# The Yinyang Master (侍神令)
**The Yinyang Master** (侍神令, also released as The Yin Yang Master) is a 2021 Chinese fantasy film directed by Li Weiran and adapted from the mobile game *Onmyōji* by NetEase Games. It stars [Chen Kun](https://www.edgepedia.org/chen-kun) as the yin-yang master Qingming, a half-human, half-demon magician who moves between the human and demon worlds, with [Zhou Xun](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhou-xun), William Chan, Qu Chuxiao, Wang Likun, and Shen Yue in supporting roles.[1](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-yin-yang-master/) The film opened in China on February 12, 2021, the first day of the [Lunar New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/lunar-new-year) holiday,[1](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-yin-yang-master/) and streamed internationally on Netflix, which held exclusive rights outside China in more than 190 countries.[2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-picks-up-the-yin-yang-master)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 侍神令 (Shi Shen Ling); international title The Yinyang Master[3](https://www.justwatch.com/de/Film/Shi-Shen-Ling) |
| Source material | NetEase mobile game *Onmyōji*; the game supplied world-building and character designs, while the screenplay was an original story[4](https://www.sohu.com/a/451228620_732025) |
| Director and producers | Directed by Li Weiran; produced by Chen Kuo-fu and Chang Chia-lu[2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-picks-up-the-yin-yang-master) |
| Lead cast | Chen Kun (Qingming), Zhou Xun (Bai Ni), William Chan (Cimu), Qu Chuxiao (Yuan Boya), Wang Likun (Taohua), Shen Yue[1](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-yin-yang-master/) • [5](https://m.maoyan.com/moviedp/1199007?_v_=yes&channelId=60008) |
| Release | February 12, 2021 in China; Netflix in over 190 countries ex-China[1](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-yin-yang-master/) • [2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-picks-up-the-yin-yang-master) |
| Running time | 120 minutes, cut from a first edit of nearly 150 minutes[6](https://www.sohu.com/a/450462482_100035040) |
| Visual effects | More than 2,300 VFX shots and 28 digital characters; the cinematographer counted over 30 CG characters with 90% of shots CG-assisted[7](https://www.yulelaw.com/law/static/law/content/detail/d81404f4-94eb-400f-a453-78971af7aa50.pdf) • [4](https://www.sohu.com/a/451228620_732025) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film is set in ancient China in a period modeled loosely on the [Tang dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/tang-dynasty), in the city of Pingjing. Qingming (Chen Kun) is a member of the Yinyang Bureau of Daoist masters whose job is to rid the world of evil demons, but as a half-human, half-demon he is distrusted by both worlds. He is accused of murdering a fellow master, his best friend Cimu ([William Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-chan)), and of trying to steal the Scale Stone, the relic that protects the city from the evil serpent Xiangliu.[8](https://sino-cinema.com/tag/zhang-jialu/) After leaving the Bureau, he makes private contracts with a group of outcast demons who become his shishen (servant spirits), while the villain Cimu seeks the power of the demon emperor, the great serpent, to unify the realm. Bai Ni (Zhou Xun), head of the Yinyang Bureau and responsible for suppressing demons, was Qingming's childhood companion; the two are bound by a shishen contract of their own. At the crisis point Qingming discovers that his hybrid human-demon identity is the key to the calamities, and that only his own sacrifice can bring peace.[4](https://www.sohu.com/a/451228620_732025) • [5](https://m.maoyan.com/moviedp/1199007?_v_=yes&channelId=60008)
The title refers to the contract at the heart of the story. Producer and co-writer Chang Chia-lu described the shishen pact as the decision to devote oneself to another person, comparable to the bond between close friends, lovers, or a person and a pet, and said the demons give this devotion more purely than humans do. Director Li Weiran defined it as a contract in which one willingly gives of oneself for the other.[6](https://www.sohu.com/a/450462482_100035040)
## Adaptation from the game
NetEase brought the *Onmyōji* game rights to Chang Chia-lu's team in 2016, and screenplay work began in March 2017, taking about a year and a half before shooting started.[6](https://www.sohu.com/a/450462482_100035040) Because the original game was designed for the Japanese market with a Heian-period Japanese setting, the filmmakers carried out what Chang called extensive sinicization: they invented Chinese official titles such as the Jinwu Guard, an office dating from the [Han dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/han-dynasty), and modeled the architecture mainly on Tang-dynasty buildings.[6](https://www.sohu.com/a/450462482_100035040) The game, a turn-based RPG, supplied no plot; it provided only world-building background and basic character designs, so the film's story was written from scratch.[4](https://www.sohu.com/a/451228620_732025) To keep game players engaged, character designs and settings such as Qingming's courtyard stayed close to the game's art, while the film's themes were aimed at a broader audience.[9](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=3bad0e02ad10724dcaee905e)
