# The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang
**The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang** (神探蒲松龄, *Shentan Pu Songling*, also released as *神探蒲松龄之兰若仙踪*) is a 2019 Chinese fantasy action comedy in which [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan) plays a fictionalized version of the writer [Pu Songling](https://www.edgepedia.org/pu-songling) as a demon-hunting detective investigating the disappearance of young girls from a village.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) • [7](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2019/05/22/the-knight-of-shadows-between-yin-and-yang-2019-review/) Directed by Yan Jia, it opened in mainland China on February 5, 2019, the first day of the [Lunar New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/lunar-new-year) holiday, and grossed $22,799,838 worldwide, well below the expectations attached to a Jackie Chan holiday release.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Shentan-pusong-ling-%28China%29%282019%29) • [3](https://www.iqiyi.com/common/20190212/7df485e24678da2d.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chinese title | 神探蒲松龄 (*Shentan Pu Songling*), alternate title 神探蒲松龄之兰若仙踪[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) |
| Director | Yan Jia (credited as Vash on Rotten Tomatoes and Apple TV)[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_knight_of_shadows_between_yin_and_yang_2019) |
| Release | February 5, 2019, mainland China, timed to the Lunar New Year[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) • [3](https://www.iqiyi.com/common/20190212/7df485e24678da2d.html) |
| Runtime | 108 minutes; Mandarin and Cantonese[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) |
| Worldwide box office | $22,799,838, of which China accounted for $22,687,180[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Shentan-pusong-ling-%28China%29%282019%29) |
| Source material | Adapted from Pu Songling's story collection *Liaozhai Zhiyi* (Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio)[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) |
| Critical reception | 31% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from only a handful of reviews; fewer than 50 audience ratings[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_knight_of_shadows_between_yin_and_yang) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and story
Pu Songling, presented as a famous literary figure who wields the Yin-Yang Judgment as a supernatural detective, teams up with the constable Yan Fei (Austin Lin) to investigate the disappearance of girls in the town of Jinhua.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) He is aided by a group of friendly little demons with names such as "Zhu Shi Hu," "Pi Pi," "Wang You," and "Qian Shou," and the investigation leads into a tragic love story.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) • [10](https://www.cpophome.com/the-knight-of-shadows-between-yin-and-yang-jackie-chan-ethan-juan/)
The backstory draws directly on the best-known tale from *Liaozhai Zhiyi*. Yan Chixia ([Ethan Juan](https://www.edgepedia.org/ethan-juan)) was in a former life a snake demon who met the human [Nie Xiaoqian](https://www.edgepedia.org/nie-xiaoqian) (Zhong Chuxi, billed internationally as Elane Zhong) and hid in her shadow under the name Ning Caichen. To give him a true human body, Xiaoqian traded her own shadow for his demon core, which turned him into the knight-errant Yan Chixia while she became a soul-sucking demon.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/) In the main plotline, the demoness Xiaoqian abducts village girls in partnership with a mirror demon played by Lin Peng.[9](https://incinemas.sg/details/the-knight-of-shadows-between-yin-and-yang--3484)
## Cast and production
The film was produced by iQIYI Pictures as the company's first release of 2019, with Sparkle Roll Media and Golden Shore Films & [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) among the production companies.[3](https://www.iqiyi.com/common/20190212/7df485e24678da2d.html) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_knight_of_shadows_between_yin_and_yang_2019) Alongside Jackie Chan, Ethan Juan, Zhong Chuxi, and Austin Lin, the cast includes Lin Peng, Qiao Shan, Pan Changjiang, Kingdom Yuen, and the Luu brothers.[10](https://www.cpophome.com/the-knight-of-shadows-between-yin-and-yang-jackie-chan-ethan-juan/) Filming took place in [Zhangjiajie](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhangjiajie) and at Liaozhai City in Zichuan, Zibo, in Shandong Province, and the theme song "Shuangsheng Yan" (双生焰) was performed by Zhang Liangying.[11](https://m.1905.com/m/film/info/2244118.shtml) iQIYI also produced a 23-minute VR version for viewing at Digital Domain Space VR cinemas across China.[3](https://www.iqiyi.com/common/20190212/7df485e24678da2d.html)
