Candle in the Tomb
GenreAction, Adventure, Mystery, Supernatural, Thriller
Based onGhost Blows Out the Light by Zhang Muye
Written byZhang Muye
Bai Yicong
Directed byKong Sheng
StarringJin Dong
Joe Chen
Zhao Da
Ending themeFlowing Down (顺流而下) by Jane Zhang
Country of originChina
Original languageChinese
No. of episodes21
Production
ProducerHou Hongliang
Running time35 minutes
Production companiesDaylight Entertainment
Tencent Penguin Pictures
Dream Author
Original release
NetworkTencent Video
Release19 December 2016 (2016-12-19)

Candle in the Tomb (Chinese: 鬼吹灯之精绝古城) is a 2016 Chinese streaming television series based on the novel Ghost Blows Out the Light. It is directed by Kong Sheng, produced by Hou Hongliang and stars Jin Dong, Joe Chen and Zhao Da.[1] It tells the story of a gang of tomb raiders as they go on adventures and unearth the truth behind a mysterious curse.[2] The drama aired 3 episodes every Monday at 20:00 on Tencent Video from 19 December 2016.

The series received acclaim for its exciting and fast-paced storyline, actors' performance as well as staying true to the novel.[3] It surpassed 200 million views in one day [4] and has over 1.6 billion views in total.[5]

Plot

A former soldier named Hu Bayi meets an old comrade, Wang Kaixuan and ekes out a living by reselling cassette tapes. While helping Wang retrieve a piece of jade from an antiques merchant nicknamed Big Golden Tooth. During the faceoff, Hu's heirloom compass that belonged to a long lineage of tomb raiders was noticed by Big Golden Tooth and Hu and Wang were persuaded to explore the possibility of an alternative job by reselling unearthing antiques as tomb raiders. They later join an archaeological team sponsored by Shirley Yang to find the location of a mysterious ancient city of Jingjue in a desert region, stopping by the Kunlun glaciers and braving the black sandstorms in the process.

Cast

ActorCharacterDescription
Jin DongHu BayiA former soldier who becomes a tomb raider by chance. He acquired specialized knowledge on how to find a grand tomb through fengshui by a book inherited from his grandfather whom also happened to be a tomb raider during his younger days. He is charismatic and well versed in both astrology and fengshui.
Joe ChenShirley YangA wealthy American-born Chinese who works as a photojournalist for National Geographic. Resourceful and calm, she is the main financial sponsor of the archaeological group to search for the ancient city of Jingjue. Unknowingly, Hu Bayi has good affinity with Shirley Yang and always managed to get the group to safety with their teamwork.
Zhao DaWang KaixuanHu Bayi's best friend and right-hand man. Wang is loud, uncouth and greedy at the thought and sight of precious items. His unwillingness to part with potential riches has gotten everyone in trouble more than once throughout the expedition. However, he is definitely the person that Hu Bayi depends on the most during critical moments. An unsung hero that always handled the unseen, minor yet important issues for the group's safety and wellness.
Yue YangBig Golden ToothAn antique dealer who became friends with Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan. He is the main influencer to encourage Hu Bayi to use his secret knowledge of fengshui to make a living as a tomb raider. Big Golden Tooth is also the person who referred Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan to join Professor Chen's expedition to search for the ancient city of Jingjue in the Black Desert.
Wang YongquanAn LimanAn Liman is of Han descendant but leads a nomadic life and was known to be a living map of the desert. He was once saved by a holy white camel in the desert after a sandstorm had dispersed his comrades and his camels became his most important possession in his life. With Professor Chen's entourage and Hu Bayi, he was hired to assist in the search for the ancient city of Jingjue in the Black Desert. Extremely self-preserving and greedy, An joined the group with the promise of a handsome monetary reward and was initially always ready to leave the group and flee at the slightest sign of danger. However, he struck an unlikely friendship with Hu Bayi. Although An Liman ultimately refused to enter the ancient city due to his belief that the death of Professor Hao is an ominous sign, he fulfilled his promise to Hu Bayi to wait outside for their group's return.
Yang XinmingProfessor ChenProfessor Chen is a highly educated archaeologist, antique expert and the expedition leader of the archaeological team. During the expedition, he was able to explain the various relics and strange creatures found in the archaeological process. Unfortunately, due to the deaths of the team and mental shocks experienced through the ordeals of the expedition, Professor Chen ended up losing his mind.
Feng HuiHao AiguoHao Aiguo is a professor of archaeology and student of Professor Chen who has a strong drive to find and protect archaeological finds. He accompanied Professor Chen's archaeological team to find the ancient city, responsible for the logistical preparation of the entire archaeological expedition. At first, he disliked the presence of Hu Bayi & Wang Kaixuan due to the large number of unqualified people who applied to join the archaeological team, but was soon convinced after he heard Hu Bayi's concise explanation on the theories of geomancy and Feng Shui that his ancestors had left behind. Unfortunately, whilst attempting to remove a water canteen from a corpse of the foreigner group that reached the entrance of the ancient city before them, he was bitten on the neck by a serpent, dying instantly before the group reached the ancient city. The group buried him at the entrance of the ancient city in the hopes that he would watch over the ruins in the afterlife.
Kuang MuyeSa DipengSa Dipeng is an eager, bespectacled student of Hao Aiguo and Professor Chen. He believes that extraterrestrials exists. While documenting and exploring the interior of the ancient city of Jingjue, he was affected by the hallucinogenic properties of the Corpse Insense Yam and attacked Chu Jian with his flashlight, after which, he cracked his skull open and died.

