''Ancient Legends'' is a Chinese television series based on the myths and legends associated with the origins of the Chinese civilisation. It is based on stories in

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

and the ancient classic '' Shan Hai Jing''. The series was first broadcast in mainland China on

CCTV-1 CCTV-1 (CCTV General Channel) is the primary channel of CCTV, the national flagship terrestrial television network of the People's Republic of China. It broadcasts a range of programs from CCTV Headquarters at East 3rd Ring Road in Beijing and ...

from 15 August – 6 September 2010.

Plot

The story is based on the myths and legends associated with the origins of the Chinese civilization and the earliest part of Chinese history under the

Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors According to Chinese mythology and traditional Chinese historiography, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors () were a series of sage Chinese emperors, and the first Emperors of China. Today, they are considered culture heroes, but they wer ...

. After

Pangu Pangu or Pan Gu (also sometimes spelled Peng Gu and P’an-ku) ( zh, t=盤古, ) is a primordial being and creation figure in Chinese mythology and in Taoism. According to legend, Pangu separated heaven and earth, and his body later became ge ...

split Heaven and Earth and

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is a mother goddess, culture hero, and/or member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. She is a goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humani ...

created humankind, the world has been facing a plague. The Flower Goddess (the

Jade Emperor In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of ...

's younger sister) and

Shennong Shennong ( zh, c=神農, p=Shénnóng), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born , was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. H ...

travel around China in search of a cure. They eventually sow the seeds of Heaven on Earth, causing flowers to blossom throughout the land, thus saving humankind. The plot also integrates other stories from

, such as Nüwa repairing the sky and Houyi shooting down nine suns.

Cast

* Vincent Chiao as

* Wen Qing as Flower Goddess * Ding Jun as

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

* Liao Jingsheng as

* Liu Dekai as

Fu Xi Fuxi or Fu Hsi ( zh, c=伏羲) is a culture hero in Chinese mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking, as well as the Cangjie system ...

* Annie Wu as Second Fairy * Liu Jia as

* Zhou Zhong as Gong Gong * Zhao Hongfei as Demonic Emperor / Dragon Crown Prince * Han Dong as Chi You * Ma Xiaohua as Kua Fu * Xu Yun as Ruoxi * Yi Kun as Rushou * Duan Qiuxu as Erlang Shen * Gao Yuqing as Taibai Jinxing * Wang Xiuqiang as

Taishang Laojun Daode Tianzun (), also known as Taishang Laojun () is a high Taoist god. He is the Taiqing (, lit. the Grand Pure One) which is one of the Three Pure Ones, the highest immortals of Taoism. Laozi is regarded to be a manifestation of Daode Tia ...

* Wang Yunchao as Houyi * Li Bo as Zhao Xuanlang * Zhang Chunyan as Python Spirit (Red Lady) * Bai Yun as Baoniang * Li Xiaofeng as

Du Kang Du Kang, sometimes identified with Shao Kang, is one of the figures credited with the invention of alcoholic beverages in Chinese legend. He became the deified patron of winemakers in China and Japan ( Tōji). Grain wines were an important part ...

* Yang Jincheng as Jumang * Song Yang as Zhu Rong * Wang Yijian as Fenghou * Duan Weiping as

Yinglong Yinglong () is a winged dragon and rain deity in ancient Chinese mythology. Name This legendary creature's name combines ''yìng'' "respond; correspond; answer; reply; agree; comply; consent; promise; adapt; apply" and ''lóng'' "Chinese drag ...

* Wang Ke as Fifth Fairy * Chen Jie as Sixth Fairy * Liu Ran as Seventh Fairy * Wang Wenlin as Eldest Fairy * Zhou Xiang as Third Fairy * Sun Yanan as Fourth Fairy * Chen Sanmu as

Tu Di Gong A Tudigong ( zh, s=土地公, l=Lord of the Land) is a kind of Chinese tutelary deity of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations and sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in ...

* Zhao Zhonghua as Limu * Dai Xiaoxu as Cangjie * Chi Huaqiong as

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

* Zang Xiuyun as Nüba * Yue Ding as Kitchen God * Yang Xiaodan as Kitchen Goddess * Qiang Gaopeng as Xuanming * Li Yuan as God of Plague * Xu Rongjing as Lele * Hong Zhibin as Liaoliao * Wang Minghao as

Azure Dragon The Azure Dragon ( zh, c=青龍, p=Qīnglóng) is one of the Dragon King, Dragon Gods who represent the mount or Chthonic deities, chthonic forces of the Wufang Shangdi, Five Regions' Highest Deities (). It is also one of the Four Symbols o ...

* Sun Hao as

White Tiger The white tiger (ashy tiger) is a leucistic morph of the tiger, typically the Bengal tiger. It is occasionally reported in the Indian wilderness. It has the typical black stripes of a tiger, but its coat is otherwise white or near-white, and ...

* Zhang Heng as

Vermilion Bird The Vermilion Bird ( zh, c=朱雀, p=Zhūquè) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. According to Wuxing (Chinese philosophy), Wu Xing, the Taoism, Taoist five elemental system, it represents the Fire (Wu Xing), Fire element, ...

* Li Yang as Xuan Wu * Liu Zhengliang as Teng * Wang Haocheng as Fengmeng * Hou Yong as Yinlingzi * Wei Chenfei as Yuerou * Zhong Bo as Yuqiang * Ma Zijun as

Dragon King The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in ...

* Fang Yuan as

Chang'e Chang'e ( ; ), originally known as Heng'e (), is the goddess of the Moon and wife of Hou Yi, the great archer. Renowned for her beauty, Chang'e is also known for her ascending to the Moon with her pet Yu Tu, the Moon Rabbit and living in the Mo ...

* Zhu Jianfeng as Shentu * Li Yuan as Yulei * Sun Jiaolong as Xing Tian * Chen Chen as Pixiu * Yin Shuo as Count of Wind * Huang Heng as Master of Rain * Gao Rui as Mujue

Alternate titles

Alternate titles for the series include: * ''Tales of the Past'' * ''Huaxia Yanyi'' () * ''Chuanshuo'' () * ''Tiannü Sanhua'' ()

External links

*
''Ancient Legends''
on Sina.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ancient Legends 2010 Chinese television series debuts 2010 Chinese television series endings Shenmo television series Chinese mythology in popular culture