RTHK's Tradition of Realism and Diverse Drama

The Birth of Below the Lion Rock Series

RTHK’s first TV drama series, Below the Lion Rock, was produced in 1972, and was broadcast on TVB and RTV. The series pioneered an era of realistic drama. It focused on the lives of Ko Chow Tak and his family spanning three generations, living in a seven-storey public housing estate building in Wang Tau Hom. Filmed from the perspective of the grassroots, the stories were a big hit as they accurately reflected contemporary social issues.

According to Franklin Wong, the initiator of Below the Lion Rock and also a former Director of Broadcasting, after the establishment of RTHK’s TV Division, he was full of enthusiasm and took the initiative to propose producing a TV drama series, which he thought was the most effective medium to reflect social issues and raise public awareness of the lives of the grassroots. The proposal was first rejected by the then Director of Broadcasting of the time due to a shortage of resources. However, Franklin persisted, and after multiple attempts, he eventually persuaded the Director to “give it a try”.

After taking on the assignment, Franklin tried to come up with a name for the drama series. When he looked up from his Broadcast Drive office, he saw the Lion Rock with the public housing estates of Wang Tau Hom below it, and so the series name Below the Lion Rock was born. Franklin Wong, the Director of the series, and the Scriptwriter, Leung Lap Yan, teamed up with “Uncle Tak”, played by Leung Ming, to create a show that reflected the lives of ordinary people in the early 1970s.

Evolution of Below the Lion Rock Series, firmly Grounded in Reality

Cheung Man Yee took over the role of Executive Producer of Below the Lion Rock in 1975 during an era of rapid economic growth and social change. She was joined by numerous brilliant young producers, such as Allen Fong, Ann Hui, Calvin Wong, King Hoi Lam, Mabel Cheung and Alex Law. They adopted a broader vision and more fluid approach than their predecessors to create characters and stories to depict life in different social classes.

Theme Song of Hong Kong: Below the Lion Rock

The TV programme Below the Lion Rock originally adapted the Cantonese tune Bu Bu Gao as its opening music. As the content of the series became more diverse, some young producers chose not to adopt it. With reference to TVB’s success in creating theme songs for their drama series, Cheung Man Yee invited Joseph Koo to compose a theme music, and James Wong to write the lyrics, this became the new theme song of the same name for Below the Lion Rock. It was sung by Roman Tam. First released in 1980, the song was well received and gradually became the “Theme Song of Hong Kong”.