Horizon Moon Knife 《天涯明月刀》

[patricia n]

i know the same zhang meng is credited for the role based on that link, but i honestly don't think it's the same actress. i feel like there are 3 zhang meng actresses in the industry. i haven't seen that series yet, but based on the clips that i've seen, it doesn't quite look like her.

[Melanie]

cunqian li - Thanks for posting the link to all the 天涯明月刀 posters! Wow, Wallace only has one released photo, and out of nowhere, a bunch of posters pop up on his Fu Hongxue! I really like his intense, brooding look. I also love the big saber strapped to his back.

Also, thanks for the summary on Zhang Meng's character Zhou Ting! I briefly scanned through the English translation of 天涯,明月,刀 (thanks to dark_oracle for posting the translation link and a huge thanks to Ren Wo Xing and chowbeng for translating the novel for Chinese-illiterate readers) for the name Zhou Ting. It appears that, in the novel, she is only a very minor character who does not appear until the latter third of the novel. Even then, she has a very brief role and then appears again at the very end of the story. In the novel, she's a prostitute, albeit a very young and sweet one. Plus, I don't think she knows any martial arts in the novel. I haven't read the translated novel in detail yet and will do so when I have more time. However, from what I have gleaned from the novel, it looks like Fu Hongxue loves and marries a woman named Zhuo Yuzhen. He seems to have complicated love relations in the novel. I really need to go back and read the novel from start to finish to know what is going on. Perhaps, dark_oracle will have some time later to summarize the novel for us. However, the series has already changed Zhou Ting's origins and character, so the drama might not be completely faithful to the novel.

ChineseChik525 - Like dark_oracle already mentioned, this series is adapted from the novel 天涯,明月,刀 by Gu Long. According to the translators, Ren Wo Xing and chowbeng, this is one of his best novels. If you go to the novel translation page, the translators say that this novel is part of the Flying Dagger series, following after the novels Bordertown Wanderer (边城浪子) and Flying Eagle in the Ninth Month(九月鹰飞). I've already seen an old TVB adaption of Bordertown Wanderer (边城浪子) and it's pretty good. I remember Fu Hongxue (the character that Wallace will play) as a very brooding, introverted, stoic man, dressed completely in black, carrying a lethal-looking black saber. He has a limp and is plagued by a seizure disorder. In Bordertown Wanderer (the TVB series version), his first love died. Interestingly, she was also a prostitute.

patricia n - Thanks for the information on Zhang Meng's previous role. Is Zhu'er really suppose to be cutesy? Well, it sounds like Zhang Meng's going to be cutesy again in 天涯明月刀, judging from the summary of her character Zhou Ting posted by cunqian li.


I'm really excited by this series! It has a been a while since there is a serious wuxia drama released. We have been plagued by an abundance of Qing dramas with minimal to non-existent fighting.

[sunnysnow]

i know the same zhang meng is credited for the role based on that link, but i honestly don't think it's the same actress. i feel like there are 3 zhang meng actresses in the industry. i haven't seen that series yet, but based on the clips that i've seen, it doesn't quite look like her.

This Zhang Meng does play one of the three female leads (the others being Tang Yan & Qi Wei) in "Xia Jia San Qian Jin" which was recently aired in China.

On a side note, she looks very pretty in the costume shots.

[swtaznlaydee]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhru54i5fjj.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhrzxisk76j.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww1.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhsmqoaerej.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhsoi4b7ffj.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dht21hd04bj.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhts32c276j.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww2.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhts2pd469j.jpg')

[Melanie]

Thanks for the pictures, swtaznlaydee. What characters do the two girls in the light purple and dark purple gowns plays? Which characters are getting married?

[swtaznlaydee]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww2.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhurgk0z3bj.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhuthl6epvj.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww2.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhv535ke19j.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhv8uenipaj.jpg')

[Ren Ying Ying]

i know the same zhang meng is credited for the role based on that link, but i honestly don't think it's the same actress. i feel like there are 3 zhang meng actresses in the industry. i haven't seen that series yet, but based on the clips that i've seen, it doesn't quite look like her.

The one in the serieses that you've mentioned is the same Zhang Meng (Zhang "Lemon")--HSDS, Xia Jia San Qian Jin, Tian Ya Ming Yue Dao, etc.

However, there is also another Zhang Meng (Zhang "Sprout")--The Myth, Blue Files, Detective Tanglang, etc.

The two of them might be confused because the names sound the same.

[vivi_g]

Thanks for the pictures, swtaznlaydee. What characters do the two girls in the light purple and dark purple gowns plays? Which characters are getting married?

The one in dark purple is Nagong Ling played by Mao Xiao Tong. The one in light purple who is also the bride in the above pictures is Ming Yue Xin played by Ye Qing and I believed she is getting marry to Baron Chen's character Ye Kai.

