He always rides his horse like a hero (in every drama he's in)! He should be awarded as the best horse rider.
It is a great pairing. Both the lady and man are strong and good at martial arts.
Huang Haibing character here is lovely. I really like his portrayal of Shen Lang from Wulin Waishi. In here, I can see a bit similarity except that he added a bit more silly, fun, playful, cute side to himself. Shen Lang was playful too but the character in here he plays less smart and less witty, sometimes he would smile like an idiot and looks cute. He is still mostly serious but once in a while he will get non-serious and funny.
I love love love the relationship between Huang Haibing and his mom in here, reminds me of Jet Li's Fong Sai Yuk or Jackie Chan & Anita Mui's Drunken Master II. He's super duper adorable around his mom. The drama overall has few parts that are boring, but I still don't skim this as excessively as how I skim new dramas today. Even the ugly villains in here have very high watching value. If I were to rewatch this I would rewatch all the scenes with Huang Haibing and his mom together.
Wu Jia Ni is adorable, all the other ladies are pretty and adorable as well.
Lots of history I learned in this show.
During the Ming dynasty, there is a group of secret police call Jinyi Wei.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embroidered_Uniform_Guard
Jinyi Wei is a massive group of people, they protect the king so whoever is a Jinyi wei has a really high status. Rumors say they are allowed to kill anybody without explanations or under the disguise that the people they killed have done/said rebellious things.
Huang Haibing's character plays as a secret police, he is very proud of it until he learns how corrupt the system is. He protects the young king and is a very good friend or brother with him. The king, like in history, he has a learning disability and has no interest in politics but carpentry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianqi_Emperor
The actor for the king did pretty well, he is nice but very unintelligent that it led to the eunuch Wei Zhongxian (most powerful eunuch in history) to seize full power and control.
Dislikes: The Jinyi Wei uniforms look so ridiculous! Make the guys look ugly and funny. All other clothings are good.
Likes: The music, I love all the OST in here very much.
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This is a really cute show. Bao Bao is adorable (Yang Ba Mei from The Young Warriors). I love her playing smart with the fairy.Roger Kwok:
Seen him in The Beauty Mermaid (really recommend) and Lotus Lantern. When I watch Fairy Of The Chalice I am already so familiar with him. His acting is great, although it still kind of reminds me of his past characters. His likeability comes off pretty high to me, he's not handsome but he always have that honest and nice vibe in him. He plays as Bao Bao's father and his wife is Liu Tao. His personal development in here is great, at the beginning he's like a cool daddy who isn't serious, but after his wife died or went missing, then he starts being a mature daddy.
His friend is Christopher Lee, who likes his wife but couldn't marry her because Roger is richer. But Roger's father stole the magic chalice from Chris's father, that's how his family got rich. After Chris found out, he turns evil because he wants the chalice and Liu Tao back.
I really love his chemistry with both Liu Tao and Zhang Ting. I can feel the love he gives to both women. I hate that he has 2 women, but they really got the right castings for this. Both ships are great, whether if it is Roger-Liu Tao or Roger-Zhang Ting. Love how he interacts with his daughter too, they are so cute together. His sidekick is also funny, they are one blastful team together. And that sidekick has a pretty girlfriend/wife too (Joelle), love their side of the story as well!
Liu Tao:
Fan of Liu Tao since HZGGIII. She is so beautiful and amazing as Zhou Er Huang in How Much Sorrow Do You Have? I was so quickly hook into Fairy Of The Chalice because of this big casts. Liu Tao is my all time favorite. She plays a mature and kind hearted mother and wife here. She only appears in the first few episodes and last few episodes, but I wouldn't say her role is small at all. She went missing in the middle of the drama, everybody thought she died but she actually came back at the end. While she is missing, it never really felt that she was gone. She continues to foreshadow everyone's lives in the show, and they never forget about her.
Zhang Ting (fairy):
Zhang Ting looks a bit old to me (looks a little like Ruby Lin), but she would always slay these cute roles. I really like this actress from The Switch (Must watch). Her character is usually bubbly and silly like this in all her dramas, I can name them all. I like both Liu Tao and Zhang Ting equally. Zhang Ting is playful and naughty while Liu Tao is smart and mature.
Zhang Ting is a fairy inside the chalice, like the genie from Aladdin, she must serve 1000 masters and grant each of them 3 wishes. She is funny to me. I love how she tries to make her masters finish off their 3 wishes asap, they all just want to keep her forever and ever. Lots of the comedy comes from her and Bao Bao, they are very cute together too.
