The prophecy is now complete: the nine dozen heroes of the water margins of Liang Shan Po gather like storm clouds to the south of the capital city. Kao Chiu, like a caged tiger, plots to kill the Emperor, now a prisoner in his own palace. The dynasty of Kao will replace a hundred and fifty years of rule by the Sungs. Lin Chung speeds to the capital in an attempt to save the Emperor from… read more »
Welcome to the The Water Margin guide at TV Tome. The ancient sages said, "do not despise the snake for having no horns, for who is to say it will not become a dragon?". So may one just man become an army. Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China, at the time of the Sung… More dynasty, there was a cruel and corrupt government. These men riding are outlaws - heroes - who have been driven to live in the Water Margins of Liang Shan Po, far to the south of the capital city. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head, in a world very different from our own. The story starts in legend even then - for our heroes, it was said, were perhaps the souls reborn of other, earlier knights...
Welcome to the The Water Margin guide at TV Tome. The ancient sages said, "do not despise the snake for having no horns, for who is to say it will not become a dragon?". So may one just man become an army. Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China, at the time of the Sung… More dynasty, there was a cruel and corrupt government. These men riding are outlaws - heroes - who have been driven to live in the Water Margins of Liang Shan Po, far to the south of the capital city. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head, in a world very different from our own. The story starts in legend even then - for our heroes, it was said, were perhaps the souls reborn of other, earlier knights...
Loved this as a child and watched it religiously on BBC2 every week. hide show
The story went something like this: The hero, Lin Chung, was the right hand soldier of his boss Kao Chu. After fighting a dangerous battle for his master, Lin Chung returns home to find out that his wife has committed suicide. He later discovers that the boss that he so faithfully defended during the war, had on many occasions made lewd advances towards his betrothed. She of course rejected his unwanted attentions, but Kao Chu forces himself upon her. She becomes ashamed and blames herself for the assault, and later takes her own life. Lin Chung attempts to assassinate Kao Chu in revenge, but is captured and imprisoned. After many years, he escapes with a number of inmates, and they seek refuge in their hide-out situated '...on the water margins of the mountains.' as the narrator explains at the beginning of each episode. There they form a band of rebels called The Liang Shang Po, who take it upon themselves to defend villagers and such from Kao Chu's army, and any other hostile aggressors. The dialogue was dubbed into English, much like a similar series which was broadcast around the same time in England -the late '70s- called 'Monkey'. The battle sequences are truly fantastic to watch, and have obviously been influenced by Akira Kurosawa's films. Buy it now on DVD, you will enjoy it.
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GeorgeFergus
