My new Jianghu blog

Let me know if you
know the artist's identity

Dear readers, to accommodate the growing wuxia/jianghu posts I have on this blog, today I just published my new blogspot specifically for that topic. Called 'The Realm of Rivers and Lakes', with the blog address RiverAndLakeRealm, the blog is specifically for wuxia, jianghu or wulin posts, in particular those featuring Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. As such, I have copied all Michael/Barbara related posts to my "Realm of River and Lakes" blog site. All comments have been imported there too. 

The summary of new wuxia posts will still be posted here if they are Michael/Barbara related, but the full article will only be at the new Realm of Rivers and Lakes blog. Non MB posts (e.g., if I do want to write a summary on Return of Condor Heroes 1983) will only be posted in the Realm of Rivers and Lakes. Hence, I do recommend that my regular wuxia/jianghu readers subscribe to my new blog to get the regular updates of new posts.

Note to those new with the 'Jianghu (江湖)', the literal translation is 'rivers and lakes', usually to convey the world explored by martial artisans. There is a very interesting article by Helena Yuen Wai from the University of Hong Kong that explored this matter. Click here for said article. Abstract is below the break. I've read the paper; it was a very informative read.

Thank you for visiting my new site!

Yang Kang's demise (LOCH 1982 screen caps)

Below are the screen caps of the final scene of Yang Kang where he finally accepted his demise. It's a total tearjerker for me that I delayed it for two weeks since I saw this ep 52, but I feel like I owe myself and MB/LOCH fans the screen caps. The screen caps started from the moment Guo Jing found the poisoned Yang Kang inside the Iron Spear Temple. Click this to read this post at my new Jianghu blog.

GJ trying to save YK but the latter knew he had no hope

LOCH 1982 episode guides (eps 50-59) and final impression

The followings are the episode guides of the last 10 episodes of LOCH 1982. More screen caps will be posted later (still haven't really gotten over Yang Kang's death...). Click this to read this post at my new Jianghu blog.

The Quanzhen Sect's Tiangang Beidou Formation Ep 50

Ep 50: Wong Yung kidnapped First Freak Master Ke to ask him about the Peach Blossom Island massacre. GJ intervened, and Master Ke hit WY instead, and she was imprisoned. GJ asked Hong Qigong and Old Imp’s help to release WY; she was released. The three of them then went to the inn where Huang Yaoshi and Quanzhen Sect were about to have their duel (must be an expensive venue...). Master Ke and GJ also went to the same inn to side with Quanzhen. Yet, across that inn, we saw Wanyan Honglie and Ouyang Feng observing the inn.

Apparently, the Peach Blossom massacre had Wanyan Honglie et al’s fingerprints on it. Ouyang Feng wanted wuxia supremation, hence if Huang Yaoshi and Quanzhen were at loggerheads, then Ouyang would be the supreme master.  Plus YK knew the Baigu claw, hence we know that he was behind this too, that bastard!  Based on Ouyang Feng’s instruction, YK had stationed lanterns with poisonous gas outside the inn as another layer of trap.

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (a.k.a. The Rise of WonderBat)

Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Batman (Ben Affleck) at BvS

So I watched this highly-anticipated movie last night: Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Tho I feel like I want to post the last summary of LOCH 1982, but I will defer it until tonight cos I want to get this one out of my head first. Not a lot of spoilers; more of character discussion. And remember: this is a DC movie. This is NOT a Marvel movie.

Now, BvS (Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice) has been a long-anticipated movie and it’s always been the case of “whether DC will outdo Marvel” this time. To me, it’s never been about that. It’s about whether Warner Bros finally got it right to set up the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) for there are so many stories to tell from DC (and I mean the pre-new 52 DC which has our lovely Trinity acting as themselves, not the current hoohaa in the new 52 that I cannot recognise (okay, I love Azzarello’s Wonder Woman despite many of you not liking that version, but I hate the Finch’s WW to the core. The Finches just don’t get Diana). So when I came to the cinema, I tried not to hope that I would see a Marvel movie. The premiere goers have stated that this is a DC movie, not a Marvel movie, so I wasn’t expecting a lot of humour.  However, I was indeed hoping for a movie that stays true to the core characters of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, and lo and behold, I wasn’t disappointed.

My recent trip to Sri Lanka

In which I talked about visiting Buddhist temples, food and saree in Sri Lanka

Purple waterlilies sold outside the Dalaga Maligawa

Yesterday (19 March) was my birthday. Since I made up my mind to go to at least one place I've never been before (Star Trek really) once a year, I want to make a post on my recent trip that I really love. Last February, I had the blessings of going to Sri Lanka for a meeting. The meeting has been covered in my professional blog, so I won't cover it here. What I want to present below is instead my personal trip before and after the meeting. Sri Lanka is a truly beautiful country, and I wish I had more time to explore the island. I will definitely come again one day (hopefully for another meeting, but also with extended holiday afterwards). I fell in love with the island, and I certainly am grateful for the few friends that I knew before coming to the island (because they truly welcomed me with open arms), and also for the new friends I've made during my short one week visit in Sri Lanka.

