The Tomb Raiders' Guild

Before you go through the list, you may ask yourself where you can watch. The shows drop in and out the various streaming platforms, so check: iQiYi, We TV (Tencent international app),YouKu and YouTube.

The titles in bold are the main shows or films, the lists underneath show related stories that have been filmed.

If you want to read up on which book corresponds with which show (which is sometimes complicated because some shows took pieces from different books), Read this post by laireshi. Heads-up: There is no adaptation for book 8 yet (would be between Ultimate Note and Tibetan Sea Flower).

Time Raiders [盗墓笔记] (2016) —> standalone film, sort of steampunk AU

The Mystic Nine [老九门] (2016) —> Prequel set in the Republican Era

• The Mystic Nine: Qing Shan Hai Tang [老九门之青山海棠] (2022)


• The Mystic Nine Side Story: Tiger Bones Plum Blossom [老九门番外之虎骨梅花] (2016)


• The Mystic Nine Side Story: Ganges Killing the Trees [老九门番外之恒河杀树] (2016)


• The Mystic Nine Side Story: Flowers Bloom in February [老九门番外之二月花开](2016)


• The Mystic Nine Side Story: Four Belongs to Abelmoschus [老九门番外之四屠黄葵](2016)

The Lost Tomb [盗墓笔记] (2015)
The Lost Tomb 2 [盗墓笔记2] (2019)
Buried Tree Devil (2021) (donghua)
The Lost Tomb 2.5/Explore with the Note/Heavenly Palace on the Clouds [云顶天宫](2021)
Ultimate Note [终极笔记] (2020)
Tibetan Sea Flower/Adventure Behind the Bronze Door [藏海花] (2024)
Sand Sea/Sha Hai/Tomb of the Sea [沙海] (2018)

• Tomb of the Sea: Bang Ren [蚌人] (2018)


• Tomb of the Sea: Hua Mei [画媒] (2018)


• Tomb of the Sea: Ran Gu [燃骨] (2019)

Reunion: The Sound of the Providence [重启之极海听雷] (2020)

• The Sound of the Providence Side Story: Ping Yao Wang Shi [[平妖往事] (2020)


• The Sound of the Providence Side Story: Moonfall Echo [月陨回声] (2021)

Reunion: Escape from the Monstrous Snake [重启之蛇骨佛蜕] (2021)—> Hei Xiazi solo movie
Reunion: Mystery of the Abyss/The Great of the Abyss [ 重启之深渊疑冢] (2022) —> aka Hei Xiazi/Xiao Hua movie
Conjuring Curse [介子鬼城] (2023) —> Iron Triangle adventure film, set post Reunion with baby-faced actors
Misty Creed [黑金古殿] (2023) Iron Triangle adventure film, set post Reunion with baby-faced actors

Tomb Robbing, Perilous but Alluring, Makes Comeback in China by Amy Qin (New York Times)

BAOLING VILLAGE, China — One day last November, Yang Mingzhen received a tip: Construction workers digging on his family’s land had discovered an ancient tomb.

That night, Mr. Yang and his father and uncle sneaked down to the tomb, in a barren dirt field just outside the entrance of Baoling Village, on a dusty hilltop in Shaanxi Province.

Early the next morning, a worker found the bodies of Mr. Yang and the two other men. Sometime in the night the centuries-old tomb had collapsed, and they had been buried alive.

Village residents were shocked. “He wouldn’t have even dared to steal his neighbor’s carrots,” said Yang Yuansheng, 62, the village accountant, referring to Mr. Yang. “Who would have thought he would risk his reputation to go rob a tomb?”
Such are the extreme allures — and perils — of grave robbing, an ancient practice that has made a roaring comeback as the global demand for Chinese antiquities has surged. With prices for some Chinese antiquities reaching into the tens of millions of dollars, a flood of amateur and professional thieves looking to get rich quick has hit China’s countryside.[…]

But there is little romance to the grave-looting life. In China, most grave robbers are migrant workers and farmers. Some are like Yang Mingzhen — amateur thieves equipped with only basic tools. Others, however, are part of professional trafficking networks that make use of everything from high-tech probing devices to traditional feng shui masters.
The task is dirty and dangerous, requiring workers to crawl into small tunnels, handle explosives and inhale stale air — all while evading detection. When raids are successful, the objects are often passed through a shadowy, cross-border network of middlemen, smugglers and dealers before reaching the display cases of wealthy collectors and museums in China and abroad.

