The Legend of Qin (), also known as Qin's Moon, is a Chinese CG animated wuxia television series produced by Robin Shen (), and directed by Chen Qianyuan (). The story is based on the novel of the same title by Taiwanese writer Sayling Wen (). It is China's first 3D animated series, produced by Sparkly Key Animation Studio (Sparkly Key) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The series was first broadcast around the Lunar New Year in 2007.
The tile means "bright moon of the Qin era", quoted from poems by the Tang dynasty poet Wang Changling. The names of two main characters – Tianming and Yue'er – correspond to the ming (bright) and yue (moon) in the Chinese title. The story spans a 30-year period (including memories) from the founding of the Qin dynasty in 221 BC to its fall in 206 BC. It features a young man named Tianming, who becomes a hero and changes the course of history with his exploits.
Synopsis The Legend of Qin follows the history of the Qin dynasty from the conquests that unified China in 221 BC to the fall of the Qin capital Xianyang in 206 BC.
The story revolves around a young protagonist, Jing Tianming who carries the blood of a hero, maturing from a weak and ignorant young boy into a great hero who singlehandedly changes the course of history. It chronicles his meeting with his protector, the master swordsman Ge Nie, who has betrayed the Qin Empire in order to protect Tianming. They join with the Mohists in the Machinery City who, after being attacked by the Qin forces, seek the protection and assistance of the Confucianists in Shanghai. The Emperor enlists the aid of the army under General Meng and other groups such as Quicksand, the Yin-Yang School and the Net Trap Organization to defeat the rebel forces. During this period, the Emperor is also constructing a great wall for defence of the empire, and builds a floating city to travel to three Immortal Mountains outside the East Sea of Shanghai city to obtain an elixir of immortality.
The story unfolds on an epic scale, weaving history, fantasy and mythology with martial arts, swordsmanship, mechanical devices and magic. It traces an era of change, where, amidst the chaos and in the face of violence, dangerous enemies, difficult family relationships, friendship, love, sorrows and joys, eventually lead to the end of one era and the start of a new era in this romantic legend.
Characters
Jing Tianming: He is a bright and cheerful 12-year-old boy. He is playful although mischievous and is protective of his friends. He has a crush on Gao Yue (Yue-er), a girl under the care of Mohists, though he thinks that her big sister, Duanmu Rong, is a cold person. He sees Ge Nie as a father figure, and aspires to become a swordsman just like him. He also has a rivalry with Xiang Shaoyu, and a playful relationship with Master Ban. He has a passionate love of food (mainly roasted mountain pheasants) and goes berserk if someone eats his food or destroys it. Although quite shallow in certain aspects, his loyalty, bravery and innocence stand out as some of his more positive traits. Two driving aspects of his character are to become one of the most famous swordsmen in the world and the belief that his father will return to him one day. Gao Yue: Also known as Yue-er, she is a princess of the former Yan Kingdom and Yan Dan's daughter. She is quite cheerful, playful and generous, as well as kind and innocent. She generally gets along with everyone. She and Tianming are good friends, and she treats Duanmu Rong as her older sister, referring her as "Sister Rong". She is bright and intelligent and can analyse things very accurately. She solved mysteries in the Forbidden Land when nobody else knew the answers. She possesses great talent in Yin-Yang techniques and is taken into the Yin-Yang School by Moon Goddess. She is told that her real name is Ji Ru () and her courtesy name is Qian Long (), bearing the same family name as Moon Goddess. Xiang Shaoyu: Shaoyu is from the royal tribe of the former Chu Kingdom. His character is based on the historical figure Xiang Yu, who defeated the Qin dynasty with his army. He is very proud of his tribe, is extremely strong and has excellent kung fu skills. He has a friendly, cheerful and warm personality and quite knowledgeable. He is a logical thinker, good at analysing situations and events. He and Tianming have a friendly rivalry and behave more like siblings and insisted on Tianming calling him Big Brother. Shi Lan: Her real name is Xiao Yu and she is from the Shu tribe. She is a quiet and mysterious character initially working in Chief Ding's restaurant, but is extremely skilled in martial arts, lightness skills and the magic arts. She saved Tianming and Shaoyu who in later episodes seems to have fallen in love with her. It is possible her character is inspired by the historical figure Yu Ji, Xiang Yu's most loved consort. Ge Nie: A very important character in the story, he is the most powerful warrior in the Qin dynasty. Because of his skills, he became the primary guard of the king of Qin dynasty, however he betrayed the king and left the capital city Xianyang. His purpose was to save the young Jing Tianming from the king and protect him from the king' agents until they joined The Mohist (Mo Jia) group. During their period together, Ge Nie taught Jing Tianming, helping him to mature. Wei Zhuang: Wei Zhuang is the second strongest warrior in the Qin dynasty. He is different from Ge Nie, in that he is not interested in following anyone's orders. He created the Quicksand (Liu Sha) organization, a group of warriors some see as mercenary killers available for hire to the highest bidder. Wei Zhuang and Ge Nie had the same teacher at the Ghost Valley School who taught them to how to fight and think. Their teacher was the most incredible person within the Qin dynasty and no one fully understood what his ability is or who he really was. Because Wei Zhuang had evil within his spirit, the master chose Ge Nie to succeed him, angering Wei Zhuang who fought Ge Nie to prove he was the best. The Qin Shi Huang, king of the Qin dynasty, hired Wei Zhuang to capture Jing Tianming.
