Wednesday 30 December 2015

"Accidentally in Love" - a Fearless Duo 1984 MV

The first bickering between Lam Chor Yin (Barbara Yung) and Szeto Man Mo (Michael Miu), FD ep 1

Okay folks, the last Michael/Barbara MV before the New Year. "Accidentally in Love" for Fearless Duo this time. Music is "Accidentally in Love" by Counting Crows. As per usual, TVB owns Fearless Duo and I intend for no copyright infringement with this MV. I only upload it in Vimeo for I use a Western music, hence Dailymotion might delete it. Hence, check the MV below the bar. 

For now, have a Happy New Year, and may 2016 be more prosperous, healthy, loving and peaceful for us all... Thanks again for the visits and support!


Tuesday 29 December 2015

"The Moon Represents My Heart" - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 MV

About two months ago, after listening to "The Moon Represents My Heart" sung beautifully by the late Teresa Teng, I wanted to make an MV of Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching using this song. But somehow I wanted the singer to be a male, for I wanted it to represent Chor tai-gor’s feelings to Siu Ching. After all, our wanderer was a total helpless in expressing his thoughts! Then I came across Leslie Cheung’s version on this YouTube video. I fell in love with his beautiful rendition. However, that version was too live for the MV I wanted to make. After an easy searching in iTunes, I struck gold by finding another version sung by Leslie in his two albums (“I Am What I Am” and “Forever Leslie”). After a very painstaking process of converting the MP4 protected file, I finally gave up and searched online for any mp3 version uploaded by any kind soul. I struck gold again with this site. Hence, this MV.


   
"The Moon Represents My Heart" - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 MV from Icha74 on Vimeo.


Monday 28 December 2015

"Jealousy" - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 MV

I have been listening to Queen for the last few days, and two songs stuck in my head. The first song is Crazy Little Thing Called Love, which I plan to make an MV for Fearless Duo, hopefully this week. The second song is Jealousy, and I'm using it for this MV below. Story: Chor Lau Heung was jealous with Fell Cut because Song Siu Ching took care of the assassin and spent a lot of time with the latter. His jealousy was totally unfounded because Siu Ching was just sympathising with Fell Cut's plight, but Chor tai-gor didn't know this by the time he found her. "The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984" is the property of TVB Hong Kong. Music is Queen's Jealousy. I uploaded the MV to both  Dailymotion and Vimeo; both are embedded below. I hope the MV stays and you like it. 

Edit 29 Dec15: Dailymotion blocked it (palm/face). Have tried Veoh but still having some technical problems. Will post it here once I have Veoh online. For now, just check the Vimeo embedded below the break.


"Jealousy" - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 MV by icha74



Sunday 27 December 2015

"Storm" - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fighting scenes MV

I've always wanted to make a Chor Lau Heung MV containing the fighting scenes in the series, cos they're just pure gold! But I just got the hang of Windows Movie Maker like last week, hence the project never materialised until just now. I am pretty happy with the result, so I hope you are too. The music is "Storm" from my favourite Japanese shamisen-playing Yoshida Brothers, which is one of my favourite Yoshida music/songs actually (they have a lot!). Enjoy!

 
Chor Lau Heung 1984 fighting scenes from Icha74 on Vimeo.

And here's the Dailymotion streaming:

Friday 25 December 2015

"You're beautiful" - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 MV

Chor tai-gor doubting himself, Ep 27

Merry Christmas everyone, may Peace, Love and Health be upon us! Thanks to MB and/or CLH fans and/or Fearless Duo fans and/or the Foundation fans for keep returning to my blog; you guys are amazing!

Here's another CLH 1984 MV for you guys (or ladies?). Chor Lau Heung pondering about his love to Princess Wing Ching (aka Song Siu Ching) and how he is just not good enough for her. From "The Adventures of Chor Lau Heung" 1984, copyright by TVB Hong Kong. Music "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. Video is under the break for stats purposes. I understand that it might feel weird to have a Chinese MV with English music, but I find James Blunt's song really befits Chor tai-gor's feelings and self-doubts (tho they wouldn't have a subway back in the Ming Dynasty!), so I just decided to use the song. Hope you like it.


I uploaded the video to Vimeo cos Dailymotion blocks it. I didn't even bother trying YouTube cos my CLH videos have been blocked several times...

Wednesday 23 December 2015

“Alone Up the West Chamber” – a Chor Lau Heung 1984 MV


"Alone Up the West Chamber" Chor Lau Heung 1984 MV (Du Shang Xi Lou with Pinyin) from Icha74 on Vimeo.




Since I listened to Teresa Teng’s rendition of Li Yu’s “Du Shang Xi Lou” (“Alone Up the West Chamber”), I’ve always wanted to make this MV. I just finished it, and I hope it touches many MB/CLH fans. The story is about Song Siu Ching reminiscing on her love story with Chor Lau Heung after he took her hairpin and left her in the Palace. I found the theme of Du Shang Xi Lou befitting her loneliness upon Chor tai-gor’s departure.