Even so, tomb robbing has become a pop culture phenomenon. The online fiction series “Grave Robbers’ Chronicles” by Nanpai Sanshu, about a young man’s tomb-robbing adventures, became a sensation after it first appeared in 2006. Since then, numerous television shows and movies have also been made about tomb robbing, including Wuershan’s “Mojin: The Lost Legend” and Lu Chuan’s “Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe.”

Posted here in my journal

ETA: It‘s also linked in the resources masterpost and up on AO3 now.

Let's start a list of resources for DMBJ! Add your own helpful sources in the comments and I'll add them to the list.

1 The Source Material

DMBJ (Daomu Biji aka The Grave Robbers' Chronicles) is a vast canon spanning a long (unfinished) series of novels, and many, many TV adaptations. Find your way through with these helpful posts.

Novels

Guide to Reading the Novels by laireshi

Note: Includes an overview which book was adapted into what drama/film and links where you can read.

Pros and Cons of reading the novels by eigwayne includes global content warnings for all published works

Masterpost of summaries of the main novels by Michelle N. (blog strictlybromance)

DMBJ Novels wordcounts stats by bladedweapons and foxofninetails

Dramas

I‘m putting the dramas here in chronological order of events, not filming order.

Complete List of all DMBJ adaptations

The Mystic Nine

This is sort of a prequel story to the main storyline set in the Republican Era (1930s).

The Mystic Nine Promo Post by dreamy_dragon, contains an overview, the official trailer and a fanvid.

Cut scenes from The Mystic Nine by dancing_serpent

The Lost Tomb 1 (2015)

The beginning of the story, about covers book 1.

NEW: Spoiler-free overview of the Lost Tomb World by crism79
- contains thoughts on the (back then) upcoming dramas Reunion: The Sound of the Providence, and The Lost Tomb 2
-review of The Lost Tomb

The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note

Unfortunately I haven't found a good intro post for this one yet. This one deals with Wu Xie‘s second adventure in an underwater tomb.

Wu Xie‘s room in episode 1 by bladedweapons


Ultimate Note (2019)

This one adapts the novels 5-7 and has become one of the most popular adaptations. It‘s a great starting point to check out DMBJ in general.

Guide to Watching Ultimate Note by laireshi

Link to a timeline and minute-by-minute episode guide for Ultimate Note by donutsweeper

Tibetan Sea Flower aka Adventure Behind the Bronze Door (2024 release, filmed earlier)

Meta about the intro sequence by Thimblerig

Video about the music in TSF sent by Michiaki, as of now, no English subs

Sha Hai aka Tomb of the Sea aka Sand Sea (2017)

NEW: Thoughts on Sha Hai (with screencaps) by crism79

Why you should watch Sha Hai - a mildly unhinged presentation by spinecorset, very amusing a bit rambly but spoilery!

NEW:: What you should watch: Sha Hai by welcometothejianghu

A bit spoilery (regarding which characters interact, for one particular character if they survive, character interactions.) Very thorough though and focusing on the pros.

Sha Hai character meta by soresus, on Wu Xie, Xie Yuchen and Hei Xiazi

wu xie, xiao hua, and hei xiazi together in sha hai make me want to scream. sha hai says here is wu xie, here is a man tearing himself apart from separation from the one he loves, to the point of poisoning himself again and again just for a glimpse of his face, and he has chosen to bear it all by wielding three generations' worth of trauma like a knife to destroy the ones who inflicted it. then here is xie yuchen, a man who stood by and suffered without thanks while wu xie got the life he could never reach for, and he says, i will help you.[…]

The Lost Tomb Reboot/Reunion: The Sound of the Providence (2019)

The Lost Tomb Reboot Episode Guide by naye

Extremely helpful to find that one scene you need. Spreadsheet format. Timestamps!

Content Notes/warnings for every episode of The Lost Tomb Reboot crowdsourced by naye, link goes to a googledoc

Wu Xie Serving Lewks by Canary3d, a screencap&gif collection of not only Wu Xie‘s but many characters' outfits in Reunion. Excellent art and fic resource.