Christopher Lee:
I like this guy very much, from Madame White Snake with my favorite actress Fann Wong. They both starred as Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu too and got married in real life. Again, so many great castings in this show!
Chris plays the bad guy in this show, his acting is great and sometimes I hate him. Liu Tao is definitely that girl who is worth wanting to fight for, cannot blame him about that.
The actress for Yan Hong is very pretty, she's very good at acting too, she plays his second love interest. Their side of the story is interesting as well, or at a minimal of not boring at all.
Chen Long:
Chen Long is the hottie in here! This dude is handsome!!! He's hot too, I think he's very muscular. Usually he gets all the bad roles in most dramas, but I always liked him a lot. I tried to watch him in Patriotic Knight (wasn't my cup of tea), sadly I think that was his only main role. His role in here is very cute, he's nice and innocent, the best BF anyone would ever want the way he treats the princess. The princess is very cute and pretty, she too, also gets the bad and annoying roles in most of her dramas. She can be a bit annoying in this show.
Overall I love this show, 10/10. The OST isn't memorable or super amazing, but I really like the way they edit the background music in all the scenes and make them flow nicely together. All the chemistry will be fun and enjoyable, the pace of this drama is fast and interesting at all time. This is my favorite classic.
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Why did I watch this? I haven't even watch the entire Red Cliff movie (Zhao Wei, Takeshi K., Tony Leung, Lin Chiling). But I saw the "Stealing Arrows" scene and it was so brilliant! I wanted to see how they did this particular scene in the older version. Turns out I actually like the older version so much more (although Tekeshi is very handsome), the older actor Zhuge Liang is just phenomenal. It kept making me watch backward until I gave up and watched from the beginning to the end. I had no more energy after this to watch the newer 2010 version with Lu Yi, as I am already very satisfied with this 1994 version. The casting is nothing but really old men, but the purpose of the story is not about beautiful people. Aside from the story, I also really enjoy the traditional music. The lyrics are really good, I revisit the opening and closing music themes so many times.Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu1omltljBA
Closing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFr3UBH6eo8
I will recommend my favorite scenes. There are lots of good and interesting scenes, these are just going to be my favorites!
Sitting through the whole thing is not going to happen, this is like a full historical documentary. It can get so boring and hard to watch. I skipped a lot, whatever I did not understand, I did a little research on it and just read the explanation online. So all I watched is only whenever I see these main characters:
- Liu Bei
- Guan Yu
- Zhang Fei
- Zi Long aka Zhao Yun
- Cao Cao
- Zhu Ge Liang (of course)
- Sima Yi
Episode 1:
I have to watch the first part of course. Liu Bei meets Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, and they promise to become brothers. It starts out very slow, and it's confusing too. I got to admit I did not even understand all the dialogues. The reason why I like part 1 is when the brothers made the oath, the music there is very nice.
I pretty much skip through anything beyond episode 1 until episode 16. In between that, I watch a little bit of the Dong Zhuo, Diao Chan, Lubu story. The mini story is quite worth while. Diao Chan's acting was great, it is very funny how she seduced both men.
Episode 16-20
Guan Yu is a legendary one so I tried to stop for his scenes. If you watch lots of Chinese dramas, Guan Yu is so famous that lots of time people will mention him in the drama. 16-20 became one of my favorite sections, it is really worth it. I love how they portray his loyalty to his brother, it is extremely touching. Guan Yu is stuck with Cao Cao because Cao Cao wants Guan Yu for himself. He even allows Guan Yu to stay by his side without having to follow his orders. He can remain loyal to Liu Bei as he wishes. They lure and test Guan Yu many times, but he knows their plans and always passed all of them without swaying at all. He earns everybody's respect each time. It was interesting, I nodded and admire him as well. There is a scene where he goes to war and hears Liu Bei's voice but didn't find him, it is very touching, I love the music they played during that part. Really great bromance. Guan Yu leaves Cao Cao, and Cao Cao chase and chase after Guan Yu. He didn't kill Guan Yu but sets him free like a bird, and the sad expression on Cao Cao's face is so priceless! In the future (ep 39 )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJe4ehDj-YA
when Cao Cao was being chased by soldiers, Cao Cao will arrive at a dead end where Guan Yu is supposed to capture him, but sets him free as well. That will be a really great scene too, Cao Cao lands in a funny and hopeless situation (because of Zhuge Liang) and tries begging Guan Yu. Cao Cao's acting is again very priceless. Guan Yu is in his armor with very long mustache flying, he really looks like a godly warrior.
