The Legendary Twins
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The Legendary Twins (绝代双娇) also known as The Twins, Handsome Siblings, Legendary Siblings, The Twin Heroes, or Amazing Twins (and other similar variations) is a Gu Long Wuxia novel. As of 2007 it has been made into a TV series at least four times, twice by TVB and by both mainland Chinese and Taiwanese television companies. A film starring Brigitte Lin and Andy Lau also exists although this is only loosely based on the novel.
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[edit] Synopsis
Yiu Yuet (邀月宮主) is a skilled martial artist and is the head of an all female esoteric martial society that is sworn to chastity and the rejection of all men. She breaks the society's rules when she falls in love with the dashing and handsome Jiang Fung (江楓) who she rescues and shelters from his enemies. However as he recuperates in the society's stronghold, it is with the handmaiden Hua Yuet Nu (花月奴), sent to nurse him that Kong Fung falls in love with not Yiu Yuet. Fearing the wrath of Yiu Yuet the two elope and seek to evade enemies old and new.
When Yin Yuet catches up with Jiang Fung and Hua Yuet Nu, Hua Yuet Nu has just given birth to fraternal twins however she is not their first enemy to find them, and Jiang Fung and Hua Yuet Nu die before Yin can kill them. Yin is filled with rage that she cannot have her vengeance on them. She considers killing the newborns but decides that doing so will not satisfy her desire for revenge. She therefore hatches a scheme in which she will raise one of the twins as her own and arranges for the other twin to be sent to a renowned swordsman and Jiang Fung's bosom friend Yian Nan Tien (燕南天). She is certain that Yin Nam Tien will train the second twin to the best of his ability. So that when the two twins have reached 18 she can arrange for the twins to duel each other to the death. Whichever twin survives will live with the knowledge that he has killed his brother and will have to bear this guilt for the rest of his life.
The twin Yin raises grows up as Hua Wu Que (花無缺) (literally flawless flower), in a life of privilege and under the tutelage of one of a paramount martial artists. However Yin's plans to have Yian Nan Tien raise and train the other twin goes awry, Yian Nan Tien is ambushed and paralysed. The twin he was to have raised grows up as Jiang Xiao Yu (江小魚), literally "little lake fish" but referred to as Xiao Yu Er or little fish. Despite only being trained by a motley array of third rank outcast martial artists, Xiao Yu Er has learnt to live by his wits and is streetwise compared to the cloistered upbringing of Hua Wu Que.
Inline with her plans Yin Yuet manipulates events so that Hua Wu Que and Xiao Yu Er meet and adventure together. The better that they get to know and like each other the greater would be the pain of the surviving twin. She had not counted on the fact that Xiao Yu Er was such a weak fighter, and since an overwhelming mismatch between the two twins would have spoiled her revenge she delays her plans in order for Xiao Yu Er to be taught enough martial arts to be more of a challenge to Hua Wu Que.
The time of duel that the two have been destined to fight since birth arrives, and it appears that Xiao Yu Er is killed. Her plans finally fulfilled Hua Yiu Yuet proceeds to gloat and tells the surviving Hua Wu Que his ancestry and that he has just killed his brother.
However Yin Yuet's triumph is shortlived as Xiao Yu Er returns from the dead. Suspicions aroused by multiple coinidences, that events are being manipulated, Xiao Yu Er feigned his own death to learn Yin Yuet's plot. Unable to have her revenge and harbouring 18 years of hatred and bitterness Yin Yuet is driven mad.
[edit] 1979 TVB version
- Wong Yuen Sun[1] as Jiang Xiao Yu (江小魚)
- Shek Sau as Hua Wu Que (花無缺)
- Cecilia Wong Hung Sau[2] as Tie Xinlan (鐵心蘭)
- Michelle Yim as Su Ying (蘇櫻)
[edit] 1987 TVB version
- Tony Leung as Jiang Xiao Yu (江小魚)
- Hugo Ng Dai Yung as Hua Wu Que (花無缺)
- Kitty Lai as Tie Xinlan (鐵心蘭)
- Shallin Tse as Su Ying (蘇櫻)
- Michael Miu as Jiang Fung (江楓)
- Jaime Chik Mei Chun as Hua Yue Nu (花月奴)
- YueHua as Yian Nan Tian (燕南天)
[edit] 1999 version
- Jimmy Lin Chih Ying as Kong Xiao Yu (江小魚)
- Alec Su as Hua Wu Que (花無缺)
- Vivian Chen as Tie Xinlan (鐵心蘭)
- Theresa Lee as Cheung Tsing (張菁)
- Kevin Cheng
[edit] The Legendary Twins II
The cast of the 1999 version made a second TV series in 2002 detailing the farther adventures of the twins was, save for the characters this was an original work.
[edit] 2004 version
[edit] Details
- Title: 小鱼儿与花无缺 / Xiao Yu Er Yu Hua Wu Que
- Also known as: The Proud Twins, Proud of Twins, The Perfect Twins, The Invincible Duo, Handsome Siblings
- Episodes: 40
- Broadcast period: 2005
- Opening theme song: Huang Zhong Ren (黄种人) by Nicholas Tse
- Ending theme song: Chao Ren (超人) by Dicky Cheung
[edit] Cast
- Dicky Cheung as Jiang Xiao Yu (江小魚)
- Nicholas Tse as Hua Wu Que (花無缺)
- Fan Bingbing as Tie Xin Lan (鐵心蘭)
- Yuan Quan as Su Ying (蘇櫻)
- Bai Xue(柏雪) as Muring Xian (小仙女)
- Tsui Kam Kong as E Tong Tian (恶通天)
- Wu Qing Zhe(吴庆哲) as Yan Nan Tian (燕南天)
- Ni Jing Yang(倪景阳) as (怜星宫主)
- Sun Peng(孙鹏) as (饰哈哈儿)
- Cheng Long Kun(程龙坤) as (李大嘴)
- Sui Yong Qing(隋永清) as (屠娇娇)
- Yang Xue(杨雪) as (江玉燕)
- Bai Yu(白玉) as (阴九幽)
[edit] Difference in versions
Each version introduced differences into the plot to overcome familiarity with the books.
[edit] Handsome Siblings
The film "Handsome Siblings" [3] based on the novel was made in 1992, starring Brigitte Lin as Hua Wu Que and Andy Lau as Xiao Yu Er. In this version Hua Wu Que and are Xiao Yu Er are unrelated by blood and are foster siblings in that Yiu Yuet is Xiao Yu Er's mother and when her son is stolen from her by her estranged husband she raises Hua Wu Que as a substitute. In this version Hua Wu Que and Xiao Yu Er fall in love.
[edit] External links
- The Legendary Twins partial translation at Wuxiapedia
