Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword

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Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword
Chinese Hero Issue 2-01.jpg
Cover of Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword vol. 1 (1980), art by Ma Wing-shing
中華英雄
Zung1 Waa4 Jing1 Hung4 (Cantonese)
Zhōnghuá Yīngxíong (Mandarin)
Genre
Author Ma Wing-shing
PublisherJademan, Culturecom Holdings (Hong Kong)
English publisher
MagazineGolden Daily
Original run 19801995
Collected
volumes
8
ISBN 1-59796-041-1)
  • Tales of the Blood Sword volume 2 (September 2007, 260 pages, ISBN   1-59796-116-7)
  • Tales of the Blood Sword volume 3 (August 2007, 280 pages, ISBN   1-59796-117-5)
  • Tales of the Blood Sword volume 4 (November 2007, 280 pages, ISBN   1-59796-118-3)
  • Tales of the Blood Sword volume 5 (February 2008, 240 pages, ISBN   1-59796-124-8)
  • Tales of the Blood Sword volume 6 (May 2008, 224 pages, ISBN   1-59796-131-0)
  • Tales of the Blood Sword volume 7 (August 2008, 224 pages, ISBN   1-59796-148-5)
  • Tales of the Blood Sword volume 8 (November 2008, 224 pages, ISBN   1-59796-149-3)
  • Reception

    Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword
    Traditional Chinese 中華英雄
    Simplified Chinese 中华英雄
    Literal meaningChinese Hero
    Transcriptions
    Standard Mandarin
    Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuá Yīngxíong
    Yue: Cantonese
    Jyutping Zung1 Waa4 Jing1 Hung4

    A. E. Sparrow of IGN reviewed the DrMaster translations, which he overall gave a negative reception to, citing difficulty in following the storyline. He ranked Volume 4 a 6.9 ("Okay"), [8] and Volume 5 a 2.7 ("Painful"). [9]

    Adaptations

    Film

    Ekin Cheng starred in a 1999 Hong Kong film titled A Man Called Hero, directed by Andrew Lau. Although the plot differed largely from the original story, the film was popular and became the highest grossing Hong Kong film up to that time.[ citation needed ]

    Television

    In 1990, Hong Kong's ATV produced and aired a 25-episode television series based on the manhua. It was titled The Blood Sword and starred Kenny Ho, Law Chung-wah, Veronica Yip, Yeung Chak-lam, Esther Kwan, and Eric Wan. A 20-episode-long prequel, The Blood Sword 2 , was released a year later, with most of the cast members in the first season reprising their roles.

    In 2005, Taiwanese producer Yang Peipei released a 40-episode television series based on the manhua. It was titled The Legend of Hero and starred Peter Ho, Ady An, Lan Chenglong, Qin Lan, Zheng Guolin, Chen Guanlin, Liu Weihua, Li Li-chun, and Feng Shaofeng in the leading roles.

    Video game

    A video game based on the manhua was produced by Acebrock. The game was initially scheduled to be released in both Chinese and English on the PC platform. Although the game shared the same English title as the film, it remained faithful to the original story, as opposed to the changes introduced in the film. As of 2007, Acebrock fell through and the game existed in either scrap or beta form only.

    Notes

    Names in native languages

    1. Hua Yingxiong: Hero Hua (DrMaster) / Wah Ying-hung, "Hero" (Jademan): [1] traditional Chinese :華英雄; simplified Chinese :华英雄; Jyutping :waa4 jing1 hung4; pinyin :Huá Yīngxióng; lit.'Chinese Hero'
    2. Chen Jieyu: Chan Kit-yue (Jademan): [1] 陳潔瑜; 陈洁瑜; can4 git3 jyu4; Chén Jiéyú
    3. Hua Jianxiong: Sword Hua (DrMaster) / Wah Kim-hung (Jademan): 華劍雄; 华剑雄; waa4 gim3 hung4; Huá Jiànxióng

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "The Blood Sword". Jademan Kung-Fu Special #1. Hong Kong: Jademan Comics. 1988. p. 26. - Note the volume credits the writing to Tony Wong. The author is Ma Wing Shing.
    2. "Chinese Hero". DrMaster. Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
    3. 1 2 Wong, Wendy Siuyi. [2002] (2001) Hong Kong Comics: A History of Manhua . Princeton Architectural Press. New York. ISBN   1-56898-269-0
    4. Ko, Monica (1990-01-15). "Following the departure of former chairman and chief artist To...". South China Morning Post via Factiva.
    5. "Blood Sword, The #18 VF ; Jademan Comic Book". Walmart . Retrieved 2023-05-06.
    6. "Chinese Hero Revived". IGN. DrMaster. 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
    7. "Only Ten Percent of Ma Wing-shing's Epic Chinese Manhua _Chinese Hero_ Has Been Translated Into English". Nick Stember Personal Website. 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2023-05-06. - The author has a PhD from the University of Cambridge in the subject matter.
    8. Sparrow, A. E. (2008-04-01). "Chinese Hero: Legend of the Blood Sword Volume 4 Review". IGN . Retrieved 2023-05-06. Here in the hallowed halls of IGN, - The quote implies he is an employee of IGN
    9. Sparrow, A. E. (2008-04-30). "Chinese Hero: Legend of the Blood Sword Volume 4 Review". IGN . Retrieved 2023-05-06.