[Mainland Chinese Drama 2019] Heavenly Sword Dragon Slaying Saber 倚天屠龙记

[LaurenPanna]

On 6/10/2019 at 5:12 PM, Yitian_fan said:

@Angee86, Deminni, LaurenPanna and I all have fanfics that are regularly updated linked to their AOOO (Archive Of Our Own) accounts (you can find it on their and my signatures). Chipz03 is just about to get an AOOO account and her/his stuff is also temporarily held just in posts to this site.  Graceeandedward has part of one that s/he posted here awhilst back.  

 

And if you can read chinese then you're really in luck, because there is literally hundreds of fanfics at Lofter that are ZM/ZWJ with a half dozen or dozen added every single day.  Plus if you happen to be into ZWJ/Yangxiao and Yangxiao/Xiaofu, you're in even more luck because I'll bet there's easily a thousand of those. (Lauren is the only person I know who writes both in English AND Chinese, plus s/he is a studen of Wushu, so extra amazing to read her stuff!)

 

Have fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Yitian Fan

 

thank you so much for your kind words, and never-ending encouragement for me. love you.

I am contemplating on translating my Chinese fanfic into English one day. Hope i get the time.

I learnt alot from reading other authors work, and really this is my first time writing, i am amazed by my patience.

Coincidentally, today, i wrote a chapter all on Fighting scenes. So difficult !

Chapter 19, if you have time to read hahahahaha

 

2 hours ago, chipz03 said:

We have similar thoughts haha. *high five!!* Actually, I remembered you mentioned that you also wrote fanfic that ZM-WJ returned to Wudang? (I also saw other fanfics that have this idea. High five to you all as well ). When I was planning for my fanfic that explore WJ-MM life after their reunion in the grassland, I have also planned to incorporate their return to Wudang. 

 

Wudang heroes have always been my bias in all of the HSDS versions, and I am not really satisfied at how 2019 version did not really show any closure between ZM and WJ's Wudang families. I love the bond between WJ-Wudang heroes, and this version did very good job in exploring this, but for me, it lacks the development of bonds between ZM and the heroes. It's a pity, since I always felt WJ really respect and love his Wudang's family and vice versa. So, I could only turn to fanfic to satisfy my craving for ZM-Wudang family interactions haha.

 

Uurgh..I wish I could read longer Chinese writings. I really regrets my youthful folly of always trying to skip my mandarin lessons , and now I have to struggle and highly dependent on Google translate (which, most of time, distorted the true meaning of the sentences).

 

Keep writings for  all who enjoy them, as we did it for our fun and enjoyment too. 

 

Fighting all!! 

 

P.S. I just posted the next chapter of my dark Wuji story. Not that good but hope you can enjoy 

 

Thanks for sharing your Site, I will share it with other lofter users who are really keen in reading your dark Wuji fanfic.

 

If you like to read chinese, currently in my fanfic, WJ and MM are in wudang, starting from chapter 12.

And ZZR is there as well hahahahhaha

 

i am struggling but trying hard to make the best out of the two girls.

[kur4p1k4]

I really like ZM's entrance expression in early eps look at that smugness lol

 

Also best exit, I really love her command just with a close of her fan

And her face is like "You think you can stop ME?" so good!

 

I just realised why I always feels like Yukee's ZM feels like a cat everytime she hugged WJ, Yukee really is tiny lol. How tall is this girl? Look at this pic, feels like she could get lost in the sea of blacks if she doesn't wear white

 

Even though this last one feels more like WJ wants to put her on his pocket and keep her with him forever

 

Also how did WJ going to return the flower lol? He said he's going to borrow it, how do you return a flower you already used this idiot 

[LaurenPanna]

30 minutes ago, kur4p1k4 said:

 

 

 

 

I love these two scenes !!!! That kind of look on ZM. 

[PutriSing]

@kur4p1k4 That last hug scene always gets me. "Do you know how much I've missed you" - then he hugs her tighter. AWWWWWWWWW. That broke my heart. The Ming Sect people in this version is really mean to her - I thought in the 2003 version, they were nicer. 

