Honour and Passion

Honour and Passion (simplified Chinese: 宝家卫国; traditional Chinese: 寶家衛國; pinyin: Bǎo jiā weì guó) is a Singapore Chinese drama which was telecast on Singapore's free-to-air Chinese language channel, MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It was hyped for being one of the few Mediacorp series that was sponsored by the Singapore Ministry of Defence. This drama serial consists of 20 episodes. It made its debut on 24 July 2007 and ended its run on 20 August 2007.

Meaning of title

The series's Chinese title ("宝家卫国" meaning "[The] Poh family defends the country") is a play on the idiom "保家卫国", which translates to "protecting one's country".

It is a very apt description of the entire series, for every single male within the series's main family (the Poh family) has served or is serving in the Singaporean military. The only member in the family who has not served in the military in Poh Wenwei, who, as a female, is exempt from mandatory National Service duties. The last characters of the four Poh children (精忠卫国 jing zhong wei guo), when combined, denote loyalty to one's country.

Cast

The Poh Family^[1]

• Poh Pengju (宝鵬举, portrayed by Huang Wenyong (黃文永))- A career military man, the father of four had to raise the children alone (with help from Liu Ya-mei) after his wife died years ago. He runs the household much like a military camp – his only daughter Wenwei is not excepted – but loves his four children dearly.
• Liu Ya-mei (刘亚妹, portrayed by Hong Huifang (洪慧芳))- The sworn sister of Po Pengju's wife and also a chief clerk in the Army, who promised to help Pengju raise his four children before Pengju's wife died. She has effectively been the mother figure in the family for years and is treated likewise by the children but Pengju does not regard her as a part of the family, merely as a friend. She loves Pengju secretly, and refused all other romantic advances, but her love was not reciprocated until the end of the series when Pengju decided to retire from the army.
• Poh Wenjing^[2] (宝文精, portrayed by Tay Ping Hui (郑斌辉))- The elder son and oldest child in the family. He followed his father's footsteps, and pursued a professional Army career. He is considered to be an outstanding commando, but he is crippled on the romance front, being not able to profess his true love to a fellow Army officer, Ouyang Pei Pei. With help from his siblings he attempted to woo her several times, each time ending either in comedic failure or disappointment.
• Poh Wenzhong^[3](宝文忠, played by Bryan Wong (王禄江))- The second son in the family. After finishing NS he became a computer engineer and is an active reservist. Like his older brother, he is father's pride and joy, having been a popular star athlete since his high school days. Unfortunately for him, his caring personality often attracts unwanted attention from women. He acts as the mediator in the family during family arguments. He eventually finds the love of his life - Xiaonuo, who is coincidentally Wenwei's colleague - and must convince his father to approve of their relationship.
• Poh Wenwei (宝文卫, portrayed by Rui En (芮恩))- The only daughter and third child of the family, she was raised as a boy ever since her mother died, hence her boorish and tomboy-like tendencies and mannerisms. Unable to tolerate such behaviour, her ex-boyfriend cheated on her and broke up with her for that very reason, and this was a source of conflict early on in the series. Her job at an advertising agency allowed her to work with her future love interests - Wu Chengyi, a photographer, and Picasso, her colleague with whom she shares a love-hate relationship.
• Poh Wenguo^[4] (宝文国, portrayed by Nat Ho (鶴天赐))- The youngest child and son in the family. He is about to serve his NS stint after finishing polytechnic. Unlike his two older brothers, the outspoken and laissez-faire Wenguo is more rebellious and often incurs the wrath of his father. In the months leading up to his NS, he is drilled heavily by his father and this has created conflict between father and son. However, during his Basic Military Training, he realises that his father's tough training has proven beneficial.

