I wrote a post about a remembrance for Barbara Yung, for today, 31 years ago, she left us... On a happier note, Michael Miu is going to play Huang Yaoshi in the 2017 remake of the Legend of Condor Heroes. Click here for the news. Have a nice weekend. All is well.
Today (7 May 2016) would be Barbara's 57th birthday had she not died young. I made three posts for her birthday at my Rivers and Lakes blog. The first one is some of Barbara's hair styles she had in her series, the second one is some LOCH 1982 BTS screen shots with Michael Miu, and the ultimate birthday post is anMV for Barbara. I uploaded it to YouTube and will also upload it to Dailymotion and Vimeo as well just in case YouTube ask me to delete it.
I have added some screen shots of the last episodes of LOCH 1982 from ep 55 to 59, particularly during the Yeung Gor/Yang Guo baby naming scene. Might add more screen shots for other episodes too and will keep you posted if I do. I posted a new article on the costumes worn by Michael Miu and Barbara Yung in Legend of Condor Heroes 1982. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
First update: I posted a series of sketches of Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching hereand sketches of Wong Yung and Yeung Hong here(thanks Cynthia from the MB Forum for the new sketches!). Second update: I finished an LOCH fan-fiction (The Dragon's Repentance) with the following snippet:
What if Yeung Hong managed to escape death... at least until Yeung Gor was born?
Inspired by the 2008 LOCH which gave YK the chance to be with his son and wife for a few months... and born of my wish of Yeung Hong having a closure with Wong Yung... I've also linked individual Michael/Barbara wuxia posts here to their counterpart posts in the River and Lake Realm. I haven't finished all of them, but I hopefully will during the weekend. Enjoy and see you at the River and Lake!
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?
This CLH Heung 1984 MV starts with some scenes from Ep 11. The MV mostly focuses on how CLH would sacrifice himself to protect Song Siu Ching because he loved her so, and how he was so scared to lose her (or got worried whenever she was upset). Several versions of "At Least I Have You" (Zhi Shao Hai You Ni) exist, and I do love some of them (Alan Tam's and Sandy Lam's in particular). But I picked Leslie Cheung's version because the tone somehow fits with the MV theme. "The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung" 1984 is the property of TVB Hong Kong; no copyright infringement intended. Dedicated to Michael Miu, Barbara Yung, and Leslie Cheung... I've uploaded the MV to both Vimeo and Dailymotion, both with high res and lower res (higher res tends to be difficult to stream). Hope they remain there. Pinyin and English translation of the lyrics are below the break. The English translation was obtained from Diana S from YouTube. Click this to watch
the MV at my new Jianghu blog. Enjoy!
Happy New Year again, guys! Was hoping to catch some sleep today, but MB bugged me to produce a new MV. Hence, here's the three MB wuxia series of The Foundation, Chor Lau Heung and Fearless Duo. Music is from my favourite Coco Lee, A Love Before Time (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), composed by Tan Dun, music by Yoyo Ma. I was originally accustomed to the English version, but upon understanding the meaning of the Mandarin version, I love the latter more. I post here the two versions, Mandarin and English. Have uploaded them to Vimeo, and will do that with Dailymotion either soon or tomorrow. Gotta catch some New Year sleep... The premise is similar to my Karmic Connection fanfiction, which apparently has drawn some good readerships. I have no LOCH footage, and I don't think I can do justice here, hence I only present The Foundation, Chor Lau Heung and Fearless Duo. The Pinyin and English lyrics are below, in addition to being embedded in the MVs. Click this to
watch the MV at my new Jianghu blog.
Since I
listened to Teresa Teng’s rendition of Li Yu’s “Du Shang Xi Lou” (“Alone
Up the West Chamber”), I’ve always wanted to make this MV. I just finished it,
and I hope it touches many MB/CLH fans. The story is about Song Siu Ching
reminiscing on her love story with Chor Lau Heung after he took her hairpin and
left her in the Palace. I found the theme of Du Shang Xi Lou befitting her loneliness
upon Chor tai-gor’s departure.
Du Shang Xi
Lou is part of Li Yu’s poem titled"Grief"
(哀思 ai si), which in itself is the segment of
"Happy reunion" (相見歡xiang jian huan). The late, angelic
Teresa sang Du Shang Xi Lou as part of her Dandan Youqing (Light
Exquisite Feeling) album. If
you’re a fan of Teresa Teng, or just found out about her angelic voice, you
should listen to this album.
The original lyrics is from this site,
while the English translation is from HKships4TeresaTeng2’s YouTube video of
Dandan Youqing (Light Exquisite Feeling). The Pinyin lyrics are combined from the two sites. The MV version with Pinyin
and English translation is below the break. Click here for my previous fanfiction on this theme. Click this to
watch the MV at my new Jianghu blog.
Update 16/11/16: I've provided the summary for 'United We Stand' here. It's really a fun series!
