| The Young Warriors | |
|---|---|
TV series' intertitle |
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| Genre | Costume drama, wuxia, romance, war drama |
| Written by | Wang Li Zhang Mian |
| Directed by | Lee Kwok-lap |
| Starring | Hu Ge Lin Jiayu Tong Yao Cecilia Liu Peter Ho Chen Long Wei Xiaojun Justin Yuan Eddie Peng Liu Xiaojie Weng Jiaming Amy Chan Li Jie Zong Fengyan |
| Opening theme | Juebie Shi (訣別詩) performed by Anson Hu |
| Ending theme | Ershi Nian (二十年) performed by Zhang Mengmeng |
| Composer(s) | Mak Jan-hung |
| Country of origin | China |
| Language(s) | Mandarin |
| No. of episodes | 43 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Wang Zhongjun |
| Producer(s) | Karen Tsai Wang Zhonglei |
| Location(s) | China |
| Running time | 45 minutes per episode |
| Production company(s) | Chinese Entertainment Shanghai Huayi Brothers Media Corporation |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | China Television |
| Original airing | March 10, 2007 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| The Young Warriors | |||||||
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| DVD cover | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 少年楊家將 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 少年杨家将 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Young Generals of the Yang Clan | ||||||
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The Young Warriors is a Chinese television series based on a series of novels and plays that detail the exploits of the Generals of the Yang Clan during the early Song Dynasty of China. The series was joint-produced by Chinese Entertainment Shanghai and Huayi Brothers Media Corporation, with collaboration from a stellar cast of talents from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States and Canada.
Contents |
In the 980s, former Later Han general Yang Ye pledges allegiance to Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty. Yang leads his family and followers to defend Song from invaders of the Khitan Liao Dynasty. Having served Song for years, the Yangs are viewed as an honorable, courageous, and patriotic clan that protects the nation from foreign invasion.
Unfortunately, at the Battle of Golden Beach, the Yangs fall into a conspiracy trap, which concludes with the death of Yang Ye and four of his sons, and another son becoming a prisoner-of-war. Yang's last two surviving sons, Yang Yanzhao and Yang Yande, must continue their family's legacy to bring peace and prosperity to Song, in addition to seeking vengeance on the conspirators.
| Cast | Role | Description |
| Hu Ge | Yang Yanzhao (楊延昭) |
Sixth son |
| Wu Lei | young Yang Yanzhao | |
| Lin Jiayu | Chai Meirong (柴美容) |
A descendant of Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty;Yang Yanzhao's love interest |
| Peter Ho | Yang Yanhui (楊延輝) |
Fourth son; when roams the Jianghu with his teacher, he is a chivalrous warrior under the alias, Chou Muyi (仇木易) |
| Li Hangye | young Yang Yanhui | |
| Cecilia Liu | Lady Luo (羅氏女) |
Yang clan's physician; Yang Yanhui's love interest |
| Chen Long | Yang Yande (楊延德) |
Fifth son; second-in-command of the Yang clan army |
| Wei Xiaojun | Guan Hong (關紅) |
A blacksmith; Yang Yande's love interest |
| Eddie Peng | Yang Yansi (楊延嗣) |
Seventh son |
| Liu Xiaojie | Xiaolin (小琳) |
Yang Yansi's love interest before her death; implied to be a long lost sister of Du Jin'e; a Liao spy |
| Du Jin'e (杜金娥) |
Identical to Xiaolin in appearance; a daughter of Tiger Camp bandit leader; also becomes Yang Yansi's love interest | |
| Weng Jiaming | Yang Ye (楊業) |
Patriarch of the Yang clan; father of the Yang children; commander of the Yang clan army; also known as "The Peerless Yang" (楊無敵) |
| Amy Chan | She Saihua (佘賽花) |
Yang Ye's wife; mother of the Yang children; former second-in-command of the clan's army |
| Zhao Zicun | Yang Yanqi (楊延琪) |
Eighth child and only daughter |
| Li Yuan | Yang Yanping (楊延平) |
Oldest son |
| Chen Jie | Zhang Jinding (張金定) |
Yang Yanping's wife |
| Song Yang | Yang Yanding (楊延定) |
Second son |
| Chen Lili | Yun Cuiying (雲翠英) |
Yang Yanding's wife |
| Wang Xiaoming | Yang Yan'an (楊延安) |
Third son |
| Li Yinning | Luo Sumei (羅素梅) |
Yang Yan'an's wife |
| Cast | Role | Description |
| Tong Yao | Pan Ying (潘影) |
Pan Renmei's daughter; Chai Meirong's love rival |
| Deng Limin | Pan Renmei (潘仁美) |
Song chancellor; political rival of Yang Ye and the Eighth Virtuous Prince |
| He Jianze | Pan Bao (潘豹) |
Pan Renmei's son; Yang Yanhui's love rival |
| Cast | Role | Description |
| Li Jie | Emperor Taizong of Song (宋太宗) |
Ruler of the Song Dynasty |
| Zong Fengyan | Eighth Virtuous Prince (八賢王) |
A son of the late Emperor Taizu;Emperor Taizong's nephew; ally of the Yang clan |
| Wen Haibei | Emperor Taizu of Song (宋太祖) |
The late founder of the Song Dynasty |
| Cast | Role | Description |
| Zhou Haodong | Cui Yinglong (崔應龍) |
A chivalrous pugilist and shaman; She Saihua's senior and former love interest thus Yang Ye's love rival during their youth; Yang Yanhui and Yang Yansi's teacher and second father figure; mentor and ally of the Yang clan |
| Zhang Bojun | Kou Zhun (寇準) | An official of the Song Court, in charge its ministry of law and punishments; a political ally of the Yang Clan |
| Cast | Role | Description |
| Justin Yuan | Yelü Xie (耶律斜) |
Liao army commander; Yang Yande's love rival |
| Ba Yin | Tian Ling (天靈) |
Liao military advisor and shaman; Cui Yinglong's former fellow and enemy |
| Guo Qiming | Xia Houzhan (夏侯戰) |
Tian Ling's disciple; he inherits his teacher's knowledge of toxicology and biological warfare |
| Wang Lei | Madam Hua (花媽媽) |
Zuihong Escort 's (醉紅樓) madam; a Liao spy |
| Cast | Role | Description |
| Wu Jiani | Yelü Qiong'e (耶律瓊娥) |
Known as Princess Yinjing (銀鏡公主); Lady Luo's love rival |
| Zhang Ruijia | Empress Dowager Xiao (蕭太后) |
Liao empress dowager |
| Cast | Role | Description |
| Yang Guang | Mister Zhuge (諸葛先生) |
An advisor of the Tiger Camp |
The series' war segments were later reused in The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008) for the flashback scene depicting Yang Zaixing's death. The filmmakers obscured the actors' features to differentiate the two television series, but the images' compositions are the same.[1]
The series' costume design is one of its main focal points. During its premiere, the production team hosted runaway events for cast members to showcase their costumes. The Yang generals and Yelü Xie's costumes were designed based on battle armour from the Tang, Song and Liao dynasties. However, the Yangs' armours attracted the most attention, as audiences felt that they resembled samurai armour more than Chinese armour, because of their bright red and black colouring, and long narrow plates. The Song military uniform designs were featured again in The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008) and A Weaver on the Horizon (2010).
| The Young Warriors TV Original Soundtrack (電視原聲大碟:少年楊家將) |
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| Soundtrack album (Audio CD/Digital download) by Various artists | |
| Released | March 14th, 2007 |
| Label | Shanghai Step-Up Gale Music Culture Media Co., Ltd. (上海步升大風音樂文化傳播有限公司) |