Details
Title: 天龍八部
Cantonese title: Tin Lung Bat Bou
English title: The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 1996
Genre: Wuxia
Episodes: 45
Broadcast network: TVB
Broadcast period: 1997-Jul-28 to 1997-Sep-26
Air time: Monday to Friday 19:30 – 20:30
Opening theme song: 難唸的經 by Emil Chau
Cast
Felix Wong as Qiao Feng / Xiao Feng
Benny Chan as Duan Yu
Louis Fan as Xu Zhu
Cheung Kwok Keung as Mu Rong Fu
Carman Lee as Wong Yu Yan / Wang Yun Luo (Yu Yan’s mother)
Bondy Chiu as Mu Wan Qing
He Mei Tian as Zhong Ling
Rain Lau as Ah Zhi
Jay Lau as Ah Zhu
Lui Yau Wai as Dao Bai Feng
Evergreen Mak as Yau Tan Z
Lee Kwok Lun as Jiu Mo Zhi
Chan On Ying as Tian Shan Tong Lao
Felix Lok as Mu Rong Bo
Lily Li as Ye Er Niang
Kitty Lau as Li Qiu Shui
Bau Fong as Sweeper Monk
Lee Sing Cheung
Natalie Wong
Plot
The plot is made up of several separate yet intertwining story lines, revolving around the protagonists Qiao Feng, Duan Yu and Xuzhu and also the tragic story of You Tanzhi.
The story of Duan Yu
Duan Yu is a young, naive prince of the Kingdom of Dali. Despite the long tradition of the practice of martial arts in the royal family, he refuses to learn martial arts due to Buddhist influence and his disdain for bloodshed. When his father Duan Zhengchun tries to force him to learn martial arts, he runs away from home. Ironically, he acquires three of the most powerful skills in the novel and becomes immune to poison after consuming the Zhu Ha, a poisonous toad dubbed as the “king of all venomous creatures”.
During his adventures, he encounters several beautiful young maidens such as Zhong Ling and Mu Wanqing and falls in love with them. However, one by one, these maidens are revealed to be actually his half-sisters due to his womanizing father’s past illicit affairs with several women such as Gan Baobao and Qin Hongmian. Of these maidens, he is extremely obsessed with Wang Yuyan, who resembles a statue of a fairy-like maiden he chanced upon before. He tries to win her heart but she has no feelings for him as she has a crush on her cousin Murong Fu. Duan Yu’s love-life ends on a happy note when Wang Yuyan finally realises that he is the one who truly loves her and they are happily married and live together after.
The story of Xiao Feng (aka Qiao Feng)
Qiao Feng is the popular and charismatic chief of the Beggars’ Sect, who possesses strong leadership qualities and exceptional prowess in martial arts. He falls from grace after his true ethnicity as a Qidan is revealed and he is wrongly accused of murdering several fellow pugilists to conceal his identity. He becomes an outcast of the Wulin and the prime enemy of all Han Chinese pugilists. He is forced to sever all ties he has with the Han Chinese pugilists and engages them in a one-man bloody battle in which he kills many pugilists, including some of his old friends.
Qiao Feng leaves to verify the claims that he is a Qidan and investigate the mysterious murders. He is accompanied by A Zhu, who is in love with him and stands by him even when the world turns against him. After a long journey in disguise, he finally concludes that he is indeed a Qidan and he assumes his ancestral name Xiao Feng. Tragically, he makes a major blunder after being tricked into believing that Duan Zhengchun (revealed to be A Zhu’s father) is responsible for his parents’ death. He kills A Zhu by mistake, who is in disguise to defend her father.
Xiao Feng regrets and has since left Song with A Zi, the younger sister of A Zhu. He had promised to take good care of A Zi. A Zi has a strong crush on him, but Xiao Feng does not like her at all for her mischievousness and sadistic nature. Xiao wanders into Liao where he becomes a powerful noble after forging a strong friendship with the ruler, Yelü Hongji and saving his life. When Yelü Hongji decides to invade Song, Xiao Feng attempts to dissuade him as he still values his past relations with the Han Chinese. Ultimately, Xiao Feng commits suicide to prevent the war between Song and Liao after taking Yelü Hongji hostage and making him swear that he will never invade Song.
The story of Xuzhu
Xuzhu is a monk from the Shaolin Sect, described to have a kind-hearted and submissive nature. He believes strongly in following the Buddhist code and refuses to break it even when faced with life-threatening situations. He follows his elders to a pugilist meeting once, which marks the start of his adventures. Coincidentally and by sheer luck, Xuzhu breaks a Weiqi formation and becomes the successor of the Xiao Yao Sect and inherits the powers of Wuyazi. Subsequently, he encounters Tianshan Tonglao and other acquaintances of Wuyazi and learns martial arts from them. He becomes the leader of several unorthodox sects in the Wulin by chance again.
Xuzhu feels overwhelmed by the sudden influx of heavy responsibilities and his major leapt in martial arts prowess. He desires to detach himself from all these duties and return to his former monastic life. However, he is unable to wrench himself free from the various tribulations and dangers which lie ahead; he is no longer regarded as a disciple of Shaolin and has no choice but to accept his fate. Xuzhu has a pitiful parentage, as he is revealed to be the illegitimate son of Shaolin’s head abbot Xuan Ci and Ye Er Niang of the Four Evils. His reunion with his parents is fated to be the first and also the last. Again by coincidence, Xuzhu becomes the prince consort of the Kingdom of Western Xia due to a previous affair with Princess Yin Chuan, whom he is happily married to.
The story of You Tanzhi
You Tanzhi is the heir to Juxian Manor owned by his father and uncle. The manor hosts the Heroes’ Gathering for the Han Chinese pugilists to discuss their plans to counter Qiao Feng, whom they believe to be responsible for committing several atrocities. Qiao Feng appears at the gathering and engages the pugilists in a bloody battle. The You brothers are defeated and commit suicide in shame. You Tanzhi becomes a pauper and orphan overnight and he harbours a grudge against Qiao Feng for his plight.
You Tanzhi is captured by raiding Liao soldiers at the border and sold into slavery. He meets Xiao Feng again and attempts to kill him and fails. Xiao lets him go but A Zi had him captured again after his release to take revenge for Xiao. While A Zi tortures You Tanzhi for her personal sadistic amusement and pleasure, You is so entranced by A Zi’s beauty that he develops a strong crush on her and even willingly succumbs to her commands and becomes her source of amusement. You Tanzhi has an iron mask wielded on his head later to hide his identity and his face was marred, thus he is nicknamed “Iron Clown”.
You Tanzhi masters the Tendon-Altering Sutra unexpectedly by chance and uses the skills in the manual to purge the poison from his body after allowing venomous creatures suck his blood. He is also bitten by the Icy Worm and masters a powerful skill which allowed him to shoot streams of icy venom from his palms. Subsequently, he is manipulated by Quan Guanqing into becoming the new chief of the Beggars’ Sect (known by his new alias Zhuang Juxian) and he surrenders himself to the evil Ding Chunqiu at the battle of Shaolin. After Ding’s defeat, he becomes an outcast for his defection. You Tanzhi is still unwilling to give up his love for A Zi and follows her everywhere. He decides to offer his own eyes to the blinded A Zi, hoping to win some love and sympathy from her. However, A Zi despises him even more. He follows suit after A Zi commits suicide at the end of the novel.
Information was cited from, Wikipedia. To watch full episodes of Thien Long Hiep Khach 1996, please click Here.