The Deer and the Cauldron,also known as The Duke of Mount Deer,is a historical comedy novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). Although it is the longest of his novels and the last to be published,it is the eighth in internal order. It was initially published in Hong Kong as a serial,running from 24 October 1969 to 23 September 1972 in the newspaper Ming Pao.[1]
Although the book is often called a wuxia novel,it is not quite typical of the genre:the protagonist,Wei Xiaobao,is not an adept martial artist,but rather an antihero who relies on wit and cunning to get out of trouble.
The title indicates one of the major themes of the novel,the struggle of Han Chinese supporters of the fallen Ming dynasty to free China from the rule of the invading Manchu-led Qing dynasty.
In the afterword,Jin Yong wrote that his intention in writing the novel was to reflect societal and cultural realities instead of encouraging readers to imitate a cunning and evil protagonist. He considered modifying the ending to make Wei Xiaobao get his just deserts,but dropped the idea and retained the original ending after receiving negative feedback from readers.
Plot
The story centres on a witty,sly,illiterate and lazy protagonist,Wei Xiaobao,who was born in a brothel in Yangzhou in the mid-17th century during the early Qing dynasty. By chance,the teenage scamp helps an outlaw evade the authorities and follows him to Beijing,the imperial capital. In Beijing,he is kidnapped and taken to the imperial palace,where he impersonates an eunuch. While in the palace,Wei Xiaobao bumbles his way into a fateful encounter with the young Kangxi Emperor,the ruler of the Qing Empire,and strikes up a friendship with him.
One day,Wei Xiaobao encounters the Tiandihui ("Heaven and Earth Society"),a secret society aiming to overthrow the Qing dynasty. He impresses Chen Jinnan,the Tiandihui's leader,who takes him in as an apprentice. Besides,he also becomes one of the Tiandihui's lodge leaders and agrees to serve as their spy in the palace. Later,he is taken captive by the sinister Mystic Dragon Cult and brought to the island where they are based. Through glib talk and flattery,he wins the favour of Hong Antong,the cult leader,and becomes one of the cult's five emissaries.
Wei Xiaobao makes a number of seemingly impossible achievements through sheer luck,cunning,and the use of unglamorous means such as cheating and deception. First,he assists the Kangxi Emperor in ousting the autocratic regent,Oboi,from power. Second,he discovers the whereabouts of the missing Shunzhi Emperor,who has been presumed dead,saves him from danger and reunites him with his son,the Kangxi Emperor. Third,he eliminates the Mystic Dragon Cult by stirring up internal conflict,which leads to the cult's self-destruction. Fourth,he weakens Wu Sangui's rebellion by bribing the rebels' allies to withdraw,allowing Qing imperial forces to crush the rebels easily. Finally,he leads a campaign against the Tsardom of Russia and helps the Qing Empire reach a border treaty with the Russians. Earlier on,he had met the Russian regent,Sophia Alekseyevna,and helped her consolidate control over Russia during an uprising. In the process of accomplishing these tasks,he also recommended talents to serve the Qing government,one of whom is Shi Lang,the admiral who led the successful naval campaign against the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan.
Throughout the story,Wei Xiaobao exhibits devout loyalty to both the Kangxi Emperor and his friends in the Tiandihui and other anti-Qing forces. He instinctively shields the emperor with his body from assassins and saves the emperor's life on two occasions,in addition to playing an important role in assisting the Kangxi Emperor in consolidating power. On the other hand,he secretly helps the anti-Qing forces escape on numerous occasions and undermines attempts by Qing imperial forces to destroy the Tiandihui. For his achievements,he is rewarded with immense wealth and titles of nobility. The highest position he reached is "Duke of Deer Cauldron" (or "Duke of Mount Deer",which is used as an alternative English title for the novel). He earns the respect of the anti-Qing forces for eliminating corrupt officials and defending China from foreign invasion. On top of his achievements,he also encounters seven attractive women on separate occasions,flirts and toys with them,and eventually marries all seven of them.
