''Ip Man'' is a 2013 Chinese television series romanticizing the life of

Ip Man Ip Man (born Ip Kai-man; 1 October 1893 – 2 December 1972), also known as Yip Man, was a Chinese martial arts grandmaster. He became a teacher of the martial art of Wing Chun when he was 20. He had several students who later became martia ...

(Mandarin: Ye Wen), a Chinese martial artist specialising in

Wing Chun Wing Chun (Cantonese) or Yong Chun (Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin) (, lit. "singing spring") is a concept-based martial art, a form of Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu, and a close-quarters system of self-defense. It is a martial ...

Background

Directed by Fan Xiaotian, the series starred Kevin Cheng, who briefly appeared as a younger

in '' Ip Man: The Final Fight'' (2013) which starred Anthony Wong as a middle-aged Ip Man. Han Xue, Liu Xiaofeng, Chrissie Chau, Song Yang, Yu Rongguang,

Yuen Wah Yuen Wah (born Yung Kai-chi; 2 September 1952) is a Hong Kong action film actor, action choreographer, stuntman and martial artist who has appeared in over 160 films and over 20 television series. Early life Born Yung Kai-chi on 2 September 195 ...

and Bruce Leung were cast in supporting roles. Wilson Yip, the director of the ''Ip Man'' film series (starring

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan ( zh, c=甄子丹, p=Zhēn Zǐdān, j=, first=j; born 27 July 1963) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and action director. He is the recipient of various accolades, including three Golden Horse Fi ...

), and Taiwanese television series producer Young Pei-pei served as the artistic consultants. The real-life Ip Man's sons, Ip Chun and Ip Ching, were invited to be the martial arts consultants for the series. The series was shot from July to November 2012 in

Kunshan Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu province with Shanghai bordering its eastern border and Suzhou on its western boundary. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. Name Th ...

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

, and was first aired on Shandong TV from 24 February to 9 March 2013. It won the Golden Eagle Award for Best Television Series in 2012.

Cast

* Kevin Cheng as

** Zhou Jianan as Ye Wen (young) * Han Xue as Zhang Yongcheng * Liu Xiaofeng as Lin Qingshan ** Zang Zhizhong as Lin Qingshan (young) * Chrissie Chau as Jenny * Song Yang as Si * Han Zhenhua as Ye Wen's father * Zhang Ruijia as Ye Wen's mother * Chen Hongjin as Ye Zhun * Yu Rongguang as Yu Fengjiu *

as Chen Huashun * Bruce Leung as Liang Bi *

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 Master Hong * Jiang Kai as Fu Zhengyun * Yu Hai as Tong Zhanpeng * Kou Zhenhai as Zhang Yintang * Pu Chaoying as landlady * Liu Yajin as postman * Liu Xianchen as Zhang Yongsheng * Yuan Bingyan as Qiu Jianyun * Xu Xiangdong as Jiang Sheng * Li Qingxiang as Lu Changyi * Liu Hailong as Yan Chunlai * Wang Weiguo as Marshal Zhu * Mou Fengbin as Guimen Longyi / Guimen Long'er * Yu Yankai as Brother Lu * Yang Qianli as Yan Dong * Zhou Zhong as Mo Renchao

Production

There was fierce competition among many companies over the rights to the production of a television series about Ip Man since Wilson Yip's movies ''

'' and '' Ip Man 2'' (starring

) came into the limelight. Around June 2012, Suzhou Funa Films and Television acquired the rights to produce the television series. Fan Xiaotian, who previously directed many Chinese television series, was selected as the director, while Hong Kong screenwriter Charcoal Tan was chosen to write the script. Wilson Yip and Taiwanese producer Young Pei-pei served as artistic consultants while the real-life Ip Man's sons, Ip Chun and Ip Ching, were invited to be martial arts consultants for the series. Shooting for ''Ip Man'' began in July 2012 and finalized in around November. After the release of ''Ip Man'', BBC UKChina conducted a telephone interview with Fan Xiaotian about the television series. Fan mentioned that the earlier ''Ip Man'' films were too short, and that his purpose in creating the television series was to present a more developed and lively story about Ip Man which allows audiences to explore the character in greater depth. He also felt it was a very opportune time to produce a television series about Ip Man because Wilson Yip's ''Ip Man'' movies were very successful and influential, and also because

Wong Kar-wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure o ...

was making '' The Grandmaster'' when ''Ip Man'' (TV series) was in production. Fan Xiaotian and Young Pei-pei were keen on recruiting actor Vincent Zhao, who has a background in martial arts, to play the lead character. Taking some netizens' opinions and suggestions into account, the production team also considered casting

Han Geng Han Geng (born February 9, 1984) is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor. He started his career in 2001, when he was chosen by S.M. Entertainment to become a member of South Korean boy band Super Junior, which debuted in 2005. He later became ...

, Wu Chun, Wallace Chung and Wallace Huo in the series. However, the role of Ip Man eventually went to Hong Kong

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...

artiste Kevin Cheng. Han Xue was chosen to portray Ip Man's wife Cheung Wing-sing (Mandarin: Zhang Yongcheng). Other cast members include Liu Xiaofeng, Chrissie Chau, Yu Rongguang,

, Bruce Leung, Song Yang and Kou Zhenhai. In September 2012, the cast and crew of ''Ip Man'' appeared at a publicity event in

to promote the television series.

Broadcasts

Home Media

The full Ip Man series is available in Mandarin, with Mandarin subtitles, on popular free video streaming sites in the US. The first ten episodes of this 50 episode series was released by Cinedigm in North American, on DVD and Blu-ray on October 10, 2017. The 45 minute episodes feature Mandarin audio with English subtitles.

References

External links

*
''Ip Man'' (TV series) official page
on Sina.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ip Man (TV series) 2013 Chinese television series debuts Martial arts television series TVB dramas Television shows set in Guangdong Cultural depictions of Ip Man Chinese period television series Chinese action television series