Wisdom prevails as martial arts drama boosts genre

Brains rather than brawn is the key to unconventional hero's popularity, Xu Fan reports.

When veteran scriptwriter Liang Zhenhua read novelist Fang Baiyu's best-selling franchise Qianmen (A Thousand Doors) in 2018, he was fascinated by the unconventional hero amid a world of swordsmen.

Traditionally, Chinese martial arts novels feature protagonists who possess unparalleled fighting skills. However, Fang's franchise has shattered the traditional mold by introducing a unique character whose most formidable weapon is wisdom.

Liang got assistance from two co-writers and dedicated three years, between 2018 and 2020, to adapt the books into The Ingenious One, a popular TV series that has recently garnered a rating of 7.3 points out of 10 on the influential review aggregator Douban.

The series comprises a total of 36 episodes, each discreetly representing one of the 36 strategies derived from The Art of War, written by Sun Tzu, a prominent military theorist and strategist during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

Starring A-list actor Chen Xiao as Yun Xiang, the most highly regarded disciple of a mysterious sect that excels at using strategy, the series follows Yun as he embarks on a quest to investigate the truth behind a decade-old massacre that claimed the lives of all his family members. During the tumultuous journey, he forges friendships with several martial arts heroes, encounters a woman who will capture his heart for a lifetime, and ultimately foils a conspiracy that poses a grave threat to the emperor's regime.

"I have been a passionate fan of wuxia (martial arts) tales since childhood and, during my pursuit of a doctoral degree, I delved even deeper into the study of wuxia literature", recalls Liang.

"However, I had never been approached by television production companies to write a martial arts script before The Ingenious One. It was a dream that I had nurtured for decades, and finally, it became a reality", he adds.

A native from Shaoyang in Hunan province, Liang, also a professor of Chinese literature at Beijing Normal University, started to write his first television series, the espionage-themed Mi Zhan (The Secret Battle), at 30 years old. With the show garnering 8 points out of a total 10 on Douban, Liang quickly rose to fame for his captivating storytelling, despite being a newcomer to the television industry at the time.