Huo Yuanjia (2001 TV series)

In the late Qing dynasty, China suffers humiliating defeats in battles against foreign powers such as Britain and Japan, and is forced to sign unequal treaties and cede territories to foreigners. In Tianjin, even though Huo Endi defeats his Japanese opponent in a leitai match, his triumph is a Pyrrhic victory because China had just been defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War and its Beiyang Fleet was completely destroyed.

Huo Yuanjia, Huo Endi's son, travels to Beijing to meet his father's friend "Great Sword" Wang Wu. He is drawn into the affairs of the Hundred Days' Reform unknowingly. Wang is a supporter of the reformists and he attempts to rescue the "Six Gentlemen", who have been imprisoned on Empress Dowager Cixi's order. Huo joins Wang in his quest but they fail and the six men are executed in public, while Wang dies a gruesome death later when he tries to avenge his comrades. Through his experiences, Huo Yuanjia begins to see the declining state of China and realises that China needs to change in order to survive in the future. Huo meets members of the Tongmenghui, a secret society planning to overthrow the corrupt Qing regime and establish a republic in China, and he supports them in their efforts.

Huo Yuanjia travels to Shanghai later, where he founds Jingwu School to groom martial artists to defend China from foreign intrusion and to boost national morale. Huo makes his name by defeating an aggressive Russian wrestler in Tianjin and an overbearing British boxer in Shanghai, upholding the dignity of the Chinese. At the same time, he meets the hostile Chen Zhen, who seeks vengeance on him. Chen's father was killed by Huo Endi years ago and since Huo Endi had died, Huo Yuanjia becomes Chen's target. Huo Yuanjia accepts Chen as his apprentice and attempts to resolve their feud by enlightening Chen with his martial arts philosophy.

Huo Yuanjia's love relationships are also in a mess, because he is in love with both Qiyun and Nong Jingqiu, but both of them stand on opposing grounds: Qiyun is the daughter of Prince Rong, a Manchu noble and the primary enemy of the Tongmenghui; Nong Jingqiu is the sister of Nong Jinsun, a Tongmenghui member. Besides that, Huo faces love rivals: Watanabe Ichiro, a prominent Japanese consul, is in love with Qiyun; Zheng Yefeng, Nong Jingqiu's godbrother, has a crush on his godsister.

• Vincent Zhao as Huo Yuanjia
• Wu Yue as Chen Zhen
• Mei Ting as Nong Jingqiu
  • Jia Saini as Nong Jingqiu (young)
• Qi Yan as Princess Qiyun
• Ma Kui as Nong Jinsun
• Huang Huiyi as Zhao Qiannan
• He Yin as Wang Xiang'er
• Feng Jingao as Hu Zishi
• Yue Yueli as Prince Rong
• Su Ke as Zheng Yefeng
• Chen Kai as Liu Zhensheng
• Lu Xingyu as Watanabe Ichiro (Dubian Yilang)
• Feng Peng as Zhou Tiezhu
• Xie Yunshan as Tietou
• Shu Chang as Ju'er
• Qin Jiahua as Ōhashi (Daqiao)
• Li Zhenqi as Wang Wu
• Liu Haijun as Huang Tianba
• Yangzi as Chu Chu

• Legend of Huo Yuan Jia on IMDb