Below are thus a series of photographs that I took during my trip. It covers my visit to the Dalaga Maligawa (Temple of Tooth Relic) in Kandy, some food fest (God, those delicious SL dishes!) and a bit of saree spree... Oh, and a bit about the traffic in Colombo, tho you can't truly "appreciate" the chaos until you set foot in Colombo. Enjoy!

LOCH 1982 episode guides (eps 40-49) and interim impressions

Click this to read this post at my new Jianghu blog.

Yang Kang tried to usurp Kaypang, Ep 41

Ep 40: Wong Yung et al arrived at the main Kaypang town with the first task at hand: facilitating the enmities between two main Kaypang sects. Later, as the new leader, WY downgraded the ranks of four elders (one of them was Elder Peng) due to their unwise past management decisions. Satisfied that the new leader was wise despite her young age, Hong Qigong and Old Imp departed elsewhere to prepare for the Huashan tournament. Former Elder Peng (“Guardian” Peng now) was furious. Yang Kang knew about this, hence he captured Peng and offered him a chance to be the new Kaypang leader (as long as he became loyal to the Jins). Peng agreed, hence they made a drama later that resulted in the murder of several other elders. Peng, Wong Yung, Guo Jing and Elder Lu then departed to Youzhou soon after. Meanwhile, YK told the nth lie to Mu Nianci, saying that he also had to go to Youzhou (with Nianci) because Qigong had agreed to take him as a student, as long as he repented, and that he went to YZ for a mission.

"Mirror" – an LOCH 1982/CLH 1984 fanfiction

Chor Lau Heung (Michael Miu) vs Wong Yung (Barbara Yung)

What if Wong Yung meets Chor Lau Heung? This fanfiction takes place before the Peach Blossom Island massacre which eventually led to Yeung Hong's (Yang Kang) death. I wasn’t going to post this today, but after watching Yeung Hong’s death this afternoon, I feel like I need something to cheer myself up (yes, I cried a bucket when YK died, despite him being a creature full of mistakes...). Legend of Condor Heroes 1982 and the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984 are the properties of Louis Cha, Gu Long and TVB Hong Kong, no copyright infringement intended. Dedicated to Michael Miu and Barbara Yung. Romanisation are mainly Yale Cantonese. Click this to read this fan-fiction at my new Jianghu blog.

Mirror

Wong Yung screamed as she felt her body crashed with the large mirror. She was expecting a sharp hit, followed by a headache. However, unexpectedly, she felt like she hit a giant block of tofu, which later sucked her even deeper. Panic, she stretched her arms toward Kwok Ching who was blocking Lama Ling Zhi's continuous attacks. She saw Ching gor-gor's utter concern as she was sucked into a golden vortex. A weird, golden vortex with tofu-like consistency. The consistency became more liquid-like, then suddenly she felt like swimming in a golden liquid. The next thing she knew, she tumbled over the mirror and crashed to the hard cold floor, back first. 

Gasping, she used her arms to wobbly rise from the floor and checked the surroundings. The room was totally different from the dilapidated temple room she, Kwok Ching, North Beggar Hung Tsat Kung, and Old Imp Chow Pak Tung were trapped a while ago. This room was well-kept and was full of weapons and antiquities. Still wobbly, she stood and turned back to the golden mirror that just ejected her. She saw herself, Wong Yung, in the pink floral tunic she donned this morning. Her voluminous hair was a bit messy, but that was to be expected from a fight with Yeung Hong and his cronies. She then realised that she wasn't the only person in the room. Two men were standing behind her with incredulous looks on their countenance. She gasped when she realised who one of them was. She turned to see Yeung Hong looking flabbergasted. She was agog too, for she just realised that Mr Luk Sing Fung, the Lord of the Cloud Manor was standing next to the wretched Yeung Hong. Had her Peach Blossom Island senior sided with the Jurchens now?? Yet, she didn't feel like asking. Instead, she attacked Yeung Hong with the Carefree Fist Style Hung Tsat Kung taught her. Yet, to her utter surprise, Yeung Hong easily defeated her. He blocked her strikes, and four moves later immobilised her.

"Siu Ching, are you mad?!" Yeung Hong glared at her in disbelief. 

LOCH 1982 episode guides (eps 31-39) and interim impressions

Click this to read this post at my new Jianghu blog.