2 Fandom stuff

You want to know who all those people in the canon are? Looking for potential characters to latch on? Look no further.

Fandom Introduction/Fandom Manifestos

[new 2025] : A Newbie‘s guide to the Lost Tomb Franchise by poorsallystitches

[2024]: Welcome to DMBJ aka Grave Robbers' Chronicles aka how fanfiction turned into the biggest IP in China by ilgaksu

Fandom Manifesto by hils

This is called Liu Sang 101: An Introductory Course, but the second part (start reading from "The DMBJ Universe") has an excellent general overview of Daomu Biji as a whole and introduces all major important characters. By fox_of_nine_tales.

Entry points for watching DMBJ by fox_of_nine_tales.

Guide to Watching Ultimate Note by laireshi

Note: This one argues for why you should start with Ultimate Note (and explains the stuff you need to know if you start there). Also contains a book-show comparison for other DMBJ adaptations.

Character overviews

ETA (Jan 2023): DMBJ names and terms of address by mountainrose, compiled by various members of the DMbJ Discord

ETA (Aug 2022): DMBJ Character guides by wild-feather now on AO3 in separate chapters. You‘ll find the character guides from Tumblr below now in one place, plus a new one for minor male characters!

Who is who in The Lost Tomb world (Iron Triangle and the different actors) by wild-feather

Who is who in The Lost Tomb world (everyone important apart from Iron Triangle) by wild-feather

All the ladies in the Lost Tomb world by wild-feather updated version 18/06/2022

Time Raiders: A Ning and her 8 men overview by wild-feather

Pangzi‘s novel background by mekare, quotes on appearance, skills and history as well as his relationships with others

NEW: Ages of Wu Xie actors versus the character in the dramas by fox_of_nine_tails

Fanart

Now, for the Western side of fandom, I believe most fanart can be found on Tumblr or on AO3. dmbjartreblogs (run by unforth) collects a lot of DMBJ fanart, so is a good starting point.

Chinese artists post to Weibo and Lofter (which I do not have an account at) and there are probably many other sites you could check. I‘ll update this section after some further research.

[2024] List of Chinese DMBJ artists with links by lotusflowerbreakingthesurface

Meta

DMBJ Timeline, ver. 003 by margraves, extremely spoilery, not just regarding characters but also the overarching conspiracy plot, so proceed at your own risk! If you have watched a couple of adaptations or read some of the novels, this will help make sense of the chaos.

ETA Feb 23: DMBJ Meta series by thimblerig on various aspects, characters, snakes and continuity between novels and dramas.

Map of Notable Places in DMBJ by mekare

General C-resources

General resources for C-fandoms, including links for archeology, historical information, maps etc. by donutsweeper

Note: 200+ links and still growing!

Fannish participation

The fandom mainly runs on exchanges so far, and by being requested in other multifandom events. Regular DMBJs specific exchanges are (subject to change of course):

Pingxie Exchange: 10yearpromise Exchange / pingxieex for Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling works

Other DMBJ exchanges: dmbjexchange Tumblr for Gen works exchange, HeiHua (Hei Xiazi/Xie Yuchen), small and medium ships exchange

Xiaoge.mp3 challenge by mekare, running until 30th Nov 2023

Year of the Dragon Treat Exchange ran until 10th Feb 2024

The Little Tomb Robber‘s Alphabet project organised by mekare ran in 2024

The DMBJ Calendar project is currently running in 2025!

DMBJ Fandom Events Calendar, also linked in the side bar of the community

ETA (May 2023), the Kinkmeme has been closed, but you can still see all prompts and use them as inspiration! DMBJ Kinkmeme for all the inspiration to create you need, or to dump the plotbunnies for fanworks you wish existed

DMBJ Fanweeks prompts for specific characters and pairings throughout the year ETA: Carrd is offline as of April 2023

Specific questions

Some lovely blogs on Tumblr are answering drama or novel-related questions and I thought I‘d link to those as well.

When did Zhang Qiling get his tattoo?

Answered by taomubiji here: https://www.tumblr.com/taomubiji/698601871198306304/hello-first-i-would-like-to-say-thank-you-for