A landmark in Hong Kong movies that spawned two sequels, an animated movie, TV series and countless imitations, “A Chinese Ghost Story” 《倩女幽魂》 combines traditional supernatural folklore, fantastic wiring, aesthetic cinematography, elaborate sets (by Hong Kong standard) and breath-taking stunt work to showcase the strengths of Hong Kong film industry. Furthermore, with a universal story devoid of historical background and minimized cultural reference, it is also one of the most accessible Hong Kong movies to the western audience (I always think with each distinctively costumed character and spooky setting it will be a great addition to any Halloween party). It might even appeal to the hip-hop demographic when the Taoist priest 燕赤霞 belted out a rap-like rendition during a drunken rampant. In fact, chances are many western connoisseurs will confess that “A Chinese Ghost Story” was the movie that initiated them into the Hong Kong movies
James Wong's rap-like rendition of 《道》 had attracted fans as far away as Argentina
However, many of the English synopsises for “A Chinese Ghost Story” I came across has Ning Tsai-shun/Ling Choi-sun 寧采臣 as a tax collector while in truth he is a debt collector. This to me is a small but significant difference because by being a tax collector, it would mean he will be working for the court which would give him a certain privileged position in the society while a major plot device of the movie is the fact that Ning Tsai-shun is a person of no importance
“A Chinese Ghost Story” opens with Ning Tsai-shun on the road to collect money. Quickly we see this is no easy feat because the road was ambushed by bandits. However, the fortune of the bandits took a wrong turn as they picked the swordsman 夏侯 to rob and got slaughtered instead. Later we found that the swordsman’s luck is no better as he bumped into the tantalizing ghost Nieh Hsiao-tsing/Nip Siu-sin 聶小倩 and met his own demise. However, the ghost in turn was controlled by the thousand-year old tree demon 姥姥 and forced to seduce traveling men.
As the alluring ghost Nieh Hsiao-tsing/Nip Siu-sin 聶小倩 Joey Wang 王祖賢 had her best moments on films. A former member of Taiwanese national basketball team, 《倩女幽魂》 accentuated her best feature, her long legs, in various scenes
What “A Chinese Ghost Story” presented us is a dog-eat-dog world that is in a state of constant chaos and lawlessness, where each in power (mortal or undead) is vying for the control over all those who are powerless. It is a world run rampant with monsters, ghosts, beasts (Ning Tsai-shun was first haunted by the wolves in the wood) and, above all, human: The well-to-do Nieh Hsiao-tsing fall into the hand of the tree demon only after her and her father were framed and persecuted by corrupted officials (Nieh Hsiao-tsing told Ning Tsai-shun that sometimes humans are even more frightening than ghosts).
The victim-preying Nieh Hsiao-tsing was a victim herself
A previously honest court marshal himself, 燕赤霞 had grown weary of the sleazy mortal world that he chose to lead a hermit-like life and keep the undead as company (the Taoist priest from the original Shaw Brothers version 《倩女幽魂》, “The Enchanting Shadow”, was much less cynical).
The mysterious, menacing Taoist priest 燕赤霞 was revealed to be a cynical former court marshal
In a world like this it is unlikely for someone with such meager means like Ning Tsai-shun to come out of it unscathed. But unlike the Taoist priest, our hero did NOT back away from life. Instead he took on a job that he was well aware of the peril involved without any bitterness (He told the inn-keeper how his predecessor was killed on his way return as-a-matter-of-factly) because he understood while fate could be ever unpredictable and ugly, one’s fortune is ultimately up to one’s own hand. It might seem pathetic for the hero of an action movie to implore for help when Ning Tsai-shun asked the Taoist priest to escort him to return Nieh Hsiao-tsing‘s ash back to her hometown. However, what I found interesting is the pleading occurred when it did.
When Ning Tsai-shun discovered Nieh Hsiao-tsing was actually a ghost, he was told to flee the haunted temple right away. However, at that point he didn’t entreat for the Taoist priest’s escort even though the way was full of danger. It was only after he promised Nieh Hsiao-tsing’s reincarnations that he begged for help because on his own he wouldn’t complain any misfortune befall on him. He would just take that as part of one’s fate, part of life itself. Ning Tsai-shun might be bubbling, he might be anti-hero but he is no coward. When you consider the last thing he said to Nieh Hsiao-tsing is to be a “good human”, that is surprisingly life-affirmative for a horror movie.
The screenplay of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was written by Yuen Kai Chi (阮繼志) when he was only twenty-six. It won him a Best Adapted Screenplay at the Golden Horse Film Festival. (Ironically the screenplay was the only major category the movie failed to nab a nomination in the local Hong Kong Film Award. Could it be too galling for the Award committee to take the screenplay of a supposedly action-oriented movie seriously?). Life after “A Chinese Ghost Story” has not been all smooth-sailing though. In 1989 he was involved in a serious car accident that left him partially handicapped. However, this had not deterred his zeal for life. It was during his recuperating from the accident that he got acquainted with his current wife, who was the nurse in the hospital at the time. Today he continues to write screenplay and teach script writing classes in local universities. In 2005 he received the “Top Ten Regeneration Warriors” award... Coming from someone who wrote the screenplay for “A Chinese Ghost Story” somehow I am just not surprised.
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