{ "id": "epjzx5t5cr", "slug": "once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain", "title": "Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain (从前有座灵剑山)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia", "label": "East Asian drama series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_wuxia_martial_arts", "label": "Chinese wuxia and martial-arts serials", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_wuxia_martial_arts" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials", "label": "International serial drama and telenovelas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_international_serials" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain (从前有座灵剑山) is Bixia Guowang's 2013 xianxia web novel, adapted into a Tencent manhua, a 2016 Studio DEEN anime (first Chinese serial animation on Japanese TV), and a 2019 Xu Kai comedy drama.", "snippet": "Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain (从前有座灵剑山) is Bixia Guowang's 2013 xianxia web novel, adapted into a Tencent manhua, a 2016 Studio DEEN anime (first Chinese serial animation on Japanese TV), and a 2019 Xu Kai comedy drama.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_int_serials_east_asia.chinese_wuxia_martial_arts", "markdown": "# Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain (从前有座灵剑山)\n\n**Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain** (从前有座灵剑山) is a Chinese xianxia (immortal-cultivation fantasy) franchise created by the web novelist Bixia Guowang (国王陛下, a pen name meaning \"His Majesty the King\"), which grew from a 2013 web novel into a manhua (Chinese comic books, like Japanese manga), a Japanese-produced animated series, and a 2019 live-action comedy drama.[1](https://m.cnbeta.com.tw/view/774627.htm) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11261994/) The story follows Wang Lu, a young genius with the rare \"empty spirit root\" (空灵根) talent, who enters the Lingjian Sect on the Nine Provinces continent and studies under the sharp-tongued fifth elder Wang Wu, eventually becoming one of the strongest cultivators of his era.[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E5%89%8D%E6%9C%89%E5%BA%A7%E7%81%B5%E5%89%91%E5%B1%B1/17006843?fromModule=lemma_inlink) • [4](https://ent.cri.cn/20191209/38904910-40c3-77ad-3ba2-dac851be763d.html)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original novel | Xianxia web novel by Bixia Guowang, begun in 2013 on Genesis Chinese Net (创世中文网)[1](https://m.cnbeta.com.tw/view/774627.htm) |\n| Manhua | Adapted by Xianman Culture, drawn by Zhu Hua and Jun Xiaomo; serialized on Tencent Comics from August 2014 to 15 August 2023, 889 chapters, 8.59 billion popularity points and a 9.4 platform score[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E5%89%8D%E6%9C%89%E5%BA%A7%E7%81%B5%E5%89%91%E5%B1%B1/17006843?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |\n| Animated series | January 2016, produced with Japan's Studio DEEN; the first Chinese youth-oriented serial animation broadcast on Japanese television[5](https://img3.gelonghui.com/pdf201603/pdf20160324123048207.pdf) |\n| Live-action drama | 37 episodes, premiered 12 November 2019 on iQIYI and Tencent Video; directed by Yu Zhongzhong, starring Xu Kai and Sandrine Pinna[6](https://www.cpophome.com/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain-xu-kai-sandrine-pinna/) |\n| Drama reception | Douban score of 7.3 during its run, later 7.0 from 93,748 ratings; ranked first in effective drama viewership for multiple days after premiere[7](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5136248) • [8](https://movie.douban.com/subject/26877434/?refer=home) |\n| Awards | Named \"2019 Most Influential Web Series\" at the fourth Zhijian forum, the first manhua-adaptation drama to receive that honor[9](https://ah.