Other Characters

• Ouyang Pei Pei (欧阳佩佩, portrayed by Felicia Chin (陳靚瑄, credited as 陳鳳玲))- An instructor at the Army Artillery School, she maintains a feisty surface, but is tender and funny inside. She was Wenzhong's junior in secondary school and had a crush on him. Wenzhong's elder brother, Wenjing, has a secret crush on Pei Pei, but she does not appear to be interested initially. Her crush on Wenzhong almost cost her her life, when a mentally unstable lover of Wenzhong attacked her.
• Amy Lim (portrayed by Constance Song (宋怡霏))- A mentally unstable divorced woman who crossed paths with Wenzhong during a business venture. She loves Wenzhong, but the love is not mutual. Thinking that Ouyang Pei Pei is the one who stole Wenzhong from her, she attacked Pei Pei, and was committed to a mental facility as a result.
• Picasso Soh Jianwei (苏健威, portrayed by Pierre Png (方展发))- Wenwei's colleague at her advertising agency and, later, close friend and love interest. He was previously a trained EOD specialist in the Army. Picasso has a rather stingy and slack personality on the surface, and this has brought criticisms from his co-workers. It is later revealed that he was in fact saving money to help his disabled best friend Ben. He crossed paths with Wenwei several times before they worked in the same company; hence, their relationship got off to a disastrous start with both becoming each other's sworn enemies.
• Ben Phua (portrayed by Vincent Ng (翁清海))- Best friend and sworn brother of Picasso. He got to know Picasso during their NS stints. They were assigned to the same sections, and immediately became best partners. During a shopping trip for his new son, Ben was thrown off a pedestrian bridge after he tried to subdue a thief, and was crippled as a result.
• Liang Xiao Nuo (梁小诺, portrayed by Dawn Yeoh (姚懿珊))- Love interest of Wenzhong. Born into an impoverished background, she came to Singapore from Malaysia to work but finds herself having to bail out her extravagant and impudent cousin from trouble. She walks with a limp due to an accident. After getting together with Wenzhong, she still kept secrets from him, namely her part-time work in a cafe in addition to her regular job at Wenwei's advertising agency. In the end, she got married with Wenzhong, with blessings from Pengju, Wenzhong's father.
• Wu Cheng Yi (巫成义, portrayed by Ix Shen (沈倾掞))- The antagonist of the series, he is the love interest of Wenwei. He is a conflicted individual who had a traumatic past and finds himself in love with Wenwei. He is revealed to be part of a terrorist organisation who tries to threaten Singapore to release his brother who is sentenced to death for drug trafficking, to no avail. However, towards the end of the show he shows he still has a conscience when he texts Picasso to help him find Wenwei, who was being held hostage.

Minor characters

Synopsis

Introduction

Poh Wenwei (Rui En) is the third child in the family. Her father is Bao Pengju (Huang Wenyong) and she has two elder brothers and a younger brother. She is the only female in the family since her mother died of cancer when she was only nine years old. Their father, Pengju, an Army officer, is saddled with the roles of both father and mother, and though he loves his brood dearly, maintains strict discipline. The household is run under strict rules, and there is no exception for the girl in the family either.

The eldest, Poh Wenjing (Tay Ping Hui) is a Commando Officer and Pengju’s biggest pride and joy. The calm, intelligent and highly skilled Wenjing is very much valued by the SAF. Although well-built and chivalrous he is socially awkward around women and becomes tongue-tied easily.

Poh Wenzhong (Bryan Wong), the second son, works as an IT consultant. Like his older brother, he is also his father's pride and joy, having been a natural athlete and performed well during his National Service. He is also the peacemaker and counselor in the family. Wenzhong is easygoing in nature with a good sense of humour, which naturally makes him the object of affection for many women. The romantic of the family, he believes he has yet to meet ‘The One’ and his lack of a girlfriend at his age causes some concern for his father.

The youngest, Poh Wenguo (Nathaniel Ho), has just finished his studies at polytechnic and is waiting enlistment for National Service. To help prepare Wenguo for the army days ahead, Pengju forces the frustrated Wenguo to undergo daily physical training. To add on to Wenguo woes, Pengju constantly compares Wenguo to the outstanding performance of his two brothers. This makes Wenguo really resent enlistment. He even tries to escape the call-up by faking illness. Naturally, Pengju sees through all his antics and subjects Wenguo to a round of severe scolding and beatings. After enlistment, Wenguo unexpectedly discovers that his father’s earlier training had been beneficial and earns the commendation of his superiors and respect of his peers. He gradually realises the significance of military training, and begins to understand the importance of unity and responsibility.

