Peter Ho Gains a Million Followers Without Starring in 'Pursuing Jade', Zhang Linghe’s 'Foundation General' Unexpectedly Helps?

Zhang Linghe has been nicknamed the “Foundation General” for his delicate, less masculine makeup look in the hit drama 'Pursuing Jade.' Interestingly, Peter Ho, despite not appearing in this drama, has seen a surge in popularity—gaining a million followers on Douyin in 10 days—thanks to his role as Xiang Yu in 'The Legend of Chu and Han' over a decade ago. Many netizens believe he embodies the image of a truly mighty general. Today, Peter Ho appeared at the press conference for the original TVBS and MediaCorp drama 'Prediction of Falling for You,' where he fondly recalled being praised as the “Asian Sculpture King” years ago after doing an underwear commercial.

Peter Ho, who stands 185cm tall, weighed only 66kg at the start of his career. After landing an underwear commercial, he ate 10 bowls of rice with lean meat every day to bulk up. He laughed, "I didn’t know how long the ad poster would stay up, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself. Plus, Hollywood and Korean actors all have great physiques, so I worked hard to get in shape." After this transformation, he started being cast not just as domineering CEOs but also as martial characters like Xiang Yu and Lü Bu—a quirky stroke of fate, he felt.

This reminded Peter Ho of a funny story: “I actually made the news for eating a lot of rice!” He mocked himself, saying that back in the last century, when he and idol Jacky Cheung were both under Polygram Records, they once had a 'who can eat more rice' contest at a celebration banquet. Determined not to lose face in front of his idol, he pushed himself to eat eight bowls. Sure enough, Jacky Cheung patted him on the shoulder and expressed his admiration, and the media gave him the nickname 'Rice Bucket Peter Ho'!

This recent resurgence in popularity from 'The Legend of Chu and Han' is quite a surprise to Peter Ho, since the role is from over a decade ago. His parents are the happiest about it, staying up late to watch videos on Douyin every night. He said, “At this stage of my life, one of Xiang Yu’s lines, ‘Burn your boats’ (total commitment), means a lot—I want to approach directing this series with that same spirit.” Despite new offers for events and endorsements coming in with his renewed fame, he has turned them all down.

Source: United