anopinion
Pittsburgh, PA
This CCTV adaptation of Laughing in the Wind was heavily panned after casting Xu Qing in the female lead role because of her age and again after airing because of Li Yapeng's dissonance with the Linghu Chong role. However, taking into account the plot, acting and production, this is personally my favourite adaptation of LitW.
On the differences between the novel and the drama, I don't have a strong feeling on that because I understand that you need to take creative liberties with adaptations. It's not so realistic to have Ren Yingying appear as late as she did in the novel and it helps to cultivate the relationship between Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying by reimagining their first encounter. Other than this particular change, I don't believe there was anything too different from the source material.
The plot is actually very typical Jin Yong and even pretty typical wuxia. You can see parallels of the discussion of good and evil in Cha's subsequent novels like Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre, as well as other wuxia master's novels like Liang Yusheng's books. The story is essentially about the pursuit of wulin dominance and the things people resort to to achieve their aims. This is one of Louis Cha's most famous books so most C-drama watchers should be familiar with the story.
I actually like Li Yapeng as Linghu Chong. I don't think he's a bad actor. I watched the 1996 TVB version as well and I agree with most that Lv had the right vibes for the role, but Li was also good technically. He might not necessarily fit visually or disposition wise but his portrayal was alright. I do have gripes about his gestures because he was not relaxed enough but otherwise I found him pretty good. Xu Qing was the big surprise for everyone back then and I can see why. She was excellent. A top actor who showed that age really is just a number. She is widely agreed to be the best Ren Yingying and I concur. She was a highlight and a huuuuuuuge positive. To be honest, I don't think there is any particular misses when it came to the actors. Most of them were fantastic. I believe I commended Li Jie for a later adaptation of Legend of the Condor Heroes and he was equally good as Lin Pingzhi here.
I have also mentioned in multiple reviews that I prefer grand sets. Mainland productions have an inherent advantage because of their budget and the scenery that they can use. This drama is a great showcase of exceptional artistry and production value. "Realism" is huge and the sets and props actually look aged. That shows effort. My only complaint will be the hairstyles of the male characters, but it seems to be a recurring Zhang Ji Zhong production issue.
Unfortunately, C-dramas have fallen (perhaps due to restrictions which are consequences of environment protection) since the late 00s and recent productions use green screens extensively in place of natural sets. I'm still optimistic that they get better though, and I'm looking forward to more wuxia productions of similar or better quality in the future.
On the differences between the novel and the drama, I don't have a strong feeling on that because I understand that you need to take creative liberties with adaptations. It's not so realistic to have Ren Yingying appear as late as she did in the novel and it helps to cultivate the relationship between Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying by reimagining their first encounter. Other than this particular change, I don't believe there was anything too different from the source material.
The plot is actually very typical Jin Yong and even pretty typical wuxia. You can see parallels of the discussion of good and evil in Cha's subsequent novels like Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre, as well as other wuxia master's novels like Liang Yusheng's books. The story is essentially about the pursuit of wulin dominance and the things people resort to to achieve their aims. This is one of Louis Cha's most famous books so most C-drama watchers should be familiar with the story.
I actually like Li Yapeng as Linghu Chong. I don't think he's a bad actor. I watched the 1996 TVB version as well and I agree with most that Lv had the right vibes for the role, but Li was also good technically. He might not necessarily fit visually or disposition wise but his portrayal was alright. I do have gripes about his gestures because he was not relaxed enough but otherwise I found him pretty good. Xu Qing was the big surprise for everyone back then and I can see why. She was excellent. A top actor who showed that age really is just a number. She is widely agreed to be the best Ren Yingying and I concur. She was a highlight and a huuuuuuuge positive. To be honest, I don't think there is any particular misses when it came to the actors. Most of them were fantastic. I believe I commended Li Jie for a later adaptation of Legend of the Condor Heroes and he was equally good as Lin Pingzhi here.
I have also mentioned in multiple reviews that I prefer grand sets. Mainland productions have an inherent advantage because of their budget and the scenery that they can use. This drama is a great showcase of exceptional artistry and production value. "Realism" is huge and the sets and props actually look aged. That shows effort. My only complaint will be the hairstyles of the male characters, but it seems to be a recurring Zhang Ji Zhong production issue.
Unfortunately, C-dramas have fallen (perhaps due to restrictions which are consequences of environment protection) since the late 00s and recent productions use green screens extensively in place of natural sets. I'm still optimistic that they get better though, and I'm looking forward to more wuxia productions of similar or better quality in the future.
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