After Guan Yu runs away from Cao Cao, the three brothers reuniting is another great scene. They play the Peach Blossom song again like part 1, kind of corny but I do love all the songs.
Episode 24-26
The story with Xu Shu. A divine man tells Liu Bei that he lacks a lofty wisdom man, Liu Bei realizes it and yearns for one greatly. He soon found Xu Shu, and Xu Shu's great ideas did helped for a while. Cao Cao and his team devise a plan to make Xu Shu surrender over to their side, and their plan works. The scene where Xu Shu leaves Liu Bei is touching, I don't know why I like this scene so much. Liu Bei cries so badly. Poor guy, he always cries! I don't see him weak for crying, but he's a really nice person. Just too humane. He even wants to cut off all the trees so it wouldn't remind him of the scenery when Xu Shu leaves him LOL! That is a bit too romantic. Xu Shu is leaving, but he suddenly remembers something awesome and returns back to talk to Liu Bei. Thank God, he reveals to Liu Bei, that there is a Master Sleeping Dragon (Zhuge Liang) who is so much more smarter and Liu Bei should go find him. I think I like this scene so much because of Liu Bei's great acting in crying and Xu Shu introducing us to Zhuge Liang, making it very intriguing before we meet him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co6250bGOWQ&list=PLy-xN18wOdJ-eGWSwiLugoPk23U43VZ9Q&index=126
27 - 29
Liu Bei begs Zhuge Liang 3 times. This is where the game starts! Everything is very awesome once Zhuge Liang joins in. Zhuge Liang leaving his hometown to join Liu Bei is very touching. The Wolong music is my most favorite tune out of all. I listen to the tune a lot! Zhuge Liang proves to be very intelligent, it is very interesting to see how he brings them lots of victories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCiGsodZttU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6EU0qr-x0Y
30
Zi Long alone saves Liu Bei's son, A Dou from tons of soldiers from Cao Cao. A true warrior. Cao Cao sweats and admires him so much and wants to capture him alive. I like the music there again, some people might find it cheesy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXfe1sL3ug4
He is not a sworn brother of Liu Bei, but very loyal. Poor A Dou, he must have suffered brain damage from all the fightings, or Liu Bei throwing him, he grew up to be a dimwit.
30 - 46
Zhuge Liang goes over to Sun Quan so they can combine forces against Cao Cao. The Red Cliff story starts here. There is an interesting scene where Zhuge Liang argues with a bunch of scholars.
I love How Zhou Yu tries to plot against Zhuge Liang and ends up in anger each time. Zhuge Liang also tries to hide his abilities to make Zhou Yu stop being jealous. I love all the time Zhuge Liang spends with Lu Su. He tricks Lu Su to go steal arrows with him and frightens him so much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E57nJNtIWpA
All the military tactics in these episodes are so interesting. Zhou Yu pretends to torture one of his general in public, it is very touching. Zhuge Liang and Lu Su watches the sunset together in a boat, and the music starts playing, it's very mesmerizing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9XVO11TQh4
The battle of Red Cliff is a success, so Cao Cao runs away and Guan Yu sets him free (ep 39). Zhuge Liang wittingly leaves Sun Quan before Zhou Yu is able to kill him. He reunites with Liu Bei.
Zhou Yu devise a beauty trap for Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang also devise a plan for Liu Bei to obtain the beauty and also flee safely from Zhou yu at the same time. I like how Zhuge Liang always make his soldiers jointly sing and ridicule the enemy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lHhoytnR3M
49
So I skipped alot after Zhou Yu died. At ep 49, Sun Quan wants to capture Liu Bei so they devise a plan to make Liu Bei's new wife (Sun Quan's sister) to return home with A Dou. Zi Long once again went to rescue A Dou. It's intensive seeing Zi Long stuck on the ship trying to steal A Dou back. Zhuge Liang already knew the plan, had Zhang Fei ready blocking their way and goes to help Zi Long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OciuFQfqS1A
50
Ep 50 is a bit boring, but near the middle is a very important scene. I love that scene so much and rewatch it many times. I believe it is the last time Zhang Fei and Guan Yu see each other. Zhuge Liang gives Guan Yu an advice and hands over him a very important task, I love the music there! Very touching! Then Zhang Fei leaves, it is so tear jerking!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPETCpkJ_7I&list=PLy-xN18wOdJ_Etu-8zGykbOBGNci6oCPk&index=54
57
57 is a little boring too but I like when Zhuge Liang makes the soldiers play drums and horns at night to scare Cao Cao and make him retreat from camping close to them. At the end of 57, it's amazing when Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang meets Cao Cao face to face at the battle field though. There is lots of soldiers and horses.