Du Shang Xi Lou is part of Li Yu’s poem titled "Grief" (哀思 ai si), which in itself is the segment of "Happy reunion" (相見歡 xiang jian huan). The late, angelic Teresa sang Du Shang Xi Lou as part of her Dandan Youqing (Light Exquisite Feeling) album.  If you’re a fan of Teresa Teng, or just found out about her angelic voice, you should listen to this album.

The original lyric is from this site, while the English translation is from HKships4TeresaTeng2’s YouTube video of Dandan Youqing (Light Exquisite Feeling). The Pinyin lyrics are combined from the two sites. The English translation is below the break. Click here for my previous fanfiction on this theme. 


Thursday 10 December 2015

"Yearning Lady Playing the Zither" - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

A scene from Ep 27 where Song Siu Ching played the zither after stomping out of a conversation with Chor Lau Heung, and said wandered was forlornly listening to the melody, plus the hypothetical scene afterwards. Watch it with the scene below for better effects. As usual, the fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu and Barbara Yung. I don’t own any of the characters; Gu Long and TVB Hong Kong do.



Yearning Lady Playing the Zither

It had been a while since he heard music flowing from the zither chamber inside the boat, such that Chor Lau Heung felt as if it was his adopted sister Sung Tim Yi who was playing right now. Yet, of course the wanderer knew better. Tim Yi, So Yung Yung, Li Hung Chao and Wah Jan Jan were kidnapped a while ago, and he hadn't been able to trace their whereabouts.

Nay, the fingers that danced through the zither strings right now weren't Tim Yi's. They were Siu Ching's, the girl who had been haunting his mind as of late. Give and take the last few months since he met her that very fine afternoon in an inn, which seemed like a life time ago. Slowly walking the Fragrant Boat deck, Lingering Fragrance sighed and caressed a strand of his own hair. Song Siu Ching didn't have Tim Yi's excellence in music, but the former was surprisingly good with the zither. Lau Heung never heard Siu Ching playing a musical instrument before, so he was a bit surprised to learn that she was a good player. He shouldn't really be surprised though, the girl would have taken some meaningful musical lessons back at the palace, given that she was actually Princess Wing Ching, the only princess the empire had. Yet, despite the crystal clear notes she played, Lingering Fragrance detected an unmistakable yearning, longing, infused in the melody.

Monday 7 December 2015

"United We Stand" MV (Michael/Barbara)


I haven't found the rom-com United We Stand (生銹橋王, 1984) with English sub (or Indonesian sub) yet, so I haven't been able to watch the series. I mean, I can, I guess, view it through Youku, Tudou, Dailymotion or Veoh... but I wouldn't have a clue what Barbara and Michael were saying. But I found this lovely MV a while ago at Veoh and I remembered it today. 

The MV is below the break (gotta do that so I can track the stat for this post). It's a lovely MV with Barbara as Doh-wan, the well-behaved lady who was courted by Tung Pang-fei (Michael Miu). Babs also portrayed Doh-wan's tomboy twin (Pui-ying), hence I really want to see this series. But for now, the MV will do. Michael looked dashing as always (tho I find his immensely curly hair a bit unsettling, for I'm so used to his long flowing Han hair...). Barbara was so gorgeous and doll-like, it makes me root for her more...


Saturday 5 December 2015

The Promises (CLH eps 20 & 32 screen shots)

SC just wanted CLH to treat her as he used to do, Ep 20

I miss Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching... hence despite my sleepiness, I want to post the following screen shots from episodes 20 and 32. Episode 20 screen shots portray Chor tai-gor's initial hesitance in having a relationship with Siu Ching after he learned that she was the Princess. Ep 20 and 32 screen shots portray Siu Ching's promise to Chor Lau Heung; that she just wanted to be with him, to spend her life with him, and she was ready to cast aside her title and rank for him. Of course when in Ep 40 she later forgot her promise and wanted him to stay with her in the palace instead, he was disappointed (see these screen shots for the latter scene in Ep 40). The shots also showed how CLH took marriage seriously, hence his initial reluctance in trying out the relationship with the Princess, because he really actually wanted it to work, and he originally didn't have faith in their relationship. Ep 32 was very important in the CLH/SSC saga because it was here when Chor tai-gor truly promised that he'd take Siu Ching with him (presumably to be his wife) in his wandering adventures.

