Wisely Series

The Wisely Series is a series of Chinese-language adventure-science fiction novels written by the Hong Kong novelist Ni Kuang. The protagonist of the series is Wisely. In total, there are 161 stories about Wisely recorded in 156 novels. Of these, only 150 stories in 145 novels are written by Ni Kuang; the remaining ones are written by other writers with Ni Kuang's permission. Some of these stories have been adapted into media, such as the films The Legend of Wisely, The Cat and The Wesley's Mysterious File, and the television series The New Adventures of Wisely and The 'W' Files.

Publishing history

Ni Kuang wrote 150 Wisely stories in the form of 145 novels, most of which have a serial number to reflect the chronological order of their year of publication. There are 11 other Wisely stories written by other writers with Ni Kuang's permission. There are a total of 161 Wisely stories in 156 novels. The first 94 stories, were first published in serial form in the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao from 1963–92. The stories written from 1992–2004 were published in the form of printed books.
According to Ni Kuang, when he decided to publish the Wisely Series as a collection in the 1970s, he discovered that Ming Pao did not retain all the copies of his previous works. Luckily for him, he encountered a reader, Wen Naijian, who collected all the copies of his stories published in Ming Pao. He was thus able to have his works republished and released in a multi-volume collection. He expressed his gratitude to Wen in the preface, "These books would not have been published without Mr Wen Naijian's help."
In Hong Kong, books 1–80 were published by Ming Chuang Publishing Company while books 81–131 were published by Qin+Yuan Publishing Company. In Taiwan, the books before book 67 were initially published by Yuanjing Publishing Company and later by Storm & Stress Publishing Company. The books after book 67 were published by Crown Publishing Company.
Ni Kuang announced his decision to stop writing the Wisely Series after book 131 was published. His friend, Taiwanese writer Yeh Lee-hwa, wrote the Wisely Memoirs as an epilogue to the series, and to explain Wisely's life and clarify ambiguities in the stories.

Overview of the stories

The novels are narrated from the point of view of Wisely, the protagonist in the series. They are set in a modern era in a city that is evidently based on Hong Kong. According to Ni Kuang, the character's name was inspired by Wesley Village along Tai Hang Road near Jardine's Lookout in Hong Kong. The village was named after John Wesley, an English cleric who founded the Methodist movement within Anglican Christianity.
Wisely was born in a wealthy family who run a trading company. Little is known about his parents; it is assumed that they died early. The head of the family is Wisely's grandfather. Wisely is the chairman of the company's board of directors. He lets his general manager run the company and spends his time travelling around the world and solving mysteries. He has several extraordinary adventures throughout his life, including encounters with aliens and supernatural beings.