59 - 62
59 is extremely sad. Don't know why I love watching sad stuff, but I love this episode. Guan Yu gets to a very desperate situation, he has to flee. I like that part where it is snowing beautifully at night. Guan Yu's interactions with his generals and soldiers is so tear jerking. You can really feel how caring they are about each other. I tear up when he goes to hug his dear friend. Even the horse is crying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz2cUT-BBE8&list=PLy-xN18wOdJ_Etu-8zGykbOBGNci6oCPk&index=99
Guan Yu gets captured and later beheaded. Cao Cao greets Guan Yu's severed head, then he suddenly got scared. He gets haunted since then and die at the end of Ep 60.
In Ep 61, I like the 7 step poem and song they play for Cao Zhi.
I really love this part at the end of 62 where Guan Yu's son saw his picture inside a peasant's home. The crying sounds too real. And the music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HaWJMThOCE&list=PLy-xN18wOdJ_Etu-8zGykbOBGNci6oCPk&index=115
69
Zhuge Liang uses words to kill an enemy to death, it was funny.
He knows Sima Yi is a smart guy and tries to not let him get restore into high position. Sima Yi is really good at acting too, I fast forward a lot but I would pause to watch all scenes with him in it. Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang battlings and plottings against each other is really fun to watch.
I love this part very much in Ep 71. I rewatch this a lot because I love the Wolong music. This is where Zhuge Liang plays the guqin (Wolong tune) to scare Sima Yi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HznIXsUj6ZQ&list=PLy-xN18wOdJ_OmtIRnQ3pKhEQRy4iDOl3&index=34
Continuing, it is all full of fun! Sima Yi keeps losing a few times straight so he goes into a funny defensive mode. He wouldn't come out to attack. Zhuge Liang wants them to attack so they will fall into his traps, so he orders his soldiers go insult them to draw them out. But Sima Yi already knows so he turns deaf ears and just go to sleep peacefully. So, Zhuge Liang came with a new plan where he keeps retreating further and further away. Sima Yi gets worried and comes out to fight and fall into the trap.
I love this part from 4:00 - 5:30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39daxwR6rS8&list=PLy-xN18wOdJ_OmtIRnQ3pKhEQRy4iDOl3&index=54
One thing is they put on the Wolong music. The acting here is touching and sad. A soldier brings Zhuge Liang food, he looks very happy that he gets to serve him. But seeing that Zhuge liang is working himself up and ignoring his health, he starts to cry for Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang prays to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to help him, and the tear falling from his eye without blinking is too realistic and sad. He always remembers the time when he was with Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zi Long.
I like this part so much too. Zhuge Liang hides really up high in the windy mountain. When Sima Yi comes into the trap of getting burn to death, they all cry for rain to help them. All the acting there is really good. It rains, and Zhuge Liang closes his eyes and soaks himself in the rain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MumERfH8tl0&list=PLy-xN18wOdJ_OmtIRnQ3pKhEQRy4iDOl3&index=56
It gets sooo sad but I like watching these parts at the end where he die. More of the Wolong music playing. It gets very depressing. You see the once youthful Zhuge Liang turning to look so old on his death bed. He gets imageries of people in war, riding horses at very fast speed. He goes see the soldiers the last time, the sunset there was beautiful. He dies beautifully, his fan drops to the ground. Sob. Tears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pihOLW5ldT8&list=PLy-xN18wOdJ_OmtIRnQ3pKhEQRy4iDOl3&index=64
His funeral is really sad too, it's amazing how big it is. The song is nice like always. I didn't continue this drama after his death.
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Once upon a time in Wuxia land when people are still natural looking with some true gongfu skills. I watched this a very long time ago but I miss miss miss watching Wuxia so much, so much that I am revisiting lots of dramas like this one.EPIC music score and fighting choreography. Love Love the way Fan Bing Bing twirl her sword so fast, true skills. Her character's gongfu isn't very good, but look at the speed she fight at, it is so swift and strong. They must have spent hours on it. Nicholas Tse and Dicky Cheung are natural fighters as always. Nicholas is so dashing and handsome in those white clothes. Bai Xue is adorable to no extent, her chemistry with Dicky is excellent and cute. Jiang Yuyan's acting is amazing, she is pretty but can be terrifying and scary!
