King's War

King's War, also known as Legend of Chu and Han, is a Chinese television series based on the events in the Chu–Han Contention, an interregnum between the fall of the Qin dynasty and the founding of the Han dynasty. It started airing on Anhui TV, Zhejiang TV, Jiangxi TV and Tianjin TV on 28 December 2012.

The show began streaming on Netflix in 2017.

Cast

 * Chen Daoming as Liu Bang
 * Peter Ho as Xiang Yu
 * Duan Yihong as Han Xin
 * Qin Lan as Lü Zhi
 * Li Yixiao as Consort Yu
 * Yang Lixin as Xiao He
 * Sun Haiying as Fan Zeng
 * Huo Qing as Zhang Liang
 * Zhang Jinyuan as Chen Ping
 * Liu Yuxin as Concubine Qi
 * Hu Dong as Ying Bu
 * Wang Xinjun as Peng Yue
 * You Yong as Yong Chi
 * Kang Kai as Fan Kuai
 * Wang Jishi as Lu Wan
 * Fan Yulin as Long Ju
 * Zhang Chenghao as Zhou Bo
 * Xu Xiaojian as Cao Shen
 * Lin Peng as Xiahou Ying
 * Jiang Yongbo as Cao Wushang
 * Yu Hewei as Qin Shi Huang
 * Yu Bin as Qin Er Shi
 * Chi Dong as Han Sheng
 * Li Yuan as Ji Bu
 * Li Yixin as Zhao Chuiluan
 * Zheng Wei as Liu Ying
 * Yu Mingjia as Lady Cao
 * Cai Yida as Xiang Zhuang
 * Qiu Yunhe as Xiang Di
 * Yang Ziduo as Yu Ziqi
 * Zhu Yanping as Xiang Liang
 * Xu Maomao as Xiang Bo
 * Ye Dingming as Fusu
 * Ji Chenmu as King Huai of Chu
 * Cao Weiyu as Zhang Han
 * Miao Luoyi as Liyuan
 * Gong Yirong as Ruojiang
 * Liu Xiaoxiao as Jitao
 * Wang Zitong as Emei
 * Ye Peng as Zhongli Mo
 * Elvis Tsui as Wei Bao
 * Li Jianxin as Li Si
 * Xu Wenguang as Zhao Gao
 * Wang Shengnan as Xiaoyi
 * Wu Gang as Shen Yiji
 * Li Jichun as Ziying
 * Shang Yue as Song Xiang
 * Liao Jianheng as Liu Fei
 * Sun Erchen as Li Si's youngest son

Production
King's War is the second historical drama television series directed by Gao Xixi, after Three Kingdoms (2010). The production cost for King's War was expected to break records, as Bona Film Group announced on 8 June 2011 that it would provide Gao Xixi with a budget of 1.7 billion yuan for the project, excluding the costs for possible future expansions.

Filming started on 25 August 2011 and ended on 5 May 2012.

Set construction
According to reports, apart from its huge budget, one of the highlights of the series is its realistic sets. The palace, along with other important locations in the television series, had to be totally reconstructed in accordance with the requirements stated in the script. The sets were expected to be completed by July 2011.

Casting
Chen Daoming formally signed on to play Liu Bang, one of the lead roles in the drama. On 25 August 2011, Gao Xixi appeared in public with six confirmed members of the cast, including Chen Daoming, Peter Ho, Hu Dong and Liu Yuxin. Chen Daoming had been confirmed to play Liu Bang while Peter Ho was a likely choice for the role of Xiang Yu.

Script
Screenwriter Wang Peigong spent years creating the script for King's War. Gao Xixi said in an interview, "Peigong and I would discuss about King's War when we have time. It has been four years, I believe the time is ripe now. The story will begin from Liu Bang starting off as a patrol officer in Pei County, until he established the Han dynasty and became the emperor. This series will not follow the narrative style of historical dramas. The clever part about Legend of Chu and Han lies in the word Legend."

English dub
On 15 August 2015, an English dub of all 80 episodes was completed for release on South African Cable Television.

Reception
The series received average ratings, but Gao Xixi claimed that it was attracting a highly educated audience.