Sunday 29 November 2015

The Foundation 1984: My impressions

One of my favourite scenes: Li Sai Man trying to kiss Sik Sik (Ep 4)

I thought I should write a post about what I think of The Foundation 1984 (决战玄武门) after watching it two weeks ago. A month ago, I found that I could obtain the series in Mandarin and Cantonese subs and Indonesian subtitles. It seems the excellent subtitles was done by fans, and it reflects how fans could actually do wonders with their dedication. I was relieved to receive the DVDs and dreaded it at the same time. I dreaded watching the series for fear of a broken heart, but I couldn’t help it. In the end, I am glad I forced myself to watch it; at least now I can rest the case.

The story line itself; don't buy it as the definitive chronicles of Li Sai Man or Emperor Taizong. Reports had it that Li Sai Man indeed killed his brothers, but there was never a record of him loving a peasant girl and killed her for the throne. It was true though that Li Sai Man was a good emperor, if not THE best, of the ancient China.


Tuesday 24 November 2015

Timeline of Chor Lau Heung 1984

Wu Tit Fa gave some paper money to have CLH 'killed', Ep 8

I’ve been thinking about the timeline of Chor Lau Heung. Since I couldn’t find any info on the net (well, the English version at least), I just gathered some facts from the series and (ahem) Wikipedia and deducted that Chor Lau Heung’s time frame was in the early to middle Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Here’s how I came to the conclusion.

One of the most prominent sects in the CLH saga was the Wutang Clan. This clan wasn’t established until the Yuan Dynasty (per Louis Cha’s Dragon Sword and Heaven Sabre 1961). Also, the Province of Yunnan where Song Siu Ching and the Emperor escaped to wasn’t created until 1274 during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). Previously, Yunnan was called the Dali Kingdom. Hence, the setting should be during the Ming Dynasty that ruled the Mainland after the Yuan Dynasty.

Sunday 22 November 2015

‘The Days of Happy Laughters’ – the Foundation 1984 happy OST

The Foundation 1984 has three main tracks, all sung by Michelle Pau. The opening and end credits are sad, but the third one has a very happy note. It was played during the first real date between Li Sai Man (Michael Miu) and Chun Sik Sik (Barbara Yung) in Episode 4. I said “the first real date” because by this time, Sai Man no longer pretended that he was a jerk just to evade his brother’s spies. It was like, “Screw this. I’m dating her and I will just cherish her presence and make her laugh!”  Hence the song and the scene, which I successfully uploaded to YouTube (TVB, please don’t tell me to delete it later, it’s only 2.5 minutes anyway...). Edit: TVB blocked it, so I moved it to Dailymotion. If it's blocked again, I will just post the video on my public Dropbox domain... (Jeepers, I'm not even trying to sell anything here!)


Michelle Pau The Foundation 1984 "The Days of... by icha74


The original lyrics are found at Musixmatch and SPCNET (the Musixmatch missed the last line). The English translation is also provided in the second version of the video. The song is a happy one indeed. It shows how Li Sai Man truly loved  Sik Sik and just wanted to make her happy...


Sai Man trying to kiss the blushing Sik Sik, Ep 4


Karmic Connections: a Michael/Barbara wuxia fanfiction

My attempt to bridge the four main MB wuxia stories together.  It started at the end of Ep 20 of Fearless Duo when Lam Chor Yin accidentally broke the jar that contained Szeto Man Mo’s soul. The Foundation 1984, the Legend of Condor Heroes 1983, Chor Lau Heung 1984 and Fearless Duo 1984 and their characters are the properties of TVB Hong Kong. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu and Barbara Yung. Contains plentiful reincarnation viewpoints. Not everyone's cup of tea, but it works for me to mend my broken heart for what Li Sai Man did to Chun Sik Sik. Check this for the accompanying MV.

The four Michael Miu/Barbara Yung wuxia that I string here


Karmic Connections 

 On an autumn night, their reunion darkens all love scenes
Moments of their reunion surpass joy on earth
So sad to part each other
Eternal love shall withstand the time apart




The ceramic jar broke and the white butterfly escaped. Lam Chor Yin made a small, disappointed gasp as she saw the butterfly flying away out of sight. In panic, she scanned the room to find the butterfly's whereabouts to no avail. The Supreme Master, the person who opened the door and hence bumped into her and caused her to drop the jar, entered the hall to find the Young Madam Szeto looking around the room like a mad woman before finally slumping down on the floor and wallowing in sorrow. Despite his own heartbreak to learn that the butterfly that contained Szeto Man Mo's soul had escaped, Supreme Master did his best to console Chor Yin. They had to find the butterfly again soon if they want to successfully install Man Mo's soul back into his body, and he needed Chor Yin to pull herself together to speed up the search process. 

Friday 20 November 2015

CLH 1984 ep 40 screen shots: the final boat scene

Chor Lau Heung (Michael Miu) and Song Siu Ching (Barbara Yung), final scene, Ep 40

I still want to finish capturing some scenes from The Foundation 1984, but since it's so sad, I'm taking a break for a few days. Since I have been wanting to do screen shots for the last scene of Chor Lau Heung 1984, I figure out that this would be a good, happy break from the Foundation. This post is best read after reading/watching the screen caps of the previous CLH/SC scene, i.e. the garden scene (click here). The boat scene that I refer to here started after Chor tai-gor realised that he didn't hear any commotion outside, though he had asked So Yung Yung, Li Hung Chao and Sung Tim Yi to prepare the boat for sailing. 





