A Hero Never Dies
Also known As: 反抗之真心英雄 / Fan Kang Zhi Zhen Xin Ying Xiong / The True Hero of Resistance / A Hero Never Dies
Genre: War, Historical
Episodes: 38
Broadcast Period: May 18, 2009
Director: Chen Zhihua, Jin Demao
Screenwriter: Gao Dayong, Ma Shuai, Wei Siyuan

Cast:

• Wu Yue (吴樾) as Xia Shi Jie (夏士杰)
• Xu Hai Huan (许还幻) as Wan Xue Er (万雪儿)
• Ren Shuai (任帅) as Chen Shao Dong (陈少东)
• Gao Xin (高鑫) as Ji Xiao Nuan (季小暖)
• Li Yu (李彧) as Shi Waiter (时小二)
• Jin Song (晋松) as Ma Da Li (马大力)
• Wei Zi Xin (魏子昕) as Yuan Heng Li (袁亨利)
• Bai Qing Lin (白庆琳) as Qian Ye Qing Zi (千叶晴子)
• Tu Men (涂们) as Jia Teng (加藤)
• Zhang Tian Qi (张天其) as Wan Ren (万仁)
• Yi Yong (易勇) as Hu Wei (胡为)
• Zhao Qiang (赵强) as Chang Qiang Li (长枪李)
• Yin Jun Zheng (尹君正) as Yan Li Jun Nan (岩里俊男)
• Jiang Xiao (江晓) as San Dao (三岛)
• Zhu Wen Xuan (朱文萱) as Hong Yu (红玉)
• Chen Hai (陈海) as Zhen San Jie (镇三街)
• Zhang Heng Ping (张衡平) as Lie Hu (猎户)
• Ma Zi Jun (马子俊) as Hui Ci (慧慈)
• Hu Xi Long (胡玺龙) as Xia Ying Feng (夏迎风)
• Wang Ming Zhi (王明智) as Wan Fu Li (万复礼)
• Wang Xin Ran (王欣然) as Xing Er (杏儿)
• Zhao Gui Xiang (赵贵祥) as Lao Li Tou (老李头)
• Li Wen Quan as Tie Jiang
• Liu Jian Guang (刘建光) as Mu Jiang (木匠)
• Yue Ding (岳鼎) as Pang Zi (胖子)
• Dong Jun Bo (董军波) as Xiao Sha Mi (小沙弥)
• Wang Yan Jiang (王彦江) as Xiao Cui Ba (小催巴)
• Wan Shan Feng (万山峰) as Ke Ba Liu (磕巴刘)
• Xu Xian Hui (徐显辉) as Tu Si Ye (涂四爷)

Synopsis:

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the war situation in China became more and more severe. After the Japanese invaders occupied Nanjing and Jinan, in order to quickly realize the invasion plan of destroying China and connect the north and south battlefields, they decided to use Nanjing and Jinan as bases and attack Xuzhou from the north and south along the Jinpu Railway.

On March 16, 1938, the Japanese army launched an attack on Teng County, which kicked off the prelude to the Battle of Taierzhuang, the defense of Teng County. Although the great victory was achieved in Taierzhuang, the anti-Japanese situation in China is still not optimistic. The Japanese army occupied western Shandong and northern Jiangsu. The Kuomintang army retreated southwestward. The anti-Japanese activities behind enemy lines led by the Communist Party did not stop.

In May 1939, the Eighth Route Army headquarters ordered the Sulu Detachment to develop to the east of Henan and northern Anhui, so the Sulu Detachment should be named the Suluyu Detachment. Under the influence of the Suluyu Detachment, the civil resistance against Japan in southern Lunan also surged. The land of Qilu has been the land of heroes since ancient times, and there have always been bloody sons and daughters.

The heroic Qilu sons and daughters actively launched the anti-Japanese struggle under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. This play describes the story of the folk resistance against Japan led by the party in southern Shandong under this background.

Xia Yingfeng, a famous knight in the late Qing Dynasty, once participated in the Boxer Rebellion to exterminate foreign countries. After the Boxer Rebellion failed, Xia Yingfeng disappeared from the public and opened a martial arts gym in the countryside of Teng County. More than thirty years later, due to the Japanese invasion of China, Xia Yingfeng had to sacrifice the Xia family’s sword skills again.

The New Year is approaching, and just as the Xia family is celebrating the New Year behind closed doors, a young man covered in blood breaks into the house. It turns out to be Chen Shaodong, the company commander of the Sulu Detachment of the Eighth Route Army who was dispersed by the Japanese. Xia Yingfeng hurriedly took him in for treatment. In the early morning of the next day, the Japanese surrounded Tujiazhuang. In order to cover Chen Shaodong, both Xia Yingfeng and his eldest son Xia Shiying were killed. The famous Xia Jiadao was also snatched away by the Japanese squad leader.

The second son, Xia Shijie, heard the news and hurried down the mountain to avenge his father and brother. He broke into the Japanese stronghold at night. At this time, Xia Shijie remembered four people: they were the four apprentices who were driven away by their father, and they were known as the four masters: the thief Shi Xiaoer, the giant spirit Shen Ma Dali, Wu Dao Xiao Nuan, and the ghost Yuan Henry.

The master thief Shi Xiaoer, when Xia Shijie found him, he was stealing the pockets of Japanese and traitors in the market. The giant spirit horse, Dali, has nothing but great strength. When Xia Shijie told him the news of his father’s death, Dali couldn’t help but burst into tears, as strong as an ox, which resounded through the sky. Feidao Xiaonuan is a serious person, and his unique skill is to be good at throwing knives. Xia Shijie found him in the troupe. The last one is Yuan Henry, who is scheming and eloquent. When Xia Shijie found him, he was setting up a stall on the street to tell fortunes and received money from traitors.

After many twists and turns, Xia Shijie finally found the four masters. Together with the help of Chen Shaodong, they finally killed the Japanese team leader Tanaka and avenged his great revenge. The vengeance of the five people has been avenged, and just as they were about to leave, a fire broke out at the foot of the mountain, and the Japanese massacred the village for revenge. So everyone decided not to leave, and stayed to form a martial arts team with the recovered Chen Shaodong to fight against Japan.

Chen Shaodong serves as the instructor and captain, using modern military means to train these uneven team members. With the help of Chen Shaodong, these civilians who knew nothing about war finally grew into capable revolutionary warriors.

Later, the martial arts team absorbed several male and female warriors with their own specialties: one of them was a beautiful girl named Wan Xueer. In the subsequent battle, she developed feelings for Xia Shijie. Later, a theater troupe joined the armed workers team because they could not bear the persecution of the Japanese army. They brought new ideas: using jokes from the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin to design military operations and conduct anti-Japanese activities in a lively and dramatic manner.

In this way, a group of people with different characteristics formed the most distinctive armed workers team at that time. They were active in the southwestern region of Shandong and fought against the Japanese heartily until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. The heroic Qilu sons and daughters made great contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japan.