 

BTW, I think I want to start putting in gifs. How do you guys insert them? Anyone has links? 

[LaurenPanna]

https://video.h5.weibo.cn/1034:4381928220993221/4381928574362276

 

I feel like the memory part of zzr is kinda different over here. Is it added scene in tvb version? 

[vicious219]

5 hours ago, kur4p1k4 said:

Also how did WJ going to return the flower lol? He said he's going to borrow it, how do you return a flower you already used this idiot 

 

Remember in middle school when your friends would "borrow" your pencil and you'd never see it again?  Same thing.  Serious answer though, in the novel the antidote is only the corm(the bulb thing on the bottom).  He was going to return her flowers in the form of a bouquet.  So sweet.

[kur4p1k4]

@PutriSing All the gifs I posted are my own, since I have the video files and then I just use some online gif maker (like ezgif) then I hosted it on imgur, then I posted it here. I don't know how other ppl do it, but that's how I did it. I think there are a lot on weibo for HSDS but I'm too lazy to link it to them and find them since I don't have a weibo acct.

 

@LaurenPanna I don't see any new scene, I think. It's just the flashback is faster, I think TVB actually cut a few seconds of the flashback scene.

 

@vicious219 Aawww what a nice boy WJ is, still that's cheating. When you borrow a pen you don't just return the cap, come one WJ!

 

[jackieusa]

7 hours ago, PutriSing said:

 

BTW, I think I want to start putting in gifs. How do you guys insert them? Anyone has links? 

I make gifs using https://imgur.com/

 

Instruction:  upper left corner click on New post, then click on Video to GIF, and then paste a video URL from sites i.e. youtube.

 

Or directly click on this link. https://imgur.com/vidgif

 

Hope this help and not confusing you.

 

 

 

 

[2handsintertwined]

On 6/10/2019 at 8:04 AM, polar15 said:

If you watched for 1st time, maybe it is difficult to understand. But most of us are JY trilogy fans ( i guess) so even though this version have many cut scenes or jump scenes, we overall still understand. I suggest you to watched 2nd time, so you can understand better

Yes. Even though the title is HSDS, its not about saber n sword, but Imho everything start with those weapons and it become sentral plot and/or connecting to that weapons. 

 

If you read books version, you probably will hate how it ended too. I read 1st and 3rd version and to be honest, i even hate ZWJ in all book version 

I trust you. I believe I will watch it a 2nd time! I enjoyed it! And I don’t want to hate ZJW! No!!!  

[kimmortal]

@2handsintertwined @polar15

I like how Jin Yong novels will have some object that everybody wants, but that the main character will just stumble upon even though he doesn’t necessarily crave it. It finds him precisely because he doesn’t care for it and he doesn’t seek it out. And even though these objects are mentioned often, Jin Yong’s stories always include world building and the readers/audience only learn about the world and its inhabitants through the main character’s point of view (POV). So yes—HSDS is not primarily about the sword and sabre, but more about heroism, brotherhood, family, relationships, nationalism, martial arts, and all kinds of Chinese values/lessons. All of this is why the Condor Trilogy is such a fun read and easy to watch—it’s classic storytelling. And in his shared universe, the stories sometimes spans a few decades to a hundred years.

 

C.S. Lewis does a similar thing when he writes the frozen age of the witch, then the golden age of Narnia ruled by the four kings and queens, followed by some hundred years or so of persecution/war before Prince Caspian restores Narnia to its previous glory, and then everything after.

 

Jin Yong writes the Song Dynasty with Qiao Feng, then when Jins conquered most of northern Song, then 2 decades later with great victory for Song at Xiangyang, then Yuan Dynasty, then Qing Dynasty. I’m probably missing quite a lot of storytelling in between somewhere but you get the gist.

