| Author | Liang Yusheng |
|---|---|
| Original title | 冰魄寒光劍 |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre | Wuxia |
| Publisher | Cheng Wu Pao |
Publication date | 1961 |
| Publication place | Hong Kong |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 9622578594 |
| Preceded by | Jianghu San Nüxia |
| Followed by | Bingchuan Tiannü Zhuan |
| Bingpo Hanguang Jian | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 冰魄寒光劍 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 冰魄寒光剑 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Sword of the Icy Soul | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Bingpo Hanguang Jian,literally Sword of the Icy Soul,is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng. It was first serialised in the Hong Kong newspaper Cheng Wu Pao in 1961. The story follows Gui Huasheng,a swordsman of the Wudang Sect who becomes involved in political intrigue and cross-border conflicts in Tibet and Nepal. Blending adventure,romance and Buddhist motifs,the novel forms the fifth instalment of the Tianshan series,preceded by Jianghu San Nüxia and followed by Bingchuan TiannüZhuan .
Gui Huasheng,the third son of the Wudang Sect's leader Gui Zhongming,roams the jianghu (martial artists' community) in search of ways to improve his skills after losing in a duel against Tang Xiaolan and Feng Ying of the Mount Heaven Sect. During his travels,he rescues Ge Tenglong and Tang Ling,curing them of a deadly poison,before venturing alone into Moguicheng in Xinjiang. There,he uncovers a conspiracy led by the Nepalese king's nephew to usurp his uncle's throne with aid from factions of the Tibetan Buddhist schools.
Gui Huasheng meets a mysterious woman,Huayu,who drives away the conspirators and befriends him. They journey together to Mount Nyenchen Tanglha,where they obtain two treasures —the Icy-Soul Sword and the Divine Pellet —and develop a new skill known as the Glacier Swordplay. The pair grow close,but part ways before Gui Huasheng learns her true identity. On his way to Lhasa at the request of a Tibetan elder,Gui Huasheng unexpectedly meets Huayu again,who is now revered as a guardian under the Dalai Lama.
Later,Gui Huasheng travels south to Nepal,where he befriends the Indian prince Yadexing and the physician Babo. Together,they expose a plot by the Nepalese prince to poison the king,with Yadexing using a snow lotus gifted by Gui Huasheng to cure the monarch. When the king announces a martial arts contest to decide his daughter's marriage,Gui Huasheng learns that Huayu is actually a Nepalese princess.
After various intrigues involving the Nepalese prince,an Arab martial arts master,and a Persian warrior,Gui Huasheng and Huayu ultimately defeat their enemies and impress the Nepalese royal court with their Glacier Swordplay. The king consents to their marriage,and the couple retire to Mount Nyenchen Tanglha to live in seclusion.
Bingpo Hanguang Jian is regarded among Liang Yusheng's works as a representative example of the "new school" of wuxia fiction that emerged in the 1950s,combining romantic and historical elements with literary and moral themes. [1]
The novel has been reprinted in several collected editions of Liang Yusheng's wuxia novels,indicating continued publication and readership beyond its original serialisation. [2]
Some commentators regard Bingpo Hanguang Jian as less distinctive than Liang Yusheng's more influential works,describing its plot as relatively conventional compared with his major series. [3]
On the Chinese review platform Douban,Bingpo Hanguang Jian holds an average rating of around 7 out of 10 based on several hundred user reviews. [4] Readers generally describe the novel as an entertaining instalment in the Tianshan series,noting its exotic settings and emphasis on romance,while some view the plot as conventional compared with Liang Yusheng's better-known works. [5]
Nevertheless,the novel continues to appear in surveys of Liang Yusheng's oeuvre and discussions of his mid-career writings,noted for its depictions of cross-cultural settings and for extending the Tianshan series's blend of adventure and romance. [1]