Hong Qigong made Wong Yung the 19th Leader of Kaypang (Ep 33)

Ep 31: Old Heretic rescued Guo Jing and Wong Yung from Ouyang Feng’s attack, but this process disturbed his attempt to heal Wong Yung’s mother. Finally accepting that his wife was truly dead, Huang Yaoshi carried his wife to a boat he’d been preparing for their final journey. Before embarking on the boat, Zhou Botong blurted out that Guo Jing knew the Jinyun Manual inside out, hence he won the contest. Old Herectic was livid, for the Manual was the cause of his wife’s death (actually, it was his own greed, not the manual, that caused it). He confronted Guo Jing, who only then realised that a piece of human skin that he took from Mei Chaofeng was actually the copy of the Manual Vol 2. Huang Yaoshi burned Vol 2, and Botong then burned Vol 1, for he saw how the Manual had created so many miseries. Huang Yaoshi told Guo Jing to get out of the island; Hong Qigong and Zhou Botong followed suit. Yaoshi provided them with the boat he was about to use himself, knowing that the boat was actually faulty and would definitely sink in the open sea. Old Heretic immobilised Wong Yung inside her own room. WY later unblocked the accupoints and went to her dad to make leave. Yaoshi let WY saw her mother for the first time. WY then realised that her mother had been dead for 18 years, the day she gave birth to her.

LOCH 1982 episode guides (eps 20-30) and interim impressions

Click this to read this post at my new Jianghu blog.

Wong Yung bored to death listening to Yuewen's poem recital, Ep 20

Ep 20: The start of LOCH part II. Naughty Wong Yung and innocent Guo Jing went exploring around a city inside the Song region and met Hong Qigong (Hung Tsat Kung; played by Lau Dan, who also played as Supreme Master in Fearless Duo) and Yuewen. Unknown to WY and GJ, Ouyang Ke was also looking for Yuewen. WJ/GJ warned Yuewen and Hong Qigong, not knowing that the latter was actually the leader of Kaypang (the Beggar Clan). Yuewen explained that the Jurchens might be looking for the Book of Wu Mu, a book that Yang Kang was telling Mu Nianci about (so Yang Kang wasn’t really lying back then when he said that the book was very important?). Ouyang Ke et al attacked the hut WY et al was in, but then they were met with the Beggar Clans. WJ and GJ fell into a trap, but it actually saved them from the fight. Yuewen died beaten by a poisonous snake, but Hong Qigong retrieved the Book of Wu Mu from him. Qigong then asked WY/GJ to escort him to deliver the book to the Song govt.

LOCH 1982 episode guides (ep 11-19) and interim impressions

Click this for other episode summaries of LOCH 1982. More screen shots to be posted in due course. Click this to read this post at my new Jianghu blog.

First meeting between Yang Kang (Michael Miu) & Mu Nianci (Sharon Yang), Ep 11

Ep 11: I understand Mu Nianci. I understand why she couldn’t leave Yang Kang. His voice, the way he stared at her, the way he made her thinks that she was the queen of his world when they first met. I also recognised that voice. His voice when he was fighting a commoner on the street, even before the viewers see his face. It’s him... it’s Michael Miu’s voice as Yang Kang (Yeung Hong, Cantonese). And I was as mesmerised as Mu Nianci was when he accidentally bumped her during the fight. And I smiled a smile that cracked my face in two when he flirted with Nianci. I smiled when she blushed, for he had that effect to almost any girls... I then went “ooohhh...” as we saw Yang Kang conversing with his mother Bao Xiruo, for I was like watching Li Sai Man (The Foundation 1984) joking with his sister or an ever more spoiled Szeto Man Mo (Fearless Duo) conversing with his mother. I understand why Xiruo doted on him. I understand why Mu Nianci loved him and found it so difficult to leave him...

Legend of Condor Heroes 1982: first impressions and Ep 1-10 guides

Click this to read this post at my new Jianghu blog.

Guo Jing (Felix Wong), Huang Rong/Wong Yung (Barbara Yung),
Mu Nianci (Sharon Yang), and Yang Kang/Yeung Hong (Michael Miu), LOCH 1982)

I’ve started watching the Legend of Condor Heroes 1982 since yesterday. Only 33 years later, why not... I’m not sure I will be able to finish all the episodes, cos 60 eps is a lot for me to watch. But I do want to watch it, particularly because I want to see Michael Miu’s portrayal as Yang Kang and Barbara Yung’s portrayal as Wong Yung. The two have been considered widely as the best Yang Kang and Wong Yung ever (like, ever), thus I want to know how this conclusion was achieved. Also, it’s interesting for me that Yang Kang and Wong Yung are nemesis in LOCH, but TVB had later given Michael and Barbara four additional series where they were lovers. I mean, surely there was something in their bitter-rival chemistry in LOCH that was spot-on that made the fans and TVB rooted for them?