Monday 16 November 2015

The Foundation 1984 recap eps 10-12 (end)

Sik Sik taking care of the injured Sai Man, Ep 11

Below is the recap of the Foundation 1984 episodes 10-12. I’d like to thank the Kaypang Gallery for providing the Cantonese ver with excellent Indonesian subtitles for this series (the DVDs can be purchased here). You can also watch the Cantonese ver from Tudou. The spellings of the main characters are in Cantonese. Spellings of other characters in Mandarin pinyin. I sourced many spellings from the Wikipedia entry of Li Shimin and its associated links. Needless to say, the post contains spoilers, so you are forewarned...

Ep 10: Kong Fung took Sik Sik to the beach, where she later told him that it was the very place Li Sai Man usually took her to when he wanted to cheer her up. She then told Kong Fung that Sai Man actually knew that she met KF on the beach that day. Kong Fung then realised that it was all Li Sai Man's play, that he actually just wanted to get KF's support to overthrow his brothers. Kong Fung then visited Sai Man and confronted him about his play. He said that Chun Sik Sik was a fine lady and Li Sai Man should treasure and cherish her. On the matter of assisting the 2nd Prince, Kong Fung still firmly said that HTM wouldn't intervene with Royal affairs. Later, Li Sai Man walked down the beach and found Sik Sik there. He whispered her name, she heard him and tensed slightly. He approached her. She turned and calmly commented that he looked thinner. He replied that she was thinner too. She melted into his embrace.


Sunday 15 November 2015

The Foundation 1984 recap eps 6-9

Sik Sik reconciled with Li Sai Man, Ep 6

Below is the recap of the Foundation 1984 episodes 6-9. I’d like to thank the Kaypang Gallery for providing the Cantonese ver with excellent Indonesian subtitles for this series (the DVDs can be purchased here). You can also watch the Cantonese ver from Tudou.
The spellings of the main characters are in Cantonese. Spellings of other characters in Mandarin pinyin. I sourced many spellings from the Wikipedia entry of Li Shimin and its associated links. Needless to say, the post contains spoilers, so you are forewarned...

Ep 6: The day of the decadal martial art competition arrived. Li Sai Man was surprised to see his 3rd brother there. Sai Man was more surprised to see Meng Qing Bing fighting for the Wu Ling Kau (Crow Sect), but when Sai Man saw Yuan Ji conversing with the Crow leader, he knew that QB had betrayed him for 3rd Prince. QB then defeated Sima Hang, the first disciple of HTM. Kong Fung decided to fight Qing Bing with the One Thousand Forms Style and he defeated QB. KF emerged as a new favourite in his sect, and he also gained more friends and supporters from his sect, including the 2nd disciple who originally despised him. Meanwhile, Li Sai Man felt guilty that Li Jing had used his inner strength to save QB, only for the latter to back-stab them. LJ said Sai Man shouldn't be bothered with that issue, and if anything went south, LJ knew how to bake, hence he should be fine (as a baker). Madame Li overheard the conversation with utmost concern.

Wednesday 11 November 2015

The Foundation 1984 recap eps 1-5

Chun Sik Sik (Barbara Yung) and Li Sai Man (Michael Miu), artwork by Tomoyo262

Below is the recap of the Foundation 1984 (决战玄武门episodes 1-5. I’d like to thank the Kaypang Gallery for providing the Cantonese ver with excellent Indonesian subtitles for this series (the DVDs can be purchased here). You can also watch the Cantonese ver from TudouThe spellings of the main characters are in Cantonese. Spellings of other characters in Mandarin pinyin. I sourced many spellings from the Wikipedia entry of Li Shimin and its associated links. Needless to say, the post contains spoilers, so you are forewarned... 


Ep 1: Li Sai Man (Li Shimin, Michael Miu) and his third brother Li Yuan Chi (Li Yuanji, played by Ken Tong) were sent to Jiang Nan by Emperor Father to observe the daily life of the commoners. They met two Hao Tian Men (Wu Tien Mun) people and were impressed by the way the HTM sect/clan conducted themselves in upholding justice. The two princes then saw two HTM folks being attacked and murdered by someone. Sai Man (who used his secret identity Wen Ding Yuan) wanted to report the incident to HTM headquarters, but his Sam Gor (third brother) Yuan Chi (who used the false name Wen Ding Jiang) said they shouldn't intervene with the wuxia world, hence the brothers went to a brothel instead. There, while Sai Man enjoying the wine, Yuan Chi tried to flirt with a woman who was courted by Meng Qing Bing (Austin Wai). Sai Man reminded YC to behave. A fight broke outside between the HTM and the murderer (played by the guy who played as Yip Shing Lan in the Chor Lau Heung 1984 series). Meng Qing Bing intervened. Meanwhile, the HTM students accused the Crow sect as the culprit behind the HTM murder. The Hau Tian Men Master Ren (portrayed by the actor who played Sit Yi Yan in CLH'84) was angry that his students attacked the Crow sect without his approval. The Master then consulted some kung fu masters, including Meng Qing Bing and General Li Qing (or Li Jing), about the murder. 


Monday 9 November 2015

The poems in Chor Lau Heung 1984

Chor tai-gor reciting the last line of 'Tale of the Magpie Bridge' (ep 13)

Ancient series are usually peppered with poems. The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984 was not an exception. I could only recall three four poems from the CLH 1984, but I really like them hence I post them here. The full text of the poems can be found at the end of this post. My favourite is definitely the Tale of the Magpie Bridge, first recited by Koh A Lam (Sharon Yang) in front of Wu Tit Fa in ep 11. Later in ep 13, Wu asked Chor tai-gor about that poem, and Chor recited a part of it for Wu’s benefit. Chor Lau Heung did look pensieve though when he recited the last line (“Eternal love shall withstand the time apart”), which made me think that he was thinking of Song Siu Ching for just a few seconds there.

Tale of the Magpie Bridge is part of a famous ancient Chinese story called the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd, dated back to over 2,600 years ago, around the time of the Han Dynasty. The story involved Zhinu (the weaver girl, or the star Vega) and Niulang (the cowherd, the star Altair) whose starcrossed love made them banished such that each of them live in another side of the Silver River (the Milky Way). Once a year (7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar), magpies would form a bridge between the two lovers such that they could meet for one day.

Below is the few lines of the Tale of the Magpie Bridge Chor Lau Heung recited in ep 13.

Thursday 29 October 2015

The gorgeous costumes of CLH & SSC

The pink/white/blue garments from Ep 1 and 4
I should really sleep now because I need to wake up before sunrise tomorrow. However, I miss Chor tai-gor and our adorable Siu Ching, hence I just want to make a short post on the gorgeous costumes worn by Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching in the 1984 Chor Lau Heung series. I counted that Michael Miu had at least nine ensembles, while Barbara Yung wore at least 12 numbers for this series, excluding her peasant-style garments in Ep 17 and 35, among others. Other actors had adorable costumes too, but I will limit this post to CLH and SSC. I will just post the photos here with some comments on the episode numbers.

My favourite CLH/SSC ensembles is actually the clothes they wore at the same time during their first meeting and Ep 4. Chor tai-gor had white garments with very little soft pink embellishment with a white gossamer cape while Siu Ching's tunic was pink and blue with white under layer, as shown above.

Friday 23 October 2015

CLH ep 40 screen shots: the hairpin and garden scene

Chor tai-gor only asked for Siu Ching's hairpin (and not the girl, ep 40)

We CLH fans have no doubts of Song Siu Ching's feelings to Chor Lau Heung. Barbara Yung portrayed Siu Ching as always being certain of her love for the wanderer since ep 10 at the earliest. However, despite being a ladies' man, and despite his initial attraction to Siu Ching, Chor Lau Heung was subtle with regards to his own feelings. Very subtle. Michael Miu didn't portray him with Yang Kang's or (I suspect) Li Sai Man's intensity in love. In the series, Chor Lau Heung never said he loved Song Siu Ching. He was a pragmatic. He showed he loved her, but never uttered the word 'love'. Perhaps that was the way ancient 80s series were, or perhaps that was just how Chor Lau Heung (as portrayed by Michael) was. But it sometimes, admittedly, left me wondering if he did love her, just like Siu Ching wondered if Chor tai-gor loved her too or not. It took Sowfoong from the Network54/MB Paradise to tell me that he did love her, and very protective of her. 

Then I saw ep 40 again last night. In addition to enjoying the fight between Yuen Tsui Wan and Chor Lau Heung, I was particularly interested in the garden scene after Chor tai-gor asked for Siu Ching's hairpin. Chor Lau Heung was a jovial man, and even while saying goodbye to Princess Wing Ching (aka Siu Ching), he still took time to smile. But then I saw something last night. Siu Ching was numbed when he left her. But apparently, he was not happy either. It took me a lot of freezes and screen shots to realise that he was indeed not glad to leave her in the Palace. It took me more freezes and screen shots to fast forward to the boat scene when he was alone examining the hairpin to see he was truly sad. He was broken-hearted, but as he said to Wah Jan Jan before: men are good at hiding their feelings. Chor Lau Heung was not an exception.