Wei Xiaobao's conflicting loyalties ultimately reach a disastrous conclusion. The Kangxi Emperor discovers his relationship with the Tiandihui,and forces him to choose to either remain loyal to the Qing Empire or become an enemy of the state. Wei Xiaobao faces a dilemma:If he chooses to follow the emperor's orders,he will have to betray his friends in the Tiandihui and help the emperor destroy them;if he refuses,he faces the possibility of death and the extermination of his family. Although he ultimately chooses to go into exile,the emperor still regards him as a close friend and loyal subject so he pardons him and allows him to return to the palace later.
Towards the end of the novel,the Kangxi Emperor tries to force Wei Xiaobao to help him eliminate the Tiandihui again. On the other hand,Wei Xiaobao faces an even bigger problem with the Tiandihui. As Chen Jinnan had died recently,the Tiandihui's members look up to Wei Xiaobao and want him to be their new leader.
Wei Xiaobao ponders the issue,realises that he will never be able to reconcile between the two opposing sides,and feels that his divided friendships and split loyalties are tearing him apart. He decides to leave and lead a reclusive life,and brings along his family and immense wealth with him. He is never seen again. It is said that when the Kangxi Emperor went on six inspection tours to the Jiangnan region throughout his reign,his true purpose was to search for Wei Xiaobao.
The founders of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty made eight copies of the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters,a classical Buddhist text. After the Qing forces conquered the Central Plains,they looted large amounts of treasure and transported them to a secret location in northeast China. The map to that location was torn into several pieces and hidden in the eight books separately. Each book was given to one of the Eight Banners for safekeeping.
To protect the treasure,the Eight Banners' commanders were not told about the treasure vault. Instead,they were told that the books contained a secret leading to a location containing the "root" of the Qing imperial bloodline,the Dragon's Pulse. If this "root" is disturbed,it will end the fortunes of the Manchus. This is to ensure that none of the nobles will attempt to find this location;they will instead guard the secret with their lives. Only the emperor knows the truth,as evident when the Shunzhi Emperor passes on this knowledge to the Kangxi Emperor.
The books are sought by many,including Hai Dafu,Mao Dongzhu,the Mystic Dragon Cult,the Heaven and Earth Society,the former Princess Changping,Wu Sangui and others. Some of them know the truth about the treasure while others wish to end the Qing dynasty by destroying the Manchu "root". Wei Xiaobao collects the eight books and pieces the map together. He finds the treasure at Mount Deer Cauldron in Heilongjiang,but does not seize it for himself because he holds on to the belief that the treasure is the Qing imperial family's "root".
Oboi seized the book from Suksaha after executing him. The book was confiscated along with Oboi's possessions after Oboi's downfall and ends up with Mao Dongzhu. Wei Xiaobao steals it from a secret compartment in Mao Dongzhu's room.
The book was confiscated along with Oboi's possessions after Oboi's downfall and ends up with Mao Dongzhu. Wei Xiaobao steals it from a secret compartment in Mao Dongzhu's room.
The book was confiscated from the banner commander by the Shunzhi Emperor,who gave it to Consort Donggo. Mao Dongzhu later killed Consort Donggo and took the book from her. Wei Xiaobao eventually steals it from a secret compartment in Mao Dongzhu's room.
The Shunzhi Emperor gave Wei Xiaobao the book and told him to pass it to the Kangxi Emperor. The book is then stolen by Princess Jianning but is taken away by Jiunan,who returns it to Wei Xiaobao.
The book ends up in Wu Sangui's possession when Jiakun is killed in battle in Yunnan. Wei Xiaobao steals it and replaces it with the Bordered Blue Banner's copy.
In the early years of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor,the regent Oboi monopolised state power and introduced the practice of literary inquisition. Many intellectuals and scholars were persecuted for their writings. Zhuang Tinglong,a merchant from Huzhou,sponsored the publication of an unauthorised book about the history of the Ming dynasty. The book used the Ming emperors' era names,which were considered taboo in the Qing dynasty. Wu Zhirong found out and reported it to the authorities.
