''Swordsman'' is a 2013 Chinese television series adapted from

Louis Cha Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong dail ...

's novel ''

The Smiling, Proud Wanderer ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'' is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised in Hong Kong in the newspaper ''Ming Pao'' from 20 April 1967 to 12 October 1969. The Chinese title of the novel, ''Xiao Ao Jiang Hu'', literally m ...

''. The series is written and produced by

Yu Zheng Yu Zheng (; born 28 February 1978) is a Chinese screenwriter and producer who is noted for ''Palace'', which earned him a Best Screenwriter award at the 16th Asian Television Awards. Biography Early life Yu was born and raised in Haining, Zhej ...

, and stars

Wallace Huo Wallace Huo Chien-hwa (, born 26 December 1979) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and producer. He is known for his roles in ''At Dolphin Bay'' (2003), ''Chinese Paladin 3'' (2009), ''Swordsman'' (2013), '' Battle of Changsha'' (2014), ''The Journey of ...

Joe Chen Joe Chen Chiao-en (; born 4 April 1979) is a Taiwanese actress, singer and television host. Known as the "Queen of Idol Dramas", Chen is known for her roles in ''The Prince Who Turns into a Frog'' (2005), ''Fated to Love You'' (2008) and '' The Qu ...

Yuan Shanshan Yuan Shanshan (, born 22 February 1987) also known as Mabel Yuan is a Chinese actress and singer. She is noted for her roles as in the ''Gong'' series: ''Palace II'' (2012) and ''Palace III'' (2013); as well as ''Swordsman'' (2013) and ''Jian ...

Chen Xiao Chen Xiao (, born 5 July 1987) is a Chinese actor and model. He is best known for his roles in ''Swordsman'' (2013), '' Legend of Lu Zhen'' (2013), ''The Romance of the Condor Heroes'' (2014), ''Who Sleeps My Bro'' (2015), '' Nothing Gold Can S ...

and Yang Rong. Shooting started on 24 March 2015 in Xiandu,

Jinyun County Jinyun County () is a county of south-central Zhejiang province, China. It is under the administration of the Lishui City. Administrative divisions Towns: * Wuyun (五云镇), Huzhen (壶镇镇), Xinjian (新建镇), Shuhong (舒洪镇), Day ...

, Lishui,

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

. It was first aired in China on

Hunan Television Hunan Television or Hunan TV () is a provincial satellite TV station officially launched on 29 September 1970 and is currently China's second-most-watched channel, second only to CCTV-1, owned by China Central Television, although Hunan STV occasi ...

from 6 February to 4 March 2013. The plot deviates significantly from the novel, with

Dongfang Bubai Dongfang Bubai, literally "Invincible East", is a fictional character in the wuxia novel ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'' by Jin Yong. He is the leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult (), an "unorthodox" martial arts sect. In his quest to dominate ...

depicted as a woman (instead of a castrated man) and having a romantic affair with Linghu Chong.

Plot

Cast

as Linghu Chong / Yang Lianting *

as Ren Yingying / Xuexin **

Jiang Yiyi Jiang Yiyi (, born 1 January 2001) is a Chinese actress. Career Jiang is a child actress who is known for portraying the younger counterparts of many notable characters in television and films. She made her first acting appearance in the 2007 dr ...

as young Ren Yingying *

as Lin Pingzhi / Duyuan (Lin Yuantu) * Yang Rong as Yue Lingshan * Howie Huang as Yue Buqun ** Wu Junyu as young Yue Buqun * Yang Mingna as Ning Zhongze * Heizi as Ren Woxing * Deng Sha as Yilin *

Bryan Leung Bryan Leung Kar-yan (Chinese: , born 20 January 1948) is a Hong Kong film and television actor and film director who has played roles in numerous acclaimed martial arts films. He is affectionately known as "Beardy" due to his trademark facial ...

as Feng Qingyang * Zhang Zhuowen as Lu Dayou * Cheng Cheng as Lao Denuo * Bao Wenjing as Yiyu * Han Dong as Tian Boguang * Sun Binhao as Xiang Wentian * Lü Jiarong as Lan Fenghuang * Xie Ning as Laotouzi * Shen Baoping as Zu Qianqiu * Zhang Tianyang as Ji Wushi * Ye Qishan as Sima Da * Marco Li as Yu Canghai * Zhang Hengping as Fangzheng * He Jiayi as Dingyi * Hu Dong as Zuo Lengshan * Li Ruichao as Yu Renhao * Wang Renjun as Ping Yizhi * Zhang Tianqi as Jia Renda * Guo Dongdong as Gu Tong * Wang Shuang as Bai Ying * Zhang Jixuan as Heixiong * Guan Xin as Baixiong * Bai Hailong as Fangsheng * Wei Ziqian as Shangguan Yun * Wang Zheng as Lu Bai * Shao Min as Dingjing * Zhang Chunzhong as Mu Gaofeng * He Xin as Luo Renjie * Zhang Haoxiang as Mo Da * Chang Sheng as Tianmen * Zhou Shaodong as Wang Yuanba * Zhao Junlong as Wang Bofen * Guo Wei as Ding Mian * Mo Meilin as Tong Baixiong * Wang Kai as Feng Buping * Liao Xi as Cheng Buyou * Zhu Rongrong as Mi Weiyi * Cao Nan as Fei Bin * Gu Dechao as Adviser Yi * Yin Jian as Ding Jian * Zhang Keyan as Jia Bu * Xiaoshuai as Liu Jin * Tong Tong as Mute Granny * Wang Zelin as Heibao * Chai Ge as Zheng * Zhang Lei as Shi * Yang Yaotian as Yuqingzi * Guo Qiang as Yujizi * Wei Qianxiang as Sun Jiantong * Miao Luoyi as Princess Consort *