So here they are: the screen shots for the garden scene after Brother Chor asked for Siu Ching's hairpin. If (like I was, prior to this post) you have doubts that he was sad to leave her, see for yourself.


Thursday 22 October 2015

'The First Dance' - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fan fiction

My take on the first meeting between Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching, requested by JoNe. Romance, action. Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of Gu Long and TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. I own nothing but my love to them and this series (click here to read all CLH'84 episodes). Special thanks to all my CLH/FD/MB regular readers, you guys have kept me going!

Song Siu Ching's and Chor Lau Heung's first 'dance', ep 1

The First Dance 

Han men didn't dance with Han women. Unlike the Mongols or the Shendu people, a dance between a man and a woman was not part of the Han culture. It would be the women who performed the ethereal dance and the men enjoyed their dancing, preferably while drinking good wine. However, King of Thieves Chor Lau Heung had danced several times with the woman he loved. He particularly treasured their first dance. Oh, she wouldn't call it a dance, of course, she would call it something else. "Rudeness" or "show off" might be her opinion of that moment. But he would always remember it as the opening dance between them.


Wednesday 21 October 2015

The Foundation - a heartbreaking Michael/Barbara ancient series

Li Sai Man (Michael Miu) and Chun Sik Sik (Barbara Yung) in The Foundation 1984

After finishing Fearless Duo 1984, I want to see other Michael Miu/Barbara Yung series. I still have three to watch: Legend of Condor Heroes 1982 where they were bitter enemies (Yeung Hong or Yang Kang vs Wung Yung or Huang Rong); United We Stand 1984 (they were lovers, tho Babs played twins, and the twins loved two different men, Michael one of them); and The Foundation 1984. The last one I don't really want to watch for I will definitely cry buckets of tears and may not be able to show my face to the public for a while... 

In The Foundation (决战玄武门), Michael portrayed Li Sai Man (Li Shi Min) who was the co-founder of the Tang Dynasty. Later known as Emperor Taizong, Li Sai Man was originally a happy-go-lucky young prince who met a servant village girl in his counselor's household (Chun Sik Sik, portrayed by our lovely Barbara). Li Sai Man then fell in love with Sik Sik, the humble village girl who used to love Kong Fung (Felix Wong), a man from her village who left her to improve his kung fu career. Sik Sik then also fell in love with Sai Man and left her love for Kong Fung behind. 

Have a look at this MV by Thaijet. How beautiful and sad it is...SPOILERS ahead. For those who don't want to be spoiled, don't watch the MV till finished. The music is not the original the Foundation OST. Rather, it was from the Return of Condor Heroes (1983), featuring Andy Lau and Idy Chan. The next MV below the break contains the original OST of the Foundation. 



Sunday 18 October 2015

'The Princess who saved her wanderer' - a Chor Lau Heung 1984 fanfiction

To assist Yuen Tsui Wan, Kam Ling Chi poisoned Chor Lau Heung, Wu Tit Fa and the three ladies. Chor was almost defeated by Ting Fung but Sit Siu Yan and Wah Jan Jan arrived to save the day (ep 35). Then Khoo Tai Pang found out their hideout. This fanfiction takes time after Siu Ching met Sit Siu Yan in town and went to the mansion to assist Chor tai-gor (ep 36). Instead of asking Tim Yi to play music and acting all cool, Chor et al found a hidden passage inside the house (with the help of the Pak Ah zither) where he hid his friends there. Chor then faced Khoo Tai Pang alone. Chor still sustained injuries from his fight with Ting Fung, hence he was easily defeated and captured. It was now up to Siu Ching to rescue him. Featuring Chor Lau Heung first kissing Song Siu Ching. Violence, romance, action. Chor Lau Heung 1984 is the property of Gu Long and TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Barbara Yung Mei Ling. I own nothing but my love to them and this series (click here to read all CLH'84 episodes). Special thanks to all my CLH/FD/MB regular readers, you guys have kept me going!

Ting Fung defeated a poisoned Chor Lau Heung, ep 35

The Princess who saved her wanderer 

Song Siu Ching crawled inside the damp tunnel. Worried that she might be trapped in the tunnel, she started to regret the idea. However, something about the air told her that she was getting onto something here. The air was fresh, not rotten. The tunnel must end in an opening where she could get out, or at least see what happened in the old mansion.

Siu Ching had found the entrance of the tunnel totally by accident. Earlier that day, she had arrived at the hillside of the old mansion with Trouble Maker Sit Siu Yan to learn that a small army of Khoo Tai Pang’s had surrounded the area. She waited for a while for Wah Jan Jan (who she knew had been tailed by Khoo Tai Pang) to reappear. The Hua Shan girl did appear for a brief moment, stepping down the stairs before she stopped and returned to the mansion. Jan Jan must have detected Khoo Tai Pang then, which was good.

