Kylie Chan

Last updated

Kylie Chan is an Australian author, best known for The Dark Heavens trilogy, set in modern-day Hong Kong. [1] [2] The first novel in the trilogy, White Tiger, was published in July 2006, followed by Red Phoenix in January 2007. The last in the trilogy, Blue Dragon was released in August 2007. [3] After this, she wrote two more trilogies with the same characters.

Contents

Personal life and culture in works

In the introduction to White Tiger, Chan stated that one of her ancestors was Chinese and that growing up, her Asian identity was something hidden. She says her identity has shaped her writing, which emerges as a blend of Eastern and Western culture, food, ideas, and values coming together in harmony.

Writing history

Drawing from the years Chan spent living in Hong Kong, [4] and her careful research into Chinese myth and philosophy, the Dark Heavens trilogy introduces Emma Donahoe, who takes a job as nanny to the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Unaware at first that he is in reality a Chinese god, she is drawn into a world of martial arts and magic where gods and demons walk the streets.

On her publisher's website Kylie Chan explains how she came to write The Dark Heavens trilogy, saying that after she returned to live in Australia, she read her way through every fantasy title she could find. Basing her writing on the genres she enjoyed - romance, action and the supernatural, and adding her knowledge of, and research into Chinese mythology and Taoist philosophy she created the first in the series, White Tiger. [5]

Two further trilogies in the same universe followed, starting in 2009. The first of these trilogies is the 'Journey to Wudang' trilogy, the third book of which was released in 2011. This trio of trilogies is notable for featuring Sun Wukong, the famous "Monkey King" from the classic novel Journey to the West, as a recurring character.

Works

These are a collection of Kylie's novels and short stories.

Xuan Wu series

The Xuan Wu series [6] is Kylie Chan's premiere fictional universe.

Dark Heavens

The Dark Heavens is the first trilogy Kylie wrote.

  1. White Tiger (2006) [7] [8]
  2. Red Phoenix (2007) [9]
  3. Blue Dragon (2007)

Journey To Wudang

This is a sequel to the Dark Heavens.

  1. Earth to Hell (16/12/2009) [10]
  2. Hell to Heaven (1/8/2010)
  3. Heaven to Wudang (24/5/2011)

Celestial Battle

This is a sequel to Journey to Wudang

  1. Dark Serpent (01/05/2013)
  2. Demon Child (01/06/2014 Au, 30/09/2014 elsewhere)
  3. Black Jade (2016)

As part of their anniversary celebrations in 2010, Voyager have released White Tiger in a hardback edition. All other volumes are only available in paperback.

Short stories

  • Small Shen (2012), a prequel to "The Dark Heavens" trilogy, following the character Gold.
  • Child Support (2005), a story in the anthology The Devil In Brisbane
  • Gravity Engine (2011), a story about Prince Michael.
  • Black Scales, White Fur (2010), a story about the white tiger falling in love with a snake mother.

Related Research Articles

<i>Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon</i> 2000 film by Ang Lee

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia martial arts film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen. It is based on the Chinese novel of the same name, serialized between 1941 and 1942 by Wang Dulu, the fourth part of his Crane-Iron Series. Set in 19th-century Imperial China, the plot follows two master warriors, Li Mu Bai (Chow) and Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh), who are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword is stolen by the mysterious thief Jen Yu (Ziyi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monkey King</span> Character in Chinese mythology

Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a literary and religious figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. In the novel, Sun Wukong is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven, he is imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha. Five hundred years later, he accompanies the monk Tang Sanzang riding on the White Dragon Horse and two other disciples, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, on a journey to obtain Buddhist sutras, known as the West or Western Paradise, where Buddha and his followers dwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhu Bajie</span> Character of the novel Journey to the West

Zhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Tang Sanzang, along with Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, and a major character of the 16th century novel Journey to the West. Zhu means "swine" and Bajie means "eight precepts". Prior to his being recruited by the bodhisattva, Guanyin, Zhu Bajie went by "Zhu Gāngliè". Buddhist scholars consider that both expressions are related to "Śīla pāramitā". In many English versions of the story, Zhu Bajie is called "Monk Pig", "Pig", "Piggy", or "Pigsy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox spirit</span> Chinese mythological creatures

Huli jing are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, characteristics, and shapes, including huxian, hushen, husheng, huwang, huyao, huzu, and jiuweihu.

<i>Bridge of Birds</i> Novel by Barry Hughart

Bridge of Birds is a fantasy novel by Barry Hughart, first published in 1984. It is the first of three novels in The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox series. The original draft of Bridge of Birds is included in a special slipcased version of the omnibus collection, The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, released by Subterranean Press in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erlang Shen</span> Deity in the Chinese pantheon

Erlang Shen, or simply Erlang, is a god in Chinese folk religion and Daoism, associated with water, justice, warriorhood, hunting, and demon subdual. He is commonly depicted as a young man with a third, truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead, wielding a three-pronged spear, and being accompanied by his loyal hunting dog, Xiaotian Quan.

Christie Golden is an American author. She has written many novels and several short stories in fantasy, horror and science fiction.

Amelia Holt Atwater-Rhodes, known professionally as Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, is an American author of fantasy and young adult literature and a Language Arts/Literature teacher at Learning Prep School in West Newton, MA.

