The Disguiser
The Disguiser () is a 2015 Chinese spy war television drama based on Zhang Yong's novel, "Spy War on Shanghai Bund" (諜戰上海灘). It was produced by Hou Hongliang and directed by Li Xue, and stars Hu Ge, Jin Dong, Liu Mintao and Wang Kai as the members of the Ming family. The series tells the story Ming Tai, a rich and naive young master of the Ming household, who is trained to become a spy for the Kuomintang to fight Wang Jingwei’s leadership of Japan’s puppet regime in China. It originally aired daily on Hunan Television  from 31 August to 28 September 2015. The series was met with critical acclaim, receiving 37.5 million views on Youku as well as topping Sohu TV ratings, and was nominated for "Outstanding Drama" at the 30th Flying Apsaras Awards. Synopsis. The plot centers around the Ming household during the Japanese occupation era: college student Ming Tai is kidnapped by Nationalist government leader Wang Tianfeng, who gives him spy training and a life-and-death partner Yu Manli to carry out the party's many missions. The oldest brother, Ming Lou is the patriarch of the Ming household, while also holding  many important positions and connections in the Nationalist government, Chinese Communist Party, the Reorganized Government, and the Japanese government, although not many know his true intentions and loyalties. Ming Cheng acts as the Ming Lou's trusted assistant, making him the number one target for others to get to Ming Lou. Through the many dangerous predicaments the family face, together, they fight to bring down their enemies and end the occupation. Production. "The Disguiser" was adapted from Zhang Yong's novel, "The Spy War on Shanghai Bund". The script was inspired by the novel's characters who have multiple identities , with many skills to transform and camouflage in a variety of scenarios; and hence the television series' title. The creative team included author Zhang Yong as the screenwriter, Magnolia award-winning director Li Xue, Hou Hongliang as head producer as well as Meng Ke and Wang Shuyi as the main composer of the soundtrack. Other members of the production team include casting and dubbing directors Bi Yingjie, Jiang Guangyao and Zhang Kai, artistic director Shao Changyong, action stunt director Hao Wanjun, costume designer Ru Meiqi and set designer Su Zhiyong. Location filming began on January 4, and ended on April  27, 2015, where it entered post-production. Soundtrack. Tracks 1 through 20 were composed by Meng Ke, while tracks 21 through 24 were composed by Wang Shuyi, who also composed the theme song, "From the Heart (诉衷情)".