List of ''Wisely'' novels by Ni Kuang

Serial number	Title	Published
1	Diamond Flower	11 March – 21 July 1963
2	Underground Legends	22 July 1963 – 12 February 1964
3	Wicked Fire	13 February – 4 August 1964
4	Blue Blood Being	5 August 1964 – 19 February 1965
5	Transparentizing Light	20 February – 22 July 1965
6	Furnace inside the Earth	23 July – 19 October 1965
7	Bee Cloud	20 October 1965 – 6 February 1966
8	Mystic Jade	7 February – 22 March 1966
9	Atomic Space	23 March – 11 July 1966
10	Golden Globe from Beyond	12 July – 2 December 1966
11	Detachable Man	3 December 1966 – 16 March 1967
12	Immortality Drug	17 March – 4 June 1967
13	Crimson Moon	1 August – 15 November 1967
14	Head Transplant	16 November 1967 – 15 February 1968
15	Bewitched, Bewildered	16 February – 7 April 1968
16	Uncanny Gate	30 June – 21 September 1968
17	Zombified	22 September – 24 November 1968
18	Synthesis	25 November 1968 – 21 January 1969
19	Pen Pal	22 January – 10 March 1969
20	Deity in the Jungle	11 March – 29 April 1969
21	Once again	30 April – 20 June 1969
22	The End	21 June – 16 August 1969
23	In the lake	17 August – 15 September 1969
24	Vanishing	16 September – 15 October 1969
25	The Shadow	16 October – 4 December 1969
26	The Extra One	5 December 1969 – 14 January 1970
27	Wonderland	15 January – 16 March 1970
28	A Transmuting Fox	17 March – 10 May 1970
29	Archaic Sound	11 May – 14 June 1970
30	Virtual Image	15 June – 9 August 1970
31	The Visitor	10 August – 18 September 1970
32	Feng Shui	19 September – 29 October 1970
33	The Ring	30 October – 27 December 1970
34	Treasure Bowl	27 December 1970 – 30 January 1971
35	Rain Flower Stone	4 February – 23 March 1971
36	Stone Forest	24 March – 9 June 1971
37	Creation	10 June – 27 July 1971
38	Jap	28 July – 10 September 1971
39	Aged Cat	11 September – 1 December 1971
40	Seashell	2 December 1971 – 7 February 1972
41	The Map	8 February – 4 May 1972
42	Pattern	5 May – 23 June 1972
43	Shipwreck	24 June – 21 September 1972
44	The Mansion	22 September 1972 – 1 January 1973
45	New Year	2 January – 22 February 1973
46	Hair	1 March – 25 June 1978
47	The Eyes	26 June – 25 September 1978
48	Hide and Seek	26 September – 25 December 1978
49	Enigmatic Book	26 December 1978 – 10 April 1979
50	The Charcoal	11 April – 8 August 1979
51	Toys	9 August – 27 November 1979
52	Interlocking	13 February 1979 – 30 May 1980
53	Searching a Dream	31 May – 13 October 1980
54	Human of the Second Kind	14 October 1980 – 11 March 1981
55	The Backup	12 March – 22 June 1981
56	Tomb Raiding	23 June – 26 November 1981
57	Soul Seeking	27 November 1981 – 17 April 1982
58	Blurred Spot	18 April – 20 September 1982
59	Immortals	21 September 1982 – 30 January 1983
60	Tracking the Dragon	31 January – 23 May 1983
61	Tunnel to the Heaven	24 May – 14 September 1983
62	Terracotta Warrior Alive	15 September 1983 – 7 January 1984
63	Rhino Illumination	8 January – 9 May 1984
64	Destiny	10 May – 10 July 1984
65	17 Years	11 July – 13 August 1984
66	A Peculiar Gem	14 August – 17 November 1984
67	Extreme Penalty	18 November 1984 – 4 March 1985
68	Home elestricus	5 March – 24 June 1985
69	The Game	25 June – 3 October 1985
70	The Key to the Bardo	4 October 1985 – 15 January 1986
71	Story of Gold	16 January – 2 May 1986
72	The Ruin	3 May – 13 August 1986