* Comedy: 9/10 (Dicky is funny as always)
* Heart wrenching & sadness: 10/10 (Yes, it started funny and light hearted, got really sad in the middle, the comedy picks back up, then the ending is depressing)
* Romantic chemistry: 10/10+
* Mystery: 8/10
* Choreography: 10/10
* Scripting: 10/10 (it's pretty unique)
* Acting: 10/10
Highly recommended, especially if you love Wuxia. Choreography won't be a disappointment. Although it is a tragic story, the chemistry won't fail and you will really feel the characters are very much in love. It's only 40 episodes long, the pacing is very fast and reasonable so you won't be bored at all.
If you haven't watch this old drama made in 2005, here's the eng sub on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiRwDCxpIcU&list=PLCBCA92FEB567C696
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The great OST brought me back to watch this drama:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCeGBChMG0&list=LLvltUkdsQmSXayR9nK6aWfA&index=132&t=0s
Realized Zhu Qi Qi is not Li Bing Bing but Zhang Yan Yan, those who watched Ashes of Love, Zhu Qi Qi is Jinmie's mother with she was young!
Gosh, the OST reminded me so much of Fei Fei!
My favorite character in here is Bai Fei Fei, even though she is the villain. I'd never watched any drama like this before where I like the villain girl. I always hate villain girls, always always! No excuses! Villain girls are jealousy and scheming, mean and insecure, and yep, and...that's totally Bai Fei Fei... but in this drama, I like her. That's because, her feelings for Shen Lang is actually true. And although she is a jealousy (Zhu Qi Qi and everyone is), Fei Fei actually focuses on her own goal (kill Kuai Huo Wang). It's not like she's doing evil things all because of 1 guy only.
She is forever irreplaceable and a classic.
Rewatching this my heart still breaks for Fei Fei. Wang Yan's acting is really too good. She is so cruel, pretentious, 2-face liar, lonely, quiet, etc. All the descriptions about her are almost bad, it is not attractive like the fun Zhu Qi Qi who is funny and always happy. But Wang Yan has this one beautiful and elegant glow in her that makes Fei Fei irresistible despite how mean she is. Her crying acting is so convincing, her tears are always beautiful and heart breaking. She can make angry, mean and scary evil faces that are very convincing too.
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I find Zhu Qi Qi endearing and cute, many people hate her and can find her annoying. Especially that she came in between Shen Lang and Bai Fei Fei's ship. But I actually like Zhu Qi Qi a lot. I still like Fei Fei way more though. The distinction between Fei Fei and Qi Qi are really huge, and easily detected even within just a glance. They are likeable in their own different ways.
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I like Shen Lang very much, he is so dashing and hot. I love that one time he was fighting Ah Yin without turning his back, soo cool! XD It's no surprise why both ladies fall for him. His interactions with both women are so great that people are still not over who he loves the most.
I just watched his interviews, it is super duper funny. I'll try my best to translate a little. It made me laugh so much: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeM4sSzQXdU
Huang Haibing: "There are still so many people asking, Qi Qi... Fei Fei... Shen Lang, say it. Do you love Qi Qi or Fei Fei?"
(roll eyes).
Interviewer: "Who do you like?"
Huang Haibing: "I say, I like both"
Huang Haibing explains that Shen Lang definitely loved Fei Fei, but they couldn't be together because of too many complicated things and she couldn't get over her hatred. She's a bit too poisonous (I agree). For his personal preferences, he chooses Qi Qi's skill-lessness and pure heart, so funny how he raises his eyebrows when saying it (Qi Qi was compassionate, sure, but quite lousy at it too though). The host sounds like she still prefers Fei Fei more (LOL She is so me!).
Interviewer: "So overall you choose Qi Qi lah?"
Huang Haibing: "You still want Fei Fei?"
Interviewer: "Isn't she prettier" (not sure if I hear correctly)
Huang Haibing: "I want those pretty kind?..."