 

To have a deeper understanding of Jin Yong’s shared universe requires watching (or reading) at least 4 of his stories. Sometimes it takes a couple rewatches. When I was little, I didn’t understand most of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils because I’d seen a really old Taiwanese version or something. Later on, I watched TVB’s 1996 version and it all finally clicked and made sense and connected together. My suggestion is to find a version that really speaks to you and helps you understand, then piece all of it together to form a cohesive world. You don’t necessarily need to combine dramas made in the same decade. You can mix and match the different versions, as long as you have one favourite version of each of the following:

 

In Chronological order:

1) The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils

2) The Legend of the Condor Heroes

3) The Return of the Condor Heroes

4) The Heavenly Sword and Dragon (Slaying) Sabre

 

That should be enough to understand all the characters, plots, and nuances. For further exploration, watch more Jin Yong. Sorry, I won’t list them because I don’t know them by heart. I remember The Duke of Mount Deer is one.

 

OK, I’ve said too much already. I hope you will continue to enjoy Jin Yong tv adaptations. I’m a huge fan! As you can tell.

[PutriSing]

Ok guys, how do you paste the Gifs from Imgur here? Sorry for the question.

 

[kur4p1k4]

2 hours ago, 2handsintertwined said:

I trust you. I believe I will watch it a 2nd time! I enjoyed it! And I don’t want to hate ZJW! No!!!  

I'm curious which parts that you don't understand when you watched it?

 

I never read the book personally, only watch the older 1986 version that's it but I still understand the show. I also watched Legend of Condor Heroes 1983&1994 and Return of Condor Heroes1983, but I still understand perfectly the show storytelling, then because I'm interested to know more I read the book. 

So I disagree with @kimmortal to say that to understand HSDS you have to read all 4 JY books, since HSDS is far enough timeline that all things related to LOCH and ROCH are more like easter eggs. If an audience cannot understand a TV show adaptation without reading the book first that just mean the director/editor did a bad job in adapting. 

If you want a deeper understanding and interested in more wuxia story I would say JY is a classic but to watch a TV show you have to read 4 books that just means the TV show suck in explaining to the audience what it story is.

 

Only LOCH and ROCH that is close enough, to watch ROCH is better to watch LOCH first since some characters action in ROCH are affected by what happens in LOCH

But DGSD and HSDS storywise is totally unneeded to know LOCH and ROCH at all imho

[Lov4drama]

@kimmortal i'm a fan too!! But only for the Trilogy. Never watch Demi-Gods and Semi-devils. But for the last trilogy i probably have watched 4 version as i remember. Yes imho JY novel  have a hidden meaning he want to express for those who understand his POV  and many meaningful words . 

@2handsintertwined yes! You should watched it again. Usually people watch drama only to see their OTP and following the story. When watched it for 2nd time, we can understand plot better imho. 

@kur4p1k4 since i also read the book version too, I don't know either for a person who know HSDS for 1st time will understand the plot and story o not. (Cause i'm not that person)

[2handsintertwined]

2 hours ago, kimmortal said:

@2handsintertwined @polar15

I like how Jin Yong novels will have some object that everybody wants, but that the main character will just stumble upon even though he doesn’t necessarily crave it. It finds him precisely because he doesn’t care for it and he doesn’t seek it out. And even though these objects are mentioned often, Jin Yong’s stories always include world building and the readers/audience only learn about the world and its inhabitants through the main character’s point of view (POV). So yes—HSDS is not primarily about the sword and sabre, but more about heroism, brotherhood, family, relationships, nationalism, martial arts, and all kinds of Chinese values/lessons. All of this is why the Condor Trilogy is such a fun read and easy to watch—it’s classic storytelling. And in his shared universe, the stories sometimes spans a few decades to a hundred years.

 

C.S. Lewis does a similar thing when he writes the frozen age of the witch, then the golden age of Narnia ruled by the four kings and queens, followed by some hundred years or so of persecution/war before Prince Caspian restores Narnia to its previous glory, and then everything after.

 

Jin Yong writes the Song Dynasty with Qiao Feng, then when Jins conquered most of northern Song, then 2 decades later with great victory for Song at Xiangyang, then Yuan Dynasty, then Qing Dynasty. I’m probably missing quite a lot of storytelling in between somewhere but you get the gist.

