| The King of Blaze | |
| Hanzi: | Chinese: 古鏡奇譚之二：火王 |
| Romanized: | Huo3-Wang2; Huǒ wáng |
| Genre: | Action, contemporary fantasy, historical fantasy, romance, supernatural |
| Author: | You Su-lan |
| Illustrator: | You Su-lan |
| Publisher: | Da Ran Culture (1992) Kung-Long Int. (2001; 2019, e-book[1]) |
| Publisher Other: |  Chuang Yi[2]  Tre Publishing House |
| Magazine: | Gong Juu Comics |
| First: | 1991 |
| Volumes: | 13 (first edition) 14 (new edition) |
The King of Blaze, also known as Fire King (Chinese: t=火王|zhu=ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄨㄤˊ|w=Huo3-Wang2|p=Huǒwáng|l=Fire King or 'The King of Fire'; Dutch; Flemish: De Brand Koning), is a Taiwanese comic book series (called manhua in Taiwan) written and illustrated by the comic artist, serialized in Gong Juu Comics (Princess Comic Magazine) since 1991 and published in tankōbon format by from 1992 to 1998. The series is the 2nd installment of The Seven Mirrors' Stories collection, and is considered to be one of Taiwan's first danmei comics.[3]
The story takes place three years after the disappearance of the mausoleum of Li Ying, a fictional Tang dynasty imperial princess (see Melancholic Princess) who is the past life of Wei Yung-chien. Yung-chien meets Teles Connelly Downey, a Dutch-American entrepreneur and CEO based in New York City who is the reincarnation of Chung Tien, the god of fire (king of blaze), and they both share a familiar feeling with each other.
Yung-chien continues her search for the seven bronze mirrors that represent the seven gods, with the hope to find Shang Hsüan again. Meanwhile, Downey's memories of his past life in the Tang dynasty (7th century) begin to surface, in that life when he met his twin flame Ssŭ-tu Fêng-chien, an elegant and exquisite fortune teller who is the reincarnation of Chien Mei, the god of wind. Initially, Chung Tien didn't recognise that he has been one of the seven gods in their first past lives due to his cross-dressing and stunning feminine look.
Fêng-chien was wounded by the gold phoenix hairpin made by Chung Tien, as no one can survive being wounded by his metalwork... Will Chung Tien find him again no matter how many centuries pass? How does Downey fit into this never-ending wheel of fate?
| No. | Title | Literal translation | Da Ran Culture | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publication date | ISBN | ||||
| Volume 1 | Chinese: 火王再現 | The Reappearance of the King of Blaze | 1 June 1992 | ||
| Volume 2 | Chinese: 赫爾拉娜 | Herlana, the Water Mirror | 1 December 1992 | ||
| Volume 3 | Chinese: 獵謀隱獸 | Hunt for the Hidden Beast | 1 June 1993 | ||
| Volume 4 | Chinese: 曙光前世 | Dawn of the Memories of the Past Lives | 1 December 1993 | ||
| Volume 5 | Chinese: 記憶唐時 | The Memories of Tang Dynasty | 1 April 1994 | ||
| Volume 6 | Chinese: 羽韻蒼飛 | The Flying Feathers | 1 October 1994 | ||
| Volume 7 | Chinese: 如夢隔世 | A Dream Between Two Worlds | 1 February 1995 | ||
| Volume 8 | Chinese: 昭誓今生 | A Lifetime Pledge | 1 July 1995 | ||
| Volume 9 | Chinese: 火焰血誓 | The Fiery Blood Vow | 1 February 1996 | ||
| Volume 10 | Chinese: 浩渺之鷹 | The Celestial Hawk | 1 December 1996 | ||
| Volume 11 | Chinese: 日升月恆 | The Eternity | 1 July 1997 | ||
| Volume 12 | Chinese: 雨過天涯 | Rain Over the End of Horizon | 1 December 1997 | ||
| Volume 13 | Chinese: 永恆的起點 | The Eternal Starting Point | 1 February 1998 | ||
| No. | Title | Literal translation | Kung-Long International Publishing Co. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publication date | ISBN | ||||
| 1 | Chinese: 重生之章 | The Chapter of Rebirth | 1 November 2001 | ||
| 2 | Chinese: 今塵照命 | The Reflection of Destiny | 1 December 2001 | ||
| 3 | Chinese: 曙光前世 | Dawn of the Memories of the Past Lives | 1 February 2002 | ||
| 4 | Chinese: 記憶唐時 | The Memories of Tang Dynasty | 1 March 2002 | ||
| 5 | Chinese: 羽韻蒼飛 | The Flying Feathers | 1 April 2002 | ||
| 6 | Chinese: 凝眸曾經 | Eyes on the Past | 1 May 2002 | ||
| 7 | Chinese: 如夢隔世 | A Dream Between Two Worlds | 1 June 2002 | ||
| 8 | Chinese: 昭誓今生 | A Lifetime Pledge | 1 July 2002 | ||
| 9 | Chinese: 遠颺蒼鷹 | The Flying Hawk | 1 August 2002 | ||
| 10 | Chinese: 相會神陵 | Reunion in the Divine Mausoleum | 1 September 2002 | ||
| 11 | Chinese: 浩渺來生 | Remote Vision of the Afterlife | 1 October 2002 | ||
| 12 | Chinese: 昂首寂寥 | No Fear of Loneliness | 1 December 2002 | ||
| 13 | Chinese: 日升月恆 | The Eternity | 1 January 2003 | ||
| 14 | Chinese: 終章 | The Final Chapter | 1 March 2003 | ||
Two illustrated books by the same artist derived from The King of Blaze, which contain most of the pictures of the two main characters Chung Tien and Ssŭ-tu Fêng-chien (Chien Mei).
The King of Blaze is adapted into a television series of the same name by Mango TV,[8] which aired on Hunan TV in 2018.[9]
The series received generally negative responses from both critics and audience due to the huge differences between the manhua and its adaptation, and turning the BL (Boys' Love) manhua into a BG (Boy & Girl) drama.[10] Douban gave it a 3.8 out of 10 rating, based on 5141 reviews, indicating "negative reviews".[11] It has been questioned by the audience if the series is anything like the book except the names of some main characters. And the casting and special effects have been criticised for being inappropriate and horrible, respectively.[12]
The King of Blaze sold 70 thousand each tankōbon volume in Taiwan, and over 30 million collected tankōbon volumes of pirated edition in China, and reprinted 62 times.[13] [14] [15] It was selected as the most popular manhua among Asian comics published in Taiwan (including Hong Kong manhua, Japanese manga, and Korean manhwa) by the Reader's Choice Vote held by the Taiwanese newspaper China Times, in 1997.[16]
In The Application of Comics on General Education: A Study of the Body Implication in the Comics titled "Chingguo-Yuanling" and "Huo-Wang" by Su-Lan Yu, an article published in an academic journal of National Chung Hsing University, the author concludes after a detailed analysis: