The Thirteen Taibao: Fist King of Shanghai

[Gangs] [Sports] [War of Resistance] [Espionage]

In 1983, a Hong Kong film titled Shanghai’s Thirteen Guardians was released. It told the story of the Thirteen Guardians protecting patriots and exposing the Wang Jingwei puppet regime’s plan to sell out the country.

In 2018, the TV series The Great Times, starring Chen Sicheng, premiered. It borrowed and adapted the Thirteen Guardians concept.

In 2024, the novel Thirteen Guardians: Fist King of Shanghai also used this premise, as a cold wave swept south.

Nan Xiao Du, Bei Lao Jiu, the Thirteen Guardians are unbeatable.

Beggar, instructor, Na Sanshao, coachman, adviser, Xiao A Qiao, the Blind Man, drunkard, Black and White Impermanence, Dragon, Tiger, Leopard.

The protagonist opens a martial arts school and hosts challenge matches, defeating foreigners in boxing and making a name for himself across Shanghai.

During the May Thirtieth Incident, he publicly challenges and defeats a Japanese karate master, earning acclaim as a national hero.

In 1932, he leads his students in the Battle of Shanghai. That same year, he travels to the United States with Liu Changchun to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics, winning the boxing championship and bringing honor to his country.

When the full-scale War of Resistance against Japan breaks out in 1937, he goes underground, hiding in Shanghai as he assassinates collaborators and protects his country and its people.