International circulation was limited: Well Go USA released the film on home video in the United States on January 21, 2020 as *The Knight of Shadows*, and it received a belated limited theatrical release in Russia (CIS) on February 23, 2023, adding $112,658 to its total.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Shentan-pusong-ling-%28China%29%282019%29)
## Box office and reception
The Lunar New Year slot was expected to deliver blockbuster returns, but the film opened at only [No. 6](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-6) in the Chinese chart with about US$23 million over its first weekend, far short of expectations.[5](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/274398/kritik.html) A frequently cited factor was competition from *The Wandering Earth*, the science-fiction drama that opened the same weekend and became one of the biggest Chinese hits of the year.[5](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/274398/kritik.html)
Critics generally praised Chan's performance while faulting the script. [The Straits Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-straits-times) reviewer Benson Ang gave it 3 out of 5, judging that the film "goes off the rails" when a secondary melodramatic plot appears; The New Paper's Jasmine Lim gave it 3.5 out of 5, noting that Chan "oozes an easy, effortless, impish charm."[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_knight_of_shadows_between_yin_and_yang) The German site FILMSTARTS scored it 2.5 out of 5, arguing that the overloaded screenplay by Boham Liu tries to be a fantasy epic in the manner of *A Chinese Ghost Story*, fast action spectacle, and a tragic romance at the same time, and none of the genres fully works.[5](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/274398/kritik.html)
The review by the Asian Film Critic website Asian Film Strike, written by LP Hugo, called the film visually lavish, singling out a fight in a mirror demon's lair in which the upper and lower halves of Chan's body fight independently, and credited first-rate contributions from composer Zhao Zhao, cinematographer Choi Yeong-hwan, and art director Jiu Cheng, but found the whole weighed down by childish humor, unpolished CGI, and a stock tragic love story.[7](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2019/05/22/the-knight-of-shadows-between-yin-and-yang-2019-review/) A review at Asian Movie Pulse similarly described weakly rendered computer-generated creatures that break immersion.[8](https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/01/film-review-the-knight-of-shadows-2019-by-jia-yan/) On Rotten Tomatoes the film held a 31% Tomatometer score from a very small number of reviews, with fewer than 50 audience ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_knight_of_shadows_between_yin_and_yang)
For Chan personally, the role marked a return to comic playfulness after the darker turns of *The Foreigner* (2017) and *[Bleeding Steel](https://www.edgepedia.org/bleeding-steel)* (2017), and reviewers consistently identified his charisma as the film's main asset.[5](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/274398/kritik.html) • [7](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2019/05/22/the-knight-of-shadows-between-yin-and-yang-2019-review/)
## References
1. [神探蒲松龄 (2019), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2244118/)
2. [The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_knight_of_shadows_between_yin_and_yang)
3. [iQIYI Announces Theatrical Release of "The Knight of Shadows" Starring Jackie Chan](https://www.iqiyi.com/common/20190212/7df485e24678da2d.html)
4. [Shéntàn púsōng líng (2019), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Shentan-pusong-ling-%28China%29%282019%29)
5. [Kritik zu The Knight Of Shadows, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/274398/kritik.html)
6. [The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang (2019), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_knight_of_shadows_between_yin_and_yang_2019)
7. [The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang (2019) review, Asian Film Strike](https://asianfilmstrike.com/2019/05/22/the-knight-of-shadows-between-yin-and-yang-2019-review/)
8. [Film Review: The Knight of Shadows (2019) by Jia Yan, Asian Movie Pulse](https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/01/film-review-the-knight-of-shadows-2019-by-jia-yan/)
9. [The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang, InCinemas Singapore](https://incinemas.sg/details/the-knight-of-shadows-between-yin-and-yang--3484)
10. [The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang – Chinese Movie 2019, CPOP HOME](https://www.cpophome.com/the-knight-of-shadows-between-yin-and-yang-jackie-chan-ethan-juan/)
11. [神探蒲松龄 详细资料, 1905电影网](https://m.1905.com/m/film/info/2244118.shtml)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 2010s › Fantasy films of the 2010s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license