I love Wallace!! But I also love Hugo Ng's Fu Hong Xue so much that I didn't really want Wallace, who I am a fan of, to reprise this role because I might wrongly criticize him out of biases.

[vivi_g]

Yan Nan Fei played by actor Zong Feng Yan who played as the prince in The Young Warriors of the Yang Clan with Hu Ge and Yuan Hong.

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/438c541e800275a91bd576a1.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/0e1e1c2a59c0ab645243c12c.jpg')


David Chiang's Xiang Ying Tian

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/efb4783d479992b23d6d97de.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/e40151f0d138649f7931aade.jpg')


Hua Bai Feng played by Lily Tien

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/d264ef5c93e48b18faf2c0e3.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/1f92f800cbe2804c728b658b.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/d134f3b4f94b782e8ad4b237.jpg')

Qi Yi Xin played by Berg Ng

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/61561f7ae7fa81b12e73b39e.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/9ca27de798dfe272b93820de.jpg')

All pics are from Baidu

[vivi_g]

Ye Kai's flying daggers...
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/567b1afa57157342a9d3112e.jpg')

Look at all the wigs used in this series!
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/481fdade8c0ad80895ee3754.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://imgsrc.baidu.com/forum/pic/item/5f4052ec7262628d2e2e2154.jpg')

All pics are from Baidu

[swtaznlaydee]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww2.sinaimg.cn/large/6abd0c0btw1di6n5w2f2sj.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/6faf89dejw1di6n2l6nwij.jpg')

[swtaznlaydee]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww1.sinaimg.cn/large/64619932jw1di5t43j42cj.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/large/676bb4fatw1di3b9pifzhj.jpg')

[patricia n]

the poster looks good (would be better if they found a better picture of wallace) and the costumes are decent compared to so many series these days.

[swtaznlaydee]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/large/649ec5d5tw1di6xsb1ew1j.jpg')

[swtaznlaydee]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/66afae7ftw1di6rs3ogrbj.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/large/7ee59437jw1di74vd5zwfj.jpg')

[swtaznlaydee]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/6ce1d3a3jw1dhzydtz1aoj.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww4.sinaimg.cn/large/5fb295d7jw1di78uomyulj.jpg')

[mango_cake]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://ww3.sinaimg.cn/large/6fe6b187jw1dhqiag9ymtj.jpg')

Who is the girl on the right? She is quite cute, and I love her white blouse! Where can I buy one?!

Zhang Meng is really cute and pretty too. I have only watched snippets of her as Zhu'er in HSDS...I didn't like her styling (the hair and flower thing was atrocious). Can't judge on her acting yet...I thought she was indeed a bit "cutesy" but it sort of fit the character, I dunno.

[patricia n]

the girl on the right is Mao Xiao Tong. her face suits ancient hairdo really well (she plays the girl in the dark purple outfit in the pix posted above in post #24). the girl in the middle is also attractive but only in modern day wear. in ancient costumes, she's not as beautiful (she plays the character in the light purple outfit posted above).

[mango_cake]

Thank you patricia! There are so many fresh faces in here I'm having trouble distinguishing who's who. Yes she looks quite pretty in both modern and ancient styling, while the girl in the middle does not look all that special right now, but will have to see how their acting chops are!

Finally another wuxia drama though! I was beginning to lose hope! Just wish there were more actors/actresses I knew in here.

[Melanie]

The one in dark purple is Nagong Ling played by Mao Xiao Tong. The one in light purple who is also the bride in the above pictures is Ming Yue Xin played by Ye Qing and I believed she is getting marry to Baron Chen's character Ye Kai.

I could be totally incorrect, but wasn't Ye Kai with Ding Ling Lin? At least, in the old TVB drama, Bordertown Wanderer, he was with her at the end. What happened to Ding Ling Lin?

I love Wallace!! But I also love Hugo Ng's Fu Hong Xue so much that I didn't really want Wallace, who I am a fan of, to reprise this role because I might wrongly criticize him out of biases.

I thought Hugo Ng did a fabulous job as the introverted, brooding, solitary Fu Hong Xue, too! But that was not the role I remember Hugo for. I saw him in an old TVB version of Legendary Siblings about 3-4 years back and loved him as Hue Wu Que. He was so handsome and gentlemanly in there. He will always be the most handsome Hua Wu Que to me.

With Wallace Chung's solid and versatile acting skills, I am sure he will be able to tackle any role. His rendition of Fu Hong Xue will not be a replica of Hugo Ng's, but they aren't suppose to be identical performances, as each actor depicts Fu Hong Xue at different times in his life. Hugo's Fu Hong Xue was younger, while the Fu Hong Xue that Wallace will play will be a more mature version of the character. So don't worry about comparing Hugo's portrayal vs. Wallace's portrayal. Instead, think of it as Wallace picking up the baton passed on by Hugo and continuing on with Fu Hong Xue's story.