Wisely

Wisely series (Chinese: 衛斯理 (Wai Si Li)), sometimes transliterated "Wesley", is a series of novels about the fictional character of the same name, created by author Ni Kuang.

There are currently 145 Wisely stories, with 136 authored by Ni Kuang. After Ni Kuang's retirement, a Wisely Memoir (衛斯理回憶錄) series was authored by Dr. Ye Lihua, attempting to explain the internal inconsistencies of the previous stories written by Ni Kuang.

The Wai Si Li stories are written as a first person narrative, the conceit being that the Wisely series was created as a record of his adventures and encounters.

Background

Wisely is a legendary character that has many strange encounters. Born into a wealthy and traditional big family, somewhere in the south-eastern region of the Yangtze River. After he grew up he moved to Hong Kong and married the daughter of the head of an underground society.

In the course of his adventures he has visited Earth's core, heaven, hell, the future and alien planets. He has met extraterrestrials, transparent people, seers, and other strange beings. He meets his love, Bai Su (a.k.a. Pai Su or Pak Sue), during his adventuring days, and later searches for his long lost daughter. In the end, due to the influence of his friend Wen Baoyu, he decided to take his family to live on other planet.

Wisely lives in modern ages (1960s-2000s), and lives in Hong Kong (although it is not stated explicitly, it can be deduced from the stories).

Adaptations

The novel series has spawned several movies, TV series, novels and comic books. Wisely is portrayed differently in every version.

Comic book series

• 1.The Adventures of Wisely (8 volumes) is published by Asiapac Singapore. In this series Wisely works as a slightly nerdy export company (who doesn't know anything about exporting business, or any business for that matter - he leaves everything to his employees ) and an adventurer, accompanied by his wife Pai Su.
• 2.The Legend of Wesley Z takes place in an alternate fantasy future, where Wesley is a retired warlord who is in a personal war with his son.

Movies

• 1.The Legend of Wisely. Wisely is played by Sam Hui , where he is a science-fiction novelist. Pai Su is played by Joey Wong.
• 2.The Seventh Curse, starring Chow Yun-fat. In this movie Wisely is an occultist. Pai Su is played by Sibelle Hu.
• 3.The Cat, Wisely Waise Lee is again a novelist. Pai Su is played by Christine Ng.
• 4.Bury Me High, Wisely is played by Chin Kar-lok. Wisely is a computer genius. This is the only Wisely movie which does not feature Pai Su.
• 5.The Wesley's Mysterious File. Wisely (Andy Lau) is an FBI agent living in Los Angeles. Pai Su is played by Shu Qi.

TV series

• 1.The New Adventures of Wisely (starring Michael Tao). In this series Wisely is a Singaporean who co-owns an export/import company. He deals with unexplained phenomena despite his skeptical mind.
• 2.Wisely, The King of Adventure, takes place in a fantasy martial art world. Wisely is played by Nicky Wu Qi Long.
• 3.The W Files (played by Gallen Lo). The series is set in the 1930s.
• 4.Young Wisely, relates Wisely's (David Wu) adventures when still at school. This is the only Wisely TV series which does not to feature Pai Su.

External links

• List of Wisely's novels
• List of Ni Kuang's novels
• Dr. Ye Lihua page