Secret of the Linked Cities

[JigSta]

Can anyone post some pics of this series as I cannot find anything at all. It sounds interesting. Thanks

[monkey]

can someone tell me what's the viet title ?? this series sounds so interesting . and i just adore shu chang

[Lady Zhuge]

I just got this serial, but I don't know when I'm going to start watching it. For people interested in pics, check out these links:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/ent/2004-0...nt_1556479.htm

http://yule.sohu.com/lianchengjue/

http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/f/liancj/

[tinac]

Originally posted by Lady Zhuge
I just got this serial, but I don't know when I'm going to start watching it. For people interested in pics, check out these links:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/ent/2004-0...nt_1556479.htm

http://yule.sohu.com/lianchengjue/

http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/f/liancj/

This series is not bad ... a bit draggy especially in the beginning. Well, they can't help it because the novel is short and they have to stretch it to 30(?) eps.

Look out for Shu Chang in here, she is really pretty ... and she is only 15 (or 16) yrs old! She was really impressive as TSTL in TLBB '03

[Lady Zhuge]

The version I have contains 36 episodes. That's pretty long for a short novel.

I noticed that you finished this serial in only one weekend! Whoa. Hardcore.

This will be the first time I see Liu Xiao Ling Tong play a figure other than Sun Wu Kong.

[GiftOfForesight]

I just finished watching this series and I did enjoy it, like most of the posters in this thread. Very morbid story (at least the way the adaptation showed it, I've never read the novel) and it definitely showed the darker sides of human nature. I have two questions though...#1) Is there a difference in skill level between Lou Hua Lu Shui? and #2) What did the 4 words mean at the end of Lian Cheng Jian Fa, the same four that made Yan Daping and Chi Changfang go nuts?

[Temujin]

This s a very good series, almost on par with XAJH 01, LOCH 02, and DGSD 03.

The only drawback is since the original novel itself is pretty short, they have to strecth the series into 30 something episodes and therefore they added more side stories (like the teahouse couple) and prolonged the flashback story (from the point where Di Yun was put in jail until he escaped) for a number episodes before following the novel very closely again.

The fighting scenes in the snowy mountain is breathtaking. I wonder if ZJZ can make better production of his future 'Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain' adaptation.

[HuangYushi]

1) Is there a difference in skill level between Lou Hua Lu Shui?

There should be a difference in the skill levels of Luo Hua Liu Shui, but I think the difference is probably quite negligible. In the novel (2nd edition, 1995), it actually says that although Lu Tianshu (Luo) leads the brotherhood of the Jiangnan Siqi (The Four Amazing Men of Jiangnan, i.e. Luo Hua Liu Shui), his skills are not necessarily the best of the four.

I think Luo Hua Liu Shui lost to Xuedao Zu more in terms of strategy than actual pugilistic ability, because Xuedao Zu used a "divide and conquer" method to snare them one by one. Plus, Xuedao Zu was cunning enough to use psychology against Shui Yan (worry and concern about Shui Sheng) and Hua Tiegan (fear and lack of confidence).

2) What did the 4 words mean at the end of Lian Cheng Jian Fa, the same four that made Yan Daping and Chi Changfang go nuts?

If I am not mistaken, the four words you are referring to should be "wang sheng ji le" [ 往生极乐 ] which literally means "great joy in the afterlife".

The complete "secret" of the linked cities reads more or less like this: "In the western side of the southern end of Jiangling City, there is a large image of Buddha in Tianning Temple. If you bow before it with all sincerity and pray in the spirit, the Buddha will bless you with prosperity and great joy in the afterlife." That is why Yan Daping and Qi Changfa went nuts!

Imagine how they felt after the uncoding the secret that they pursued almost all their entire life (to the extent of killing their teacher, students and family members), only to discover in the first reading that the uncoded words is actually an advice to pray!

[XiaoYu]

This is definitely a really fun and interesting series. Don't know why people haven't really talked much about it at all compared to TLBB, say. It caught and held my attention from the very start more than the beginning of TLBB did.

I like the ending. Bad people get what's coming to them!

And Liu Xiao Ling Tong's performance was a shocker to me cuz I still have his righteous image as Wu Kong in my head. Man, is his role here different...

[zhaozilong44]

I'm watching the China production of Lian Chengxue at the moment, and I must say it's very enjoyable - I'm looking forward to writing a review for this. Has anybody else watched it or finished it yet?

I'm also very curious about the girl who plays Di Yun's shimei - I'm so sure I've seen her before in a wuxia series, but I can't for the life of me place her. does anybody know who she is?

Yeah, this is quite a good series. I'm suprised TVB never attempted to tackled this story of JY's.

As for Di Yun's shimei, I don't know if it's been answered yet or if you already found out, but she was in TVB's SOD 96 and DGSD 97. She was Yi Lin in SOD 96 and Zhong Ling in DGSD 97. That voice of hers in Lian Chengxue is of course not her real voice.

Btw, my favorite part in the series and in the novel is where Xue Dao Lao Zu took on all 4 Luo Hua Liu Shui, especially when Lao Zu kept referring to himself as one of their 4 Luo Hua Liu Shui's (can't remember which one) "son-in-law".

[kidd]

Yeah, this is quite a good series. I'm suprised TVB never attempted to tackled this story of JY's.

Actually, TVB has tackled this story before. The TVB version stars Roger Kwok and Kitty Lai.

[zhaozilong44]

Actually, TVB has tackled this story before. The TVB version stars Roger Kwok and Kitty Lai.

