Sometimes a delay ends up yielding unexpectedly good results, and that looks to be the case with the arrival of the drama adaptation of Yun Zhong Ge (Song of the Clouds). The novel from writer Tong Hua is one of my favorites even if it’s also the hardest to read in terms of the angst. It’s probably second only to … Continue reading →
With the spread of Hallyu so prominent and prevalent across all the Asian countries, especially in Mainland China, it’s nice to see the occasional reverse happening especially with works that I personally love. The C-drama Bu Bu Jing Xin (Startling with Each Step), adapted from the popular time-traveling novel of the same name by writer Tong Hua, aired in Korea … Continue reading →
Looks like it’s back to the waiting board for two long finished drama adaptations of Tong Hua novels. It’s been over two years since Da Mo Yao (Ballad of the Desert which is now called Song of the Desert) was filmed and over a year since its sequel Yun Zhong Ge (Song in the Clouds) wrapped production. Both were supposed … Continue reading →
It’s been awhile since I wrote about Yun Zhong Ge (Song in the Clouds), C-novelist Tong Hua’s romance novel set in the early Han dynasty mixing real life historical characters with a fictional what-if star-crossed romance story. It remains a great regret that I couldn’t finish translating the full second half of the novel, though I did manage to deliver the … Continue reading →
Yun Zhong Ge the drama looks so beautiful I have no words. Gah, what is this magic happening? If the drama adaptation of writer Tong Hua‘s Da Mo Yao (Ballad of the Desert) felt like a balloon gradually deflating as my excitement and interest went from one hundred to zero in the court of the casting shenanigans, filming chintzy feel, and … Continue reading →
When one’s beloved novel is getting a live-action adaptation, there is always the fervent hope that it doesn’t get butchered tempered by the dream of seeing it finally come to life outside of the words on the page and the images in one’s own imagination. I’ve been through the process so many times whether its English novels, Japanese manga, or … Continue reading →
I try not to be someone who says I’m going to do something and not follow up. It was with a heavy heart I had to concede defeat in translating all of Yun Zhong Ge (Song in the Clouds), its three thick volumes made for an epic read but created an overwhelming translation project. A few months ago I said … Continue reading →
In light of the fact that the drama adaptation of Da Mo Yao (Ballad of the Desert) might never see the light of day, plus I’m still not ready to accept Eddie Peng as General Huo Qu Bing despite all my love for Liu Shi Shi and Hu Ge, the drama adaptation of Yun Zhong Ge (Song in the Clouds) … Continue reading →
Okay, this is much better than I expected. Or maybe since my expectation was somewhere below rock bottom (yes, that is possible when dealing with the maestro toad of crazy that is producer Yu Zheng’s oeuvre), something that looks simple and lovely actually has the ability to instill hope back in me for the upcoming drama adaptation of Tong Hua’s … Continue reading →
After the collective freak out and hernia two weeks ago at the Yun Zhong Ge Baidu bar over the casting shuffles and the possibility of Yuan Shan Shan taking on the leading role in Yu Zheng‘s drama adaptation of Yun Zhong Ge called Love Story of the Great Han Period, the drama quietly started filming yesterday with a confirmed cast that … Continue reading →
The Yun Zhong Ge bar is probably the most battle-worn place on Baidu right now. Every time I check in there is a new shit storm over something Yu Zheng, who holds the rights to adapt this novel to a drama, has pulled on the anxious fans of the original novel written by Tong Hua. Two weeks ago Yu Zheng … Continue reading →
Yu Zheng‘s The Swordsman, a complete massacre of the classic wuxia novel Smiling Proud Wanderer, is so so SO bad I cannot even write about it. Talking about that atrocity is like pouring boiling water over a fresh burn. Much as I would like him to retire from producing dramas immediately, the man isn’t going anywhere and he has in … Continue reading →
Either Yu Zheng has got connections at SARFT or else he’s simply got carte blanche to do whatever he wants because his adaptation of Yun Zhong Ge just got official SARFT permission to air despite not even filmed a single frame, whereas Tangren’s drama adaptation of the prequel to YZG Da Mo Yao has finished filming 8 months ago and … Continue reading →