I haven't found the rom-com United We Stand (生銹橋王, 1984) with English sub (or Indonesian sub) yet, so I haven't been able to watch the series. I mean, I can, I guess, view it through Youku, Tudou, Dailymotion or Veoh... but I wouldn't have a clue what Barbara and Michael were saying. But I found this lovely MV a while ago at Veoh and I remembered it today.
The MV is below the break (gotta do that so I can track the stat for this post). Click this to
watch the MV at my new Jianghu blog. It's a lovely MV with Barbara as Dao Yun, the well-behaved lady who was courted by Dong Peng Fei (Michael Miu). Babs also portrayed Dao Yun's tomboy twin (Pei Ying), hence I really want to see this series. But for now, the MV will do. Michael looked dashing as always (tho I find his immensely curly hair a bit unsettling, for I'm so used to his long flowing Han hair...). Barbara was so gorgeous and doll-like, it makes me root for her more...
One of my favourite scenes: Li Sai Man trying to kiss Sik Sik (Ep 4)
I
thought I should write a post about what I think of The Foundation 1984 (决战玄武门) after watching
it two weeks ago. Click this to
read this post at my new Jianghu blog.
A month ago, I found that I could obtain the series in
Mandarin sub and Indonesian subtitles. It seems the excellent sub was done by
fans, and it reflects how fans could actually do wonders with their dedication.
I was relieved to receive the DVDs and dreaded it at the same time. I dreaded watching
the series for fear of a broken heart, but I couldn’t help it. In the end, I am
glad I forced myself to watch it; at least now I can rest the case.
The
story line itself; don't buy it as the definitive chronicles of Li Sai Man or
Emperor Taizong. Reports had it that Li Sai Man indeed killed his brothers, but
there was never a record of him loving a peasant girl and killed her for the
throne. It was true though that Li Sai Man was a good emperor, if not THE best,
of the ancient China.
The Foundation 1984
has three main tracks, all sung by Michelle Pau. The opening and end credits
are sad, but the third one has a very happy note. It was played during the
first real date between Li Sai Man (Michael Miu) and Chun Sik Sik (Barbara
Yung) in Episode
4. I said “the first real date” because by this time, Sai Man no longer pretended that he was a jerk just to evade his brother’s spies. It was
like, “Screw this. I’m dating her and I will just cherish her presence and make
her laugh!” Hence the song and the
scene, which I successfully uploaded to YouTube (TVB, please don’t tell me to
delete it later, it’s only 2.5 minutes anyway...). Edit: TVB blocked it, so I moved it to Dailymotion. If it's blocked again, I will just post the video on my public Dropbox domain... (Jeepers, I'm not even trying to sell anything here!). Click this to
watch the MV at my new Jianghu blog.
The original lyrics
are found at Musixmatch and SPCNET (the Musixmatch missed the last line). The English translation is also provided in the second version of the video. The song is a happy one indeed. It shows how Li Sai Man truly loved Sik Sik and just wanted to make her happy...
Click this to read this post at my new Jianghu blog.
Li Sai Man (Michael Miu) and Chun Sik Sik (Barbara Yung) in The Foundation 1984
After finishing Fearless Duo 1984, I want to see other Michael Miu/Barbara Yung series. I still have three to watch: Legend of Condor Heroes 1982 where they were bitter enemies (Yeung Hong or Yang Kang vs Wung Yung or Huang Rong); United We Stand 1984 (they were lovers, tho Babs played twins, and the twins loved two different men, Michael one of them); and The Foundation 1984. The last one I don't really want to watch for I will definitely cry buckets of tears and may not be able to show my face to the public for a while...
In The Foundation (决战玄武门), Michael portrayed Li Sai Man (Li Shi Min) who was the co-founder of the Tang Dynasty. Later known as Emperor Taizong, Li Sai Man was originally a happy-go-lucky young prince who met a servant village girl in his counselor's household (Chun Sik Sik, portrayed by our lovely Barbara). Li Sai Man then fell in love with Sik Sik, the humble village girl who used to love Kong Fung (Felix Wong), a man from her village who left her to improve his kung fu career. Sik Sik then also fell in love with Sai Man and left her love for Kong Fung behind. Have a look at this MV by Thaijet. How beautiful and sad it is...SPOILERS ahead. For those who don't want to be spoiled, don't watch the MV till finished. The music is not the original the Foundation OST. Rather, it was from the Return of Condor Heroes (1983), featuring Andy Lau and Idy Chan. The next MV below the break contains the original OST of the Foundation.
Szeto Man Mo (Michael Miu) & Lam Chor Yin (Barbara Yung), FD ep 19
So, after finishing Chor Lau Heung 1984 (watched it for three rounds, actually, or perhaps more), I found the Fearless Duo MV with the OST sang by Alan Tam. Fell in love with the song, then binged watching FD the whole weekend. This post is basically the synopsis of FD 1984 and commentaries of major characters (including, of course, the stars Michael Miu and Barbara Yung). I will post the FD episode summary later.
