Men with Sword (刺客列传, Cì Kè Liè Zhuàn, meaning roughly "Assassin Biographies") is a 2016 Chinese series with a cast composed mainly by members of the boy band SpeXial. A second season, Men with Sword 2, was released in 2017. Both series are notable for being among the very few Chinese works containing obvious LGBT romance.
The empire of Jun Tian begins to collapse as three of its four main duchies — Tian Quan, Tian Shu, and Tian Xuan — declare their independence. The emperor's assassination prompts Tian Ji, the fourth duchy, to declare its independence too. Shortly afterwards, a fifth kingdom is established and demands the other four recognise it. And a mysterious musician has appeared in Tian Quan, a musician with ties to the deposed royal family.
The series can be watched on Viki
and on YouTube with English subtitles.
Not to be confused with the film Swordsmen. Or the fanfic either.
Contains examples of:
- Chromosome Casting: The series has an entirely male cast.
- King Incognito: Murong Li pretends to be an ordinary musician. He's really the royal family's sole survivor.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: The series is set in ancient China, so everyone has long hair, and the vast majority of the cast are very pretty.
- Queer Romance: All the main relationships. Unusually for a Chinese series, the romance is outright stated instead of being implied or passed off as "friendship".
- Wuxia: The setting, complete with swordfights, revenge plots, and political intrigue.
