The Shaolin Warriors (少林僧兵) is a Chinese wuxia television series directed by Raymond Lee, starring cast members from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Set in 16th-century China during the Ming dynasty, the story is based on a legend of 30 Shaolin warrior monks who joined government forces in resisting the incursions by the wokou. First broadcast in November 2008 on CCTV-8 in mainland China, it is the first wuxia television series to filmed in direct collaboration with Shaolin Monastery and features some rarely seen martial arts.
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Synopsis
The series is set in 16th-century China during the Ming dynasty when the wokou constantly raid and pillage the coastal regions of eastern China. After his mother is killed by the wokou, Yuekong is saved by Big Feet Monk and taken to Shaolin Monastery, where he is trained in martial arts. During this time, he befriends Yuewen, a boy abandoned by his parents and sent to Shaolin to be a monk.
15 years later, while accompanying the Shaolin abbot to attend an event, Yuekong meets Hideko, a daimyo's daughter who develops a crush on him. Tensions rise between Yuekong and Fūgo, a samurai assigned to protect Hideko. Meanwhile, Yuewen encounters Li Ruolan, a woman who had lost his father during a wokou raid, and they have romantic feelings for each other.
The Shaolin abbot sends Yuekong and Yuewen to help the Ming general Qi Jiguang train his soldiers in martial arts and defend Ningbo from the wokou. At one point, Yuewen learns that his biological father is the pirate chief Wang Zhi, an ally of the wokou. Big Feet Monk is killed after Wang Zhi uses Yuewen to lure him into an ambush; Yuekong blames Yuewen for Big Feet Monk's death and swears vengeance. Later, it turns out that Yuewen has been making use of his relationship with Wang Zhi to infiltrate the wokou and gather intelligence for the Ming forces.
Yuekong risks his life to save Yuewen and reconciles with him. When the wokou, armed with European firearms, launch an attack, the Shaolin warrior monks brave the gunfire and fight the wokou. Yuekong and Fūgo duel in the midst of battle, with Yuekong emerging victorious in the end. Wang Zhi is ultimately captured by Hu Zongxian and dies in prison. Qi Jiguang is honoured for his success in driving back the wokou, while the heroics of the Shaolin warrior monks become legendary.
Production
The series had a costly budget. With Raymond Lee serving as the series' overall director, 120 monks and 200 secular students from Shaolin Monastery were involved in the production process.
The series was completed in late 2007 after more than three months of shooting in Wuxi's Film and TV Studios.
Shaolin Monastery's abbot, Shi Yongxin, expressed his desire to spread Shaolin history and culture to the rest of the world through this series.
United States release
The series premiered in the United States with English subtitles on Toku from 12 July 2017 to 21 February 2018.