 

To have a deeper understanding of Jin Yong’s shared universe requires watching (or reading) at least 4 of his stories. Sometimes it takes a couple rewatches. When I was little, I didn’t understand most of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils because I’d seen a really old Taiwanese version or something. Later on, I watched TVB’s 1996 version and it all finally clicked and made sense and connected together. My suggestion is to find a version that really speaks to you and helps you understand, then piece all of it together to form a cohesive world. You don’t necessarily need to combine dramas made in the same decade. You can mix and match the different versions, as long as you have one favourite version of each of the following:

 

In Chronological order:

1) The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils

2) The Legend of the Condor Heroes

3) The Return of the Condor Heroes

4) The Heavenly Sword and Dragon (Slaying) Sabre

 

That should be enough to understand all the characters, plots, and nuances. For further exploration, watch more Jin Yong. Sorry, I won’t list them because I don’t know them by heart. I remember The Duke of Mount Deer is one.

 

OK, I’ve said too much already. I hope you will continue to enjoy Jin Yong tv adaptations. I’m a huge fan! As you can tell.

So you like Jin Yong's novels? Thanks for sharing your opinion! I will continue to enjoy Jin Yong's tv adaptations! I'm glad you're a huge fan! Me too!

 

1 hour ago, kur4p1k4 said:

I'm curious which parts that you don't understand when you watched it?

 

I never read the book personally, only watch the older 1986 version that's it but I still understand the show. I also watched Legend of Condor Heroes 1983&1994 and Return of Condor Heroes1983, but I still understand perfectly the show storytelling, then because I'm interested to know more I read the book. 

So I disagree with @kimmortal to say that to understand HSDS you have to read all 4 JY books, since HSDS is far enough timeline that all things related to LOCH and ROCH are more like easter eggs. If an audience cannot understand a TV show adaptation without reading the book first that just mean the director/editor did a bad job in adapting. 

If you want a deeper understanding and interested in more wuxia story I would say JY is a classic but to watch a TV show you have to read 4 books that just means the TV show suck in explaining to the audience what it story is.

 

Only LOCH and ROCH that is close enough, to watch ROCH is better to watch LOCH first since some characters action in ROCH are affected by what happens in LOCH

But DGSD and HSDS storywise is totally unneeded to know LOCH and ROCH at all imho

 

Well, I don't know how to tell you which parts I didn't understand. I'll try.

 

Why did Zhang Wujin's mother give up the Sabre? She knew it was powerful, right? Why did she send the brother up the mountain. Why did he get attacked? Did she she lie that she was trying to save him? Why did Wujin get kidnapped? Why did they put the disease on him? Why did some sects hate the Ming sect? The Ming sect wasn't actually that bad, right? Why did the story begin with the Dragon Sabre, but towards the middle we forget about the Dragon Sabre! We wanted to find the secrets about the Dragon Sabre. But the story went in another direction. It was about who Zhang Wujin met. It was about his relationships. It was about him curing his disease. The healer didn't heal anyone who wasn't in Ming sect. But he healed Wujin. The story just stopped being about the Dragon Sabre. I think it stopped being about the Heavenly Sword too. It was like which sect is better? Who can fight the best? Wujin lost a lot of things in his life. Was he ever happy? I don't know if that makes sense?

 

So you disagree with @kimmortal?  I understand.

 

23 minutes ago, polar15 said:

yes! You should watched it again. Usually people watch drama only to see their OTP and following the story. When watched it for 2nd time, we can understand plot better imho. 

Ok  

[chipz03]

16 hours ago, LaurenPanna said:

 

Yitian Fan

 

thank you so much for your kind words, and never-ending encouragement for me. love you.

I am contemplating on translating my Chinese fanfic into English one day. Hope i get the time.

I learnt alot from reading other authors work, and really this is my first time writing, i am amazed by my patience.

Coincidentally, today, i wrote a chapter all on Fighting scenes. So difficult !

Chapter 19, if you have time to read hahahahaha

 

 

Thanks for sharing your Site, I will share it with other lofter users who are really keen in reading your dark Wuji fanfic.

 

If you like to read chinese, currently in my fanfic, WJ and MM are in wudang, starting from chapter 12.

And ZZR is there as well hahahahhaha

 

i am struggling but trying hard to make the best out of the two girls.