Media Episodes
Season 1: The first season of The Legend of Qin, explaining about Emperor Qin's wild ambitions to bring all six nations into one. This story began from Ge Nie rebelling from the Qin Empire and finding an orphaned boy named Tianming. Ge Nie was severely injured and luckily met Shaoyu from the Kingdom of Chu. At the same time, Emperor Qin had teamed up with the Han Kingdom's assassin group, known as Quicksand - consisting of Wei Zhuang as the leader to destroy the Machinery City. This was also when the disciples of Mohists first appeared - one of the philosophers that focuses on anti-war and universal love, started by Mozi. Duanmu Rong was a divine physician and Gao Yue was her assistant. Gao Yue (Yue-er) is discovered to be the princess of the Yan Kingdom, and that Wei Zhuang had killed her father. Together, they brave adventures and fight against Ying Zheng (Emperor Qin) for each other and the world. Eventually, they also met Da Tiechui and Xuenu, with Gao Jianli yet to arrive - also being Mohist disciples. Season 2: The second season was when Emperor Qin had sent Quicksand to destroy the Machinery City, the lair of Mohists. Wei Zhuang, the leader of Quicksand sent his subordinates to poison the water in the Machinery City, causing everyone to lose their defence. He then seized the Machinery City. At the same time, Duanmu Rong had sent the three kids, Tianming, Shaoyu and Gao Yue into the forbidden grounds of Mohists, a place where nobody could enter without permission. Getting past all the phases in the forbidden grounds required more than alertness, and strength, but also the ability to reason and think within a very short amount of time. Together, they pass through phases of tests, growing stronger together and fighting against Quicksand and Gongshu Chou, an anti-Mohist who is on Quicksand's team and built his mechanisms especially to deal with Mohists. In the end, it was one on one battle between Ge Nie with Wei Zhuang, Yue-er being taken by the Moon Goddess and Tianming suddenly appearing from Ge Nie's back and stabbing him. Season 3: Season three ended where Ge Nie and Wei Zhuang were about to fight, but Ge Nie seemingly was attacked by Tianming in the back. It was really not Tianming who did that, but Black Unicorn. Ge Nie and Wei Zhuang came from the same sect, called Ghost Valley. This sect only takes in two disciples and the two must fight until one wins and the other loses. Unfortunately, Ge Nie is knocked unconscious and Tianming being threatened to be killed if the remaining Mohists disciples did not fight Wei Zhuang's team. The battle arc showed a bit of Ge Nie and Tianming's past, as well as Gao Jianli, Xuenu and Da Tiechui's pasts, with flashbacks showing the meaning of true strength, dying for a brother, one of the most beautiful dances and a crazy hyper Tianming's father, Jing Ke who simply loved one. All these pasts showed the unique backgrounds of the characters and where they draw their strengths. The next arc revolved around the Confucianists helping out Mohists (even though usually those two never have any associations with each other) but they have decided to put aside their differences. Also, Yin-Yang theorists looks as if they are up to something. Yue-er was given a new name and told she was Jiru Qianlong and looks like a major event is going to happen with Mirage, a city on the ocean. Season 4: The fourth season takes place after the Mechanical City has collapsed and the Mohists are almost eliminated. The Qin Empire plans for a period of peace and prosperity and the Emperor utilizes a huge amount of labor to build the Great Wall and plans more sophisticated programs. There is apprehension in the city about the function of the giant boat "Mirage" which appears off the coast. Various rebel factions came together in Shanghai to defeat the Emperor's ambition. The Emperor and his forces, including the Quicksand group, the Yin-Yang School, Net Trap Organization and swordsman Shengqi are all arraigned against the rebel group comprising the Mohists, Confucianists and the Taoists. Tianming's education and training continue as he is faced with more and more challenges as leader of the Mohists. Season 5: Season Five continues the struggle of the Mohists and their allies against the Qin Empire in Shanghai and Crown Prince Fusu has a prominent role. A new character from the Taoist school (Heaven clan) Leader Xiaomeng (means "Dawn-dream", Chinese: 晓梦; pinyin: xiǎo mèng) appears on the side of the Qin. The Peasant School takes on a major role as leaders of the six Halls struggle for supremacy and to be the Xia Kui successor. The young and powerful General Zhang Han and the Shadow Division also make an entrance. Wei Zhuang and the Quicksand Group form and uneasy alliance with the Mohists and try to enlist the aid of the warring Peasant School. Tianming, Shaoyu and Shi Lan continue their search for Yue-er on the ship, Mirage. Season 6, Part 1: Season 6 continues with the Peasant School selecting the Xia Kui to lead the Six Halls while Jing Ni's identity, a Heaven-leveled assassin from Net Trap that sneaked into the Peasant School, is revealed. The Six Halls now faces another crisis against the Qin Empire: Wang Li and his army. Han Xin offers his help after showing his ability and the Xia Kui appoints him to take the lead to push back Wang Li. Han Xin begun to lead 100,000 disciples of the Peasant School and even commands Shaoyu's generals of Chu, with the exception of Zhongli Mei, in a great battle never seen before. Once the Peasant School finally overcame this crisis, the Xia Kui surprisingly arranges a dangerous job for Shengqi and Wu Kuang: To find and rescue the previous Xia Kui, who is held captive in Net Trap.
Specials For full summaries of the Specials, see List of Qin's Moon episodes.