| Alt Name: | Taiping Heavenly Kingdom | ||||||||||||
| Native Name: |
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| Genre: | Historical drama | ||||||||||||
| Starring: | Ray Lui Felix Wong | ||||||||||||
| Opentheme: | Tin Ha Yat Ka (永不遺憾) performed by Roman Tam | ||||||||||||
| Composer: | Joseph Koo | ||||||||||||
| Country: | Hong Kong | ||||||||||||
| Language: | Cantonese | ||||||||||||
| Num Episodes: | 45 | ||||||||||||
| Producer: | Siu Sang | ||||||||||||
| Location: | Hong Kong | ||||||||||||
| Runtime: | 45 minutes per episode[1] | ||||||||||||
| Company: | TVB | ||||||||||||
| Channel: | TVB Jade |
Twilight of a Nation is a Hong Kong television series based on the events of the Taiping Rebellion and the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the late Qing dynasty. The 45 episodes long series was produced by Siu Sang and was first aired on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in November 1988. It was broadcast again on TVB in 1996. The theme songs and insert songs in the series were performed by Roman Tam.
The story begins in the late Qing dynasty when the government is plagued by corruption and foreign powers threaten to carve up China. Hong Xiuquan (Hung Sau-chuen), born in an extremely poor Hakka family, participates in the imperial examination, hoping to pass and become a government official in order to provide for his family. He fails in each attempt and suffers from a nervous breakdown. Hong joins the Heaven and Earth Society later. One day, he has a revelation dream to spread Christianity and claims that he is the brother of Jesus Christ, and has been empowered by God to destroy the demons (referring to the Qing forces). After rallying a group of supporters, Hong started the God-Worshipping Society to spread his religious ideas. Hong has another dream again, in which he is bestowed with a superior divine sword, known as the "Demon-Slaying Sword". Hong leads his society to start the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing government and found the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Note: Some of the characters' names are in Cantonese romanisation.
The TV series took place in CCTV Nanhai Studio, Foshan, Guangdong, China.[2]