Drunken Hero

This article is about the Chinese TV series. For the Hong Kong film of the same Chinese title, see Come Drink with Me.
Drunken Hero
VCD cover art
Also known asDrunk Kung-fu Master
Traditional Chinese大醉俠
Simplified Chinese大醉侠
Hanyu PinyinDà Zuì Xiá
GenreWuxia
Written byHuang Jincang
Lin Yuefang
Directed bySu Yuanfeng
Qiu Yinghong
StarringVincent Zhao
Max Mok
Kristy Yang
Yang Ruoxi
Opening themeHua Tai Xiang (花太香) performed by Richie Ren
Country of originChina
Original languageMandarin
No. of episodes40
Production
Executive producerChen Weili
ProducerLee Kang-sheng
Production locationChina
Running time45 minutes per episode
Original release
NetworkTVB Jade

Drunken Hero is a 2002 Chinese wuxia television series which tells a story of two brothers who were separated at birth, raised differently, and forced to become rivals. The series starred Vincent Zhao, Max Mok, Kristy Yang and Yang Ruoxi in the lead roles.

Plot

Wentian and Wanxin are the sons of the Jianwen Emperor of the Ming dynasty. They were separated at birth when the emperor's uncle, Zhu Di, launched a coup to seize the throne from his nephew. The emperor forced Wentian and Wanxin to consume the magical Water and Fire orbs respectively and ordered his bodyguards to bring the infant princes out of the palace before he disappeared mysteriously. In the midst of the chaos, Wanxin was taken away by the eunuch Chu Tianxing, who serves Zhu Di, while Wentian was delivered to safety by the bodyguards.

Wentian was raised by Mi Jiutou, one of the bodyguards, and he grows up to become a gregarious martial artist who values friendship and righteousness. On the other hand, Wanxin, who was raised as Chu Tianxing's godson, develops a cruel, cold and power-hungry personality under the influence of his evil godfather. The orbs in their bodies often cause them to experience strange fits of agony — Wentian suffers from chills while Wanxin feels like he is on fire. However, their prowess in inner energy have also increased due to the power of the orbs.

Wentian and Wanxin meet each other by coincidence and strike up a friendship, becoming sworn brothers in the process and without knowing each other's true identities. Both Wentian and Wanxin fall in love with Bai Yutong, a maiden from a wealthy family who disguises herself as "Golden Swallow", a bandit who robs the rich to help the poor. Xiaowan, Mi Jiutou's daughter, is also in love with Wentian. Their love relationships become more complicated. Wentian and Wanxin eventually realise that they are actually brothers.

In a dramatic twist of events, Wanxin is castrated on his godfather's order. He becomes emotionally scarred and gradually becomes consumed by his darker personality. After Chu Tianxing is killed by an enemy, Wanxin takes over his godfather's place and follows in the latter's brutal and ruthless ways. Meanwhile, Wentian masters a set of martial arts, based on different styles of Drunken Fist, with each style named after a type of alcoholic drink. The warm effect of alcohol helps him to suppress the cool energy from the Water Orb, relieving him of his agony. He roams the jianghu as a youxia to uphold justice and help the poor with his new skills, earning himself the nickname of "Drunken Hero". At the end of the series, Wentian faces Wanxin in a final fight to put an end to his brother's rampage.

Cast

  • Vincent Zhao as Wentian
  • Kristy Yang as Bai Yutong
  • Max Mok as Wanxin
  • Yang Ruoxi [zh] as Mi Xiaowan
  • Li Yongyong as Honggu
  • Dong Xiaoyan [zh] as Hua Nongying / Yu Linglong
  • Yu Yuexian [zh] as Hua Canyi
  • Jia Yiping [zh] as Tong Buda
  • Liang Jing as Shui Linling
  • Zhu Yana as Hua Kui
  • Zhang Wei as Chu Tianxing
  • Xie Yunshan as Choupidan

External links