Lamentations of the Commandos

A chance encounter with Ouyang Peipei (Felicia Chin) at the swimming pool, a Captain and an instructor with the School of Artillery, leaves Wenjing infatuated with her. He tries to strike a conversation when he meets her at a familiarization course later on, but his ‘coolness’ acts up.

While doing research for the advertisement, Wenwei gets to know female army officer Ouyang Peipei. During her interaction with Peipei, Wenwei discovers that Peipei is intricately linked with two of her brothers: Wenjing and Peipei were acquainted during their military training, while Wenzhong and Peipei were secondary school classmates. The very feminine Peipei is the dream lover of many men. Wenjing is merely one of many who have fallen for her. Wenjing wishes to try to win her affection, but every time he comes close to her, his mind turns blank and he is rendered tongue-tied again. This, to Peipei, is a sign of weakness and she forms a bad impression of Wenjing. Touched by Wenjing’s sincerity, she decides to give him a chance and goes on dates with him, but realises that there are considerable differences between them.

In fact, Peipei has been in love with Wenzhong. The feminine yet tough Peipei has always liked Wenzhong ever since they were in secondary school. However, Wenzhong has only treated her as a friend and is aware of his brother’s affections for this sassy officer. Never one to admit defeat, Peipei believes that she will win his love one day as long as she perseveres.

Rising Woes

Liu Yamei (Hong Huifang) has been colleagues with Pengju in the army. She has always been secretly in love with him, and takes good care of his four children. She used to frequent the Poh family home, making sure everything was running smoothly, doing everything the lady of the house would. Yamei has often been arranged to go for matchmaking sessions by her relatives, and has come across candidates with good credentials. But she is always picking on everything she can think of, and no one seems to be good enough. This is because she is still waiting for Pengju. The Bao children are also aware of her feelings for their father, and thus do their best to bring them together. Pengju is also aware of her devotion to him, but he simply cannot forget his dead wife. Thus, he is still unable to bring himself to accept Yamei.

Picasso (Pierre Png) is the new creative director in the advertising firm, and has been assigned to work with Wenwei. Stingy and rebellious in nature, Picasso gets off on the wrong foot with Wenwei right from the start. They boss Tom often finds himself in the middle of their arguments and threatened them with retrenchment in order to force them to work together. Coincidentally, when Picasso attends in-camp training, his commander turns out to be Pengju. Pengju has a bad impression of Picasso because of his slack attitude during training. However, he changes his mind and sees Picasso in a different light when the latter saves a fellow soldier in the face of danger.

In a misunderstanding, Wenzhong gets to know Liang Xiaonuo (Dawn Yeoh), Wenwei's Malaysian colleague. Wenzhong has a good impression of Xiaonuo, who is physically disabled and walks with a limp but is a mentally strong and determined girl. He falls for her and decides that Xiaonuo is ‘The One’ he has been waiting for.

Wenzhong goes all out to woo her. Although touched by Wenzhong’s sincerity, Xiaonuo is unable to forgive herself for causing the death of her ex-boyfriend. On top of it, she is conscious of her handicap and finds herself unable to accept Wenzhong’s affections. Later, Wenzhong risks his own life to save Xiaonuo. His actions finally melt down her defense, and Xiaonuo consents to accept Wenzhong. However, the traditional Pengju does not approve of his son choosing to be with a woman with a physical disability. He objects vehemently, and for the first time, father and son have a falling out.

Subsequently, with the encouragement and advice from Yamei, Pengju decides to find out more about Xiaonuo. He secretly checks up on her and discovers that she is in fact a kind and understanding person. He is finally able to let go of his previous prejudice, and grants his approval to the young couple.

Love and Uncertainty

Peipei finds out that she has lost to Xiaonuo. This is a huge blow to her confidence, and she becomes depressed. Wenjing is pained to see her emotionally crushed, and supports her unfailingly in silence. It is only then that Peipei realises the one who truly cares for her is Wenjing. Besides being deeply touched, she also understands that to be loved is a greater fortune than to love, and thus accepts Wenjing.