Thank you for sharing the link,  Lauren. Hope they can enjoy it, as the story is quite (or very)  dark and characters are super out of character/faaar from the source material. when I wrote it,  i have my doubts and I am kinda worried how it would be perceived.  Still got one more part (part 2 of 3rd chapter) and an epilogue and this story will wrap up

 

Actually, I decided to start trying to read Chinese fanfic to improve on my mandarin, so will start with yours!!  It just take me loo~~ng to read one piece, considering it took me like 10 minutes to understand one sentence  . Uugh,  my regret of being so lazy to properly learn mandarin as a kid knows no bound lol 

 

@kur4p1k4

Looove the GIFs. She's definitely so petite compared to WJ. They matched perfectly when they hugged, when they hold hands,  and when they stand besides each other.

 

I also love to see her hand on his hand. Her hand looks so tiny compared to his.

 

 I lol'ed on the flower part. WJ is so adorable hahaha.  Well,  he said it himself that he didn't know why but in front of her,  he's more befuddled hahaha.

 

I think the make up and costume department of this series did great job in styling JZ as WJ. In real life,  I personally feel that JZ had this boyish look and he's like 5 years younger than YC but in the series,  he looked much more matured and perfectly older (slightly)  to play WJ, and well-matched with ZM played by YC. (no offense intended please). So kudos to the team!! 

 

Peace all!!  

[kur4p1k4]

1 hour ago, 2handsintertwined said:

Well, I don't know how to tell you which parts I didn't understand. I'll try.

 

Why did Zhang Wujin's mother give up the Sabre? She knew it was powerful, right? Why did she send the brother up the mountain. Why did he get attacked? Did she she lie that she was trying to save him? Why did Wujin get kidnapped? Why did they put the disease on him? Why did some sects hate the Ming sect? The Ming sect wasn't actually that bad, right? Why did the story begin with the Dragon Sabre, but towards the middle we forget about the Dragon Sabre! We wanted to find the secrets about the Dragon Sabre. But the story went in another direction. It was about who Zhang Wujin met. It was about his relationships. It was about him curing his disease. The healer didn't heal anyone who wasn't in Ming sect. But he healed Wujin. The story just stopped being about the Dragon Sabre. I think it stopped being about the Heavenly Sword too. It was like which sect is better? Who can fight the best? Wujin lost a lot of things in his life. Was he ever happy? I don't know if that makes sense?

 

ZWJ's mother did not give up the sabre, but the sabre was taken by Xie Xun, this is an wuxia story, strongest ppl always win, even if XX is blind he's ability and inner energy are a few level above WJ's parents.

Do you mean the 3rd brother of Wudang? She send him back to Wudang because she did not want to have more troubles with Wudang, she only paralyse him if 3rd brother can return to Wudang Zhang San Feng can cure him, but as you know 3rd brother met disaster before reaching Wudang. It was explained in one of the episode 5 or 6.

Wuji get kidnapped once the news that Yin Su Su and Zhang Cui Shan is back in mainland since they're the last known ppl and XX who are in the presence of the sabre. So that 'soldier' try to hold WJ hostage to blackmail his parents to disclose the location of XX.

WJ did not have a disease but an injury that disrupt his internal energy, kind of like a cold energy that slowly saps his life. The 'soldier' injured him so he can run away from ZSF, since by himself he's not on the same level as ZSF ability.

All the orthodox sects hated Ming sect because of the secretive nature of Ming sect and XX. He indiscriminately kill anybody to force Cheng Kun to comes out and face him, it was explained during the assault on Bright Peak, episode 19 or 20 I think and XX's past in episode 4 or 5.

Towards the middle it's not that we forget about the Dragon sabre but nobody know where it is anymore, since the last lead are YSS and ZCS whom have died by suicide, and it's 'dishonorable' to force a dying kid to divulge XX's location. That's why ppl stopped looking for it until there's some new info, there's nothing they can do.

