The Legend of Kublai Khan
Also known as	Legend of Yuan Empire Founder
Traditional Chinese	忽必烈傳奇 / 建元風雲
Simplified Chinese	忽必烈传奇 / 建元风云
Hanyu Pinyin	Hūbìliè Chuánqí / Jiàn Yuán Fēngyún
Genre	Historical drama
Written by	Hasi Bagen
Directed by	Tsui Siu-ming
Presented by	Li Hua Zhou Shidu Yu Dong Sheng Luosong Kong Deming Cao Fang Wu Huai'en Wang Guangzhong Liu Hong Xi Hongyi Du Daning He Ling Guo Li Liu Zhanhui Cheng Lidong Jin Tingting Wu Weimin Wang Jingyi Tian Jun Zheng Yuxia Li Ying Xiaoning Zhang Huayong Hou Li Wu Zhiling Wang Liqiao Luo Yi
Starring	Hu Jun Charmaine Sheh Cai Wenyan Wu Yue Tang Guoqiang Gao Fa Steven Ma Ray Lui Ba Sen Hasi Gaowa Xie Miao Xu Xiangdong Du Yiheng He Yanni Wang Huilai Xu Dongmei Huang Jianqun Zhang Yan Debbie Goh Liu Xiaoxiao Zhang Jingda Jin Tingting
Opening theme	Qiankun Wu Di Bu Baorong (乾坤无地不包容) performed by Tsui Siu-ming
Ending theme	Leishui Daluo Le Hualei (泪水打落了花蕾) performed by Jin Tingting
Composer	Luo Jian
Country of origin	China
Original language	Mandarin
No. of episodes	50 46 (Hong Kong release)
Production
Executive producers	Wang Xiangwen Zhang Ping Fan Xiaojun Feng Wei Liu Yipeng Su Jianrong Liu Haiming Wang Guang Chang Sheng Zhang Zili Wang Haitao Guo Zhijian Zhao Wei Tu Tu Zhao-Yan Guozhang Xu-Li Fengming
Producers	Zhou Shidu Sheng Luosong Feng Jing Xi Hongyi Tang Xuan Zhu Xianqing Zhang Linshu Bu Xiaofeng Di Nannan Wang Liqiao He Qing
Production location	China
Cinematography	Guan Jianxiong
Editor	Li Jian
Running time	45 minutes per episode
Production companies	Hainan Province Film and Television Production Centre Tianjin Beifang Film Group Bona Film Group China International Culture and Art Centre Beijing Yangguang Shengtong Culture Art Jiuzhou Audio-Visual Publishing Beijing Dongfang Investment Managing Inner Mongolia Shiqi Group Beijing Ruyi Jixiang Television Planning Beijing Zhongshi Meixing International Culture Media Alpas Grasslands Culture Tourism Development The Travel Channel Qilin Net (Beijing) Film Culture Media Guofu Film (Beijing) Culture Media LeTV.com
Original release
Network	HBS[1]
Release	21 July (2013-07-21)[1] – 30 July 2013 (2013-07-30)[1]

The Legend of Kublai Khan, also known as Legend of Yuan Empire Founder, is a Chinese television series based on the life of Kublai Khan and the events leading to the establishment of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in China. The series started shooting in 2011. It premiered at the 2013 Shanghai Television Festival from 11 to 13 June 2013,^[2] and was first aired on HBS from 21 to 30 July 2013.^[1] The series was directed by Tsui Siu-ming and starred Hu Jun and Charmaine Sheh as Kublai Khan and Chabi, along with Cai Wenyan, Wu Yue, Tang Guoqiang, Gao Fa, Steven Ma and Ray Lui in supporting roles.

Plot

The series, spanning over 70 years, romanticises the life of Kublai Khan and the events leading to the establishment of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in China.

Kublai was born in 1215 as a son of Tolui, the fourth son of Genghis Khan. At the time, Töregene, the wife of Ögedei (Genghis Khan's third son), sees Tolui as a potential threat to her husband. As Tolui gains more glory for his victories in battle, Töregene worries whether Genghis Khan will choose Ögedei to be his successor. She also feels uneasy because the young Kublai is highly favoured by his grandfather.

Ögedei eventually succeeds his father as the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. After Töregene secretly poisons Tolui to death, Tolui's sons, under the leadership of their eldest brother Möngke, seek to avenge their father. Töregene plans to use this opportunity to frame Möngke and his brothers of plotting treason against Ögedei, and thereby get rid of Tolui's clan. At this critical juncture, Kublai and his mother, Sorghaghtani, manage to convince his brothers not to do anything rash. Instead, they would secretly build up their forces, lie low and wait until the time is ripe to take revenge.

Following Ögedei's death, Töregene becomes the Regent of the Mongol Empire for some years until her son, Güyük, is elected as the new Great Khan. When Güyük dies in a conflict against his cousin Batu, his wife Qaimish takes over as the Regent for a brief period of time until Möngke becomes the new Great Khan.

A few years later, after Möngke dies in a battle against the Song Empire at Diaoyu Fortress, Kublai and his younger brother Ariq Böke engage in a power struggle to seize the succession. Kublai eventually overcomes his brother and secures his position as the Great Khan after defeating all his rivals. He conquers the rest of China and establishes the Yuan dynasty, becoming its founding emperor.

Cast

International broadcasts

Production

The Legend of Kublai Khan was produced at a cost of about 150 million yuan.^[3]

Awards

The Legend of Kublai Khan won the Golden Angel Award for Outstanding Television Series and Best Director of Chinese TV Series at the 2013 Chinese American Film Festival.^[4]

Controversy over title renaming

The Legend of Kublai Khan was released under the title The Genius of War – Kublai (打仗天才忽必烈) when it was aired on Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) in July 2013. Apparently, this was done without the approval of the producers, and the reason behind the renaming is believed to be that HBS wanted to attract higher viewership. Director Tsui Siu-ming and lead actor Hu Jun expressed unhappiness over the renaming; Hu even wrote on his weibo, "Who changed the title? What genius of war?", and added an angry emoticon.^[3]

References

External links

• (in Chinese) The Legend of Kublai Khan on Sina.com