Serial number	Title	Published
73	The Cipher	14 August – 24 November 1986
74	Bloodline	25 November 1986 – 16 March 1987
75	Mystifying Tracks	17 March – 4 July 1987
76	The Plague Demon	5 July – 19 October 1987
77	Evocation	20 October 1987 – 30 January 1988
78	Betrayal	31 January – 15 May 1988
79	A Hybrid Ghost	16 May – 27 August 1988
80	Retribution	28 August – 11 December 1988
81	Err	12 December 1988 – 6 April 1989
82	The Truth	7 April – 22 July 1989
83	Death Oath	23 July – 6 November 1989
84	Bet on It	7 November 1989 – 23 February 1990
85	Monsters	24 February – 8 June 1990
86	Proding	9 June – 23 September 1990
87	Probing Deeper	24 September 1990 – 11 January 1991
88	Pitfall	12 January – 28 April 1991
89	Females in Flame	29 April – 9 August 1991
90	The Great Secret	10 August – 22 November 1991
91	Canker	23 November 1991 – 29 January 1992
92	From the Netherworld	25 July 1991
93	To the Netherworld	25 July 1991
94	Young Wesley Chronicles	2 August 1991
95	Errands and Errancy	17 December 1991
96	Lingering Soul	3 March 1992
97	Make a wish	23 May 1992
98	Resurrection	16 August 1992
99	Live Atmosphere	26 October 1992
100	Open Core Surgery	6 February 1993
101	Reincarnation Signs	11 April 1993
102	The Future	9 July 1993
103	The Change	12 September 1993
104	Reincarnation Signs II	Late 1993
105	A Fatal Deed	11 January 1994
106	Doomed	27 February 1994
107	Extrication	16 April 1994
108	Inheritance	16 May 1994
109	The Explosion	30 September 1994
110	Palace under the Sea	20 December 1994
111	Past Life	16 February 1995
112	The New Weapon	11 April 1995
113	Virus	26 May 1995
114	Do the Accounts	9 August 1995
115	The True Form	2 November 1995
116	Way Out	20 January 1996
117	Two-Way	2 March 1996
118	Primeval Chaos	10 May 1996
119	Life Quota Wanted	4 July 1996
120	Life Quota for Sale	28 October 1996
121	The Trial	30 January 1997
122	A Tale	23 February 1997
123	The Bid Gamble	17 May 1997
124	Concrete Cloudland	30 July 1997
125	Humanward Metamorphosing	2 November 1997
126	Future Identity	Early 1998
127	Body Snatching Monsters	24 March 1998
128	Face Combination	20 August 1998
129	Inherence Dies Hard	6 December 1998
130	Lightening of Justice	23 March 1999
131	Different Kind of Cloning	15 May 1999
132	The Cipher Demystified	16 August 1999
133	Alternative Life	31 October 1999
134	An Immeasurable Fraud	8 April 2000
135	In and Out of the Retreat	22 May 2000
136	Taking Action for the Planet	9 August 2000
137	Knowledge Transplant	24 December 2000
138	Mammon's Treasury	16 March 2001
139	Half and Half	4 May 2001
140	Replicant Surrogates	6 October 2001
141	Extraordinary Incident	22 January 2002
142	Somewhere	20 May 2002
143	A World in a Grain of Sand	7 December 2002
144	Hovering between Life and Death	4 June 2003
145	For Old Pals Only	Late February 2004

Adaptations

The novel series has been adapted into comic series, radio dramas, films and television series since the 1980s.

Comics

1984–86 version illustrated by Li Chi-tak and published by Sichen Publishing Company.
1984–86 version illustrated by Li Chi-tak and published by Sanyingshe Publishing Company.
1988 version illustrated by Li Chi-tak and Yeung Hau-wing, and published by Morning Star Publishing Company.
1995 version illustrated by Wee Tian Beng and published by China Times Publishing Company.
2004 version illustrated by Xu Jingchen and published by Yisi Wenhua Publishing Company.

Radio dramas

1981–84 version broadcast on Hong Kong's RTHK. Chung Wai-ming voice-played Wisely.
1987–88 version broadcast on Hong Kong's CRHK. Chu Chi-chung voice-played Wisely.
2004 version broadcast on China's GZBN.
2005 version broadcast on Taiwan's Voice of Han.

Films

The Seventh Curse, a 1986 Hong Kong film starring Chow Yun-fat.The Legend of Wisely, a 1987 Hong Kong film starring Sam Hui.A Tale from the East, a 1990 Hong Kong fantasy film. Ni Kuang made a guest appearance as Wisely.Bury Me High, a 1991 Hong Kong film starring Chin Kar-lok.The Cat, a 1992 Hong Kong film starring Waise Lee.Young Wisely, a 1993 Hong Kong film starring David Wu.Young Wisely 2, a 1994 Hong Kong film starring David Wu.The Wesley's Mysterious File, a 2002 Hong Kong film starring Andy Lau.

Television series

The Legend of Wisely, a 1983 Taiwanese television series produced by CTS, starring Yang Kuang-yu.The New Adventures of Wisely, a 1998 Singaporean television series produced by TCS, starring Michael Tao.The 'W' Files, a 2003 Hong Kong television series produced by TVB, starring Gallen Lo.Wesley the Young Adventurer, a 2003 Chinese television series starring Nicky Wu.The Great Adventurer Wesley, a 2018 Chinese online/television series starring Shawn Yue.