They laugh at it
This is another interview that is older. They asked the same thing! XD. Do you like Fei Fei or Qi Qi? In this one he still chose Qi Qi over Fei Fei. Many years passed his opinion wavered a little but did not change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV4-QwmfhWI
Here's a MV of him as Shen Lang, with the Dream Sword song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xwrWWZKp74
Xiong Mao'er is funny and cute, I like him very much too. Unlike his nice and smart role as Xiao Jian from HZGG II, sometimes he sounds mean in this show. But I actually like the way he yells at people. It's cute in a way but mean in a way, he yells at his followers and Bai Ling a lot. I really Bai Ling as well, she is useful and smart, very pretty too.
Funny how Xiao Jian fell in love with Qing'er at the end of HZGG II, and now they are back together in this drama but their characters didn't fall in love with each other. Zhu Hongjia is still single all these years, he was really close with Liu Dan (Princess fragrance, Han Xiang) and must have not gotten over her yet, we all missed her very much.
https://kknews.cc/entertainment/ae6ppoj.html
I used to find the character Ah Yin a.k.a. Lust scary. He played as Kuai Huo Wang's subordinate. Rewatching this, Lust is actually really fun and nice! He's a really great actor too, one of my faves in the show.
Max Zhang and Li Qian played support roles in here, they're also funny and cute too.
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More reviews here if you want to read more about this drama:
http://www.spcnet.tv/Chinese-TV-Series/Wu-Lin-Wai-Shi-review-r1821.html#.XTYQMehKhPY
http://www.spcnet.tv/Chinese-TV-Series/Wu-Lin-Wai-Shi-review-r1722.html#.XTYQIehKhPY
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Somebody translated the original book here, it is written by Gu Long, another famous Wuxia writer besides Jin Yong:
http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php/2893-Wu-Lin-Wai-Shi#.XTYQUOhKhPY
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Do not miss out with this one if you get a chance with it in eng sub, I watched it on AZNV years ago not sure where to find it anymore. The comedy in here is just hilarious, the characters are so funny that you cannot take them seriously even if the things they do are so unreasonable at times.First, I got to say I love all the characters equally, each and everyone played sooo so so well, my favorite got to be Shen Da (Santo), but everyone else is still too good to forget. Nobody is a time killer (filler), that makes the pace ongoing forever and ever without a rest. No boring parts at all, every scenes are so creative!
Wallace Huo - First time I see him ever play such a wacky foolish guy, super silly, it is totally like Li Xiao Yao (Hu Ge, Chinese Paladin). His acting is great! He can be mean and annoying, but so funny that you don't actually mind how annoying he is.
Merriam Yueng - I fell in love with her in this drama, I've seen her acting before but I just fell in love with her in this drama. My initial thought is, she looks so much like Sammi Cheng. Both talented ladies, I like her and Sammi equally too. I first saw Merriam in "Elixir of Love" with Richie Ren, it's a great movie to check out as well. She played an ancient-time princess who suffered from smelling very bad since birth. Her parents love her but have to keep her away from people, so when she grew up, she ran away from home and met with a flower guy (Richie) who used her for his experiment before he goes to cure the princess (who is just her he doesn't know). The clothings and settings in that movie is just amazing! They visited places with beautiful flowers in making the elixir. She looked like a real princess, running in long beautiful chiffon dress, it's like the Disney Mulan animation.
Back to Wu Shi Lang, Merriam is so funny and so cute! It makes total sense why Wallace and Santo fight over her (very hilarious), she is worth it in every way. This actress is great with comedy, I got into some of her Hong Kong movies like Love Undercover too, it's very funny and a must check out as well.
Santo - I love this guy because he is the most adorable thing ever. The way he pursues Merriam is insane, he doesn't come off annoying even though he is so desperate for her. He is very persistent, she told him to go away but he never gives up and it's just too cute and funny. He's a talented guy (martial arts), but sometimes he's so dumb which is very cute too. He's my favorite because he's so darn nice, and deserves so much better at the end. But all the other characters are no less than him, they are all very comedic as well.
Sherry - Santo's sister. She is beautiful, kind hearted but spoiled and unreasonable at times. I think some people can find her annoying, but I don't get annoyed by her at all. I find her very funny and entertaining with her whinings. She is Beautiful! A great eye candy for sure. Like everyone else, she can get very hilarious sometimes too.
Santo and Sherry's mom - Probably the funniest character out of everyone!!!
Wallace Godfather - Another extremely funny character. His gongfu works like magic, my favorite scene is everytime when they try to catch this guy. He is crazy.
Bai Xue - My favorite Xian Nu from Handsome Siblings. She too plays as an annoying, unreasonable, despicable, mean character that is so cute to no extent that you don't actually hate her at all. She is just funny, and very entertaining. You can't take it too seriously. It's like Sherry's character, although she is much more cruel than Sherry.
