''Shaolin Wuzang'' (), known in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
as ''Zhonghua Xiaozi'' (), is an animated television series produced by
Les Cartooneurs Associés
Millimages is a French independent animation studio based in Paris which develops, produces and worldwide distributes high quality family entertainment on all media.
In 2016, Millimages has been nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award w ...
, Fantasia Animation,
France 3
France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info.
It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
and
Jetix Europe
Jetix Europe N.V. (formerly known as Fox Kids Europe N.V.) was a European television broadcasting company that owned children's television channels and programming blocks across the Europe and Middle East, such as Jetix and Jetix Play.
History F ...
. It spans twenty-six episodes, over two thirteen episode seasons, which were broadcast on France 3 in France,
China Central Television
China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
in China, and
Disney Channel-Asia. In Australia, the series is broadcast on
ABC3
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
.
Plot
In the 7th century, during the
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
a powerful demon named
Heihu attempted to dominate all of China. But thanks to a grandmaster of
Shaolin and three heroic Shaolin "knights", Heihu was defeated and mystically sealed inside a great bell.
After one-thousand years, in the 17th century—circa 1600-1618—a peasant woman comes across the bell (overgrown and forgotten in a forest, somewhere in the Henan Province). When she touches it, the mystic seal breaks and Heihu is freed. The demon chases the peasant woman down and possesses her body.
Not far away, at a Shaolin Temple, Master
Sanzang watches over his students and followers. In the midst of the daily affairs, Heihu infiltrates the temple and ransacks its library in search of two special books. If the demon claims these books, he can become so powerful that no one could challenge him as he renews his quest for world domination. Heihu manages to uncover the first book at the temple—the
Book of Wisdom
The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a Jewish work written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally dated to the mid-first century BCE, the central theme of the work is "wisdom" itself, appearing under two p ...
—but disappears after failing to find the second one.
Meanwhile, Master Sanzang consults the spirits of the ancient Grand Masters of Shaolin. They tell him to seek out the spirits of the three Original Shaolin Knights who defeated Heihu. The three have been reincarnated into three young children, and so Master Sanzang must find them and train them, in order to defeat the Demon before he can find the second book.
Characters
* Heihu—A powerful Demon, formerly sealed away inside the mystic prison-bell, now freed and attempting to take over the world once again. Originally depicted as a monster (in the series opening episode), Heihu has now possessed a peasant woman, and is using her body as a vessel for her power. She seeks two books—the Book of Wisdom and one other—to use their power to become unbeatable. To this end, she recruits an army of thugs—the Black Foxes—to do her bidding while she searches for the books.
* Master Sanzang—The current Grand Master of the Shaolin Temple. He is an old and stern yet kindly man. He has great skill in kung fu despite his advanced age. He gives sage advice and believes that, in spite of the age (and gender) of the charges, he must find and train they are the best hope for defeating the Demon.
* Hua—a young teenage girl. She is headstrong and mad about martial arts. She was with her grandmother, delivering laundry at the Temple when Heihu attacked. She attempted to aid Master Sanzang in keeping the Book of Wisdom away from Heihu's grasp. Even though she failed, the Spirit of the Grand Master indicated that she was one of the Reincarnated Knights, and that she would help Sanzang find the other two Knights. She impressed Master Sanzang with her use of a large cloth as a weapon, that he gave her a rope made of "an indestructible weave" to use in her battles. She also proves to have some form of qi power, as she creates an energy shield to protect herself from a serpent's attack (in Episode Two).
* Tang—a young man who is the son of one of the city governors in Henan Province. He is somewhat snobbish, and has high opinions of himself and his apparent destiny. He fights with Hua, and proves to have some adeptness with Kung Fu. To show his pride in Tang's appointment to Shaolin, his father gives him a sword his ancestor used in battle. Wearing round spectacles, he is very astute and clever to solve riddles and think on his feet. Tang is believed to be the second of the Three Knights.
* Cheng—a young peasant boy whose village was ransacked by forces of Heihu. Cheng was discovered by Hua, after she attempted to find aid in his village (which had been seized by the Black Foxes). The two ended up fighting the Black Foxes, along with Tang and Master Sanzang, defeating them and freeing the villagers. Showing skill with staves, Cheng was given a three-second chain staff by Master Sanzang. Proving his courage and skill, he joined with Tang and Hua at the Shaolin Temple to train as the third Knight.
Episode list
*The Demon's Return (''Le Retour du Démon'')
*Hangman's Swamp (''Le Marais des Pendus'', lit. "The Swamp of the Hanged")
*Kwai Gonjin (''Kwaï Gonjin'')
*Your Worst Enemy (''Ton Pire Ennemi'')
*The River Dragons (''Les Dragons-Rivières'')
*Eye in the Medallion (''Le Revers de la Médaille'', lit. "The back of the medallion")
*The Daikinis (''Les Dâkinis'')
*The Imperial Escort (''L'Escorte Impériale'')
*The Wheel of Time (''La roue du temps'')
*Deep Within the Mirror (''Au fond du miroir'')
*The K'Uei (''Les K'Uei'')
*Little Sister (''Petite Soeur'')
*The Veil of Light (''Le Voile de Lumière'')
*Frog Spirit (''L'esprit grenouille'')
*Diamond Eyes (''Les larmes de diamant'', lit. "The tears of diamond")
*The Ogres of Kaifeng (''Les Ogres de Kaïfeng'')
*Yi's Sacred Bow (''L'Arc Sacré de Yi'')
*The Pavilion of Whispers (''Le pavillon des murmures'')
*Young Love (''Amour de Jeunesse'')
*The Realm of Quiet Waters (''Le Royaume des Eaux Calmes'') ''Note: "royaume" ("realm") also translates to "kingdom"''
*A Thousand Faces (''Mille Visages'')
*Kuulnn (''Kunlun'')
*Shadow Thief (''Le Voleur d'Ombres'')
*The Invisible Castle (''Le Château Invisible'')
*Xi-Rang (''Xi Rang'')
*The Trap (''Le Piège'')
Possibility of a sequel
In 2016, the creator of the series, Zhang Tian Xiao, announced on hi
Weibo accountthat he planned on making a ''Shaolin Wuzang'' sequel in movie version, and was in the process of making a script for the movie. However, due to shortage in production, the making of the sequel was delayed. On 7 August 2018, Zhang announced that he received an invitation from the Ministry of Commerce to give a speech on 11 August 2018 about the possible sequel of the Chinese cartoon. In addition, he plans on holding a fan meeting by the end of 2018 or early 2019 in China.
The release of ''Shaolin Wuzang 2'' is yet to be determined.
References
External links
*
* ''Shaolin Wuzang'' at Fantasia Animation
ChineseEnglish
''Shaolin Wuzang''at
CNTV,
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
's official website
''Shaolin Wuzang''at
ABC Online
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...
{{CCTV shows
2006 French television series debuts
2000s French animated television series
China Central Television original programming
Chinese children's animated action television series
Chinese children's animated adventure television series
France Télévisions children's television series
French children's animated action television series
French children's animated adventure television series
Television series about Shaolin Monastery
Television series set in the 17th century
Television shows set in Zhengzhou