The Lost Tomb (Chinese: 盗墓笔记; pinyin: Dàomù Bǐjì) is a 2015 Chinese streaming television series based on the internet novel Daomu Biji. The series was originally intended to have 8 seasons filmed over a period of 8 years[3] but only three seasons were produced as of 2020. The first season premiered on iQiyi on 12 June 2015.[4]
| The Lost Tomb | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Also known as | Grave Robbers Chronicles Grave Robbery Note |
| Genre | Action Adventure Mystery Supernatural |
| Based on | Daomu Biji by Nanpai Sanshu |
| Written by | Bai Yicong |
| Directed by | Cheang Pou-soi Law Wing-cheong |
| Starring | Li Yifeng Tiffany Tang Yang Yang Liu Tianzuo Ken Chang Wei Wei |
| Country of origin | China |
| Original language | Mandarin |
| No. of episodes | 10 + 2 pilot episode |
| Production | |
| Production location | China |
| Cinematography | Wang Yongheng Zhang Wenbao |
| Running time | 40 mins |
| Production companies | H&R Century Pictures Enlight Media Group |
| Budget | ¥500 million |
| Original release | |
| Network | iQiyi[1] Viki[2] |
| Release | 12 June 2015 |
| Related | |
| The Mystic Nine Time Raiders The Lost Tomb 2: Explore with the Note The Lost Tomb 2: Heavenly Palace on the Clouds Ultimate Note Tibetan Sea Flower Tomb of the Sea Reunion: The Sound of the Providence Conjuring Cruse2023 | |
Synopsis
editWu Xie (Li Yifeng) is an antique shop owner who comes from a family of tomb raiders. As he continues the family trade with his team of tomb raiders, he finds lost treasures of the Warring States as well as the answers to the tragedies of his family's past. With the help of his grandfather's notes and his team – the quiet Zhang Qiling (Yang Yang), the resourceful Pang Zi (Liu Tianzuo), the experienced Wu Sanxing (Ken Chang), San Xing's loyal helper Pan Zi (Wei Wei), and the skillful Ah Ning (Tiffany Tang) – Wu Xie sets out to find the lost treasures as well as the people responsible for the massacre of his family.
Cast
editMain
edit| Actor | Role | Introduction |
|---|---|---|
Wu Xie (Wú Xié; 吴邪) |
Owner of an antique store in Hangzhou, China. He finds a map to an ancient tomb in an ancient scroll from the Warring States one day which leads him to seek out the tomb in the map. Wu Xie is an innocent and naive character who is loyal to his friends. He is also the descendant of the 5th Master of the Mystic Nine.[5] | |
A'ning (Ā'níng; 阿宁) |
A grave-robber and the first major female introduced in the series, her motives are unclear but seems to be working against the protagonists. | |
Kylin / Xiaoge (Zhāng Qǐlíng; 张起灵 / Little Master) |
A mysterious character whose rarely speaks and always seems to be in a daze.[5] He is often hired as an assistant to many grave-robbing endeavors and is highly competent at it; very little is known about him, even his real name. | |
Liu Tianzuo |
Fatty / Pangzi (Wáng Pàngzi; 王胖子) |
Nicknamed "Gold Getting Xiao Wei", he is a northern grave-robber (as opposed to Wu Xie, from the south) and teams up with both Wu and Zhang throughout the story; together they are referred to as the "Iron Triangle." |
Wu Sanxing / Third Uncle (Wú Sānxǐng; 吴三省) |
Wu Xie's third uncle, has a keen interest in tombs and antiques. He joins the group to locate the tomb under the request of his nephew, Wu Xie.[5] | |
Wei Wei |
Pan Zi (Pān Zi; 潘子) |
Wu Sanxing's assistant.[5] Sansheng's right-hand man, who had served in the Vietnam War prior to becoming a grave-robber. |
Supporting
edit| Actor | Role | Introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Li Chenhao | Master High | Wu Xie's friend, an overseas returnee who is an expert at advanced technology. |
| Sun Yaoqi | Chen Chengcheng | Qiu Dekao's subordinate. She disguises herself as the niece of Chen Wenjin to get close to Wu Xie. |
| Cheng Pei-pei | Huo Xiangu | One of the members of mystic nine clan. |
| Ying Er | Huo Xiuxiu | Huo Xiangu's granddaughter. |
| Li Xinliang | Liu Tai | |
| Zhang Xiaochen | Jie Yuchen | |
| Lu Xingyu | Minister Lu | |
| Su Qing | Yao Guang | |
| Huang Ming | King Lushang |
Production
editIn June 2014, a press conference was held at Shanghai and attended by representatives of H&R Century Pictures, Beijing Enlight Media and Nanpai Investment. It was announced that a film, television series and online game would be adapted from the novel Daomu Biji by Nanpai Sanshu.[6] In particular, the television series would be divided into 8 seasons filmed over a period of 8 years.[7]
The series is directed by Cheang Pou-soi who directed the 2014 film The Monkey King.[8] Other notable production crew included Hong Kong Film Award-winners Angie Lam and Bill Lui.[9] Chun Hung Mak, who worked on the Chinese Paladin series, composed the soundtrack of the series.