Zhang Xueying Zhang Xueying (; born 18 June 1997), also known as Sophie Zhang, is a Chinese actress. Zhang is regarded as one of the " New Four Dan actresses of the post-95s Generation" (), along with Zhang Zifeng, Vicky Chen and Guan Xiaotong. Career In 20 ...

as Lao Busi * Liu Shuo as Qinghai Yixiao * Pan Haichen as Hongye * Gong Sile as Yue Su * Shi Tianshuo as Cai Zifeng * Zhuo Fan as Yilin's father * Li Li as Yilin's mother * Ju Lai as Lodge Master Qi * Feng Jujing as Lodge Master Yi * Kang Jie as Swordsman * Wang Gang as Yue Buqun's master * Yin Baoying as Beauty ;Special appearances *

Dicky Cheung Dicky Cheung Wai-kin (; born 8 February 1965) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Early childhood Cheung grew up with a physically abusive father. His parents divorced when Cheung was 14. Cheung was educated in St Francis Xavier's College in Ho ...

as Lüzhuweng * Zhang Qian as Huahua * Qian Yongchen as Yu Renyan * Hai Lu as Yuniang * Huang Haibing as

Dugu Qiubai Dugu Qiubai is a fictional character who is mentioned by name in three wuxia novels by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). He does not appear in any of the novels because he lived in an era long before the events of the novels took place. Nicknamed "Sword D ...

* Zhou Muyin as Liu Zhengfeng's wife * Ren Quan as Danqingsheng * Bao Bei'er as Tubiweng * Wang Jianxin as Huang Zhonggong * Zhao Liang as Heibaizi * Kou Zhenhai as Lin Zhennan * Bai Shan as Lin Zhennan's wife * Huo Zhengyan as Liu Zhengfeng * Zong Fengyan as Qu Yang

Renaming of "Shaolin Monastery" to "Lingjiu Monastery"

In the series,

Shaolin Monastery Shaolin Monastery (少林寺 ''Shàolínsì''), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a renowned monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the So ...

(or

Shaolin Sect The Shaolin Sect is a fictional martial arts sect mentioned in several works of ''wuxia'' fiction. It is one of the largest and best known orthodox sects in the '' wulin'' (martial artists' community). Its base is in Shaolin Monastery, Henan, Ch ...

) is renamed to "Lingjiu Monastery" (靈鷲寺; literally "Divine Eagle Monastery"). The change is believed to be because the producers wanted to avoid

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may ...

, since Shaolin Monastery has officially registered "Shaolin" as a trademark and has been involved in lawsuits with commercial companies over the use of "Shaolin" as a brand name or trademark.

Soundtrack

Reception

Prior to its original broadcast, ''Swordsman'' received popular attention for its

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia East Asia possess ...

cast in comparison with older adaptations of ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'', and for major amendments made to the original story. Particular attention was shed on

's casting as

, a minor antagonist in the novel whose role was substantially rewritten in this series to portray him/her as one of two female protagonists alongside Yuan Shanshan's character, Ren Yingying. During and following its broadcast, the series received mixed and largely polarised reviews. The series was both praised and criticised for its unfaithfulness to the novel, although producer Yu Zheng asserted that it is one of the 'most faithful' adaptations of ''The Smiling, Proud Wanderer''. Nevertheless, the series maintained high ratings throughout its run. The new characterisation of Dongfang Bubai sparked controversy, even though Joe Chen's performance as a complex character was praised, and Dongfang Bubai became a feminist

pop icon A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...

's portrayal of Lin Pingzhi was also critically acclaimed, but Yuan Shanshan's Ren Yingying was critically dismissed as a miscast of the original character in the novel. Attention was directed towards the prominence of romantic plotlines and subplots in the series which were similarly met with mixed reviews. However, new romantic pairings among the cast as follows were well received by younger audiences: Wallace Huo's Linghu Chong and Joe Chen's Dongfang Bubai; Han Dong's Tian Boguang and Deng Sha's Yilin; Chen Xiao's Lin Pingzhi and Yang Rong's Yue Lingshan; Lü Jiarong's Lan Fenghuang and Han Dong's Tian Boguang.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
''Swordsman''
on Cathay Media's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Swordsman (TV series) Chinese wuxia television series Chinese romance television series Works based on The Smiling, Proud Wanderer 2013 Chinese television series debuts Television series about orphans Television series set in Imperial China Television shows written by Yu Zheng Hunan Television dramas Television shows based on works by Jin Yong Television series by Huanyu Film