Plot
The novel is set in the Tianbao era (742–756) of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. The emperor appoints the incompetent Yang Guozhong as chancellor because his cousin, Yang Yuhuan, is the emperor's favourite concubine. Nepotism and cronyism prevail as Yang Guozhong places his relatives and supporters in high-ranking posts in the Tang government, which becomes increasingly corrupt over time. The power-hungry barbarian An Lushan wins the emperor's trust through flattery and gets promoted to the position of jiedushi (military governor) of Fanyang. An Lushan wields great power in his hands and secretly builds up his military forces in preparation for a rebellion.
The Tang dynasty or the Tang Empire was an imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty. The Tang capital at Chang'an was the most populous city in the world in its day.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang or Illustrious August, personal name Li Longji, also known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 713 to 756 C.E. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early half of his reign he was a diligent and astute ruler. Ably assisted by capable chancellors like Yao Chong, Song Jing and Zhang Yue, he was credited with bringing Tang China to a pinnacle of culture and power. Emperor Xuanzong, however, was blamed for over-trusting Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan during his late reign, with Tang's golden age ending in the Anshi Rebellion.
Yang Guozhong, né Yang Zhao (楊釗), was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor late in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. His second cousin Consort Yang Yuhuan was then Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine, and it was through his relations with her that he managed to be initially noticed by Xuanzong.
In the wulin (martial artists' community), the outlaw leaders Dou Lingkan and Wang Botong compete fiercely for the position of chief of the wulin. Dou Lingkan and his brothers have the support of Duan Guizhang, a renowned swordsman who is also Dou's brother-in-law. On the other hand, Wang Botong cooperates with An Lushan to achieve his goal, recruits several followers, and sends his children to be tutored by martial arts experts.
Duan Guizhang maintains a close friendship with Shi Yiru, a former bureaucrat. Their wives give birth to a boy, Duan Keye, and a girl, Shi Ruomei, respectively. An Lushan sends his men to bring Duan Guizhang to meet him but Duan was not in then, so Shi Yiru went in his place and ends up being held hostage in An's residence. Duan Guizhang and Tie Mole, Dou Lingkan's godson, go to rescue him. They fail and Shi Yiru dies while Duan Guizhang is seriously injured. They are saved from An Lushan's men by Nan Jiyun and Huangfu Song.
Kongkong'er, one of Wang Botong's henchmen, shows up and steals the baby Duan Keye in order to force Duan Guizhang not to side with Dou Lingkan. Dou Lingkan is killed by Wang Botong's daughter, Wang Yanyu, in a fight and loses his title as the chief of the wulin. Tie Mole escapes with Nan Jiyun's help when the Dou family is destroyed and he vows to avenge his godfather. Duan Guizhang sends Tie Mole to learn martial arts from a reclusive master. Seven years later, after Tie Mole has achieved a certain level of prowess in martial arts, he returns to civilisation but finds himself stranded in the chaos of the An Shi Rebellion.
Tie Mole embarks on a series of adventures. He undermines the support for An Lushan's rebel forces by capturing Wang Botong's stronghold, exposes the truth behind a 20-year-long mystery, and helps to clear Huangfu Song's name. At the same time, he also finds himself entangled in a love triangle with Wang Yanyu and Han Zhifen. He saves Emperor Xuanzong and flees with the imperial forces after the capital cities Luoyang and Chang'an fell to An Lushan's rebel armies. He is also involved in the incident at Mawei courier station, when the discontented Tang soldiers blamed Yang Guozhong for their plight, killed him, and demanded that Emperor Xuanzong execute Yang Yuhuan.
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast. As of the final 2010 census, Luoyang had a population of 6,549,941 inhabitants with 1,857,003 people living in the built-up area made of the city's five urban districts, all of which except the Jili District are not urbanized yet.
Chang'an was an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese since it was a capital that was repeatedly used by new Chinese rulers. During the short-lived Xin dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; the old name was later restored. By the time of the Ming dynasty, a new walled city named Xi'an, meaning "Western Peace", was built at the Sui and Tang Dynasty city's site, which has remained its name to the present day.
The Battle of Suiyang is featured in the later chapters and many heroes, including Nan Jiyun, sacrifice themselves to defend the city from An Lushan's forces. Tie Mole, Han Zhifen and the other survivors continue their legacy by recruiting heroes to assist the Tang government in suppressing the rebellion.
The Battle of Suiyang (睢陽之戰) was a battle in Suiyang during the An Lushan Rebellion, between the rebel An Lushan's Yan army and the loyalist forces of the Tang army. Although the battle was ultimately won by Yan, it suffered a major loss of manpower and time. The battle was noted for the Tang army's determination to fight to the last man, and also due to the cannibalism that occurred during the siege.