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0114/c358331-33713673.html) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story and tone\n\nThe premise places a modern-minded protagonist inside a traditional cultivation world. In the drama's telling, as the Mofa catastrophe (末法大劫) descends and the Nine Provinces continent faces crisis, Wang Lu, who carries the spirit of the legendary cultivator Ouyang Shang, enters the weakest of the five great sects, the Lingjian Sect, and becomes the disciple of Wang Wu, a fifth elder described as beautiful, unruly, and extremely sharp-tongued. Using scientific knowledge and high emotional intelligence, he and his companions overcome adversaries and rise to become the strongest in the Nine Provinces.[4](https://ent.cri.cn/20191209/38904910-40c3-77ad-3ba2-dac851be763d.html) • [10](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_19rrhuwkmx.html)\n\nThe franchise is known for deconstruction and parody rather than straightforward plot advancement. A review in The Paper compared the work to a low-budget *Gintama*, noting that its appeal comes from slow dialogue and depictions of everyday life rather than story momentum.[11](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1449760) The drama leans on this register: Wang Lu practices sword techniques through children's games such as beanbag tossing, rubber-band jumping, and chicken fighting, and the master-disciple relationship is built on constant comic bickering.[7](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5136248) Viewers nicknamed it a \"shadiao\" (沙雕, absurd-comedy) series, yet reviewers noted it could also turn serious and move audiences to tears; one commentator compared its handling of deconstruction to *My Own Swordsman* (武林外传) from thirteen years earlier.[12](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/html/2019-12/01/content_12_212857.htm)\n\n## From novel to manhua and anime\n\nBixia Guowang began the novel on Genesis Chinese Net in 2013.[1](https://m.cnbeta.com.tw/view/774627.htm) In August 2014, Tencent Comics adapted it into a manhua, drawn by Zhu Hua and Jun Xiaomo under Xianman Culture, and serialized it until its conclusion on 15 August 2023 at 889 chapters; the platform recorded 8.59 billion popularity points, a 9.4 score, and more than 2.82 million favorites.[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E5%89%8D%E6%9C%89%E5%BA%A7%E7%81%B5%E5%89%91%E5%B1%B1/17006843?fromModule=lemma_inlink) Two print volumes were published by Changjiang Publishing House in September 2016, and the manhua received a nomination for Best Boy's Manga at the fifth Xingman Awards.[3](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E5%89%8D%E6%9C%89%E5%BA%A7%E7%81%B5%E5%89%91%E5%B1%B1/17006843?fromModule=lemma_inlink)\n\nThe animated adaptation premiered in January 2016, a China-Japan co-production in which the Japanese studio Studio DEEN participated, with Tencent Comics and Haoliners Animation among the production committee members and broadcast on Japan's AT-X channel.[13](https://bangumi.tv/subject/146861) • [5](https://img3.gelonghui.com/pdf201603/pdf20160324123048207.pdf) It became the first Chinese youth-oriented serial animation to air on Japanese television.[5](https://img3.gelonghui.com/pdf201603/pdf20160324123048207.pdf) The production's supervisors, Li Xiaoting of Tencent Comics and chief director Li Haoling, said in an interview that the anime added original action scenes to compensate for the slow pacing of the source material, and that the art direction deliberately incorporated Chinese elements such as landscape-painting-style mountains and seas of clouds.[14](https://anitama.slanterns.net/Anitama-Backup/article/6f0ffc2073125d89)\n\n## The 2019 live-action drama\n\nTencent Pictures acquired the drama adaptation rights in October 2015, and producer [Yang Yan](https://www.edgepedia.org/yang-yan) spent four years taking the project from script development to broadcast.[7](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5136248) The drama was produced by iQIYI, Tencent Pictures, Stellar Media (恒星引力), and ABB Productions, directed by Yu Zhongzhong, and filmed with [Xu Kai](https://www.edgepedia.org/xu-kai) as Wang Lu and Sandrine Pinna (张榕容) as Wang Wu, supported by Zhu Yuanbing, Gao Yu'er, and Guo Xiaoting in a special role; it wrapped filming in early January 2019.