Heaven sword, people tend to forget since the verse about it is not about ruling the world but just fighting Dragon Sabre on equal footing. It's always more nice to own a sabre that can rule the world. And Heaven sword was held by Er Mei's headmaster mostly, it was only lost a few years back before Mie Jue become the headmaster. Er Mei also is just an okay sect, while Wudang leader has greater and better renown in the wulin world for their ability, even though both of them start at the same time. So, I think ppl assume there's no secret in Heaven sword that could give them an edge in being the greatest in the world, since Er Mei is not...great...just...okay...(sorry Er Mei fans).  While Dragon Sabre was always changing owners.

 

I personally just dislike when a TV show/movies adaptation, you have to read the book again just to understand it. It's an adaptation, audiences should be able to understand without reading the source material that's the whole point of adaptation, if they can't understand the story then you just suck at adapting. I know JY firstly from the TVB adaptation, which I understand all the plot points even without reading the book. I then read the book just because I want to see how far or close they follow the book. If the audience wants to know more then they read the book, that's fine imho.

[kur4p1k4]

2 hours ago, PutriSing said:

Ok guys, how do you paste the Gifs from Imgur here? Sorry for the question.

 

 

When you post a reply do you see in the bottom right corner there's a box with "Insert image from URL"?

Click that, then just paste the link of the gif's URL

[kimmortal]

1 hour ago, 2handsintertwined said:

So you like Jin Yong's novels? Thanks for sharing your opinion! I will continue to enjoy Jin Yong's tv adaptations! I'm glad you're a huge fan! Me too!

 

 

Well, I don't know how to tell you which parts I didn't understand. I'll try.

 

Why did Zhang Wujin's mother give up the Sabre? She knew it was powerful, right? Why did she send the brother up the mountain. Why did he get attacked? Did she she lie that she was trying to save him? Why did Wujin get kidnapped? Why did they put the disease on him? Why did some sects hate the Ming sect? The Ming sect wasn't actually that bad, right? Why did the story begin with the Dragon Sabre, but towards the middle we forget about the Dragon Sabre! We wanted to find the secrets about the Dragon Sabre. But the story went in another direction. It was about who Zhang Wujin met. It was about his relationships. It was about him curing his disease. The healer didn't heal anyone who wasn't in Ming sect. But he healed Wujin. The story just stopped being about the Dragon Sabre. I think it stopped being about the Heavenly Sword too. It was like which sect is better? Who can fight the best? Wujin lost a lot of things in his life. Was he ever happy? I don't know if that makes sense?

 

So you disagree with @kimmortal?  I understand.

 

Ok  

 

To clarify, I didn’t say you need to watch other stuff to understand HSDS. I said if you want to have a deeper understanding of Jin Yong’s shared universe, watching all 4 series will satisfy that. Like Marvel’s Cinematic Universe—you can watch only Doctor Strange and still understand Doctor Strange, but if you want to know what people are talking about what they mention “the incidents in New York” then you’ll need to watch other movies in the MCU. Anyway, I digress.

 

I’ll try to answer your questions.

1) Wuji’s mother didn’t give up the sabre. She just couldn’t beat Xie Xun and she wanted to keep her life. Later on, it didn’t matter who had the sabre on Ice-Fire Island because her priorities changed. She picked love and family first.

2) 3rd Hero of Wudang is a good guy and Wudang is known for being a famously good sect whose disciples do good deeds. Wuji’s mother and uncle hurt him to get the sabre; they didn’t need to kill him. She didn’t want to sow further discord between Heavenly Sect and Wudang so she sends him back to Wudang using a delivery service so her identity wouldn’t be known.

3) He got attacked because the culprits wanted the dragon sabre. They guy 3rd Hero fought with last saw him protecting the man who had the sabre (who was later found dead) so it was obvious that the sabre was in 3rd hero’s hands. That’s why the culprit asks him, “is the sabre in the hands of the one surnamed Yin?” Since 3rd Hero was injured when they found him, they figure he lost the sabre to this Yin person. They tortured him so he would speak. He did not say anything. They left him crippled.

4) Yin Susu (Wuji’s mom) did not lie that she wanted to help him. She really was trying to send him back to his master. Those delivery guys were supposed to hand him straight to his master at Wudang temple, not to anyone else at the foot of the mountain. Those guys f—ked up.

