History Film / ChineseGhostStory

[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chinese-ghost-story-c_4371.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:[[OverlyNarrowSuperlative Yin, world's best Taoist kung-fu rapper.]]]]
A Hong Kong [[GenreRoulette fantasy-horror-comedy]] film series by Tsui Hark. The original film was released in 1987. It's an adaption of the 1960 Shaw Brothers classic, "The Enchanting Shadow", which was based on Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling's "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio."

Ning, played by LeslieCheung, is a timid tax collector living somewhere in ImperialChina. His job requires him to travel to rural areas, and this way he arrives at a certain town, but he's broke, so he is forced to seek shelter in a deserted temple in the forest on the outskirts. That night in the temple, Ning meets a beautiful and alluring young maiden called Nie. However, when he later recalls last night's events the next day, he becomes increasingly fearful and superstitious. It turns out Nie is actually a spirit, enslaved by a Tree Demon who forces her ghosts to kill men. But Ning manages to fall in love with her in the meanwhile, and decides to free her, and to do this enlists the help of Yin, a Taoist priest and wizard and all-round badass.

There were two sequels, released respectively in 1990 and 1991. In the first of them, Ning gets into a political affair which turns out to have a supernatural background. In the second, which is set a century after the first film, two monks stumble upon the same Tree Demon to finish it once for all. There's also an 1997 AnimatedAdaptation of the first film, with a more kid-friendly feel. The original got a remake directed by Wilson Yip in 2011.

Definitely a series that {{needs more love}}.

!!The films include the following tropes:
* {{Adorkable}}: Ning
* AnAxeToGrind: there's a demon in the first film, who wields, like, four axes.
* {{Animesque}}: The animated adaption.
* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: in the second film, we get a caterpillar.
* AuthorExistenceFailure: RIP, LeslieCheung.
* {{Badass}}: Yin, and Hu, the warrior in the second film.
* BadassBureaucrat: Ning, although most of the time it tends to be BadassUnintentional or MistakenForBadass.
* BadassPreacher: Yin's a monk, and so are several other characters. Also, the chanting Buddhist monks. Well, actually you better not rub off any monks or priests in the wrong way there -- if you're lucky, they'll just kick your ass and not turn out to be huge demonic caterpillar in disguise.
* BattleCry: Altogether, guys : PAO YE PAO LO MI !!!
* BittersweetEnding: The first film [[spoiler:our hero frees his ghostly lover, but she is apparently reincarnated somewhere else]].
* BrownNote: Buddhist chanting in the second movie - actually coming from aforementioned demonic caterpillar, and treated as HellIsThatNoise.
* CanOnlyMoveTheEyes: In the second movie, the young Kunlun priest gives Ning a special symbol that can freeze anyone and anything. [[EpicFail Ning promptly turns it on the priest,]] ''then himself'', and the very demon they were preparing to face as it's hovering over them.
--> "Move your eyes up-down for 'yes' and left-right for 'no'..." (Ning draws attention towards the demon) "What the hell is 'diagonal' mean?!"
* DevilButNoGod: While Buddhist sutras and statues hold genuine power, it's still the demons who remain dominant in all cases. The second movie even involves a Buddha manifestation that turns out to be fake.
* TheFool: Ning is practically the archetypal manifestation of this trope, given how many times his life is saved by complete random happenstance. Takes on some of the aspects of a ChewToy at times, given that whatever is responsible for his luck doesn't seem to care about keeping him ''happy'', just alive.
* GhostlyGoals: proper burial, but in a rather unusual spin of the trope, it's more to break the Tree Demon's hold than as a goal in itself.
* HumongousMecha: The Tao of Tao in the animated version.
* KamehameHadoken: Yin shoots them like a machine gun, while [[WireFu flying]].
* KungFuWizard: Yin, and at least one other character.
* MagicalForeignWords: Sanskrit is treated as this.
* MisplacedWildlife: The distinctive yip-yip-howl of a coyote can be heard in the first film's graveyard.
* OneWingedAngel: In the second film. To be honest, the first form was impressive in its own right.
* OverlyLongTongue / TongueTrauma: The Tree Demon manifests a flattened, prehensile tongue long enough to fight two or three opponents at once, which gets stabbed several times by the heroes.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: They're Chinese, eh heh heh... [[note]]Yeah, I know, lame joke.[[/note]] They pass quite well for a human, and they're enslaved by a demon.
* PragmaticAdaptation: From one tale in an ancient Chinese supernatural anthology, ''Liao Zhai''.
** Taken UpToEleven for the {{Animesque}} AnimatedAdaptation. There's a HumongousMecha for crying out loud.
* PrehensileHair: Ghosts can do this.
* ReincarnationRomance: In the second film, somehow.
* SkySurfing: on a hover-sword.
* StuffBlowingUp: the demons just can't die without blowing up. It's like they're {{made of explodium}}.
* ToHellAndBack
* UnfazedEveryman: Ning. Just some poor schmuck who stumbled upon a paranormal affair. [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Though, as it appears]], he's got surprising guts when a girl's soul is at stake.
* VillainousCrossdresser: The Tree Demon is a male actor dressed as a woman. Also, it should be noted the Tree Demon speaks with [[VoiceOfTheLegion male AND female voice simultaneously]].
* WeirdnessMagnet: Ning, so very, very, ''very'' much.
* WhenTreesAttack
* {{Wuxia}}: Although ''The Chinese Ghost Story'' series has more of a fantasy element than most stories in the wuxia genre.
----

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: They're Chinese, eh heh heh... [[hottip:*:Yeah, I know, lame joke.]] They pass quite well for a human, and they're enslaved by a demon.

* {{Adorkable}}: LeslieCheung's character

A Hong Kong [[GenreRoulette fantasy-horror-comedy]] film series by Tsui Hark. The original film was released in 1987. It's an adaption of the 1962 Shaw Brothers classic, "The Enchanted Shadow", which was based on a tale from an 18th century collection of ghost stories.

A Hong Kong [[GenreRoulette fantasy-horror-comedy]] film series by Tsui Hark. The original film was released in 1987.

Ning is a timid tax collector living somewhere in ImperialChina. His job requires him to travel to rural areas, and this way he arrives at a certain town, but he's broke, so he is forced to seek shelter in a deserted temple in the forest on the outskirts. That night in the temple, Ning meets a beautiful and alluring young maiden called Nie. However, when he later recalls last night's events the next day, he becomes increasingly fearful and superstitious. It turns out Nie is actually a spirit, enslaved by a Tree Demon who forces her ghosts to kill men. But Ning manages to fall in love with her in the meanwhile, and decides to free her, and to do this enlists the help of Yin, a Taoist priest and wizard and all-round badass.

* Adorkable: LeslieCheung's character

* AuthorExistenceFailure: RIP, Leslie Cheung.