Chris - He is a bit like Santo. He's very very nice and compassionate, and loyal too. I love this guy to death like Santo. Like who would not want to marry this guy ever? He is so persistent in pursuing Bai Xue's character, unlike Merriam who isn't cruel to Santo, Bai Xue is quite cruel to Chris. But Chris still always love her. His character is amazing, he's super strong so and can grab all these huge things although he cannot fight, it's hiliarious.
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Totally love the OST! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbL0xVcmSUsThis drama made me sad for a few days, I didn't know it's actually going to be this good. I would not rewatch the entire thing, I don't think this drama should contain so many episodes. If you seen Legend of the Condor Heroes 2008, and see the story Old Playboy explained about Huang Yaoshi and how his wife die, this is the story.
But there are so many great scenes here and there that I really enjoyed so much and I would totally rewatch them. I love Julian but his story arc isn't very good in my opinion. This is probably his very first drama, nothing wrong with his acting, but the story isn't good and the actress he paired up with isn't good.
I love David Chiang! I saw him from The Snow is Red, he is an old guy who is a bit chubby but still attractive. I did questioned and wondered why he gets all these really cool roles? So I searched him up and see pictures of him when he was young, I understood why. Wow, his big smile was so adorable! I would really recommend his old movies! I learned that David Chiang, Ti Lung, Wang Yu, Gordon Liu, Norman Tsiu, etc. is one heck of a super great team in the 90's who always star together over and over. They always fight with real kungfu back then. Some of the Wuxia dramas like State of Divinity 2000 still star these men together, their fightings get mixed with technology but still very complicated looking.
In this drama, David Chiang plays a very quiet character. Normally, quiet characters are boring to me. But David's acting in here makes the character so mysterious and heartrobbing. The colors are dark and complement very well with the mood of the story. The music is always soft too. He is a loner with a flute, and a cold face, but his voice makes him sounds like he's a smooth talker that melts people's hearts. I didn't like the main girl because of how weak and such a damsel in distress she is, but I understand that he likes her because she understands what he wants. I don't quite understand him, my interpretation is he is lonely but doesn't want to speak it out so he likes it if you would just willingly follow him everywhere without questions like the main girl does. I don't mind that type of attitude I feel about him, he does look pretty cool with it haha! I swear it was pretty hot when he told her during a critical time of danger, "I don't casually save women, if I save you, you will have to follow me forever" he sounds serious but his voice is so very gentle, and he was smiling too! She closes her eyes in full trust while he fought their way out. It was a very cute scene. I think what he said is almost like a small threat, because she needs to make vow with him so he would save her, but it's so irresistible at the same time.
The ending is terribly sad, and beautiful at the same time. I love how the setting is very yellow from the sunlight outside reflecting into the dark room. The atmosphere is very quiet. You can even feel that the weather must be quite chilly. The ending left me feeling so empty and lonely inside. His wife died and he has a newborn child in his arms (little Rong'er). He puts the baby on the table, plays a song on the flute first, then falls into crying and sobbing all to himself. Really emotional and sad.
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Acting is a 10/10 (almost?) except that sometimes the actor for Zhu Bajie can get overboard, once in a while he is annoying. But that's also what Zhu Bajie is supposed to be like too.
I like the story, sometimes it can get draggy and out of place. But I definitely like Xiao Long Nu, she is a very nice girl. Music is alright, not memorable (except for opening theme) but good enough to make the show work.
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I watched this and Xiao Zhuang Mi Shi, I only kind of realized now where Yu Zheng may have gotten his Palace ideas from. I love Ning Jing and Hu Jing together very much, this is like their 3rd collaboration together (with Steve Ma included). Too bad Ning Jing plays a small role in this one, and she isn't sisterly with Hu Jing like usual. However, I think I actually like this drama more than Xiao Zhuang Mi Shi where Ning Jing is the lead. I really love Hu Jing's character in this one. She is a chivalrous heroine who can fight and she is so determined. And Zhao Hong Fei is so darn handsome too! That scene when he flirts with Hu Jing in the boat and she gets all shy...that is one of the cutest moments I'd ever came across in C-dramas. And then it comes that ending, he betrayed her and she tries to revenge, it's so sad and astonishing. Hu Jing's acting is so good, you can feel all the pain she went through. I really wished this drama gets subbed so more people know about it. I kind of hated everything else included Steven Ma and Dai Jiao Qian scenes except for Hu Jing and Zhao Hong Fei together. Everyone else is so boring, that's why I won't rate this drama a 10. But, Hu Jing and Zhao Hong Fei's story is above 10 for me, it's 20/10. Even though it's such a painful ending for her, and he's such an evil man, it's still very interesting over all. Bad quality MV but can't really find some good ones anymore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oIqOcnsJDQ&t=71s
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LOVE THE OST!!!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6Gv2M8_VM8
There are changes from the original story but I really enjoy it. White snake and green snake start off as enemies first then turn into sisters later.
