First Episode 22: 天龙八部 (Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils)

[rob07]

Officially started this, just watched the first two episodes and intend to watch it to the end (although that will take quite some time).

Good to see others are also interested.

[renzhe]

Fansubs have been released for this series!

Link.

Good news for all those who have trouble following due to language issues.

I've also added some additional sources (including a torrent for the subbed release) to the original post.

[renzhe]

So, anyone actually watched any of this?

What are your thoughts?

I'm in a bit of a Wuxia fever right now

[imron]

I have to admit, I have an aversion to Wuxia TV series so I haven't bothered watching this one or condor heroes. I guess it's a bit strange as I have a keen interest in martial arts, but more than anything I think I'm put off by anything not set in modern times.

[rob07]

So, anyone actually watched any of this?

Actually Renzhe, it is your fault I haven't already finished it . I was about to start watching it when you persuaded me to watch 奋斗 instead.

I've been a bit lazy with this and had some other things on, only watched the first four episodes, but I fully intend to watch the whole series eventually. I like it and when the various plot threads start to come together more I think I'm going to really like it.

My favourite scene so far has been the 1000 kowtows in front of the statue. I wouldn't say I like or particularly sympathise with any of the characters I've met so far, I'm waiting to find out more about them first.

I'm in a bit of a Wuxia fever right now

I've also started reading 雪山飞狐, although I've been a bit lazy with that as well.

[roddy]

I put the first four or five episodes on, but I have to admit I got distracted and I'm only vaguely clear on what's going on. I should probably go back and start again, but it's equally likely I'll plough on at the risk of getting lost.

[roddy]

I just tried to watch the first five episodes again. It's bizarre, the first few episodes don't really grab me and I end up distracted, tapping away on my laptop or putting all the banknotes in my wallet into order. Then by episodes four or five I'm looking at it thinking 'This looks really interesting, but who are all these people?'; 'Is that the girl who had the ninja-rat?'; and 'I wish Renzhe and Skylee were here, they'd know what's going on.'

I'm not sure if I should try to plough on with the help of that wuxiapedia site, go back to the start and take notes, or just give up. I really want to get into it as it does look promising, I'm just having trouble getting started I think.

[skylee]

Give me the bank notes and go watch it.

[renzhe]

Well, the short summary is:

Duan Yu 段譽 is the nephew of the King of Dali. His father Duan Zhengchun段正淳 is the biggest womaniser in the history of China. His family are all excellent martial artists, but he refused to learn any martial arts because he doesn't want to hurt anyone. The crown family has a close relationship to a Buddhist sect which guards an important martial arts manual, which surfaces when a Tibetan monk hungry for power tries to steal it. Duan Yu, being born under a lucky star, memorises the whole manual (making him a dangerous fighter overnight), and swallows a poisonous ninja caterpillar, which makes him immune to most poisons.

Duan Yanqing 段延慶 is the cripple heading the "four evils". Originally, he was the crown prince of Dali, but was exiled, and never forgave this. The other three evils include a mad child-kidnapping woman, a crazy guy with huge scissors and a qing gong expert preying on young women.

Mu Wanqing 木婉清 is the disciple of a seclusive man-hating power-woman Qin Hongmian 秦紅棉. Qin Hongmian is one of Duan Zhengchun's former lovers.

Zhong Ling 鐘靈 is the girl with the ninja squirrel. She is the daughter of Gan Baobao 甘寶寶, another lover.

Qiao Feng 蕭峰 is the new head of the Beggars Sect, a recurring group in Jin Yong's novels. He's one of the most famous fighters in Wulin.

Murong Fu 慕容復 is a descendent of a royal family, only their empire is no more. He is obsessed about becoming king again and regaining his family honour, to the point of ignoring his cousin Wang Yuyan 王語嫣 who is obsessed with him. She, in turn, is the love interest of Duan Yu throughout the novel.

That's basically most of the people in the first five episodes. Sorry for the traditional characters, I cut and pasted.

[rob07]

Great show, great thread.

Am I right in thinking that some of this story will be based on actual history? I see the kingdom of 大理 really was ruled by the 段 family. Which of the characters in the story lived in real life?

[renzhe]

Yeah, Jin Yong bases much of his stuff on real history. Of course, then he completely mangles it and embellishes but the basis is factual.

I'm not too sure about this story, but in the Condor heroes, it depicts the real Genghis Khan, his closest relatives, Qiu Chuji was a really famous Daoist monk, the Jin did invade Song, and so on and so forth.

[rob07]

I saw on Wikipedia that Duan Yu's father and uncle were real, but had to quickly stop reading in case I saw any spoilers.

[Shadowdh]

I just watched this again after a few weeks since the previous viewing, I felt better about the language used and could understand what was going on a bit better, loved the 功夫 hamster or gerbil... forgot how so-awful-its-actually-good 中国功夫电视台 could be. The effects are waaaaaaaay over the top but the photography is pretty good. The more I watch/listen the better I understood... hopefully this will continue... will hit the 2nd episode later...

[rob07]

I'm just past the halfway point on this series now. I'm not really familiar with the genre and I found it hard to take seriously in the beginning. The characters have these unlimited magic powers and it felt like the good guys could do whatever they wanted so there was no real suspense. Some things are really silly - for example 岳老三 seems to be just played for comic relief.

It is not like that however. Even the major good characters are at risk and there isn't going to be a happy ending at least for some of them. It took me a while to realise this and it is much more interesting now.

[renzhe]

Those are my two major gripes with most wuxia adaptations I've seen. Some characters are reduced to comic relief (which is usually not funny), and the kung fu seems like cheap magic out of a spellbook.

It's meant to be fantasy, but still it feels more realistic in writing. At least you can imagine that these are regular people with highly developed internal energy that can lend force to their blows or help them move faster, etc. But this is hard to show onscreen, so it usually loks like a bunch of superheroes.

For me, the interesting thing about wuxia is that it's not about the fights, it's about the characters. Every battle somehow shapes the characters and develops the plot further. For example, Duanyu is forced to reconsider his vow not to practice martial arts very early in the series, because his inability to fight ends up endangering people he loves. This is different from most martial arts movies, where the characters are disposable, and it is all about fights.

[rob07]

From my very limited experience in reading Jin Yong (still only three quarters of the way through the very short Xue Shan Fei Hu) he seems like he is technically a very clever writer. For example, it is one of the marks of a master storyteller to be able to tell a story in a non-chronological order and he is doing that very well. A lot of the time that sort of thing is very difficult to translate into a movie or TV format.

It's meant to be fantasy, but still it feels more realistic in writing.

Not sure to what extent this is because of the genre and to what extent it is because Jin Yong is such a good writer.

[rob07]

I just finished this. Thoroughly enjoyed it the whole way through, although it was confusing in the beginning and I took it more seriously after the first major character died.

My favourite character was 游坦之.

[skylee]

游坦之 is like one of the poorest guys in Jin Yong's novels. Desperate and unrequited love. And all that suffering for nothing in return.

Another poor guy is 林平之 in 笑傲江湖.

hmmm .... 坦之 and 平之 ...

[calibre2001]

http://www.dramacrazy.net/v/chinese-drama/demi-gods-and-semi-devils/

You can now find the complete series with English subtitles.

Strangely I can't find one with chinese subtitles!

[eya323]

Is anyone watching this series? I'm on episode 4.

This post (http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/25-beijing-language-cultural-university212) says that it is upper intermediate-level, but I can follow it ok as a beginner/lower intermediate. The actors repeat the important phrases over and over, it seems. I'm probably missing a few things, but I understand the major storyline.