Gao Lishi (684–762), formally the Duke of Qi (齊公), was a eunuch official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, becoming particularly powerful during Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's reign. He is believed to have been in charge of many decisions that were supposed to be the emperor's responsibility during Emperor Xuanzong's later years, and was believed to have been richer than many of the nobility of the era. Despite this, however, he was often viewed as a positive example of eunuch participation in politics for his personal loyalty to Emperor Xuanzong, which withstood despite its putting himself in personal danger later, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong's son Emperor Suzong as it drew jealousy from fellow eunuch Li Fuguo. Further, during the years of his highest power, he was also said to make no improper influences on governance, and therefore drew no anger from the intelligentsia. Late in Emperor Suzong's reign, he was exiled upon Li Fuguo's urging. After a pardon in 762, he was returning from exile, when he heard of Emperors Xuanzong's and Suzong's deaths. Mourning Emperor Xuanzong bitterly, he grew ill and died.
Yang Yuhuan, often known as Yang Guifei, known briefly by the Taoist nun name Taizhen (太真), was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She was the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang during his later years.
The An Lushan Rebellion was a devastating rebellion against the Tang dynasty of China. The rebellion overtly began on 16 December 755, when general An Lushan declared himself emperor in Northern China, thus establishing a rival Yan Dynasty, and ended when Yan fell on 17 February 763. This event is also known as the An–Shi Rebellion or An–Shi Disturbances, as it continued after An Lushan's death under his son An Qingxu and his deputy and successor Shi Siming, or as the Tianbao Rebellion (天寶之乱), as it began in the 14th year of that era.
An Lushan was a general in the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion.
Emperor Suzong of Tang, personal name Li Heng, né Li Sisheng (李嗣升), known as Li Jun (李浚) from 725 to 736, known as Li Yu (李璵) from 736 to 738, known briefly as Li Shao (李紹) in 738, was an emperor of the Tang dynasty and the son of Emperor Xuanzong. Suzong ascended the throne after his father fled to Sichuan during the An Lushan Rebellion in 756; Li Heng himself had fled in the opposite direction, to Lingwu, where he was declared emperor by the army. Much of Emperor Suzong's reign was spent in quelling the aforementioned rebellion, which was ultimately put down in 763 during the reign of his son Emperor Daizong.
Li Linfu, nickname Genu, formally the Duke of Jin, was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor for 18 years (734–752), during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong—one of the longest terms of service for a chancellor in Tang history, and the longest during Xuanzong's reign.
Chén Xīliè (陳希烈) was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. During the An Shi Rebellion, he surrendered to An Lushan and served as chancellor of An's state of Yan at Luoyang. After Tang forces recaptured Luoyang, he was forced to commit suicide.
Geshu Han, formally Prince Wumin of Xiping (西平武愍王), was a general of Tang China who was of Turgesh extraction. He became a powerful general late in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and in 756 became responsible for defending Tong Pass against the rebel forces of An Lushan.
An Sishun (安思順) was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, probably of Tujue (Göktürk) extraction. He was related to another general, An Lushan. After An Lushan rebelled against Emperor Xuanzong's rule in 755, another general who was inimical to An Sishun, Geshu Han, manufactured evidence that An Sishun was complicit in An Lushan's rebellion, and An Sishun was killed.
Empress Duan was the second wife of An Lushan, a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and later emperor of his rebel state of Yan. After he declared himself emperor of Yan in 756, she probably carried the title of empress, but historical records are not completely clear.
Longfeng Baochai Yuan is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng. It was first serialised between 25 June 1964 and 15 May 1966 in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao. The novel is the second part of a trilogy, and is preceded by Datang Youxia Zhuan and followed by Huijian Xinmo.
Huijian Xinmo is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng. It was first serialised between 23 May 1966 and 14 March 1968 in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao. The novel is the final part of a trilogy, and is preceded by Datang Youxia Zhuan and Longfeng Baochai Yuan. The title of the novel comes from a Buddhist saying, Hui Hui Jian, Zhan Xin Mo, which means "brandish the sword of wisdom and slay the demon in one's heart".
The Legend of Yang Guifei, also known as The Secret History of Concubine Yang, is a Chinese television series loosely based on the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty and his consort Yang Yuhuan. The series was directed by You Xiaogang and starred Yin Tao and Anthony Wong as the couple. It was first broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV from April to May 2010.
Da Tang Fu Rong Yuan is a Chinese television series based on a novel by Nangong Bo (南宫博) about the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty and his consort Yang Yuhuan. The series was directed by Zhou Xiaowen and starred Fan Bingbing and Winston Chao. It was first broadcast on CCTV-8 in mainland China in 2007.
Tang Ming Huang is a Chinese television series based on historical events in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. The series was directed by Chen Jialin and starred Liu Wei as the eponymous emperor. It was first broadcast on CCTV-1 in 1990 in mainland China.
Consort Mei was an imperial consort of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. She was one of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine, often known as Mei fei. Her actual name was Jiang Caipin (江采蘋), originally called Consort Jiang. After being told by her that she greatly favored Plum-Blossom flowers, Emperor Xuanzong began to fondly address her as Consort Mei.
