| Author | Liang Yusheng |
|---|---|
| Original title | 七劍下天山 |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre | Wuxia |
| Publisher | Ta Kung Pao |
Publication date | 15 February 1956 – 31 March 1957 |
| Publication place | Hong Kong |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 978-986-146-506-7 |
| Preceded by | Saiwai Qixia Zhuan |
| Followed by | Jianghu San Nüxia |
| Qijian Xia Tianshan | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 七劍下天山 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 七剑下天山 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Seven Swords of Mount Heaven | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Qijian Xia Tianshan,literally Seven Swords of Mount Heaven ,is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng. It was first published as a newspaper serial in Hong Kong in the Ta Kung Pao column Xiaoshuolin from 15 February 1956 to 31 March 1957. [1] [2] The novel is the third instalment in the Tianshan series,closely following Baifa MonüZhuan and Saiwai Qixia Zhuan . Contemporary coverage and later overviews describe it as part of a trilogy set in the early Qing dynasty. [3] [4]
Liang Yusheng serialised the novel in the Ta Kung Pao supplement Xiaoshuolin. Contemporary and retrospective accounts in the newspaper and mainstream media record this run and situate it within Liang Yusheng's emergence as a leading wuxia writer in the 1950s. [2] [1]
Book editions followed in Hong Kong and on the mainland. A Cosmos Books edition in Hong Kong and later reprints in two volumes circulated widely. [5] [6] The Sun Yat-Sen University Press issued modern editions beginning in 2012 and 2014. [7] [8]
The novel continues the story of Yang Yuncong and Nalan Minghui from Saiwai Qixia Zhuan ,set in 17th-century China during the early Qing dynasty. Forced to marry the Qing prince Dodo despite loving Yang Yuncong,Nalan Minghui secretly gives birth to their daughter. On the eve of her wedding,Yang Yuncong takes the infant away,but is mortally wounded in battle and entrusts the child to Mulang,a youth wrongly accused of betraying his allies. Mulang brings her to the Mount Heaven Sect,where he trains in swordsmanship under Master Huiming's tutelage.
Eighteen years later,Mulang —now known as Ling Weifeng —returns to the jianghu as a skilled swordsman. Yang Yuncong's daughter,Yilan Zhu,has also become a powerful fighter and vows to avenge her father by killing Dodo. Her attempt to assassinate him entangles her with rebels of the Tiandihui and the Southern Ming cause. Along the way,she rescues Zhang Huazhao,with whom she later falls in love.
Meanwhile,Ling Weifeng reunites with his old flame Liu Yufang and befriends fellow heroes Fu Qingzhu,Mao Wanlian,Gui Zhongming,Wu Qiongyao and Hamaya. The group learns of court intrigue in which the Kangxi Emperor murders the Shunzhi Emperor to secure his throne. Yilan Zhu eventually kills Dodo but is captured;her mother,Nalan Minghui,commits suicide after failing to save her. Ling Weifeng and Hamaya rescue Yilan Zhu in time.
In the climax,Ling Weifeng is imprisoned by his treacherous senior,Chu Zhaonan,in a labyrinth in Tibet,but is later freed by his companions. After Chu Zhaonan's defeat and suicide,Ling Weifeng,Yilan Zhu,Zhang Huazhao,Gui Zhongming,Mao Wanlian,Wu Qiongyao,and Hamaya are celebrated as the "Seven Swords of Mount Heaven",remembered for defending justice and the oppressed.
Qijian Xia Tianshan has been recognised as a milestone in Liang Yusheng's Tianshan series and as illustrative of the "new school" of wuxia fiction that emerged in the 1950s,blending historical realism with ethical complexity and romantic depth. [3]
Among readers,the novel maintains steady popularity. On Douban,it is rated 7.5 out of 10,with praise often directed to its poetic language,expansive cast,and moral framing,though some highlight moments when narrative pacing or dense martial arts detail slow the story. [9] [10]
Critics and commentators point to the novel's moral and political layers:Liang Yusheng's depiction of the Kangxi Emperor as a patricidal ruler is often interpreted as a symbolic stand against tyrannical authority and an articulation of ethnic or class tensions. The interweaving of multiple romantic and ethical threads —Yang Yuncong and Nalan Minghui,Ling Weifeng and Liu Yufang,and familial/factional conflicts —has been lauded for raising emotional stakes beyond simple heroics. Some critique lies in the balance between technical martial arts descriptions and character nuance. [11]
In scholarly and publishing circles,the novel is seldom a sole subject of monographic treatment;it is more often analysed as part of Liang Yusheng's broader oeuvre and the serial tradition of mid-20th-century wuxia. Debate persists over the exact chronology and interrelations among the Tianshan novels,influencing interpretations of character continuity and thematic progression. [2]
The cultural afterlife of Qijian Xia Tianshan includes its adaptation into film and television. These adaptations,though loose,help sustain public awareness of the Tianshan series,keeping Liang Yusheng's mid-20th-century innovations in the collective memory. [3] [4]
In 1959,Hong Kong's Emei Film Company produced a film titled Seven Swordsmen Leave Tianshan based on the novel. It starred Cheung Wood-yau,Law Yim-hing,Lam Kau,Hoh Bik-gin,Shek Sau,Yeung Fan and Yeung Yip-wang. [12]
Tsui Hark's 2005 film Seven Swords features seven swordsmen,each wielding a special sword,departing from Mount Heaven to save a village under attack by a ruthless warlord. Except for some characters' names,the story and the seven swords are not related to Qijian Xia Tianshan. Donnie Yen,Leon Lai,Charlie Yeung,Lu Yi and Sun Honglei starred in the leading roles. [13] [4]
In 2006,Tsui Hark produced Seven Swordsmen ,a television series derived from the 2005 film Seven Swords . It starred Vincent Zhao,Wang Xuebing,Ray Lui,Ada Choi,Qiao Zhenyu,Li Xiaoran,Wang Likun and Bryan Leung. The story is based more on Saiwai Qixia Zhuan ,the novel preceding Qijian Xia Tianshan,even though it shares the same Chinese title as the latter. [14] [15]
In 2006,Chinese artists Guangzu (光祖) and Niu Tongxue (牛同學) released a manhua series of the same Chinese title as the novel. [16]
七剑下天山1956年2月15日至1957年3月31日大公报·小说林
Seven Swords Descend From Mount Heaven, published in 1956, is part of a trilogy set in the early Qing Dynasty.