[15](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0108/c1012-30510211.html) • [6](https://www.cpophome.com/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain-xu-kai-sandrine-pinna/)\n\n**Screenwriting.** The adaptation was handled by ABB's script workshop: head writer Fan Kan (pen name \"Xiaocuncun\") with Li Feifei, Xu Pengpeng, and Fang Qiangqiang, all four graduates of Communication University of China who had worked as a team since 2012.[12](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/html/2019-12/01/content_12_212857.htm) Because the material was new and had no fixed model, the team refined five script drafts, ran three months of comedy table reads, and had comic actors test-perform the material before shooting to check whether every line and joke landed naturally.[7](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5136248) To signal from the first minutes that the show was not a conventional drama, the first episode opens with a three-minute animated sequence narrated by host Zhang Shaogang, beginning \"Once upon a time there was a mountain, and on the mountain there was a temple... wait, no, I got that wrong.\"[7](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5136248)\n\n**Release and marketing.** The drama was announced for broadcast only one day before its premiere on 12 November 2019, part of a late-2019 pattern of zero-promotion launches for costume dramas after regulators restricted entertainment-oriented period dramas during the autumn showcase period.[16](https://www.gzstv.com/a/ea9800aa68854f979886b75285364d7d) iQIYI ran an interactive marketing campaign without pre-launch publicity, staging events around star Xu Kai (including a bathing-themed topic and a cross-dressing event) to reach female viewers the male-oriented property otherwise lacked, and running danmu (comments scrolling over the video screen) joke-writing and photo-editing contests to push the series from the anime fanbase into the mainstream; the show's Weibo topic reached 3.03 billion reads.[17](https://11th.goldenmouse.cn/uploads/soft/200220/1-200220122236.pdf) • [16](https://www.gzstv.com/a/ea9800aa68854f979886b75285364d7d)\n\n**Reception.** The series ranked first in effective drama viewership for multiple consecutive days after its premiere and held a Douban score of 7.3 during its run.[7](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5136248) In January 2020 it was named \"2019 Most Influential Web Series\" at the fourth Zhijian Mobile Influence Summit, the first manhua-adaptation drama to receive the honor, and it also took a \"2019 Top Ten Premium Web Series\" award at the Golden Bone Awards.[9](https://ah.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0114/c358331-33713673.html) • [18](https://hb.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0114/c370738-33716094.html)\n\nReception was not uniform. After the paid-early-finale ending on 29 November 2019, the Douban score fell from 7.6 to 7.3, and critics argued that the second half weakened: the second male lead Hai Yunfan received more screen time than the leads, and the rushed finale left plot threads unresolved.[19](https://movie.douban.com/review/12073031/) The final Douban aggregate stood at 7.0 from 93,748 ratings, with 40.2 percent of voters giving three stars.[8](https://movie.douban.com/subject/26877434/?refer=home) A commentary in the *Guangzhou Daily* group press noted the drama's Weibo topic readership of 3.03 billion as evidence of its reach despite mixed critical views.[16](https://www.gzstv.com/a/ea9800aa68854f979886b75285364d7d)\n\n## Significance as an IP chain\n\nThe property is frequently cited as an example of full-chain IP development: the novel sat with Yuewen Group, Tencent Comics produced the manhua and then the animated version, and Tencent Pictures led the live-action web series, with each stage enlarging the audience for the next.