Wednesday 5 February 2020

Chinese Paladin

Drama: Chinese Paladin
Chinese Title: 仙剑奇侠传 / Xian Jian Qi Xia Zhuan
Broadcast Network: CTV

Broadcast Date: January 24, 2005

Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Xianxia
Language: Mandarin
Episodes: 34
Director: Lee Kwok Lap, Gam-Yuen Ng, Sing Kuen Leung, Kun Chi Mak
Screenwriter: Huang Haoran, Zhong Zhenglong, Deng Liqi
Production Company: Tangren Media
Executive Producer: Lee Kwok Lap
Origin: China
Related: Chinese Paladin 3, Chinese Paladin 4, Chinese Paladin 5, Chinese Paladin 6
Source: Adapted from a RPG game of the same name
Watch Episodes On: Youtube

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Synopsis and Plot Summary

Chinese Paladin revolves around the complications between the three friends—Li Xiaoyao, Zhao Ling-er, Lin Ruyue and their quest to defeat the evil Lunar Sect in order to save the world.

Li Xiaoyao (Hu Ge) is an innkeeper who cannot be any more ordinary. One day, his aunt falls ill and he travels to an island in search of an antidote that can save her life. Fate allows him to run into Zhao Ling-er (Crystal Liu) who is hiding from the assassins of the Lunar Sect. As the assassins draw near, the two are forced to go their separate ways. Xiaoyao’s memories are wiped away by the Lunar Sect, causing him to forget his wonderful moments with Ling-er.

Xiaoyao and Ling-er meet again and he accompanies her to Miaojiang so that she can search for her mother—the queen of the Nanzhao state. On the way, the eldest daughter of the Lin family, Lin Yueru (Ady An), appears out of nowhere and attacks them because of a misunderstanding. A snake spirit appears beside Ling-er causing Yueru’s cousin, Liu Jinyuan (Bryan Wong) to lose consciousness. Ling-er escapes and hides within the mountains only to realize that she is a descendant of the goddess Nuwa. Xiaoyao, Yueru, and Jinyuan assume that Ling-er has been captured by the snake demon and sets out to find her. Meanwhile, Ling-er meets her childhood friend Anu (Esther Liu) and Tang Yu (Eddie Peng)—the son of an elder of Nanzhao state. Xiaoyao, Yueru, and Jinyuan find her with Anu and Tang Yu inside an inn in Yangzhou City. As they get acquainted with each other, the group becomes entangled in the fight against the Lunar Sect.

Ending Spoilers

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Fun Facts

Filming took place in Dongyang, Yongkang and Jinyun.
It is Ady An and Esther Liu's first costume drama. During the costume fitting, they didn't know how to act, how to hold the sword nor how to pose which elicited laughter from the staff. On the contrary, Crystal Liu who had dance background made simple movements look beautiful.
In the beginning stages of casting, Esther Liu took the role of Lin Yueru, Ady An took the role of Anu, Hu Ge took the role of Jiang Ming while Yuan Hong took the role of Liu Jinyuan.
During filming, Esther Liu who was the youngest among the cast was not even 16 years old while Hu Ge who was eldest was only 21 years old. The average age of the four main leads was 18 years old.
For the first time, Crystal Liu felt that the cast was quite young. Esther Liu addresses Crystal Liu as jie (older sister) because she is older by one year. Crystal Liu wasn't used to it as she was usually the youngest in the cast.
Crystal Liu had never played the game before so she would often talk to the writers to understand the story in the game.
Hu Ge was already playing the game when he was in junior high so he was quite familiar with it. Hu Ge knew that if he didn't portray the part well, he would be bashed by fans of the game. Because of the pressure, he considered not taking on the role. However, Hu Ge's love for the character Li Xiaoyao was greater so he accepted the role.
Hu Ge often got scolded by the director because of his lack of experience.
It is Hu Ge's first costume drama. As soon as he arrived in Hengdian, the crew immediately prepared martial arts classes for him every morning so that he can learn to hold the sword.
During a scene, the director said that Hu Ge did well but his eyes didn't feel like it was 'ancient' enough. Thinking about how to achieve the ancient look, Hu Ge went to the store to buy martial arts movies and watched the likes of Andy Lau and Tony Leung. Days later, the director observed that the look in Hu Ge's eyes were better and better.
It is the first drama that Hu Ge went into the recording studio to sing for.
After filming wrapped, Hu Ge who was a junior at the time had to rush back to school and had no time to do the dubbing for Li Xiaoyao.
Ady An reveals that Chinese Paladin was her first onscreen kiss. Since the scene was shot in an ethnic settlement, many people would crowd around and play folk music so the director had to keep yelling cut. As a result, they had to kiss nearly 20 times.

Cast