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Thread: Shàolín Sēng Bīng (2008)

  1. #1
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    Shàolín Sēng Bīng (2008)

    Recently binged watched this a while ago, I wanted to share because its a decent series if youre into the old Shaolin historical films. Sammo Hung is featured and does a good job playing a Shaolin master (with hair) , the series is in Wuxia style, and depicts the story "....in the Ming dynasty during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor. General Qi Jiguang enlists the help of Shaolin Monastery's warrior monks to defend China from the wokou (Japanese pirates) and other invaders."

    its a story of tragedy and triumph, spread thru 34 episodes.
    some cool things to note:
    • filmed on site at Shaolin in 2007,
    • features real Shaolin taolu in the training scenes throughout the series (Luohan Quan specifically)
    • centers around Yuekong, a real historical warrior monk of the 16th century (MING) who helped lead Shaolin Warrior Monks in battles and were victorious until reportedly they were set up in a trap and slain, some of this is depicted as historically accurate as possible in the series, yet Yuekong survives, as do the majority of the "Shaolin Warriors"
    • uses historcial accounts of actual battles, and aligns the events with political structure of the Ming Dynasty at the time, making it a nice historical series, even with all the tv drama and added theatrical anecdotes


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    Had to share for those who haven't seen it and love the genre, this is my personal favorite time period when it comes to any type of martial art/kung fu film/tv show. all Shaolin stuff is cool to watch, of course, even Shaolin Soccer was decent lol to a Shaolin loyalist, these WuXia joints rooted in Ming Dynasty, or even Song or Tang dynasty, but the Ming/Qing films are always about fighting for that Ming honor or restoring it, so the Warrior Monks and the integrity of the Temple in general, is always presented in the best way to suit it most potent expressions (in history) of Chan and Wu synonymous.

    Amituofo
    "色即是空 , 空即是色 " ~ Buddha via Avalokitesvara
    Shaolin Meditator

  2. #2
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    Theme music

    almost forgot another cool part to this series, the soundtrack! the music during the scenes is ok, for a tv show for sure.
    the THEME SONG is nice as well especially too a radical Shaolin fanatic! they basically take the old Shaolin theme song from the old Shaolin Temple (1982) movie, and made it to a modern pop song. Granted the production is super cheesy, yet the song still holds to the essence of the original version.
    the song holds up regardless of the cheesy pop production, it makes me smile when I hear it, and is noteworthy for the effort and aesthetic.

    "色即是空 , 空即是色 " ~ Buddha via Avalokitesvara
    Shaolin Meditator

  3. #3
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    Watched episode 34 finally

    To do the series justice, I wont offer spoilers with the details, Ill give my holistic opinion however.
    All in all it's a sad story, heads up, yet its supposed to be historically aligned to a degree, so the outcome was known before hand. Just research "General Qi Jigwang" or Shaolin Monk Yuekong, who was a warrior monk during the time Jiajing Emperor and lead warrior monks in battles against pirates. You can get the outline of the story from learning about them.

    one funny part of the series, has nothing to do with the story, is that during the final battle in the last episode, you can see a modern van in the camera frame, that comic relief was great. Here we are in feudal China with vans parked on battlefields lol.


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    the story is layered in a poetic way. the historic tragedy, struggles, and victories, were used to express the essence of a Shaolin Warrior Monk's philosophy, or what its rooted in. So even tho there is the seemingly sad story, there are great lessons in Chan and Wu that non generic, and applicable to daily life. Its really a Chan Wu Yi roller coaster. With all the war and turmoil, "Chan before Wu" is still invoked several times in action and verbal dialogue.

    its definitely worth a binge watch if you are fan of Shaolin in any form.

    Amituofo
    "色即是空 , 空即是色 " ~ Buddha via Avalokitesvara
    Shaolin Meditator

  4. #4
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    a few of the audio tracks are off a bit but it still has subtitles

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...WCu_8jQxZonRPZ

  5. #5
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    here's another one ~ it has subtitles if you push the closed captioning button

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis..._fQllzq41Eo0EV
    Last edited by pokomkno3; 03-16-2021 at 09:14 PM.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by pokomkno3 View Post
    here's another one ~ it has subtitles if you push the closed captioning button

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis..._fQllzq41Eo0EV
    Yo, those links revert back to their whole YouTube channel. Are there some there some specific episodes that you think are good, or better yet, some timecodes within those where there's good kung fu? (for those that tend to avoid the drama)

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by YinOrYan View Post
    Yo, those links revert back to their whole YouTube channel. Are there some there some specific episodes that you think are good, or better yet, some timecodes within those where there's good kung fu? (for those that tend to avoid the drama)
    I watch a lot of Chinese dramas ~ there are some pretty good stories ~ I find a lot of them interesting and it helps me to learn mandarin better

    it gives me anther world to escape to
    .
    .
    Last edited by pokomkno3; 03-17-2021 at 07:24 PM.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by pokomkno3 View Post
    I watch a lot of Chinese dramas ~ there are some pretty good stories ~ I find a lot of them interesting and it helps me to learn mandarin better
    .
    I already get my quota of drama around here, but I like to watch CCTV Espaniol to help me learn Mandarin and Spanish better (at the same time), because all I know is Kung Fu Mandarin and Zumba Spanish, so it really shocks people when I try speaking either of them, haha

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