[4](https://ent.cri.cn/20191209/38904910-40c3-77ad-3ba2-dac851be763d.html) The 2019 drama also stood out in a market where male-oriented (男频) web-novel adaptations rarely became hits; even large properties such as *Fights Break Sphere* and *Martial Universe* had underperformed, while *Lingjian Mountain* became the screenwriting team's first breakout success.[12](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/html/2019-12/01/content_12_212857.htm) A 2020 study of web literature adaptation in *Literary Daily* placed it among 2019's notable web-novel-derived series, crediting it with preserving the novel's humorous, banter-heavy style and warm youthful sentiment even after substantial plot changes.[20](https://wyb.chinawriter.com.cn/attachment/202002/26/ad85729e-ee4e-4c9e-9637-11a12a4dc654.pdf) An IP-based mobile game was also in small-scale testing by December 2020, where a reviewer judged the story faithful and the combat design sensible but found the graphics rough.[21](https://www.taptap.cn/review/22524125)\n\n## References\n\n1. [超级网剧《从前有座灵剑山》今日正式开机, cnBeta](https://m.cnbeta.com.tw/view/774627.htm)\n2. [Once Upon A Time in Lingjian Mountain, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11261994/)\n3. [从前有座灵剑山（小说改编漫画）, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%8E%E5%89%8D%E6%9C%89%E5%BA%A7%E7%81%B5%E5%89%91%E5%B1%B1/17006843?fromModule=lemma_inlink)\n4. [《从前有座灵剑山》热播 IP全产业链开发助力, 国际在线](https://ent.cri.cn/20191209/38904910-40c3-77ad-3ba2-dac851be763d.html)\n5. [格隆汇行业研究资料 (2016年3月)](https://img3.gelonghui.com/pdf201603/pdf20160324123048207.pdf)\n6. [Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain, CPOP HOME](https://www.cpophome.com/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain-xu-kai-sandrine-pinna/)\n7. [反套路仙侠剧无厘头到什么程度刚刚好？, 澎湃新闻·壹娱观察](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5136248)\n8. [从前有座灵剑山 (2019), 豆瓣](https://movie.douban.com/subject/26877434/?refer=home)\n9. [漫改剧《从前有座灵剑山》荣获\"2019年度最具影响力网络剧作品\", 人民网安徽](https://ah.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0114/c358331-33713673.html)\n10. [从前有座灵剑山, 爱奇艺](https://www.iqiyi.com/a_19rrhuwkmx.html)\n11. [《从前有座灵剑山》：中日合作的尴尬之作, 澎湃新闻](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1449760)\n12. [这么傻的剧怎么就火了？, 羊城晚报](https://ep.ycwb.com/epaper/ycwb/html/2019-12/01/content_12_212857.htm)\n13. [从前有座灵剑山, Bangumi 番组计划](https://bangumi.tv/subject/146861)\n14. [《从前有座灵剑山》是怎样诞生的, Anitama](https://anitama.slanterns.net/Anitama-Backup/article/6f0ffc2073125d89)\n15. [《从前有座灵剑山》杀青 许凯张榕容演绎另类古装进阶之旅, 人民网](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0108/c1012-30510211.html)\n16. [古装剧流行\"零宣发\"突袭开播？, 新京报 via 广视网](https://www.gzstv.com/a/ea9800aa68854f979886b75285364d7d)\n17. [《从前有座灵剑山》破次元互动营销, 第11届金鼠标数字营销大赛](https://11th.goldenmouse.cn/uploads/soft/200220/1-200220122236.pdf)\n18. [金骨朵网络影视盛典落幕，《灵剑山》荣获\"2019年度十大精品剧集\", 人民网湖北](https://hb.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0114/c370738-33716094.html)\n19. [强行卖腐的《从前有座灵剑山》还是失守了, 豆瓣剧评](https://movie.douban.com/review/12073031/)\n20. [文艺报 (2020年2月26日), 中国作家网](https://wyb.chinawriter.com.cn/attachment/202002/26/ad85729e-ee4e-4c9e-9637-11a12a4dc654.pdf)\n21. [游戏日报对从前有座灵剑山的评价, TapTap](https://www.taptap.cn/review/22524125)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Chinese wuxia and martial-arts serials*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain (从前有座灵剑山)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain (从前有座灵剑山)](https://www.edgepedia.org/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain](https://www.edgepedia.org/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain (从前有座灵剑山)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/once-upon-a-time-in-lingjian-mountain. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain is Bixia Guowang's 2013 xianxia web novel, adapted into a Tencent manhua, a 2016 Studio DEEN anime, and a 2019 Xu Kai comedy drama." }