Shadow of a Ghost

This Chinese period drama series follows the fortunes of a prominent merchant family engaged in Traditional Chinese Medicine during the waning years of the Ching dynasty. The affairs of this family of doctors/pharmacists (which in those days were one and the same) are intimately linked with social upheavals of the time such as the encroachment of Christian missionaries and foreign imperialism as well as conflicts that inevitably emerge in a large upper class family. Comparable in scope and production value to such recent titles as "Downton Abbey", the lives and character of both masters and servants intertwine in plot lines that spans more than a generation.

Set during the Warring States Period, the story follows an extraordinary genius whose identity is shrouded in mystery. Like a master in chess, Wang Chan moves the pieces at play in tumultuous times to quell dissidence and help his nation grow in strength as he eventually becomes the revered Gui Gu Zi. In 390 BC, the Crown Prince of Wei was able to crush a coup with the help of Wang Cuo. As a result, Wei Huan is exiled and Wu Qi flees to Chu. Just as Wang Cuo celebrates his victory, Wu Qi returns to take revenge and covet "Sun Tzu's The Art of War" for himself. He surrounds the manor with five hundred of his men and kills everyone in sight. Madame Wang manages to give birth to her son Wang Chan who eventually grows up to become a skilled political strategist.

A young man recalls his childhood growing up in a poor alley in Beijing during the 1950s and 1960s.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the feudal lords engaged in a fierce battle, with numerous heroes vying for the deer and smoke of war rising everywhere. Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu fought fiercely for power, causing the people to suffer from conscription and exile.