Legendary Book of Sun-Moon Swordplay

[charbydis]

No offense, but i popped into the Tian Ya Ming Yue Dao thread and Wallace's puffy fringe tied back looks terribel! Looks like he has a gigantic forehead. Sometimes, i think tv tries too bad to make costumes more modern to be accepted, and ignore the fact that sometimes, the traditional simple hairstyles and costumes look the best.

I remember the taiwanese version of Bride With White Hair, Julian looked great with his hair pulled back then in another, I was at the terrible curly wig he had on!

[tweety365]

No offense, but i popped into the Tian Ya Ming Yue Dao thread and Wallace's puffy fringe tied back looks terribel! Looks like he has a gigantic forehead. Sometimes, i think tv tries too bad to make costumes more modern to be accepted, and ignore the fact that sometimes, the traditional simple hairstyles and costumes look the best.

I remember the taiwanese version of Bride With White Hair, Julian looked great with his hair pulled back then in another, I was at the terrible curly wig he had on!

Poor Wallace was once again given horrible hair . The costumes look pretty decent. But the awful hair . I think the series will deviate a lot from the original novel. That's never a good sign, but I'll probably watch clips of Wallace in action .

[tweety365]

You can imagine yourself as Black Rose. Good thing about having character names independent of the actors' names is that you can imagine anyone you wish when reading about a particular character.

Nah, SCN deserves his Black Rose. I'm happy as long as my man is happy . Mine is a selfless love, not at all possessive

I looked at the link you gave me for Heroic Legend. Is SFF even on the poster? I don't see her. Who was her costar/love interest? Did she get a lot of screen time? What's her character's storyline and what happened to her in the end?

I don't think Fan Bing Bing is that classically beautiful...

I totally agree with you on FBB. I think she is pretty at certain angles, but I wouldn't consider her a classic beauty. I have a friend that thinks FBB is like a goddess. So beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Anyway, to answer your questions regarding Heroic Legend (aka Ping Zong Xia Ying aka The Wanderer Chronicles). The series is an adaptation from the novel by Liang Yusheng, who also wrote the White Haired Demoness and Seven Swords. The adaptation deviated a lot from the novel and that is not a good thing. There used to be a very detailed thread discussion on this series, but it got deleted due to inactivity. There were a lot of pics too. Anyway, the main couple is Zhang Danfeng (Huang Hai Bing) and Yun Lei (Fan Bing Bing). The secondary couple is Yun Zhong (Sun Hao) and Princess Jing (Sun Fei Fei’s role, but she does not exist in the novel). There were 2 official posters for the series and she had a small picture in the other poster. This series was released back in 2003, so she was still relatively unknown. Unfortunately, not much promotion for her in the poster.

SPOILERS:
Princess Jing was arranged to marry a Mongolian Prince as a form of peace treaty. Obviously, she was not at all keen on the idea of being sent to a foreign land to marry a total stranger. She managed to sneak out of the kingdom and run away, intending on roaming the martial world. Of course, with the wedding date fast approaching, the king sent a bunch of highly skilled Imperial Bodyguards to locate the princess. One of the best bodyguards was Yun Zhong. Not knowing any martial arts, she wasn’t able to escape Zhong’s “protection” and had to be “escorted” back to the kingdom. Their time together was hilarious and heartwarming. In the beginning, he protected her because it was his job. However, he slowly started to fall in love with her. Seriously, who wouldn’t fall for such a lovable princess?

Even without the impending royal marriage, he was a commoner and highly inappropriate for her. So he gave up his career and intended to run away with her. Unfortunately, his martial teacher and also high ranking government official, Dong Yue, caught up with them and separated the two. On the way to the Ming/Mongolian border, Jing cried so much that she became blind. It was so sad when SFF gave such a bittersweet smile and said that if she was unable to see what she wanted to see (Zhong), then it didn’t matter if she could see or not.

Once at the border, she requested Dong Yue to let her go up the tower to “see” her homeland one last time since it was highly unlikely for her to return home after marriage. Dong Yue took pity on her and accompanied her going up the tower. He offered to take off her chains to make her more comfortable, but she declined. Zhong was the one who put it on her and she considered it like a wedding band.