Fearless Duo (FD) is basically the ‘I fall in love with my neighbour’ Michael/Barbara rom-com series. I’m contrasting this with The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984 where Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching were practically a super-star couple. CLH had a good reputation in the wuxia world despite his carefree lifestyle (the Emperor sought his advice on a regular basis); Siu Ching was the princess. In FD however, Michael played as Szeto Man Mo, a stroppy and cantankerous young man who was forced to marry the tomboy (and also stroppy) Lam Chor Yin (our darling Barbara Yung). The story evolved from them being bitter and bickering with each other to loving each other in a lovely, organic, down to earth way. I’m not saying CLH isn’t down to earth... but CLH is indeed a high-profile story involving high profile wuxia sects and the empire’s fate, while FD could happen in your neighbourhood. Adding to the FD story is the rivalry between Taoist Supreme Master Cheung and his evil brother, typical village superstitions and some undead and vampires, thus you have the typical “Chinese Ghost Story” with a high dosage of lovely, classical MB scenes that will surely melt your heart (well, at least mine and so many MB fans).
Click this to
read this post at my new Jianghu blog.
I haven't seen Michael Miu's and Barbara Yung's Fearless Duo (TVB 1984), but after watching this YouTube and listening to the OST, I just have to see it. FD has a happy ending (unlike the Foundation, which I also want to watch but I fear I will cry buckets of tears), so I will definitely watch it. The OST is titled "Who Can Change" by Alan Tam, and after listening to the song, I can understand why it is Michael Miu's favourite song (and that the series is one of his favourites) and that Alan Tam himself is still the king of Canto pop these days.
I obtained the lyrics and meaning from Wehaiyo (I modified slightly to streamline it) and the Cantonese Yale pinyin from Feitsui. Enjoy!
“誰可改變” (“Who
Can Change?”)
sung by 譚詠麟 Alan Tam
Composer: 顧嘉輝
Arranger: 顧嘉輝
Lyricist: 鄭國江
曾經說出
(I once spoke out)
chang ging syut cheut
今生不愛你 ([In]
This life, [I would] not love you)
gam sang bat oi nei 我共你是 (I,
together [with] you, are)
I found Alan Tam's rendition of the Heart Sutra (Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra) on YouTube after listening to "Who Can Change", his famous OST from the Fearless Duo (1984, also feat. Michael Miu and Barbara Yung). I found this rendition of the Heart Sutra very lovely, hence I put it here. The Cantonese lyrics are from Nicholas Tse's website. I found the translation from Jayarava here, complete with the Middle Chinese script and pinyin. Strangely enough, Jayarava's post was dated 15 May 2015, that was just a day after the 30th commemoration of Barbara Yung's death. I recently have been feeling that I haven't totally mourn her passing, hence, I dedicate this song and lyrics for Babs, the lovely girl who coloured my childhood with wonderful series. Wherever you are Barbara, may you be in peace. If you are already reborn, may your current life and the lives afterwards be beautiful and peaceful.
Heart Sutra
When Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva practiced the deep perfection of
wisdom,
He saw the five aggregates as completely empty, and overcame all states
of suffering.
Śāriputra, form is not different emptiness, emptiness is not different
form
The major cast of Chor Lau Heung 1984 from Wuxia Society
You might notice (or not), that I’ve been inundating this blog with fanfictions from a series called the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung(TVB 1984). It began two weeks ago when I found the online link to that TV series at Dramanice (thank you, dear subbers! You guys were Godsend!). See, I had a crush when I was 11 years old when I watched a wuxia (martial) series with my cousins. I fell for this beautiful actor on that TV series. I found him very charming, I smiled when he smiled, and I felt the pain when he got hurt (they tend to do that a lot in wuxia series). As time goes by, I then forgot about him. He then retired from the HK TV industry in 1987 to become a business man in the optometry industry. In 2002 he made a comeback, but I didn’t realise it until recently (cos I wasn’t checking the net for him anymore).
The charming actor’s name is Michael Miu Kiu Wai. TVB aired the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung in 1984 and it has been my favourite series so far, even topping the modern series these days. After 30 years of hiatus, I’m very pleased to report that the series is still worth watching IMO, and Michael is still the dashing Chor Lau Heung that I remembered three decades ago.
Gosh... has it been that long, actually? ...It has. Michael is now 57, but he is still dashing even at his age. Of course he has lines and whats not, but I saw a snippet of his recent series, and he still made me swoon! Heh... he still makes me swoon as I watched his banters with Barbara Yung Mei Ling (my favourite 80s actress, God I wish she didn’t commit suicide on 14 May 1985). Speaking of Barbara, I just learned that Chor Lau Heung 1984 was her second last series before she died; which made this series even more special to me (check this excellent blog post for other Barbara Yung series).