5) Wuji got kidnapped because as soon as 5th Hero and Yin Susu was known to be back in Central Plains mainland, news travelled fast and everybody wanted to know where Xie Xun was so they could get dragon sabre. The people who kidnapped Wuji wanted to use him as leverage to get his parents to talk (and wanted to scare him into talking too).

6) Wuji got hit with the Ice Palm as a last resort, probably out of anger, because Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng successfully got him back. They were just really pissed. Or maybe they thought the good guys would come begging for a cure and have to reveal Xie Xun’s whereabouts.

7) All the orthodox sects hate Ming sects because the government labelled Ming sect members as evil and called them the Devil Sect. Without knowing the root cause, naturally the people of the martial world believed in this nickname as well. And it didn’t help that Xie Xun, who was 1 of 4 protectors of Ming Sect, went around killing people of orthodox sects to force his master out of hiding. He caused more people to hate Ming Sect. Nobody knew the Ming Sect’s true mission statement.

8) Like I mentioned in my earlier post, the title of the series/novel doesn’t really matter. Both sword and sabre are just MacGuffins used so that we can start the story somewhere and then we actually follow the hero through his quests and “Hero’s Journey” and character development. The true story of HSDS is about washing away old grudges and joining together all the people of the martial arts world toward a common purpose: to restore the land of the Hans and drive away the Mongolians and overthrow the Yuan Dynasty. That was the true purpose of the sword and sabre when they were forged by Guo Jing and Huang Rong back when they were defending the country against invaders. That’s the mission statement of the Ming Cult. And within this rebellion, there’s the underlying theme of bad vs good and falling in love with the enemy. Zhang Cuisan and Yin Susu were on different sides (orthodox vs unorthodox sects) and then Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min (Han vs Mongolian).

 

Phew! I hope that was clear. I believe that most, if not all, of your questions were actually answered in the show, hence why I think this is a good adaptation. I’m actually surprised you didn’t ask more pertinent questions like what’s the origin of the 9 Yang Manual and what the heck was it doing inside a big monkey. Lol. That, I believe, was not answered well at all in this version, because Zhang Sanfeng skipped a lot of details in his story to Zhang Wuji. But never mind that. It’s just extra information that enhances the story but doesn’t change its outcome.

 

There’s a new forum about wuxia that just started for anybody who’s interested in having lengthy discussions about all things wuxia related: https://jianxia.smfnew2.com/index.php

[Mr Horse]

On 6/10/2019 at 7:58 PM, chipz03 said:

Wow,  that's quite a lot of starred words there. If you want to watch ambiguous ending, I would think 2009 would be closer to your taste. 

 

You said it yourself that it's unrealistic for ZR to just suddenly changed like that. I feel that If no seed to cultivate, no result can appear. I personally felt it's easier to act according to the high moral and etiquette when you are not faced with many things that didn't go as you wished.  But sometimes it's harder to repress one's true self or what one is capable of doing when faced with adversities.  I've said this before,  from my personal POV  what ZR had for WJ was not love but obsession. She's obsessed to have his love and the glory for Emei, and her obsessions that eventually pushed her to do all those crazy things in Snake Island. 

 

Feel free to disagree but that's my stance. 

 

You can like the actress and/or the characters, it's your prerogative. I think both actresses are pretty.  I like YC type of beauty more,  but that's my opinion. (while I think GYY who acted as ZR is prettier than ZM in 2003 version,  but ZM remain my favorite. Again, That's my opinion though). 

 

But let me ask you this:

Would you rather WJ enter a marriage built on lies?  Only realizing when it's already too late and no way out?  No matter how "hot" the person is,  you are ready to enter a lifetime commitment like this? 

 

Lies that deal with attempted murder of a cousin (zhiruo really should thank her lucky star that her plan to kill Yinli didn't get through) , attempt to hurt a godfather, all for the sakes of a sword and a sabre to "bring glory to the sect" that she belongs to? ZZR had the choice to commit those crimes or to refuse, especially after MJST died (like Ji xiaofu refused in front of MJ at the expense of her own life, but ZR opted to commit those crimes).