Really? When was this? Can you direct me to a link or a picture of it? I want to watch this series. I don't remember kitty Lai ever being in a series with Roger Kwok, then again I haven't watched this series.

[kidd]

Really? When was this? Can you direct me to a link or a picture of it? I want to watch this series. I don't remember kitty Lai ever being in a series with Roger Kwok, then again I haven't watched this series.

Here's a review of the series: http://bluecrys.com/rev_lin.html

[zhaozilong44]

Thanks and I also found a link to the picture.

http://phimbovietnamonline.com/ltq.shtml

It's in Viet though.

[XiaoYu]

Yeah, this is quite a good series. I'm suprised TVB never attempted to tackled this story of JY's.

As for Di Yun's shimei, I don't know if it's been answered yet or if you already found out, but she was in TVB's SOD 96 and DGSD 97. She was Yi Lin in SOD 96 and Zhong Ling in DGSD 97. That voice of hers in Lian Chengxue is of course not her real voice.

Btw, my favorite part in the series and in the novel is where Xue Dao Lao Zu took on all 4 Luo Hua Liu Shui, especially when Lao Zu kept referring to himself as one of their 4 Luo Hua Liu Shui's (can't remember which one) "son-in-law".

I rather liked Xue Dao Lao Zu too, his character was really fun. (He was referring to himself as Shui's son in law, the 4th guy of the group.) I was almost sad at his final outcome.

Di Yun kind of annoyed me at first, because slow-thinking characters don't interest me much. But I'm glad he got much cooler by the end. I like his hairstyle and white outfit towards the end, especially when he was fighting Hua Tie Gai. I was disappointed Ding Dian didn't have a longer part in the series though.

Towards the end, I kept thinking Di Yun should be learning the Lian Cheng Jue, then I remembered it's not a form of martial arts. I think I've been programmed to think everyone in wuxia stories are after some special manual.

Spoiler:
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In the very end, in Tian Ning Temple (I love the irony of the Si's name), was all the stuff poisoned? Is that why everyone kind of spat up mouthfuls of crap and died after they touched/kissed the treasures? And after the building collapsed, what the heck happened? Did it sink beneath water or something? Is that why people all began saying the treasures are at the bottom of a lake?

And is the old guy with his granddaughter just a random person thrown in to tell the moral of the story?
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[Ian Liew]

Yep

All the treasure, including the gold buddha itself, were poisoned, so technically everyone dies of poison. I don't remember the novel having this earthquake and collapse of everything - I think it had everyone dead, dying or insane, while Di Yun walks out sadly. It's one of the minor mistakes in the series that they didn't make it more obvious.

It wasn't a very good ending that way (at least if it was translated to the screen), because Wan Gui, Hua Tiegan etc all die from the poison, which wasn't very satisfying. I much prefer the closure given by the series... would have been perfect with Di Yun meeting up with Shui Sheng and giving her a hug in the sunset, rather than have her and Kongxincai wait sadly and have him riding off into the mountains to meet them. The ending is good, but sometimes you want to see it rather than take it for granted.



Ian

[zhaozilong44]

I rather liked Xue Dao Lao Zu too, his character was really fun. (He was referring to himself as Shui's son in law, the 4th guy of the group.) I was almost sad at his final outcome.

Yup, he's my favorite bad guy in all of wuxia. The guy is not only comical, but cunning as hell. In the novel, he practially defeated all 4 Luo Hua Liu Shuis with his cunning. All 4 were of equal martial arts ability to him, yet XDLZ defetead them one aftter the other with his wits. That part is my favorite part in the novel and in the China series. Oh, another reason I like him is cause he's like my favorite wuxia character Wai Siu Bo from DOMD. That is, he's very "ham sup" (cantonese).

Towards the end, I kept thinking Di Yun should be learning the Lian Cheng Jue, then I remembered it's not a form of martial arts. I think I've been programmed to think everyone in wuxia stories are after some special manual.

Actually, it is if I remember correctly. It's just a bunch of sword styles meant for decoding the place where treasure of Lian Chengxue is kept.

Spoiler:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
In the very end, in Tian Ning Temple (I love the irony of the Si's name), was all the stuff poisoned? Is that why everyone kind of spat up mouthfuls of crap and died after they touched/kissed the treasures? And after the building collapsed, what the heck happened? Did it sink beneath water or something? Is that why people all began saying the treasures are at the bottom of a lake?

And is the old guy with his granddaughter just a random person thrown in to tell the moral of the story?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>

Well, Ian already answered the question. As for the building collapsing and stuff, I don't think this happened. I haven't read this book in ages. What I do remember was that a whole bunch of people whom JY stopped writing about for a while suddenly all showed up at the end just for that treasure. One person that comes to mind right away is Shui Sheng's cousin. They all came back at the end of the just so that JY can kill them all off.

[XiaoYu]

Actually, it is if I remember correctly. It's just a bunch of sword styles meant for decoding the place where treasure of Lian Chengxue is kept.

Hehe yeah, I just always had to remind myself it was just a code, and not really the world's best martial arts style or something that everyone was after.

They all came back at the end of the just so that JY can kill them all off.

I feel like JY killed so many people already! Poor Ding Dian.

[Ian Liew]

Well, none of the fellas who died at the end really needed any sympathy, really. The sad thing was that they didn't die spectacularly enough to provide satisfying closure..

[kanman]

Does anyone have the opening or ending songs to this series? I just watched this over winter break and the songs grew on me as the series went on.

If anyone can post them here, I would greatly appreciat it.