During this time, Zhong had been muffled and chained up. He stood below, helplessly staring up at his Jing. She unexpectedly leaped down from the tower. Dong Yue managed to catch her leg, but she took out a hidden dagger and stabbed her chest. Dong Yue no longer held onto her and she fell down. Zhong broke free of his chains and rush toward Jing. He caught her just before she hit the ground. They spoke briefly before she died.

With the princess dead, Dong Yue had failed his mission. He had no choice but to punish Zhong for his involvement with the princess. He struck Zhong with his palm and he was assumed dead by everyone. However, Dong Yue loved Zhong like his own son, so he hid his student away and secretly healed his injury. After Jing’s death, Zhong was like a living zombie. He longer had any desire to live. Eventually, he was inflicted with poison when fighting with one of the antagonists in the story. Dong Yue wanted to use his internal energy to save Zhong, but he refused. He wanted to be with his Jing

[tweety365]

Here is a clip of Heroic Legend with the theme song and SFF in disguise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzRvHBVkDDk
I love the theme song and ending song .

Not to stray too far off topic: GO SCN

[Melanie]

charbydis - Yes! Wallace's hair in Tian Ya Ming Yue Dao is horrible! I hate it that he always seems to get stuck with stupid hairstyles. Sometimes, I wonder why he doesn't speak up for his own hair! Surely, the stylist would take his suggestions into consideration. I miss the older, simpler men's wuxia hairstyles. The more recent wuxia styles make the men look inappropriately effeminate, stupid, maniacal, or electrocuted.

tweety - Really? You think SCN deserves Black Rose? Setting aside SCN's hotness, power, and magnetism, do you really think he deserves the most beautiful maiden in the world? Just because he's the one with the more superior martial arts and the more dominant position, does that automatically give him a free pass to do whatever he wants? I mean, Black Rose may not be the angel of kindness and righteousness, but I don't think she deserves the kidnapping. Quite frankly, I think SCN deserves a hard kick in the rear end by Black Rose. Don't worry, he has it coming in the upcoming chapters.

Thanks for the summary of Princess Jing's role! She sounds adorable. I watched that clip you posted and SFF is absolutely a darling! She looks so cute I just want to hug her! I was so charmed by her in that clip that I started watching the series on tudou.com. I saw one and a half episode. So far, no SFF. Huang Hai Bing is not that good looking. I haven't seen SFF's love interest yet, but I trust your taste in men. If you haven't been raving up and down the forum about him yet, then I assume he's only average looking. I kind of wish Wallace Chung is the guy playing Yun Zhong. He would have looked adorable with SFF.

[tweety365]

I haven’t seen anybody claim to even like these kinds of hairdos. Yet, the male leads often get stuck wearing something akin to a bird’s nest. I prefer to think that the hair stylists were either drugged up or hit with the stupid stick.

SCN + Black Rose =
But yeah seriously, she didn’t deserve the kidnapping and forced marriage, but I think they are quite cute together. He shouldn’t have done what he did, but he already did it, so what can I do? I like that sentence .

OMG, if Wallace was Yun Zhong, it would have been so totally awesome. With Wallace’s looks, Zhong will be prefect! Alas, we have a wonderful love story with a beautiful princess and her average looking hero. The reason I like SFF so much is her versatility as an actress. She can do cute without overdoing it like some actresses who end up making me cringe. I also just want to pat her head and give her a hug. She hasn’t done an all out evil role yet, but I think she has the ability to morph into that character with ease. Like Tavia’s acclaimed role in Beyond the Realm of Conscience.

Princess Jing comes out a bit later in the series. Afterall, she has only a supporting role. You have to sit through a lot of filler scenes of HHB needlessly chasing FBB around . Back then, I actually had the time and patience to sit through the entire series without fast forwarding. Not so nowadays. I wouldn’t and over HHB, but I actually find the guy very likable in a scholarly way.

[Melanie]

I haven’t seen anybody claim to even like these kinds of hairdos. Yet, the male leads often get stuck wearing something akin to a bird’s nest. I prefer to think that the hair stylists were either drugged up or hit with the stupid stick.

That's why I don't understand why these men's weird wuxia hairdos keep popping up when none of the viewers like them! Are the hairstylists spiting us on purpose?

SCN + Black Rose =
But yeah seriously, she didn’t deserve the kidnapping and forced marriage, but I think they are quite cute together. He shouldn’t have done what he did, but he already did it, so what can I do? I like that sentence.