 

Not only that,  this fiancee had also slashed WJ cousin's face,  went on crazy rampage against the villagers who didn't even do anything to harm her, trying to kill Xie Xun (WJ godfather that he loved and respected) during the lion slaying event even after she obtained the secrets from the two weapons, and cowardly dump all the evil deeds she did on Snake island on another woman who didn't do any of the crimes. While continuing to play that victim card,  even threatened to hurt herself when she felt that she might lose him and he try to leave the relationship. She couldn't even find a peace of mind when she's with him.  She kept on fearing about ZM in his heart (guess conscience is hard to be lied to) . Would WJ be willing to enter this kind of marriage?  Would you be willing to enter this kind of marriage? 

 

At least that  person you called "evil b***h" is brave enough to own things she did,  instead of hiding behind lies upon lies to get what she wanted. She took him away from his wedding for her own goal,   but it was also for him. I believe in the novel it was mentioned that he felt relieved to escape the wedding. Unfortunately ZR was not willing to understand his predicament even when he begged for her understanding. The "kind and gentle" ZR for sure could understand, don't you think?  

 

 ZM was also ready to own up the deeds done by her subordinate years before she was born (at least on the 2019 tv series) . What ZM did at Wan An temple was wrong in the eyes of the 6 good sect and Ming sect, and she's not an angel but in the eyes of her side,  what she did was for the greater good of her dynasty. I am not condoning her crimes, but she did what she could for her side. She did bad deeds too,  but she was brave enough to own up her "crimes."

 

My response is harsh so peace all!!

 

 

Hi, thanks for your input. Look, the whole rooting for ZZR thing cos of the girl playing her role is just a minor extra thing I added in as a comment, it’s not an important factor or serious point of argument. It’s all fictional anyway so nothing wrong with complementing a pretty celebrity on tv- my wife doesn’t mind!  Anyway, my main point was that I have never seen an ambiguous ending for HSDS and just wanted them to follow the book (albeit 2nd edition) to be a bit different. I was born in HK but grew up in the UK and have watched a lot of western shows as well as TVB HK productions and the endings are not always happy, but that’s life. Life is not always clear cut and sometimes films and tv shows should reflect that if it makes a more interesting story or finale. I don’t know if it does make a better ending but it sure will be different to the other versions I have seen. Anyway, I actually think that all of ZWJ’s love interests have a dark side with the exception of the girl who left for Persia (can’t spell her name). You’re probably right though, ZZR’s actions and bad choices were too much for her to be able to be with ZWJ but ZM did bad things too at the beginning. I guess he likes ZM cos she is like his mother? I will try and see the 2009 version but I only understand Cantonese or English subs. Thanks, regards.

[Lov4drama]

2 minutes ago, Mr Horse said:

Hi, thanks for your input. Look, the whole rooting for ZZR thing cos of the girl playing her role is just a minor extra thing I added in as a comment, it’s not an important factor or serious point of argument. It’s all fictional anyway so nothing wrong with complementing a pretty celebrity on tv- my wife doesn’t mind!  Anyway, my main point was that I have never seen an ambiguous ending for HSDS and just wanted them to follow the book (albeit 2nd edition) to be a bit different. I was born in HK but grew up in the UK and have watched a lot of western shows as well as TVB HK productions and the endings are not always happy, but that’s life. Life is not always clear cut and sometimes films and tv shows should reflect that if it makes a more interesting story or finale. I don’t know if it does make a better ending but it sure will be different to the other versions I have seen. Anyway, I actually think that all of ZWJ’s love interests have a dark side with the exception of the girl who left for Persia (can’t spell her name). You’re probably right though, ZZR’s actions and bad choices were too much for her to be able to be with ZWJ but ZM did bad things too at the beginning. I guess he likes ZM cos she is like his mother? I will try and see the 2009 version but I only understand Cantonese or English subs. Thanks, regards.

@Mr Horse if you like actress played ZZR, i think you should watched Ten miles of Peach Blossom. She acted so good in there too, to be annoying no. 2 antagonist lady in that series. . Why she always played annoying character in Wuxia series but i love her acting..so good that i almost want throw something to my TV or laptop everytime she appear