Wednesday 14 October 2015

Fearless Duo 1984 summary of eps 15-20

The followings are the summary of Fearless Duo episodes. Special thanks to Dramacool and Dramanice for uploading this series. With all my love for Michael Miu and Barbara Yung for giving me this series. Click this for all episode guides of Fearless Duo. 


Szeto Man Mo finally married Lam Chor Yin properly, ep 19

Ep 15: MMCY tracked down the black magic guy and found his hideout. MM managed to cancel out the black magic thus SM was cured. However, they didn't found anyone in the hideout. Unbeknown to them, the black magic master was killed already by his teacher. Not the Evil Master, but Sky Heart, the 1st disciple (played by the actor who played as Wai Tin Ho in CLH actually). Cured, SM then concocted a plan to make 2nd uncle n cousin Tsung admitted their rotten plan in front of the village elders, such that the two pigs were exiled (despite Madam Yip's mercy). Madam Yip then invited SM to stay at the Yip Mansion. Big Mole arrived and joined MMCY acting as a go-between for SM and Madam. MM himself, he returned his jade to CY, asking her to keep it cos it is a very important item for both of them.

Fearless Duo 1984 summary of eps 8-14

The followings are the summary of Fearless Duo episodes. Special thanks to Dramacool and Dramanice for uploading this series. With all my love for Michael Miu and Barbara Yung for giving me this series. Click this for all episode guides of Fearless Duo. 

CY found the poisoned MM, ep 11

Ep 8:back to the Cantonese version!! OMG, I can't believe how significant this is for the enjoyment of my viewing! Michael's voice, OMG! Dubbing his voice in Mandarin doesn't do justice at all, unless he's the one who speaks Mandarin himself! (I’ve listened to Michael’s talk shows in Mandarin, his voice is still lovely...) Anyway. Since Chor Yin was angry with Man Mo, Tse Cheung Leung was able to accompany her here and there. She didn't fall for him, but she did like him because he was nice and always tried to protect her. Tse finally found criminal Ng Pak Tin and, after some hostage situation involving himself and Yin, Tse got Ng (who was killed by an officer during the hostage overtake). Tse then made some comical scenes about his injured legs so that Yin could take care of him longer (Tse was such a baby around Yin; it's funny that they later had a role reversal where he practically babysit and chaperoned Song Siu Ching in Chor Lau Heung). Meanwhile, Man Mo regretted being nasty to Yin, but he still found it hard to let go of Miss Fa. MM and Master then met Tung Yi, an orphaned girl whose veranda was obliterated when MM wanted to get away (again) from Master. The dumb and dumber then stayed with Tung Yi for a while to fix her house and accompany her. When they finally wanted to leave, Tung Yi went to town to buy some dinner ingredients as a farewell. There she overheard Tse asking the doctor not to heal him too soon so that he could be with Yin longer. Tung Yi borrowed that idea and twisted her ankle so that MM and teacher still stayed with her.


Fearless Duo 1984 summary of eps 1-7

The followings are the summary of Fearless Duo episodes. Special thanks to Dramacool and Dramanice for uploading this series. With all my love for Michael Miu and Barbara Yung for giving me this series. Click this for all episode guides of Fearless Duo. 


Szeto Man Mo developed a habit of bickering with Lam Chor Yin, ep 1

Ep 1: Supreme Master Cheung was drinking in town. Lam Chor Yin (Barbara Yung), daughter of the governor, strolled the town in her lovely yellow dress, used her magic to reveal Wu Yat Chu Big Mole cheating and found a cute rabbit. She then saw Master Cheung fighting. She went home and asked Auntie Wu to teach her more magic, but the old lady refused. Governor knew about his daughter sneaking out, hence she was grounded. Chor Yin still managed to sneak out the day (dressed as a boy) after and met Szeto Man Mo in town. Rather, bickered with him over his jade pendant stolen by a pair of thief (so refreshing this bickering couple! As Chor Lau Heung, Michael Miu was smart but calm. As Szeto Man Mo, he was a big mouth!). Szeto and Lam were apparently business rivals; both their fathers were involved with some corruption cases. The next day the two families went to Master Cheung for support. Man Mo went along and met A Yin who was disguised as a boy (that was how Man Mo recognised her from the jade incident). They had a mouth brawl again before A Yin left for fear that her father found out. They then met Master Cheung separately. Man Mo didn’t realise the meat-eating Taoist monk was the Master, while A Yin begged the Master to accept her as a student (and was rejected). Later, the Master taught Mr Szeto and Mr Lam to be more considerate with their positions and donate some money to the temple.


'Tonight I stay here' - a Fearless Duo fanfiction

The scene between Szeto Man Mo and Lam Chor Yin (MMCY) in Ep 6 of Fearless Duo after they had to share the room to fool Chor Yin’s uncle and aunt. After realising that he couldn’t escape the mansion without getting beaten to death, Man Mo resigned his fate and decided to just sleep in the room. But there was only one bed there. Fearless Duo is the property of TVB HK. This fanfiction is dedicated to Michael Miu and Barbara Yung. Click here for Fearless Duo episode summaries.