<i>The Mad Monk</i> 1993 film by Johnnie To

The Mad Monk (Chinese: 濟公; pinyin: Jì Gōng is a 1993 Hong Kong fantasy comedy film directed by Johnnie To, and starring Stephen Chow as the "Mad Monk" Ji Gong, a popular Chinese folklore figure from the Southern Song dynasty. The film follows "Dragon Fighter Luohan" as he accepts a challenge from the gods to change the fate of a beggar, a prostitute, and a villain in three heavenly days. He is reborn on earth as a mere mortal and ultimately battles an evil demon to stave off hell on earth.

<i>Journey to the West</i> (1996 TV series) Hong Kong fantasy television series

Journey to the West is a Hong Kong television series adapted from the 16th-century novel of the same title. Starring Dicky Cheung, Kwong Wah, Wayne Lai and Evergreen Mak, the series was produced by TVB and was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in November 1996. A sequel, Journey to the West II, was broadcast in 1998, but the role of the Monkey King was played by Benny Chan instead, due to contract problems between Dicky Cheung and TVB. Cheung later reprised the role in another television series The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra (2002), which was broadcast on TVB but not produced by the station.

<i>Weapons of the Gods</i> (comics)

Weapons of the Gods is a Hong Kong comic book series by Wong Yuk Long which originally ran between 1996 - 2005. It was translated into English by Bob Allen for ComicsOne. A role-playing game version was published by Eos Press in 2005 and a Chinese cartoon adaptation called Shen Bing Xiao Jiang (神兵小将) was released in 2006.

Baifa Monü Zhuan is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng first published as a serial between 5 August 1957 and 10 December 1958 in the Hong Kong newspaper Sin Wun Pao. Considered the first part of the Tianshan series of novels by Liang Yusheng, it is closely related to the second and third parts of the series: Saiwai Qixia Zhuan and Qijian Xia Tianshan. The novel has also been loosely adapted into films and television series, such as The Bride with White Hair (1993) and The Romance of the White Hair Maiden (1995), and The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom (2014).

Abaddon, a name given to an angel, a demon or a place of destruction, has appeared many times in works of literature, films, television and popular culture.

<i>The Monkey King</i> (2014 film) 2014 Hong Kong film

The Monkey King is a 2014 Hong Kong-Chinese action-fantasy film directed by Soi Cheang and starring Donnie Yen as the titular protagonist Sun Wukong. Yen also serves as the film's action director. The film co-stars Donald Chow, Aaron Kwok, Joe Chen and Peter Ho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull Demon King</span> Character in the novel Journey to the West

Bull Demon King, also translated as the Ox King, also-known by his self-proclaimed title the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, and as Dàliwáng and as Niú Dàli, is a fictional character from the 16th century novel Journey to the West.

<i>Journey to the West II</i> Hong Kong fantasy television series

Journey to the West II is a Hong Kong television series adapted from the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. The series was produced by TVB and was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong from October to December 1998. It is a sequel to the 1996 television series Journey to the West, also produced by TVB, which covered only the first half of the novel. Benny Chan replaces Dicky Cheung as Sun Wukong in this installment, while the other principal cast members Kwong Wah, Wayne Lai and Evergreen Mak reprise their roles from the previous installment.

<i>The Monkey King 2</i> 2016 film

The Monkey King 2 is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese action fantasy film based on the classic 16th-century novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. The film was shot in 3D and is a sequel to the 2014 box office hit The Monkey King with Soi Cheang returning as director and Sammo Hung as action director, who replaces Donnie Yen's role from the previous installment. The film stars Aaron Kwok, who portrayed the main antagonist in the previous installment, as the film's titular protagonist, who also replaces Yen from the previous installment. Other cast for the film included Feng Shaofeng, Xiao Shenyang, Him Law, Fei Xiang, Kelly Chen, and Gong Li.

<i>White Snake</i> (film) 2019 Chinese film

White Snake is a 2019 adult animated fantasy film directed by Amp Wong and Zhao Ji, with animation production by Light Chaser Animation. The film was inspired by the Chinese folktale Legend of the White Snake and was released in China on January 11, 2019. A sequel, Green Snake, was announced in 2020, and was released on July 23, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuimulang</span> Deity in traditional Chinese belief

Kuimulang is a deity in traditional Chinese spiritual beliefs. He is considered to be one of the 28 Mansions, which are Chinese constellations. These constellations are the same as those studied in Western astrology. Kuimulang originated from the ancient Chinese worship of the constellations, a spiritual practice that combines Chinese mythology and astronomy.

References

  1. ↑ "BOOKS - BESTSELLERS". Sunday Telegraph (subscription required). 12 May 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Purdon, Fiona (23 January 2010). "Tapping a teen market". The Courier-Mail (subscription required). Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Books by Kylie Chan". kyliechan.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Samantha Selinger-Morris (28 August 2011). "Living in two worlds". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Kylie Chan". Harper Voyager. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Kylie Chan (7 October 2015). "My Editor's Comments about 'Black Jade'". KylieChan.com.
  7. ↑ Gordon, Amy. "White Tiger by Kylie Chan (review)". Geek Speak Magazine. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Bursztynski, Sue. "Bui Hu and Mary-Sue". January Magazine . Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  9. ↑ Haynes, Nalini (21 August 2013). "Red Phoenix by Kylie Chan (review)". Dark Matter Zine. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Earth to Hell: Journey to Wudang, Book 1 (review)". Publishers Weekly. September 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.