## Production
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) ran about five months, from September 2018 to January 2019, with roughly three and a half months of that on built sets inside studios; the Red Chamber set was excavated 12 meters below ground level.[4](https://www.sohu.com/a/451228620_732025) • [6](https://www.sohu.com/a/450462482_100035040) The film was among the first Chinese productions shot on the ARRI Alexa LF large-format camera, mixed with ARRI and Cooke lenses.[4](https://www.sohu.com/a/451228620_732025) It used IMAX full-frame cameras and real-time VFX compositing.[10](https://chinafilmnews.cn/UploadFiles/file/20210113/202101130401199265.pdf)
**Visual effects workload.** The film contains more than 2,300 visual effects shots and 28 digital characters,[7](https://www.yulelaw.com/law/static/law/content/detail/d81404f4-94eb-400f-a453-78971af7aa50.pdf) and cinematographer Wang Boxue put the count at over 30 CG characters with 90% of all shots requiring CG assistance. Because so much work had to be settled before shooting, pre-production meetings ran weekly, and the entire film was previsualized in 3D: storyboard artists worked alongside an action unit shooting demos, a 2D animation team developed the spell-battle sequences, and a 3D animation team developed the CG characters' motion.[4](https://www.sohu.com/a/451228620_732025) [Post-production](https://www.edgepedia.org/post-production) lasted about two years.[7](https://www.yulelaw.com/law/static/law/content/detail/d81404f4-94eb-400f-a453-78971af7aa50.pdf)
The international crew included [Japanese art](https://www.edgepedia.org/japanese-art) director Yoshihito Akatsuka (*[Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back](https://www.edgepedia.org/journey-to-the-west-the-demons-strike-back)*, *Kill Bill*), composer Shigeru Umebayashi (*[In the Mood for Love](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-the-mood-for-love)*, *The Grandmaster*), and action choreographer Nicky Li, a Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards winner.[2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-picks-up-the-yin-yang-master) The first cut ran nearly 150 minutes; scenes were removed to reach 120 minutes, including a scene of Qingming waking at night in his courtyard, which the director regretted cutting.[6](https://www.sohu.com/a/450462482_100035040)
## Release and reception
The film opened across China on February 12, 2021, competing in the Lunar New Year holiday slot.[1](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-yin-yang-master/) Its opening-day screening share was 9.6%, fourth among the seven holiday releases, and its box office then slid to the bottom of the holiday field, a result the trade press attributed largely to a plot that confused audiences despite the film's strong credentials.[11](https://www.jiemian.com/article/5716171.html) Early audience scores split by platform: 6.4 on Douban, where reviewers praised the visuals and Chen Kun's performance but criticized the pacing and storytelling, against 9.0 on both Maoyan and Taopiaopiao.[12](https://www.gamersky.com/news/202102/1362724.shtml) Netflix picked up exclusive streaming rights outside China in February 2021, releasing the film in over 190 countries.[2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-picks-up-the-yin-yang-master)
**Critical response.** Derek Elley's Sino-Cinema review rated the film 5/10, calling it a VFX-laden costume fantasy with many cute animals that brought nothing fresh.[8](https://sino-cinema.com/tag/zhang-jialu/) On Rotten Tomatoes the audience Popcornmeter stood at 78%, with fewer than 50 ratings.[13](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_yin_yang_master) Reviewers frequently compared it with *The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity*, a different 2021 adaptation of the same source material released a few months earlier; some viewers preferred the earlier film's more complex story, while one reviewer called *The Yinyang Master* the superior telling of the Onmyōji story for 2021 despite its plot leaps.[14](https://www.scribblinggeek.com/index.php/2021/03/31/the-yinyang-master-movie-review/) • [15](https://screenpotatoes.com/2021/03/20/the-yinyang-master/)
## References
1. [Trailer: 'The Yin Yang Master', Far East Films (2020)](https://fareastfilms.com/fef-news/trailer-the-yin-yang-master/)
2. [Netflix Picks Up The Yin Yang Master, About Netflix (9 February 2021)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-picks-up-the-yin-yang-master)
3. [The Yinyang Master, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/de/Film/Shi-Shen-Ling)
4. [专访《侍神令》摄影指导王博学, Sohu / 中国影视摄影师学会 (2021)](https://www.sohu.com/a/451228620_732025)
5. [侍神令, Maoyan](https://m.maoyan.com/moviedp/1199007?_v_=yes&channelId=60008)
6. [被删减的《侍神令》，幕后制作大揭秘｜专访监制张家鲁导演李蔚然, Sohu (2021)](https://www.sohu.com/a/450462482_100035040)
7. [《侍神令》法律与产业分析文件, YuleLaw](https://www.yulelaw.com/law/static/law/content/detail/d81404f4-94eb-400f-a453-78971af7aa50.pdf)
8. [Review: The Yinyang Master (2021), Sino-Cinema](https://sino-cinema.com/tag/zhang-jialu/)
9. [主创独家揭秘：这方面，《侍神令》领先国产电影, Baidu Baike TA说](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=3bad0e02ad10724dcaee905e)
10. [《侍神令》制作特辑报道, China Film News (2021)](https://chinafilmnews.cn/UploadFiles/file/20210113/202101130401199265.pdf)
11. [春节档败北后，《侍神令》抓不到"救命稻草", Jiemian JMedia (2021)](https://www.jiemian.com/article/5716171.html)
12. [《侍神令》豆瓣6.4：陈坤演技在线 但剧情节奏拖沓, GamerSky (2021)](https://www.gamersky.com/news/202102/1362724.shtml)
13. [The Yin Yang Master, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_yin_yang_master)
14. [Asian Movie Review – The YinYang Master (侍神令), The Scribbling Geek (2021)](https://www.scribblinggeek.com/index.php/2021/03/31/the-yinyang-master-movie-review/)
15. [Netflix電影《侍神令》評價心得, Netflix追劇筆記本 (2021)](https://screenpotatoes.com/2021/03/20/the-yinyang-master/)
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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 2020s › Fantasy films of the 2020s*
*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