Lam Chor Yin wanted to slap Szeto Man Mo, ep 6


Tonight I stay here

"I'm not sharing a bed with you!" Chor Yin glared at Man Mo.

Szeto Man Mo glared back at his former wife. What a nonsensical girl! "Miss, even though you don't want to sleep, I do. You can sleep next to me, I don't mind!"  He then lay down on the bed, only to be dragged up again by Chor Yin. “Haiyaaa...! What do you want, Girl??”

Since Chor Yin still lodged a protest, both of them ended up sleep-sitting on the chairs. For the first two hours they could do that. But at midnight, just as the clock man passed the mansion with his clunking bamboo, Man Mo woke up with a thud cos his head hit the table. Groaning, he massaged his forehead. Then he looked around. Although the room was dark, silver lights penetrated the windows from the moon and 2-3 lanterns in the garden. He looked across the round table where he had been leaning on and found Chor Yin sleeping on her folded hands on the table. He was about to change his position when he saw the bed again. His back hurts. What would he give to sleep there...

Tuesday 13 October 2015

Fearless Duo 1984: another Michael Miu/Barbara Yung charming ancient series

Szeto Man Mo (Michael Miu) & Lam Chor Yin (Barbara Yung), FD ep 19 

So, after finishing Chor Lau Heung 1984 (watched it for three rounds, actually, or perhaps more), I found the Fearless Duo MV with the OST sang by Alan Tam. Fell in love with the song, then binged watching FD the whole weekend. This post is basically the synopsis of FD 1984 and commentaries of major characters (including, of course, the stars Michael Miu and Barbara Yung). I will post the FD episode summary later. 

Fearless Duo (FD) is basically the ‘I fall in love with my neighbour’ Michael/Barbara rom-com series. I’m contrasting this with The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984 where Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching were practically a super-star couple. CLH had a good reputation in the wuxia world despite his carefree lifestyle (the Emperor sought his advice on a regular basis); Siu Ching was the princess. In FD however, Michael played as Szeto Man Mo, a stroppy and cantankerous young man who was forced to marry the tomboy (and also stroppy) Lam Chor Yin (our darling Barbara Yung). The story evolved from them being bitter and bickering with each other to loving each other in a lovely, organic, down to earth way. I’m not saying CLH isn’t down to earth... but CLH is indeed a high-profile story involving high profile wuxia sects and the empire’s fate, while FD could happen in your neighbourhood. Adding to the FD story is the rivalry between Taoist Supreme Master Cheung and his evil brother, typical village superstitions and some undead and vampires, thus you have the typical “Chinese Ghost Story” with a high dosage of lovely, classical MB scenes that will surely melt your heart (well, at least mine and so many MB fans).

Saturday 10 October 2015

Who Can Change - Fearless Duo 天師執位 1984 OST

I haven't seen Michael Miu's and Barbara Yung's Fearless Duo (天師執位, TVB 1984), but after watching this YouTube and listening to the OST, I just have to see it. FD has a happy ending (unlike the Foundation, which I also want to watch but I fear I will cry buckets of tears), so I will definitely watch it. The OST is titled "Who Can Change" by Alan Tam, and after listening to the song, I can understand why it is Michael Miu's favourite song (and that the series is one of his favourites) and that Alan Tam himself is still the king of Canto pop these days. 


I obtained the lyrics and meaning from Wehaiyo (I modified slightly to streamline it) and the Cantonese Yale from Feitsui. Enjoy!

Alan Tam's rendition of the Heart Sutra (Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra)

I found Alan Tam's rendition of the Heart Sutra (Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra) on YouTube after listening to "Who Can Change", his famous OST from the Fearless Duo (1984, also feat. Michael Miu and Barbara Yung). I found this rendition of the Heart Sutra very lovely, hence I put it here. The Cantonese lyrics are from Nicholas Tse's website. I found the translation from Jayarava here, complete with the Middle Chinese script and pinyin. 

Strangely enough, Jayarava's post was dated 15 May 2015, that was just a day after the 30th commemoration of Barbara Yung's death. I recently have been feeling that I haven't totally mourn her passing, hence, I dedicate this song and lyrics for Babs, the lovely girl who coloured my childhood with wonderful series. Wherever you are Barbara, may you be in peace. If you are already reborn, may your current life and the lives afterwards be beautiful and peaceful.



Heart Sutra

When Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva practiced the deep perfection of wisdom,
He saw the five aggregates as completely empty, and overcame all states of suffering.
Śāriputra, form is not different emptiness, emptiness is not different form
Form is empty, emptiness is form.
Vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, & vijñāna, are the same