Master Ma is a two-season 1998 Hong Kong-Taiwanese television series produced by the television stationsATV and CTV. It is loosely based on the life of Ma Yongzhen, a Hui Chinese martial artist who lived in the late Qing dynasty. The series was directed by Fan Sau-ming and starred Kenny Ho as the eponymous character.
The series is set in the Warlord Era of the early 20th-century China. Ma Yongzhen and his mother, Ma Daniang, live in Shandong Province, where they raise horses for Marshal Duan's army. One night, the stables mysteriously catch fire and the horses are lost. Marshal Duan's men arrest Ma and his mother, but they fight their way out of the prison and escape. Ma makes his way alone to Shanghai to earn a new living. In Shanghai, Ma becomes famous after winning a horse race and a martial arts tournament. However, he also gets into trouble with the most powerful gangs in Shanghai: White Gang and Wuhu Gang. At the same time, he starts a romance with Xue's mistress, the opera singer Liu Juchi, but has no chance to be with her. With the help of Duan Lengcui and others, Ma creates Zhendong Gang. Unlike the other gangs, Zhendong Gang aims to help the poor and fight injustice. At the end of Season 1, Ma eliminates Wuhu Gang and makes peace with White Gang.
Season 2 revolves around a rivalry between Ma Yongzhen and Bai Laili. Bai resorts to various cunning means in his attempt to eliminate Ma and Zhendong Gang. First, he sends his goons to infiltrate Ma's gang and steal a shipment of foreign goods stored in Ma's warehouses. Next, he orders his henchman Tang Biao to assassinate the French consul and frame Ma for the murder. Eventually, with the help of Duan Lengcui's father, who turns out to be Marshal Duan, Ma succeeds in clearing his name and resolving the problems. With Marshal Duan as his ally, Ma manages to keep Bai Laili and White Gang at bay for some time. At the same time, Ma's feelings for Liu Juchi gradually diminish as he becomes more romantically involved with Duan Lengcui. Ma and Duan Lengcui are engaged to be married. Marshal Duan and the Japanese consul convince Ma to support them in opening a hospital to provide medical services for the poor in Shanghai and improve Sino-Japanese ties. However, Ma and his friends discover that the hospital is actually being used for sinister purposes. Marshal Duan is collaborating with the Japanese to develop biological weapons in the hospital. In return, the Japanese will aid him in defeating the Kuomintang government. At the same time, Ma encounters Kimura, a hostile Japanese martial artist who supports Bai Laili and constantly seeks to make trouble for him.
Cast
Kenny Ho as Ma Yongzhen : the protagonist of the series, and the boss of Zhendong Gang.
Grace Yu as Liu Juchi : an opera singer, Xue Changchun's mistress, and Ma Yongzhen's first love interest.
Anita Lee as Duan Lengcui : Marshal Duan Tianfeng’s daughter, and Ma Yongzhen's second love interest.
Chan Hung-lit as Bai Laili : the boss of White Gang.
Norman Chu as Xue Changchun : the boss of Wuhu Gang.
Fan Bingbing as Bai Xiaodie : Bai Laili's daughter. At the end of Season 2, she is revealed to be Ma Yongzhen's long-lost younger sister, Ma Suzhen.
Howie Huang as Sun Jisheng : a doctor and Kuomintang secret agent. He is Bai Xiaodie's lover.
Yang Sheng as Jiang Shiguang : a policeman in Shanghai who befriends Ma Yongzhen. He is promoted to Deputy Chief Inspector later. He is murdered by Kimura.
Lin Jing as Wenjing : Jiang Shiguang's love interest. She is attacked by Kimura and dies from her injuries.
Cheng Sihan as Lu Kuangtian : a warlord who takes control over Shanghai in Season 1. He flees from Shanghai after his army is defeated. He is killed by robbers while in hiding.
Lung Tien-hsiang as Tang Biao : Bai Laili's right-hand man. He is killed by Ma Yongzhen and Luo Zhan after they discover that he was the one who murdered the French consul.
He Zhonghua as Luo Zhan : one of Xue Changchun's henchman. At the end of Season 1, he accidentally falls off a cliff during the battle between Wuhu Gang and Zhendong Gang and is believed to be dead. However, in Season 2, it is revealed that he was saved by Sun Jisheng and has joined the Kuomintang intelligence service to help Sun in gathering information about Shanghai's situation. He is killed by Kimura.
Chang Chen-huan as Marshal Duan Tianfeng : a warlord who takes control of Shanghai in Season 2.
Mondi Yau as Chen Jiamei : a Japanese spy in disguise as a courtesan. She becomes Bai Laili's mistress.
Shen Meng-sheng as Ding Xianjin : the son of a wealthy businessman. He uses his family fortune to start a drama troupe to provide free entertainment to the poor. He falls in love with Liu Juchi.
Kou Zhanwen as Kimura : a ruthless and overbearing Japanese martial artist. He is Ma Yongzhen's formidable rival.
Remake
The series was remade in 2012 as a mainland Chinese television series titled Ma Yongzhen, directed by Kuk Kwok-leung and starring Danny Chan as Ma Yongzhen. Norman Chu and He Zhonghua are cast in the remake as Bai Laili and Xue Changchun respectively.