At a Taekwondo practice, Wenjing got to know Wu Cheng Yi (Ix Shen). Although in the beginning Cheng Yi appeared to be a cold, unfriendly person, the ice was soon broken after Wenjing and Cheng Yi worked together to foil a robbery attempt. Soon after, Wenjing gets to exchange blows with Wu Chengyi (Ix Shen). The two men’s skills are closely matched. They then discover each other to be primary schoolmates. Chengyi is a freelance photographer, and has been working in third world countries most of the time. With the air of a philosopher, he would spout a couple of lines on the meaning of life now and then.

During an advertisement shoot that Wenwei is charge of, the photographer she engaged backs out due to some food allergies. Chengyi volunteers his service and takes the place of the photographer. Wenwei is extremely grateful and becomes drawn to this talented yet mysterious man. Chengyi is aware of Wenwei’s feelings for him. However, due to the burden of his mission, he tries to keep Wenwei at arms’ length. In an accident, Wenwei mistakenly thinks that Chengyi has died. Her true emotions touches Chengyi greatly and he finally opens his heart to Wenwei.

Picasso and Wenwei are assigned with the task of developing a proposal for the advertisement for the Singapore Armed Forces and get acquainted with Peipei, who has been transferred to do publicity and is overseeing the project.

During the course of working together, Wenwei and Picasso progress from hating to discover the good sides of each other. Picasso subconsciously falls in love with Wenwei, who is a kind and lovable girl. He begins to give in to her every whim, but the careless Wenwei does not notice it.

Triangle Relationship Saga

Picasso used to be a bomb disposal expert in the armed forces, and had a good colleague and friend Ben (Vincent Ng). One day, Picasso and Ben gave chase when they encountered a robbery. In the process, Ben fell down a flight of stairs while trying to save Picasso. Paralysed as a result, Ben sank into despair and even drove his wife and children out of their house.

Wenwei finds out about this incident by chance. She realises that Picasso’s stingy personality is the result of him financially helping Ben, and he is not the slacker he appears to be. Wenwei has a great change of opinion over Picasso. At the same time, she also feels that Chengyi, being frequently non-contactable, has been keeping some things from her. The couple seems to be drifting apart.

Though Picasso is by now in love with Wenwei, he hesitates because of Chengyi’s very presence. He decides to give it all up and leave for an overseas posting. The night before his departure, Wenwei and Picasso are unable to put their thoughts into words for each other. After a sleepless night, Wenwei finally admits to herself that the only one in her heart is Picasso. The next morning, she rushes to the airport but misses out in meeting him. As she downs her sorrows with ice-creams, Picasso suddenly appears before her. Not wanting to have any future regrets, he confesses his love for Wenwei, who accepts him with joy.

Finale

Wenwei arrives at Chengyi’s home to come clean on her relationship with Picasso. Unexpectedly, she discovers Chengyi’s secret and is held hostage by him and his group. It turns out that Chengyi’s mission this time is to rescue his brother who is on death row. Chengyi has repeatedly used bomb threats to force the government to release his brother, to no avail. The group thus decides to take further extreme action and hold a kindergarten of teachers and children hostage.

When Picasso discovers that Wenwei has been captured by Chengyi, he dashes around searching madly for her. Almost at the end of his wits, Picasso remembers having bumped into Chengyi at a kindergarten, and rushes to the building with Wenjing hoping to get some clues. As fate can have it, he encounters Chengyi and his group barging into the kindergarten. In a face-off, Wenjing and Picasso successfully subdue the group and rescue the teachers and children.

With Chengyi’s directions, Picasso finds Wenwei who has been strapped with a time-bomb. He manages to defuse the bomb, having been a trained as a bomb disposal expert in the Army. With Wenwei successfully rescued and Chengyi dead, the case was solved and disaster averted. Wenjing and Pei Pei got married, Wenwei and Picasso got married, Wenzhong and Xiaonuo got married, and even Pengju and Ya-mei got married.

Viewership

See also

• List of MediaCorp Chinese series (2007)

Notes

1. ↑ The family's surname appears as Bao (the standard Pinyin translation) on all English subtitles, but is anglicised as "Poh" in spoken dialogues and on uniform name tags.
2. ↑ Poh Mun Jing in English
3. ↑ Poh Mun Chong in English
4. ↑ Poh Mun Kok in English

External links

• Official Website (Via Wayback Machine)(English)
• Official Website (Via Wayback Machine)(Chinese)