in defeating the Kuomintang government. At the same time, Ma encounters Kimura, a hostile Japanese martial artist who supports Bai Laili and constantly seeks to make trouble for him.

Cast

Kenny Ho as Ma Yongzhen (馬永貞): the protagonist of the series, and the boss of Zhendong Gang.
Grace Yu as Liu Juchi (柳菊池): an opera singer, Xue Changchun's mistress, and Ma Yongzhen's first love interest.
Anita Lee as Duan Lengcui (段冷翠): Marshal Duan Tianfeng’s daughter, and Ma Yongzhen's second love interest.
Cheng Pei-pei as Ma Daniang (馬大娘): Ma Yongzhen's mother.
Chan Hung-lit as Bai Laili (白癩痢): the boss of White Gang.
Norman Chu as Xue Changchun (薛長春): the boss of Wuhu Gang.
Fan Bingbing as Bai Xiaodie (白小蝶): Bai Laili's daughter. At the end of Season 2, she is revealed to be Ma Yongzhen's long-lost younger sister, Ma Suzhen.
Howie Huang as Sun Jisheng (孫濟生): a doctor and Kuomintang secret agent. He is Bai Xiaodie's lover.
Yang Sheng as Jiang Shiguang (蔣世光): a policeman in Shanghai who befriends Ma Yongzhen. He is promoted to Deputy Chief Inspector later. He is murdered by Kimura.
Lin Jing as Wenjing (文靜): Jiang Shiguang's love interest. She is attacked by Kimura and dies from her injuries.
Cheng Sihan as Lu Kuangtian (盧況天): a warlord who takes control over Shanghai in Season 1. He flees from Shanghai after his army is defeated. He is killed by robbers while in hiding.
Lung Tien-hsiang as Tang Biao (唐彪): Bai Laili's right-hand man. He is killed by Ma Yongzhen and Luo Zhan after they discover that he was the one who murdered the French consul.
He Zhonghua as Luo Zhan (羅湛): one of Xue Changchun's henchman. At the end of Season 1, he accidentally falls off a cliff during the battle between Wuhu Gang and Zhendong Gang and is believed to be dead. However, in Season 2, it is revealed that he was saved by Sun Jisheng and has joined the Kuomintang intelligence service to help Sun in gathering information about Shanghai's situation. He is killed by Kimura.
Chang Chen-huan as Marshal Duan Tianfeng (段天峰): a warlord who takes control of Shanghai in Season 2.
Mondi Yau as Chen Jiamei (陳嘉美): a Japanese spy in disguise as a courtesan. She becomes Bai Laili's mistress.
Shen Meng-sheng as Ding Xianjin (丁先進): the son of a wealthy businessman. He uses his family fortune to start a drama troupe to provide free entertainment to the poor. He falls in love with Liu Juchi.
Kou Zhanwen as Kimura (木村): a ruthless and overbearing Japanese martial artist. He is Ma Yongzhen's formidable rival.

Remake

The series was remade in 2012 as a mainland Chinese television series titled Ma Yongzhen, directed by Kuk Kwok-leung and starring Danny Chan as Ma Yongzhen. Norman Chu and He Zhonghua are cast in the remake as Bai Laili and Xue Changchun respectively.

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External links

(in Chinese) Master Ma (season 1) on Baidu Baike
(in Chinese) Master Ma II (season 2) on Baidu Baike

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