Principal photography commenced in August 2014 and wrapped up on 30 November 2014 at Yamdrok Lake, Tibet.[10] Location filming took place at the Beijing Farm Animal Research Center and the Dagao International Art Unit.[11]
Casting
editOn June 24, 2014, Li Yifeng confirmed through Weibo that he would be taking on the leading role of Wu Xie.[12] On August 31, 2014, official posters of the main cast including Li, Yang Yang, Liu Tianzuo, Ken Chang and Wei Wei were released.[13] On November 5, 2014, Tiffany Tang was revealed to be the female lead of the series.[14]
Deviation from novel
editIn the novel, Wu Xie is the owner of an antique store but in the series, he is an overseas returnee who studied at a German University and returned to China to return an antique to the country. The rest of the team also became "protectors of the antique" instead of a "tomb-raiding team".[15]
Two new characters, High Master and Cheng Chengcheng, were also created for the web series.
Reception
editThe Lost Tomb is the most watched web drama of 2015 with over 2.8 billion views.[16]
Despite its popularity, the series was criticized for its draggy story-line and poorly done special effects. Fans of the novel also commented that the plot and characters deviated too much from the original novel.[17][18]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Most Anticipated Web Drama | The Lost Tomb | Won | |
| 2015 | Popular Actor of the Year | Yang Yang | Won | |
| Drama of the Year | The Lost Tomb | Won | ||
| Outstanding Web Drama | Won | |||
| Best Web Series | Won |
See also
edit- Time Raiders, a 2016 film based on the same novel series
- The Mystic Nine, a 2016 prequel on the same novel series
International broadcast
edit| Country | Network(s)/Station(s) | Series premiere | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
iQiyi / Viki | 12 June 2015 - () | 盜墓筆記 (電視劇) ( ; lit: ) |
 Thailand |
AMRIN TV HD (อมรินทร์ทีวี) | August 5, 2018 - , 2018 (Every Sunday from 16.00 - 17.00) | ล่าขุมทรัพย์ปริศนา ( ; lit: ) |
References
edit- ^ 盗墓笔记-电视剧-高清在线观看-爱奇艺. iQiyi (in Chinese). Retrieved 2015-04-10.
- ^ "The Lost Tomb - 盜墓筆記". Viki. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
- ^ "Li Yi Feng signs 8-year contract for The Lost Tomb". A Virtual Voyage. 28 July 2014.
- ^ 《盗墓笔记》今晚首播 李易峰“地下探秘”压力大. People's Daily (in Chinese).
- ^ a b c d 《盗墓笔记》起底角色 李易峰领护宝分队. Sina (in Chinese). Retrieved 2015-04-15.
- ^ 《盗墓笔记》将拍电视剧 网友力荐原作者出演. People's Daily (in Chinese).
- ^ 李易峰出演《盗墓笔记》 卖身八年坦言很值得. Tencent (in Chinese).
- ^ 剧版《盗墓笔记》海报曝光 场面宏大. China News (in Chinese).
- ^ 《盗墓笔记》杀青 铁三角合影片场搞怪. Sina (in Chinese).
- ^ 《盗墓笔记》日前西藏杀青 将以羊湖美景开场. ctibet.cn (in Chinese).
- ^ "网曝李易峰《盗墓》片场照 中科院动物所热拍(图)". Ifeng.com. 2014-08-22. Archived from the original on 2014-08-27.
- ^ 李易峰《盗墓》演吴邪 张起灵将选85后. Sina (in Chinese).
- ^ 《盜墓筆記》人物海報 五大角色整裝出發. Sina (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
- ^ 《盗墓笔记》再曝海报 唐嫣饰演阿宁. Sina (in Chinese).
- ^ "《盗墓笔记》首播遭吐槽 网友：确定不是护宝笔记？". jsnol.com. 2015-06-13. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
- ^ 《上网看剧成时尚 《盗墓笔记》荣登2015网剧王 (in Chinese). People's Daily.
- ^ "《盜墓筆記》情節顛覆 特效劣質唐嫣李易峰新劇遭差評". Sing Tao Daily. 2015-06-21. Archived from the original on 2015-07-12.
- ^ 人民日報刊文評《盜墓筆記》：收視率雖高吐槽不少. People's Daily (in Chinese).
- ^ ""尖叫2015爱奇艺之夜"年度榜单重磅出炉(图)". Youth.cn. 2014-12-08. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.
- ^ "2016 IQIYI All-Star Carnival: PERFECTION!". cdramadevotee.com. 2015-12-05. Archived from the original on 2016-12-01.
- ^ 爱奇艺《盗墓笔记》荣获第六届澳门国际电视节"优秀网络剧大奖". Sina (in Chinese). 17 December 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ "Stars Descend on the 2015 TV Drama Awards Honoring the Best of Mainland Chinese Dramas". A Koala's Playground. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
External links
edit- (in Chinese) The Lost Tomb Sina Weibo