Line #19 Film/ATouchOfZen


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zen_2.jpg]]
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3	''A Touch of Zen'' is a 1971 Taiwanese ''{{wuxia}}'' film directed by Creator/KingHu. It is a loose adaptation of the tale ''The Magnanimous Girl'' (in Chinese ''Xia Nü'') from ''Literature/StrangeStoriesFromAChineseStudio'' by Pu Songling (1740).
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5	Gu is a poor man of letters. One day, a stranger, Ouyang Nian, asks him to draw his portrait. When he comes back home, he hears a strange noise coming from the deserted palace next to his house. Finally, he finds out that Yang Hui-zhen (Creator/HsuFeng) lives there and Ouyang Nian is sent by the corrupt Eunuch Wei to chase her. After sleeping with Yang, Gu decides to join her and her friend to fight Ouyang Nian.
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8	!!''A Touch of Zen'' provides examples of:
9	* AnimalMotifs: Spiders show up several times, notably in the opening scene.
10	* BareFistedMonk: Abbot Hui-yuan fights without weapon. His monk followers only use ropes.
11	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Gu, Yang Hui-zhen and their child are safe so far and the people Eunuch Wei sent to chase them are dead, but Eunuch Wei remains in power, General Shi is dead, and Abbot Hui-yuan is badly injured (it is suggested he reaches nirvana).]]
12	* BlindSeer: {{Subverted\|Trope}}. General Shi prentends to be blind and in the beginning he makes the horoscope of Gu. Actually, he is not blind and he is not able to predict the future.
13	* {{Bookworm}}: Gu is a man of letters. He becomes TheStrategist because he read about the art of war.
14	* ButIReadABookAboutIt: Gu has no experience of battles, but he read books about the art of war, so he thinks he can help Yang and her friends.
15	* CatScare: When he explores the deserted palace for the first time, Gu is scared by mothes flying away.
16	* CoolSword: Ouyang Nian has a flexible sword that can be hidden in his belt.
17	* DueToTheDead: After the battle in the deserted palace, Abbot Hui-yuan and his monks show up to bury the dead.
18	* EunuchsAreEvil: The BigBad is the corrupt eunuch Wei, who killed Yang Hui-zhen's father and wants to kill her.
19	* EvilChancellor: The eunuch Wei is corrupted. He decided to kill Yang Hui-zhen's family because her father wanted to denounce him to the Emperor.
20	* TheFilmOfTheBook: The film is an adaptation of a tale from ''Literature/StrangeStoriesFromAChineseStudio'' by Pu Songling (1740).
21	* {{Flashback}}: Yang Hui-zhen's backstory is told through a flashback.
22	* HauntedHouse: {{Subverted\|Trope}}. Gu believes the deserted palace is haunted. It is not. The noise he heard was made by Yang. Later, the soldiers believe the palace is haunted because of the rumours spread by Gu's mother.
23	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The Eunuch Wei Zhongxian (1568-1627) and Yang Lian (Yang Hui-zhen's father).
24	* ImperialChina: The story is set in Ming China.
25	* ISurrenderSuckers: Xu Xian-chun and his guards after a first encounter with Abbot Hui-yuan pretend to surrender and ask him to teach them. [[spoiler:This is a trick to try to kill Hui-yuan.]]
26	* IWantGrandkids: Gu's mother wants him to find a wife to have children.
27	* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Eunuch Wei remains in power and is not punished by the end of the film.]]
28	* LadyOfWar: Yang Hui-zhen, who is a talented fighter and the daughter of a general. Her weapon is an elegant dagger and she performs WireFu.
29	* LawOfInverseFertility: Gu and Yang sleep once together. They have a child.
30	* MoodWhiplash: The day after the battle in the deserted palace, Gu is laughing when he sees his stratagems have worked. Then he realizes the bloodshed the battle was.
31	* MostWritersAreWriters: Gu is a man of letters (and a public writer). Actually, he is an avatar of Pu Songling, the author of the original story.
32	* NonActionGuy: Gu is not a fighter. He is paired with Yang Hui-zhen, the LadyOfWar, who has to rescue him in the end. After sleeping with her, he becomes TheStrategist.
33	* OldDarkHouse: The deserted palace next to Gu's house.
34	* OneManArmy: Yang Hui-zhen, General Shi, and General Lu can easily defeat many mooks.
35	* PicturePerfectPresentation: There is a transition from the face of Ouyang Nian to his portrait made by Gu.
36	* TheSmartGuy: Gu is a man of letters. He becomes TheStrategist.
37	* SplitScreen: It is used to show the spread of the rumours about the ghosts of the deserted palace.
38	* StarvingArtist: Gu is a man of letters and a painter. He is quite poor and his mother urges him to sit the exam to become a mandarin.
39	* TheStrategist: Gu sets up a complex plan to defeat Men Da and his numerous soldiers.
40	* TakingTheVeil: After the battle in the deserted palace, Yang Hui-zhen retires to Hui-yuan's monastery.
41	* TouchOfDeath: Abbot Hui-yuan kills Xu Xian-chun by touching the centre of his forehead.
42	* VicariouslyAmbitious: Gu's mother would like him to sit the exams to become a Mandarin.
43	* WaifFu: The frail Yang Hui-zhen is a [[OneManArmy one-woman army]].
44	* WantedPoster: Gu is asked to copy one with Yang Hui-zhen's face. Later, an old man spots Gu thanks to another poster.
45	* WarriorMonk: The eastern variant. Abbot Hui-yuan is a powerful fighter. His followers are good too.
46	* WireFu: Yang Hui-zhen, her allies and worthy opponents fight this way.
47	* WorldOfBadass: Yang Hui-zhen, General Shi, General Lu, and Abbot Hui-yuan are exceptional fighters. They encounter worthy opponents (Ouyang Nian, Men Da, Xu Xian-chun). Gu becomes TheStrategist.
48	* {{Wuxia}}: In Ming China, Yang Hui-zhen, an honourable warrior, fights against the agents of corrupt Eunuch Wei.

Context Film / ATouchOfZen