Later, it was revealed that Sa, Chu and Ye did not venture into the underground passageway of the ancient city of Jingjue and were all alive, and the deaths of the three were all just a hallucination, leaving Hu Bayi in confusion

Jin ZehaoChu JianChu Jian is an eager student of Hao Aiguo and Professor Chen. While documentating and exploring the interior of the ancient city of Jingjue, Sa Dipeng was affected by the hallucinogenic properties of the Corpse Insense Yam and attacked Chu Jian with his flashlight. Chu Jian lost his balance and fell over a cliff into the void, never to be seen again.

Later, it was revealed that Sa, Chu and Ye did not venture into the underground passageway of the ancient city of Jingjue and were all alive, and the deaths of the three were all just a hallucination, leaving Hu Bayi in confusion.

Fu MeiYe YixinYe Yixin is an eager student of Hao Aiguo and Professor Chen. As the only female student of the team, she is doted upon by the other members of the group. Physically weak, her physical condition deteriorates through the course of the expedition, suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration till their arrival at the ancient city. Inside, the repeated mental shocks from her teammates death took a toll on her declining physical health and she passed away from shock. During the collapse of a burial chamber, her body was then buried by the fallen rubble.

Later, it was revealed that Sa, Chu and Ye did not venture into the underground passageway of the ancient city of Jingjue and were all alive, and the deaths of the three were all just a hallucination, leaving Hu Bayi in confusion.

Zhang YishangYing ZiThe granddaughter of the village chief in Hu Bayi's and Wang Kaixuan's village. She is an accomplished hunter who is extremely proficient with a rifle. She accompanied Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan on their first tomb exploratory attempt. Although she is brave, she is uncomfortable with the ancient rituals found in the tomb and was spooked by the supernatural events that occurred within the tomb.

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominatedResultRef.
20172nd Golden Guduo Media AwardsMost Influential Web SeriesCandle in the TombWon[6]
Best DirectorKong ShengWon
2nd Asia New Media Film FestivalJury Grand PrizeCandle in the TombWon[7]
Most Popular Web SeriesWon

References

  1. ↑ "企鹅影业成立 《鬼吹灯》网剧惊艳亮相". Ent.qq.com. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Highly-anticipated tomb-raiding adventure series on air". Shanghai Daily. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "《鬼吹灯之精绝古城》首播告捷 网友们是这么评价". Piaoliang.com. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "《鬼吹灯之精绝古城》赵达版王凯旋实力吸睛". NetEase.
  5. ↑ "《鬼吹灯之精绝古城》剧情过半点击近16亿 评分远超同类题材". NetEase.
  6. ↑ 2017金骨朵网络影视盛典 吴秀波谭松韵喜夺金骨朵. People's Daily (in Chinese). 1 August 2017.
  7. ↑ 新媒体电影节金海鸥奖 《老九门番外》等领跑. Tencent (in Chinese). 12 July 2017.
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