Fann Wong & Chris:
The first few parts are so amazing. The pacing was moving really fast and interestingly! The acting was so on point. I love how the white and green snake act like they are really snakes. Look at the way how they walk and move like a snake dancing. Fighting choreography is exceptionally good, it really makes you believe the ladies know kungfu in real life.
As the story progress though, the main couple gets a little boring in the middle, there are so many fillers around them because they do the same thing over and over. He gets lazy instead of studying and she forces him to go do the right thing. But, there are some very cute scenes around them too. I love her flashbacks to their past lives, she was really pretty as Xi Shi (in my opinion). Chris, putting some evil mustache and eyebrows on does make him look smarter and more cunning like a king. It is especially draggy when Bai Su Zhen has to go away and fight with her evil self, Xu Xian is left with the identical human girl Bai Su Zhen (both have the same name) for quite a long while. The only person to entertain us at that time is Qing’er, her whiny complaints are pretty cute and funny.
Vincent Jiao:
This character probably went through the most changes. He starts off as a monk, who is not exactly like a real monk, he is like an ordinary commoner who reads scriptures and doesn’t eat meat. I love Vincent’s acting! In this drama he is a guy who has martial arts and can fight, but once he sees monsters and spirits, his frightening expressions and voice is so priceless. He turns 180 degree from being a hero into a vulnerable person crying for help within seconds. His acting is really real. At first, he is an innocent kind man. He changes when he finds out about his father’s death (his mother killed his father) he suddenly turns revengeful (1st change). When he dreamt his mother gets killed as punishment, he repents and becomes a forgiving person (2nd change). He continues to get manipulated by the Green snake, he abandons Buddhism and turns into a new person (3rd change). He learns that Qing’er is a snake and made him wrongfully harmed his master, so he goes back into Buddhist teachings (4th change). Later, he becomes the powerful Fa Hai (5th change). As Fa Hai, it is completely so new that you couldn’t even recognize if he is actually still Junbao. His attitude and expression really all changed dramatically. He is a fearless person, mighty powerful, strict and strong headed in his belief. At the end, he finally learns that he lacks compassion (6th change). He changes his character again, and reforms into a mighty and compassionate monk. This character is probably supposed to be hateful and not good, but it actually turns out the best. Vincent made this role so handsome and hot. It looks like new adaptations are trying to make Fa Hai a major role involving in romance, but it doesn’t interest me like Vincent. I got to admit I ship him so hard with the green snake, only him as Junbao though, not as Fa Hai. I dislike the new adaptations because the powerful monk who is cold and quiet falls in love... this adaptation he was only in love when he wasn't a real monk yet and he was weak that's why he got manipulated. And when he turns Fa Hai he wasn't just like a cold aloof guy, he's a strict and goal oriented person like the real story where he thinks he's doing the right thing but it's evil at the same time.
Green snake:
She starts of very naughty and evil. She is actually naughty all the way, she never changed her attitude. It's hard to say if she was evil at the beginning, she can be so cruel because of how manipulated she can get but like she claimed too, nobody taught her how to be good so she doesn't know to be good.
After staying with the white snake for a while, she did have some developments and turn over a new leaf, she is pretty faithful to white snake. The time she really did turn evil is after she got tortured by Fa Hai and wants to torture him back. After she sees that he learns to forgive, she gives in as well and repents. I love Zhang Yu Yan acting, so sad that she is so underrated and not well known. Maggie Cheung might be the unbeatable green snake ever made, but Zhang Yu Yan isn't any less or at the minimum, second best. Why I think so is because she is really good at portraying the green snake as a jealous person, cunning, mischievous, curious, romantic, etc.
Clips:
https://www.facebook.com/adena.xyi.7/videos/392132432401445
https://www.facebook.com/adena.xyi.7/videos/206502831581268
https://www.facebook.com/adena.xyi.7/videos/1561081967584857
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