Zhuang Tinglong and his family were persecuted and the male members of the Zhuang family were killed. The incident also sparked off a chain reaction,in which several individuals who were not directly involved or linked to the book were similarly rounded up and executed. These individuals included scholars who helped to write and proofread the book,bookstore owners who sold copies of the book,distant relatives of the Zhuang family,and even people who had contact with readers of the book.
Reception
The Deer and the Cauldron,even among fans of Jin Yong's novels,has divided critical opinion mainly due to the character of Wei Xiaobao. Ni Kuang argued that The Deer and the Cauldron was "the best novel of all time,Chinese or foreign".[2][3]Wong Kwok-pun of the Chinese University of Hong Kong felt that it was an inferior work compared to the "masterpieces" of the Condor Trilogy and expressed surprise that John Minford chose to translate an abridged version of it.[4]
English language translation
The Deer and the Cauldron has been translated in highly abridged form (28 chapters) into English by John Minford and David Hawkes.[5] The translation was published by the Oxford University Press in three volumes from 1997 to 2002.
Works based on the novel
There are books which examine the office politics displayed by the main characters and their applications in real life.
Zhang Yishan, Zhang Tianyang, Tang Yixin, Yang Qiru, Rebecca Wang, Guo Yang
Radio
In 2000, Hong Kong's RTHK broadcast a 100 episodes radio drama based on the novel, with Eason Chan and Roland Leung voicing Wei Xiaobao and the Kangxi Emperor respectively.[8]
The Kangxi Emperor, also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Aisin-Gioro Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1722.
Louis Cha Leung-yung, better known by his pen name Jin Yong, pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong daily newspaper Ming Pao in 1959 and served as its first editor-in-chief. He was Hong Kong's most famous writer, and is named along with Gu Long and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia".
Wu Sangui, courtesy name Changbai (長白) or Changbo (長伯), was a notorious Ming dynasty military officer who played a key role in the fall of the Ming dynasty and the founding of the Qing dynasty in China. In Chinese folklore, Wu Sangui is regarded as a disreputable Han Chinese traitor who played a pivotal role in several historical events, including the Battle of Shanhai Pass, Manchu invasion of China, the suppression of Southern Ming resistances and the execution of the Yongli Emperor, and eventually double-crossed both of his masters, the Ming and the Qing dynasties.
Chen Yuanyuan (1624–1681) was a Chinese courtesan who lived during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. She was the concubine of Wu Sangui, the Ming dynasty general who surrendered Shanhai Pass to the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and later rebelled in the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. Chen's life and relationship to Wu later became the subject of a number of popular stories and legends, many of them focusing on her supposed role in Wu's fateful decision to defect to the Qing, thereby sealing the fate of the Ming dynasty.
Oboi was a prominent Manchu military commander and courtier who served in various military and administrative posts under three successive emperors of the early Qing dynasty. Born to the Guwalgiya clan, Oboi was one of four regents nominated by the Shunzhi Emperor to oversee the government during the minority of the Kangxi Emperor. Oboi reversed the benevolent policies of the Shunzhi Emperor, and vigorously pushed for clear reassertion of Manchu power over the Han Chinese. Eventually deposed and imprisoned by the new emperor for having amassed too much power, he was posthumously rehabilitated.
Shi Lang (1621–1696), Marquis Jinghai, also known as Secoe or Sego, was a Chinese admiral who served under the Ming and Qing dynasties in the 17th century. He was the commander-in-chief of the Qing fleets which destroyed the power of Zheng Chenggong's descendants in the 1660s, and led the conquest of the Zheng family's Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan in 1683. Shi later governed part of Taiwan as a marquis.
