Story Summary
The Duke of Mount Deer 2008 is the latest Zhang Ji Zhong (ZJZ) production of a Jin Yong novel. As the vast majority of Jin Yong readers know, this novel was a significant departure from the "heroic, gallant righteous and upright" heroes of his other wuxia novels. Instead, Jin Yong wrote what many consider to be his most humorous book, one where the hero has many faults (conniving, multiple loyalties, womanizing, fun-loving) and succeeds not through martial arts prowess but by using trickery, applying his smarts and gambling on luck. Adapted for TV several times over the last three decades, this is the story of Wei Xiao Bao, an urchin brought up in the brothels of Yangzhou during the early Qing Dynasty, and his adventures, from infiltrating the imperial palace and befriending the young emperor Kang Xi, to later rising and becoming the emperor’s confidante, best friend and alter-ego, all the while single-handedly influencing the main historical events of the time. It is also the story of his relationships with his seven(!) wives and with his friends/mentors, in particular, Kang Xi and the chief of the rebellious Triads, Chen Jinnan.
Adaptation / Production /Editing
As with his other Jin Yong TV adaptations, ZJZ remained faithful to the story line, and, in many cases, to the actual dialogues and action scenes describe in the book. Although I have not watched all the other TV adaptations of this book, when compared to the ones I have seen (1998 and 2000 editions), this is, by far, the one that comes closest to the book.
That said, the version of this drama which I have seen - a five-set, fifty episodes DVD compilation distributed by Tai Seng USA - was terribly edited. I am uncertain if this was the actual version shown on TV or if this was a result from ZJZ editing team (or the Chinese censors), but it is clear that the drama was truncated from what originally was the intended final cut. Several scenes, particularly those based on the hero’s forays into Russia, where he meets Princess Sofia and assists her in ascending to the throne, and then his second trip there, where he is asked to wage war and then negotiate borders with the Russian delegation, were not only completed removed, but also were done without editing any of the scenes or dialogues which depended on those story arcs. Another equally disturbing omission included his dealings with the Situ Bolei rebel faction, where he saves his last wife, Zeng Rou, while establishing himself in her eyes as a hero responsible for avenging her father. Without that scene, one loses any reasonable explanation for how Zeng Rou ever falls for Wei Xiao Bao.
In addition, the English translations of this series, so important given that this drama relies heavily on the banter between the many characters, almost seem to have come out directly from a automated software translator, without anyone bothering to read them and see if they actually made sense, or even look for inconsistencies or errors in grammar. As such, unless you are a native speaker, you cannot completely follow the story, much less understand the subtle humor, jokes and play-of-words which count for much of the novel’s attractiveness.
As for the production, for those who have seen other ZJZ produced TV dramas, there is an expectation that the production would be of high quality, and Duke of Mount Deer does not disappoint in that area. Armed with what seemed to be a significant budget, this drama did not spare in production value, filming many of the scenes on location, including access to many places within the Imperial Palace, the use of a variety of costume sets, complex action scenes, several hundred extras and multiple camera angles. Although this is a fictional historical novel, the production made use of CGI effects at times. Unfortunately, this is an area where ZJZ continues to be weak at (or prefers not to spend much money), as those effects were amateurish and disappointing.
Since this Jin Yong novel is less about the martial arts and more about the different adventures that the (anti-)hero finds himself under, there are not that many fighting scenes as other wuxia-based drama. That said, the sporadic fighting scenes were all well choreographed and, on some occasions, did an excellent job of bringing to life the choreography described in the book.
As for the romance, I must applaud this production for being the closest to the book and not shying away from the raunchy (for a wuxia book) nature of the novel. Wei Xiao Bao’s lewd behavior, including his sleeping with several of his drugged wives-to-be (resulting in two of them becoming pregnant), Princess Jinnang’s sado-masochistic tendencies, and the Russian Princess Sofia’s uninhibited dalliance with Wei Xiao Bao, all made into this series, which is surprising given that this was a CCTV adaptation. One would have thought that those would be the scenes left out of the final version. The fact that these were kept makes this adaptation the most honest interpretation of Jin Yong’s intentions of showing the warts and very human nature of his main characters.
Actors / Casting
More so than any of his other novels, the Duke of Mount Deer is very focused on the main character, Wei Xiao Bao. As such, Huang Xiao Ming, who plays the main character, is taxed with carrying the whole series, as he (and the young actor playing the early years of Wei Xiao Bao) are on screen about 95% of the time. This puts a tremendous pressure for this actor to carry the movie. Having seen him play the main character in "The Return of the Condor Heroes", I was surprised at his choice to play Wei Xiao Bao. Huang Xiao Ming's physical good looks, age and athletic build, make it difficult to equate with the character of Wei Xiao Bao, who is suppose to be more of an eighteen year old, physically lazy and not strikingly handsome (Note: this role was played in the past by Dicky Cheung, Tony Leung and Jordan Chan, all who were better suited casting-wise). Still, Huang Xiao Ming did a commendable job in what in essence is a comedic role. He can ham it up with the best of them, and delivers his lines with great timing and effect.
I would be re-miss if I did not add a few comments on the actresses playing Wai Xiao Bao's seven wives. Let's start with the fact that Jin Yong did not create the most complex female characters for this book. In fact, they somewhat represent one particular dimension and not much more. Fang Yi (his first wife) is smart, Princess Wu Jianping (the youngest) is the innocent one, Shuang Er is the devoted companion, Princess Jinnang (sister to the Emperor) is the spoiled wife, Ah Ke (Green) is the beautiful prize, Zeng Rou is the upright girl, and Su Quan is the leader and best fighter. The actresses were all well cast in their not so complex roles, serving more as foil than true companions to Wei Xiao Bao. If there are any inconsistencies in their portrayals, from hate and contempt for the main character on a few scenes to the abruptly turn into a blind and faithful lover shortly thereafter, one should attribute those to the novel than to the adaptation or acting.
As for the other minor characters, although they all played their parts well, it is difficult to highlight anyone in particular, either as positively or negatively memorable, with perhaps the exception of Wallace Chung, who plays the adult Kang Xi. Wallace was able to portray the growth of the emperor throughout the years, demonstrating the struggles of governing China, while, at the same time, yearning for the youth he had to surrender as the ruler supreme of a country in transition.
Conclusion
I cannot help but feel disappointed at this series. My expectations coming in were much higher, having seen other ZJZ adaptations of Jin Yong’s novels. Perhaps, given that Duke of Mount Deer is really a complete departure from the formulaic aspects of his earlier novels, I should have expected that this production would not be able to build upon the previous know-how accumulated from those adaptations. What cannot be overlooked, however, is the shoddy editing, which seriously undermined the end result, which had the best intentions of making this drama the most faithful rendition of the novel. I would recommend this series with serious reservations and for only those who are either fans of the main actor or who have read the book and can thus mentally make up for the gaps in the story line. In addition, for those who cannot understand Chinese, I would wait until a better English translation is out before investing the time.
A Hero Born (Legend of the Condor Heroes)Jin Yong English Translation Book 1
A Bond Undone (Legend of the Condor Heroes)Jin Yong English Translation Book 2
Reviewed by: fumanchu
September 12, 2008