This is a prime example of how shallow you are. SCN can get away with murder because he's hot. I'm sure you would have followed him to Floating Cloud Sect if he crooked his finger at you. Bad tweety! If he were some ugly, uncool guy, I bet you would be screaming bloody murder and organizing a lynch mob.

Hey, I'm curious. I never imagined anyone would think SCN and Black Rose are a cute couple. He kidnapped her and she certainly didn't skip along happily after him. Nothing cute about that. So why are they cute to you?

OMG, if Wallace was Yun Zhong, it would have been so totally awesome. With Wallace’s looks, Zhong will be prefect! Alas, we have a wonderful love story with a beautiful princess and her average looking hero. The reason I like SFF so much is her versatility as an actress. She can do cute without overdoing it like some actresses who end up making me cringe. I also just want to pat her head and give her a hug. She hasn’t done an all out evil role yet, but I think she has the ability to morph into that character with ease. Like Tavia’s acclaimed role in Beyond the Realm of Conscience.

If Wallace Chung were cast as Yun Zhong, he would have stolen Huang Hai Bing's thunder. I know you haven't watched Ni Shui Han, but Wallace was really only 2nd male lead as the villain (even though he had just as many scenes as the 1st lead), and yet, he stole the spotlight from Julian Cheung, who was the 1st male lead. I went to the Chinese tieba forums for Ni Shui Han, and even now, 7 years after the drama had been released, Wallace's villain still gets raving fangirls drooling over him, whereas there is very little mention of Julian's hero character.

I agree that SFF looks really cute in that particular drama as Princess Jing. In Rose Martial World, she looks like she has too much makeup on.

Tavia didn't do such a good job as the villain in Realm of Conscience, in my opinion. She overacted and looked unnatural. I like her better in nice roles. However, I believe that a truly great artist is one who can take on any role and excel in it (kind of like Wallace Chung and Deric Wan).

Princess Jing comes out a bit later in the series. Afterall, she has only a supporting role. You have to sit through a lot of filler scenes of HHB needlessly chasing FBB around . Back then, I actually had the time and patience to sit through the entire series without fast forwarding. Not so nowadays. I wouldn’t and over HHB, but I actually find the guy very likable in a scholarly way.

Do you know which episode SFF starts appearing?

Is it just me, or does HHB have too much makeup on?

[tweety365]

This is a prime example of how shallow you are. SCN can get away with murder because he's hot. I'm sure you would have followed him to Floating Cloud Sect if he crooked his finger at you. Bad tweety! If he were some ugly, uncool guy, I bet you would be screaming bloody murder and organizing a lynch mob.

You just found that out now? I am always honest. I fully admit to being totally shallow . I was a SCN fan even before he appeared.

I suppose "cute" isn't the best word to use. I believe I am having a case of Stockholm syndrome and I'm not even the one being kidnapped . I'm diagnosing my own sickness. Yes, I've been reading too many romance novels and need

Ni Shui Han is on my list of series to watch. I just haven't gotten to it yet. My list is getting longer and longer.

I totally agree that SFF was plastered with too much makeup. I strongly think it is a conspiracy to make her look older and washed up as compared to the main female lead. She didn't need all that goop on her face

I haven't watched Realm of Conscience and probably never will because I can't stand Charmaine Sheh onscreen. That woman just irritates me. I only read a lot of good reviews about Tavia's performance.

Princess Jing should probably appear in ep 6. Fast forward and skip around. I do that

[Melanie]

How can you be SCN's fan even before he appeared? When did you become his fan?

Hey, tweety, do you still imagine Wallace when you read about SCN?

Has Ni Shui Han been dubbed in Vietnamese yet? I think you will absolutely love Wallace's villain in there! The villain in there is so SCN. If only he had better hair. But to tell you the truth, he looks really hot in live action, and his impressive screen presence just makes the curly hair fade into the background.

Yeah! I thought it was unfair that SFF had funny looking bangs in the Rose Martial World whereas Huo Si Yan had the cute, ancient style bangs. And the horrible makeup made her look older than Wallace.

You're not missing out on much by skipping Realm of Conscience. Although, Kevin Cheng looks hot in there.

I will be watching episode 6 onward then. I'm not interested in Fan Bing Bing. By the way, why was HHB chasing after FBB a lot in the series? Was he trying to kill her?