Songgotu was a minister during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty. He was an uncle of the emperor's primary spouse, Empress Xiaochengren of the Hešeri clan, who died during childbirth. He was also the son of Sonin, one of the four regents appointed to assist the young Kangxi Emperor during his minority. As Empress Xiaochengren's paternal uncle, he was also therefore, the grand-uncle of Yinreng, who was crown prince throughout most of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. Songgotu did not inherit the noble title First-class Duke or First-class Earl from his father Sonin because his mother was not the primary consort, therefore, he had the lowest status of his brothers. His sixth brother and fifth brother inherited the noble titles First-class Duke and First-class Count. His oldest brother, Gabula, was Empress Xiaochengren's father, and he also had the noble title First-class Duke.
The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen, is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's ancestral organization. As the Tiandihui spread through different counties and provinces, it branched off into many groups and became known by many names, including the Sanhehui. The Hongmen grouping is today more or less synonymous with the whole Tiandihui concept, although the title "Hongmen" is also claimed by some criminal groups. Its current iteration is purely secular.
Sword Stained with Royal Blood is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong. It was first serialised in the Hong Kong newspaper Hong Kong Commercial Daily between 1 January 1956 and 31 December 1956. Since its first publication, the novel has undergone two revisions, with the latest edition being the third. Some characters from the novel play minor roles or are simply mentioned by name in The Deer and the Cauldron, another of Jin Yong's novels.
Erdeniin Galdan, known as Galdan Boshugtu Khan was a Choros Dzungar-Oirat khan of the Dzungar Khanate. As fourth son of Erdeni Batur, founder of the Dzungar Khanate, Galdan was a descendant of Esen Taishi, the powerful Oirat Khan of the Northern Yuan dynasty who united all Mongols in the 15th century. Galdan's mother Yum Aga was a daughter of Güshi Khan, the first Khoshut-Oirat King of Tibet.
The Duke of Mount Deer 2000 is a Hong Kong-Taiwanese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Deer and the Cauldron. It was first broadcast in 2000 in Taiwan and followed by subsequent broadcasts in other Asian countries.
Mu Ying was a Chinese military general and politician during the Ming dynasty, and an adopted son of its founder, the Hongwu Emperor.
Royal Tramp is a 2008 Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Deer and the Cauldron. Produced by Zhang Jizhong and Huayi Brothers, the series consists of 50 episodes, filmed in high definition. The series was first broadcast on Jiangsu TV in China in 2008 and was subsequently aired on TVB in Hong Kong and other countries.
Wu Liuqi (1607–1665), courtesy names Jianbo (鑒伯) and Geru (葛如), was a Chinese general of the Qing dynasty who served as the provincial military commander of Guangdong Province.
The Affaire in the Swing Age, also known as The Dynasty or Love Against Kingship, is a 2003 Chinese television series based on the novel Jiangshan Fengyu Qing by Zhu Sujin, who was also the screenwriter for the series. The series depicts the events in the transition of the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty in China, focusing on the lives of historical figures such as Li Zicheng, Wu Sangui, Chen Yuanyuan, the Chongzhen Emperor and Huangtaiji.
The Zhuang Tinglong case, also known as the Ming History case, was a 17th-century case of literary inquisition which took place in China between 1661 and 1663 during the Qing dynasty. The case was about the publication of an unauthorised history of the Ming dynasty – the ruling dynasty in China before the Qing dynasty – by Zhuang Tinglong (莊廷鑨), a merchant from Huzhou, Zhejiang. At the end, thousands of people associated with the publication of the work were punished, including over 70 put to death.
The Deer and the Cauldron is a Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Deer and the Cauldron. It was directed by Lai Shui-ching, and starred Han Dong, Wei Qianxiang and others. The series was shot from September–December 2013, and first aired on Anhui TV, Sichuan TV and Yunnan TV from 20 December 2014 to 9 January 2015.
Zha Jizuo (1601–1676) was a Chinese writer and scholar who lived during the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty.
References
↑ The date conforms to the data published in Chen Zhenhui (陳鎮輝), Wuxia Xiaoshuo Xiaoyao Tan (武俠小說逍遙談), 2000, Huizhi Publishing Company (匯智出版有限公司), p. 57.
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