Western films and TV series, as well as actors and actresses, are extremely popular among Chinese viewers. A film fan and photoshop savvy web celeb, whose ID on Weibo is “Qinghong Zaolegebai” went one step further and created a series of Photoshop posters of Hollywood stars in a historical Chinese TV series adapted from Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical novels of Chinese literature.
The Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh is a classic Chinese novel. The story is based on the bandit Song Jiang and his followers in the Song Dynasty in the twelfth century. The epic portraits 108 characters and describes how the tragic rebellion rose and fell.
Check out the following strangely hilarious cast.
1. Gu Dasao | Angelina Jolie
Shunning the typical life of a housewife, Gu is a martial arts expert renowned for her fierce temper.
Chinese netizens are crazy about Angelina Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt. Her fans signed up a Weibo account to translate and update her Twitter content, since she doesn’t have Weibo. This account has 68,609 followers, even though it is not official.
2. Pan Jinlian | Megan Fox
Pan is a married to the brother of the public hero Wu Song, but starts having an affair with the playboy Ximen Qing. Eventually, she has her husband murdered.
The photoshop artist chose sexy actress and model Megan Fox for the feminine role of Pan Jinlian. Her surname Fox represents attractive and sometimes flirtatious woman.
3. Song Jiang | Denzel Washington
Song was the head of the soldier rebellion who fought against the authorities of the Song Dynasty (a Dynasty was unrelated to the Song Jiang). His dark face was his eye-catching feature.
Denzel Washington is well recognized among Chinese fans. On Douban, a leading Chinese social networking website, there is a collection of 69 films and TV series in which Washington directed or acted, many of which received positive comments from Chinese fans.
4. Chao Gai | Hugh Jackman
Chao was the successor of Song Jiang. This tall and masculine character was good at Kung Fu. He joined the outlaws in Liangshan marsh after taking part in the robbery of a convoy.
Hugh Jackman is no stranger to Chinese netizens. On Weibo, China’s largest social media, users set up a webpage for Hugh Jackman. As of now, the page has been visited 93.17 million times.
5. Guan Sheng | Keanu Reeves
Guan Sheng was a general in the imperial army. He led a force against the Liangshan outlaws, but was eventually tricked, captured, and then persuaded to join the rebels.
Keanu Reeves is familiar to film fans in China with the movie the Matrix. The actor, director, and poet has a webpage on Weibo created by his fans; it has been read over four million times.
6. Gongsun Sheng| Johnny Depp
Gongsun Sheng was a Taoist priest. His magical powers allowed him to summon the wind and the rain, and ride the mist and cloud, earning him the nickname of “Dragon in the Clouds”.
Johnny Depp is well-known and largely admired by Chinese fans for his performances in the likes of Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. On Weibo, an interest webpage concerning the star has been viewed 52.75 milion times.
7. Lin Chong | Leonardo DiCaprio
Lin Chong was a martial arts instructor, but a power struggle sees him framed for murder and he is forced into exile, leading to him joining the outlaws. Famed for his glaring eyes and fighting ability, he has the nickname of “Panther Head”.
DiCaprio rocks in China. He registered a Weibo account early last month. His first post – Hello, China! I’m Leonardo DiCaprio – received over 208, 000 comments. The star soon attracted 14.2 million followers on Weibo.
8. Dai Zong | Tom Cruise
Dai Zong was originally a prison warden, but eventually joins the outlaws in the marsh. His talismans tied to his legs provide him the ability to travel long distances at superhuman speeds.
Tom Cuise’s nickname by Chinese fans is a pun: Liang Tang can refer to both handsome Tom and delicious soup in Chinese. Most Chinese are quite familiar with his films and the actor has more than five million followers on Weibo.
9. Ruan Xiao’er | Matt Damon
Ruan Xiao’er lives in Liangshan county, where he was initially making a living through fishing and trading. He dies much later in the epic, fighting against foreign invaders.
Chinese films fans are crazy about The Bourne Identity series, as well as Matt Damon. They are fascinated by the genius he played in multiple films. On Weibo, a webpage concerning the actor has been read over 54 million times.
10. Ximen Qing | Tom Hiddleston
Ximen Qing was the playboy who had an affair with Pan Jinlian. He and Pan plotted the murder of her husband. In the end he was brutally killed in broad daylight by the husband’s brother.
Chinese fans like giving foreign stars nicknames. For Tom Hiddleston, they came up with “Dou Sen”, mimicking how they pronounce Hiddleston, which is like a tongue-twister in Chinese. A page on Weibo concerning Hiddleston has seen 11.51 million pageviews.
(Photos in this article are by Weibo user Qinghong Zaolegebai)