[tweety365]

How can you be SCN's fan even before he appeared? When did you become his fan? Hey, tweety, do you still imagine Wallace when you read about SCN?

I was his fan when you first mentioned Wallace will take on the role. Now, I like SCN because tweety is going through a warped up, hormonal crazed stage in life where bad boys have taken over .

I think NSH has been dubbed or at least English subbed. I have to do a google search. Just like how you overlooked Wallace's many bad hairdos, I can overlook Vincent's heavy makeup. At least I am faithful, unlike someone who downgraded Gilbert and bumped a new love to #1 status

SFF looks quite matronly after getting married, white face with bright red lipstick . Despite having the lead role, prettier wigs, and better clothes, HSY was still outshined by SFF. She was stiff in her acting and I don't think she is very pretty at all.

Kevin Cheng's hotness cannot overshadow the presence of Charmaine. So even though I like Kevin and Tavia, I refuse to watch that series. With the success of War & Beauty and Realm of Conscience, there are a bunch of series that followed and some still in production about the political battles inside the palace. I'm sure I'm not missing any ground breaking storylines.

Spoilers for Heroic Legend:

The Zhangs (HHB’s side) and and the Yuns (FBB’s side) are political enemies. Danfeng’s father was responsible for the death of Yun Lei’s parents and paternal grandfather. Yun Lei and her brother, Yun Zhong, were rescued by their respective teachers. Hence the Yun siblings want to seek vengeance against the Zhangs. Yun Lei and Dan Feng met and fell in love, initially not knowing each other’s identity. After she found out, she wanted to kill him, but didn’t have the heart to do it, so she ran away.

So throughout the series, Danfeng is chasing after Yun Lei trying to protect her and at the same time reconcile the enmity between the 2 families. Throw in a hidden treasure, a love triangle, the tragedy of Princess Jing, some bad guys, and a secret swordplay to fight the bad guys = Heroic Legend.

[charbydis]

Must-see eries after WAB that I recommend are Dance of Passion, Rosy Business & No Regrets.

While I do like BTROC, I find its formula boring and predictable. But it did start off very well when Susan Tse's Grand Empress Dowager was still alive. She made the whole series interesting in her 14 ep reign. Things after she died got stupid and illogical. Tavia overacted. Charmaine was a vase. Moses was OK. Kevn was a hot piece of wood. I really watched for KK Cheung who I have liked since the 80's. It was not the worst series I saw. I rate it above average.

[tweety365]

Who is KK Cheung and Susan Tse?

Dang, BTROC was sure overhyped then. I also haven't watched War and Beauty. But again, Charmaine ruined that for me too. Plus, no hot guys to over. I am tempted to watch Rosy Business because I like Sheren and Wayne, but haven't had the time yet.

[charbydis]

Who is KK Cheung and Susan Tse?

Dang, BTROC was sure overhyped then. I also haven't watched War and Beauty. But again, Charmaine ruined that for me too. Plus, no hot guys to over. I am tempted to watch Rosy Business because I like Sheren and Wayne, but haven't had the time yet.

Cheung Kwok Keung is a veteran actor that started out with TVB in the early 80's. He played mainly villians and bad boyfriends but I enjoy his acting very much. Not handsome but definately has screen presence. You may know him as Mo Yung *** in DGSD 97.

Susan Tse Shuet Sum started out in Cantonese Opera and then moved to ATV as an actress. She is now doing authoritative roles in TVB with her killer stare. She is in both Rosy Business and No Regrets. Some might think she overacts but whenever she appeaars on screen in BTROC, you know she is plotting something. Fun personality in real life as well - you can't tell unless you watch the NG scenes and interview.

Watch WAB for the story. Apart from the uncastrated men running amok inside the Enclosed Palace which ws a taboo, WAB is one of the most authentic history drama that I have seen from TVB. Charmaine was not that bad, it was Gigi with her asthmatic performance that annoyed me. Not looking forwards to WAB II that starts filming next year. I think they have milked that genre dry already. You should see that Qing concubine series that is coming out soon from TVB with Jessica, Nancy and Myolie. Makeup looks horrid!

[Melanie]

tweety - I used to love heroes. For example, I loved Felix Wong's Kwok Jing rather than Michael Miu's Yeung Hong. But then, BAM! After seeing Gilbert Lam's portrayal of Yelut Honam, I started siding with the bad boys. It was a subtle, gradual transition at first. But then, the switching of sides became more obvious after watching Yuan Hong's Yelu Xie in Young Warriors. Then, along came Wallace Chung's deliciously evil Gu Xi Zhao and I was a full, unabashed converter to the evil side. Now, I only like charming, handsome, but shady male characters. Good characters make me yawn.

Sometimes, I do feel like I'm cheating on poor Gilbert with my Wallace obsession, but then, I see Wallace's hotness on screen, and I forget about Gilbert.

I think the makeup and wardrobe department was extremely unfair to SFF and Wallace in Rose Martial World! I kind of wish Wallace's Mu Sheng would eventually love SFF's Si Ru, only to have Si Ru leave him because she no longer believes him when he tells her that he loves her. That would be a nice, bittersweet ending for that couple, rather than have him insult her by staying with her so that his precious Qi Luo could be happy.

Yun Lei and Yun Zhong are siblings? I haven't gotten to that part yet. Again, I sigh because Wallace Chung would have made a perfect Yun Zhong. In 2003, he was playing very small roles which did not catch the viewers' attention. If he had been casted as Yun Zhong with the very cute SFF, I bet his popularity would have risen very quickly.

I agree with charbydis that Kevin Cheng is a hot piece of wood in Realm of Conscience, but I still prefer him to Moses Chan, who I think is not very good looking. Has anyone seen Kevin with Annie Man in Slim Chances? I loved him in there! His character was incredibly sweet to Annie's character.

[tweety365]

Charby, thanks for responding with all that tip and advice. You sure know your tv series, actors, and actresses well Gosh, you seem to have the inside scoop on everything, you walking entertainment dictionary


Mel, although I grew up loving Felix's Kwok Jing, but I always had a soft spot for Michael's Yeung Hong. The character was edited to evoke more sympathy from the audience. Plus, just look at the young Michael . I absolutely loved Michael and Barbara’s many costumes in LOCH. Yeah, I was shallow even as a kid .

Don’t piss me off even more by reminding me how unfair Wallace and SFF had it with hair, makeup, and costumes. Not right, not right at all

I totally agree with Wallace for Yun Zhong. It really depends on timing and luck for an actor to rocket to stardom. I’ve seen Wallace before in other series, but his roles were not very memorable. I watched RMW because of SFF. I don’t like the storyline, but I thought Wallace emoted very well. Watching their scenes, I started liking him more and more, despite hating the character for having bad tastes in women.

Slim Chances was what initially prompted me to write my unfinished story. I really like the Kevin/Annie pairing. A real pity they never got a second chance onscreen again. Although I find him good looking, he hasn’t really impressed me with any role yet. I’m not sure if the fault lies with Kevin’s acting ability or TVB giving him unchallenging roles.

[charbydis]

Mel, although I grew up loving Felix's Kwok Jing, but I always had a soft spot for Michael's Yeung Hong. The character was edited to evoke more sympathy from the audience. Plus, just look at the young Michael . I absolutely loved Michael and Barbara’s many costumes in LOCH. Yeah, I was shallow even as a kid .

The Au Yeung men were my one and only focus during my first screening of LOCH when I was 3! I did not even notice Yeung Hong or Kwok Jing til I saw it again when I was 8.

[Suet Seung]

The Au Yeung men were my one and only focus during my first screening of LOCH when I was 3! I did not even notice Yeung Hong or Kwok Jing til I saw it again when I was 8.

What? You liked Yeung Chak Lam and Wong Wan Choi that early and soon?

[charbydis]

What? You liked Yeung Chak Lam and Wong Wan Choi that early and soon?

Yes. I think my innate instinct was to like evil dudes! I have loved both for nearly all my life and I still very attached whenever they come onscreen!

[tweety365]

The Au Yeung men were my one and only focus during my first screening of LOCH when I was 3! I did not even notice Yeung Hong or Kwok Jing til I saw it again when I was 8.

Wow, I don't remember anything that happened when I was 3. Maybe 5.

[charbydis]

Wow, I don't remember anything that happened when I was 3. Maybe 5.

I dont remember every single thing that happpened when I was 3 but LOCH really stood out to me of my younger memories.